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墨書 Inktalez
Marching through the Rainforest was difficult. To avoid exposure, the three of them could not use their full Force to hurry along. The momentum of such a display would be too great, easily attracting the attention of Silent City and disturbing Otherworldly Creatures. These creatures might not attack on sight, so it was essential to avoid combat whenever possible.
As the rain began to fall in the afternoon, under the direction of Miss Fortune, they built a makeshift shelter and took some time to eat and replenish their energy. At that moment, an Otherworldly Creature appeared—a massive dog with flowing Force coursing through its body. It slowly approached from one side, and soon both parties noticed each other, entering a standoff.
Miss Fortune whispered, "The Force level is strong, with a fast impact speed and a singular attack method—generally intelligent. Its animal instincts are quite active." Her keen observation allowed her to discern the creature's characteristics from its physical traits.
The dog slowly backed away a few steps, turned sideways, and ran off a short distance, abandoning the standoff. Suddenly, a shadow appeared behind the dog, quickly transforming into a person. This figure shared many similarities with humans—having a head, hands, and body—but with sharp, elongated claws instead of fingers and very little body hair. Silently, it emerged behind the dog, driving its claws into the dog's heart from behind. With a swift pull, it tore the dog's insides apart. The dog let out no sound and died on the spot.
The three of them wiped their cold sweat; they recognized the danger. Those claws were incredibly vicious; even the Lion Dog's dagger could not deliver a fatal blow to a practitioner in one strike. These claws not only had the ability to penetrate protective Force but seemed to disregard it entirely.
"Stealthy assassination," Feng murmured. "A standard assassin."
Cui Ming felt a Fate Card in his heart as he sensed a wave of Force from that assassin. He felt slightly reassured and asked, "Will it come to attack us?"
"Uncertain," Miss Fortune replied as she watched the Otherworldly Assassin tear apart the large dog's hide and flesh. Removing its innards and head, he hoisted part of the body onto his shoulder. Throughout this process, he remained vigilant, watching the three of them from over thirty meters away. Once finished, he turned and retreated into the jungle, disappearing from sight.
Cui Ming said, "This is an intelligent Otherworldly Creature; it realizes we possess reasoning and won’t initiate an attack against it. Therefore, after killing the dog, it has shown no hostility toward us."
"Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any high-intelligence Otherworldly Creatures wanting to ambush us while we are gathered together." However, Force Creatures were another matter entirely. Perhaps they felt their territory was invaded or sensed weakness in them or simply needed food.
"Incorrect inference; there is a creature approaching us from behind at a distance of forty-two meters and moving quickly—thirty meters... twenty-five meters..." Cui Ming turned around and threw a Yellow Card onto the ground covered in dry leaves. A small figure about fifty centimeters tall burst forth from the earth. It held a blow dart in its hand and bore some resemblance to Mi Xiaomo. However, aside from its short stature, its face was dark with striking green eyes.
Since the newcomers were not friendly, there was no need for pleasantries. Miss Fortune swept through the ranks, the wind rushing past her. This creature's force was relatively low, and it was quickly cut through its protective force. It chattered nervously, wanting to flee, but Miss Fortune encircled its escape route, firing both guns. The curse activated, and a bullet pierced the little creature's body. As the wind followed closely behind, she took advantage of its force repairing its serious injuries to sever its head and pierce its heart.
The hunter became the hunted. Cui Ming and the others successfully turned the tables on their prey, but their psychological pressure increased. In the ocean, they mostly dealt with sharks and similar creatures, but in this rainforest, there were countless otherworldly creatures that even Silent City itself could not fully account for.
Cui Ming quickly reminded them, "Stop shooting." According to the Alliance's data, firearms like these were unique to the Eternal Sphere and certain otherworldly planets. Practitioners who used guns were definitely not mages. If the residents of Silent City heard gunfire, they would know someone had infiltrated.
Their physical stamina was severely depleted after days of traveling on foot. None of them had any enhancements related to physical conditioning, so they were quite exhausted; blisters formed on their feet, and they experienced fatigue and mild dehydration. This was a natural bodily response that couldn't be avoided. Practitioners also needed food and water. Due to their lack of experience, their supplies had been soaked by the heavy rain in the rainforest, ruining food that could have lasted much longer.
The three began their survival in the wild. Wind took charge of building a suitable shelter. Given the uncertain situation with otherworldly creatures, they needed to spend one to three days scouting for a path leading to the central area of Silent City. Cui Ming focused on sorting out food, cutting away parts of the cured meat that had become wet. Miss Fortune searched for dry wood to prepare for a fire; finding dry wood in the rainforest was quite challenging, but fortunately, she had rich survival experience.
Cui Ming quickly finished his tasks. Most of their food had been consumed during their journey at sea, leaving them with little remaining. Water was easier to obtain; they could collect rainwater or draw from a nearby small ditch and boil it. Practitioners couldn't resist bacteria in food causing havoc within their bodies.
Cui Ming began mapping out their surroundings. They had come around from the Northern Desert and were familiar with the northern, eastern, and southern seas. Based on Cui Ming's assessment, they were approximately one hundred eighty kilometers from the center of Silent City; one hundred thirty kilometers of that was uninhabited territory while fifty kilometers contained residential areas. According to aerial photos taken by airships, a river served as a boundary between residential areas and regions inhabited by otherworldly creatures; this river was about forty meters wide. One side was rainforest while the other showed clear signs of deforestation and many constructed wooden houses.
Wind proved skilled at setting up camp; he used wood and vines supported by large trees to create a treehouse five meters high, effectively keeping ants and other crawling insects out. He covered the top with large waterproof leaves and built a campfire pit in the center using mud and stones. The ground was covered with thick soft leaf litter, making it very comfortable; Cui Ming and Miss Fortune rated Wind's performance as perfect.
As night fell, wildlife and otherworldly creatures roamed frequently. The three discussed their situation in the five-meter-high treehouse. Cui Ming pulled out his hand-drawn map: "Following this stream will lead us directly to the river. If we control our marching speed, we should reach it in about ten hours. Based on my observations and deductions, I believe there are two types of otherworldly creatures residing in this rainforest: Intelligent Beings and Force Creatures. The number of Intelligent Beings is small; they are less likely to provoke us. Force Creatures are relatively powerful; each has its own territory, so we shouldn't fear them based on strength alone. However, if we enter a territory dominated by Force Creatures, it will lead to fierce battles—even if we win against them, we might still be discovered by residents of Silent City."
Cui Ming placed aerial photos near the campfire and said, "Look here; the wooden houses are arranged in three sections forming a triangle. After crossing the river, we need to infiltrate from the center using the rainforest as cover to pass through residential areas into the mountains. Before that, we need to accomplish one crucial task: capture a live specimen. There are two potential sources for live specimens: one is from Intelligent Beings among otherworldly creatures—an advantage being that fighting in the rainforest poses lower exposure risks; however, there's uncertainty about how much they know. The second source is residents; we can hide in the rainforest south of the great river since I believe residents will be active near it—if we're patient enough, we can catch a straggler. The advantage is that residents will certainly know about Silent City's internal workings; however, if we happen to capture a madman instead, it would be pointless—and we must act swiftly because if he raises an alarm, we'll be in serious trouble."
Miss Fortune decisively stated, "Let's first capture an Intelligent Being among otherworldly creatures; if that yields no results, we'll set up camp here and ambush any straggling residents."
"Wise decision from Miss Fortune," Cui Ming praised her but then added hastily as he noticed her reaching for her weapon: "Let's continue discussing our main objective. Our goal is to find Sadin; current surface intelligence indicates that Sadin would definitely be willing to help Zhir kill Mage because Sadin senses Mage's evilness and threat. However, we must not expose our other plans since Sadin is still a colleague of the prophet—everyone is an elder here—and if they find out we're trying to deceive him... something is approaching."
Miss Fortune immediately turned left and right, on guard. Cui Ming said, "Fifty meters to the north. Given its speed, it should be Intelligent Beings. We should be careful not to alert it."
Miss Fortune pushed aside the curtain of palm tree coconuts and whispered, "It's a turtle, roughly the size of a Yorkian, with green glowing eyes and spikes all over its shell. Its Force level is very high. It has spotted me; I'm backing away slowly."
"From its movements, it seems to be Intelligent Beings," Cui Ming remarked. "But if Intelligent Beings knows there are three of us, why would it approach? Unless it has absolute confidence and is quite hostile towards us, like that assassin." Cui Ming could sense a certain hostility from the assassin.
Miss Fortune returned and settled down, casually pointing her gun at Cui Ming. "You say," she prompted.
Cui Ming replied, "No rush. Let's observe tonight. If it approaches us again, tomorrow morning we’ll leave Wind at the camp while we create a false impression of leaving. For whatever reason, it will interact with Wind. If it's intelligent enough, it will test the waters. We need to leave together two or even three times in a predictable manner for it to believe Wind is alone."
Miss Fortune nodded decisively. "It's settled then. Cui Ming, you rest while I take the first half of the night watch. Wind will take the second half."
Wind complained, "Why does he get to rest?"
"His stamina is the weakest."
"That's nonsense." Cui Ming flexed his arm, "Feel my bicep."
Miss Fortune remained silent but flexed her own arm with force, causing the inner layer of her shirt to rip apart...
"Whatever, just wash up and sleep. Having strength isn't everything. As a cultivator, physical strength is the least important; the power from Force far exceeds mere muscle." Seeing Cui Ming angrily lie down on his side, Miss Fortune smiled triumphantly, leaning against the treehouse as she began to practice observing the external situation. (To be continued.)
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