Chapter 41: So Ruthless to Itself

The corpse of a white ape Mutant Beast lay there, most of its white fur scorched by fire and its body covered with burns. Just as the middle-aged man’s hand reached for the Spiritual Artifact Dagger, the creature’s eyes snapped open.

"Fuck! It was a trap. The bastard was playing dead."

The moment he saw the "dead" white ape Mutant Beast open its eyes, the middle-aged man instantly snatched his hand back and retreated.

But the white ape Mutant Beast had endured for so long to reach this point. It wasn’t about to let the middle-aged man get away unscathed.

"ROAR..."

The white ape Mutant Beast let out a furious roar. The deafening sound made the middle-aged man’s head swim, and his retreat faltered for half a second.

In that half-second window, the white ape Mutant Beast thrust its right hand—tipped with long claws—toward the middle-aged man’s abdomen like a bolt of lightning.

The beast’s claw glowed with a faint golden Spiritual Light and was incredibly sharp. A single strike would have undoubtedly pierced straight through the man’s abdomen.

In the nick of time, the middle-aged man bit his tongue, forcibly snapping out of his daze. He twisted at the waist, using every ounce of his strength to jerk his body to the side.

"RRRIP..."

The claw, glowing with a faint golden Spiritual Light, raked across the man’s abdomen. His camouflage uniform was instantly shredded, and the beast’s claw tore off a large chunk of his flesh.

"AARGH!"

The middle-aged man cried out in pain and scrambled away from the white ape Mutant Beast.

He didn’t stop until he was more than twenty meters away.

Blood gushed from the grievous wound in his abdomen. The man trembled from the pain, sweat pouring down his forehead.

He pressed his right hand to his abdomen, trying to stanch the bleeding, but the gash was too wide. Despite the pressure, blood still seeped out between his fingers.

The experienced man knew he had to find a safe place to treat his abdominal wound immediately. Otherwise, he would soon bleed to death.

The injury to the man’s abdomen was nothing compared to the dagger plunged into the ape Mutant Beast’s heart.

After all, a human body is no match for a Mutant Beast’s.

The white ape Mutant Beast had managed to fight the middle-aged man to this point, all while having a dagger stuck in its chest.

And then, to top it off, it had feigned death to launch a last-ditch counter-attack. That was a move no human could ever pull off.

In the dense bushes some distance away, Lin Li, who had been reduced to a mere spectator, was dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events. He was so shocked he forgot to even breathe.

’Damn... this Mutant Beast wasn’t dead? After all that, it still came up with a plan to feign death and counter-attack.’

’It turned the whole situation around in a single move... That’s too smart! No, it’s more than just smart. To pull off a scheme like that, you have to be incredibly cruel to yourself.’

Beyond his shock, Lin Li now felt a pang of shame for complaining about the man’s cautiousness earlier.

The scene that had just played out was a vivid lesson for Lin Li: the man’s earlier caution had been entirely necessary.

Unfortunately, despite his caution, the man had still fallen for its ploy. The white ape Mutant Beast was simply too cunning, too vicious.

A flicker of regret flashed in the white ape Mutant Beast’s eyes when it saw that its last-ditch counter-attack hadn’t had the desired effect.

"ROAR..." With a fierce cry, the white ape Mutant Beast charged at the grievously wounded man.

As the white ape Mutant Beast charged, the man immediately raised his left hand and thrust his palm toward it.

An orange-red light flared in the man’s left hand. With the palm thrust, a torrent of scorching fire shot from his palm.

The white ape Mutant Beast saw the column of fire coming and dodged aside. The searing flames struck the ground with a dull thud.

"BOOM."

Splattering flames scorched the surrounding green plants. Luckily, there were no piles of dry grass nearby, or the man’s Superpower attack might have started a massive fire.

"You damned Mutant Beast, I’ll give you this one. But our paths will cross again. Next time we meet, I swear I’ll rip your head off and make sure you stay dead!"

Having forced the white ape Mutant Beast back with a single move, the man spat out his threat. Then, clutching his wounded abdomen, he turned and fled.

"ROAR..."

The white ape Mutant Beast watched the man flee and let out a loud roar at his retreating back.

Hearing the roar behind him, the fleeing man’s steps grew even more frantic.

But the white ape Mutant Beast’s roar was an empty threat. It didn’t actually pursue the injured man. It just stood there, motionless, watching him run.

Having watched the whole thing from the bushes, Lin Li silently admonished himself, ’I can’t believe it... The situation was completely reversed. I can never let a Mutant Beast turn the tables on me like it did to that man.’

Then, after the man had disappeared from sight, a new problem arose for Lin Li.

After its last-ditch counter-attack had driven the man off, the white ape Mutant Beast remained standing in the same spot. A long time passed, yet it showed no sign of leaving.

Only the faintest sliver of afterglow remained from the setting sun, which was about to sink completely below the horizon. In a few more minutes, night would blanket the wilderness.

’What the hell is this white ape Mutant Beast up to? Why isn’t it leaving? What’s so interesting about staring in that direction?’

’Its enemy is gone and it’s badly hurt. It should be finding a place to treat its wounds, not just standing there like an idiot. What kind of bizarre tactic is that?’

There were mosquitoes in the bushes, and once they found Lin Li, they swarmed him.

Before long, his hands and face were covered in bites.

The mosquito bites were incredibly itchy, but Lin Li didn’t dare make a single rash move.

He was terrified that the slightest sound from a small movement would alert the fearsome white ape Mutant Beast to the fact that another human was hiding in the grass.

Based on the fight he’d just seen, Lin Li didn’t have to be a genius to know what would happen.

If that terrifying white ape Mutant Beast discovered another human hiding in the grass, it would undoubtedly tear him to shreds just to vent its fury.

...