Blood Orchid

Dim light filtered down through the branches and leaves.

After several hours of travel, dusk had now settled in.

The rainforest had grown rather gloomy. Before long, it would be completely dark.

"It's just ahead, in a valley. I picked a good spot, so we can wear them down from a distance first."

Winuo took several grenade-like devices from his belt.

Given his physical abilities, these explosives were absolutely devastating when thrown, and made for a pretty good ranged attack.

"Whoa, that shouldn't be hard. We've got decent firepower at range."

Yosef looked completely relaxed. He hadn't been too concerned about the giant snakes; he already had a good idea of what they were capable of, and they weren't much of a threat to him. He turned back amiably to Tao Yu, who owed him money, and said,

"Tao, your eyesight's still good at night, right?"

"Yeah. Night doesn't really affect me. I can keep watch later."

Tao Yu replied while keeping an eye on their surroundings.

He hadn't noticed anything approaching yet, but there was a vague sense of unease in the air, as if something were watching their group from the shadows.

Knowing how troublesome the aliens were, and worried that the two Inner City men might be killed in a sneak attack before they could even draw fire, Tao Yu still gave them a warning.

"I haven't noticed anything, but something feels off. I don't know if my target practice earlier attracted something. Everyone, keep your eyes open."

"Relax. Who wouldn't be careful in a place where a giant snake could show up at any moment?"

Li Le, beside Tao Yu, smiled.

"Yeah, my shooting's already at level two. Even if Winuo charges ahead, I'm confident I won't hit him by mistake."

"Good. Still, I hope we can keep them from getting close at all. This thing's pretty strong."

Winuo's attention was already fixed on the way ahead, and he was on high alert.

Just then, the rainforest ahead thinned out dramatically, opening up their view and revealing the edge of a cliff—the valley Winuo had mentioned.

Even before they got close, everyone could smell a foul, fishy stench. It grew stronger as they approached.

The cliff's edge was covered in bluish-green rocks, like granite, with moss growing all over them.

Many of the uneven rocks bore obvious scrape marks, and the moss on them seemed to have been rubbed away. Nearby, they could also see a few palm-sized scales.

It looked like the place where the giant snakes scraped against the rocks while shedding their skin.

The valley lay below the cliff. Its slope was quite steep, but someone could still climb down slowly with care. It was nearly a hundred meters wide, and across it stood a forested slope that was even steeper, almost vertical, though lower than the one on their side.

A stream ran out along the valley.

As they drew closer, the setting sun shone into the valley, revealing what lay inside.

At the bottom of the valley, dozens of meters below, two or three dozen giant pythons were tangled together in a pool, coiled into one enormous ball of snakes!

The pythons were already terrifyingly huge on their own. Seeing them all twisted together made for a truly shocking sight.

The slick snakes were tangled around each other, an utterly sickening scene that combined the dread of swarming things with the fear of enormous creatures.

The sight of these savage beasts seemed to excite Winuo.

"There are even more than I saw last time. Ha! Taking them all out should be enough."

At first, he'd worried there wouldn't be enough of them. Now it seemed that concern had been completely unnecessary.

Tao Yu, meanwhile, was bent over, carefully examining the valley walls.

It didn't take long for his sharp eyes to spot a kind of striking red flower. In the setting sun, the brilliant blossoms looked like burning flames. Even an ordinary person would have easily noticed them.

But everyone was focused on the giant pythons, and no one was looking at the Blood Orchids.

"Shall we start?"

Tao Yu raised his rifle without keeping his eyes fixed on the Blood Orchids.

At the moment, they were planning to kill the snakes from a distance, so there was little chance they could get close to the Blood Orchids. And as long as they didn't touch them, they wouldn't know these were Wish Power items.

That meant he had a chance to keep them all for himself.

They'd just run out of Serpent Meat, so more than half the space in his backpack was empty.

"Don't shoot yet. Yosef and I will start."

Winuo gave a calm reminder, then glanced at Yosef.

"I'll throw the explosives first. You take shots as the situation calls for it. Everyone else, wait until Yosef opens fire before you shoot. I'll stop the first ones that get close."

It was a simple plan. They hadn't trained together, after all, and anything too complicated would be useless.

"You two, since your aim's better, focus on their heads," Yosef reminded Tao Yu and Li Le.

"Understood."

"Get ready. I'm starting."

Winuo's grenades seemed to let him set their detonation timers by twisting them.

With his exceptional arm strength, he threw seven or eight grenades in quick succession toward the huge ball of snakes.

Tao Yu could even see the grenades bouncing off the snakes.

The little objects landing on them did nothing to interrupt the pythons' writhing knot.

But the next moment, several huge bursts of flame flashed almost simultaneously!

Winuo's high-explosive grenades were far more powerful than the one fragmentation grenade Tao Yu still had. In an instant, they blew apart the tightly coiled mass of snakes.

Several giant pythons were torn to pieces, their flesh and blood flying everywhere!

Packed together so densely, the pythons took tremendous damage, allowing the grenades to inflict the maximum possible carnage.

But because they were all coiled together, some of the pythons inside escaped without much harm.

Taken by surprise at such a terrible attack, even the pythons—creatures not known for roaring—let out one shrill hiss after another.

Anyone could feel their fury, even without understanding snake language.

As the absolute rulers of the jungle, when had they ever suffered such humiliation?

Boom!

Yosef's shoulder-mounted cannon fired, blowing a giant python's head apart in an instant!

Its accuracy and power were far beyond those of a rifle.

Tao Yu, who had been watching from the side, could tell from the flames bursting out behind the cannon that it was probably designed as a recoilless weapon.

But it still used gunpowder ammunition, and both the rounds and their supply were probably limited. The ammunition was most likely in the box on Yosef's back. Still, with accuracy like that, it probably had some kind of fire-control system.

Looking closer, Tao Yu could see what seemed to be numbers flashing in Yosef's otherwise normal-looking pupils.

A brain-computer connection, iris data—impressive...

Yosef's shot killed one giant python instantly, but it also showed the others that were still able to move where their enemies were.

With bloodlust clouding their minds, the pythons didn't even consider fleeing. One after another, they began climbing toward them.

Water splashed below as the snakes angrily flung rocks out of their way. Even the people standing on the cliff edge could feel the ground tremble.

The noise came from the massive creatures rapidly closing in.

A single giant python was enough to create a tremendous sense of oppression. With more than twenty still alive, the sight was downright terrifying.

Several of the wounded pythons were covered in blood, still shedding flesh and gore as they moved, yet they were even faster than the others!

Now Tao Yu, Li Le, and Zhang Wei opened fire with their Assault Rifles at the same time.

Zhang Wei wasn't a good shot, but with prey this huge, he could practically hit it with his eyes closed. He just couldn't make sure he hit the head.

Tao Yu and Li Le, on the other hand, fired precise shots.

Tao Yu only used his keen eyesight to deliver an ordinary level of shooting. He didn't spend any mental energy correcting his aim.

Even so, his ranged precision was no worse than Li Le's, despite Li Le having more skills. Against moving targets, Tao Yu even had a greater advantage, and his number of kills was second only to Yosef's.

As one giant python after another took a bullet to the head, soon only five remained!

But even those five had come within ten meters!

"I'll handle the closest one. You take the others."

Winuo crouched slightly. The armor over his legs visibly bulged, and he hurtled toward the nearest giant python like a cannonball, armor and all.

He moved so fast that the force of his charge kicked up a gust of wind. Even with all that armor, he had clearly surpassed the limits of human speed!

He swung the double-headed axe in his hands down at the nearest python.

The python was remarkably nimble and raised its head to avoid being struck somewhere vital, but Winuo's blow still carved a wound nearly deep enough to cleave it in two. Blood sprayed everywhere, vividly displaying Winuo's brutal fighting style.

Ranged combat was simpler to coordinate than close combat, since there were no obstacles caused by the terrain.

Once Winuo had chosen his target, the others were able to divide up the rest with ease.

Tao Yu kept firing steadily at the head of one python, then changed magazines.

Li Le finished off his target, while Yosef took care of the other two.

By then, Winuo had bought them enough time. He stopped pushing himself and quickly retreated after one of the pythons lunged at him.

The python he'd nearly cleaved in two with his axe angrily slammed into Winuo, but was too weak to pursue him. In the end, it fell under the group's gunfire.

"Ugh, tch. That beast's got some serious strength."

After being knocked aside, Winuo slid a good distance along the ground before coming to a stop, a clear testament to the python's strength.

Though he'd only fought one python briefly, his voice still came with a touch of breathlessness.

The giant snakes had size on their side. Even if Winuo could beat one in close combat, it would take a lot out of him. So he held it off for a moment, then backed away to let the guns finish it off more easily.

They'd wrapped up the fight in a minute. It might have looked easy, but if Winuo had come alone without calling for help, he would surely have ended up in trouble...

"Right. Go down in sequence and make sure they're all dead. Don't touch the snake fangs. I'll take care of those myself."

Snakes had a way of staying alive even after they seemed dead, so it was perfectly possible that some were still alive down there.

The one that had rammed Winuo at the end had already demonstrated how terrifying these giant beasts could be. They naturally weren't going to risk their necks by poking around in the undergrowth!

Wasn't that what cannon fodder was for?

Sending cannon fodder blindly into a battle line was a very inefficient waste. This kind of probing to check for traps was the best use of them.

"Sure. But you two, be careful. There seems to be something in the forest."

Tao Yu meekly accepted the arrangement. Even though he was near the end of the order, he was the first to step forward, stopping on a small raised rock platform.

He planted himself on the patch where the Blood Orchids grew, taking up the spot so the others would have to find somewhere else to land when they climbed down. At the same time, Tao Yu looked back at the rainforest, which had grown darker as the sun sank.

This time, he really saw something moving among the trees. It was keeping well hidden, making almost no sound!

It wasn't that whatever was lurking in the shadows had just happened to show up. It was quite possible they'd been watching the situation all along, their cunning nature making them wait for the right moment.

Even during the fiercest part of the fight, the few cannon fodder who hadn't opened fire had all been standing next to the Inner City big shots, clustered together.

But now, they were spreading out on their own!

That was how Tao Yu managed to catch sight of them drawing closer.

The protagonists had arrived. After warning the two targets to stay alert, Tao Yu changed magazines, then brazenly swept the Blood Orchids on the platform into his backpack.

He'd been picking plants along the way, and even gotten water from them. His blatant behavior wasn't unusual enough to make anyone say anything.

If everything went normally, they might have asked to take a look afterward.

But now, they probably wouldn't get the chance...

Blood Orchid: Wish Power item. A plant that stimulates cell division. It can slightly raise the upper limit of cell division, slightly raise the upper limit of physical potential, and slightly increase physique.

If you don't need its effects, you can absorb it directly as Wish Power, converting each flower into ninety to one hundred units.

Though each of its effects was only "slight," the Blood Orchid was undoubtedly a valuable item!

Even if he absorbed them purely for their Wish Power, the thirty-plus flowers he'd collected were worth at least three thousand. If he took them out and sold them, the price would surely be several times higher!

After putting away the largest cluster of Blood Orchids, Tao Yu strode openly toward the other scattered blossoms.

The movement in the forest had already caught Winuo's and Yosef's attention, and both had begun looking up. Tao Yu no longer needed to hide what he was doing!

The alien big shots were on their way. He had to grab whatever he could!

If people found out, so be it. He couldn't let fear of choking stop him from eating!

"Here, let me help."

Li Le was also standing midway down the slope, waiting for Walter and the others to scout the way first. When he saw Tao Yu suddenly head outside to pick those dazzling red flowers, his heart stirred.

He offered to help, but hurried toward the nearest Blood Orchid as fast as he could and picked it for himself.

At the same time, Tao Yu gave up on the last few Blood Orchids, hoisted his backpack, and darted down the valley.

As he moved, he began stuffing handfuls of the Blood Orchids he hadn't managed to put in his backpack into his mouth. Then he stirred up his qi and blood, gathered his strength, leaped, and slipped into the shadows beside him.

Like ink spreading through water, he vanished in an instant...

Li Le had just recovered from his shock at seeing the Blood Orchid's properties.

It actually had such powerful effects!

Compared to Tao Yu, he understood the value of this thing even better!

Every effect was only slight, but it raised exactly the right attributes. People who'd hit a bottleneck would never hesitate to spend their Wish Power on this. And on top of that, it seemed to offer a slight extension to one's lifespan?!

Even if a single flower didn't extend life by much, its price would at least increase tenfold, maybe even dozens of times!

It might even be impossible to buy at any price!

Greed filled Li Le's eyes.

Who could have guessed that the best thing here wasn't one of the giant pythons? And the two Inner City men didn't know about it either. There was still room to make a move!

Damn it. That bumpkin had taken too many. He'd seen the properties—didn't he worry they'd overwhelm him?

The enormous temptation made Li Le's eyes redden. He raised his head, looking around for Tao Yu.

But soon, his expression froze. Where was he?

Where had the man with the huge backpack gone? How had he vanished in the blink of an eye?!

While anxiously searching for Tao Yu, Li Le hurried toward the last few scattered Blood Orchids.

He couldn't let anyone else find out!

That way, he could still keep them under control...