The group continued in the direction the Calamity Beast had just left.
After passing a green space and several buildings, we arrived at a small alley.
Then, their steps gradually came to a stop.
Yu Jingming looked at the suddenly disappeared white mark on the ground with some confusion, then turned his head and looked around.
Directly in front was a high wall, and on both sides were the buildings; there were no other traces whatsoever.
How did the Calamity Beast leave?... Yu Jingming was somewhat puzzled.
He wasn't the only one with similar doubts; a 30-year-old man in the second car also looked around with some confusion.
"No, did the Calamity Beast escape? How did it escape?"
"This Calamity Beast looks a bit like a praying mantis. Do you think it might also be able to fly, like a praying mantis, and then fly away?" a girl in the same car as him guessed.
"No, I... this... is this even allowed?" the man said, somewhat speechless.
"So what do we do now?"
"Let's go, what else can we do?" the group discussed.
"Let's go? Should we continue driving around the city?"
"Hmm... this one seems to have just overlapped. Statistically speaking, there shouldn't be any more in the next day or two. Maybe we can take this time to rest."
"Mr. Ye, what do you think we should do now?"
Everyone looked at Ye Chengyun; he was the one who organized the organization and arranged the vehicles.
Ye Chengyun took a light breath, composed himself, and looked at everyone, saying:
"In that case, everyone should take a rest for the next couple of days. I'll have the driver pick you up at the scheduled time the day after tomorrow."
Hearing this, everyone nodded, turned and walked out of the alley, still discussing it.
"Hey, I was thinking that if this Calamity Beast were only First Tier, maybe I could get some Origin Crystal and try to awaken it. But it seems like there's no way around it now!"
"Heh, it's not that simple. Even for First Tier one, the first one should..."
"Sigh, it's such a pity that so many days were wasted..."
Ye Chengyun glanced at the group of people discussing, then his gaze settled on another First Tier martial artist who was following another car.
" Brother Shi!" Ye Chengyun smiled.
Shi Wei nodded slightly and said:
"I don't mean to criticize you, but if we encounter a similar situation again, could you consider letting us get off the vehicle first, confirm the rank of the Calamity Beast, and then decide whether to proceed or retreat?"
"This way, we can attract the Calamity Beast and prevent Calamity Beast from escaping, without putting ourselves in too much danger."
Ye Chengyun paused for a moment after hearing this, then nodded.
"Okay, I understand!"
Shi Wei nodded slightly, turned around, and quickly followed the others.
Ye Chengyun stood still, silently watching the crowd walking out of the alley.
He sighed softly.
Did my first organized operation end in failure?
"I'm sorry!" A slightly apologetic voice sounded beside me, "If I hadn't suggested it and had just gotten off, we might have been able to catch up with that Calamity Beast."
Ye Chengyun turned to look at Yu Jingming and smiled.
"Haha, there's nothing to apologize for."
"Although it was your suggestion not to get off the bus at first, the final decision was made by everyone through discussion, and it has nothing to do with you."
"Besides, do you think people really care about this?"
Upon Yu Jingming turned to look at the others.
It turned out that the others did not seem to care much, just as Ye Chengyun had said.
They didn't really care.
After all, there are so many of them. Even if they kill the Calamity Beast, apart from one Origin Crystal that might fall into someone's hands, the others won't get anything.
Moreover, it's unknown what level this Calamity Beast is, and who can use its Origin Crystal, or perhaps no one can use it at all.
but...
Yu Jingming shifted his gaze, his eyes lingering on the figure of one of them.
Qiu Rui's brows were furrowed, and his face looked rather grim; he was clearly still troubled by losing track of the Calamity Beast.
Yu Jingming's eyes lowered slightly.
Just then, Ye Chengyun looked at everyone and smiled:
"Let's go back too. I'll arrange for a driver to take everyone home first."
Everyone nodded, composed themselves, and walked outside.
Yu Jingming followed them outside.
Suddenly, his gaze, somewhat puzzled, stopped on a dark shadow on the ground ahead.
The dark shape wasn't there before; it had just appeared.
It seemed that something was blocking the moonlight in that area.
Yu Jingming looked up with some confusion, wanting to see what was making the dark shadow.
But before he could fully lift his head, a sound like metal clashing rang out in the alley.
"Clang--"
The sound was crisp and clear.
Those who hadn't yet left the alley all looked up, their gazes following the direction from which the sound came.
On the high wall, a mantis-shaped Calamity Beast, entirely black, had somehow appeared.
It tilted its head, as if wondering how everyone had found it.
Everyone stiffened slightly, staring blankly at the Calamity Beast attached to the wall.
Their pupils contracted uncontrollably.
It wasn't just the bizarre way the Calamity Beast made its appearance, but also the faint aura it emanated—that was...
Third Tier!!
Before anyone could react, the Calamity Beast pounced.
He lunged at Shi Wei was walking relatively far back because he had just been talking to Ye Chengyun.
Upon seeing this, Shi Wei hurriedly raised his hand to try and stop him.
The next moment.
"Bang!"
The Calamity Beast knocked him to the ground.
The violent impact caused Shi Wei to vomit blood.
Pain, broken bones—his body was constantly sending him warnings, but Shi Wei had no time to care about any of that.
He looked up, about to stop his body from resisting, when suddenly his body froze.
Before them lay a gigantic, pitch-black maw, as deep as an abyss.
"Ah--"
The terrified screams stopped halfway through.
The mantis Calamity Beast tilted its head back, a semi-circular stream of blood connecting its mouth to Shi Wei's neck.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the scene before them, dumbfounded.
Fear permeated everyone's heart.
Despite being explicitly told they might die when they joined the squad.
But to be honest, nobody has thought about this.
After all, there are so many of them.
Moreover, Ye Chengyun specially arranged for two custom-made heavy trucks.
Even when facing Third Tier Calamity Beast, they can hold out for a period of time, allowing them to call for help.
But now...
Dead... dead!
Someone died!!
The moment they first saw the Calamity Beast...
Someone died!
This was the first time for almost all of them that they had ever seen someone die before their eyes.
And in such a bloody way!!
"Run!"
I don't know who reacted first, but someone shouted something.
Those near the exit woke up with a start and immediately turned and ran outside.
"Crunch! Crunch--"
The Calamity Beast chewed once, then swallowed the food in its mouth.
It turned its head and glanced at the crowd in the alley, then seemed to sense that they had nowhere to run.
It turned around and chased after the group on the other side.
Gunshots, the clanging of metal, the sound of blades slicing through flesh...