"Splash..."
Unlike other Wilderness Beast, the hyena in front of them did not have its flesh burned after being hit by the Energy Pulse. Instead, it turned into nothingness and dissipated in the wind.
"Is this the unkillable Wilderness Beast?"
Wen Jing watched this scene, seemingly lost in thought.
The hyenas before her were different from the Shadow Wolf. Even though Shadow Wolf had the ability to become shadowy, they were still living beings with flesh and blood in their normal state. But these hyenas... she felt that they were not Wilderness Beast in essence.
"Cracking--!"
The battle was not over yet when the black shadow of a vulture swooped down from the sky.
Ji Shuang's ice spike changed direction and went straight for it, while Eve and He Pingyun came to support her.
In an instant, flying sand accompanied by ice spikes enveloped the vultures, while a ring of rock armor rose from the ground, forming a temporary defensive position.
"Bang bang bang..."
The attack landed on the vulture's wings, leaving wounds and shedding a large number of feathers that melted into the wind.
After it finally managed to break through the area-of-effect attack, it was pierced head-on by a sharp sword light.
The little insect pierced the vulture's body through the Energy-Shaping Weapon, but instead of blood and internal organs, it saw only a Chaos grayish-brown mass. It tried to bite down, but it was as if it had swallowed air.
The next moment, the fatally wounded vulture vanished into the wind, just like the hyena before it.
As the vultures disappeared, the surrounding wind field noticeably weakened until it vanished.
The alarm was lifted, and the team members gathered together, finally completing their assembly.
Brown, who had been unconscious, woke up, and the minor injuries he had sustained were beginning to scab over.
Because his superpower is a toxin, he has an advantage in regenerative abilities.
" Wen Jing, thank you so much!" After regaining his senses, Brown understood what had happened and went to find Xiao Chong to express his gratitude.
Wen Jing swayed up and down slightly to indicate a nod, afraid that a reply would shock him again.
Seeing this, Ji Shuang, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but say to her, "Actually, we can handle what happened just now. But in necessary situations, you should just speak up and not hold back."
The greatest benefit of Mental Link is that it facilitates communication in times of crisis. If everyone were in a safe environment, they could communicate by writing on the ground.
The rescue of Brown and the previous battle had already made them realize Wen Jing's strength.
Ji Shuang and her two Operations Department members explored the Ancient Wilderness lands mostly in teams, which shows the value of Wen Jing's earlier statement that "it's all alright".
Seamlessly integrating into a previously coordinated team, with smooth and fluid combat, and even addressing their previously overlooked weaknesses, demonstrates her ability to be 'backward compatible'.
In this situation, maintaining communication channels with Wen Jing is crucial.
Eve and He Pingyun both expressed their agreement, Brown paused for a moment... then nodded reluctantly.
Seeing this, Wen Jing spoke up once more, "I'll speak less."
She observed her teammates' reactions. None of the three from the Operations Department seemed to be struggling anymore. Brown shook his head slightly, but he was clearly not considered part of the combat force; as long as he could protect himself, that was enough.
Once this issue was confirmed, the operation continued.
"Then let's proceed according to Plan Three and begin searching for the 'moving stone wall'."
Team exploration can only last for a maximum of 11 hours, which is completely different from Wen Jing's layered strategy on the giant tree. Each time, you have to maximize the exploration range within a limited time.
The so-called moving stone wall is precisely the trace of civilization discovered during this exploration.
As its name suggests, it is a stone wall in an irregular location with traces of murals on it, which was first discovered by Brown during a chance encounter.
He encountered the wind in the wilderness, and after finally defeating the strange beast and escaping, he came across the stone wall.
But it was getting close to night, and there wasn't enough time to investigate further. He could only regretfully return and report the matter.
Then came the previous group exploration.
The Operations Department team assumed the stone wall was in a fixed location, so they went there as Brown directed, only to find it completely empty.
Unexpectedly, they eventually rediscovered the stone wall in another location, confirming that it was a trace of a civilization capable of spatial teleportation.
However, their situation was not much different from Brown's. Although they finally confirmed the existence of the stone wall during their last team-up, it was after several rounds of rumors and attacks, and by then, there was not enough time to return.
Since no valuable items were found near the stone wall, even though the stone wall itself might be— He Pingyun, who has the ability to control rocks, was unable to destroy it, so the operation was forced to turn back.
Team-based operations require the consumption of Locator Stone, and due to the previous exploration, the investment value of this project has been greatly reduced. If it weren't for the fact that the Wen Jing is only for exploring traces of civilization, this mission might have been shelved for a long time.
At this point, the group left Zone 7 and continued onward, leaving behind the areas they had already explored and the locations where the stone walls had 'refreshed' in the previous two instances, with their goal being to advance into the other areas they had not yet set foot in.
"Call..."
Less than thirty minutes into their journey, the sound of wind suddenly began to blow around them again.
A gray-brown wolf appeared from the wind and aggressively attacked the five-person team.
However, this time it wasn't as disastrous as before. With Wen Jing joining the team, their combat strength jumped to a new level.
The four men quickly killed the wolf on the spot with a combination of punches.
"Watch out, the wind hasn't stopped blowing yet."
Seeing Wen Jing unleash a crucial, fatal blow on the wolf, Ji Shuang and the other two were somewhat surprised.
With the current strength of the four members of the team, they can completely surround and kill the wolf when the wind subsides, thus avoiding the situation where the wolf revives from the wind and requires a second kill.
The reason he went all out earlier was because Brown was injured and busy saving people, and the storm was almost over at that time.
The situation is different now. They can all slow down their attacks, so it's even more impossible for Wen Jing not to, but she chose to kill the wolf quickly instead.
Sure enough, the wolf that had just been killed reappeared from the wind and lunged at Wen Jing.
"I have an idea that I want to test."
As Wen Jing released the Mental Link, he delivered a powerful blow to the wolf, firmly holding its aggro and preventing it from affecting his teammates.
When using Mental Link during combat, it's easy for a situation to arise where 'whoever shouts the loudest gets to decide'.
While others can still exchange ideas and discuss amongst themselves, Wen Jing's words have a decisive effect.
Moreover, the group has already started, so even if everyone is confused, they can only follow along.
However, the battle was not difficult. Wen Jing unleashed her full power, killing wolves like flies. In a short time, she killed one wolf three times in a row. On the fourth time, after severely injuring the wolf, she changed her tactics and delivered the final blow to Ji Shuang's ice spike.
The fifth time, the sixth time, the seventh time... each time, she gave her teammates a wolf's head.
Even Brown, who was content to be a mascot, was invited by Wen Jing and ended up getting a kill on a sliver of health.
Her teammates didn't understand why, but they could see what she was going to do, so they obediently cooperated and did as she said.
Of course, faced with this situation, they had no choice but to obediently comply.
Just as Brown finished killing the wolf, Eve, who was in charge of scouting, suddenly stood up straight and looked in one direction.
Not far away, in the wind, a stone wall appeared out of nowhere and stood silently.
Chapter 70
After Brown made the kill, the wind picked up suddenly and he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
As the wind dissipated, the three people besides Eve also saw the stone wall that suddenly appeared in the wasteland, and their eyes widened in surprise.
"What's going on?!"
After the initial shock, all four of them immediately looked at Wen Jing.
There is no doubt that this change was brought about by her recent actions.
Wen Jing, already looking towards the stone wall, explained succinctly, "The monster in the wind is a trial; only those who pass it are qualified to encounter the stone wall."
Trials, Qualifications...
The group pondered her words, and combining them with the battle they had just fought and the events of the previous two explorations, they quickly grasped the reason behind it.
They had never figured out the cause and effect, assuming that the stone wall moved randomly in this space.
In reality, you need to kill the grayish-brown beast that appears with the wind. Once you pass the trial, the stone wall will automatically appear nearby.
Moreover, judging from the current results, all five people must pass the trial for them to see the stone wall at the same time. If anyone fails the trial, the stone wall will not appear.
For the first time Brown, alone, painstakingly defeated the monster and came to see the stone wall.
The second time, the five-person team did not find the stone wall at the original location at first, so they searched and explored the surrounding area for a long time, and went through many battles in the wind until everyone completed the trial, and finally the stone wall appeared.
This can be seen from the fact that Wen Jing killed five strange beasts by himself before the stone wall did not appear.
So now it seems they were lucky last time, by some twist of fate all five of them managed to get kills. Otherwise, they wouldn't have even gotten the erroneous information that the stone wall could move, and would have just dismissed Brown's clue as a coincidence and given up on the project.
Thankfully, there was Wen Jing...
If Wen Jing hadn't been part of the team this time, and they had continued along their original path, it's unknown how long it would have taken them to come up with this idea.
And even if they eventually realized this, by then they would have been exhausted from numerous battles. Who would have the strength to deliver a head to Brown like Wen Jing did?
"Sharp."
After figuring this out, even socially awkward Ji Shuang couldn't help but admire it, and the other three showered her with compliments in their Mental Link.
"You're so clever, Wen Jing! We didn't even notice that before!"
"That's right, he truly deserves to be called a super genius of our academy!"