"Why did it retreat!"
David, still shaken, asked as the Mantis Monster's figure slowly disappeared into the mist.
No one answered his question; they also didn't know why it had retreated.
However, Li Qingyuan looked in the direction the Mantis Monster had vanished and frowned in thought.
The biological habits of these monsters were very obvious. If there were any experienced biology or zoology experts, they might even be able to tame them.
The Mantis Monster had clearly wanted a snack, but it didn't expect that the food would bite back!
So, after a little consideration, the Mantis Monster, having obtained its food, chose to retreat directly.
Animals have very simple minds. Once they've secured today's food, they won't bother preparing for tomorrow.
The Mighty Lion on the African savanna also wouldn't hunt more prey than it needs at once, as they understand the importance of maintaining balance.
Clearly, the Mantis Monster was treating this place as its next food source.
"I think we're going to have trouble tomorrow!" Li Qingyuan said, a bit dejected as he returned to the Supermarket.
Even though he felt he might be overthinking it, considering the system's nature, this judgment was likely spot on.
If he didn't burn down the Pharmacy next door, he would have to face a constant stream of spiders for the next two days.
But if he burned down the Pharmacy, he would have to face the Mantis Monster, which would come to hunt.
It was a choice between two options, and it was absolutely impossible for him to spend the remaining three days in peace.
"You all saw that monster. The Supermarket's defenses definitely won't hold up against it!"
The Mantis Monster's three-meter-long crab claws and its massive size... even if the front of the Supermarket wasn't just glass, but made entirely of concrete, it might not withstand an attack.
"We can't let it attack the Supermarket. If the Supermarket's defenses are broken, no one here will survive!" Li Qingyuan said slowly, looking at the survivors gathered around him.
"But our attacks have no effect on it!" Oli said with trepidation. Neither the flamethrower nor the pistol bullets could inflict any damage on that giant monster; at most, they could only drive it back.
"But we can hurt it, make it afraid. Otherwise, it wouldn't have run away today!" Although he had guessed the main reason the Mantis Monster retreated today, he didn't want to say it out loud.
Actually, the best method would be to follow Mrs. Carmody's plan from the original story: sacrifice two people every day. Then, the satiated Mantis Monster would treat everyone in the Supermarket as its reserve food supply, not only refraining from mass slaughter but even protecting these people.
After all, dead food definitely isn't as delicious as fresh food, right?
But Mrs. Carmody could do this, while he couldn't. If he were to ask them to choose two people to die tomorrow, chaos would erupt tonight.
He dug his own grave, and now he had to jump in it with tears in his eyes. If he had known, he might as well have set up his character as a cult leader. Wouldn't that have been much better than this righteous and positive image he had now?
"The army will arrive in a few days at most. We must protect this place!" Seeing that everyone looked grim, he could only start another round of motivational speeches.
"Think about the people you need to protect. Do you want to face those monsters with me like a hero, or cower here like cowards and wait for death!" "You've all seen the scene in the Pharmacy. If those people hadn't panicked, they wouldn't have ended up like that. Victory is within reach now; how can we give up because of such a small setback?"
After pumping out a dozen rounds of motivational speeches, he finally managed to boost the morale of this group a little. Then, he picked the tallest among the short, selecting a dozen or so men to go out and fight the enemy with him tomorrow.
Of course, it sounded good to say they were going to fight the enemy, but in reality, they were just going to be food for the Mantis Monster.
Judging by the Mantis Monster's appetite, he estimated that one person would be enough to feed it for a day. He wondered which lucky person would have the honor of being chosen by the monster tomorrow.
The fourth night was peaceful. He didn't know if the Mantis Monster had really regarded the people in the Supermarket as a food reserve, but there were no monsters to harass them all night, not even those iron-headed Skeleton Birds.
The next two days were also uneventful. Every morning, he would select twelve brave souls from the Supermarket to go out and fight the Mantis Monster with him, and then two sacrifices would be taken away by the monster.
Two sacrifices for the safety of everyone in the Supermarket? That was definitely a bargain.
In truth, smart people like Norton and David had already guessed the Mantis Monster's intentions and Li Qingyuan's real motive for constantly tricking people into going out to their deaths these past few days.
However, the smart ones kept their thoughts to themselves. David had already fought the Mantis Monster on the first day, and Norton had been tricked into fighting it on the second day. According to the rules, they wouldn't have to go out again!
So, since they weren't the ones being sent out to feed the monster, they certainly wouldn't risk their own safety for the sake of others.
Even though feeding the monster with people every day seemed incredibly cruel, for the greater good, it was better to let a small number of people die!
Besides, Officer Li was leading the charge every day, setting an example. No matter how suspicious others felt, they could only endure it.
"Today is already the seventh day!" Li Qingyuan said slowly, looking at the already brightening sky outside.
According to the system's mission instructions, as long as he could hold out until noon today, the mission would be complete. He only had six hours left, all things considered.
Currently, there are over two hundred survivors in the Supermarket. All the special plot characters are still alive, except for Mrs. Carmody, who met a tragic end.
If he could get that many rewards, he'd get nearly thirty attribute points!
Even though he felt the system probably wouldn't give him that much, a person still needed to have dreams.
Maybe this garbage system had too much memory and burned itself out!
"Seven days!" Shali, who was sleeping beside him, also got up, her hair a mess. She spoke with a sigh.
Her childhood sweetheart had died valiantly in the fight against the Mantis Monster the day before yesterday. Four people had died in the last two days, including those three soldiers!
It had to be said, this was a very coincidental thing, with absolutely no manipulation behind the scenes.
After that soldier died, this little girl, Shali, immediately felt a wave of malice from the others. Even her best female colleague started glaring at her.
Everyone knew the disaster was caused by experiments at the military base hidden in the mountains, so it was only natural that they viewed the soldiers with disdain.
Shali, that little girl, couldn't figure out the situation at first and even dared to speak up for those three guys, which led to the consequences she was now facing.
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