Chapter 248: Fourth‑Tier Exotic Beast!

The two got into the vehicle and continued to drive slowly along the foot of the mountain.

Ye Ying drove while keeping an eye ahead for any sign of an Exotic Beast.

Jiang Cheng looked toward the mountain, occasionally glancing to the other side to ensure no one slipped through.

After an unknown amount of time, a few figures appeared in the northwest corner, sprinting toward here.

They turned out to be several horned goats!

Seeing another vehicle not far away, the goats that had tried to climb the mountain were frightened, changed direction, and ran farther away.

The two exchanged a glance and saw the delight in each other's eyes.

Although they were eager to find a Fourth-tier Exotic Beast, these goats were like money handed to them, and since they ran in the open wilderness without dense forest cover, they were essentially live targets.

Jiang Cheng was about to raise his gun.

"Wait, look behind."

Ye Ying spoke up suddenly.

Jiang Cheng looked and felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head; the joy was instantly doused.

One, two, three—three off‑road vehicles emerged from behind the brush, pursuing the goats relentlessly from behind.

Moreover, in the three vehicles, someone stuck out half a body, brandishing a machine gun and firing continuously.

"Rat‑tat‑tat‑tat‑tat…"

Even from dozens of meters away, the machine‑gun fire could be heard.

At the same time, the people in the three vehicles noticed this side, but after glancing twice they looked away and kept firing at the prey.

In a short while, the three vehicles vanished from their sight.

"No wonder they ran so fast; there were people chasing from behind."

Jiang Cheng shrugged, a hint of helplessness in his posture.

"It's fine, we'll keep looking at our own pace."

Ye Ying let out a slight sigh of relief.

Don't be fooled by her earlier eye contact with them; she was already on full alert.

After all, the wilderness is rarely trodden, which can magnify human malice; if the others turned murderous, all they'd need to do is swivel the barrel.

Fortunately, those few people didn't do that, and she didn't want to cause trouble.

Most of the wildly running goats fell under the three machine guns; only one or two escaped up the mountain and vanished into the brush.

The three off‑road vehicles stopped, and several burly men got out.

"Hahaha."

The leader, looking at the goats that had been turned into a sieve, laughed loudly, turned to the men behind him and said, "Our luck's good this time; we ran into several Third-tier Exotic Beasts shortly after arriving. Apart from the two that escaped, these four can fetch nearly three hundred thousand, which means about fifty‑to‑sixty thousand each for us."

"Yeah, yeah."

The others also nodded repeatedly.

"Big brother, did you see that vehicle just now?"

A gunman asked.

"Oh, you mean that vehicle? What's up?"

The leader looked at him and asked.

"Big brother, there's a woman inside that vehicle!"

Another gunman, his tone a bit excited, said, "She's also quite beautiful!"

"Yeah, yeah, I saw it too—straight bangs, almond‑shaped face, that little face was so pale."

"What are you planning to do?"

The leader frowned.

"Since they didn't cause trouble, we have no need to pick a fight with them. Women are plenty in the village; when we get back, you can do whatever you want."

It's not even a few ten‑thousands of cash.

Even a few thousand could be spent lavishly in the club of White Pine Village.

"No, big brother, we don't mean that; we were just talking."

"Yeah, yeah, but they're bold enough to run in the wild as a pair, one of them even a woman. If something happens, tsk tsk tsk," the man said, shaking his head.

"Mind your own business more, and look after yourself."

The leader gave them a hard stare. Talking as if more people meant safety, he added, "Here, you never know whether tomorrow or an accident will come first."

However.

His gaze turned toward the direction Jiang Cheng and the other had left.

He probably guessed it was another naive young couple who ran into the wilderness to experience life.

These days, all kinds of people exist, and he wasn't surprised.

"Alright, stop dawdling, hurry and load the prey onto the vehicle; being seen would be trouble."

Jiang Cheng and the other, of course, were unaware that the group they had just brushed past was discussing them.

At this moment, the two were staring at a prey over a hundred meters away.

"That's a Fourth-tier Exotic Beast, a Wasteland Wolf. It's fast; its claws can easily tear the skin of a Level Four Original Force Warrior, its bite force is even more astounding—capable of snapping the bones of a Fifth-tier Exotic Beast. Among Fourth-tier Exotic Beasts, it's a dominant specimen."

Ye Ying spoke, her eyes flashing.

"Its beast blood and hide can be used to craft Second-tier Talisman Scripts—just like the Vajra Talisman we use, many are made from it. Its teeth and claws can forge C‑grade and D‑grade weapons. A whole Wasteland Wolf can fetch fifteen to sixteen thousand."

Upon hearing that, Jiang Cheng silently raised his sniper rifle.

Over a hundred meters away, a wolf‑shaped Exotic Beast nearly two meters long, its whole body gray‑black, was gnawing on a wild rabbit.

It seemed to sense danger, lifted its head, and fixed its gaze on the two inside the vehicle.

When it saw Jiang Cheng make a move, it turned and ran, very fast, and in the blink of an eye sprinted more than twenty meters away.

But the next moment.

"Bang!"

A bloodied hole appeared in the Wasteland Wolf's abdomen, and it fell to the ground with a thud.

But astonishingly, after falling, it actually got up again.

It only ran a short distance before collapsing again, and this time it could not get up at all.

Ye Ying gave Jiang Cheng a deep look.

The two drove to the corpse of the Wasteland Wolf.

As usual, they first surveyed the surroundings before getting out.

Jiang Cheng lifted one of its hind legs; the weight was about 150–160 jin, roughly twice that of an ordinary wolf.

When the rear trunk door opened, a wave of blood scent hit the nose.

Jiang Cheng tossed the Wasteland Wolf inside, laughing, "Another hundred‑plus thousand added to the books; now it should total around four hundred thousand, so each of us can take two hundred thousand."

"Um..."

Ye Ying wanted to speak but stopped.

Mainly, she felt that from the start until now, she hadn't really helped at all.

Except for driving and scouting for prey.

Someone else could do that job just as well.

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Cheng asked, puzzled.

"Oh, no, nothing."

Ye Ying shook her head.

It's too hard for her to voluntarily lower her share.

Besides, this is just the beginning.

The dangers out in the wild far exceed what ordinary people imagine.

"Then get in the car."

Jiang Cheng smiled.

He vaguely guessed what the other wanted to say.

But since the other didn't voice it, he wouldn't bring it up.

First, this was agreed upon beforehand.

Second, hunting for him is just pulling the trigger.

If later they encounter any danger—say, those few people earlier who went out and came back, leading to a gunfight—although he is already a Level 6 Original Force Warrior and not afraid of ordinary Heavy Machine Guns, with Ye Ying's protection he can be even safer.

(End of Chapter)