There were so many White-headed Wolves, yet not a single Beast General level one among them. Clearly, the powerful wolves in the pack had all been slain by the squad on the mountain. From that, one could infer that the squad's strength was no ordinary thing.
At the very least, they were a Martial Master level squad.
The forest gradually quieted as night fell. Bai Wei and the others weren't attacked by any Monster Beasts, but they slept fitfully. Then, as soon as the sky began to brighten, they had no choice but to get up and head to the mountain to check on the previous day's battle.
Meanwhile, the members of the Dragon Saber Squad had woken up after a good, restful night's sleep. Warm sunlight spilled across the clearing, and everyone was full of energy.
Lu Lin kept thinking about the Monster Cores inside those White-headed Wolves. After breakfast, he suggested that Zhou Shenming take everyone to dig them out. Zhou Shenming didn't know why Lu Lin was so fixated on Monster Cores, but they had already promised to do this. After a brief rest, everyone set off together for yesterday's campsite.
When they saw the carnage, even these veteran Martial Artists couldn't help but feel secretly shaken.
The Monster Beasts the Dragon Saber Squad had killed the previous night amounted to little more than a hundred White-headed Wolves and a few Beast Generals. Yet after a night of fighting, even more Monster Beasts had died here.
More than a dozen of each of these fierce, large Monster Beasts lay dead: Golden Eye Tigers, Crimson Flame Foxes, and leopards. Two of them had also been Beast General level.
There were also Iron Arrow Porcupines, with over forty dead, from the largest to the smallest, all meeting gruesome ends.
And there were Black-tailed Snakes, copper-ringed snakes, iron-clawed eagles, burrowing mice, and many other Monster Beasts.
After looking everything over, they saw that even more Monster Beasts had died fighting over food than had been killed by the Dragon Saber Squad. But only two had been Beast General level: a Golden Eye Tiger and a Crimson Flame Fox that had been mostly eaten.
"Don't just stand around. Let's hurry up, collect the Monster Cores, and get out of here."
"Got it."
Everyone answered. They were all veteran Martial Artists, and collecting Monster Cores was second nature to them.
Lu Lin watched Ren Tian, Huang Li, and the others for a while, and soon learned that Monster Cores were generally located in one of two places.
For smaller Monster Beasts, the Monster Core was in the abdomen. For larger ones, it grew in the head.
That was also why the larger the Monster Beast, the greater its intelligence. The Monster Core was not only the source of a Monster Beast's power; to a certain extent, it also helped awaken its intelligence.
Of course, once a Monster Beast reached a certain size, the Monster Core's effect on its brain gradually leveled off. A mammoth elephant more than ten meters tall and weighing over a hundred tons wouldn't be much smarter than an ordinary White-headed Wolf.
Everyone was busy collecting Monster Cores, and Lu Lin's hands were stained with blood. Just then, Huang Li, who was on watch, suddenly shouted:
"Who's there?"
The shout was like the crack of a starting pistol. Every Martial Artist in the squad immediately dropped what they were holding, grabbed their weapons, and went on alert.
But no one came out.
Huang Li narrowed his eyes slightly, nocked an arrow, and said coldly, "Come out!"
Rustle, rustle.
A young man in a blue Wu'an Bureau uniform cautiously emerged from behind the trees. He took care not to expose himself to Huang Li's line of fire.
"Hey, bro, don't get worked up! We're on the same side!"
Damn it, "on the same side"? Both the Dragon Saber Squad and Bai Wei, hidden behind the trees, were practically driven mad by Xiao Wu's words.
Huang Li lowered his arrow slightly, but didn't let down his guard. With a cold expression, he asked, "Who are you?"
"Bro, we're inspectors from the Dongshan City Wu'an Bureau. Here's my ID."
"We received word yesterday that several Martial Artists had died under suspicious circumstances near Baiyin Mountain, so we came to investigate. We were resting at the foot of the mountain last night when we heard Martial Artists fighting Monster Beasts up here, so we decided to come and take a look this morning."
As Xiao Wu spoke, Bai Wei and Xiao Zeng also emerged from behind the trees. They each took out their identification.
Everyone's gaze lingered for a second when they saw Bai Wei.
Bai Wei was simply too beautiful, as if she weren't a woman of this world, but an Elf stepped out of a fairy tale.
She wore the Wu'an Bureau's deep-blue uniform, but it did nothing to hide her graceful figure.
Her skin was fair, and her snow-white hair lent her an added air of holiness.
"Inspector Bai, hello."
Zhou Shenming stepped forward and gestured for Huang Li to lower his bow. He clearly knew Bai Wei.
"Captain Zhou. I knew the squad that drove off over a hundred White-headed Wolves last night had to be strong. Now that I know it was the Dragon Saber Squad, it all makes sense."
With trust established, the hostility between the two sides faded. Lu Lin glanced over, took no particular interest in Bai Wei or her two subordinates, and continued digging Monster Cores out of the Monster Beasts' bellies.
However,
after chatting for a while, Bai Wei advised, "Captain Zhou, things have been rather dangerous around Baiyin Mountain lately. If your mission isn't urgent, you'd be better off keeping away for a while."
Zhou Shenming shook his head. According to their employer, the Red Moon Earth Bear would give birth in less than a month, and the employer was waiting for them to provide information. How could they simply give up?
Besides, the security deposit for this mission was ten times the reward. Zhou Shenming wasn't about to throw two hundred million away for nothing.
"Inspector Bai, we'll be as careful as we can. Thank you for letting us know." His words made it clear that he was telling them to leave.
Bai Wei understood at once. She sighed. Freelance Martial Artists were like that: unless something major happened, they wouldn't listen to the authorities. They always thought they were strong enough, but when disaster struck, they were the ones who suffered the greatest losses.
"All right. Captain Zhou, everyone, please be careful. Return to Dongshan City as soon as you've completed your mission. We'll take our leave."
After speaking, Bai Wei led her subordinates away.
"Take care. We won't see you out."
Zhou Shenming said coldly. He turned around and saw Lu Lin digging a Monster Core out of a giant snake's belly. He couldn't help laughing in exasperation. "Lu Lin, snake Monster Cores are in a different place from those of other Monster Beasts. They're in the tail."
"You guys just stood there watching Lu Lin and didn't think to remind him?"
Lu Lin looked up, stunned, then glanced around. Ren Tian, Yang Dawei, Yang Xiaowei, and the others were all standing off to the side, snickering. Damn, they'd all done it on purpose.
"Wait!"
Bai Wei had already walked more than a dozen steps away. When she heard the name Lu Lin, she turned around on instinct and followed Zhou Shenming's gaze. A young man stood there, covered in blood, digging a Monster Core out of a giant python Monster Beast's belly.
"Are you Lu Lin?"
Bai Wei asked, then hurried over to him.
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