Snake Eggs

Watching Zhu Ping'an charge without hesitation at the Fire Cicada Snake King, Leng Tianjiao's gaze turned somewhat complicated.

In truth, she had wanted to tell Zhu Ping'an that she had an expert protecting her in secret. As the only daughter of the Leng Family's head, how could the Leng Family truly let her leave the city for training alone? Even if Zhu Ping'an hadn't acted just now, the Leng Family's expert would have stepped in.

But this youth before her—was he really not afraid of death?

Relying on Chuyi's sharpness, Zhu Ping'an managed to slash a gash across the female Fire Cicada Snake King's face, disfiguring it.

Yet the only effect of this wound was to thoroughly enrage the Fire Cicada Snake King. With a violent swing of its tail, it sent Zhu Ping'an flying.

"Pfft!"

Zhu Ping'an spat out a mouthful of blood, dropping to one knee, barely staying upright by bracing himself with his longsword against the ground.

When he saw Leng Tianjiao standing frozen in place, his anger flared, and he roared directly.

"Run! What are you standing there for!"

Leng Tianjiao's heart trembled sharply. Even wounded like this, he was still worried about her safety?

Leng Tianjiao raised her beautiful eyes, and the look she fixed on the Fire Cicada Snake King was already filled with killing intent.

"Uncle Wen, I'll trouble you."

"Understood, Miss."

An aged voice came from somewhere unknown, and a blade's light transformed into a cold gleam, tearing downward.

The female Fire Cicada Snake King didn't even have time to react before a white line appeared on its body.

The next second, the Fire Cicada Snake King split open from the middle, cleaved in two, its foul-smelling innards scattering across the ground along with its blood.

On the other side, Gu Xuan, in a fury, hammered his fists like heavy mallets. Even at the cost of injury, he pounded the male Fire Cicada Snake King into a pile of mushy flesh.

"Thank you for your help, senior." Gu Xuan clasped his hands toward the empty air.

Seeing this, Zhu Ping'an's face wore a perfectly timed expression of stunned surprise, followed by a bitter smile.

"Sorry, classmate Leng. I didn't know you had protection. I was meddling."

Zhu Ping'an struggled to his feet, staggering toward Gu Xuan's direction. But his injuries seemed severe; after just two steps, he collapsed like a mountain toppling and a pillar falling.

Leng Tianjiao hurried forward to catch him, her gaze complicated.

"Zhu Ping'an, why did you risk your life to save me just now?"

Zhu Ping'an's expression was calm as he pushed away Leng Tianjiao's supporting hand.

"Classmate Leng, you misunderstand. I, Zhu Ping'an, just don't have the habit of hiding behind a woman. Even if it were someone else here, I, Zhu Ping'an, would still act."

Watching Zhu Ping'an's stubborn back, Leng Tianjiao suddenly felt an indescribable, inexplicable emotion in her heart.

"Don't you know you were no match for the Fire Cicada Snake King?"

Zhu Ping'an's figure paused slightly.

"So what?"

Zhu Ping'an recalled the content from his textbooks.

"As early as 500,000 years ago, we humans relied on spears and traps to successfully hunt large beasts, becoming the apex of the food chain. But ever since Mutant Beasts and Demons that fear no firearms appeared, humans were reduced to prey at the bottom again... Yet humanity never gave up the fight. After the population dropped by nearly two billion due to predation by Mutant Beasts, the first martial artist finally emerged among humans."

"Leng Tianjiao, I ask you—if we stopped fighting just because we couldn't win, what would humanity's fate be now?"

Leng Tianjiao's body trembled at his words, and she couldn't help sinking into thought. This angle of Zhu Ping'an's reasoning was something she had never considered before.

"Some things, someone has to do them."

Zhu Ping'an's tone was calm, yet it carried an indescribable firmness.

At these words, even Gu Xuan couldn't help but take another look at Zhu Ping'an.

Leng Tianjiao's beautiful eyes grew hazy. She found she couldn't see through this youth, who was about her age, at all. He seemed... different from every man she had ever met before.

With his back to Leng Tianjiao, Zhu Ping'an's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile. Did he really watch all those Tong Jincheng tutorial videos for nothing?

"Old Gu, you still alive?" A bold voice came from not far away.

"Damn it, I'd be dead before you!" Gu Xuan cursed. Another equally tall figure walked in from the valley entrance.

Unlike Gu Xuan's whiskers, this man had a head of curly hair, making it look like a beard had grown on top of his head.

He was Pan Dahai, another commander of the Green City Garrison, also leading college entrance examinees out for training. He had rushed over after receiving Gu Xuan's distress signal.

"Problem solved? I saw you already withdrew your distress signal."

Pan Dahai handed Gu Xuan a cigarette, lit one himself, and blew out a puff of smoke before sweeping his gaze around.

"Whoa! Fire Cicada Snake King, and a mated pair at that. You survived this? With your luck, you'd never get caught in a brothel raid!"

"Shut up! I hate hearing you talk!" Gu Xuan punched Pan Dahai in annoyance.

He couldn't help feeling a lingering fear inside. Good thing the Leng Family's people had acted; otherwise, facing a situation like this, not to mention the two examinees, even he might not have made it out alive.

"Don't look so grim. Survive a disaster, and good fortune follows." Pan Dahai winked and nudged Gu Xuan with his elbow. "Don't forget, with these two Fire Cicada Snake Kings dead, their eggs are now ownerless."

Mutant Beasts can be tamed, but the prerequisite is that they must still be in the egg, so that the first thing they see when they hatch is you.

Once it hatches, a mutant beast is essentially impossible to tame.

Thinking this, Gu Xuan's expression brightened considerably. Those were eggs of a Third-Tier Mutant Beast, the Fire Cicada Snake King! Each one was priceless, even more valuable than many Fourth-Tier Mutant Beasts.

After all, if you raised one from infancy to adulthood, it was like having an extra Third-Rank Warrior as a bodyguard—one who was utterly loyal and would never betray you.

"Then I'll just hope this beast lays a few more eggs."

Gu Xuan nodded, then searched a few nearby caves. After a while, he came out grinning, carrying four eggs the size of human heads, the curve of his smile harder to suppress than an AK.

"Heh, this beast sure knows how to lay—four whole eggs!"

Pan Dahai's eyes also gleamed with envy. Those were Fire Cicada Snake King eggs. If he took them back to Green City for auction, each one could sell for tens of millions.

"Miss Leng, your elder killed the female snake. How about this: we split the eggs, two each. What do you say?" Gu Xuan asked.

Leng Tianjiao shook her head, then pointed at Zhu Ping'an and said, "I only need one. Give the other to him."

Hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in Gu Xuan's eyes.

Although Zhu Ping'an had indeed been fearless and fierce just now, Gu Xuan had no intention of sharing a priceless Fire Cicada Snake King egg with a First-Rank Warrior.

But since Leng Tianjiao had spoken, Gu Xuan was happy to do her this favor. It didn't hurt his interests, after all. He just silently thought that Zhu Ping'an was incredibly lucky.

"Zhu Ping'an, congratulations!" Gu Xuan handed one Fire Cicada Snake King egg to Zhu Ping'an.

The egg felt smooth and warm to the touch, carrying a faint heat, like an oversized hand warmer.

Zhu Ping'an's lips curled slightly. This was a Third-Tier Mutant Beast egg. It wasn't for nothing that he'd put so much effort into putting on that act just now.

"By the way, where are the College Entrance Examination students you brought?" Gu Xuan asked Pan Dahai.

"I was worried you might be in danger here, so I didn't let them get too close."

Pan Dahai called out toward a cave in the distance, and a man and a woman walked over.

Zhu Ping'an glanced at them, and his expression instantly turned a bit strange.

It must be fate that enemies always cross paths. The two examinees Pan Dahai had brought were none other than Ye Qingxian and Yan Shubing!

When Yan Shubing saw the Fire Cicada Snake King egg in Zhu Ping'an's hand, her eyes lit up immediately.

"Ping'an Ge~"