Dangerous Woman

After escaping the battlefield, Bigge quickly found a water source, relying on his memories of the abilities he had acquired through long-term training.

It was a small stream, less than two meters wide at its widest point. The water was shallow, less than fifty centimeters deep, and very clear.

Typically, a location with water means there is food, but it also means there are hunters.

Bigge cautiously observed from a large tree for a while, but found no one else. He then climbed down from the tree and quickly ran towards the stream.

After eating the Corpse Eating Black Beetle, he had a foul smell in his mouth. The first thing he did when he scooped up some stream water was not to drink it, but to rinse his mouth.

After rinsing his mouth several times, the unpleasant smell only lessened slightly, but didn't completely disappear. Bigge knew that only toiletries could remove the smell, so he stopped rinsing and instead swallowed the water in his mouth. The stream water was slightly cool and tasted a little sweet, so he couldn't help but take several large gulps.

Looking at his reflection in the stream, covered in blood, he simply stripped naked, scooped up some water, and took a bath, washing his clothes as well.

After a few minutes of showering, he put his wrung-out clothes back on. The clothes were still damp and clung to his skin, but he could only wait for them to air dry.

After showering, Bigge found a large tree near the stream and climbed it again. Although dangerous, it provided essential water for survival. There were no large fish in the stream, but some finger-sized fish that could be used as food—much better than Corpse Eating Black Beetle. His plan was to wait patiently there, avoiding conflict with others as much as possible.

Not long after Bigge climbed the tree, someone walked towards the stream. It was a thin man who looked to be around thirty years old. He looked around and, not finding anyone else, then walked towards the stream.

As the man squatted down to drink water, he heard footsteps coming from the forest. He immediately rolled over and landed in the grass a short distance away, crouching low and staring intently at the source of the sound.

Bigge observed everything from his vantage point, clearly seeing a woman approaching the stream. She appeared to be around twenty years old and quite pretty, but her expressionless, poker-faced demeanor significantly lowered her appeal. While her face didn't explicitly say "Keep Out," it was close. Of course, in this environment, everyone was an enemy, so such an expression was understandable.

The woman was carrying a package on her back, which was actually a piece of clothing, and judging from the appearance of the clothing's owner, she was probably quite large. The package was stained with bright red blood, clearly indicating that this "package" was her spoils of war.

"In this environment, there can only be one thing in the package: food!" As this thought crossed Bigge's mind, the man in the bushes had the same thought.

"She's carrying a bundle in a place like this; there must be food inside. Kill this woman, take her bundle, and we'll have food."

The woman seemed completely oblivious, walking straight towards the stream without even stopping to check if anyone was lying in ambush nearby.

Reaching the stream, she scooped up a handful of water and had just taken her first sip when the thin man hiding in the nearby bushes moved.

His longsword shot out like a sharp beam, aiming straight for the woman's neck.

But an unbelievable thing happened soon after. The woman suddenly vanished from his sight, and in the next instant, he felt a chill on his neck, followed by a gushing liquid. He reached down to his neck, and thick, red blood instantly stained his palm. He then realized that in that instant, the woman had severed his carotid artery.

This scene startled Bigge, who was watching from a distance. The woman's speed had already surpassed the limits of First Order Gene Body. He could only barely make out the woman's movements and recognize that, like the gaunt man, she was using a longsword.

"You have too many flaws. First, I sensed your killing intent the moment I stepped out of the forest. Second, your all-black clothes are too conspicuous in the green grass. Third, your swordsmanship is terrible; you lack both strength and speed." The woman stood in front of the thin man, commenting on him expressionlessly, then looked him up and down. "Unfortunately, you're too thin; I'll just have to accept your legs."

As soon as she finished speaking, she slashed with her sword, severing the gaunt man's thighs. But he was still alive, his face filled with hatred as he looked at the woman.

The woman chopped off both feet and threw them into the stream. Then, with two swift strokes of her sword, she ripped open the pants covering the skinny man's severed thighs, folded the thighs up, and tossed them into a nearby bundle. Seeing that the skinny man was still alive, she rummaged through the bundle and pulled out a hand—the hand of the burly man Bigge had killed earlier. "Look closely," she said, "This is a real man's hand. I wouldn't even eat yours, even if you gave them to me."

The skinny man only realized at this moment that the package contained the flesh of other dead people. Bigge was squatting on the big tree, also frowned slightly. In fact, he had expected that the package might contain human flesh, but seeing it still made him very uncomfortable.

With his major artery severed, the thin man did not survive for long before dying.

But the poker-faced woman didn't leave immediately. Instead, she found an open space, gathered some dry grass and twigs, piled them up, and lit a fire. Then, she took out a thick thigh from her pack, shaved off the hair with her longsword, washed it in the stream, shaved it with a sharp twig, skewered it, and roasted it over the fire.

Soon, the aroma of meat filled the air.

The aroma made Bigge even hungrier. And indeed, roasted human meat produced a similar aroma to roasted other edible meats.

This woman's blatant grilling of meat here was enough to prove her confidence in her abilities. Bigge, on the other hand, was indeed wary of her swordsmanship. He could only hope she would finish eating and leave as soon as possible.

But things don't always go as people imagine.

After the woman finished roasting the meat, she didn't eat it immediately. Instead, she smothered the fire, then shouldered her pack and climbed a large tree near a stream. It seemed she wasn't planning to leave anytime soon.

With such a dangerous person by his side, Bigge was genuinely a little uneasy. Besides, this poker-faced woman's reckless actions would inevitably draw others here, and he would inevitably be caught in the crossfire.

Considering these issues, Bigge decided to find a safer spot, but not now. Although the woman couldn't see him now, once he climbed down the tree, he would become an obvious target. He could only patiently wait for the next group to arrive and for the woman to make her move again. Bigge was also quite certain that the campfire would soon attract others, allowing him to escape in the chaos.

The poker-faced woman's hiding place wasn't particularly well-hidden; Bigge could easily see her if he peeked out. She was sitting on a tree trunk, happily munching on a roasted thigh. Although she maintained her poker expression, Bigge could tell she was enjoying her meal and didn't seem to care about being discovered.

Bigge's prediction was correct. Less than five minutes after the poker-faced woman climbed the tree, people began heading in that direction, and there was more than one. Bigge knew that those who chose to take the initiative were usually quite strong. But that poker-faced woman was definitely one of the best among these ten thousand. If nothing unexpected happened, these people would soon all become her food.

The first to arrive at the scene was a man with a full black Big Beard. His plaid shirt was half-open, revealing a hairy chest with three long Scarface, giving him a fierce look. A long knife was slung at his right hip, and his right hand rested casually on the hilt, indicating he was a skilled swordsman. He also appeared very vigilant at the moment.

Walking to the campfire, he found that the extinguished fire was still smoldering. He reached out and touched the fire; it was still warm. He quickly realized that the person who had lit the fire had not gone far.

He looked around and quickly found the limbless body in the grass near the campfire. He crouched down to examine the body. "There was only one fatal wound: the carotid artery in the neck was severed, leading to blood loss. The cuts on the legs were very clean; clearly, both legs were severed in a single cut. It seems this opponent was truly formidable."

Just as he made this judgment, a second and a third person emerged from the forest almost simultaneously. One was an obese middle-aged man, and the other was a boy who looked to be about the same age as Gu Ding.

The two exchanged a glance, looking at each other warily, but did not immediately make a move.

The two of them also noticed the Big Beard's presence.

"Hey, you're the one who lit the campfire earlier, right? You've got Big Beard," the fat man shouted at the bearded man.

"I just got here too, a minute earlier than you." The Big Beard gave a negative answer. Although he knew that this battle was unavoidable, he didn't like being framed.

"He's right, I lit the campfire." Suddenly, a woman's voice came from not far away, drawing everyone's attention. (To be continued.)