Chapter 132 – Dog Bites Dog
Tu Ran was curious about how it knew, “Have you seen it?”
“When Pangpang came here five years ago, I encountered the Pao Xiao. They wanted to catch and eat Pangpang, so I hid here and happened to meet a Zhe patrolling its territory.”
“The three Pao Xiao, relying on their numerical advantage, taunted the Zhe, but they were effortlessly killed, their necks bitten off.”
Pangpang recalled the past and couldn’t help but sigh, “The Zhe was incredibly powerful. They originally lived in the central area of this dense forest, but for some reason, they were pushed out. Maybe an even more terrifying species had arrived in the depths of the forest.”
A more terrifying species?
Tu Ran thought about her current abilities. It was already tough to deal with one Pao Xiao.
But three Pao Xiaos couldn’t withstand a single Zhe, which could kill them in seconds.
She had thought the Zhe was at the top of the food chain, but they had been driven out from the forest center, which was now home to an even more powerful species.
Tu Ran couldn’t imagine how powerful that species must be.
“Boss, we’ve been walking for so long. How about we take a break?” Pangpang looked at Tu Ran pleadingly.
Tu Ran glanced at the time. Unknowingly, they had been walking for nearly seven hours.
They did need a break.
“Let’s rest. We’ll continue after eating.”
Pangpang immediately sat down, then lay down as sitting was uncomfortable.
Covered in thick fur, it found lying down comfortable anywhere.
Tu Ran found a rock to sit on.
She took out a collapsible water bottle and drank a few sips to moisten her throat.
Along the way, she had eaten a lot of fruit, so she wasn’t very thirsty.
After putting the water bottle back, Tu Ran looked up at the tree canopy, her thoughts scattered.
The alien species in the inner forest had indeed become much stronger. Could she, alone, really steal inner cores from these creatures?
Pangpang, rolling happily on the ground, asked nonchalantly, “Boss, where do we go next?”
She didn’t know the way, so how could she know where to go?
“Let’s look for some less aggressive alien species.”
“Less aggressive? The least aggressive species I know are the Dang Hu tribe. We’re very gentle, especially fluffy ones like me,” Pangpang said proudly, lifting the small tuft of orange feathers on its head, looking for praise.
Tu Ran: “…”
She had been waiting for a serious reply.
Too lazy to argue with it, Tu Ran stood up and dusted off her pants. “Let’s go.”
Pangpang quickly scrambled to its feet, its short legs moving frantically. “Why did we rest for such a short time? Pangpang hasn’t rested enough yet.”
“If you still have the energy to be vain, I think you’ve rested plenty,” Tu Ran said coldly.
“No, I haven’t,” Pangpang muttered softly, following behind her.
It didn’t dare to argue loudly, sensing that the two-legged beast was angry.
The person and the fluffy ball kept a certain distance as they walked. After leaving the Zhe’s territory, they hadn’t gone far when they encountered three Pao Xiaos walking towards them.
Tu Ran stopped in her tracks.
Pangpang, not watching where it was going, bumped into her.
Tu Ran stumbled forward a few steps before steadying herself.
Pangpang exaggeratedly yelped, trying to elicit sympathy from Tu Ran.
Having been together for so long, it thought the two-legged beast was still fond of its fluffiness.
But Tu Ran ignored it completely. Instead, she placed her hand on the hilt of the long knife at her waist, ready to draw it.
Even Pangpang, no matter how clueless, sensed something was wrong. It peeked out from behind Tu Ran, seeing the three fierce Pao Xiaos baring their teeth at them.
Their eyes, nestled in their armpits, stared at them, glowing green and looking sinister.
Pangpang’s heart sank, and its fur stood on end.
It’s over, it’s over. It’s not good.
“Can they climb trees?” Tu Ran suddenly asked.
“No,” Pangpang tilted its head, not understanding why the two-legged beast asked that.
The next second, Tu Ran turned around, grabbed Pangpang’s wings, lifted it by the waist, and tossed it into the air, shouting, “Get up in the tree and don’t come down.”
Pangpang immediately understood. Realizing that the height of Tu Ran’s throw wasn’t enough, it flapped its wings a few times to barely hang its plump body onto a branch.
Standing on the thin branch, it worried about breaking it and falling, so it hugged the trunk tightly with its wings.
Honestly, although it had wings, this was its first time flying so high, looking down on the entire forest from such a high perspective.
Below, Tu Ran slowly drew her knife, the sharp blade reflecting a cold light in the sun.
The three Pao Xiaos paid no attention to Pangpang. Their target was the human, encircling Tu Ran in a triangular formation.
Tu Ran’s gaze fell on the head of one of the Pao Xiaos.
She saw a glowing screen appear above its head.
[Diamond Body
Wounds quickly heal, and it can resist various types of attacks to a certain extent, including but not limited to physical attacks.
Resistance Level: Intermediate. ]
Intermediate resistance level was something Tu Ran could understand, indicating that this Pao Xiao’s Diamond Body ability still had room for improvement.
Including but not limited to physical attacks?
Tu Ran focused on these words. As far as she knew, all human weapons currently caused physical damage.
Could there be other types of attacks in this world?
Magical attacks?
She speculated seriously.
No matter what, this ability was very appealing to her.
Just for this ability, she was willing to risk a one-against-three fight.
The leader of the three Pao Xiaos, the one with the ability, also stared intently at Tu Ran, its eerie green eyes searching for any flaws in her defense, while the other two awaited the leader’s command.
A tense atmosphere flowed through the dense forest.
Tu Ran struck first.
The sound of a machine gun’s rapid fire filled the air.
As she expected, their bodies seemed to be covered in a thick layer of non-Newtonian fluid. Bullets fired at them slowed rapidly and then bounced off, not harming them in the slightest.
The Pao Xiaos leader was the first to attack, leaping two meters high and pouncing towards Tu Ran.
The other two Pao Xiao subordinates flanked her from the sides, forming a siege and trapping her in the center.
Tu Ran activated teleportation, jumping out of the encirclement formed by the three Pao Xiaos.
She quickly bit her finger and smeared the blood on the fabric of her left shoulder.
The blood quickly soaked through, and a purple-pink mushroom sprouted from her shoulder, emitting a dazzling glow.
Tu Ran silently chanted, activating 【Illusory Realm】.
The level of 【Illusory Realm】 was low, unable to deceive the Pao Xiao leader with its intermediate-level 【Diamond Body】 ability.
However, it could confuse its two subordinates.
‘Stop attacking!’
She silently commanded.
The two Pao Xiao subordinates, who were chasing her, immediately halted, their eyes vacant.
‘Kill it!’
Tu Ran pointed her finger at the Pao Xiao leader.
The leader had not yet realized that its two subordinates had been hypnotized and was busy strategizing in the Pao Xiao language.
“You two circle around and block her escape route from behind. I’ll attack from the front. Seize the opportunity to bite off her—Hey, hey, hey! Are you crazy?!”
