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墨書 Inktalez
The animals emerging from the dense bushes startled Xu Nuan and her companions, filling them with both fear and awe.
Measuring about two meters in length and one meter in height, these creatures had a short, upright mane of red fur running from the top of their heads to their necks, while the rest of their fur was a deep brown. Their ears were long and oval-shaped, their heads large and flat, with elongated eyes and wide mouths that could stretch open to reveal sharp canine teeth. Their four legs appeared strong and powerful.
Xu Nuan and her friends had seen such animals before, but now, with more than a dozen of them surrounding them from all directions, they felt a chill run down their spines as the creatures snorted ominously.
Xu Nuan suspected they might have inadvertently trespassed into the territory of these animals, provoking them to gather in a threatening manner.
As they pondered this, the voice of the System echoed in their minds.
"Abnormal Tapir: A modified herbivorous tapir that has become carnivorous. They prefer to operate in packs, excelling in speed and impact, with a strong territorial instinct."
Xu Nuan did not feel pleased about having guessed correctly; they were now surrounded by Abnormal Tapirs, and breaking free would not be an easy task—especially with Gu Ze and Xu Hang carrying a stretcher, which would slow them down considerably.
The group of Abnormal Tapirs showed no immediate intention to attack; instead, they continued to tighten their encirclement around Xu Nuan and her friends.
Being in such a passive position was extremely disadvantageous.
Xu Hang made a decisive call to Xu Nuan, Deng Yinyin, and Xie Huai.
"Let's try to attack in one direction only. We need to create an opening to break through."
Xu Nuan nodded and drew her short knife, waving it in front of several Abnormal Tapirs. As expected, those few instinctively stepped back.
Encouraged by this reaction, Xu Nuan and her companions moved closer to those Abnormal Tapirs. However, without warning, the creatures suddenly charged at them. The impact of these two-meter-tall beasts was formidable.
Gu Ze and Xu Hang were quickly maneuvering with Tang Jingshu in tow, while Xie Huai, who was slower to dodge, was immediately knocked aside. He clutched his waist in pain, and instinctively swung the axe he was holding.
The Abnormal Tapir moved swiftly, evading the attack, but Xie Huai stumbled forward due to inertia. Several other Abnormal Tapirs quickly surrounded him, and Deng Yinyin, who was nearby, shot a frustrated glance at the incapacitated Xie Huai. Without hesitation, she thrust her knife into one of the Abnormal Tapirs.
The Abnormal Tapir, facing away from Deng Yinyin, didn’t have time to dodge and received a deep stab to its cheek, blood gushing out. The air filled with faint, human-like groans. Perhaps sensing the scent of blood, the other Abnormal Tapirs became agitated, now surrounding individuals in pairs rather than the previous group of ten encircling everyone.
Xu Nuan sensed something and glanced towards Gu Ze's direction.
Gu Ze and Xu Hang reacted quickly and worked well together.
With Gu Ze's assistance, Xu Hang soon had Tang Jingshu on his back while Gu Ze carried the stretcher with one hand and wielded his knife protectively in front of Xu Hang.
“Everyone attack separately and regroup in the forest ahead,” Xu Hang shouted loudly, ensuring everyone understood.
If the Abnormal Tapirs wanted to fight as a team, their group of six wouldn’t be able to withstand it. Instead, they would have a much better chance of escaping if each person faced a few scattered opponents.
With this thought in mind, Xu Nuan felt more confident. She wielded her knife without hesitation, targeting the eyes of the Abnormal Tapirs. This tactic was inspired by her experience fighting sharks; any creature that lost its sight would see its combat effectiveness drop significantly.
Xu Nuan also appreciated the skills she had gained from her crash course in close combat and short knife techniques; she was becoming increasingly agile with each use.
While it was true that the Abnormal Tapirs were fast, Xu Nuan and her companions soon discovered their weakness: their heavy bodies made them quick but slow to change direction. Given the limited space available, there weren’t many opportunities for so many large Abnormal Tapirs to utilize their strengths effectively.
Xu Nuan focused on their eyes while Deng Yinyin aimed for their faces. Gu Ze simply used the iron stretcher as a weapon; having retrieved it from the Supply Station, its quality was excellent. With his keen eyesight, Gu Ze struck true with every sweep.
Xie Huai, who appeared to be the weakest, took the opportunity to specifically target the legs of the Abnormal Tapirs after being hit. The results were quite effective, though he himself was stepped on a few times. However, seeing him roll around seemed to bring him joy.
As the sun gradually became less scorching, the wide-ranging battle came to an end.
Xu Nuan and her companions ran down a path, not too disheveled, while behind them was a group of wailing Abnormal Tapirs.
The downside of their strong territorial instinct was that once the Players escaped their territory, they would no longer attack. This rigid setting left Xu Nuan with a hint of doubt in her mind.
Once they could no longer see the group of Abnormal Tapirs, Xu Nuan and her friends dared to stop and catch their breath. Tang Jingshu was placed back onto the stretcher; despite the commotion, he remained unconscious, which somewhat dampened their relief at having escaped.
"Those guys are just too ugly!" Deng Yinyin exclaimed, bending over with her hands on her knees, gasping for air.
Xie Huai, covered in dirt and looking helpless, replied, "You still have the energy to complain about how they look?"
Xu Nuan agreed with this sentiment; it was quite a statement to make given their situation. However, she wisely chose not to chime in as Deng Yinyin, having regained some strength, jumped up to tug at Xie Huai's ear.
Xu Nuan's breathing was also a bit labored. When she glanced at Gu Ze and Xu Hang, she noticed that they seemed to be in better shape than she was. She couldn't help but feel envious; logically speaking, those two should have been the most exhausted since they were responsible for protecting Tang Jingshu.
Truly worthy of being the captain and vice-captain, Xu Nuan thought to herself. While reflecting on this, she took the opportunity to observe her surroundings.
Upon closer inspection, Xu Nuan realized something was off.
They had originally been in an incredibly dense jungle filled with ancient trees and Old Vines. The tree roots were thicker than a person's arm and were covered in moss. In short, all around them in the jungle was green; everywhere she looked, there were trees.
Including the moment they encountered the Abnormal Tapir, they had only seen low bushes. However, Xu Nuan realized that the place they were in now was filled with dead wood—both standing and fallen trees, all dry and yellow, devoid of moss or ferns, with some holes gnawed open by an unknown creature.
How could there be such a place in a humid jungle?
Xu Nuan immediately became alert, disregarding her water bottle for a moment, and turned to the others who were either playing or resting.
"We should leave this place; it feels very wrong."
Before Xu Hang could respond, Deng Yinyin, who had been playfully wrestling with Xie Huai, stood up and looked around casually.
"Huh? Is something strange here? I think it’s quite nice; the ground isn’t sticky anymore, and it’s easy to walk on."
"That’s exactly what’s wrong."
Xu Nuan began to reflect on whether she often overreacted, realizing her words seemed to lack impact compared to Xu Hang and Gu Ze.
"What’s that sound?"
However, reality often speaks louder than words. Before Xu Nuan could finish her thoughts, Xie Huai tensed up and started looking around nervously.
Xu Nuan heard it too—a rustling sound, faint but distinct, reminiscent of small animals scurrying about.
At that moment, Xu Hang and Gu Ze also lost their composure, standing up to scan their surroundings.
From the various holes in the dead wood emerged numerous spiders, each as large as an adult's palm. Their bodies were thick but their legs long and spindly, all jet black, swarming toward the group in a dense mass.
Xu Nuan felt goosebumps all over her body and immediately turned to run outside. The System explained quickly this time.
"Beautiful Spider, just a hint: their different claws have different venoms, one of which is an anesthetic."
"What the hell! Did these spiders take hormones?"
Deng Yinyin screamed as she ran out, "I have a phobia of clusters; I can't stand seeing so many of them!"
Xu Nuan, following closely behind her, wanted to retort that even without a phobia, she couldn't stand these creatures either.
The eight-legged spiders moved surprisingly fast, each one large and quickly catching up to the group, their screams echoing in the air.
Xu Nuan was quite annoyed as she yanked one spider off her shoulder and kicked another off her foot. However, there were too many spiders, each one following the last. The thought of being surrounded by a mass of black spiders made Xu Nuan tremble, and her speed in dealing with them increased significantly.
While running and fending off spiders, Xu Nuan couldn't help but worry about Tang Jingshu's situation. When she glanced over, she saw Gu Ze with a dark expression, ignoring the spiders on him. Instead, he unbuckled his backpack, took out a bottle of alcohol, splashed it on a piece of clothing, and then lit it with a lighter while muttering to himself.
"I don't believe you aren't afraid of fire!"
Xu Nuan was taken aback. Was Gu Ze actually afraid of the spiders?
She wanted to laugh but felt it would be inappropriate. Just as she was lost in thought, a bold Beautiful Spider crawled onto her neck and pricked her with one of its claws.
"What the hell!"
Xu Nuan exploded in anger; these claws had bristles but were nowhere near as cute as those of cats or dogs.
Without hesitation, Xu Nuan took out everything that could be ignited and carelessly splashed alcohol over it. One piece of clothing after another was rendered useless.
It turned out that these Beautiful Spiders were afraid of fire.
Xu Hang, seeing the frenzied Xu Nuan and the incessantly muttering Gu Ze, felt helpless. He didn't want to watch these two waste time, so he directly ignited a piece of dry wood and threw a Flame into another piece, setting the home of these Beautiful Spiders ablaze.
More Beautiful Spiders surged out in a frenzy. The surroundings were a chaotic mix of darkness and flames, accompanied by the crackling sounds of burning wood and spiders. A strange smell filled the air, and suddenly realizing that these Beautiful Spiders were poisonous, everyone concluded that the smoke produced must also be toxic. They quickly gathered their wits and ran.
Xu Nuan noticed that they had been running all afternoon. During their escape, Gu Ze, who was carrying Tang Jingshu, came over and looked Xu Nuan up and down.
"You've been bitten pretty badly; shouldn't you drink the Antidote?"
Caught up in their flight, Xu Nuan had almost forgotten about the potion. With a half-smile that was both teasing and alluring, she replied, "Not as badly as someone who's afraid of spiders. If only I had a camera; I could capture that scene for memories."
Gu Ze's face darkened, rivaling the color of those spiders, as he realized he had lost this round of banter to Xu Nuan.
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