"Squeak squeak squeak!"
"Squeak squeak!"
"Squeak—squeak!"
The cries of the Gray Mouse Knights suddenly became high-pitched and piercing. In an instant, the sounds of dozens of Gray Mouse Knights filled the thicket. As they called out, they began the chase from all directions, intercepting!
Wang Wu was inwardly complaining of his misfortune, his body still aching terribly. Even though the Healing Talent was rapidly restoring him, the intense running felt like another form of torture.
But there was no other option.
Thankfully, in this pitch-black world, Wang Wu's vision allowed him to see far, and he was familiar with the terrain. At first, he easily shook off a few Gray Mice intercepting him.
However, as time passed little by little, the encirclement of the Gray Mouse Knights became denser.
Wang Wu even suspected that these Gray Mice already knew his intentions.
After shaking off two waves of Gray Mice, Wang Wu decisively gave up on reaching the creek and turned to run southwest, toward the territory of the Little Red Bird.
Meanwhile, behind him, a good twenty-something Gray Mouse Knights were screeching and closing the distance, the closest one being less than three meters away.
As soon as they got within one meter of him, these Gray Mouse Knights could launch a vicious tooth attack, their speed abruptly increasing, allowing them to take a fierce bite.
So Wang Wu was really getting anxious, completely disregarding the burns on his body, running for his life, with every second bringing a drop in his Life Value.
There couldn't be no price to pay.
Just as he was about to be caught, suddenly all the Gray Mouse Knights stopped in unison, for Wang Wu had finally reached the domain of those Little Red Birds.
Right under those big trees.
Here it was eerily quiet, with no insect sounds or living creatures, as if it were a land of death.
But Wang Wu really couldn't care less. This round of frantic running had brought his Life Value down to single digits.
Ducking behind the trunk of a big tree, he forced himself into a silent stealth state.
It remained quiet around, and the Little Red Birds resting in the crowns of the trees weren't disturbed, including the Little Red Bird Leader, or perhaps they were too lazy to care.
In contrast, those Gray Mouse Knights hesitated for a moment before silently retreating.
They truly feared the Little Red Birds.
Only then did Wang Wu breathe a sigh of relief. His Satiety had previously been around 200 points, which, under the Level 2 Healing Talent, was enough to restore his Life Value.
But by tomorrow morning, he might not get the chance to bask in the sun for Spiritual Qi.
Moreover, after this incident, he could no longer wander freely in the valley as before.
About five hours later, Wang Wu's Satiety was completely depleted, and the Level 2 Healing Talent ceased. It was a rather magical talent, and at that moment, his Life Value had only recovered to 70 points, leaving him bare, like a bald bear.
But at least those burns had healed.
Aside from looking a bit ugly, it didn't affect his movements anymore.
Apart from that, there was even an additional gain.
"Your Level 2 Healing Talent has recorded some characteristics of flame burns, and you have gained one point of ordinary Flame Resistance (1/10)."
——
Great, so as long as the Flame Resistance is raised to 10, he wouldn't suffer damage from ordinary flame burns?
Wang Wu was shocked, yet not entirely surprised, because if even regular snake venom could lead to developing resistance, then having Flame Resistance was normal. Truly, the bloodline of this Ancient Giant Bear was a treasure trove.
In an instant, his hatred towards the Flame Scorpion Clan, which had him grinding his teeth in anger, transformed into respect and reverence.
Ah, they were his dear friends, his good neighbors, how could he bear to say anything bad about them?
After tidying up his emotions, Wang Wu didn't dare to wait for daybreak. He quietly tiptoed away, not disturbing the Little Red Birds. However, from now on, he had to steer clear of this place.
He re-entered Level 5 Stealth in a bush among the shrubs, where he could finally relax for a bit. He intended to take a short nap but ended up sleeping until dawn without realizing it.
When Wang Wu sprang awake, he saw the warm, bright sunlight already falling on the cliff, the Golden Three Minutes almost over!
No time to bask in the sun, so he turned and headed towards Berry Plain.
With plenty of time this round, he first drank his fill at the creek, thoroughly washing all the burned scent from his body.
Only then did he gorge his Satiety up to 300 points amid the loud protests of the Gray Mice guarding the berries. Not satisfied, he picked more than ten berries, holding them in a large leaf, and fled to the other side of the creek, circling a bit before finding a bush to lie low in.
This evening, he would go to visit his good neighbor, good brother to borrow some fire.
Though the risk was high, the rewards were equally great.
"Squeak squeak squeak!"
As Silver Three Minutes ended, the returning Gray Mouse Knights began their routine, twice-daily search for Wang Wu.
At first, Wang Wu didn't take it seriously, just treating it as a joke.
Until he saw from a distance, across the creek, a group of Gray Mouse Knights accompanying a White Rat, he finally realized something was off.
These guys had actually brought reinforcements?
That White Rat truly looked like a transcendent sage, standing on two legs like a human. With one pink little paw behind its back and the other twisting the white whiskers several centimeters long.
Though short, it truly stood out among the tall Gray Mouse Knights!
Very charismatic.
Then, that White Rat began sniffing, seemingly finding something, and it directly located where Wang Wu had just bathed. Then, with a wave of its little paw, a white light flashed, and the stream that had been flowing suddenly froze over a width of four to five meters.
Whoa!
Was that Ice Magic or some kind of Divine Technique?
This was a real Little Demon!
Wang Wu's heart pounded in fear; the pressure was immense. However, he ultimately decided to remain in silence, relying on his confidence in the Level 5 Stealth.
And that White Rat crossed the ice-sealed stream, searching extensively in the grass on the shore, at times getting as close as five meters to Wang Wu.
Yet, Wang Wu's Level 5 Concealment Talent was ultimately effective, or perhaps the White Rat's cultivation was just slightly lacking. It failed to discover him.
This rather grand search thus came to a halt.
Nonetheless, Wang Wu was already certain that his life from now on was going to get increasingly difficult. Even the worldly White Rat had come down the mountain to hunt him; he couldn't underestimate these Little Demons' intelligence.
Who knew, tonight, the White Rat might lie in ambush for him in that rocky crevice?
Real pressure was mounting.
For a moment, Wang Wu couldn't come up with a good solution.
He could only hide and wait while watching his Satiety rapidly decrease, triggering the Level 2 Healing Talent and slowly raising his Life Value.
Whenever Satiety fell below a certain level, he'd eat a berry, filling his Satiety to the brim.
Satiety was crucial; it related to his Healing Talent and his Physical Strength.
Unknowingly, a day passed with no unusual incidents occurring.
And after much hesitation, Wang Wu finally decided not to borrow fire tonight.
The risk was too great.
He had to proceed gradually.