An incredible haul

"Ah!"

On the lakeshore, Li Qiang clutched his arrow-pierced calf, rolling on the ground and screaming.

After charging out of the valley, the Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python had paused briefly, seemingly deciding which direction to pursue.

Li Qiang's screams immediately drew its attention.

Its enormous body slithered like the wind, more than ten meters of snake crushing across the ground with a low, rolling rumble.

Li Qiang looked up to see the giant python charging toward him, its bloody maw yawning wide. Frightened nearly out of his soul, he desperately tried to stand and flee.

But an arrow had pierced his calf. He had barely risen halfway before he fell to the ground again.

"No! Don't! Help!"

His screams cut off abruptly.

The python clamped its jaws around his upper body and lifted him off the ground, then gulped him down whole.

After swallowing Li Qiang, the Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python turned its slit pupils toward another direction. Zhao Gang was sprinting desperately toward the dense woods and had already put a considerable distance behind him.

The python flicked its forked tongue, twisted its body, and chased after Zhao Gang.

"Go!" Gu Zheng ordered in a low voice.

The four immediately worked their oars. The wooden boat skimmed swiftly across the water toward the valley.

The lake was calm, and the boat moved silently. Their eyes remained fixed on the large chunks of hematite ore glowing dark red at the valley entrance.

"Screee!"

Just then, a piercing eagle cry suddenly rang out overhead.

The cry was so sharp and shrill that it stabbed at their eardrums. Gu Zheng snapped his head up, his pupils contracting.

An enormous Black Eagle dove out of the clouds.

Its wingspan stretched more than ten meters, and its entire body was black as ink. Its spread wings resembled a mass of dark clouds, blotting out the sky and sun.

It plunged straight toward the Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python on the ground, talons spread, slicing through the air with a fierce whistle.

Sensing the threat from above, the Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python abruptly stopped chasing Zhao Gang. Its enormous body swiftly coiled up, and it raised its head, hissing threats at the sky.

The Black Eagle did not back down. Folding its wings, it shot straight into the python like a black arrow.

Boom!

The two giant beasts collided with a tremendous, muffled crash. Dust billowed, shattered stones flew, and the entire ground trembled.

Gu Zheng and the others' expressions changed at once, and they hurriedly stopped rowing.

"What do we do?" the Rain City Middle School student holding the Elf Bow asked quietly, his eyes fixed on the two giant beasts fighting in the distance.

Liu Qing frowned. "The Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python has wings, but it can only glide short distances. It can't fly. We're on the lake, so it can't do anything to us."

He paused. "But if that Black Eagle sets its sights on us, even being on the boat won't help."

They all fell silent.

For that Black Eagle to dare battle the Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python, it had to be at least a Third Order Gene Beast.

Out on the water, they had nowhere to hide.

"Go!" He drew a deep breath and made his decision.

They were not afraid of the Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python, but they were afraid of that giant eagle.

Their lives mattered more than money.

They rowed furiously away from the valley. The wooden boat left a wake across the water as it drew farther and farther away.

The young man holding the Elf Bow glanced back as he rowed.

In the distance, Zhao Gang was desperately running toward the woods and had already covered some ground.

"Trying to run?"

He snorted coldly, nocked an arrow with one hand, and drew the bowstring. Silver light flowed over the bow, and the arrow tore through the air after Zhao Gang.

Zhao Gang had been watching them the whole time. His expression changed drastically when he saw the arrow coming.

With a sudden turn of his hand, a shield half a person's height appeared in his grasp, and he thrust it in front of himself.

Clang!

The arrow struck the shield, throwing off a spray of sparks before bouncing away.

Not daring to linger, Zhao Gang put away the shield and sprinted desperately deeper into the woods, soon disappearing into the dense trees.

"Damn it!" the young man cursed, gripping his bow so tightly that it creaked.

The others frowned as well. Two had escaped, and another was still in the water.

"Wait, look!"

Liu Qing's ears suddenly twitched, and he sharply turned toward the valley. His hearing was the keenest, and he had caught a faint sound from that direction.

The others followed his gaze and froze.

At the valley entrance, a drenched figure was climbing out of the water and sprinting toward the chunks of hematite ore.

It was Ji Zhixing!

"When did he..." The young man holding the Elf Bow widened his eyes.

Ignoring the wooden boat that had already sailed far away, Ji Zhixing raced to the edge of the valley.

Five or six chunks of hematite ore lay scattered on the ground. The largest measured more than two meters across, fiery red all over, with a faint sheen flowing across its surface.

Hematite ore! Ji Zhixing's heart thundered.

He swept his gaze over them and, without the slightest hesitation, charged straight toward the largest chunk and pressed his hand against it.

With a thought, he sent the power of the Gene Furnace spreading outward.

This was not as simple as collecting a Gene Beast. Several breaths passed before the chunk of hematite ore, more than two meters across, finally turned into a streak of light and entered his Gene Furnace.

This chunk of hematite ore must weigh over ten thousand jin...

Ji Zhixing's heart raced. Fortunately, the space inside his Gene Furnace was large enough to take in even something weighing over ten thousand jin.

Once stored inside, it would not hinder his movements.

But the chunk he had chosen was more than two meters across and occupied well over half the space in his furnace.

I can only take this one. He glanced regretfully at the remaining chunks of ore and gritted his teeth.

Not daring to stay any longer, he turned and ran, reaching the lakeshore in a few strides before leaping in.

Splash!

Water sprayed up, and his figure vanished beneath the lake once more.

"Damn it!"

On the wooden boat, all of them flew into a rage at the sight.

Liu Qing slammed his fist against the gunwale, his face livid. "How dare he!"

"We took all that risk and got nothing, but he's just someone who fused with First Order genes..." The young man holding the Elf Bow ground his teeth, his bow trembling in his hands.

They had gone to so much trouble and risked being attacked by the Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python, only for Ji Zhixing to snatch away the largest chunk of hematite ore.

Gu Zheng's expression was dark as he stared silently at the patch of water where Ji Zhixing had disappeared.

"Gu Zheng, what do we do?" Liu Qing asked.

Gu Zheng remained silent for several seconds, then looked into the distance. The Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python and the Black Eagle were still locked in battle, and neither would finish the fight anytime soon.

The valley was safe for now, but they no longer dared approach it.

"Let's leave first," he said gravely, turning toward the young man holding the Elf Bow. "Keep watch. If Ji Zhixing comes out of the water, shoot him immediately."

"Understood." The young man nodded, nocked an arrow, and fixed his eyes on the lake.

He did not believe Ji Zhixing could stay underwater forever.

The others helped keep watch as they rowed.

What an incredible haul. Once I get back to Base City and sell this chunk of hematite ore, I'll be able to buy at least a dozen bottles of Gigantification Potion.

Underwater, Ji Zhixing stroked the Frog Pendant against his chest. With a kick of his legs, he shot a long way forward like a frog.