"What's wrong?" Black Hornet tensed and stopped at once, keeping his voice low. His hand drifted to his waist, where a dagger was sheathed.
"Nothing. I thought I stepped on another mushroom." Li Juxu smiled sheepishly.
"We should slow down to be safe," Black Hornet said.
Thanks to the snake corpse keeping insects away, they had unconsciously picked up speed. Now that he thought about it, Black Hornet realized they had been reckless. The dangers of the forest were not limited to bugs—there were poisonous plants and other large creatures as well.
"You're right."
Li Juxu slowed his pace, but his eyes kept darting into the dark corners untouched by sunlight. His astonishment grew. Under normal circumstances, those areas should have been blurry, but now he could see them clearly—sharply, distinctly.
"What's going on? Did I mutate?"
He wondered in amazement. His glittering golden eyes darted left and right. Finally, he confirmed it: his eyesight had inexplicably sharpened. He could see farther, and with far greater clarity. On trees a hundred and fifty meters tall, he could make out the veins on every leaf; the fine hairs on the gray-spotted crown spiders hiding beneath the leaves were crystal clear. Darkness no longer blocked his vision.
It felt like discovering a whole new continent. Everything around him felt fresh, and the terrifying forest suddenly seemed almost interesting.
He had a vague feeling it was from drinking the snake blood. Joy and unease stirred in him—there had been some benefit to cheating death. But he worried this power might only be temporary, like a last flicker of life before fading away completely.
He wanted to use this new ability for something, but found he could do nothing for the moment. Black Hornet walked ahead, not seeing his fluctuating expression. Otherwise, he would have worried Li Juxu was suffering side effects from the snake blood.
Darkness gradually fell. Li Juxu checked the time: 17:45. To a normal person, the woods would be blurring by now, time to rest. But to him, everything remained clear.
Black Hornet was already picking a spot to camp when a gunshot and a scream erupted nearby, startling flocks of birds into the sky. Both men jolted.
"That was Huadanlian!" Black Hornet looked at Li Juxu.
"Let's go check!"
Li Juxu understood. If they were strangers, they could ignore it. But these were allies, and they were close. It would weigh on their conscience if they did nothing.
"I'll go first. You're the sniper—you cover me."
Black Hornet hurried into the darkness without another word. His attitude was clear: he would take the lead, face the danger first. After all, they were his acquaintances. Li Juxu had already done more than enough by coming along; he would keep him out of harm's way as much as possible.
"Wait—"
Li Juxu tried to call him back, but Black Hornet was already gone. He immediately pulled out his sniper rifle and assembled it. That was the trouble with being a sniper—preparation was needed before firing, unlike a pistol, which only required a flick of the safety.
Boom—
Boom—
Two enormous explosions lit up the night. Rocket fire. The blasts were five to six hundred meters apart. Li Juxu immediately realized this was no simple skirmish. Two forces were fighting a pitched battle. One side was their own people; the other must be the competitors Pu Shaoyun had mentioned.
He had only taken a few steps when more rockets tore through the sky, followed by more deafening explosions. The sound of machine guns pouring fire made his blood race.
The woods were nearly impassable, with no straight paths—only winding gaps between trees. Even with his night vision, Li Juxu struggled. He stopped two hundred meters away. He considered climbing a tall tree, but glanced at the dense forest and abandoned the idea.
He was close to the battlefield, but the trees blocked all sight of the fighters. He could only hear gunfire.
He continued advancing cautiously. The darkness favored him. Others were severely limited in the dark, but he was not. Still, he dared not let his guard down. Some glasses enhanced light and could greatly improve vision—not as good as his own daylight-clear sight, but close enough to spot him.
Fortunately, thermal imaging equipment did not work on the Beast Planet, or he would have had to be even more careful.
At last, he could see the muzzle flashes from one side. A closer look revealed he had gone the wrong way—those were his allies. He quietly shifted toward the enemy position instead.
He stopped in a relatively safe spot. Fighting in a forest had advantages and drawbacks. Trees were everywhere, most of them massive trunks that even armor-piercing rounds could not penetrate. Hiding behind them was safe, but taking out the enemy was difficult. It all came down to how you used the terrain.
Li Juxu considered climbing a tree for the high ground, but the dense clusters of gray-spotted crown spiders covering the branches stopped him. Night was the spiders' active period, and the artillery had them agitated. Mosquitoes had also swarmed early, buzzing loudly between the leaves.
His gaze swept back and forth between the enemy's firing positions. The opponents were experienced hunters, keeping their bodies hidden behind thick trees while only their gun barrels poked out. They were well-protected. Their fire never strayed far from his allies' positions, even without clear shots—only seasoned veterans could pull that off.
Even the best veterans had to peek out occasionally; they could not fire blind forever. What if the enemy flanked them? Staying aware of enemy movements was a basic skill for any pro.
Finally, one enemy soldier carefully lifted his head to check. Li Juxu tensed instantly. The man had barely revealed a strand of hair before Li Juxu locked on. The moment he saw the man's eyeball, he squeezed the trigger.
Bang—
Through his scope, he clearly saw the man's skull shatter apart, blood and brain matter spraying. The machine gun fell silent.
Li Juxu changed positions at once. Sure enough, bullets raked the spot he had just left.
The sniper rifle was far too loud, especially at close range—easy for experienced hunters to trace by sound.
After taking down a second enemy, Li Juxu stopped firing. He moved again and riskily climbed a large tree. Thanks to the snake corpse, the gray-spotted crown spiders and mosquitoes stayed away, letting him lie quietly on a branch.
Confident no insects would bother him, he stared intently at the enemy.
The instant he killed the second man, a chill ran down his spine—the cold breath of death. He knew he had been spotted by the enemy sniper. But he had ducked behind the tree right after firing, so the enemy had no clear shot. Still, he knew the sniper would be watching, waiting for him to show himself.
As long as the enemy held fire, Li Juxu could not pinpoint his position. But he was in no hurry. He had the advantage in vision. He could wait.
He was certain the enemy sniper could not see as well in the dark as he could.