Fleeing for One's Life (Part 1)

"Ah!!"

Hearing the sudden, shrill scream, Xu Tong slowly opened his eyes, his brows arching slightly as if he were not the least bit surprised by the cry.

Yet, he still scrambled up from the ground immediately.

"Third Brother!!"

Yang Zixuan and Xiong Tao reacted far more swiftly than Xu Tong, but before they could even rush out of the temple gate to investigate, black shadows flickered past them in rapid succession, accompanied by a chorus of piercing, eerie shrieks echoing all around.

Even more bizarrely, a thick fog began to rise in the surroundings at this very moment.

Suddenly, a pitch-black claw reached out from the white mist, aiming directly for the top of Yang Zixuan's head.

But before the hand could even touch him, a flash of cold light sliced through the air.

"Pfft!!"

Deep red blood bloomed instantly within the white mist.

"What is that??"

Xu Tong's eyes narrowed; due to the interference of the white mist, he hadn't even clearly seen what that flash of cold light was.

"Go find Third Brother!" Yang Zixuan felt a sense of foreboding, and as he spoke, two streaks of cold light flashed rapidly past his back.

"Pfft!!"

The sound of muscle being severed rang out in mid-air, and two headless monkey corpses crashed heavily to the ground.

"Got it!!"

Xiong Tao nodded, a blinding light erupting from his chest as a translucent, golden suit of armor manifested to envelop his body.

At this moment, Yang Zixuan suddenly extended his hands, and in the center of his palms, a dazzling golden pearl shone with brilliant radiance!

The intense light suddenly illuminated the surroundings, exposing several large, hulking monkeys that had been lurking nearby.

"Kill!"

Seeing his targets, Xiong Tao leaped forward, raised his fist, and sent one of the monkeys flying with a single blow.

Simultaneously, two streaks of cold light pierced the void, instantly blowing apart the heads of two monkeys that had jumped into the air.

Xu Tong's pupils constricted as he finally saw clearly what that terrifying white light was: two slender, double-edged swords. They had no hilts and were spinning rapidly around Yang Zixuan.

The surrounding monkeys charged in wave after wave, only to be sliced into fragments in an instant.

This was the strength of a veteran player!

Overwhelming power was displayed without reservation, leaving even Yang Guanjin looking caught off guard.

By now, the commotion outside was growing louder.

Yang Zixuan stepped out of the temple gate, only to see the forest ahead filled with the figures of monkeys.

Xu Tong and Yang Guanjin walked out to take a look, and they saw that the number of monkeys in the forest far exceeded their expectations.

"So this is the 'good place' you found!"

Yang Zixuan glanced at her sideways, the coldness in his eyes deepening.

"I... I don't know how there could suddenly be so many monkeys here." Yang Guanjin was so flustered she was on the verge of tears.

"Hmph, I'll settle the score with you later!"

Yang Zixuan certainly didn't believe her, but he had no time to deal with her right now. With a cold snort, he urged the flying blades orbiting him to begin rapidly slaughtering the surrounding monkeys.

"Catch!!"

Just then, Xiong Tao swung his arm from within the monkey swarm and threw something. A black shadow flew straight toward them, and Xu Tong hurriedly reached out to catch it, only to discover that the person being tossed over was none other than Third Brother, Zhang Hu.

Zhang Hu's face was deathly pale, his body covered in deep and shallow lacerations, but the most suffocating injury was the bloody, mangled mess between his legs.

Even with Zhang Hu's decent physique, such an injury was a massive blow, both physically and mentally.

It was no wonder Zhang Hu was in such a sorry state. If they could harvest 100 script points from pigs in every script murder, Yang Zixuan would take 60%, Xiong Tao would take 25%, and only the remaining 15% would go to Zhang Hu.

Therefore, Zhang Hu's role was primarily that of an assassin or scout; this allowed him to maintain his specialization while minimizing the investment of script points.

Even so, Zhang Hu's strength was not to be underestimated, as he possessed absolute, explosive damage output. However, he had already been injured previously, and although he had used potions to recover, his internal injuries remained.

Coupled with being caught off guard and having his "peaches" stolen by the monkeys, the damage was fatal for anyone. It was likely that walking, let alone standing, was out of the question.

This was why he had been surrounded by the monkeys and nearly killed by them.

"Bandage him up!"

Seeing Zhang Hu's miserable state, Yang Zixuan's expression grew even uglier. He took out a prop and tossed it to Xu Tong, telling him to treat Zhang Hu's wounds first.

He then resumed controlling his flying blades to continue the slaughter.

"Third Brother, hang in there! I'll stop the bleeding for you!"

Xu Tong took the prop Yang Zixuan had thrown—a roll of black gauze. Unsure of the material, he tossed it into his Prop Catalog to inspect it, and his eyes lit up: "Good stuff!"

[Quick Hemostatic Bandage]

A hemostatic bandage made of special materials; an essential item for travel.

[Instructions: After use, it can rapidly heal wounds, but it requires a certain level of professional technique. The more professional the technique, the better the effect.]

The effect of this bandage was second only to the rapid healing potion Mad Dog had given him earlier.

It was a bit of a pity to waste such a good item on Zhang Hu.

Just as he hesitated, the commotion in the distance grew louder.

Xiong Tao's body suddenly expanded at a rate visible to the naked eye; his mountain-like physique burst right through his clothes.

He let out a long roar, his swinging arms whipping up a terrifying wind pressure as he charged madly into the monkey troop, acting like a bulldozer wherever he passed.

"Follow me, break through!"

Yang Zixuan shouted to those behind him. Xu Tong hurriedly helped the heavily injured Zhang Hu up, while his other hand gripped Yang Guanjin's wrist tightly as he followed.

Yang Guanjin's expression shifted slightly; she tried to break free, but realized Xu Tong was holding her too firmly to allow it.

Seeing this, she kept a cold face and silently fished a dagger from her waist.

Before she could act, however, Xu Tong suddenly shoved Zhang Hu into her arms and lunged forward, pulling her with him.

A rock the size of a watermelon flew over their heads, snapping a tree as thick as a bowl in half.

"Ah!!!"

A deafening roar made her expression change abruptly. She looked up to see an ape the size of a gorilla standing on a treetop, howling at the sky.

Seeing that the Old Monkey King had been stirred into action, Yang Guanjin grew uneasy; clearly, the situation had spiraled far beyond her control.

The Monkey King's roar acted like a command to attack. Black shadows flickered throughout the valley as more and more monkeys swarmed toward them, their numbers multiplying rapidly.

The air was thick with the pungent scent of blood, which only drove the monkeys into a frenzy. Their sheer numbers were beginning to create an overwhelming advantage.

Even his flying blades were starting to chip from the constant cutting.

Seeing this, a ruthless glint appeared in Yang Zixuan's eyes. He summoned two more blades, and suddenly, four of them spun rapidly. The blood droplets and shredded flesh in the air, mixed with the swirling wind, formed a crimson storm.

"Split up and run!"

He let out a roar, smashed through the monkeys surrounding him, and carved a bloody path toward the depths of the forest.

Xiong Tao hesitated for a moment, looking back at Xu Tong and the others. He wanted to turn back to rescue them, but there were too many monkeys, and the ones arriving later were clearly stronger than the first wave. Under their frantic clawing, his energy armor was already showing visible cracks.

After much hesitation, Xiong Tao chose to abandon the rescue. He stomped hard on the ground, creating a visible shockwave that shattered the surrounding monkeys, then leaped toward a different part of the forest.

"Don't... don't leave me!!"

Watching his boss and second-in-command abandon him at such a time, the weakened Zhang Hu's eyes widened, and his face turned miserable.

He knew the strength of Yang Zixuan and Xiong Tao; even if there were twice as many monkeys, if they were truly ruthless, they could have slaughtered them all.

But they chose to give up. The reason was simple: it wasn't worth it.

Doing so would consume a massive amount of their script points and force most of their abilities into cooldown.

Even if they killed all the monkeys in the end, what then? It was a thankless, fruitless result.

Never wasting resources on anything outside the main quest was the truth the Farming Team lived by.

It was also the reason why the Farming Team struggled to truly produce powerhouses.

Just as he was beginning to despair, his body suddenly felt light—Xu Tong had hoisted him onto his back.

"This way!"

He scanned the surrounding woods and ran with Zhang Hu on his back.

As it turned out, although Yang Zixuan and Xiong Tao had left decisively, they had killed so many monkeys that their flight drew away a massive wave of them, indirectly creating an escape opportunity for the others.

Watching Xu Tong flee with Zhang Hu, Yang Guanjin glanced at the Old Monkey King in the distance, who was already pursuing the other two. She arched a brow, clutched her dagger, and followed at a leisurely pace.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo..."

The forest was dark and difficult to navigate, and with someone on his back, Xu Tong couldn't move quickly. They stumbled and scrambled along, a sensation that nearly made Zhang Hu bite through his own gums.

His face grew paler by the second.

But when he realized those monkeys weren't coming after them, Zhang Hu finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Finally out of danger! Damn it, if I make it back this time, I'm going to try eating monkey brains raw."

He muttered, slumped over Xu Tong's back.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Xu Tong whispered, "Third Brother, can you still fight?"

Zhang Hu froze, his gaze sharpening. "What do you mean? Are you planning to dump me and save your own skin too?"

"That's not it!"

Xu Tong took a deep breath, looked back at the shadow following them, and said, "Don't you think we've been too unlucky this time? We just happened to stumble into a monkey den. I don't believe for a second that that woman behind us is innocent."

Hearing this, Zhang Hu finally caught on. He looked back at Yang Guanjin.

Seeing her following at a leisurely pace, his heart skipped a beat.

Shouldn't a normal person be taking this chance to run for their life? What was her game?

Thinking of this, Zhang Hu began to feel a chill.

"Listen, I gave you a prop card earlier. Use that to deal with her!" Zhang Hu whispered.

To his surprise, Xu Tong replied with a bitter expression, "But that thing randomly takes one of my organs! Third Brother, it's not that I'm afraid of death, but think about it—we're already having a streak of bad luck. What if it takes my heart? Wouldn't I just drop dead on the spot?"