After taking care of three Tusked Wild Boars that had picked the wrong fight, Lin Mo deftly sliced off the juiciest strips of tenderloin with his claws. Wang Keke, meanwhile, fought back her discomfort and cut off the left ears of all three boars, as the instructor had instructed, to use as proof.
"Mimi, let's find somewhere to rest and, while we're at it... roast the meat?" Wang Keke suggested through their mental link, watching the fresh red strips dangling from Lin Mo's mouth. She was getting hungry herself, and she was also curious about the "wild game" Lin Mo was always raving about.
Lin Mo eagerly gave the idea four paws up.
The girl and tiger soon found a relatively intact second-floor shop facing the street. It offered a clear view and was easy to defend, difficult to attack—though Lin Mo didn't think that was necessary.
Wang Keke pulled a fire striker and some long-burning solid fuel from her small tactical backpack, which her family had clearly prepared thoroughly. Lin Mo contributed his sharp claws, cutting the meat into evenly thick slices. Then he found a few relatively clean metal rods and threaded the meat onto them.
Before long, a campfire was burning. The slices sizzled over the flames as fat dripped down. The aroma of roasting meat, mingled with a faint smoky scent, drifted lazily above the ruins.
"That smells amazing!" Wang Keke sniffed, her eyes shining. Most of her earlier nervousness melted away in the face of good food. She carefully turned the skewers, watching the meat grow golden and crisp.
Lin Mo lay nearby, the tip of his tail swaying happily as his amber eyes remained fixed on the roast. A rumbling purr of anticipation rose from his throat. Now this was the life! Fight monsters, level up, roast meat! It would've felt even more like surviving in the wilderness if not for those damn cameras and hidden bodyguards.
But the smell of roast meat in this simulated wilderness was like a beacon in the night.
Just as the first skewer was nearly done and Wang Keke was about to blow on it before taking a bite, Lin Mo's ears shot up. His body tensed in an instant, and he let out a warning growl.
Almost at the same time, Wang Keke sensed a swift, malicious presence coming from behind them and to the side through her psychic power!
Whoosh!
A gray blur darted through the broken window like a specter, making a beeline for the roast meat in Wang Keke's hand! It was astonishingly fast—a sleek, agile Shadow Cat! Beast Soldier Rank, with the talents [Stealth] and [Swiftness]!
"Watch out!" Wang Keke cried. Her Psychic Power burst forth instinctively, and the Flying Dagger floating beside her was about to shoot.
But Lin Mo was faster!
Already on guard, he didn't even turn around. His thick, long tail lashed backward like a steel whip! It cracked through the air and struck the gray blur squarely in the abdomen.
"Meow—!"
The Shadow Cat let out a heartrending shriek and flew back even faster than it had come, slamming into the wall before sliding limply to the floor. It was clearly dead.
"Phew... That scared me half to death." Wang Keke patted her modest chest, still shaken.
Lin Mo went over and nudged the Shadow Cat's corpse with a paw, sending her a thought through their mental link: Its meat should be pretty tender. Shame it's a little small. It'll make a snack. He deftly cut off the cat's ears, tossed the corpse aside, and turned his attention back to the roast.
The little interruption didn't spoil Wang Keke's mood. If anything, it made the whole thing more thrilling, and she felt a little smug that everything was under control. So surviving in the wilderness wasn't all that scary after all!
The two of them happily shared the boar meat, crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. It really was delicious, and the energy in it warmed them from within. Lin Mo devoured the rest in no time.
"Looks like roast meat can attract monsters, too. Then maybe we could..." Wang Keke's eyes shifted, and she flashed a sly, foxlike grin. It was a natural monster lure! They could kill two birds with one stone!
Lin Mo wholeheartedly agreed. That's my contractor. She catches on fast!
But joy often came before a fall, and it always seemed to happen when people were at their most relaxed.
They'd been too busy enjoying the roast and the convenience of "luring monsters" to notice a more important problem: the strong smell of cooked meat, mingled with the stench of blood from the boars and the Shadow Cat, could travel a long way through these relatively enclosed ruins. It might attract more than a handful of "snacks."
Just as they'd eaten their fill and were getting ready to clean up and continue "hunting," Lin Mo suddenly felt an incredibly dense, hair-raising vibration coming from the ground!
Squeak, squeak—!
Sharp, chaotic cries rang out from all directions, surging toward them like a tide!
Wang Keke's face turned deathly pale. Through her psychic senses, she detected countless densely packed life signs, each brimming with greed and bloodlust! They poured out like a flood from gaps in the street, beneath collapsed floor slabs, and from sewer entrances...
Rat-type monsters! Iron-Toothed Rats! Each one was only at the early Beast Soldier Rank, or even below rank, but there were so many of them... The gray-black Rat Tide spread across the ground like a carpet, with dozens, perhaps hundreds, in sight! Their eyes were red, and their iron teeth could chew through metal. Driven wild by the smell of food and blood, they surged toward the pair.
"Ah!" Wang Keke was still a girl, and she'd never seen anything like this. She cried out in fright and instinctively moved closer to Lin Mo.
Lin Mo's heart clenched, and his fur bristled slightly. It wasn't that he was afraid—these rats would have a hard time hurting him, given his speed and defense. But there were too many of them! He could never kill them all. And with Wang Keke there, he couldn't fight without holding back.
"Run!" Wang Keke snapped back to her senses. Her Psychic Power sent the Flying Dagger sweeping out like a whirlwind, shredding the dozen Iron-Toothed Rats at the front into bloody scraps!
But even more rats surged forward without fear of death! Some even began climbing over one another, trying to leap down from above!
Lin Mo roared. [Power Burst] activated. His massive body charged forward like a tank, clearing a small area in an instant. His claws swung, each swipe smashing several rats into pulp. [Tough Skin] let him ignore the rats gnawing on his legs, their teeth making a grating "crunch, crunch" sound.
He guarded Wang Keke as they fought their way backward. His wings beat, stirring up gusts that disrupted the swarm's formation.
Wang Keke poured all her strength into her psychic power, her Flying Dagger whirling in a dense blur. But there were simply too many rats. For every group they killed, two more surged in! They even began gnawing at the surrounding buildings, trying to encircle them from the sides!
For a moment, the two of them were thrown into disarray by the Rat Tide. They were still unhurt, but the endless, frenzied, bloodthirsty assault was terrifying. Wang Keke's face had gone pale, and her psychic power was rapidly running low.
"This way!" Lin Mo spotted a relatively narrow alley. He smashed through the rats blocking the way and motioned for Wang Keke to follow.
The girl and tiger dashed into the alley in a sorry state. Lin Mo turned and unleashed a furious Tiger Roar, infused with killing intent, at the rats chasing them!
"ROAR—!!"
The terrifying shock wave, charged with the presence of an apex predator, finally made the frenzied rats pause for a moment.
Taking advantage of the brief opening, Lin Mo and Wang Keke quickly escaped the Rat Tide and hid on an upper floor of a sturdier building, barricading the stairwell.
With their backs against the cold wall, they listened to the incessant squeaking below. Wang Keke gasped for breath, her forehead slick with cold sweat, her hand trembling slightly around the Flying Dagger.
Lin Mo was panting, too. He looked down at the few rats still clinging to him and futilely gnawing at his fur, then flicked them off disdainfully with a paw.
The girl and tiger looked at each other, both seeing a trace of lingering fear in the other's eyes.
Damn... We'd gotten carried away. Lin Mo groaned inwardly. This simulated wilderness was starting to feel pretty real. It seemed that the real danger out in the wild didn't always come from powerful individuals. Sometimes, it came from overwhelming numbers.
Wang Keke finally caught her breath and patted her chest, still shaken. "That scared me half to death... I didn't expect the roast meat and the smell of blood to attract so many monsters. Mimi, we'll have to be more careful from now on."
Lin Mo nodded in full agreement and rubbed his head against her, sending her a comforting thought.
This close call had taught them a valuable lesson. The wilderness had never been a playground.
Before you continue