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This passing Big Skin seed to have noticed that the camp’s territory had expanded.
Faced with the newly built fence, it appeared sowhat hesitant, wanting to burst in, yet it was repulsed by the sparse luminous stone grass on the ground.
Soon, amidst the mountain mist, two more Big Skins slowly crawled out.
The three Big Skins stopped outside the new fence, seemingly dissatisfied with it.
Poof.
A spit from a black lizard shot out, landing precisely between the eyes of one of the Big Skins.
The sizzling corrosive toxin made the shell emit faint black smoke.
But soon, the black smoke disappeared, leaving only a basin-sized dent on the Big Skin’s body.
The Big Skin didn’t care about this minor injury, for its massive size ant that such damage was rely superficial.
Inside the camp courtyard.
Zhou Xueguang also noticed the three Big Skins lingering outside. He opened the door and stepped out of the wooden cabin, holding a symbol board in one hand and a black pistol in the other.
He first went to the small window of the cabin where Nana and Doctor Xu stayed, knocked on it, whispered a few reminders, then looked toward Yu Hong’s direction.
The two exchanged glances, and Yu Hong gestured, indicating for him to go back and hide while he handled it.
This was the mont for the secondary safe zone to truly be tested. If they succeeded in driving away the Big Skins, it would basically ensure the stability of the new secondary safe zone.
However, it seed that the situation was not looking favorable.
Click.
Yu Hong pushed the door open and stepped out, already clad in the reinforced gray lizard suit.
As he walked out into the secondary safe zone, beyond the fence, the three Big Skins began to stir.
They sensed the presence of living creatures and moved forward, the closest one almost touching the wooden fence.
This distance was already very close…
Yu Hong stopped at an appropriate distance.
He didn’t really value the secondary safe zone;
he only planned to use it as a buffer zone for the yard. After all, even to grow lightless mushrooms, he needed enough humus and so other miscellaneous outdoor materials. Additionally, wild vegetables and such required so planting space.
So a small woodland area was necessary for the breeding cycle.
But now, a more urgent high-risk Black Disaster needed to be dealt with first. Otherwise, even if the secondary safe zone was completed, it wouldn’t an much.
And his main intention in stepping out now was to… test the new technique of Thunderbolt Leg.
Honk!
In the distant mountains and forests, the characteristic call of the Multi-eyed Bird echoed.
Honk, honk, honk!
‘Not just one.’
Yu Hong judged the number of calls. He faintly heard a piercing gunfire too, indicating that soone was fighting the Multi-eyed Bird.
Without expression, he pulled down his helt goggles and mask.
The Inner Qi of the Thunderbolt Leg swiftly flooded into his legs, held back from being released, only slowly exerting its most basic amplification effect.
This consumption was extrely minimal.
Before making a move, he suddenly recalled the small ruby he had obtained earlier, which was scraped off the big crow.
‘I wonder if there might be sothing similar on this Big Skin now?’
At this mont, one of the Big Skins finally couldn’t hold back anymore, and its massive body charged towards the wooden fence.
Simultaneously, it emitted a piercing hissing sound, its version of a roar.
Hiss!
A stream of black gas sprayed from the Big Skin’s mouth, turning into a gray-black wind, falling onto Yu Hong and bringing with it a strong stench.
Like the foul odor of rotting protein.
‘Where should I hit this guy?’
Yu Hong observed the creature, always feeling unsure of where to strike.
"Forget it.”
After a mont of hesitation, he exhaled. His right foot stepped forward, toe pointing to the ground.
"Just aim for the atiest part.”
He arched his body slightly, charging against the Big Skin coming straight at him.
Bang.
The fence shattered, and the Big Skin, like a black van, crashed heavily toward Yu Hong.
Its huge body brought with it a strong wind, sending fallen leaves swirling and breaking around the ground.
In the dusk, those dark, shiny insect eyes revealed nothing but pure malice and desire for slaughter.
No evasion, no hesitation.
Yu Hong took a deep breath.
Hiss.
Suddenly stepped forward and spun.
Side kick!
His right leg whistled through the air, producing a peculiar laughing sound as it pierced through.
Hahahahaha!
Boom!!!
In an instant, the big and small collided.
The thunderous sound of the Thunderbolt Leg, after being combined and released, was completely devoid of the previous grand intensity.
Boom!
A large spray of black smoke scattered at the impact point.
Under the massive hit, the Big Skin’s body tilted, as if turning over, was kicked and veered to the left.
It let out a pained hiss and was slamd against a tree on the left with imnse force, causing the entire trunk to shake and tremble.
Before it could rise, a figure flickered to its side.
The tip of the foot hooked, astonishingly lifting half the Big Skin’s body over a ter into the air, followed by a side sweep kick.
The eerie, sharp laughter of the Thunderbolt Leg rang out again.
Hahahaha!!
This sweep kick, like a cannonball, hit the Big Skin’s side directly.
The enormous force smashed the shell to pieces, and the power shot through, causing more than half of the Big Skin’s body to cave in.
The other two Big Skins, seeing the situation, charged toward Yu Hong, who had paused.
But before they could get close, accompanied by the strange, sharp laughter, Yu Hong suddenly dashed forward, arriving before the second Big Skin.
Boom!!
A mass of twisting black gas exploded between the man and the insect.
The Big Skin had three leg joints broken by a kick, lost balance, fell to the ground, and was hit in the face by a front kick from Yu Hong.
Its head, along with all its mouthparts, was forcefully ramd inward, as if its head had been removed in one stroke.
Hahahaha!!
The eerie, sharp laughter rang out once more.
Yu Hong suddenly appeared before the third Big Skin, his legs whirled in a chain.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!!
The continuous heavy kicks shattered and knocked off the Big Skin’s shell like being struck by a sledgehamr. With every hit, its body shivered violently.
The final blow.
Yu Hong suddenly leaped, knee down, crashing like a teor.
Boom!
The knee smashed down heavily on the last Big Skin’s back.
The back caved in, the shell shattered, the Big Skin howled on the spot, its body rapidly crumbled, turning into a vast black smoke and dissipating entirely.
anwhile, the other two Big Skins also dissipated themselves as he dealt with the third one.
Yu Hong landed on the ground, stood up, and his face showed a bit of dissatisfaction.
*’Without weapons, handling these large creatures was ultimately not quite convenient.’*
*’Leg techniques and fist techniques are indeed very handy for fighting humans or small adversaries, but for the big guys, a weapon of sufficient length is necessary to hasten the battle.’*
He looked at the ss of the woodland in front of him and flexed the slightly engorged muscles in his legs.
The three Big Skins could now be dealt with easily by him without tools or weapons.
This was progress.
"The danger level of Big Skin was grade two, also the extre individual that humans could handle with their own strengthened bodies. The completely reinforced humans after training could face up to this level. But that’s far from my limit.”
Yu Hong didn’t even release his Inner Qi, nor did he detonate it. If he had, the outco would have been more dramatic.
He stood there pondering for a while.
He was about to turn and return to the camp.
Honk! Ah!
Suddenly a miserable cry accompanied the call of a Multi-eyed Bird from afar.
*’Those two?’* Yu Hong speculated. He glanced in that direction but paid no attention.
Ding Shao and his group never particularly pleased him, not chasing them away usually, but at this ti, it was naturally impossible to help them.
But just as he wanted to go back, sothing in the mist seed unwilling for him to leave.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
With heavy footsteps approaching.
A gigantic black worm, six ters tall and over ten ters long, like a small house, was slowly advancing this way.
In the gloom, its enormous eyes, as big as waterlons, stared unblinkingly at Yu Hong.
Elephant worm!
Danger level three, the highest-class monster appearing in the Blood Tide during normal tis.
Compared to this creature, Yu Hong, barely 1.8 ters tall, was just a little dot, completely inconspicuous.
Nonetheless, as their distance closed, faint twisting currents gradually swirled around him.
A low, eerie laughter occasionally sounded around him, like an illusion.
Seemingly sensing so special aura, the Elephant worm halted, coming to a stop five ters from Yu Hong.
Five ters, which for it was practically an arm’s reach.
But at this distance, the Elephant worm halted completely.
It watched Yu Hong silently from above.
Bang.
More than ten seconds later.
It slowly turned, walking towards the forest in another direction, not looking back as it gradually vanished within the mist.
Yu Hong squinted, watching it leave. It was naturally best not to fight, yet, he didn’t know why.
Monts ago, he seed to perceive a flicker of apprehension in the creature’s eyes.
Conscious apprehension.
But could an Elephant worm be conscious too?
*
*
*
In a collapsed office building basent on the outskirts of Baihe City.
"The night is falling earlier.”
Ou Li, clutching a freshly found box of ran, crawled into the basent, shut the door behind him, trembling from the cold, breath forming white puffs visible in the evidently frigid temperature.
The basent had a standard three-room and one hall layout.
Everyone in Xue Ningning’s team was here, each huddled in their corners, so resting, so writing, and others staring blankly at the wall.
Besides that, a short-haired girl wearing glasses and a respirator was leaning over a table, organizing a ssy pile of fragnted newspapers and papers.
The dim basent was lit only by reserve lighting transmitted via solar power.
"We can’t keep hiding here, living off scavenged supplies will eventually lead to problems. What’s the next step? We need to plan ahead.”
Xue Ningning ca forward, took the ran box from Ou Li, and gently reminded.
"Hope City is gone, the freighter is gone too, we’re dood… now nowhere to go…” Chen Qiaosheng murmured in despair, leaning against the wall.
"Everyone, whatever it is you wish to do, better start now. Before dying and leaving regrets,” Fang Shijun said nonchalantly. “Speaking of which, this lady here hasn’t tried what a man feels like yet, anyone fancy giving it a whirl?”
"I want to find my mom,” Chen Qiaosheng seed lost in his own world, not hearing a word from this side.
"I wonder how my sister is now, she’d be heartbroken if anything happened to her…” Xue Ningning smiled bitterly.
"An’an.” Lin Yiyi didn’t show any disheartened expression on her face but instead looked at the short-haired girl by the table.
"Is there, a lead?” she asked.
She wasn’t afraid of death or pain;
even with the dangers outside, she wanted to go out, mainly to uncover the truth behind her mother’s death and find the whereabouts of her father and grandfather.
Apart from these, she also worried about Yu Hong and Doctor Xu.
But in such an environnt, no one could do anything. Holding onto one’s life was already challenging enough.
Recently, she wanted to find a solar car to return to Baiqiu Village. But then, An’an, who tead up with her in this search, unexpectedly found so clues and was now delving deeper.
"Yes, found a little.” The short-haired girl nodded, replying without looking up.
She pulled out a slightly old and yellowed magazine.
The cover depicted a dilapidated and mysterious little mountain village, in black and white tones, with blank-faced people, evoking an inexplicable sense of depression.
Above the picture was the magazine’s title: “East River Secrets.”
"Is your father’s na Lin Handong?” An’an asked.
"Yes, that’s him!” Stamring Yiyi was overjoyed, her face showing emotion.
"Yes, here it ntions a reporter encountering a middle-aged man nad Lin Handong while interviewing in the village,” An’an nodded.
"The location…” Lin Yiyi asked excitedly.
"Black Tree Village, well, it’s a place quite far from us,” An’an replied.
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