This Chen Hao had tried to get her attention time and again, buzzing around like a fly. She was already beyond annoyed with him.
And now he had to pull a stunt like this.
Gu Yuexi's mood had soured to its absolute limit.
'Should I… just get rid of these annoying pests?'
'This is the Black Forest, after all. It's perfectly normal for a few students to go missing each year.'
'With my current strength, plus Chu Sheng's support, dealing with these wounded stragglers would only take a little effort at most.'
'Chen Hao's Wind Blade Wolf was as listless as a stray dog; it no longer posed any threat.'
However, just then.
A rustling of footsteps came from the nearby woods.
Immediately after, a group of five people emerged from the trees.
All five wore identical black Combat Suits and exuded a grim, murderous air. A single glance told you they were professionals who lived on the edge.
The one in the lead was a burly, stern-faced middle-aged man.
Chu Sheng subconsciously looked over, and [Blood Food Tracking] instantly provided information.
[Hu Feng, Peak Second-Grade Martial Artist, Qi Blood Value: ~1987 points.]
'A Peak Second-Grade Martial Artist?'
Chu Sheng was slightly startled. He could clearly feel that the Qi Blood within this middle-aged man was on a completely different level from all the First-Grade Martial Artists he had seen before!
If the Qi Blood of a First-Grade Martial Artist was like a bright, dazzling hundred-watt lightbulb…
…then the Qi Blood in this man's body was like a small, roaring furnace!
That Qi Blood Power was not only vast in quantity, but its quality was also more condensed and pure, brimming with a sense of explosive force!
"Peak of Second-Grade…"
Chu Sheng was secretly alarmed. At the same time, he gained a clearer understanding of the power levels in this world.
'So the gap between First-Grade and Second-Grade is this huge!'
'The Peak of Second-Grade is already close to 2000 Qi Blood…'
'Chu Sheng felt a pang of bitterness. His own Qi Blood Value of less than one hundred was truly pathetic in comparison!'
These people were clearly a professional squad from one of Jiang City's Hunting Guilds. They were probably just passing by and came to take a look after noticing the commotion.
However, their appearance scared Chen Hao and his friends witless.
"'It's over! It's over! We've really run into the real owners this time!' Chen Hao's mind buzzed, and then went completely blank."
'Fuck, this professional air, this immense strength… this has to be the elite squad that hunted the herd of boars!'
'Getting caught red-handed while stealing… now there's no way to clear our names!'
His powerful survival instinct kicked in after his brain crashed for a second, and he instantly made what could only be described as a "genius" decision.
He abruptly pointed his finger at Gu Yuexi, forcing an expression of profound indignation and righteousness onto his face as he shouted, "Seniors! You've come at the perfect time!"
"This woman! She's trying to steal your kills!"
"We couldn't just stand by and watch, so we came to reason with her, but she wouldn't listen! You have to stand up for us!"
Gu Yuexi: "???"
Chu Sheng: "???"
The person and the mosquito were both dumbfounded.
'Seriously, dude?'
'You're fucking… actively courting death, aren't you?!'
'His skill at playing the victim is truly masterful!'
"???"
The hunting squad was even more bewildered.
The squad leader, Hu Feng, frowned. He glanced at the boar carcasses on the ground, then at Chen Hao, and finally swept his gaze over them with a look one might reserve for an idiot.
"You're nuts."
He uttered two words coolly, not even bothering with the kids' little drama. With a wave of his hand, he led his team away, continuing toward the edge of the forest without a backward glance.
As far as they were concerned, they had more important things to do and no time to waste on such nonsense.
Stunned by his dismissive "You're nuts" and the look he'd given them, Chen Hao's group froze, unable to process what had just happened.
'What was that about?'
'They… they just left?'
'They're not going to press the issue?'
Gu Yuexi and Chu Sheng, however, stared intently in the direction the hunting squad had gone, shock and uncertainty in the eyes of both person and mosquito.
In the instant the hunting squad walked past them, both person and mosquito simultaneously sensed that something was wrong!
An extremely rich scent of a High-Level Bloodline Demon Beast's blood emanated from the squad members!
The scent was even purer than that of the Spiritual Cyan Snake from before!
'What's going on?!'
Gu Yuexi was shaken to her core.
'They hunted a High-Level Bloodline Demon Beast?'
'Impossible! Once a High-Level Bloodline Demon Beast reaches adulthood, it's at least a Seventh-Grade existence. How could a squad whose strongest member is only at the Peak of Second-Grade possibly manage that?'
'Was it a juvenile?'
'But a young High-Level Bloodline Demon Beast would never leave its mother's side before reaching adulthood!'
'Unless…'
A shocking possibility surfaced in Gu Yuexi's mind.
'Something happened to that Demon Beast?'
'Was it gravely injured for some reason? Did its power level drop?'
'Regardless… this concealed a massive opportunity!'
'The blood of a High-Level Bloodline Demon Beast was exactly what she needed most right now!'
Chu Sheng was also getting excited. The blood of a High-Level Bloodline Demon Beast would be a huge boon for him too!
Back then, he'd siphoned dozens of points of Qi Blood from that Spiritual Cyan Snake in a single night, and it was only a juvenile!
'If I could drink the blood of an adult High-Level Bloodline Demon Beast… wouldn't that be absolutely incredible?!'
Meanwhile, Chen Hao and his group.
After watching the professional hunting squad leave without a second glance, they stared at each other, the same bewildered look in all their eyes.
Then, a wave of wild joy slowly welled up within them.
"Left… they left?"
"Holy shit! They really left! They don't even want the boars?!"
"I get it! They must look down on the corpses of these Low-Level Demon Beasts and don't want them anymore! We're rich! We've struck it rich!!"
"Holy fuck! Holy fuck! We've scored big time!"
The group's excitement from their narrow escape instantly morphed into boundless greed.
They rubbed their hands together excitedly, their gazes on the pile of boar carcasses filled with fervent desire.
Chen Hao was also ecstatic. With a grand wave of his arm, he completely ignored Gu Yuexi, who was still standing there, and shouted, "What are you all standing around for? Hurry up! Each of you grab one! We can complete our mission and make a huge profit on the side!"
'In his eyes, Gu Yuexi was now just an irrelevant piece of the background. Even the rightful owners didn't want these boar carcasses, so what could a crazy woman with a screw loose possibly do?'
The other students responded at once, eagerly rushing toward the pile of boar carcasses.
…
Gu Yuexi and Chu Sheng watched this scene in silence.
The person and the mosquito exchanged a look, a perfect, unspoken understanding passing between them.
'Just because they wanted the blood of a High-Level Bloodline Demon Beast didn't mean they were giving up on these boar carcasses!'
"[Insect Race Space]! Open!"
With a single thought, Chu Sheng once again released his five hundred minions from the [Insect Race Space] without any warning!
BZZZZZZ—!
WHOOSH—!
A dense, dark cloud of insects, like a flood bursting from a dam, instantly enveloped the space above Chen Hao and his group!