Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Su He and Li Shou found a hiding spot, exchanging curious glances. They wondered what could be in those two cars that necessitated such a large-scale operation, especially at night.

At that moment, their thoughts aligned: could they somehow profit from this situation?

They waited, hoping to be the last ones standing.

In the front seats of the car, Chen Zui and Ren Feng reclined, looking somewhat put-out. The baby octopus slept nestled in Ren Feng’s neck, appearing docile.

Gao Qiang, on watch for the first half of the night, quietly opened the car door and stepped out. He walked a few paces away to relieve himself, but as he reached for his zipper, he froze. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something dark flickering in the distance.

He whipped his head around. The crescent moon hung in the sky, offering little illumination. Though he saw nothing, the powerful whooshing sound confirmed that danger was approaching.

"Wake up!" he shouted, instinctively crouching low.

The moment he saw the arrow, he ducked his head sharply. It grazed his neck, leaving a searing pain. The arrowhead pierced the puffed-up collar of his jacket as he bent down, continuing forward and dragging Gao Qiang uncontrollably backward. He fell to the ground and was pulled several meters before his torn jacket finally gave way.

Fortunately, the jacket was flimsy.

Gao Qiang had no time to revel in his narrow escape. His eyes darted around, and he saw Ren Feng reaching out to him from the front passenger seat, the open car door providing cover.

He grabbed Ren Feng’s hand. "They’re humans!" he exclaimed, somewhat shocked. He had assumed it was monsters attacking them—that would have been normal—but it turned out to be humans. Moreover, that arrow had clearly been aimed to kill.

Ren Feng replied coolly, "It doesn’t matter if they’re humans or monsters." His tone was cold and lethal. After attacking them, whether human or monster, they all shared one label: enemies.

And enemies must die.

Chen Zui glanced at Ren Feng. The man radiating such a murderous aura was particularly compelling.

Gao Qiang pressed against the car window, making eye contact with Hu Xue in the vehicle behind. Hu Xue signaled to him with a few hand gestures. Just as Gao Qiang was about to translate for Chen Zui and the others, a flurry of whooshing sounds filled the air, like heavy rain, except what fell wasn’t water but an overwhelming barrage of arrows.

Gao Qiang’s pupils dilated.

Before he could even register how many arrows there were, his vision was obscured by blue water. For a moment, he was disoriented.

Two water spheres formed, completely enveloping both cars. Ren Feng, eyes closed and expression serious, focused on maintaining control, keeping the spheres spinning at high speed. From the outside, the arrows raining down either snapped or were deflected upon impact with the water spheres.

The rapidly spinning water spheres had become an impenetrable shield.

Chen Zui’s eyes lit up. This move was truly impressive. For Ren Feng to devise such a defensive tactic so quickly—he was truly a natural fighter!

Suddenly, Chen Zui felt an urge to spar with Ren Feng.

The Hu sisters were also astonished by the water screen before them. The flowing water seemed so vibrant and alive, tempting to touch, but they knew better—any contact would likely result in a broken hand.

The attackers outside were stunned, completely baffled by what they were seeing. What was this? A monster? But they had already confirmed that those inside were human.

All their arrows had been useless. Once Ren Feng sensed the attack had ceased, he withdrew the water spheres, his forehead damp with sweat. It was his first time controlling something with such precision, and he felt the strain.

The moment the water spheres vanished, the Hu sisters in the car behind were ready.

"Now!" Hu Xue exclaimed.

Simultaneously, Hu Yue pushed open the car door and, with a wave of her hand, conjured dozens of wind blades, launching a swift counterattack toward the direction the arrows had come from. This girl, usually so shy or prone to silly grins, was unexpectedly reliable.

After two swift gestures, she quickly retreated back into the car.

The wind blades were virtually undetectable in the darkness. The people hiding in the shadows only realized the danger when the branches shielding them suddenly snapped, but it was too late.

A wind blade sliced through one man’s neck and continued forward, leaving a trail of blood. He felt a sharp pain, and as he reached up to touch his neck, his head tumbled to the ground.

Someone nearby let out a scream that pierced the night air.

Cries of agony followed one after another. Many were injured, though in different places; a few unlucky ones lost their lives outright.

Those fortunate enough to only be wounded didn’t expect their screams to become their final undoing. Before their cries could fade, something dark appeared before them. Before they could see clearly, it wrapped around them—the touch was slick—and then tightened abruptly, crushing their insides.

Chen Zui stood behind the car door, controlling his tentacles. Tracking by sound, he turned the wounded into corpses.

His pitch-black eyes burned with bloodlust.

Part of it stemmed from a monster’s desire to kill humans, and part from Chen Zui’s own love for danger and excitement.

Without any communication, the group executed a perfectly coordinated attack. No one hesitated, faltered, or showed any misplaced compassion. It was their first time working together, yet they were remarkably compatible.

However, since they were attacking blindly, one lucky survivor managed to escape their assault, scrambling away into the darkness.

The tentacles retracted, transforming back into a hand that rested lightly on the car door. Under the moonlight, the slender, pale hand appeared almost holy. Chen Zui gazed into the dark forest—all was quiet now.

"I’ll go check it out."

"I’ll go with you."

Ren Feng got out of the car and joined Chen Zui.

As they passed the Hu sisters’ car, they exchanged a look, signaling Hu Yue and Hu Xue to stay put. With one controlling water for defense and the other using octopus tentacles for attack, moving together was reassuring.

As they approached, they found a corpse on the ground—strangled to death by tentacles, a gruesome sight.

They continued forward.

On the other side, Su He and Li Shou watched Ren Feng, their feelings mixed.

Su He was excited. They were probably like him, he thought. Just a day ago, he had experienced excruciating pain and afterward found he could heal.

He looked at Ren Feng, then at the taller Chen Zui—a new face. If he could make these two his subordinates, they would clearly be better than the Li brothers.

Li Shou stared intently at Ren Feng. It was him—he had deliberately broken the window and attracted the monsters, causing his brother to get his leg severed and forcing him to abandon his brother.

He wanted him dead!

Chen Zui kicked something and glanced down: it was a head.

Ren Feng said, "Seems like no one’s left."

He looked at the head; his first thought was that it had dirtied Chen Zui’s foot.

He crouched down, picked up the head, and flung it into the distance.

Chen Zui smiled. "Let’s head back."

They counted the number of corpses, confirmed all were dead, and started back.

The night breeze picked up, carrying a scent of blood. Chen Zui said, "That water orb defense of yours earlier was impressive."

Ren Feng replied, "Your tentacle strikes were pretty good too."

Chen Zui tilted his head to look at him. He was a little taller than Ren Feng, so his gaze was downward. When Ren Feng looked back at him, he had to look up slightly, which looked kind of cute.

Their eyes met.

Chen Zui smiled. "We're really a perfect match."

The scent of blood in the night breeze faded, replaced by the fragrance of roses, making their hearts flutter.

Ren Feng halted mid-step and gave Chen Zui a deep look.

Truth be told, he hadn’t been without thoughts about Chen Zui—after all, his face really appealed to him. But Chen Zui’s sudden and unexplained appearance always made him uneasy and guarded.

Still, if Chen Zui kept flirting with him like this…

He’d take Chen Zui down right then and there!

The two returned to the car, and the group exchanged intel.

Hu Xue said, "They must be from that village. Otherwise, why would they attack us out in the middle of nowhere?"

She frowned. "It looked like they were trying to kill us."

She didn’t get it—why such malice? To kill them and steal their supplies? That was pretty ruthless.

Hu Yue finished treating the wound on Gao Qiang’s neck. "Steal supplies?"

"Should we go destroy their base? Who knows how many people that village has killed already. They’ll only kill more in the future," Gao Qiang said through clenched teeth. He had nearly lost his life.

The group went quiet.

Hu Xue looked at Chen Zui and Ren Feng. "What do you two think?"

Ren Feng said, "We don’t know the specifics of the village. I don’t think it’s worth the risk."

He wasn’t particularly compassionate; in this world, he followed the survival principle of not getting involved.

Chen Zui nodded, agreeing with Ren Feng.

Hu Xue thought of the children she had seen. What should they do? Go back and kill all the adults? What would happen to the remaining children and elderly in this world?

No matter what they chose, people would get hurt.

Such dilemmas were common in this world.

What if there were also other superhumans in the village?

Hu Xue sighed. "Let’s leave this place first, in case more show up."

They were giving up on destroying the village.

Choices had to be made, and prioritizing their own and the team’s safety wasn’t wrong.

Everyone returned to their vehicles.

Su He watched the two vehicles drive away. He needed to find a way to join their team. He couldn’t show himself earlier—if they mistook him for one of the attackers, that’d be trouble.

Li Shou grabbed him. "Did you see that guy?"

Su He knew who he meant and nodded grimly.

Li Shou said, "He’s the one who got my brother killed. I’m going to kill him!"

Su He, who had been eager for an excuse to follow them, quickly agreed. "I support you. Let’s hurry and go."

Not long after they left, another group arrived. When they saw the bodies scattered everywhere, someone cried out. Unfortunately, the noise attracted monsters, and another fight for survival broke out.

—

At daybreak, the two cars stopped. They had only encountered two lesser monsters along the way.

Ren Feng filled a basin with water, and everyone lined up to clean up.

After a night in the summer heat, everyone was sweaty. Chen Zui grabbed the hem of his shirt, about to take it off, but paused.

He asked Hu Xue and her sister if they minded him being shirtless.

Hu Xue didn’t mind. Even though he had a boyfriend and was gay, it didn’t stop her from appreciating some good looks. Besides, her little sister was 18—it was time she gained some experience to avoid being fooled by skinny dudes later.

"No problem~"

Only then did Chen Zui take off his shirt.

Hu Xue mouthed a silent "wow"~ impressive.

She only glanced once before looking away. Staring would be rude to Ren Feng.

Ren Feng thought: Well, at least he’s respectful.

He watched as Chen Zui crouched by the basin, wiping himself off with a wet towel.

His jeans hugged his full hips when he squatted.

He remembered the tail that Baby Octopus had given him. If Chen Zui were to use it…

Ren Feng forced himself to cut off that line of thinking before he reacted.