Human Hearts Stir

He dared not waste any more time; there was no telling when the Lord Level Tuoshan Deer might return.

He arrived at a corner two hundred meters from the building, picked up a concrete slab weighing over twenty kilograms, and hurled it with all his might.

"Bang!"

The slab landed on the ground one hundred meters from the building's entrance. The massive commotion startled the herd inside, and a large group of Tuoshan Deer emerged, scanning their surroundings with vigilance.

"Good!"

The guards inside the building relaxed their vigilance slightly. Guan Ning's eyes narrowed, and his body shot out instantly like the wind, piercing through the outer perimeter of the Beast Soldiers in the blink of an eye.

"Yoo-yoo... yoo-yoo..."

The inner circle was the line of defense held by the Beast Generals. As soon as Guan Ning appeared, the Beast Generals spotted him immediately and let out a series of roars. Only then did the Beast Soldiers behind them realize there was an uninvited guest, and they rushed forward to intercept him.

With over a dozen Beast Generals blocking his path in front and hundreds of Beast Soldiers in pursuit behind, Guan Ning's adrenaline surged to its peak. His speed suddenly increased by a significant margin.

The monsters surrounding and intercepting him all missed their mark. Relying on his explosive burst of speed, Guan Ning broke through the line of the Beast Generals and reached the side of the three Tuoshan Deer cubs.

"Yoo~~~"

"Yoo-yoo..."

These three Tuoshan Deer cubs were born not long ago. The largest was barely a meter tall, and the smallest was only fifty centimeters, with two small bumps on its head where the antlers had yet to sprout.

Having been born so recently, they still possessed the innate ferocity of monsters. Seeing Guan Ning, a strange creature, appear before them, they excitedly circled around him, letting out crisp, chirping cries.

"Little ones, don't blame me." Looking at the cheerful cubs, Guan Ning felt a flicker of hesitation, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. In the struggle between species, there is no room for mercy.

Seeing the herd closing in from behind, the Qingming Sword flashed repeatedly, and the three Tuoshan Deer cubs fell into a pool of blood.

"Yoo... yoo..."

Seeing the three cubs lose their lives, the Beast Generals charged at Guan Ning like madmen.

Beast General Level monsters possessed a certain level of intelligence. With the cubs dead, their leader would certainly not spare them. At this moment, only by capturing Guan Ning, the primary culprit, could they hope to receive the Lord's mercy.

Watching the aggressive Beast Soldiers, Guan Ning dared not delay. He grabbed the largest cub with his left hand and swung it onto his shoulder with a heave.

The one-meter-tall Tuoshan Deer weighed nearly 200 kilograms, causing Guan Ning's speed to drop significantly.

He was in constant peril under the siege of the herd, yet even so, Guan Ning had no intention of abandoning the cub. Having finally encountered such an opportunity, how could he easily give it up?

Moreover, although the danger had increased, Guan Ning didn't pay it much mind. Even if the attacks of mid-level Beast Generals landed on him, after being mitigated by his combat suit, the remaining impact on his defense-boosted body wouldn't cause him any serious injury. This was the source of his confidence.

However, he preferred to avoid injury if possible. Guan Ning did his utmost to dodge, his figure flickering like an erratic flame as he darted through the herd. While evading, the Qingming Sword struck without mercy.

Puff, puff, puff...

A series of sounds like leather being sliced echoed one after another through the herd of Tuoshan Deer. The necks of the several deer closest to Guan Ning simultaneously bloomed with vibrant blood.

Guan Ning's expression was cold, his body like a phantom, dreamlike and illusory. He flashed and sprinted through the dense herd, and wherever he passed, flowers of blood bloomed in his wake.

The number of Tuoshan Deer was rapidly dwindling...

No matter how they swarmed the phantom in their midst, their efforts were always in vain.

"Hoo!"

Guan Ning's figure came to a sudden halt, appearing at the other end. Behind him lay twenty or thirty Tuoshan Deer carcasses; not a single one remained standing.

In these few short minutes, relying on his own strength, he had carved a path straight through the herd.

"Yoo-yoo... yoo-yoo..."

Listening to the urgent cries of the herd behind him, Guan Ning felt a tinge of regret. He had hoped to use this opportunity to see if his footwork and swordsmanship could break through to the next level, but to his disappointment, it had been of no use.

However, he failed to notice that the cries were exceptionally long and drawn out, carrying to a certain location.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Seeing the human who had stolen the cubs' carcasses break out of the encirclement, the Tuoshan Deer went completely berserk. With bloodshot eyes, they charged toward Guan Ning, intent on tearing him to shreds.

"You've got to be kidding me, this crazy?"

Guan Ning hadn't expected the herd to go into a frenzy. He didn't even dare to speak, instead running at full speed.

"Rumble..."

The sound of the herd running was immense, startling many people and monsters alike.

These people were students from the Elite Training Camp. They had also intended to return to the camp, but they hadn't expected to run into such a scene, so they all stopped to watch.

"Who is that? So fierce, why haven't I seen him before?"

"What did he do to trigger a herd stampede?"

"Isn't that Guan Ning? I thought Luo Feng was impressive enough, but I didn't expect him to be even crazier. I really underestimated him."

"Shit, damn it, doesn't he know that doing this will cause a disturbance among all the monsters in the city?"

They were all there to watch the spectacle. Because Hong was Chinese, all the students in the training camp spoke Chinese.

Then, realizing something, their expressions changed drastically. Regardless of what they were doing, they quickly finished their tasks and fled the area.

At the same time, inside a building in Hongning Base City, thousands of screens recorded everything happening within City 1001. When the duty officers saw the herd stampede, their faces turned pale. One pressed a red button, and immediately, a piercing alarm echoed throughout the entire Elite Training Camp.

The students were startled upon hearing it, but once they heard it ring only once, they relaxed and went back to their own business.

However, the War God level instructors all began to take action.

"Beep!"

Guan Ning was currently fleeing, and judging by his relaxed demeanor, it was clear the situation was not yet dire, when his communication watch suddenly rang.

"Huh? It's actually Senior Brother Chu Qiang. Why is he calling me?" Guan Ning wondered, answering the call.

"Guan Ning, what did you do? How could you trigger a beast stampede?" Chu Qiang's face was etched with a trace of shock and suspicion.

"What's wrong with a beast stampede? Senior Brother Chu Qiang, speak clearly!" Guan Ning did not understand what Chu Qiang meant.

"Damn it, I forgot you just arrived." Chu Qiang cursed under his breath, though it was unclear who he was cursing, before continuing: "City 1001 serves as a hunting ground for training camp students; the monsters are extremely dense, and there are an especially high number of Beast General Level monsters."

"Once a significant monster stampede is triggered, it easily escalates into an even larger one. In the past, there was a stampede that engulfed the entire city, and it took the intervention of an Inspector to quell it."

Chu Qiang paused to catch his breath, and Guan Ning's heart grew even more terrified. That was an Inspector! An existence surpassing a War God! A Planet Level martial artist!

Although they could barely scrape by in the vast universe, on present-day Earth, they were the absolute ceiling of power. Anything requiring an Inspector's intervention could never be simple.

"Senior Brother Chu Qiang, what should I do now?" Guan Ning asked in a panic.

"So you know how to be afraid now?" Chu Qiang teased, then added: "You don't need to panic. Given the current situation, it certainly won't require an Inspector to step in."

"That's good, that's good." Guan Ning patted his chest, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Don't get happy too early." Seeing Guan Ning's reaction, Chu Qiang couldn't help but dampen his spirits: "While it doesn't require an Inspector, it isn't necessarily safe for you. You had better hurry up and run for your life."

Guan Ning realized Chu Qiang was right. The current situation had already exceeded his control; it would be best to return early.

Guan Ning was very grateful for Chu Qiang's goodwill: "Many thanks, Senior Brother Chu Qiang. Once I return to the training camp, I'll treat you to a grand feast."

Suddenly remembering the two Tuoshan Deer cub carcasses in the department store, he realized it would be a waste to leave them behind: "Senior Brother Chu Qiang, I know of a place with two recently deceased Tuoshan Deer cubs. Are you interested?"

"What did you say?" Chu Qiang's eyes widened. "Tuoshan Deer cubs? How do you know that?"

Guan Ning pointed his camera at the carcass on his shoulder and shook it: "It was for this cub that I triggered the monster stampede."

"So that's it!" Seeing the carcass of the Tuoshan Deer cub, Chu Qiang had already guessed as much, but he hadn't expected Guan Ning to really be the cause.

"Tell me the location. Once I return to the training camp, I will thank you with one of the Tuoshan Deer." With the current stampede, it wouldn't affect him at all; he was fully capable of bringing both cubs back to the training camp.

With the monster cubs, his strength would advance further, and he might even be able to ascend to the top spot on the Black Dragon Ranking. He couldn't help but be excited.

"The location is... Senior Brother Chu Qiang, I'm leaving now." After telling Chu Qiang the location, Guan Ning hung up the phone. Although his heart burned with desire for the other Tuoshan Deer cub, he quickly calmed down. The top priority now was to shake off the herd behind him and return safely to the training camp.

"Whew!"

Ten minutes later, Guan Ning finally shook off the herd behind him. He found a spot to deal with the Tuoshan Deer cub carcass and himself. Along the way, the deer's blood had sprayed incessantly, drenching Guan Ning until he was a blood-soaked mess. The internal organs had also fallen out somewhere, making the load much lighter, which was the only reason Guan Ning had been able to shake off the herd.

He found a pool to wash the blood off his body, and the stench of blood diminished significantly. After wrapping up the Tuoshan Deer cub carcass, he set off again.

This time, not only was his speed much faster, but with the scent of blood greatly reduced, he easily made his way out of the ruined city.

On the road, he encountered quite a few training camp students, their eyes burning with greed as they stared at the Tuoshan Deer cub Guan Ning was carrying.

A white-skinned, blonde-haired man shouted: "Who are you? Don't you know the consequences of triggering a monster stampede?"

"Exactly, exactly! You forced us to leave in a hurry, and our battle point gains are much lower than usual."

Others also chimed in, their eyes filled with greed.

"I think this cub carcass is just enough to compensate for our losses, don't you agree?"

Encouraged by the crowd, the blonde man grew even more arrogant and reached out to grab the cub carcass on Guan Ning's shoulder.

"I advise you to stop." Guan Ning acted as if he hadn't seen the blonde man's movement, pointing at his active communication watch and saying calmly.