Poisonous Bee Swarm and Assassin Girl

He did not walk for long this time.

Jiang Yuan caught a whiff of an exotic fragrance.

The scent was incredibly pleasant, sweet and mellow, as if it were a delicacy that could penetrate straight into the depths of one's soul.

Driven by curiosity, he followed the direction from which the fragrance emanated.

A golden beehive, the size of a villa and hanging from a giant tree, came into view.

A swarm of giant bees, each as large as a water vat, circled and hovered around it, their sharp stingers emitting a chilling, ominous glint.

[Abyss Beast]: Yellow-Striped Poison Bee.

[Grade]: Common.

[Level]: lv6.

[Skills]: Poison Stinger, Call Companion.

[Evaluation]: Low individual combat power, but they move in swarms. Once they lock onto a target, they will not give up. Especially, do not touch their honey, or the entire swarm will mobilize. Their stingers can pierce steel; they are quite dangerous and troublesome.

Jiang Yuan cast another appraisal on the golden beehive.

[Beehive inhabited by the Yellow-Striped Poison Bee Queen]

[Topaz Honey]: Mid-tier ingredient. Beyond its incredibly smooth, refreshing texture and extremely delicious, rich aroma, it can enhance the consumer's physique, restore vitality, and prolong life.

Jiang Yuan's eyes lit up.

It was truly a good find.

He couldn't leave without getting his hands on it.

Not far away.

A girl dressed in an assassin's outfit, her face covered and her body pitch-black, hid invisibly behind a giant tree. She wiped away non-existent cold sweat from her forehead and let out a sigh of relief.

"I never expected to find a swarm of Yellow-Striped Poison Bees here. It's a good thing they didn't spot me, or I'd be in real trouble."

"I should slip away while I can."

Just as she prepared to leave, she heard the snap of a branch being broken behind her.

Curious, she turned her head to look.

A boy wearing a black-and-white school uniform and carrying a green scythe was swaggering toward the beehive.

This sight nearly scared the soul out of her.

What is that guy doing? Is he planning to provoke that swarm of Yellow-Striped Poison Bees?! Is he insane?

But that's impossible, right?

The assassin girl scanned her surroundings.

Right, there must be other teammates hiding in the shadows.

[Breath Detection]

"Nothing. There isn't anyone else's presence!"

"He's really alone. How does he dare?!"

The assassin girl was deeply shaken, looking at the figure walking toward the hive as if he were an idiot.

"If he just walks over there and draws the aggro of the Yellow-Striped Poison Bee swarm, he'll undoubtedly be eliminated."

"If he can hold out for a few seconds, maybe I'll have a chance to snatch a jar of Topaz Honey."

"But..."

After struggling with herself for a few seconds.

The assassin girl still couldn't bring herself to just watch.

At this moment, Jiang Yuan had already reached the territory of the Yellow-Striped Poison Bees. A bee flying close to the ground buzzed toward him, emitting a warning sound.

"Breath Concealment."

"Flash Step!"

A black shadow flickered and arrived in front of Jiang Yuan, grabbing his hand.

"Invisibility Synchronization!"

Both of their figures instantly became transparent and invisible. The approaching Yellow-Striped Poison Bee flew over their heads, failed to detect the intruders, buzzed twice in confusion, and flew back toward the hive.

The assassin girl let out a sigh of relief.

Jiang Yuan couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

If he hadn't wanted to see whether this hidden assassin was trying to steal his kill or what, he would have struck back immediately.

The result of her actions truly caught Jiang Yuan off guard.

The assassin girl put one hand on her hip and snapped at him in annoyance:

"You're asking me what I'm doing? Are you a f*cking idiot!"

"Once you provoke a single Yellow-Striped Poison Bee, you'll draw a swarm that will chase you to the ends of the earth. A swarm of Yellow-Striped Poison Bees can even take down a Tier 2 awakened warrior. Do you want to be eliminated that badly? Think about your family and parents cheering for you outside, honestly!"

Jiang Yuan snapped back to reality, feeling a bit surprised inside.

Is she... trying to save me?

The assassin girl placed a hand on Jiang Yuan's shoulder and warned him:

"I can see you've got decent strength, so don't do anything stupid."

"..."

"Got it?"

Seeing Jiang Yuan nod, a smile of "you're teachable" appeared on her face.

"You're not too stubborn after all. I'm Pei Jia, from Beijiang No. 1 High School. What's your name?"

Looking at her outstretched hand, Jiang Yuan reached out and shook it.

"Jiang Yuan, Nanjiang No. 1 High School."

Jiang Yuan could sense that the assassin girl before him was already a Tier 1 warrior. She was likely a well-known genius in Beijiang City; most assassins didn't possess that skill she used earlier, which could cloak others along with herself.

And the most crucial point was.

She seemed... like a decent person.

"Jiang Yuan... I'll remember that. You're not a bad guy, just a bit too reckless. Be more careful from now on."

As the assassin girl Pei Jia said this, she prepared to turn and leave.

But just at that moment.

The swarm of Yellow-Striped Poison Bees began to stir, gathering together as if they had sensed some danger, blocking the front of the giant hive.

"What's wrong?"

The assassin girl looked toward that direction.

A giant spider, its body seemingly cast from black iron but with a snow-white back, exuding a biting metallic aura, slowly crawled down from the trunk above the giant tree housing the hive.

[Abyss Beast]: Black Iron Poison Spider.
[Grade]: Common
[Level]: lv16 (Tier 2)
[Skills]: Eight-Spider Sting, Venom Spray, Web Bind.
[Evaluation]: Its exterior is harder than steel, its stingers are razor-sharp, and it possesses extremely high damage and toxicity. However, it drops a large amount of materials upon death; its entire body is a treasure.

"Hiss..."

The assassin girl gasped, never expecting to run into a Tier 2 beast on the outskirts.

"What are you still standing there for? Run!" she shouted at Jiang Yuan.

The speed of a Tier 2 beast was no joke.

Jiang Yuan stood motionless, watching the scene and saying, "It seems to be going for the honey."

"A fight is probably about to break out."

The assassin girl was stunned, focusing her gaze.

The Bee Queen, noticeably larger than the other Yellow-Striped Poison Bees, flew out from the hive and let out a shrill, piercing warning toward the Black Iron Poison Spider crawling down from above.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"

The Black Iron Poison Spider remained completely unaffected, continuing to move its eight legs as it crawled downward. It spat a web at the swarm, striking two Yellow-Striped Poison Bees. They fell to the ground not far from Jiang Yuan and the girl, struggling desperately within the incredibly sticky web.

Before the assassin girl could react, she felt a figure flash beside her.

Jiang Yuan arrived in front of the two struggling Yellow-Striped Poison Bees and swung the green scythe in his hand.

"Swish!"

A green blade of light flashed.

These Yellow-Striped Poison Bees, as large as water vats and covered in fuzz, were instantly sliced open, their health bars dropping to zero.

[Ding! You killed Yellow-Striped Poison Bee (LV9), EXP +90]
[Ding! You killed Yellow-Striped Poison Bee (LV7), EXP +70]
[Ding! You obtained Yellow-Striped Poison Bee Stinger *1]
[Ding! You obtained Yellow-Striped Poison Bee Stinger *1]
[Ding! Points +1]
[Ding! Points +1]

"Such high damage!"

The assassin girl was shocked.

"Wait, the poison bee swarm..."

She looked up, only to realize the Yellow-Striped Poison Bee swarm had no time to deal with them; they were throwing themselves wave after wave at the Black Iron Poison Spider.

Sharp stingers, like spears, rained down upon the Black Iron Poison Spider's back, yet they struggled to pierce its hardened shell, and one by one, the bees fell under the barrage of its webs and spider-spikes.

Every time one fell, a flash of green blade-light would sweep across.

The assassin girl finally realized what was happening.

Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to level up?

"Leave a few for me!"

She drew her dagger, darted to the side of an injured Yellow-Striped Poison Bee, and cleared its health bar with a single thrust.

Jiang Yuan did not stop her.

The two of them continued to pick off the stragglers, wantonly eliminating the Yellow-Striped Poison Bees as they fell.

However, for every four the assassin girl managed to kill, Jiang Yuan had already cleared the health bars of several more.

Before long, over thirty corpses of Yellow-Striped Poison Bees littered the ground.

"Swish!"

A white light flashed; the assassin girl leveled up, an irrepressible look of joy spreading across her face.

"Great, finally LV5. What a huge score!"

"That's enough," the boy's voice came from beside her.

The assassin girl looked at him in confusion.

Jiang Yuan, having picked up the last stinger material, looked up at the battle unfolding above.

The Black Iron Poison Spider's health bar was down to half, the Bee Queen's health bar remained at two-thirds, and only about thirty Yellow-Striped Poison Bees were left guarding her.

It was time to finish them all in one go.

"What are you planning to do?"

Watching the boy bend his knees, the assassin girl Pei Jia suddenly had a bad feeling.

"You don't mean to..."

"Boom!"

The ground shook, a shockwave exploded outward, and the boy's figure shot toward the sky like a cannonball.