novelsite Chapter 3 Filthy Beasts
Chapter 3 Filthy Beasts
"Senior?"
Li Ai snapped out of her daze, but her response was a refusal: "Sorry, you should find someone else."
After saying that, she picked up her backpack and iron gun, and went into the tent, not giving Zhou Siyu a chance to say anything more.
Li Hui followed him in: "I thought you would agree."
"...Have you forgotten what you said?" Li Ai turned around and stared at him intently.
"What?"
"Even filthy beasts can be plundered."
Seeing the determination and resolve in the girl's eyes, Li Hui couldn't help but sigh, "It seems those 17 deaths in the 'simulation arena' weren't in vain. It must have been very painful..."
"Yes... growth always comes at a price."
By the time the tents were set up, it was already noon. The students gathered around to eat and chatted enthusiastically until after 1 p.m. before gradually entering the danger zone.
Li Ai waited patiently, meditating cross-legged to expel the toxins from her body, and finally set off at 2 PM sharp.
Small shovels, sickles, and canvas bags are the gathering tools provided by the university.
The rest is up to the students to do as they please.
Whether to act alone or in a group; the distribution of spoils after killing the filthy beasts; the collection of herbs, ores, etc., are all ignored.
The team leader and mentor are only responsible for collecting materials and recording contribution points, nothing more.
In the academies of the Azure Dragon Kingdom, there is never a good thing like "powerful mentors protecting students when they go into dungeons." The law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, is vividly demonstrated here.
Thorns grow thickly, and poisonous fog permeates the air.
If you look closely, you'll spot human-made structures hidden among the trees.
This place was once a human settlement, but it was completely abandoned for various reasons and has developed into its current appearance over the past few hundred years.
Li Ai took each step carefully, her boots making a soft sound as they crunched over the thorns.
The surrounding terrain is complex and visibility is low, so be careful of the filthy beasts hiding in the fog.
"There are footprints here. Someone has already looted the place." Li Ai bent down to examine the footprints on the ground—the patterns were messy and varied in depth, indicating that more than one person had passed by.
Li Hui rolled her eyes: "Nonsense, you've wasted so much time, you've practically scraped the land clean."
"I'm traveling alone after all. It's the right thing to do to let the main force clear the way and step on the landmines." Li Ai rolled her eyes in response.
"Aaaaaah—!!"
A sharp scream suddenly came from afar, piercing the deathly silence of the jungle, carrying with it heart-wrenching fear.
Li Ai's heart skipped a beat, her body tensed instinctively, and her first reaction was to turn and run away.
The next second, she stopped abruptly, gripped the iron spear tightly, and rushed toward the direction from which the sound came.
"You've fallen into your 'overly kind' trap again?" Li Hui followed behind her like a ghost, his tone less sarcastic and more tinged with a barely perceptible helplessness.
"Don't misunderstand." Li Ai twirled her spear, shifting to a more convenient stance for a rapid advance, her gaze sharp.
"I'm heading for the filthy beast."
As she pushed through the fog, the sight before her made Li Ai's pupils shrink slightly—three "worm-toothed dogs" were frantically attacking a girl.
They have no heads, their necks are split into three parts and covered with fine, spiraling fangs, their bodies are covered in bluish-black rotting flesh, their joints are bent backwards, and when they walk they make a grating, eerie sound of their joints rubbing together.
"Waaah—"
Suddenly, a fanged dog opened its mouth wide and spewed out a cloud of sweet-smelling, pale red gas.
The gas rushed toward the girl at an alarming rate. She only took a sniff, but her movements instantly slowed down, and her gaze froze on the spot.
The other two fanged dogs seized the opportunity to pounce, their sharp fangs about to touch fresh flesh.
call out--
A long spear pierced through the air, carrying a sharp gust of wind, and pierced the body of one of the fanged dogs, pinning it firmly to the tree trunk beside it.
Li Ai rushed over quickly, braced herself against the gun barrel, and stomped hard, using the rebound force to leap high into the air. The gun tip detached from the worm-toothed dog's body and swung around, smashing heavily towards the other end.
boom!
Black blood splattered, spreading across the ground like ink.
The mandibles of the worm-toothed dog were smashed along with half of its neck. It lay on the ground, struggling on all fours, emitting mournful howls, but it did not die immediately—the vitality of the filthy beast was so tenacious that even its brain and heart were not considered absolute vital organs.
In a single exchange, one of the wriggling dogs was severely wounded, another was slightly injured, and the remaining one, completely unharmed, immediately pounced on Li Ai from the side, its sharp fangs aimed straight at her throat.
Li Ai reacted extremely quickly, pressing the gun barrel firmly against its muzzle. The immense force transmitted through the gun barrel made her wrist go numb.
"Wake up!" Li Ai shouted, her voice filled with anxiety.
She recognized the girl as Zhou Siyu from not long ago, and had even invited her to team up. She never expected to run into her here.
Zhou Siyu jolted awake, her eyes regaining some clarity, her face filled with relief: "Th-thank you... Ah!"
The fanged dog attacked, and she quickly brandished her dagger to block the lightly wounded dog.
[Do you even know how to fight? If your weapons are restricted, can't you use your hands and feet to make a move?]
Wow, does your brain only have one circuit? Can it only process one thing at a time?
Li Ai struggled to fend off the attacks of the worm-toothed hound, cold sweat trickling down her face. Hearing Li Hui's sarcastic remarks, she roared in anger, "Shut up, you damned parasite!"
She angrily raised her leg and kicked the ravenous dog hard in the belly, her eyes surging with malice.
“Wuwu!”
The fanged dog was kicked backward, letting out a low growl. It suddenly turned its body and began to roll wildly—this was its killing move, and if you got caught in it, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Ugh!" Li Ai groaned as a tremendous force surged through her wrist, causing the spear to slip from her hand and be firmly held in the jaws of the worm-toothed hound.
The steel gun barrel creaked and groaned as it was bitten by its sharp teeth, as if it would break at any moment.
"I can't stand it anymore, let me do it."
"Give me control of your body; I can do it better than you."
"What are you afraid of? You've checked my primordial mark, don't you trust me?"
Li Hui floated in mid-air with his arms crossed, his golden eyes coldly staring at Li Ai. His tone sounded impatient, but there was a hint of worry hidden in the last syllable.
"Shut up, I can do it!" Li Ai gritted her teeth, her fingertips clenched until they turned white, and a fierce, defiant look surged in her eyes.
As soon as she finished speaking, she roared, and the blood and qi in her body surged like molten iron, rushing wildly to her legs. A faint red light emanated from her body, her muscles bulged, and her bodily functions instantly soared.
Boom!
The ground trembled slightly as Li Ai pushed off with her feet. She flew like an arrow, stomping on the trees. Her shoes left several deep dents in the tree trunks. With the force of her fall, she landed heavily on the back of the Worm-toothed Dog.
Click!
A sharp, piercing sound of bones cracking rang out as the grotesque canine's lumbar vertebrae snapped from the force of the blow, and its body began to convulse violently.
Li Ai took the opportunity to lie on its back and began to pound its waist and abdomen with both fists, as if she wanted to unleash all the humiliation, hatred and resentment she had accumulated over a long period of time on this filthy beast.
In an instant, rotten, bluish-black flesh churned and splattered, and foul-smelling black blood sprayed all over Li Ai's face and body, while the crisp cracking of bones breaking echoed incessantly.
The pungent stench almost suffocated her, but she seemed to have lost her mind, her eyes bloodshot, showing no sign of stopping.