Beauty by your side? Water source!

Are there monsters in the mountains? Was that the only one just now?

If it was just the one from earlier, then following Brother Hui and the others would be fine. However, due to what happened before, the quiet girl had already developed a grudge. Since that was the case, following Lin Chen would allow her to leave just the same.

Moreover, if there was more than just that one monster, Lin Chen, who could easily kill monsters, would undoubtedly provide more security. If she followed Brother Hui and the others, they would also be doomed if they encountered another monster.

Therefore, whether from a rational or emotional perspective, following Lin Chen would be safer!

"Follow you?" Lin Chen raised an eyebrow. To be honest, he didn't want to be followed, especially by a normal person, a girl.

He came to Fire Forest Mountain for the exotic beasts. Bringing a girl along would delay his acquisition of the origin, wouldn't it?

"I have a mission to Fire Forest Mountain this time, and it's for these exotic beasts," Lin Chen glanced at the quiet girl and said calmly, "I won't compromise for you!"

"It's okay, I can manage!" The quiet girl said with a determined look.

Seeing the girl's determined expression, Lin Chen sighed inwardly. Brother Hui and the other two had already left. He couldn't just abandon the quiet girl in front of him, or she might become food for the strange beasts.

Furthermore, Lin Chen had just witnessed the quiet girl being betrayed by her companions. He felt some sympathy for her; she had saved people, only to be betrayed by them.

Buzz~

Lin Chen activated the Blood Qi True Flame within his body. With a movement of his hand, a stream of Blood Qi True Flame landed on the monster's body, turning it into ashes.

The quiet girl's face was filled with disbelief as she saw this, muttering, "A spell?"

"Just martial arts!" Lin Chen shook his head.

While spells did exist in the cultivation world, Lin Chen practiced the Martial Way, not spells!

"Does martial arts really exist in this world?" The quiet girl looked curious.

Lin Chen glanced at the quiet girl and said calmly, "Of course. You've seen it with your own eyes. If 异兽 exist, what's so strange about martial arts?"

"Can I learn it?" The quiet girl looked at Lin Chen.

"No!"

Lin Chen shook his head. He had obtained his abilities through System enhancements. He didn't even know how to cultivate himself, let alone teach others.

"Let's go, keep up!"

Lin Chen glanced at the quiet girl and then headed deeper into Fire Forest Mountain. The quiet girl beside him quickly followed.

Through their conversation along the way, Lin Chen learned that the girl's name was Huang Qian, and she was from Qingzhou University. That's right, she was actually Lin Chen's classmate.

The other men and women were also students from Qingzhou University. They were nearing graduation and had organized this hiking trip, but they hadn't expected an accident.

Although Lin Chen said he wouldn't compromise for Huang Qian, she was just a normal person, and she significantly slowed down Lin Chen's exploration speed.

Helpless, Lin Chen had to ask Huang Qian in front of him, "After you entered Fire Forest Mountain, did you discover any special places?"

Searching Fire Forest Mountain at his current speed would take an unknown amount of time. According to Huang Qian, they had entered Fire Forest Mountain early in the morning, quite a bit earlier than Lin Chen. Perhaps Huang Qian would know something.

"Special places?"

Huang Qian's eyebrows twitched slightly, and then she shook her head, "No!"

"Wait!" Suddenly, Huang Qian seemed to remember something and looked at Lin Chen, "There was an unusual place, but I don't know if it's what you'd call 'special'."

"Tell me!" Lin Chen said with a hint of anticipation.

"It was the stream we were at before," Huang Qian looked at Lin Chen.

"The stream?"

Lin Chen was taken aback. He looked at Huang Qian in front of him and frowned, "What was special about that stream?"

"Actually, we followed the stream all the way to where we were," Huang Qian looked at Lin Chen and continued, "There were some simple paths along the stream, probably made by people who climbed the mountain before."

"Legend has it that Fire Forest Mountain only has that one stream. Whether it's people or animals, I think they all need a water source, right?" Huang Qian said uncertainly.

"Water source!"

Lin Chen's eyes lit up. Both humans and exotic beasts needed a water source.

Even with his current strength and methods, not drinking or eating for extended periods would affect his body. Not to mention the exotic beasts, who were weaker and had greater food needs.

According to the Demon Suppression Division, there was more than one monstrous beast gathered in Fire Forest Mountain this time. With so many monstrous beasts gathered together, food and water sources were a problem that had to be solved.

The stream was the only water source in Fire Forest Mountain. Therefore, the monsters gathered in Fire Forest Mountain would definitely not stray too far from the water source. This could be seen from the attack by the mutated wild boar on Huang Qian's group earlier.

The mutated wild boar might not have discovered Huang Qian and the others. It was likely just heading to the stream to drink water and only attacked them when it discovered them.

Otherwise, if it had discovered Huang Qian and the others earlier, it might not have been just one monstrous beast attacking them, but multiple monstrous beasts. After all, wild boars were semi-social animals.

Lin Chen looked at Huang Qian and smiled, "You're really smart. If I find the alien beast this time, I'll thank you properly when we get back!"

"You're welcome. I just thought of it by chance. Besides, you saved my life, so I should be the one thanking you for guessing correctly," Huang Qian repeatedly shook her head.

Seeing this, Lin Chen didn't say anything more. He took Huang Qian back to the stream and then followed it deeper into Fire Forest Mountain. As Huang Qian had said, there were simple paths left by climbers along the stream.

These paths made no difference to Lin Chen, but for Huang Qian, it was much easier than following Lin Chen through the dense forests.

Even so, it was still much slower than Lin Chen traveling alone. It got dark early in the mountains. Seeing the sky darken, Lin Chen had no choice but to find a clearing by the stream to set up camp temporarily with Huang Qian.

After Lin Chen started the fire, he said to Huang Qian, "Don't wander around here. I'm going to look around!"

Whoosh~

Lin Chen immediately took off, observing from the high points around him. Unfortunately, the sky had already begun to darken, and he found nothing.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~

Accompanied by two sharp whistling sounds, two rabbits drinking by the stream fell to the ground. The one who made the shot was none other than Lin Chen.

Lin Chen didn't know if the mutated wild boar was edible, but the rabbits in front of him definitely were!

Looking at the golden-brown roasted rabbit, Lin Chen tasted a piece, but immediately felt nauseous and spat it out. "This is so bad! It looked so delicious in movies and TV shows?"

"That's all lies. Without salt or spices, how could it possibly taste good?" Huang Qian chuckled beside him, then handed the food she had prepared to Lin Chen. "Eat mine."

Originally, Huang Qian wanted to share her food with Lin Chen, but Lin Chen insisted on roasting the rabbit himself, which led to the scene just now. Seeing the food Huang Qian handed over, Lin Chen didn't stand on ceremony this time.