Not far away, Ye Ning and Hong Cong exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with complex emotions.
Throughout this journey, the greedy snake had never displayed its true strength in front of them, causing them to believe it was merely at Dangerous Seven Stars.
But now...
Effortlessly annihilating the Dangerous Level 8 female mantis could only mean it had advanced!
Thinking of this possibility, the two felt a mix of joy and disappointment.
Joy because the stronger the dragon beast's power, the safer they were.
Disappointment because, in the upcoming Three Schools Trial, they wouldn't have even the slightest chance.
Nearby, Lin Xiaomei's face stiffened.
So, this is how Qin Shou earned the nickname "Open Chrysanthemum Shou"...
As for Qin Shou's battle style, Long Xia was already accustomed to it.
As usual, he had just shouted out, "Lao Qin, mighty, I love—"
Suddenly, he caught sight of Qin Shou's murderous glare, which made him awkwardly shut up.
Lao Qin had grown stronger, but also cared more about his reputation... No, he had learned to keep a low profile.
Yes, that must be it.
Long Xia thought to himself.
Over on his end, Qin Shou collected the corpses of the two mantises, when Rein Jia'er's ferocious lion roar suddenly echoed from the forest, as though encountering something terrifying.
"It's that noise again!" Hong Cong said bitterly.
This time he did not panic, but Qin Shou's expression shifted.
"Not good, something's coming, retreat!"
Qin Shou shouted, leaping forward and landing on the greedy snake's head, gripping a pair of dragon horns. He yelled at the others, who were still stunned.
"Why are you just standing there?"
The group snapped out of it, quickly jumping onto the greedy snake's back.
"Greedy snake, low-altitude flight!"
"Roar..."
The greedy snake let out a low roar, turned abruptly, and flew toward the depths of the giant forest.
"Buzz... buzz..."
The group had just left when a densely packed buzzing sound surged like an overwhelming tide.
Turning back, their faces went pale.
Behind them, the giant forest was already engulfed in a black cloud, spreading toward them continuously.
"Swish swish swish!!"
In the next instant, silver rays shot out from within the "black cloud," their sharp cold gleam sending chills down their spines.
The silver rays closed in on the group in the blink of an eye, and the greedy snake seemed to sense danger, its body rapidly expanding to narrowly avoid the wave of attacks.
"Clink, clink, clink..."
Several silver rays struck the greedy snake's resilient scales, bouncing off. Qin Shou extended his hand and, with a flick, captured the silver rays into his palm.
As the silver light dimmed, the group finally saw its true form.
These were finger-length silver blades with barbed hooks.
"What is this?" Long Xia gasped.
Lin Xiaomei's face darkened. "These are the tail stingers of Black Bee Beasts. They can be shot from their tails to poison their enemies."
"Black Bee Beasts?"
Hong Cong and the others were shocked; of course, they had heard of Black Bee Beasts' infamous reputation.
Although individual Black Bee Beasts weren't a threat, they were social monsters, and their swarms numbered in the tens of thousands. Even typical Horror-Level Monsters would retreat from them.
Qin Shou turned to face the "black cloud," his expression tense.
"It seems the commotion from killing the mantis beast earlier inadvertently attracted them."
Lin Xiaomei's delicate face reflected her thoughts. She then spoke, "The city ruins outside should already be occupied by the Skeleton Giant Lizard, and we can't be sure if powerful bird beasts are lingering in the air either.
To survive, we can only move toward the inner city."
"But isn't that even more dangerous?" Hong Cong exclaimed.
Qin Shou ignored Hong Cong. After briefly pondering, he patted the greedy snake's head, signaling it to speed up and fly toward the inner city.
He and Long Xia were both venturing outside the city for the first time. Hong Cong and Ye Ning weren't reliable either.
Among the five, only Lin Xiaomei had sufficient experience surviving outside the city.
To evade the Black Bee Beasts' pursuit, there was no better choice.
Fortunately, although the Black Bee Beasts were large, their flight speed was slower than the greedy snake's, allowing them to barely keep up from behind.
Moments later, the greedy snake soared out of the giant forest, and Qin Shou and the others felt their view open up.
In the verdant inner city, the towering trees of the giant forest were absent, replaced by frequent, dense ordinary vegetation.
Sitting on the greedy snake's back, the group observed the city.
Majestic yet ruined architecture had been overtaken by various plants, leaving only faint traces of its former grandeur.
That iconic Eastern Pearl Tower was now covered in vines, with unknown bird beasts nesting atop its summit.
Giant pits scattered everywhere had transformed into lakes and basins.
Qin Shou even spotted a damaged mecha, half-crumbled and overgrown with green moss, still firmly standing in the city's center after hundreds of years.
The group gazed in awe, stunned for a long time.
The Black Bee Beast swarm merely stopped at the edge of the giant forest, circling repeatedly, unwilling to advance further.
Ultimately, the Black Bee Beasts lost patience and dispersed back into the edges of the giant forest.
Long Xia snapped out of his daze and asked Qin Shou, "Lao Qin, should we go in now?"
Qin Shou furrowed his brow. "The Black Bee Beasts have already retreated. Why should we go in?"
Long Xia thought for a moment and said, "True, something about the inner city feels more dangerous than the giant forest. Staying at the edge seems safer."
Qin Shou nodded. "Exactly. Since the Black Bee Beasts don't dare enter the inner city, we'll stay here. If they advance, we retreat; if they retreat, we advance. It's the perfect strategy."
Lin Xiaomei looked thoughtful. The tactic was shameless, but it seemed effective. Worth trying.
Hong Cong and Ye Ning exchanged glances. You could play like this?
With that, the group activated the barrier, planning to settle down at the edge of the giant forest.
Long Xia opened his space wristwatch, then paused.
"Lao Qin, do you have a spare tent?" he asked.
They had hastily left earlier, forgetting to pack their tents.
The rest of the group realized they had the same problem.
Qin Shou chuckled. "Don't worry, I don't have one either."
Long Xia: "..."
This wasn't funny at all!
"Hey, look, what's that?"
Just then, Ye Ning pointed to a distant bush and exclaimed.
The group instinctively turned their heads. The low shrubs suddenly began rustling as if something was speeding through them.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."
An unknown creature rapidly approached them, and Qin Shou's expression darkened, shouting, "Something's coming, fall back!"
With that, he dashed toward the giant forest behind them.
The other four quickly followed.
Within seconds, Qin Shou was about to enter the giant forest.
"Buzz buzz buzz..."
Suddenly, the familiar sound returned, and a black cloud slowly rose.
"Damn it, those Black Bee Beasts didn't leave!"
Qin Shou cursed inwardly. Are the monsters in this era all this smart?
"Stop! The Black Bee Beasts are still here!"
He roared, abruptly turning around.
The group's faces changed dramatically, halting immediately.
"Caught between wolves and tigers. What do we do now?" Hong Cong asked pale-faced.
Qin Shou cast a glance at Hong Cong, whose face seemed to turn pale daily, then turned back to observe the movement in the bushes.
"The Black Bee Beasts might be the tigers, but this thing might not be the wolves!" he said calmly.
Lin Xiaomei nodded. "True, at least in terms of numbers, this creature is far fewer than the Black Ape Beast."
Just as her words fell, several grotesque figures suddenly leaped out of the bushes.