"Brothers, give me some face and stop arguing. Besides... this isn't the place for it." Liu Feng patted Han Ning and Chen Yan's shoulders respectively, playing the peacemaker.
"Haha, I was just making a suggestion." Chen Yan shrugged nonchalantly.
Truth be told, if not for Liu Feng's intervention, Han Ning would have already lashed this guy across the face with his vines. Considering they still needed teamwork from these companions, he suppressed his displeasure and walked away without another word.
...
The hunting operations continued over the following days.
With Han Ning's vine assistance, the team's efficiency improved dramatically. The five-member squad cleared numerous isolated crocodile lizards around the apartment complex, averaging one or two 1.5-meter-long kills daily. They did encounter larger specimens but avoided them thanks to Zhou Wan's keen observational skills.
Through repeated combat, Han Ning's vine manipulation grew increasingly refined. His proficiency gradually rose to [Intermediate Vine Manipulation, 182/200], while his Druid cultivation progressed to [Junior Druid, Current 162/300].
Notably, the energy distribution from slain crocodile lizards didn't provide fixed cultivation points but varied according to the creature's size—presumably reflecting its strength. Han Ning typically gained 10-15 points per kill.
Their exploration radius gradually expanded from the residential compound to nearby commercial areas. Regarding supplies, Han Ning systematically searched all units on the 8th floor, though most were either empty, minimally stocked, occupied by silent occupants, or partially looted by Liu Feng's people beforehand. None matched the legendary hoard of the 8th-floor hamster resident.
Still, he accumulated approximately fifty pounds of provisions—water, instant noodles, rice, canned goods, vacuum-sealed cooked food, and assorted snacks—plus useful items like alcohol lamps, batteries, candles, paper, and potting soil.
On the fifth day, the team decided to investigate a partially submerged abandoned mall near the compound's entrance toward White Egret Port. Liu Feng's intelligence suggested possible intact storage facilities there.
The mall interior was dark and humid, with knee-deep water littered with debris and rotting matter. The air reeked of mildew and decay. Zhou Wan led with her exceptional vision, flanked by Chen Yan and Lu Minghu on guard, Han Ning providing central support, and Liu Feng bringing up the rear.
"Stay alert. This is completely unexplored territory—likely crawling with crocodile lizards," Liu Feng cautioned while scanning their surroundings.
"Something feels off. It's too quiet—shouldn't be completely devoid of them." Zhou Wan suddenly halted, frowning.
"Maybe we should turn back. I trust your instincts."
Just as Liu Feng moved past a collapsed shelf to join Zhou Wan—
"ROAR!"
An ear-splitting, savage bellow erupted from above them.
.
In the next instant, an enormous black shadow crashed through the second-floor ceiling, carrying debris like a meteor as it plummeted and landed with a thunderous impact right in front of the group.
Water splashed everywhere, and the ground seemed to tremble.
What appeared before them was a terrifying giant lizard unlike anything they had ever seen.
Nearly 3.5 meters long, its body was covered in bluish-gray scales, with jagged, spear-like dorsal spines protruding along its back.
Its vertical pupils, unlike those of other Crocodile Lizards, were a deep crimson.
"Hiss..."
Unlike typical Crocodile Lizards, which immediately tore into their prey, this monstrous creature locked its gaze onto the intruders, as if studying them, exuding an aura of suffocating destruction.
"It's that big?!"
Liu Feng's face paled, his usually calm voice cracking slightly.
He had never felt such overwhelming pressure before.
"Scatter! Get back!" Zhou Wan shrieked in warning, already loosing an arrow aimed straight for the giant lizard's eye.
However, the arrow merely struck the thick, scaly eyelid, sparking before bouncing off harmlessly.
The beast's attention was now fully fixed on Chen Yan and Lu Minghu, who were closest to it!
"Damn it!"
Chen Yan roared, his muscles bulging as his skin took on a dense, stone-like sheen. Instead of retreating, he charged forward, swinging a fire axe with all his might at the lizard's outstretched forelimb.
Lu Minghu darted to the side, attempting to strike at the softer underbelly.
"Vine Manipulation!"
Han Ning didn't hesitate, channeling his Spiritual Power to its limits.
Dozens of dark green vines, studded with sharp wooden thorns, erupted from cracks in the floor, walls, and ceiling, coiling around the beast's limbs, neck, and the massive tail that lashed toward them.
Sssk—
The vines grated violently against the scales.
The lizard's strength was beyond imagination—the vines strained to their limits, creaking under the pressure before snapping apart in rapid succession.
Yet Han Ning's desperate effort still had an effect, slowing the creature's movements for a crucial split second.
Chen Yan's axe struck the lizard's scaled forelimb again and again.
Clang! Clang!
Despite his immense strength, the blows left only shallow white marks, failing to penetrate its defenses.
Lu Minghu's attack was effortlessly deflected by a casual tail swipe, leaving him barely dodging a counterstrike.
"ROAR!" The giant lizard, now fully enraged, turned its crimson gaze toward Han Ning.
It was intelligent—it knew who posed the greatest threat.
With a powerful push of its forelimbs, the massive beast pivoted awkwardly, its maw of jagged teeth snapping toward Han Ning with a gust of foul, hot breath.
"Han Ning!" Liu Feng shouted in alarm.
Instantly, his short hair stood on end as the surrounding puddles trembled. Scattered metal shelves and chunks of concrete lifted into the air, hurtling toward the lizard's head.
But at that moment—
Chen Yan, who should have been covering Han Ning's flank, suddenly stumbled inexplicably and fell backward into the water.
Lu Minghu, too, hesitated for half a beat, failing to charge forward in time.
That momentary retreat and delay left Han Ning in an extremely perilous position.
With the front line broken and no one to shield him, the lizard's gaping maw was now right in front of him, its rancid breath washing over his face.
"That bastard!"
Han Ning had seen Chen Yan's deliberate stumble all too clearly.
The situation was critical; there was no time to settle scores with the other party.
In haste, he could only weave a few relatively weak layers of vine barriers in front of himself, then silently recited:
"Tree Skin Art!"
Green light rapidly flowed across Han Ning's body, condensing into a layer of wrinkled, brownish-green tree bark.
Bang! Crack!
The vine barriers were effortlessly torn apart.
With the brief delay, Han Ning barely managed to move his head out of the giant lizard's biting range.
However, a vicious, spear-like bone spur on the edge of the lizard's lower jaw still grazed his left arm.
Rip!
The wrinkled tree bark was torn open, and blood instantly spurted out.
Han Ning felt a heart-wrenching pain shoot through his left arm, as if the bone had been dislocated.
The tremendous impact sent him flying backward, crashing heavily into a half-tilted shelf behind him before being completely buried under the falling goods.
"Stop it!" Liu Feng roared, frantically controlling all available debris to hurl at the giant lizard's head and eyes.
Zhou Wan's arrows rained down on the lizard's relatively vulnerable eyelids and the inside of its mouth.
Only then did Chen Yan and Lu Minghu snap out of their daze and steel themselves to charge forward.
Their attacks proved effective.
Distracted by the harassment from the other four, the giant lizard temporarily abandoned the buried Han Ning and turned its head away.