In a low-lying ravine, a group of people were surrounded by a pack of mutated wolves.
Perhaps knowing that humans could use Superpowers, the mutated wolves held their ground, not daring to advance recklessly.
"We finally managed to shake off that little bastard, only to run into this crap!"
A bearded man in the center of the group cursed, his expression dark.
"Looks like this is the end for us. If Iâd known, I never would have taken this job."
A Fire Element Superpower User beside him said.
Two flames flickered in his hands, as if he hoped to scare the mutated wolves away with his Superpower Fire.
However, the famished pack of mutated wolves had no intention of backing down.
A wolf lunged toward the group!
Just then, a huge Fireball shot out from deep in the woods, slamming into the mutated wolf and sending it flying several meters!
Flames flared, and soon the mutated wolf was burned to a charred husk.
"Someoneâs here to save us?!"
The group looked on, their faces filled with delighted surprise.
A man and a woman emerged from the depths of the woods.
The pack of mutated wolves let out several howls, then shifted their target to the two newcomers.
"Perfect! Letâs run."
The bearded man was ecstatic and immediately led his group in a slow retreat.
Watching the men flee the scene, Nina Jacobs merely spared a glance in the direction they ran.
She had no interest in them. There were over twenty mutated wolves before her.
âThatâs quite a lot. Itâs better that they ran.â
Meanwhile, Wayne Warner had already charged the pack of mutated wolves.
In just over ten minutes, the entire pack of mutated wolves was dead.
Nina Jacobs collected the salvageable mutated wolf carcasses into her storage slot.
"Some ready-made live targets. Not bad. Letâs go."
Receiving the information from her Little Zombie Rat, Nina Jacobs led Wayne Warner toward their next destination.
The bearded man and his group felt like they were cursed.
They had just escaped the pack of mutated wolves, only to run into a sounder of mutated wild boars.
"Iâve heard that mutated boars are even more ferocious than mutated wolves. How did we get so unlucky today?"
A companion beside him couldnât help but comment.
"How should I know? And there are so many of them. Looks like weâre dead for sure this time."
The Fire Element Superpower User, Cyril Vance, replied, his voice on the verge of tears.
"Damn it, why couldnât they have all shown up at once? It wouldâve been great if we couldâve led them to that pair," the bearded man said.
"They must have been eaten by now."
Cyril Vance could already picture the man and woman being surrounded and devoured.
"Theyâre charging!" someone shouted.
The bearded man immediately conjured an Earth wall in a futile attempt to block the massive mutated boarâs attack.
But the Earth wall was instantly shattered!
ROAR!
The mutated boarâs front hooves stomped down on the closest person, Cyril Vance, and it bared its tusks.
"AHH!! HELP ME!!"
Cyril Vance screamed.
But not one of his companions behind him dared to move.
Just then, a figure rushed in from the side, a man delivering a powerful, long-legged kick!
BANG!
The massive mutated boar was actually kicked high into the air?!
Before the mutated boar could even hit the ground, Wayne Warner smashed it into the dirt with a single punch!
A deep crater instantly formed in the ground.
"Such incredible strength!"
The bearded man and his group stared in shock at this unknown man.
What shocked them even more was seeing the woman from before strolling casually out from the same direction.
âTheyâre not dead?!â
The group immediately understood.
These two were clearly powerhouses.
"Please, save us! Weâll do anything you say," the bearded man shouted desperately.
However, the Strength Element Superpower User had no intention of acknowledging him. Instead, he turned and charged into the sounder of mutated boars!
"Is he crazy?"
Cyril Vance was still slumped on the ground.
He was charging into the herd of boars all by himself, wearing nothing but a pair of gauntlets on his hands, without even a proper weapon.
"Arenât you going to run?"
Nina Jacobs said, looking at the men on the ground.
The bearded man and his group finally snapped out of it and scrambled away from the scene.
ăHalf an hour later.ă
A series of blood-curdling screams once again echoed from somewhere in the woods.
By now, Cyril Vance was on the verge of a breakdown.
They had been cornered again, this time by a prickle of giant mutated porcupines.
"Looks like today really is the day we die."
Valen Young collapsed onto the ground beside him.
They had been attacked by the mutated porcupines, and each of them was studded with quills of various lengths.
The quills were barbed; even a mere scratch could rip out a chunk of flesh.
And these mutated porcupines were each half as tall as a man.
Just then, two of the mutated porcupines curled into balls and came rolling rapidly toward the men in the center!
"Defenses! Everyone, get your defenses up!"
The bearded man didnât want to die. He screamed, haphazardly manifesting his Superpower.
But it had no effect on the mutated porcupines whatsoever.
"You guys sure are lucky."
The womanâs voiceâboth strange and familiarâsounded again, accompanied by several attacking Fire Serpents.
Though their faces were contorted in pain, a flicker of joy appeared in their eyes.
"O, Celestial Saint! I beg you, Celestial Saint, protect us one more time!"
The bearded man knelt, clasping his hands together in prayer.
"What exactly are you guys carrying?"
Nina Jacobs asked curiously as she finished off the spiny mutated porcupines.
âHow else could they attract one group of Mutated Animals after another?â
âNot that it wasnât convenient for me.â
âAfter killing these mutated porcupines, my Mission 7 will be just about complete.â
âOn us?â
The bearded man took a moment to process her question.
"We ainât carryinâ nothinâ! Donât even have any food!"
Valen Young shouted in a regional dialect.
"Is that so? How strange."
Nina Jacobs finished off the last mutated porcupine with her Fire Element Superpower.
This time, the bearded man and his group decided not to run.
They planned to be obedient and do as she said.
"Could it be the bag on your back, Mr. Coleman?"
The bearded man thought Nina Jacobs had a point.
"This? This is that little bastardâs bag."
The middle-aged man called Mr. Coleman immediately took off his backpack.
It was a hiking backpack. The men rummaged through it, finding only some personal items, a water bottle, and a plastic box of biscuit crumbs.
There was nothing else.
"Thereâs nothinâ in here. Maybe weâre just unlucky," Mr. Coleman said.
"You donât think his ghost is coming to claim our lives, do you?"
Mr. Coleman couldnât help but mutter upon seeing the backpack.
"Donât talk nonsense."
The bearded man shot Nina Jacobs a look, then gestured with his eyes for the others to shut up.
Nina Jacobs found their presence here somewhat out of place, so she asked,
"Mornfell isnât safe. What are you doing here?"
At her question, all of them avoided her gaze.
"Weâre here to hunt," the bearded man replied.
âHunting?â
Nina Jacobs didnât press the matter further and simply turned to leave.
"Itâs true! We really are here to hunt."
Seeing that Nina Jacobs clearly didnât believe him, the bearded man hurried to get in front of her.
"My name is Atticus. Weâre all from Veridia Base. The food supplies ran out recently, and a lot of people have starved to death. We thought weâd come to Mornfell to hunt for something to bring back for everyone."
"Right, right! We heard Mutated Animal meat is edible. We even came here with our base leader," Valen Young added.
âThe leader of Veridia Base?â
Nina Jacobs stopped in her tracks.
âIn her past life, the leader of Veridia Base was Zachary Ziegler, and he was not the kind of person who would risk his life for others.â