Enlightened High Rat

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

"Squeak, squeak!"

"Squea—squeak!"

The Gray Rat Knights' cries suddenly rose sharp and shrill. In the blink of an eye, the thicket echoed with the voices of at least dozens of Gray Rat Knights. They squeaked as they spread out from every direction, pursuing and intercepting him!

Wang Wu groaned inwardly. His body still hurt like hell. Although his Self-Healing Talent was rapidly restoring him, running at full speed was like sentencing himself to another execution.

But there was no other way.

Fortunately, even in this pitch-black world, Wang Wu could still see very far. Coupled with his familiarity with the terrain, he easily shook off several Gray Rats' interception at the start.

But as time slowly passed, the Gray Rat Knights' encirclement grew denser and denser.

Wang Wu even suspected that these Gray Rats already knew what he intended to do.

After shaking off two waves of Gray Rat interceptions in one breath, Wang Wu abandoned his plan of reaching the stream and turned toward the southwest, toward the Little Red Birds' territory.

Behind him, more than twenty Gray Rat Knights howled as they steadily closed the distance. The nearest was already less than three meters away.

As long as they came within one meter of him, those Gray Rat Knights could unleash Fang Thrust, their speed abruptly surging as they bit down on him viciously.

Wang Wu was truly desperate now. Ignoring the burns covering his body, he ran for his life. Every second, a notification told him that his Health Points were dropping.

How could there be no price to pay?

Just as he was about to be caught, all the Gray Rat Knights stopped in unison. Wang Wu had finally rushed into the Little Red Birds' territory.

Beneath those several great trees.

The place was deathly quiet. There were no insect chirps, no living creatures, as if it were a land of death.

But Wang Wu truly could not spare it a thought. That mad sprint had sent his Health Points directly into single digits.

He darted behind the trunk of a great tree and forced himself into a silent Stealth state.

The surroundings remained quiet. The Little Red Birds resting in the canopy had not been disturbed, including the Little Red Bird leader. Or perhaps it simply could not be bothered.

After hesitating for a moment, the Gray Rat Knights silently retreated.

They were genuinely terrified of the Little Red Birds.

Only then did Wang Wu finally let out a breath. He had roughly 200 Satiety left, and with his Level 2 Self-Healing Talent, it was enough to restore his Health Points.

But tomorrow morning, he might no longer have a chance to bask in the sun and obtain spiritual energy.

And after this, he could forget about roaming freely through the valley as he had before.

About five hours later, Wang Wu's Satiety had completely fallen to zero, and his Level 2 Self-Healing Talent ended with it. It was a truly miraculous talent, yet his Health Points had only recovered to 70. He was bare all over, like a bald bear.

But at least the burns had healed.

Other than looking uglier, they no longer affected his movements.

Besides that, he had actually gained an additional reward.

"Your Level 2 Self-Healing Talent recorded some characteristics of flame burns. You have gained 1 point of ordinary Fire Resistance (1/10)."

—

Well, damn. So as long as he raised Fire Resistance to 10, he would be immune to damage from ordinary flames?

Wang Wu was shocked, but not overly surprised. Since even ordinary snake venom could develop resistance, having Fire Resistance was only natural. His Ancient Giant Bear bloodline truly was a treasure trove.

For a moment, the Flame Scorpions' standing in his eyes rose from irreconcilable enemies to figures worthy of respect and reverence.

Ah, they were his dear friends, his good neighbors. How could he bear to say even one little bad thing about them?

After settling his emotions, Wang Wu did not dare wait for dawn. He hurriedly slipped away on tiptoe without disturbing the red birds, but he would have to give this place a wide berth from now on.

He entered Level 5 Stealth again in a patch of grass within the shrub forest. This time, he could finally relax and rest. He had only intended to nap for a while, but unexpectedly slept straight through until dawn.

When Wang Wu jolted awake and sprang up, warm, brilliant sunlight had already fallen over the cliff. Golden Three Minutes was nearly at its end!

There was no time to bask in the sun, so he turned and ran toward Berry Plains.

Since he had plenty of time this round, he first drank his fill from the stream and thoroughly washed his whole body, making sure there was not even the faintest burnt smell left.

Only then, amid the loud protests of the Gray Rats guarding the berries, did he gorge himself until his Satiety reached 300. That still was not enough. He picked more than a dozen berries, cradled them in a large leaf, and fled straight across the stream. After slowly circling around a few times, he found a patch of grass and lay low.

Tonight, he would visit his good neighbors and good brothers again to borrow some fire.

The risk was high, but the rewards were equally enormous.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Silver Three Minutes ended, and the returning Gray Rat Knights began their routine search for Wang Wu, conducted twice every day.

At first, Wang Wu did not take it seriously. He treated it like a joke.

Until he saw from afar, on the opposite bank of the stream, a group of Gray Rat Knights surrounding and escorting a White-Haired Rat. Only then did he realize something was wrong.

These guys had actually called in reinforcements?

That White-Haired Rat truly looked like an immortal sage who had attained the Dao. It could stand upright and walk on two feet like a human, with one plump pink paw tucked behind its back while the other stroked a several-centimeter-long white beard.

Though it was very small, amid that crowd of tall Gray Rat Knights, it stood out like a crane among chickens!

It had tremendous presence.

Then the White-Haired Rat began sniffing around. It seemed to find something, then actually located the spot where Wang Wu had just bathed. With a wave of its little paw, a flash of white light passed by, and four or five meters of the flowing stream instantly froze.

Holy shit!

Was that ice magic, or some kind of divine power?

This was a real Sprite!

Wang Wu's heart pounded wildly, and the pressure bore down on him like a mountain. Yet he ultimately chose to remain silent and endure it. He had to have faith in his Level 5 Stealth.

The White-Haired Rat crossed the frozen stream and searched a huge stretch of grass along the bank. At its closest, it came within only five meters of Wang Wu.

But Wang Wu's Level 5 Stealth Talent was ultimately reliable. Or perhaps the White-Haired Rat's cultivation was ultimately just a tiny bit lacking. It failed to discover him.

This rather loud search came to an end.

But Wang Wu had already confirmed that his days would only grow harder from now on. Even an Enlightened High Rat that had stayed out of worldly affairs had come down the mountain to hunt him. He could not underestimate these Sprites' intelligence.

For all he knew, the White-Haired Rat might ambush him in his rock crevice tonight.

The pressure was really mountain-sized.

For a time, Wang Wu could not think of any especially good solution himself.

He could only remain hidden and wait, watching his Satiety plummet. His Level 2 Self-Healing Talent activated automatically, and his Health Points slowly rose.

Whenever his Satiety fell below a certain threshold, he ate a berry to replenish it fully.

Satiety was extremely important. It was tied to his Self-Healing Talent and also to his Stamina.

Before he knew it, an entire day had passed without any unusual accidents.

After hesitating for a long time, Wang Wu finally decided that he would not go borrow fire tonight.

The risk was too great.

He had to proceed slowly and methodically.