With Su Qinghe gone, their team once again became a five-person squad. Without the burden of Su Qinghe dragging them down, their escape speed was like wind at their heels.
That was right. To prevent the smaller lizards from calling over their "elder," the five of them raised their weapons and charged desperately into the depths of the forest.
Along the way, plants constantly lashed out from all sides, forcing them to cut them down without hesitation. A single slip of caution could mean being dragged to who knew where.
After running for some time, they finally reached the spot Brother Zhang had designated.
They first scanned the area for any dangerous creatures. Once they confirmed it was clear, they strapped the explosive charges tightly onto the thick grasses. There was no choice. If they placed them elsewhere, someone or something might tamper with them. Binding them directly to the stalks and making sure the plants could not move was the safest option.
Once everything was prepared, the group sprinted a long distance away. Brother Zhang pressed the remote control in his hand. With a loud boom, Lan Jin felt her very insides quiver.
It was lucky they had retreated so far. If they had been closer, her organs might have been damaged from the blast.
Right after the first detonation, they hurried to the next target point. Along the way, Ling Jiang was nearly dragged off by a vine. Her short knife could not cut through it at all. Thankfully, her bracelet could manifest wolf-shaped ice claws, and with a single swipe she sliced the vine apart.
Escaping danger, Ling Jiang did not dare rest. After catching her breath, she rushed to follow the group again. When the second boom echoed across the forest, their mission was one step closer to completion.
But as the smoke cleared in the distance, a massive figure charged in their direction.
Its posture, its body size—it was simply an enlarged version of the small lizards they had encountered earlier.
This giant lizard was about the same size as the snake they had fought the day before. That snake, when upright, had been as tall as a seven-story building. If this lizard reared up, it too would reach nearly seven stories high. Both were enormous creatures.
Lan Jin looked at the approaching giant lizard and asked, "They say kings do not share territory, but this forest isn't that big. Has this snake and lizard never fought each other? They have not thought about killing the other?"
Lao Gao replied with a grim sort of humor, "Maybe they have thought about it. Maybe they have already fought. But their strength is too evenly matched, so neither has managed to win."
Huang Jinghe rolled his eyes at him. Seeing everyone frozen in place, Huang Jinghe asked nervously, "Then what do we do now? Do we fight it?"
Brother Zhang answered, "Fight. There is no way around it. We cannot escape, so fight directly."
Each raised their weapon and opened fire at the giant lizard as it closed in.
Its massive size made it an easy target. Brother Zhang and Lao Gao aimed for its eyes. Two heavy projectiles shot forward, exploding against the lizard's eyes with twin booms. The giant lizard reared back, howling in pain, thrashing with its limbs skyward.
"Nice!"
The two men had struck perfectly in sync.
But though the lizard toppled, its tail whipped furiously. Their position was right within its sweep. By a hair's breadth, Lan Jin narrowly avoided being smashed.
"Good grief, one hit from that tail and I would be paste."
Her anger flared. She unleashed her lightning ability against the writhing giant lizard.
Since her ability had evolved, Lan Jin had wanted to test its full extent. What better target than this enormous creature? Without holding anything back, she gathered every ounce of her power. A massive bolt of lightning crashed down onto the lizard, striking again and again in a sustained torrent.
The giant lizard's body convulsed violently, limbs stiffening as arcs of electricity scorched its flesh. When Lan Jin's power finally subsided, the lizard was twitching only through a single upturned claw. Then the smell of burnt flesh filled the air, and the beast fell still, lifeless.
Lan Jin was stunned. She knew her lightning had grown stronger, but she had not realized it had reached this level.
But the cost was immediate. Her body had been completely drained of energy. The instant the lightning ended, Lan Jin collapsed, too weak even to remain standing.
The others rushed to her side. Seeing she had not lost consciousness, Ling Jiang quickly pulled a lightning-element crystal from her bag and tried to place it in Lan Jin's hand.
But Lan Jin's arms were limp. She could not even hold the crystal, let alone absorb its energy.
Ling Jiang's face paled. "What do we do? Has her ability been completely exhausted? Will it damage her body? She will not die, will she?"
The depletion of abilities always harmed the body, but it would not normally be fatal. Brother Zhang lowered his backpack and retrieved a syringe. "Expose her arm. If we inject this, she should recover much faster."
Ling Jiang quickly pulled at Lan Jin's clothing. Luckily, Lan Jin wore a temperature-regulating suit, not the bulky gear others had. With only three thin layers, Ling Jiang easily bared her arm.
Before the needle pierced her, Lao Gao seized Brother Zhang's wrist, glaring warily. "What is that? What does it do? Can you just inject it like that?"
Brother Zhang smiled calmly. "This is something the base developed. It replenishes energy when an ability user is completely drained. One shot and she will recover immediately. It is far more effective than crystals, but also much more expensive. I had no intention of using it unless absolutely necessary. This single shot, I would trade for half a tier one crystal."
Everyone's eyes widened. The cost was truly steep.
Hearing this, Lan Jin immediately protested weakly, "No, don't."
The thought of losing half a crystal pained her deeply.
But Brother Zhang shook his head. "This is not me taking advantage. With your condition now, even if you absorbed every crystal you have, it would take at least a month before you could use your ability again. This injection works instantly. It is official issue, quality guaranteed, and very rare. Each base only gets two doses. You will see later—this is worth more than a tier one crystal. I am only asking half. You are actually profiting."
Useful as it was, was Lan Jin really profiting?
She had killed the giant lizard herself. She had drained all her energy to do it. Now she was supposed to hand over half of the crystal that should rightfully be hers? Was that truly a gain?