BOOM!!
Along the western defenses of the campsite, a monstrous fireball erupted from a river channel. The powerful shockwave instantly flung a one-and-a-half-ton giant bear into the sky, from which a rain of bloody gore and flaming chunks fell.
Art is an explosion.
At least, that was the idea. In the initial defense plan, a student club, preparing for a hypothetical enemy, had specifically placed several gas canisters in a pit in the riverbed to serve as an explosive trap.
To prevent people from accidentally wandering in, they had even put up ’No Unauthorized Entry’ signs all around it.
During the giant bear’s frenzied rampage tonight, a brave soul on a Ducati motorcycle successfully drew its aggro and ultimately lured it into the pitfall trap.
The question was, how to detonate it from a distance?
With no fuse to light, Feng Yuanjie, with a masterful hundred-meter arcing shot, successfully used a Flame Burst Arrow to trigger the massive explosion.
"Damn, that earth bear took at least thirty arrows," one Archer said, on the verge of tears. The bear’s hide was incredibly thick, as if coated in a protective layer, making it nearly impossible for their arrowheads to penetrate.
Not only were their accurate shots useless, but they also ended up breaking their arrows for nothing.
They had to retrieve their arrows after every battle, after all.
They had to carefully consider whether to even use an arrow with a Damage Rune, pinching every penny until it screamed.
Under the current circumstances, this group of contestants—who weren’t staff from the archery hall—couldn’t afford such one-time-use consumption.
Furthermore, the earth bear had caused seven casualties, and some were still in urgent need of medical attention.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
The chunks of the giant bear’s flesh that had been blasted everywhere scattered some Elemental Essence, an unknown glowing dust, and two earth-brown Runes covered in dense Divine Patterns.
Seeing an Earth Element Rune hovering above the ground, one person unhesitatingly rushed forward and gripped it tightly, but the Rune, seemingly impervious to all harm, failed to choose him.
’It’s over. I don’t have an affinity for the Earth Element...’
Everyone had long since discovered that there was some Elemental Essence they couldn’t absorb. The theory of ’affinity’ had quickly spread as the explanation.
Seeing that he couldn’t absorb it, two others sprinted over from a short distance away, their faces ecstatic.
The commotion was so great that it naturally caught Feng Zhiyuan’s attention.
"Stop!!"
He roared, trying to stop them. But seeing them continue to run forward, he hastily drew his bow and fired two quick, extremely precise shots.
One arrow struck the first person in the side, causing him to stumble and fall. The next arrow embedded itself in the ground in front of the second person as a warning, making him dare not take another step.
This act immediately put everyone on high alert.
"Son of a bitch! You dare try to kill someone!"
Their club teammates, overcome with righteous anger, all raised their bows in response.
Feng Zhiyuan was furious. He yelled at them, "Do you people have any sense of the rules? Was your contribution greater than mine? I was the one kiting that bear! At the very least, the credit belongs to my son. Besides, if I really wanted to kill him, don’t you think I could have hit him in the head?"
He had a point. Snatching someone else’s Rune was indeed a breach of the rules—a completely shameless act.
But the other side didn’t argue that point. They latched onto his act of violence, insisting it was a violation of the law and that he must be brought to justice.
Tensions between the two sides flared, threatening to boil over.
Moreover, most of the other participants also had their own complaints and demands.
While it was true Director Feng had kited the beast, the one who ultimately led it into the trap was the young man on the motorcycle. Not to mention the others who had risked their lives ramming it with their cars.
In short, they acknowledged that Director Feng and his son had contributed, but they absolutely could not claim all the spoils. The brave motorcyclist had to get at least one Rune.
Finally, with the timely arrival of General Manager Shao, the conflict was barely defused. The cake was successfully divided, and the two people who had been shot were healed with a Healing Skill.
Everything seemed to be back to normal on the surface, but once a rift forms in people’s hearts, it can never be mended.
At the very least, twenty people had already left the western defensive line in the aftermath of this incident.
Someone sighed, "The lone wolves have the right idea. The small groups have the right idea. I can only blame myself for not being skilled enough and having to follow the big shots."
After this, everyone regarded Director Feng with even more awe. No one knew for sure if his shot had really missed its mark on purpose.
Once the brief internal conflict ended, they quickly grew tense again. The high-mast lights had been gnawed through and destroyed by strange Iron-Eating Insects, leaving them able to see only blurry shadows at the edge of the Mysterious Forest.
「Just then.」
A desperate cry came over the walkie-talkie.
"There’s some damn thing over by the yoga studio killing people like crazy! Can anyone come and help?"
Regarding the massive explosion at the campsite, Su Chen glanced back toward the high ground. He knew perfectly well that the gas canister trap had been triggered; he had helped carry one of the canisters himself.
At that moment, a cool night breeze blew. The Shadow Hound guarding him suddenly stopped in its tracks. Its nose twitched, and its ears, like antennae, shot up and tensed. Its dark eyes stared toward the far side of the North Bridge.
’Is there something out there?’
Su Chen mused, knowing that Xiaoye had clearly caught the scent of a demonic beast on the wind.
In the flickering light of the distant burning tram, he couldn’t see anything. This probably meant another invisible creature was lurking nearby.
But one shouldn’t underestimate a hound.
Even on Earth, a well-trained wolf-dog could accurately detect prey from over ten kilometers away in open terrain.
The forest environment tended to absorb scent molecules, but the wind was blowing in the right direction.
One thing to be clear about was that Su Chen’s verbal commands were a one-way street; the Shadow Hound could understand him, but not the other way around. Therefore, he had to learn to interpret Xiaoye’s body language.
’Is the scent similar to the Night Tiger from before? If so, give a bark,’ he communicated through their Rune contract.
Xiaoye tilted its head, and after a moment of understanding, it raised its long neck and let out a low, soft cry.
Compared to the rough bark of an ordinary dog, the call of this elegant Shadow Hound was remarkably clear and pure.
’Alright, I understand.’
Su Chen realized that identifying a scent profile wasn’t difficult for it at all.
Since a Night Tiger was delivering itself to his doorstep by the bridge, he was more than happy to accept the delivery. He immediately led Xiaoye back the way they came.
At his command, the Shadow Hound turned invisible and charged forward.
「In an instant.」
The only figure left exposed was Su Chen. Now that he understood the Night Tiger’s mechanics and had survived the deadliest first encounter, there was no reason for him to back down.
Just beyond the bridge, a ferocious-looking Night Tiger lurked in the darkness, hesitating to advance.
On one hand, the sounds coming from the top of the slope were an irresistible call to its hunter’s instincts—the delicious taste of humans it had never before savored. On the other hand, the corpse of its own kind lying ahead gave it pause.
The warning signals it emitted would have normally made it steer clear completely.
Its greed, however, kept it rooted to the spot.
Ultimately, it decided to cross the bridge.

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