Hunting Hour

In the rainforest, a sturdy man in leather armor, his face covered in acne, kept roaring at the tall, thin boy ahead of him, who held a steel pipe.

"That was obviously a Wish Power Creature! It just slipped right past us! Why didn't you stop it? What use am I bringing you along for?!"

Though the burly, acne-faced man was the same age as the tall, thin boy in front of him, his physique was clearly much stronger, showing that he had eaten fairly well growing up.

He wore leather armor similar to Tao Yu's and carried an Assault Rifle. His equipment was obviously far better than that of the tall, thin boy ahead of him, who only had a sharpened steel pipe and ordinary clothes.

Faced with his companion's scolding, the tall, thin boy did not dare argue and merely listened silently from the side.

After venting his frustration with a stream of insults, Liu Wen saw Zhang Wei's honest, unresisting expression and finally calmed down a little.

He had been furious ever since awakening such a terrible talent, and he had merely taken the opportunity to let it out.

For Liu Wen to grow up so sturdy in an environment like the outer city, while also having fairly decent equipment, his family circumstances were actually quite good.

His father possessed the Keen (C) Combat Talent and worked for the Security Team. His older brother and sister also had fairly decent talents, all more or less related to combat.

Yet who would have thought that he himself would awaken the utterly useless Sensitive (D) talent?!

In his eyes, this talent was practically a negative enhancement. It actually amplified all kinds of sensations.

Pain, itching, stuffiness, heat—every sensation would be amplified. In the rainforest, that was simply torture!

And it made the future seem utterly bleak.

It was not that this talent had no career or development paths at all, but most of them involved supporting work such as drug trials and skill testing. The income might not be bad, but the environment would be absolutely awful.

If he did not take such work, then even if he desperately had children, he would probably still have to line up for the Cannon Fodder Sequence by middle age.

Meanwhile, that country bumpkin in front of him, who had neither father nor mother, claimed that he had an Endurance (E+) talent!

Though it was not particularly strong, it at least helped on the combat side. In the future, that guy's physical training efficiency and upper limit would also be somewhat better than those of ordinary people.

Once this Awakening Day ended and they returned, the company would definitely be willing to invest some resources into him. Having no parents might instead become a reason for certain people to recruit him under their command!

As long as he worked hard, he might never enter the Cannon Fodder Sequence for the rest of his life!

Right now, the two of them still followed his lead, yet in the future, his prospects would be worse than the other's. Liu Wen felt bitter and helplessly furious.

If this damned rainforest environment had not required people to look after one another and take turns keeping watch at night, he might truly have been tempted to gun the other guy down.

After all, people dying on Awakening Day was normal, especially when someone had equipment like this.

"What are you standing around for? Chase it! Do you expect me to walk in front?"

Liu Wen snapped at the dazed Zhang Wei. The latter muttered an "Okay" in response, then picked up his steel pipe and slowly headed in the direction where the giant snake had fled.

His parents had both died, and his aunt had raised him as an accessory for accumulating Cannon Fodder weight points. From childhood, Zhang Wei had understood his position and circumstances.

Having never had the chance to learn many skills, he would find it difficult to survive in a rainforest like this without others, especially with abnormal giant pythons like that around.

Though fear filled his heart, he still trembled as he pushed aside the grass and followed the winding snake trail ahead. The cold steel pipe in his hand gave him no sense of security whatsoever.

Fortunately, he had awakened the Endurance (D+) talent, which gave him a considerable boost in stamina. Even though he had no wish power to strengthen himself, that talent alone had significantly improved his physical abilities.

Earlier, he had wanted to show his value without attracting jealousy, so he had reported it as E+.

Yet it seemed he had still provoked this temporary partner. The other man might not have awakened a Combat Talent. Zhang Wei was genuinely afraid that Liu Wen would shoot him from behind.

But in a rainforest environment like this, everyone put survival first. A follower who would obey orders, take risks, and keep watch together at night should still be more valuable alive...

Zhang Wei had never considered finding an opportunity to ambush Liu Wen and loot his belongings. He had never received firearms training, and he knew very few other survival skills. If he truly ended up alone, even with a gun in hand, he would probably be in even greater danger.

Survive!

That was the ultimate goal he had set for himself on Awakening Day!

Now that he had a decent talent, he could sell himself for a good price once he returned. This was merely the darkness before dawn!

He had to endure!

Just then, he noticed that the snake trail ahead seemed to suddenly turn.

It had crushed a patch of branches and leaves, pressing them down as it turned to the side. When he changed direction and continued following the trail, he froze in surprise—the trail ahead had turned again!

Looking at the twisted, broken branches along the way, Zhang Wei followed the marks upward and discovered that its trail climbed all the way up the Giant Tree, then continued toward the rear...

He swallowed and slowly turned around, only to see a snake head the size of a water vat, streaked with blood, silently lowering itself from above.

The enormous coiled snake body resembled a tightly compressed spring, containing terrifying explosive power. It had already appeared several meters behind Liu Wen.

"Watch out! Behind you!"

Zhang Wei cried out a desperate warning, not only to save Liu Wen, but also to save himself!

As he shouted, he let out strange cries and waved the steel pipe in his hand, making all kinds of movements in an attempt to draw the giant python's attention!

He knew very well that the gun in Liu Wen's hands was the greatest weapon against this thing.

If the giant python turned to target him instead, since he was farther away, Liu Wen would have the chance to spray it with bullets and gun it down.

It was not because he possessed some self-sacrificing heroic spirit. He simply had no choice!

Already distracted by the constant itching caused by his Sensitive talent, Liu Wen was jolted alert by Zhang Wei's shout.

After all, he had undergone plenty of targeted training before entering. Before he even turned around, he raised his gun and pulled the trigger.

As sparks flared amid the rapid rat-a-tat-tat, he twisted his body around.

He hoped to scare off any possible attack this way and buy himself a little time!

But since the giant python had deliberately circled around to ambush him, it had clearly identified the greater threat.

At first, it had only approached slowly to remain concealed. Now that it had been discovered, the slightly coiled muscles of its body suddenly exploded, releasing all that compressed power as it launched itself forward.

The huge snake head avoided the gunfire with a sideways bite and swallowed Liu Wen into its mouth in a single snap.

The crunch of shattering bones revealed the giant python's terrifying bite force.

The powerful impact instantly crushed Liu Wen's bones and burst his internal organs.

Normally, an ordinary person would not feel pain from such instantaneous injuries. But Liu Wen possessed the Sensitive talent, and in a final flash of life, he let out a pig-like scream.

The scream seemed to be the giant python's battle song. It opened its jaws again, lightly tossed the rag-doll-like body, then bit down once more with even greater force.

The gunfire and screams came to an abrupt stop. Then the snake's mouth shifted, turning the corpse from sideways to a more easily swallowed position, and it gulped the body down at a speed far beyond that of an ordinary snake.

Normally, snakes had little desire to attack while swallowing prey. They might even spit out their food when faced with danger.

But this giant python was clearly different. As it swallowed Liu Wen's corpse whole, its water-vat-sized head turned toward Zhang Wei, who had charged halfway forward while holding his steel pipe and screaming. It swiftly slithered in his direction.

The sight filled the stiffened Zhang Wei with despair. He could only grip his steel pipe tightly, retreating until his back pressed against a thick tree trunk.

He braced the end of the steel pipe against the trunk, then stared fixedly at the giant python winding toward him.

With Liu Wen dead, he could not outrun it. This giant python was clearly faster and more agile than traditional snakes. A desperate strike now was his final chance!

"Come on, you beast!"

The desire to survive overcame his fear and despair. He had finally awakened the Combat Talent he had dreamed of—he could not die here!

The giant snake began to coil its upper body again, like a compressed spring ready to explode at any moment.

But just then, blood blossoms suddenly erupted one after another from the giant snake's head, while rapid rat-a-tat-tat gunfire rang out from nearby.

The powerful Assault Rifle rounds all struck its head with precision. Many even passed straight through its eyes, nearly instantly rendering the giant python incapable of resistance.

The primitive nervous system of a snake meant that even after its brain had been shot into a sieve, its enormous body still thrashed violently.

Its powerful movements crushed countless branches. When it struck the Giant Tree, so thick that several people would be needed to encircle it, even the massive tree shuddered.

That terrifying explosive force and primal brute strength seemed to proclaim the might of this jungle overlord.

Unfortunately, even a giant snake made of flesh and blood could not survive after its head had been shot into a sieve.

Though its body continued to twitch unconsciously after its head fell to the ground, it should be dead.

"Could I trouble you to check whether it's dead? I'll cover you from behind."

Tao Yu pushed aside the nearby bushes and stepped out, smiling politely at Zhang Wei.

Earlier, he had vaguely heard Liu Wen's scolding. After that, relying on his exceptional eyesight, he had watched coldly from the side for a while.

Because he had previously suffered from a stray trajectory, he had not risked shooting when the giant python attacked Liu Wen. Only after moving into range where he could ensure the bullets would not fly astray did he begin firing.

The result was fairly good.

As for this tall, thin fellow, based on his initial observations, he seemed suitable for forming a short-term temporary team. The man clearly understood his own position and knew how to behave.

He had called out a warning and risked drawing the giant snake's attention, which also showed that he had a very clear understanding of their current situation.

"Th-thank you! Thank you so much! Please cover me..."

Looking at Tao Yu, who had descended like a heavenly soldier and saved him, Zhang Wei's face was filled with excitement.

Having survived, Zhang Wei snapped back to attention at Tao Yu's words. He repeatedly thanked him while forcing his slightly trembling legs toward the giant python.

He poked the giant python's head with the steel pipe, confirming that it was completely dead...