Chapter 151 – Immense Strength
She quickly stood up, unable to look directly at the bloodstains on the back of her pants. Ignoring this, she stepped on the sticky mud and focused on finding the inner core.
The area was too vast, and the inner core was only a small bead. She bent over and searched for a long time. Finally, after pushing aside a massive severed arm, she saw a shining bead underneath.
She had found it.
She bent down, picked up the inner core, wiped it clean on her clothes, and swallowed it directly.
[Immense Strength]
[Literal Meaning:
Note: Requires a large amount of energy. Hope you are prepared to use it.
Level: Intermediate]
In the past, when Tu Ran saw the phrase “Hope you are prepared to use it,” she would have thought it was quite considerate.
Now, seeing this phrase, Tu Ran couldn’t help but feel it was a bit mocking.
The mocking content seemed to be: Did you think that gaining this superpower made you invincible? Dream on! With your small frame, you’re not worthy of such a powerful ability!
Nevertheless, regardless of her feelings, the inner core was already in her stomach, merged with her body, and became a life-saving superpower she could use at any time.
Whether she used it or not depended on her mood.
The key concern was whether she had it.
Tu Ran put on her gear and walked toward the direction where Pangpang was.
She needed to catch up with Pangpang and then find a river to quickly clean the bloodstains on her pants.
However, she had barely taken a few steps when she saw Pangpang flapping its wings and rolling toward her like a ball.
Seeing Tu Ran, Pangpang shouted, “Boss, run! There are Ying Snakes! Ying Snakes! They’ve come out of their den! Run!!”
What were Ying Snakes? Tu Ran had never heard of them.
But seeing Pangpang’s panicked and frantic running, she realized that things might be quite serious.
Without asking further, she activated [Teleportation] grabbed Pangpang’s wings, and carried it while running.
However, a dense mass of black, slippery snakes blocked her path.
Tu Ran’s scalp tingled with fear.
The surface of these snakes was very smooth, reflecting light like eels. Each one was about two meters long and as thick as an adult male’s wrist, coming from all directions like a tide, surrounding Tu Ran, Pangpang, and the already shattered body of Kangzhu.
“What are Ying Snakes? Why are there so many?”
Tu Ran pushed back with Pangpang, keeping a wary eye on the countless Ying Snakes drawing nearer, and readied her machine gun.
Pangpang’s voice trembled, and it spoke incoherently, “Pangpang didn’t know there were Ying Snakes on this mountain! If Pangpang had known, I definitely wouldn’t have brought the boss here!”
“Stop wasting time! Quickly, what are Ying Snakes afraid of? Why are so many of them appearing all of a sudden?”
Pangpang sniffled and replied quickly, “They don’t really have any fears. Relying on their numbers, they eat whatever they come across. Very few creatures that get targeted by them manage to escape alive.”
“As soon as they smell blood, they mobilize in swarms. A swarm has thousands of them! This mountain… This mountain doesn’t have just one swarm; it’s a snake den! The mountain might be completely hollowed out by them. We’re doomed!”
It seemed like it was about to cry.
While it was speaking, the swarm of Ying Snakes had advanced another ten meters.
Tu Ran scanned the area, searching for an escape route.
They had been attracted by the Kangzhu’s blood and flesh.
With a mountain of blood and flesh nearby, they likely wouldn’t pay too much attention to her and Pangpang.
“Are they poisonous?” Tu Ran asked calmly.
“Uh? It seems… it seems not.”
Pangpang had not heard of Ying Snakes being poisonous, so they probably weren’t.
That’s good.
Tu Ran breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Her combat suit could protect her from insect and snake bites, but Pangpang didn’t have that protection.
She could make it out safely herself, but carrying Pangpang made it more difficult.
She couldn’t ensure that every snake would stay away from Pangpang. As long as they weren’t poisonous, she would take the risk.
“Stay still on my back and don’t move,” Tu Ran said sternly.
“What?” Pangpang didn’t quite understand.
Tu Ran ignored it, pulled out a flare grenade, removed the pin, and threw it into the advancing swarm of Ying Snakes.
The smell of roasting flesh immediately filled the air.
Flames quickly spread through the swarm of Ying Snakes, and in the flickering firelight, their jumping figures were visible.
The Ying Snakes that were not affected immediately scattered, fleeing from the towering flames.
A fiery path appeared before Tu Ran.
“Yikes, yikes, yikes,” Pangpang reacted, its small eyes wide as saucers in panic. “Boss, what are you doing?!”
Tu Ran ignored it and effortlessly grabbed Pangpang’s wings, lifting it onto her shoulder.
Pangpang was stunned. When did it become so light?
Tu Ran headed directly toward the firelight.
She activated [Teleportation] and swiftly passed through the flames in the blink of an eye.
Without pausing, she ran off, leaving the area.
Pangpang tightly shut its eyes in fear, feeling the intense heat wash over it, accompanied by the unpleasant smell of burning flesh and the roaring wind in its ears.
Had they come out of the fire?
So quickly?
It hesitantly opened its eyes.
What it saw was the rapidly retreating forest.
The boss was carrying it and flying.
Looking back at their escape direction, the dark swarm of Ying Snakes had moved far away. All that could be seen was a layer of blackened ground and the rising black smoke.
Pangpang imagined the Ying Snakes struggling in the sea of flames, feeling both excited and terrified.
Excited because it had actually escaped from a swarm of Ying Snakes and could boast to other species.
Terrified because it worried that the Ying Snakes might seek revenge on it and the boss.
“Boss,” it leaned closer to Tu Ran’s ear and raised its voice, “We need to get out of this mountain quickly. Ying Snakes hold grudges. We’ve burned so many of them; they’ll definitely find a way to get back at us.”
Tu Ran nodded, “I know. That’s why I’m running.”
She had already reached her top speed. They should be nearing the edge of the mountain and would reach the next one soon.
Using [Teleportation] and [Immense Strength] together consumed a lot of energy.
Moreover, Tu Ran had recently expended some energy fighting Kangzhu using [Mountain Collapse and Earth Crack]. Although she had replenished some energy with glucose afterward, it only partially restored her strength.
After running such a long distance, Tu Ran could clearly feel her energy rapidly depleting.
She just needed to hold on a bit longer; the next mountain was almost within reach.
She needed to find a safe place to rest, otherwise, with Pangpang’s fighting ability, they wouldn’t be able to fend off any more threats.
Finally.
“We’re here!!” Pangpang exclaimed excitedly.
Tu Ran gratefully tossed Pangpang off her shoulder.
Pangpang rolled a few times on the ground before stabilizing itself. It got up and looked at Tu Ran with concern.
“Boss, you look terrible.”
They were now at a location with a wide flowing river, and a few trees could be seen faintly along the riverbank.
