Emergency Distress Call

If it can be arranged in advance and confined to a relatively small area, Xiang Kun's first choice to force others back and scare them away would definitely be to use the fear projection of the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving".

Moreover, he has now developed a method to make emotional projections effective without making eye contact or showing his face while in a "Hyper-Sensory State," which makes it even easier for him to manipulate things.

However, given the current situation and the numerous variables, this method offers little guarantee of success. Aside from other factors, the other party is a "Mutated Creature," Xiang Kun isn't certain whether projecting fear onto him will have the same effect on him as it would on other humans.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Xiang Kun's strategy was to use the weather conditions to mobilize lightning to "repel the enemy."

Xiang Kun is not "Thor" and cannot truly control lightning to strike wherever he wants. The previous "lightning storm" was actually just a "byproduct" of his flight while Electric Flight, like the air blast and dust caused when a helicopter takes off.

Although the weather was "pretty" at the moment, if he wanted, he could use the "Super-Linked Object" to trigger the electric field and Electric Flight, just like he did on Purple Huan Mountain, creating a small-scale "lightning storm".

But that would expose him, so Xiang Kun's current approach is to break it down into smaller parts, using each unit of the "Super-Linked Object" as the main body, and detach himself from the entire flight system.

It's like taking the helicopter's rotor and turning it into dozens of electric fans to blow air onto the ground; it only creates a lot of noise but has no real effect.

After sensing the return of the "flying Mutated Creature" through sound, Xiang Kun closed his eyes and entered a "Hyper-Sensory State," using the "Super-Linked Object" beads carried by dozens of "flying worker ants" scattered around him to preemptively trigger changes in the electric field.

In the sky, thick clouds pressed down, and lightning flickered.

Meanwhile, strong winds began to blow through the mountains.

For Mr. Liang, his attack on the "giant raptor" was merely to capture it, so he wouldn't kill it.

Moreover, after chasing it for so many days and engaging in numerous battles, he had long since figured out the "giant raptor's" ability to withstand blows. He knew that this thing was quite resilient, and even ordinary firearms might not be able to kill it easily.

Therefore, Mr. Liang believed he was very measured. After controlling the "giant raptor" and temporarily rendering it unable to resist, he used an extremely thin chain connected to his hand to hang "it" and began to fly out of the mountain.

On a mountain road, driver Lao Xie had prepared a truck, as arranged, to transport the "giant raptor."

Throughout the flight, Mr. Liang kept a close eye on the "giant raptor" to prevent it from recovering too quickly and starting to break free.

Mr. Liang was initially quite relieved because when he monitored the "giant raptor" in real time using the equipment on his body, he found that the ferocious "Blood-feeding Creature" was seriously injured, its heartbeat was always very slow, and its body was very weak.

But after a short while, Mr. Liang noticed something was wrong. Why did this "Blood-feeding Creature" look like it was about to die?

Even if he beats them to a pulp and injures them severely, it's unlikely that their condition will continue to worsen, because he's not launching a sustained attack right now.

Given the physiological characteristics of a "Blood-feeding Creature," its body should have begun to recover and heal by now. In particular, this "giant raptor" had previously demonstrated an extraordinary ability to withstand blows and recover. According to his estimation, even if the injuries did not heal completely in a short time, they should have stopped deteriorating.

Mr. Liang then descended from the sky, untied the "giant raptor," and began to examine its wounds. He found that although the wounds were serious, they were mainly on the wings, feet, and a pair of hidden feet, and were not fatal.

What puzzled Mr. Liang was that the "giant raptor" appeared to be taking in more air than exhaling, and it was visibly on the verge of collapse.

Mr. Liang glanced at the distance to the truck through the virtual map projected in front of him, pondered for a few seconds, and then ordered dozens of drones of varying sizes around him to enter a state of alert.

Although he stopped drinking blood and devouring animals in the wild after reaching a certain stage for safety reasons, this "giant raptor" was likely one of the top three "Blood-feeding Creature" he had ever encountered in terms of evolutionary mutation. It would be a waste to just watch it disappear and return to dust.

At his current stage, such a target that meets the criteria for being devoured is extremely rare.

Mr. Liang used his bare feet to step on the head of the "giant raptor," stomping it into the mud. Then he raised his right hand, which was covered with special patterns and had a metallic sheen. A thin, sharp object slowly pierced through his palm and emerged without drawing any blood. It looked as if it had pierced through a plastic bag.

A pointed object, resembling an audio cable connector, swiftly pierced the neck of the "giant raptor" and began drawing blood, which was then transferred to Mr. Liang.

His two large eyes, which already had very little white, were now almost entirely filled with pitch-black pupils, and a strange red light flowed through them. In the night, they looked extremely sinister and terrifying. If someone happened to be in the mountains at this moment and saw this scene, they would probably think they had stumbled into hell.

But Mr. Liang's blood-drinking lasted less than three seconds before he stopped; the thin thread was pulled from the "giant raptor's" neck and retracted into his palm.

Mr. Liang resumed his thorough examination of the "giant raptor's" body, and four small drones approached and turned on their lights to illuminate the area.

The brief blood-drinking experience made Mr. Liang realize that the blood from this "giant raptor" was far from meeting his blood-drinking requirements. Even if he were to consume the blood of five more such "giant raptors," he still wouldn't be able to fully satisfy his blood-drinking needs for one session; it was merely prematurely stimulating his blood-drinking urges at this stage.

This means that this "giant raptor" is just a newly transformed "Blood-feeding Creature." Not only has it not preyed on other "Blood-feeding Creature," but its own transformation level is also quite low.

But this is clearly inconsistent with the formidable strength that the "giant raptor" had previously displayed; something is wrong here!

Mr. Liang soon discovered that the "giant raptor" had stopped beating and appeared to be completely dead. Not long after, the raptor's body, which was larger than him, turned into powder and disappeared into the forest.

"Bang!--"

With a loud bang, a large tree next to us burst open from the middle of its trunk, then slowly tilted down, resting on the trunk of a nearby tree.

Mr. Liang withdrew his fist. Having "tasted" blood and forcibly stopped drinking it, he was now displaying a ferocity far beyond his normal limits.

However, after venting his anger with that punch, Mr. Liang's lips slowly stretched to his ears, and he laughed silently.

He realized that the "giant raptor" wasn't truly dead, nor was it that he had misjudged its strength; rather, this peculiar "Blood-feeding Creature" had somehow managed to escape using a method he hadn't noticed.

Indeed, if we only consider his goal for tonight—"to capture a 'giant raptor'"—then, so far, it seems to have been a complete failure.

However, this "giant raptor" demonstrated strength far exceeding his previous expectations, assumptions, and convictions regarding its power and evolutionary stage, which was more in line with his long-term interests and expectations.

The stronger the other "Blood-feeding Creature" are, the happier he is; he hopes to find a true "predator".

There are some things he can't explain to Old He in detail right now; if necessary, he has to make the decisions himself.

However, Mr. Liang was also somewhat unwilling; he didn't want to go back tonight without knowing why.

He wanted to figure out how that "giant bird of prey" had managed to escape right under his nose.

So Mr. Liang took off again, taking dozens of drones back to the place where he had previously fought the "giant raptor".

But as they approached their destination, the weather suddenly changed drastically.

Actually, the weather wasn't very good tonight, with intermittent light rain. However, the northern mountainous areas of Haixi Province had been experiencing continuous rain for some time, so he didn't take the weather too seriously when it first started to change. After all, both he and the dozens of drones had strong wind and water resistance, surge protectors, and related circuit protection components.

But soon, Mr. Liang realized something was wrong.

The weather deteriorated far too quickly, not because of a sudden downpour, but because the clouds in the night sky kept rolling and converging, all converging on the area where he was located. Electricity surged and flashed, as if brewing a terrifying power.

Perhaps due to the unique composition of his body, he could even clearly feel the oppressive force of the energy gathering above his head, and a strong sense of danger surged in his heart.

A deafening rumble of thunder echoed across the heavens and earth, its sound lingering long afterward.

Although no lightning strike was observed, Mr. Liang instantly lost contact with all the drones.

After losing signal, his drone generally has three modes: one is to assess the situation and continue the previous mission; another is to find a place to land and enter power-saving mode; and the third is to determine the nearest recovery point and return on its own.

At this moment, all the dozens of drones seemed to be drunk, either crashing directly into the forest or stumbling and wobbling wildly. It was clear that the flight components, related circuits, and chips had been affected.

Not to mention the drone, even Mr. Liang himself felt something was wrong. He even suspected that if it weren't for the special structure of the equipment attached to his body and the special connection between him, he might have lost power instantly and could only rely on gliding to maintain flight.

Although he was unlikely to die from falling from his current height, he was more afraid of the lightning in the sky.

At this moment, the lightning storm videos of Purple Huan Mountain and Chongyun Mountain Region that he had seen earlier involuntarily appeared in his mind.

His body composition was very special, unlike any other living being, but he wasn't sure what he would become under such a lightning storm, or what would happen if he were struck by direct lightning strikes repeatedly.

However, the instinctive fear of the terrifying thunder that welled up in his heart, as well as the clearly perceived pressure of heaven and earth, made him make a choice—to leave before the "lightning storm" arrived.

But as he left, more questions began to surface in his mind.

Why now?

Why this place?

The "giant raptor" survived the lightning storm at Purple Huan Mountain, and now another lightning storm is about to strike. Could this really be directly related to it?

Was it brought about by it?

No, that's impossible. No matter how advanced the evolution and mutation of that "giant raptor" is, it couldn't possibly summon the power of lightning in nature. That's something that "Blood-feeding Creature" couldn't do.

If it could really do that, it would be dead by now.

While flying in the air, Mr. Liang suddenly thought of a certain possibility, and his fear of the "lightning storm" immediately lessened. However, another kind of fear and anxiety that had been suppressed in his heart for many years surged up again uncontrollably, making him feel cold all over.

Hidden in the forest, Xiang Kun naturally noticed the "flying Mutated Creature" moving away. His plan to scare it off had clearly been very successful, even exceeding expectations.

He suddenly had an inspiration and used the "Super-Linked Object" matrix to trigger a "large-scale super-sensor mine," which had a very good EMP effect, directly paralyzing almost all drones within range.

Moreover, this wave of super-sensitive lightning, coupled with the cloud discharge caused by the continuous friction, accumulation, and convergence of the clouds overhead, made the momentum between heaven and earth extremely grand, looking as if it was about to "wash the ground with lightning, leaving not a blade of grass."

Xiang Kun speculated that if the "flying Mutated Creature" was from "Shenxing Technology," it would most likely know about the "lightning storm" that occurred between Purple Huan Mountain and Chongyun Mountain Region, and understand its terror. Therefore, it was only natural that it was scared away.

In fact, although the thunder and lightning in the sky are now gathered and the scene is terrifying, even more so than the preparations made at Purple Huan Mountain, without his "Electric Flight" causing the clouds to discharge electricity in a very short time, such a "lightning storm" would never have occurred.

No matter how loud the commotion in the sky, it will only be a continuous, intermittent discharge, lasting longer and covering a wider area, but with far less power.

Xiang Kun burst out of his hiding place and ran quickly through the light drizzle, heading straight to the spot where a drone he had been watching had crashed.

He didn't approach immediately. Instead, he first checked the functionality of the drone's components, including the camera. Only after confirming that none of them were running did he step forward and switch to visual mode for a closer look.

He didn't have any in-depth research or understanding of drone technology, but after a brief look, he knew that this drone was very different from ordinary civilian drones.

Moreover, judging from their previous flight patterns, they are quite different from the drones used by Mi Qiao, Fang Pingfang, and others when they were monitoring the "mutant birds" and "mutant ants" in Wushu Mountain. Their performance is much stronger.

After observing for a while, Xiang Kun picked up a simple metal fragment lying nearby and attempted to establish "Super-Sensory Link".

He figured that even if the "flying Mutated Creature" was scared away now, someone would come back to collect the drone "corpses" and parts later.

Although the metal fragment looked simple in terms of material and structure, Xiang Kun still spent more than twenty minutes without being able to establish a "Super-Sensory Link." He still had too little information about it and couldn't establish a connection as quickly as he could with Coin, a ball, or an A4 sheet of paper.

He didn't persist and decisively chose to give up. Instead, he wrapped a tungsten steel ball with some damp mud and sand from the side, mixed it together, and stuffed it deep into the crevice of the broken drone.

Xiang Kun then began cleaning up the footprints he had left behind, not only here, but also elsewhere. He used a controlled Coin to quickly scrape and disrupt the shape of the footprints. This way, even if the traces were discovered, no one would know they were footprints.

When the footprints were almost cleared away, Xiang Kun suddenly had a thought. He then carefully sensed that it was Lao Xia frantically using his abilities, employing "Fantasy Manifestation".

Whether it's Little Apple, Little Chubby Girl, or Lao Xia, he can sense them all when they use his abilities through the "Super-Linked Object System," but he can only vaguely sense them when he is highly focused.

Because if his abilities were likened to a resource, then the resources used by the "developers" each time they invoked the abilities would be extremely small. And since Guo, Niu, and Xia had already gained his approval and were very familiar with him, it was even more difficult for him to react when they used the abilities, as they were already used to it.

There are two scenarios: one is that the "developer" develops new abilities; the other is that the "developer" uses it extensively and frequently, reaching her own threshold, Xiang Kun can have a relatively obvious perception and reaction, and can still notice it even when her attention is focused on other things.

When he went into the mountains, he left all his electronic devices, including his cell phone, with Lao Xia for safekeeping. So he made an agreement with Lao Xia that if there was an emergency that required him to return immediately, he should use "Fantasy Manifestation" to the fullest extent to reach her threshold, so that Xiang Kun would know.

However, only a dozen or so hours have passed since he entered the northern mountainous area of Wushu Mountain. What happened in Chongyun Village?

Half an hour ago.

A tourist city in eastern Myanmar, Southeast Asia.

In the cluster of low-rise houses in the slums.

In a small courtyard piled high with stacks of cardboard and other recyclable waste, several dark-skinned men wearing T-shirts or vests were dozing off against the wall.

Although it's only March, the temperature in eastern Myanmar is already in the twenties to thirties, and it's quite cool to sleep in the yard at midnight.

The courtyard gate was suddenly opened, and a motorcycle drove in. The men who had been dozing off were startled and woke up with a start. They scrambled to their feet, and one of them even instinctively reached for his weapon in his pocket.

However, the two men who rode in on motorcycles were clearly of higher status than the people in the courtyard. After closing the gate and quietly scolding the few people who were dozing in the courtyard, they went straight into the house.

What's strange is that the two men weren't reprimanding their subordinates in Burmese, but in Mandarin with a heavy accent.

After the two men on the motorcycle entered the house, they nodded to a tall, bespectacled man who was guarding the living room, and then casually picked up two masks from the messy coffee table and put them on.

One of them was wearing a Pigsy mask, and the other was wearing a Tang Monk mask.

The two spoke in hushed tones for a while, then opened a door and went inside.

Inside the room, a tall, muscular man wearing a hood was strapped to a chair and appeared to be still unconscious.

The Pigsy mask ripped off the man's hood and then slapped the man's face hard.

After being slapped hard several times, the man groggily woke up. Although the hood had been removed, his eyes were still covered and his mouth was gagged with a rag.

"Do you know why you're here?" The Pigsy mask removed the rag from his mouth and asked in heavily accented Mandarin.

The man spat a few times, expelling the filth from his mouth, then tilted his head back slightly, seemingly trying to see his surroundings through the blindfold. However, he was slapped on the head by the Pigsy mask and gave up.

"I was just here for half a day, and I even lost money at the casino. I didn't have any conflicts with anyone, so there's no reason for me to offend anyone, right? Brother, did you... kidnap the wrong person?" The man's tone remained relatively calm.

"No mistake, Young Master Xia, with your size, you can't be tied to the wrong person in Myanmar," the Pigsy mask said with a smile.

The masked Tang Sanzang urged, "Stop the nonsense and get to the point."

The Pigsy mask then said, "Young Master Xia, we brothers kidnapped you mainly for money. If you cooperate, everything will be fine. If you don't, we might cut off a few of your fingers, toes, or nose. Think it over carefully. Now, call your father and tell him to prepare five million US dollars in cash. Once it's ready, wait for our notification. Don't call the police, or we'll feed you to the mudfish."

The kidnapped man was Xia Tianhuo. After hearing what the man in the Pigsy mask said, he sighed and nodded, saying, "Alright, I'll cooperate. But brother... don't be fooled by our Xia family's seemingly glamorous appearance and large business. We're actually all in debt to the banks, waiting for our clients to pay back our loans. Business has been tough these past few years; we're practically bankrupt..."

"Do you think we're fucking idiots?" The Pigsy mask slapped Xia Tianhuo on the head angrily and cursed, "Shut the fuck up..."

"No... Brother, if you're going to make a request, you have to be realistic. Let's not even talk about whether my family can come up with that much cash. Even if we could... my family doesn't have any businesses in Myanmar, so we definitely can't get that many US dollars here. As for China... we have foreign exchange controls here. Let alone five million US dollars in cash, it's difficult to even exchange half a million! And there's no way to send it to Myanmar. Why don't you open an account in a Swiss bank or Sweden bank or something..." Xia Tianhuo continued to complain.

The masked Tang Sanzang coldly said, "Cut off his thumb."

Hearing the folding knife snap open and lock into place, Xia Tianhuo immediately changed his mind, saying, "Give me your phone, I'll make a call. But I can't remember numbers, I always dial directly from my contacts, I need to check my phone..."

"Which contact is it?" The Pigsy Mask took out a phone, unlocked it with Xia Tianhuo's finger, and then asked.

Xia Tianhuo paused for a moment, then said, "You're looking for 'Lao Xia,' that's him."

While the Tang Monk mask was dialing numbers on another phone, Xia Tianhuo added, "But my dad was hospitalized recently due to health issues, and his phone is with my mom. She manages everything at the company, so she should be the one answering now..."

After the call connected, Tang Sanzang, wearing a mask, placed the phone to Xia Tianhuo's ear. Before the other person could speak, he immediately said:

"Mom!"