After the two wolves disappeared into the woods, Chen Xuan was left with Fenrir beneath him, still trembling slightly.
Besides him was the large bear carcass, lying still and battered with a hole through its chest.
As Chen Xuan came down from his high, he noticed a feeling of joy coming from within himself. The nerves from before and the metaphorical adrenaline rush gave him a thrill.
Previously, in his past life, Chen Xuan had never been in a true fight. Now that he had fought for the second time, the fear of fighting dissipated slightly, leaving him with just a feeling of joy.
Being able to use the strength gained from many days of boredom gave Chen Xuan immense joy.
As Chen Xuan basked in the joy of battle, he heard a low whine coming from below. The source was obviously Fenrir, who was currently looking up at him and whining quietly.
Upon seeing this sight, Chen Xuan let out a light laugh, as Fenrir was acting like a house-trained puppy begging for food.
Without the need for food or any more nutrients, Chen Xuan sent a message for confirmation to Fenrir.
As he looked at Fenrir, Chen Xuan noticed a system notification in the corner of his vision.
+5.1 Life Energy
"Ah, I forgot about that," Chen Xuan muttered to himself, forgetting about the energy gain from some kills.
"Surely, it's something to do with their strength."
From both this time and the previous, Chen Xuan was even more certain about his guess from before.
Opening his panel, Chen Xuan looked to see how much energy he had left until the next breakthrough.
Life energy: 34.3 / 35 (98%)
As he saw the large number, Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow, realizing he had gained about 1 day's worth of energy in just one fight.
"Should be a few hours, I think," he muttered as he turned his gaze to Fenrir, who had already started feasting on the large bear.
Not really minding Fenrir's feasting, Chen Xuan watched on, like a parent watching a child eat.
Meanwhile, a few dozen kilometers from Chen Xuan's current location...
"Get behind us, you morons!" one man yelled as gunshots resounded throughout the surrounding kilometers.
Dozens of shells dropped to the ground each second, falling onto the cold dirt.
Along with the gunshots, screams rang out throughout the area. Screams that gave off a feeling of intense fear.
In the forest, a small group of people cowered in the center, while another group of much larger and more muscular people surrounded them.
The people in the center were much more frail and weak looking compared to the people surrounding them, seeming to be civilians.
The people surrounding them however, looked very bulky, or at the very least muscular. The bulky people surrounding the small group seemed to be military, based on their looks and demeanor.
The solider looking people however, didn't have any military uniform on and seemed to just have tactical equipment and firearms.
The bodyguards had their back to the small group as they held their guns facing outwards.
This was the source of the loud gunfire. As for what they were shooting at.
The soldiers were shooting outward into the woods. The targets were some grey, I'd not white wolves who darted throughout the trees.
As for how this skirmish had started...
A few minutes ago, the group was walking through the woods.
"How much farther do we have to go miss Li?" One man asked to the leader of the researchers.
The question prompted a slight giggle from the leader. It was Mei Ling, a head researcher of a group from the IMHE.
"Stop complaining, we are almost there, then we just have to go back"
Such a response prompted a sigh or groans from some of the researchers. Mostly those that had very skinny or very large physiques and were sweating a lot. Evidently not used to this much exercise.
One of the skinnier researchers went up to mei ling, asking with a slight pleading in his tone "Miss Li, could we please stop here for uhhh..... samples"
"Samples hm?" Li Mei ling asked as she scanned the other researchers, having only a few that weren't panting. "Fine, but we have to move in 10 minutes."
After her words escaped her mouth, a majority of the small team had collectively let out a sigh, most of them relieved that they were allowed to rest.
Once they gained permission, everyone found a spot to sit down and rest. Some people sitting on tree stumps, others on filled trees or rocks, a few even sitting on the ground.
"Thank you for your hard work sir" Mei Ling said sweetly as she held out a water bottle to one of the soldiers nearby.
"Thanks" Short and sweet, the soldier was evidently a man of few words. Simply taking the bottle and gulping down a few mouthfuls before handing it back.
As Mei Ling smiled to the man, a loud scream came from the side of them both.
The origin was another one of the guards who was currently lying in a pool of blood and twitching.
"Fall in everyone!" The head guard yelled, his words acting as law as the surrounding guards fell in and surrounded the scientists.
Each of them pointing their weapons outwards as they encircled the researchers. While a majority were guarding everyone, one man walked over and checked the pulse of the man on the ground, only to find it fully gone.
Suddenly, a loud howl resounded throughout the surrounding woods. Immediately after the loud howl, more howls resounded, one loud one and the rest, a lot quieter when compared to the first two.
Soon after, sounds of bushes rustling sounded all around the group of researchers and guards.
The researchers quivered in the center life the circle while the surrounding guards stood firm, arming their rifles outward.
The group looked to be like a bunch of ox protecting their calves, ready for a battle.