Successfully Slaying Black Bear

Qi Xing said he wouldn't bother with her, and he truly didn't.

The man leaned against the branches, closing his eyes to rest, leaving Jiang Zhaosu glaring on the ground.

The bear had clearly smelled their presence, both hers and Qi Xing's, and was roaring as it charged towards them.

Jiang Zhaosu had initially felt a bit confident with Qi Xing around, but now Qi Xing had thrown in the towel.

Her limbs were stiff, she couldn't climb trees, and she was much slower than the bear. She frantically circled below in distress.

"Help... help..."

Jiang Zhaosu hugged the tree trunk below, pitifully pleading with Qi Xing in the tree for help.

"Fugui, solve it yourself."

Qi Xing said calmly from the tree.

Jiang Zhaosu, enraged by him, pounded the tree trunk a few times.

However, she used too much force, and her palm was instantly scraped by the rough bark, revealing bone. Startled, she quickly and tenderly touched her own skin.

Within a few minutes, the black bear had entered Qi Xing's line of sight.

As the giant bear approached, the foul, pungent smell emanating from it grew stronger. Jiang Zhaosu could clearly see its appearance.

This was a colossal mutated black bear.

Jiang Zhaosu had estimated it to be two meters tall earlier, but she had underestimated it.

This massive bear was larger than a polar bear, standing three meters tall and weighing a thousand pounds. Its charge shook the earth. Every time its paws hit the ground, the fallen leaves and small stones near Jiang Zhaosu trembled.

As it ran, its flesh rippled. Its thick bear claws were larger than Jiang Zhaosu's head, and the nails extending from them were as sharp as scythes.

Jiang Zhaosu's canine teeth and sharp claws were laughable in front of such a huge and ferocious beast, like a child's water pistol against a military sniper rifle.

If Jiang Zhaosu weren't a zombie, she would have wet herself by now from fear.

The black bear stopped about five or six meters away, warily observing the small, thin Jiang Zhaosu on the ground and Qi Xing in the tree.

Fortunately, its interest in Qi Xing was clearly greater than in Jiang Zhaosu, so it didn't immediately attack her.

Jiang Zhaosu had lost all appetite from fear.

Her legs trembled uncontrollably, and she deeply regretted not listening to Qi Xing and leaving with him earlier.

Just then, Qi Xing on the tree moved.

Jiang Zhaosu thought he was finally going to help her and looked up at him with sudden joy.

But Qi Xing merely stretched lazily, shifted his position leaning against the tree, and said to her with a voice hoarse from sleepiness, his tone languid, "Hurry up, Fugui, I'm so sleepy."

Damn.

This bastard.

Not helping was one thing, but he was still teasing her at a time like this.

Jiang Zhaosu's anger flared up again because of Qi Xing. Gritting her teeth, she took out the remaining crystal cores from her pocket and swallowed them.

Seeing the situation, it was either the bear's death or hers.

It was all the same life, so she might as well go all out.

As the crystal core slid down her throat, it instantly turned into a ball of heat, burning in Jiang Zhaosu's lower abdomen.

To psych herself up, Jiang Zhaosu closed her eyes tightly.

For some reason, the moment she closed her eyes, a strange connection appeared in her mind.

In the boundless darkness, there was a group of dark gray dots, squeaking and calling to her.

She tried to respond to these dots.

The dots, receiving her call, rushed towards her.

In the blink of an eye, a swarm of mutated giant rats, as large as geese, appeared like ghosts from all directions, gathering around Jiang Zhaosu.

Jiang Zhaosu, usually timid, felt no fear of these disgusting monsters this time.

When she opened her eyes again, her dark pupils had turned a seductive and terrifying blood-red, and she stared at the black bear before her with cold malice.

A strange clicking sound came from her throat. She had somehow, without any teaching, mastered the language of the mutated giant rats and was communicating with the mutated giant rats beside her.

After swallowing the crystal cores, the burning pain and hunger surged through her like a tide, stimulating Jiang Zhaosu's nerves. She had no time to care about anything else, only wanting to feed.

Kill it!

Kill this black bear! Then everyone will have food!

Just like humans, interspecies conflict was common among mutated species.

Perhaps because Jiang Zhaosu had swallowed too many crystal cores from the mutated giant rats, these rats seemed to regard her as their leader.

Under Jiang Zhaosu's command, the swarm of mutated giant rats, their eyes glowing green and drooling, squeaked and rushed towards the massive black bear.

The black bear let out a bone-chilling roar.

Despite its enormous size, it moved with surprising agility, immediately raising a paw and swatting the first mutated giant rat to its death like swatting a fly.

But the number of mutated giant rats was huge.

One died, and another immediately took its place.

Their slender, dark gray tails swung through the air as the mutated giant rats surged towards the black bear. Once they landed on it, they would cling tightly to its fur with their sharp claws, refusing to let go no matter how much the black bear shook them off, and open their gaping maws to tear at its flesh.

The mutated giant rats' fangs were twenty centimeters long and incredibly hard, sinking deep into the black bear's flesh like steel nails with every bite.

While these wounds weren't fatal, they made the black bear incredibly agitated.

It stood up, constantly swatting at the mutated giant rats on its body with its claws. Once caught, the rats would be brutally torn apart or smashed to death on the ground.

For a time, the forest turned into a slaughterhouse. Squeaking screams echoed through the dead woods filled with the scent of death. Everywhere were the dismembered remains of mutated giant rats, with blood splattering everywhere.

Standing not far from the slaughterhouse, Jiang Zhaosu observed the increasingly frantic black bear with cold eyes. She noticed that despite its rough and violent movements, it was constantly protecting its neck.

Zombies only lost their ability to move when their heads were severed.

Mutated creatures were likely similar.

This black bear wasn't protecting its head, but its neck. Was it injured on the neck, just like she had been earlier?

Jiang Zhaosu controlled the scattered rat swarm, directing them to attack the black bear's neck all at once. As expected, the black bear became even more agitated.

This black bear was very intelligent. Before long, it seemed to realize she was the mastermind behind the mutated giant rat swarm. It roared and charged at her on all fours.

In front of such a colossal monster, Jiang Zhaosu was as weak as a chick. Seeing the black bear charging at her, she was so terrified that she turned and ran.

But how could her two legs outrun its four?

Even as she fled, Jiang Zhaosu continued to control the mutated giant rats to attack the black bear, trying her best to slow it down. However, she was still caught by the monster before long.

As the thick, basin-sized bear paw was about to descend upon her, Jiang Zhaosu's entire body was enveloped in the shadow cast by the paw.

If this paw hit her, the outcome would surely be utter annihilation.

Despair welled up in Jiang Zhaosu's heart, but her body still desperately ran forward, not letting go of even the slightest chance of survival.

At the critical moment, a vine suddenly shot out, wrapping around Jiang Zhaosu's ankle and dragging her out from under the bear paw with lightning speed.

Slam--

The bear paw fell heavily, even leaving a deep crack in the ground.

But Jiang Zhaosu, like a doll on a gourd rack, was hooked by her ankle by the thick vine and dangled safely high in the air, temporarily escaping the black bear's hunting range.

It was Qi Xing!

Qi Xing had come to help her after all!

Jiang Zhaosu, who had felt she was at the end of her rope, looked at Qi Xing standing in a nearby tree, smiling at her, and her hope reignited.

However, she was hanging upside down, and from this perspective, Qi Xing's upturned lips looked incredibly sinister.

Just as she had predicted.

The next second, the vine on her feet suddenly loosened, swinging her right in front of the black bear.

Jiang Zhaosu came face to face with the black bear, right in its massive mouth. She felt its hot, foul breath spray all over her, and she screamed frantically in terror.

The black bear roared in fury, its claws reaching out to tear her apart.

The vine tightened again, and Jiang Zhaosu was once more suspended high in the air, at a height the black bear couldn't possibly reach.

After a few such back-and-forths, the black bear was completely enraged and began to attack the vine.

The vine, after being scratched by the black bear, tensed and swung, flinging Jiang Zhaosu aside.

Dizzy from the swing, Jiang Zhaosu felt the world spin and then fell into a warm, fragrant embrace.

Qi Xing held her from behind, his warm hands gripping hers, and placed a sharp long dagger into her palm.

"You did very well just now."

Jiang Zhaosu heard Qi Xing's laughing voice. Then, the man released her and gave her a gentle push from behind.

Another vine suddenly sprang from the ground, wrapping around her waist and catching her steadily.

Jiang Zhaosu felt as if she had sprouted wings out of nowhere. The vine carried her lightly through the air, and in an instant, she leaped onto the back of the black bear, which was still struggling with the vines and mutated giant rats.

The black bear roared in anger, its claws reaching out to scratch her off.

But during the previous few rounds of teasing, Jiang Zhaosu had already discovered the wound on its right neck.

She stepped on the black bear, raised the long dagger in her hand high, and thrust it with all her might into the crack. Then, she slashed to the left.

Swish--

The wound on the black bear's thick neck rapidly widened, its windpipe being torn open by half. A large amount of hot blood gushed out, splashing onto Jiang Zhaosu's face and body.

Boom.

Amidst the sound of a massive collapse, Jiang Zhaosu, covered in blood, was gently placed on the ground by the vine. Holding the equally blood-stained dagger, she gasped for breath, a mixture of shock and excitement, and looked at the mountain-like giant bear lying motionless before her.

She had done it!

She had actually killed this giant beast!