"..."
Xu Xiaoyu pressed her palm to her forehead. Why on earth did I expect Chen Shu to be afraid? What was I even thinking?
"ROAR!"
The Rend Claw Wolf let out a vicious snarl and instantly killed three more Ice Field Rabbits. As the remaining five tried to flee, its body erupted with wisps of dark light and its speed explosively surged—clearly another combat skill. With a series of rips and slashes, the remaining rabbits had no chance and all became corpses. Its eyes gleaming with bloodlust, the wolf opened its massive jaws, ready to devour its prey.
"Big black dog! Leave those rabbits!"
Chen Shu sprang to his feet and shouted so loudly that even the Rend Claw Wolf's body jolted.
Without another word, Chen Shu clutched his urea bag and jumped straight off the Fire Bird's back. Under the wolf's pitiful gaze, he stuffed the Ice Field Rabbit corpses into his bag.
"What kind of person does this? Actually competing with a wolf for food? And these are the ones I killed!"
The Rend Claw Wolf was miserable inside, but bound by Zhou Shi's orders, it could only watch with watery eyes, drooling enviously.
"Little Chen, common-grade Ice Field Rabbits have no value."
Zhou Shi couldn't help but speak up. Even if they brought them back to sell to restaurants in Qingyuan Town, they'd fetch a few hundred yuan each at most.
Chen Shu replied with complete seriousness: "I know, but aren't you guys hungry?"
To everyone's shock, Chen Shu actually pulled various metal frames from his military backpack—it was a complete collapsible BBQ rack?!
"Wait! Hold on! Stop!"
Zhou Shi's eye twitched as his brain momentarily crashed.
Brother, this is Qingyuan Forest, we're not here for a camping trip...
Zhou Shi protested, "It's still daytime, our operational time is limited!"
Seeming to recall the delicious taste of Ice Field Rabbit, he secretly swallowed before adding, "Even if we're hungry, we have to wait until tonight!"
Chen Shu looked disappointed and packed away the BBQ equipment.
But Ice Field Rabbits were nearly a meter long—one urea bag could only hold two, and if they didn't cook them now, they'd be hard to carry.
"Big black dog, here's a few for you."
Chen Shu tossed five Ice Field Rabbits to the Rend Claw Wolf, keeping the remaining four on the Iron-backed Beast's back.
Everyone was getting a bit hungry, so nobody stopped Chen Shu's behavior. With the Rend Claw Wolf handling combat, the others weren't contributing much anyway—they mainly needed to build team coordination since they'd face many powerful fierce beasts together as a Beast Taming Corps in the future.
The Rend Claw Wolf finished devouring the Ice Field Rabbits, satisfaction in its eyes as it maintained vigilance of their surroundings.
Zhou Shi approached the Power Herbs, ready to harvest them.
"I got it! I got it!"
Chen Shu jogged over quickly, pulling out an exquisite silver trowel.
"The textbook says Power Herbs should ideally be harvested with silver tools to preserve their medicinal properties."
Zhou Shi paused, then smiled. "You really studied your materials science well, kid."
Chen Shu carefully dug up the Power Herbs, casually saying, "Of course! Do you understand the value of a 396 on the academic exams?"¹
"You? 396? Come on now, does your Uncle Zhou look like someone who never went to school?"
Zhou Shi scoffed dismissively. Even the strongest chemistry students rarely exceeded 380 points—the final questions weren't meant for humans to solve.
"Believe it or not." Chen Shu ignored him, smoothly placing the three Power Herbs into his backpack with practiced ease.
Zhou Shi, "???"
Your movements are way too smooth—you're a repeat offender, aren't you?
Seeing Zhou Shi's expression, Chen Shu explained, "I know how to preserve them properly, so I'll hold onto them for now."
Zhou Shi shook his head and called to everyone, "Rest here for a bit."
With that, he pulled out a small blue bottle and sprayed it wildly around the area.
A peculiar scent spread out, instantly neutralizing the blood smell in the air.
"Uncle Zhou, that air freshener is badass! Perfect for robbery and murder!"
Chen Shu's eyes lit up—he hadn't expected something so magical.
Zhou Shi stayed silent. What do you mean air freshener?!
The team replenished their energy and recovered their stamina. After half an hour, they set out again.
But when they'd only traveled about a thousand meters, the Black Crow circling overhead let out terrified, agitated cries.
"Boss, this is bad!! Steel Fanged Rat swarm up ahead!"
One Beast Tamer's face went pale, fear filling his eyes.
Zhou Shi's expression changed drastically as he bellowed, "Get airborne!"
In an instant, everyone recalled their Contract Spirits to their Beast Spaces, the Rend Claw Wolf included. A Gray Eagle—clearly Zhou Shi's Black Iron-rank second spirit—appeared, and he directed his teammates onto its back while shouting a warning, "Xiaoyu, make your Fire Bird fly as high as possible!"
The Gray Eagle strained as it spread its wings, but ultimately managed to take flight with the six of them aboard. At the same time, Xu Xiaoyu gave a command to her Fire Bird. Red light shimmered across its wings as it activated 'Wing Burst,' a skill that temporarily enhances flight. With a powerful beat, it soared dozens of meters into the air, rising to level with the treetops.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!
Almost the instant the eight people took to the air, the ground began trembling slightly, leaves falling like rain as deadly danger swept over them. Sharp squealing spread like invisible electricity crackling through the air—SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK—making everyone's scalp tingle with dread.
The tremors grew increasingly violent, as if some giant beast was trampling the earth.
Chen Shu was currently clutching two Ice Field Rabbits tightly with both hands, peering through the falling leaves at what lay ahead.
His eyes went wide as saucers as he exclaimed,
"We're doomed! The groundhogs have turned into spirits!"²