The boy in green at the front pulled a flare from his backpack and raised his hand to fire. His hand trembled in panic, and the flare flew sideways, hitting a tall tree trunk and failing to reach the air above the bushes.
"What the hell are you doing?" the boy behind him shouted, his face flushed with anxiety.
"Stop talking! Get ready for battle!" Another boy, a gleaming dagger in hand, cautiously watched the approaching force.
Twelve hyenas ran up to them and surrounded them. The four of them stood back to back, their faces tense. The hyenas' eyes gleamed with greed, and their throats uttered low, aggressive growls.
"I'm so fucking sorry! For a hundred thousand, I might even lose my life!"
"Riluo clearly said they were here, but how could he suddenly disappear? Are we being tricked?"
"Shut up," the boy who had been silent until then shouted. "They're moving."
As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding hyenas pounced on them, and the scene erupted in chaos.
Soon, the scent of blood filled the air. The four green-clad men and the hyenas were all injured.
Xie Sen, crouching in the bushes not far away, watching the scene, subconsciously held his breath, his face pale. The bloody scene reminded him of being surrounded by zombies at the beginning of the apocalypse.
A sudden warmth lingered on his shoulder, and Xie Sen turned his head. In the dim light emanating from the fighting area, he saw Maine's worried expression.
His heart suddenly settled, and he grinned, signaling that he was fine.
Bai Jiao said, "They're almost overwhelmed."
The four boys were all male contracted beast masters, and their fighting ability was considerable, but they were no match for a pack of hyenas that outnumbered them three to one.
Maine stared at the fight with a cold gaze, his voice cold, "Wait a little longer."
The wounds on the four green-clad men multiplied, and their attacks gradually slowed. They had killed two hyenas, but the remaining ones attacked even more fiercely, their howls filling the entire arena.
Suddenly, the green-clad boy was tackled to the ground by a hyena, which then bit his neck.
Xie Sen's eyes widened, and he reflexively summoned a chili pepper tree, exchanging it for chili peppers. He mentally commanded the peppers to explode into dust as they flew towards the hyena.
Even as he finished the command, a dagger was lodged in the hyena's head. Without even a cry, it fell to the side.
Xie Sen quickly called out, "Come back."
The chili pepper branch that had darted past the hyena instantly retracted. Xie Sen turned around, and Main had already stood up, looking down at him. "Wait here,"
he said, and sprinted off. Long Teng followed closely behind him. The two attacked quickly and fiercely, causing the hyenas to cry out in unison.
The hyenas quickly realized their opponent was formidable, and four of them split up to deal with the four green-clad men, while the other six split into two groups to deal with Main and Long Teng.
The battle suddenly became tense. Xie Sen nervously watched Main, when he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He turned to look, and his heart nearly stopped.
A row of green eyes appeared in the dense forest behind him.
He quickly grabbed Bai Jiao's arm, swallowing nervously. "Back...back."
Bai Jiao, preoccupied with the battlefield, turned his head and glanced, his expression changing. "We have to get out of here! The smell of blood is attracting the beasts."
He stood up, and Xie Sen followed him.
Bai Jiao pulled out a spray-like bottle from his spaceship. "This is for dealing with wild beasts. Let me try it."
Xie Sen held him back, "Let me do it!" The bottle was clearly designed for close combat, making it incredibly dangerous.
He commanded the chili tree to charge at the hyenas attacking Maine, quickly exploding a third of its pods beneath each hyena's nose.
"Ahhh!!!" The chili tree moved incredibly fast, and almost instantly, three hyenas screamed, their eyes closed, tails tucked between their legs, and hopped around aimlessly.
Maine took the opportunity to dispatch them, glanced in Xie Sen's direction, and resumed the fight.
Xie Sen exchanged another chili pepper and issued the same command, this time targeting the three hyenas surrounding Long Teng.
Canines have a highly developed sense of smell. The instant the fiery chili peppers exploded under their noses, they couldn't help but wail, their voices high and shrill. The surrounding beasts, drawn in by the scent of blood, instinctively retreated.
Long Teng and Maine dispatched all the hyenas with remarkable efficiency. The four green-clad men, covered in blood, panted and awkwardly thanked them.
Bai Jiao looked curiously at the chili tree floating near Xie Sen's shoulder. "Is that your mimic beast? It's incredibly lethal!"
Xie Sen mumbled, "It's more useful for creatures with a keen sense of smell." He put the chili tree away.
Bai Jiao smiled. "I'd like to study it sometime."
Xie Sen hesitated and nodded. "Okay."
The two men arrived at the battle site. The strong smell of blood was unbearable. Xie Sen folded his arms and looked at the green-clad men. "We were just taking a walk after dinner, and you've messed up our resting place like this. You're incredible!"
The four men's faces twitched. A walk? A post-dinner stroll in this kind of place was ridiculous. As for the subsequent "really impressive" part, it was truly embarrassing.
Bai Jiao hooked her index finger through her hair, a faint smile plastered across her face. "Did you specifically come to us?"
"No, no..."
"How did Rui Luo know our exact location?" Maine interrupted his denial and asked bluntly.
"How did you know it was Rui Luo who sent us here?" one of them shouted. "Have you been watching us get into trouble?" "
Wow, we just saved you, and you're still yelling? You don't understand what's going on!" Long Teng put his hands on his hips and pointed at the man.
The four of them fell silent, their expressions grim. Their plan was perfect: lure the hyenas here, forcing Maine and the others to send a distress signal and abandon the competition.
Little did they know they'd failed, and thanks to Maine and the others' help, they'd be laughed to death if word got out.
"Answer my question," Maine warned coldly.
The other three looked at the boy in green. He said, "I'm not entirely sure. I just know you have a location tracker on you... Out of curiosity, I asked Rui Luo, and he said, 'That idiot keeps treating the things my uncle gave me like treasures. Of course, I know where he is.'"
Maine's hands suddenly clenched into fists, his expression grim and dark. "Did he really say that?"
The boy in green shuddered. "Yes, he did."
Xie Sen grabbed Maine's arm worriedly. "What's wrong with you?" Maine's expression was truly frightening.
Maine turned to stare at him, and Xie Sen felt a chill run down his soles. He didn't let go, still holding Maine's arm, staring at him.
After a moment, Maine's expression returned to normal, his voice dry. "It's okay."
Bai Jiao warned, "We need to get out of here quickly. The smell of blood is too strong." He glanced around with a serious expression.
In almost every direction, in the dense forest not far away, the eyes of wild beasts gleamed with greed.
Maine opened his bracelet and brought up a map. "Follow me."
"What should we do?" the boy in green asked hurriedly. "Can we go with you?"
"No," Maine flatly refused.
Bai Jiao countered, "You still want to compete?"
The boy in green grimaced, "We can't send a distress signal."
Xie Sen knew perfectly well that their inability to send a distress signal was due to Maine's manipulation, jamming the signal.
In fact, he suspected that if it weren't for the league's rules prohibiting harming others, Maine might not have rescued them at all.
If the four green-clad men had been silently killed by the hyenas, the organizers would undoubtedly investigate. After all, everyone can send a distress signal, and dying without one would be unusual.
They had all swiped their wristbands before the competition began, and the organizers knew everyone's location. Any investigation would easily lead to them.
As the top student in the Information Department, Maine would undoubtedly be suspected when it came to distress signals.
Xie Sen thought to himself, opened his bracelet and switched to the emergency page. He pointed at the red button, "You can send a distress message! Are your hands shaking from fear?" "
Huh? It really works!" the green-clad boy opened his bracelet again, delighted. He glanced at his teammates, who were in dire straits, and without hesitation, sent a distress message.
Maine knew Xie Sen had done this specifically for him. He gave Xie Sen a deep look and led the way deeper into the forest. Using a data detector to monitor real-time road conditions, he accurately avoided wild animals and reached another clearing safely.
They quickly lit a fire. Maine said, "Long Teng, keep them safe. I'll be back soon."
Xie Sen asked quickly, "What are you going to do?"
"Throw something away," Maine said calmly. He turned and headed back the way he'd come, disappearing moments later.
Xie Sen looked worriedly in the direction he'd left. Remembering what the green-clad boy had said, he realized the object he'd thrown must be related to the uncle Rui Luo had mentioned.
This wasn't the first time he'd mentioned the term. When Maine had previously offered to pay half the deposit, Rui Luo suspected Maine's uncle had given him the money.
This meant his uncle must be very kind to Maine, otherwise Rui Luo wouldn't have been so suspicious. Yet, such a person had installed a tracking device on Maine!
Xie Sen's concern grew even more intense as he pondered this.
Maine returned shortly, his face somewhat glum. Without a word, he casually sat down against a tree trunk.
Xie Sen moved to sit next to him. Maine turned to look at him, and he smiled, "It'll be warmer at night if we stay next to each other."
Maine's voice was warm, "Yeah."
Seeing this, Long Teng moved closer to Bai Jiao, his white teeth flashing. "Let's stay next to each other too, to keep warm."
Bai Jiao smiled at him, "Just in case, it's best to have someone on duty at night."
Maine said, "I'll cover the first half, Long Teng the second."
"Sure, no problem!" Long Teng replied.
Xie Sen looked around. Although they called it open space, it was only slightly more spacious than the road, less than ten square meters in total.
Maine and Long Teng had just fought not long ago, and it took a lot of energy, especially since Maine had carried him on his back during the day, so it was impossible for him not to be tired.
He secretly wondered if there was a way to do it without anyone keeping watch. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind: "I have a way. We can rest together and not have to keep watch."
As he spoke, he summoned potatoes, exchanged for four potatoes, and directed the four roots to take them to four directions, then reduced the density. The potatoes grew bigger and bigger, and eventually became four walls, forming a space that surrounded them.
"Wow! Amazing!" Long Teng jumped up, touching the potato wall with sparkling eyes, "What is this?"
Xie Sen said seriously: "A new type of outdoor tent."
If he told Long Teng, he was sure that all these walls would go into Long Teng's stomach.