"We've been here for a long time now. Why isn't there a monster in sight?"
"We'll see them soon."
"Any skewers left? I want one more."
Four players strolled through the dense forest, looking around casually. Their eyes scanned for danger but also for anything valuable.
ROAR
A sudden beastly roar split the air. Before anyone could react, a massive black panther, nearly four meters long, exploded out of the underbrush. One player was slammed into the dirt, pinned beneath the predator.
"Hold the grass!" he yelped, raising an arm just in time to block its fangs, but the black panther bit down hard. Blood splashed across the leaves as its teeth tore a horrible wound into his flesh.
He hadn't even had time to activate Colored Arm.
"Help him!"
The other three lunged in, slashing with bone daggers and knives, but the black panther leapt nimbly away, landing in a treetop before vanishing into the foliage.
"Damn it, where'd it go?"
"Why's it smarter than the War Hunchback Beast?"
"That thing was dumb as hell compared to this panther."
"Bro, we're not in the newbie zone anymore. The beasts here are cracked."
They huddled together back to back, eyes wide. The black panther hadn't gone far. It was stalking again, waiting to strike.
Similar ambushes happened across the forest.
"Help! Help me!"
Another player was lifted into the air, wrapped in a thick vine. He struggled helplessly as the vine dragged him toward a giant piranha-like flower, its mouth opening wide.
Elsewhere, three players fled in panic as a massive black bull with double horns charged after them, followed by dozens more.
"Send the signal! Now!"
Another group screamed as a ten-meter-long python swallowed one of their members whole. One of the survivors crushed a signal stick in desperation.
Boom. A streak of thunder shot into the sky, followed by a glowing cyan halo.
A moment later, He Yiming's figure streaked through the air and descended upon the scene.
He saw three players pinned under the crushing coils of a giant serpent. The swallowed one's legs were still twitching from inside.
"Flying Sword, cut."
With a flick of his hand, Mingyue flew like lightning.
Puff. The python's long body split in two. Its head, still snarling, twisted to strike, but He Yiming fell like a meteor, jet-black Colored Arm wrapped around his fist.
Boom. He punched the snake's head straight into the ground, flattening it with brutal finality.
"Quick! He's not digested yet!"
The remaining players rushed forward, dragging their friend out of the python's gut.
"Ugh, it stinks!" The rescued player gagged. He was coated in slime, his body bent at unnatural angles.
He Yiming opened his mouth to scold them, then froze.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
More thunder.
Seven, eight, nine cyan flares lit the sky at once.
He Yiming's expression twisted. "You've barely entered the outer forest and you're already turning into beast dung…"
Sighing, he rose back into the sky on Mingyue.
Over the next hour, He Yiming rescued dozens more.
Eventually, most players gathered outside the chariot. It looked like a war hospital.
Some were missing limbs. Armor was shattered. Weapons lost. One player had his head partially crushed. Half of his face looked like someone took a bite out of an apple. He was still alive. Even talking.
"Why are the monsters here so damn savage?"
"I haven't even killed one. Without Brother Ming, I'd have been torn apart."
"I kicked one calf and got chased by a hundred bulls. Is that normal? I feel targeted."
They sat around eating hotpot, nursing wounds and comparing traumas.
"I miss the War Hunchback Beasts," someone muttered. Many nodded.
Those beasts were stupid. Predictable. Easy to bait and defeat. These monsters in the Hundred Thousand Mountains? They were built different. Sneaky, aggressive, smart.
Even the weaker ones like the black panther were terrifying. They hit once, vanished, and waited for the next strike.
Most player squads were imbalanced. Some too weak, some too uncoordinated. They were getting stomped.
But not everyone.
Hooooh
A massive tiger roared as it lunged forward, claws out, crashing through the trees toward a single figure.
The man didn't retreat.
He stepped forward.
Jet-black arm covering his fists.
His ID
Wang Lufei.