Chapter 71

Li Yi was panting heavily, covered in blood, and only when he saw the man-bear, which stood over three meters tall, collapse before him and stop moving entirely, did his heart, boiling with killing intent, gradually calm down.

This thing was too hard to kill.

It was on a completely different level from the tiger-beast he had faced before; if he hadn't been wearing this suit made of Qiu dragon skin, he wouldn't have been a match for it at all. He would have been defeated in a single exchange, so how could he have possibly beaten it to death with his bare hands?

But no matter what, Li Yi had won in the end, and this fierce beast had fallen.

"Li Yi, how are you? Are you alright? Should we call an ambulance?"

"Where are you injured? How is your shoulder from earlier? Is it still bleeding?"

At this moment, Chen Hao immediately put down the sniper rifle in his hands and ran over, asking with urgent concern. Seeing Li Yi covered in blood, he vaguely felt something was wrong, fearing that Li Yi might collapse just like the man-bear at any moment.

"I'm fine. I don't think I've suffered any major injuries. The blood on me isn't mine. I've already confirmed that this beast is completely dead. The battle is over. Hurry and go check on He Xiong; he hasn't moved at all, and I'm afraid he won't make it through this." Li Yi waved his hand to indicate he was fine.

At this time, Zheng Gong had already reached the unconscious He Xiong. He hurriedly checked his condition and immediately said, "He Xiong isn't dead; he still has a pulse, but his injuries are severe. His arm is almost broken, and his head seems to have suffered a heavy blow. I suggest sending him to the hospital for treatment immediately."

Wang Jian walked over with a slightly unsteady gait: "Don't rush; the danger hasn't been cleared yet. Chen Hao, search the vicinity immediately to see if there are any traces of that giant spider-man from before. If you find it, take the shot if you have the chance. Zheng Gong, you are responsible for guarding the perimeter. Li Yi, we owe this to you; otherwise, all of us would be finished. Can you still move?"

"No problem."

Li Yi stretched his body; aside from some muscle strains and bruising in a few places, he was generally unharmed.

"I'm very sorry, I'm injured now and my movement is a bit inconvenient. Can you move He Xiong and the man-bear's corpse to the vehicle? The smell of blood here is too strong; we cannot linger here and must leave this area as soon as possible." Wang Jian held his chest, cold sweat pouring down his face; clearly, his injuries were not light.

After all, he didn't have a suit made of Qiu dragon skin, and taking a direct hit from the man-bear was not pleasant at all.

"Small matter, as long as everyone is fine."

Li Yi nodded, no longer hesitating, and immediately picked up He Xiong carefully before placing him into the transport vehicle.

The man-bear's corpse was the spoils of this operation and could not be left behind, so he stuffed it into the vehicle as well.

At this moment, Chen Hao, holding his sniper rifle, said in a deep voice: "That giant spider-man has disappeared. I couldn't find any traces of it on the nearby buildings. It must have been startled by the sound of our fight earlier and fled."

"What a pity, not being able to take that shot in time to remove that hidden danger. I have a premonition that thing will cause a major disaster." Wang Jian gritted his teeth, feeling he had missed a very good opportunity.

They were only a second away from being able to take the shot to try and snipe that eerie spider-man, but a man-bear had appeared halfway through. If not for Li Yi's presence, they really would have been the mantis caught by the oriole.

"Wang Jian, there are no other dangers nearby for now; it should be safe." Zheng Gong, who was responsible for guarding the surroundings, also spoke up at this moment.

"Fierce beasts are territorial; generally, two similar beasts won't appear in the same area. However, we cannot skimp on the necessary precautions. The commotion earlier was too loud, and I'm worried it might have attracted something." Wang Jian took a deep breath at this moment, feeling the sharp pain in his chest intensify.

If nothing went wrong, it was likely a broken rib. In this condition, he no longer had the ability to move or fight.

Must retreat.

Thinking of this, Wang Jian said again: "Zheng Gong, you drive. This operation is temporarily suspended; we must retreat to regroup first."

The others didn't object after hearing this, simply nodding.

The mission had started poorly; in this situation, they could only turn back.

Everyone immediately got into the vehicle, then turned around and retreated rapidly along the route they had come, without the slightest hesitation.

Inside the vehicle, the smell of blood was thick—some from the beast, some from He Xiong.

Everyone's mood was heavy, and no one spoke a word.

But Wang Jian suddenly said earnestly: "Li Yi, thank you so much this time. You saved all of us. If it weren't for you, we would definitely have been killed by this man-bear."

"Running into a fierce beast is unavoidable for anyone; I just did what I could." Li Yi said: "We are all teammates, helping each other is only right."

"No, I saw everything you did. You were the first to open the vehicle door and rush out to draw the beast's attack. If it weren't for your actions, we wouldn't have been able to escape the vehicle alive; we would have just been sitting ducks for that man-bear, trapped and killed." Wang Jian remained very earnest.

"Indeed, Li Yi, you saved all our lives. I won't say any words of gratitude; in the future, if there is anything you need me for, just speak up, and I will never refuse." Chen Hao also nodded in agreement, his eyes filled with respect and gratitude as he looked at Li Yi.

They say adversity reveals true feelings.

Only when facing such danger does everyone know who is worth trusting and worth relying on.

And they were all very fortunate to have a teammate like Li Yi.

"You are all too polite. I only dared to take the risk because I relied on this suit made from the skin of an extraordinary creature; it's not as heroic as you say." Li Yi just smiled, becoming modest.

Even so, the others' gratitude toward Li Yi did not diminish in the slightest.

At this moment, Zheng Gong, who was driving, said shamefully: "Sorry, I wasn't able to be of any use and dragged everyone down."

"Don't say that. Didn't you also try to draw the beast away alone to win a chance for everyone to survive? You were also brave; you just need more training and growth."

Wang Jian patted his shoulder, encouraging the newcomer not to be discouraged and to pull himself together.

However, just at this moment, the investigator's phone on Wang Jian rang again.

He picked it up, took one look, and his expression changed instantly.

"What happened?" Li Yi asked immediately upon seeing his expression change.

"There's a special situation on Zhang's side that requires support." Wang Jian's expression remained grim.

"Is it serious?" Li Yi frowned.

Wang Jian whispered: "Captain Zhang Lei and quite a few colleagues accidentally entered a building while surrounding and killing some fierce beasts, and then the whole group lost contact. Other investigators risked going in to search, but they ended up just like the captain—they went into that building and disappeared."

"The situation is quite eerie. Now, other investigators are heading that way, trying to launch a rescue."

"Did they run into extraordinary creatures?" Chen Hao asked.

Wang Jian said: "Unclear. There were no sounds of fighting or killing from the scene, and no traces of extraordinary creatures. We'll only know the specific situation after we get there. Although we don't have the ability to act right now, this matter has a significant impact, and I want to go take a look."

"Wang Jian, we can't act in this condition; we should give up and leave it to other colleagues." Chen Hao suggested.

"That's right, we really aren't suited to continue the operation in this state." Wang Jian didn't refute Chen Hao, just nodded slightly.

"Actually, it's not that we can't act at all. If we send He Xiong to the hospital, we still have the ability to act. After all, the others only suffered minor injuries; it's not serious." Li Yi said, then asked: "The key is your injury—can you still move, and do you want to continue the mission?"

Wang Jian touched his chest and said: "I can barely move, but I can't fight. Li Yi, you have the strongest strength here; what do you suggest?"

Li Yi shrugged: "I'm just a worker; as long as the mission pays, I'll do it. If we really run into danger we can't handle, I'll still suggest running away. If you just want to go check the situation, I can go with you."

Wang Jian fell into deep thought.

A moment later, he spoke again: "Go to the training base. We'll drop He Xiong off there; someone will take him to the hospital. Then we'll change vehicles there, rest briefly, and then go to support Captain Zhang Lei. This time it's my fault for dragging everyone into this; I can only trouble you all to go with me one more time."

After speaking, he sincerely apologized to everyone.

The others didn't object, tacitly agreeing to continue the mission.

Because they had contacted them in advance, when the vehicle returned to the training base, several instructors were already waiting at the entrance with medical staff.

As soon as the vehicle stopped, someone immediately came over to carry the injured He Xiong away, while a doctor also helped Wang Jian check his injuries.

"Three of your ribs are broken, and one of them almost pierced your heart. Fortunately, it's not particularly serious. I will use bone-bonding adhesive to help you repair it simply, but you cannot engage in strenuous exercise afterward, nor can you fight anyone, otherwise, the injury will worsen, and it will be very dangerous."

The doctor was experienced and immediately diagnosed Wang Jian's condition, while also beginning some emergency treatment for him.

"As long as I can move, it's fine. Sorry for the trouble, doctor." Wang Jian said with a sigh of relief.

Li Yi's physical condition was good at the moment, but he was covered in blood and filth, so he found a fire hydrant nearby, opened it, and began to wash himself off.

With a shake of his body, the water was flung off, and he was completely dry and clean.

"By the way, can you help me change to another vehicle? My vehicle has too strong a smell of blood, which is inconvenient for action." Afterward, Wang Jian spoke to an instructor.

An instructor who knew Wang Jian said immediately: "Take my car; be careful."

"Good, thank you." Wang Jian nodded.

The few of them didn't linger; after a brief rest and changing vehicles, they prepared to set off again.

Li Yi was also preparing to move when the doctor who had just checked Wang Jian's body suddenly walked over and quietly slipped a small bottle of medicine-like substance into Li Yi's hand.

Li Yi was a bit surprised and puzzled, as he didn't know this doctor.

This doctor lowered his voice and said: "Very good for the body... military grade."

Clearly, during the brief rest, this doctor had also seen that it was Li Yi who had turned the tide, killed the man-bear, and saved a whole vehicle of people, so he wanted to help Li Yi within his own capabilities.

Although the doctor's voice was very low, most of the people present were cultivators, so how could they not hear? Everyone just pretended not to have heard.

"Thanks." Li Yi said gratefully, while accepting the bottle of medicine.