Chapter 65: How Could There Be a Tiger Pack?!
Just as the two of them pressed forward, ready to finish off the Steel-Patterned Tiger, the beast suddenly raised its head and let out a long, echoing roar. At once, the sound of something rustling through the undergrowth swept through the forest.
“What the—?”
The two exchanged puzzled glances, only to see several black-and-white figures burst out from the depths of the woods.
“Damn it, that shameless creature! Can’t win on its own and has to call for backup? Isn’t that cheating?!” Wang Qian cursed and immediately turned to run.
“Du Wanting, come with me!” Lin Han grabbed Du Wanting’s arm and dashed off in a direction.
Gao Gen’s heart skipped a beat as well, and he swore, “What’s wrong with this Steel-Patterned Tiger? I distinctly remember my childhood textbooks saying tigers are solitary animals. Since when do they hunt in packs?”
“Who knows? Maybe your teacher lied to you!” Wang Qian stowed his gear and sprinted away at full speed.
The turn of events was simply too abrupt. Although none of these Steel-Patterned Tigers had the power of a Gold-tier creature, a whole pack was not something the two of them could handle on their own!
Not to mention Chongdi and Du Wanting—those two would be lucky to escape with their lives.
“Where’s Chongdi?”
By the time Wang Qian realized, Lin Han and Du Wanting were already gone.
“Isn’t it obvious? He must’ve bolted the moment things went south. Damn, what rotten luck—to run into these tiger beasts at the very edge of the forest.”
“Let’s not worry about them for now. The police are with them, after all. Four people should be enough to stay safe. Let’s focus on not getting separated ourselves; if we run into another Gold-tier monster, at least we’ll have each other’s backs.”
Agreeing with Gao Chong’s words, Wang Qian nodded earnestly. In a dungeon like this, sticking together was the best strategy. Losing one’s life here would be a real problem.
...
Meanwhile, the two police officers who had been following Du Wanting were now extremely anxious.
They’d lost their charges!
Just moments earlier, as they all fled, Lin Han and Du Wanting had darted into a patch of shrubs and vanished from sight, leaving the officers at a complete loss.
If the captain found out, they’d be skinned alive—the people they were assigned to protect were high-priority, and absolutely must not be lost.
“Should we head in after them?” one officer asked.
“With just the two of us?” replied the other. “You saw those two Level 30 experts earlier—two third-tier fighters barely managed to handle one Gold-tier Steel-Patterned Tiger.”
“Without someone to clear the way, going in now would be suicide.”
“Since we’ve lost them, we can’t go in. There’s nothing for it but to call for backup. Let’s have the captain bring some people in to search. What a mess...”
“Captain, we’ve lost the targets...”
...
Lin Han, relying on his God’s Eye, surveyed his surroundings and found a clearing where he stopped to catch his breath. “This should do. There shouldn’t be any monsters nearby.”
“How can you be sure?” Du Wanting crouched down, thoroughly exhausted from the recent exertion and too drained to stand.
Lin Han smiled. “Never doubt the eyes of a top student. According to the textbooks, there’s no way monsters would be found in this kind of environment. So just relax.”
From Du Wanting’s behavior earlier, he’d already deduced she was academically challenged. He couldn’t just tell her he’d observed everything with his forbidden-level God’s Eye, so using textbook knowledge as an excuse was the safest bet.
“But the textbook said tigers are solitary animals...”
Lin Han’s face darkened.
Sabotage!
“Don’t worry. That Steel-Patterned Tiger was an exception. Nothing in life is absolute—maybe these tigers just prefer company?”
“After all, they’re monsters; normal logic doesn’t apply.”
Leaning against a nearby tree, Du Wanting said, “Fine, I’ll trust you for now. Even if they catch up to us, at least I won’t die alone. That’s not so bad.”
She was truly spent. She hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in days at the Public Security Bureau, constantly interrogated at all hours by different people. The recent sprint had only left her more exhausted.
Lin Han, using God’s Eye, kept track of Wang Qian and Gao Gen’s direction and asked, “Du Wanting, your mission is to eliminate the Three-Eyed Demon Ape, isn’t it?”
He waited, but received no answer. Lin Han thought she was just being cautious and didn’t want to respond.
But when he looked over, he saw she had already fallen asleep...
To be able to sleep in this environment—this girl was truly something else. Most people would be cowering in fear by now.
Lin Han took off his jacket and draped it over Du Wanting.
There really were no monsters nearby, so it was relatively safe—no need to worry about her being harmed.
He still had other things to do.
According to his hidden quest, Wang Qian was about to encounter a Shadow Wolf, and his job was to prevent Wang Qian from killing it.
From what he’d observed, the Shadow Wolf was already heading in their direction—a lone wolf!
It wouldn’t be long before they crossed paths.
A single Gold-tier Shadow Wolf wouldn’t be much trouble for those two. The only issue was time, so he was getting anxious and needed to hurry.
As for Du Wanting, she was safe enough for now. His God’s Eye was running at full speed; if there was any danger, he’d return immediately.
As he raced forward, Lin Han subtly altered his appearance.
...
“Thank goodness we finally shook those beasts. How did we even get chased by them?” Wang Qian muttered irritably. Even after losing the tiger pack, the two of them kept running, knowing safety was paramount in this unfamiliar territory.
Gao Gen said, “At least they chased us and not Gao Chong and the others, or they’d probably have been eaten by now.”
“True enough. Let’s find a place to rest, then look for Chongdi and the others.”
Just then, Gao Gen suddenly stopped, his expression resigned. “You and your big mouth. Looks like we won’t be getting any rest.”
“What is it?” Wang Qian asked, not quite catching on.
Gao Gen pointed ahead. “There’s a monster coming this way. Judging by its aura, it’s another Gold-tier creature.”
“Are you sure you’re not sensing it wrong?”
“No... it’s here!”