"Ah!!"
Hearing the sudden scream, Xu Tong slowly opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow. He didn't seem surprised by it at all.
Still, he immediately got to his feet.
"Third Brother!!"
Yang Zixuan and Xiong Tao moved much faster than Xu Tong, but before they could even rush out of the temple to see what was happening, black shadows flashed around them in rapid succession, accompanied by a piercing chorus of strange cries.
Even more eerily, a thick fog suddenly rose all around them.
A pitch-black claw suddenly reached out through the white fog and swiped at the top of Yang Zixuan's head.
But before it could touch him, a streak of cold light flashed through the air.
"Pfft!!"
A spray of deep-red blood blossomed in the white fog.
"What was that??"
Xu Tong raised an eyebrow. Because of the fog, he hadn't even seen what that flash of light had been.
"Go find Third Brother!" Yang Zixuan had a bad feeling. As he spoke, two streaks of cold light flashed past behind him.
"Pfft!!"
The sound of flesh being cut rang through the air. Two headless monkey corpses slammed heavily into the ground.
"Got it!!"
Xiong Tao nodded. A dazzling light appeared on his chest, and a translucent, golden-yellow suit of armor covered his body.
Yang Zixuan suddenly held out both hands. A dazzling golden pearl shimmered in his palms.
Its brilliant light abruptly illuminated the surroundings, revealing several enormous monkeys nearby.
"Die!"
With their targets in sight, Xiong Tao leaped forward and slammed his fist into one of the monkeys, sending it flying.
At the same time, two streaks of cold light pierced the air and blew apart the heads of two monkeys leaping overhead.
Xu Tong's pupils contracted. At last, he saw what the terrifying flashes of light had been: two slender double-edged swords without hilts, whirling rapidly around Yang Zixuan.
Monkey after monkey charged at them, only to be cut into pieces in an instant.
This was the strength of an experienced player!
Their overwhelming power was on full display. Even Yang Guanjin seemed caught off guard.
The commotion outside grew louder and louder.
Yang Zixuan strode out of the temple. The woods before him were filled with monkeys.
Xu Tong and Yang Guanjin followed him out and saw that there were far more monkeys in the woods than they had expected.
"So this is the great place you found!"
Yang Zixuan shot her a sidelong glance, the chill in his eyes growing more pronounced.
"I... I don't know how there could suddenly be so many monkeys here." Yang Guanjin looked so helpless she was about to cry.
"Hmph. I'll deal with you later!"
Yang Zixuan didn't believe her, of course, but he had no time to settle things with her right now. With a cold snort, he sent the Flying Blades circling around him to rapidly cut down the monkeys.
"Catch!!"
Xiong Tao swung an arm amid the monkey horde and hurled something their way. A dark shape flew straight toward them. Xu Tong hurriedly reached out to catch it, only to realize it was Third Brother, Zhang Hu.
Zhang Hu's face was deathly pale, and his body was covered in cuts, some deep and some shallow. Most horrifying of all was the bloodied wound between his legs.
Zhang Hu had a strong physique, but an injury like that was devastating, both physically and mentally.
It was no wonder he was in such a sorry state. If they could earn 100 points from each Livestock in every scenario, Yang Zixuan took 60 percent, Xiong Tao took 25 percent, and Zhang Hu received only the remaining 15 percent.
So Zhang Hu's abilities mostly focused on assassination and reconnaissance. That let him maintain his own special role while minimizing how many scenario points he had to spend.
Even so, Zhang Hu's strength was not to be underestimated. He could unleash devastating bursts of damage. But he had already been injured. Although medicine had healed him, his internal injuries remained.
Then a monkey had caught him off guard and struck him between the legs. That would be devastating to anyone. He was probably in no condition to walk, let alone stand.
That was how he'd ended up surrounded by monkeys and nearly killed by them.
"Bandage him up!"
Seeing Zhang Hu's miserable state, Yang Zixuan's expression darkened further. He took out an item and tossed it to Xu Tong, telling him to treat Zhang Hu first.
Then he resumed controlling the Flying Blades around him and began slaughtering the monkeys.
"Third Brother, hang in there! I'll stop the bleeding!"
Xu Tong took the item Yang Zixuan had tossed him. It was a roll of black gauze, though he had no idea what it was made of. He first checked it in the Prop Catalog, and his eyes immediately lit up. "This is good stuff!"
[Quick Hemostatic Bandage]
A hemostatic bandage made from special materials. A must-have for long journeys.
[Instructions: Once applied, it can quickly close wounds. However, a certain level of expertise is required; the more skillfully it is applied, the better the results.]
Its effects were second only to the Rapid Healing Potion Mad Dog had given him earlier.
It seemed like a waste to use something this good on Zhang Hu.
As he hesitated, the commotion in the distance grew louder and louder.
Xiong Tao's body began swelling at a visible speed, growing as huge as a mountain until his clothes burst apart.
He let out a long roar. As he swung his arms, they whipped up a terrifying blast of wind, and he charged wildly through the monkey horde like a bulldozer.
"Follow me! We're breaking through!!"
Yang Zixuan shouted over his shoulder. Xu Tong hurriedly helped the gravely wounded Zhang Hu up, then gripped Yang Guanjin's wrist tightly with his other hand and followed.
Yang Guanjin's expression shifted. She tried to wrench free, but Xu Tong held on too tightly and gave her no chance to escape.
Her expression turned cold. Without making a sound, she felt for the dagger at her waist.
But before she could act, Xu Tong suddenly shoved Zhang Hu into her arms, then lunged forward with her.
A boulder the size of a watermelon flew over their heads and smashed through a bowl-thick tree behind them.
"Ah!!!"
A deafening roar made her expression change. She jerked her head up and saw an ape as large as a gorilla on the treetop, howling at the sky.
The Old Monkey King had been roused too. Unease spread across Yang Guanjin's face; events had clearly spiraled far beyond her control.
The Monkey King's roar sounded like a command to attack. Black shadows swarmed through the entire valley as more and more monkeys rushed toward them, their numbers multiplying by the moment.
The pungent stench of blood hung in the air, driving the monkeys into a frenzy. Their growing numbers were beginning to overwhelm them.
Even his Flying Blades were starting to chip as they cut through the horde.
Yang Zixuan's eyes flashed with ruthlessness. He summoned two more Flying Blades, bringing the total to four. They spun rapidly, whipping the droplets of blood and scraps of flesh in the air into a crimson storm.
"Split up and run!"
He roared and burst through the monkeys in front of him, carving a path through the horde before sprinting deep into the woods.
Xiong Tao hesitated, then looked back at Xu Tong and the others, as if he wanted to charge back and rescue them. But there were too many monkeys, and the ones who'd joined later were clearly stronger than the first group. Their frenzied clawing had already left obvious cracks in his energy armor.
After hesitating for a moment, Xiong Tao had no choice but to abandon the rescue. He stomped hard on the ground, sending out a visible shock wave that shattered the monkeys around him, then leaped toward another patch of woods.
"Don't... don't leave me!!"
Seeing the boss and second-in-command abandon him at a time like this, the feeble Zhang Hu stared with wide, bloodshot eyes, his face twisting with misery.
He knew how strong Yang Zixuan and Xiong Tao were. Even if there had been twice as many monkeys, they could still have killed them all if they'd truly been determined.
But they'd chosen to leave him behind. The reason was simple: he wasn't worth it.
It would cost them a great deal of scenario points and put most of their abilities on cooldown.
What good would it do to kill all the monkeys in the end? They'd get nothing but trouble for their efforts.
Never waste resources on anything outside the main quest. That was the Farming Team's guiding principle.
It was also why the Farming Team had always struggled to produce true powerhouses.
Just as he was nearing despair, his body suddenly felt weightless. Xu Tong had picked him up and carried him on his back.
"This way!"
He scanned the woods, then took off running with Zhang Hu on his back.
Yang Zixuan and Xiong Tao had indeed left without hesitation, but they'd killed so many monkeys that when they fled, a huge number chased after them. That had indirectly created an opening for the rest of them to escape.
Watching Xu Tong run off with Zhang Hu on his back, Yang Guanjin glanced at the Old Monkey King in the distance, which had gone after Yang Zixuan and Xiong Tao. She raised an eyebrow, then followed after them at an unhurried pace, dagger in hand.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
The woods were dark and difficult to navigate, and carrying someone on his back only slowed Xu Tong down. They stumbled over the uneven ground, bouncing and lurching along. Zhang Hu gritted his teeth so hard he nearly ground them down to the roots.
His face grew paler and paler.
But when he realized the monkeys weren't chasing them, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Looks like we're in the clear! Damn it, if I make it back this time, I'm going to try eating monkey brains raw."
He lay on Xu Tong's back and cursed under his breath.
But as soon as he finished speaking, Xu Tong suddenly asked in a low voice, "Third Brother, can you still fight?"
Zhang Hu froze, then his gaze sharpened. "What do you mean? Are you planning to leave me behind and save yourself too?"
"No!"
Xu Tong took a deep breath and glanced back at the shadow following close behind them. "Don't you think we've had way too much bad luck this time? We just happened to stumble into a monkey's nest. If that woman behind us doesn't have something to do with this, I don't believe it."
At that, Zhang Hu finally caught on. He glanced back at Yang Guanjin, who was following behind them.
She was trailing them at a leisurely pace. His heart sank.
Shouldn't a normal person have taken the chance to run by now? Why was she following them?
The thought made Zhang Hu's skin crawl.
"Here's what we'll do. Didn't I give you a Prop Card? Use it against her!" Zhang Hu whispered.
Xu Tong's face turned bitter. "But that thing randomly takes one of my organs, Third Brother. It's not that I'm afraid to die, but we've got rotten luck right now. What if it takes my heart? I'd die on the spot, wouldn't I?"
Before you continue