Li Ming's expression changed at those words.
"What did you say?"
Jiang Lan gave him an indifferent glance. "I said you were barking. Got a problem with that?"
Seemingly accustomed to Jiang Lan's usual meekness, Li Ming immediately moved to rise from his seat.
Just then, Shen Qingqiu said coldly:
"Sit down."
Li Ming froze, then sat back down, seething with resentment. His eyes still blazed with anger as he glared at Jiang Lan.
Seeing this, Zhao Gang hurried to smooth things over:
"We're all teammates. Let's not fall out."
Although Chen Feng and Wang Fang said nothing, the way they looked at Jiang Lan had changed somewhat.
Jiang Lan had never been like this before.
Because he lacked a martial artist talent, he had always kept his head down around the team, never clashing with anyone.
But now...
Jiang Lan leaned back in his seat, his eyes half closed, seemingly unconcerned by what had just happened.
Before, he had lacked a reason to push back, and that spinelessness belonged to the original owner of this body.
He had never been spineless himself.
Swallow insults and put up with it?
Who the hell did they think they were to make me do that?
Besides, now that he had a special talent as an excuse, there was even less reason to indulge anyone's bad habits.
I had to take their crap without a system, and now that I have one, I'm still supposed to take it?
Then what the fuck was the point of getting a system?
Besides, anyone with a mouth that foul was just asking to be told off.
The vehicle drove on, the atmosphere inside somewhat oppressive.
Before long, the convoy stopped on the outskirts of the Southern Suburbs Ruins.
As before, the three squads split up to act separately.
Shen Qingqiu led the first squad out of the vehicle and into the ruins.
Jiang Lan followed beside Shen Qingqiu, excitement stirring within him.
At last, he could hunt ferocious beasts openly.
The Southern Suburbs Ruins were even more desolate than the eastern suburbs they had visited before.
Shen Qingqiu led the team as they advanced cautiously.
Zhao Gang followed half a step behind the two of them, with the remaining three bringing up the rear.
At the very back, Li Ming occasionally looked up at Jiang Lan's back, a sinister glint flickering in his eyes.
They had not been searching long when a low growl suddenly sounded ahead.
"Awooo-!"
An Ironback Wolf emerged from the ruins.
The Ironback Wolf was enormous, its eyes gleaming viciously and its fangs bared.
Shen Qingqiu turned toward Jiang Lan and slowly drew a breath before saying:
"You give it a try."
Jiang Lan nodded, tightening his grip on his saber.
Zhao Gang cautioned him from the side. "Be careful, brother."
Without a trace of panic, Jiang Lan approached the Ironback Wolf with practiced ease.
Upon seeing Jiang Lan, the Ironback Wolf roared and lunged at him.
Jiang Lan swung his saber straight at the Ironback Wolf, choosing to meet it head-on.
Bam!
Squelch!
The Ironback Wolf's claws slammed into Jiang Lan's shoulder as his saber struck its shoulder blade.
"Awooo!"
Though the strike missed a vital spot, it still made the Ironback Wolf howl in agony.
Jiang Lan, on the other hand, looked completely unhurt.
An attack of this level could not penetrate his defenses at all.
Reeling from the pain, the Ironback Wolf retreated half a step before lunging at Jiang Lan again, its jaws gaping as it tried to bite his neck.
Jiang Lan immediately raised his arm to block.
The Ironback Wolf sank its teeth into Jiang Lan's arm, but only tore through his combat uniform. It could not pierce his flesh at all, leaving nothing more than a few faint white marks.
Using his superior strength, Jiang Lan twisted his arm and pinned the Ironback Wolf to the ground.
"Hah!"
With a low shout, he pressed his full weight onto the Ironback Wolf, raised his other fist, and hammered it into the beast's head.
Bam, bam, bam, bam!
"Awoo! Awoo! Awoo! Awoo!"
His fists rained down on the Ironback Wolf's skull.
At first, the Ironback Wolf's cries were still strong, but it only lasted a short while before its breathing grew faint. Blood seeped from its mouth and nose, and it was clearly on the verge of death. Its jaws involuntarily released Jiang Lan's arm.
Seeing this, Jiang Lan tossed his saber aside, clasped his fists together, and smashed them down on the Ironback Wolf's head.
Thud!
With a dull impact, the Ironback Wolf's skull caved in, blood pouring out. After a bout of violent convulsions, it went completely still.
Jiang Lan drew a deep breath and slowly stood up.
Everyone who had watched the entire fight was dumbstruck.
Zhao Gang's eyes widened as he exclaimed:
"That defense... that strength. Could he have awakened a strength talent as well as a Special Talent for defense?"
At those words, Li Ming's expression grew even uglier, but he said nothing.
A hint of approval flashed in Shen Qingqiu's eyes.
After taking a moment to recover, Jiang Lan crouched down and began processing the Ironback Wolf's corpse.
He cut out its heart, collected its blood, and extracted its Beast Core. Though his movements were still somewhat unpracticed, he worked quickly.
Fierce Beast Blood Essence acquired!
Once Jiang Lan finished, Zhao Gang walked over and said:
"You're pretty professional, brother."
Jiang Lan merely smiled without answering.
"Let's keep going," Shen Qingqiu said.
The team continued advancing.
After they walked a little farther, another Ironback Wolf appeared.
Since spiritual energy had returned, Ironback Wolves truly were the most common species.
That was because these creatures had originally been dogs, not actual wolves.
There had been plenty of pet dogs in the cities before, so naturally there were plenty of Ironback Wolves now.
After Ironback Wolves, Shadow Leopards were the second most common. However, those creatures were mostly nocturnal and rarely appeared during the day, so they were almost never seen in daylight.
Upon spotting the Ironback Wolf, Jiang Lan went straight up and killed it with a few effortless blows.
After he collected the materials, the system's light screen appeared before Jiang Lan.
[First-Tier Ferocious Beast Essence Blood x2 detected. Use it to upgrade the Indestructible Diamond Body?]
Jiang Lan was delighted, but maintained a calm expression.
He slowly drew a breath and said to Shen Qingqiu:
"Captain, I need to relieve myself."
Shen Qingqiu nodded. "Be quick."
Jiang Lan walked behind the ruins, and only after making sure no one was around did he silently say to himself:
Upgrade!
[Indestructible Diamond Body advanced to the third layer!] [Defense +30, vital energy +300, constitution +15]
Warm currents surged through him. Jiang Lan felt as though he were being transformed from the inside out, rapidly growing stronger.
His physical capabilities improved across the board.
This feeling...
Amazing!
Jiang Lan clenched his fists, feeling the overwhelming power surging within him.
He looked at the information on the light screen.
[Host: Jiang Lan] [Realm: None (martial artist talent not awakened)] [Indestructible Diamond Body: Third layer] [Defense: 60] [Vital energy: 845] [Strength: 18.5 (ordinary person's average: 10)] [Spirit: 10.8 (ordinary person's average: 10)] [Agility: 9 (ordinary person's average: 10)] [Constitution: 29.5 (ordinary person's average: 10)] [Upgrade requirement: First-Tier Ferocious Beast Essence Blood x4]
This time, his constitution had increased, and his vital energy had jumped straight to nearly eight hundred and fifty points.
He felt brimming with energy from head to toe.
Jiang Lan even felt as though he could beat a bull to death!