Chapter 662: The Black Shadow at the Bottom of the Pool

After quickly pulling the rope to haul the bait out of the water, Xia Qing saw two giant pythons shoot up from the surface, their gaping jaws wide enough to swallow three of her whole — and her very first reaction was not fear, but the urge to leap up and punch the pair flying with one blow.

But her current strength couldn't yet back up her boldness. Dragging the bait just as Yang Jin did, Xia Qing led the two giant pythons sprinting toward the trap, and reported over the walkie-talkie, "Lured out two more giant pythons."

"Copy. The first one has been led into the trap; I've returned to the pool and am continuing to fish for pythons." Yang Jin had set more than one trap. His voice was calm and steady, as if he and Xia Qing weren't fishing for giant pythons but for little minnows.

The Black Wolf hidden in the dense forest saw Xia Qing being chased by two giant pythons and immediately charged over, its sharp front claws raking viciously into the body of the python about to catch up to her.

"Scrape—"

The collision between wolf claw and python hide produced a scraping sound like metal striking metal, showing just how tough both the python's hide and the wolf's claws were.

The Black Wolf's sharp claws failed to pierce the python's scales. The ambushed python flew into a rage, twisting its body to lunge and bite at the Black Wolf.

On land, the python couldn't move as fast as the evolved wolf. Seeing the Black Wolf nimbly dodge the python's attack, Xia Qing shouted, "Brother Black Wolf, lead this python away first, then come back and help me!"

Although she wasn't a speed evolver, Xia Qing's current running speed was still faster than the python's. So while sprinting with the python in tow, she reported to Yang Jin, "Black Wolf showed up and is holding one giant python back for me. I'll lead the python behind me into the trap first, then come back with Black Wolf to deal with the other one."

"Copy."

Yang Jin, fishing for pythons at the edge of the pool, stared fixedly at the water. After three minutes with no python surfacing, he reported to Xia Qing, "No more pythons appearing in the pool. I've begun preparations to enter the water."

Deep in the dense evolved forest, Xia Qing, who was leading the second python toward the trap together with the Black Wolf, pressed the walkie-talkie button. "Copy. One python led into the trap; the second is being led toward the trap. Estimated ten minutes before I bring Black Wolf back to the pool."

Although Xia Qing's running speed had improved, she was still a far cry from top-tier speed evolver Yang Jin. So for the same back-and-forth between the python pool and the trap, she needed more time.

Four minutes later, the second python was firmly bound by the sturdy rope snare.

Nine minutes later, Xia Qing arrived at the pool's edge with the Black Wolf.

When the prepared Yang Jin immediately handed the rope to Xia Qing, he made a fist. Xia Qing also made a fist and bumped it against his, then took the rope.

After handing over the rope, Yang Jin hugged a stone and plunged into the pool, diving down to gather the herbs.

"Brother Black Wolf, guard the shore for me. Don't let any fierce beasts jump into the water and attack him." Xia Qing didn't care whether the Black Wolf could understand. After saying this, she jumped into the water, lay prone on the rock she'd chosen in advance, gripped the rope with her left hand, held the gun in her right, and fixed her eyes on Yang Jin as he descended rapidly.

Both Xia Qing and Yang Jin were wearing special protective suits made with newly added materials — suits whose performance in every respect was a notch above even the Field Grade-5 protective suit. Moreover, the protective face mask was equipped with an oxygen-boosting system, so staying underwater for three hours was no problem. This was one of the guarantees that gave Yang Jin the confidence to plan an underwater herb-gathering operation.

What Xia Qing now held was not her precious sniper rifle, but a special handgun Yang Jin had brought — one that could be used underwater.

Because water's density is far greater than air's, a bullet encounters enormous resistance in water. If Xia Qing's sniper rifle were used underwater, not only would its range and power be unreliable, there was also the danger of a jam or a catastrophic breech explosion.

This handgun that could be used in water — Xia Qing had only test-fired it three times in another shallow, small pond. After getting a feel for underwater shooting, she had geared up and gone into action.

Having already locked down the herbs' growing location in advance, Yang Jin, hugging the stone, quickly dove to the depth where the herbs grew, wedged the stone into the rock wall, drew his dagger, and began digging up the herbs.

Through her night-vision goggles and protective face mask, Xia Qing in the shallow water calmly watched the waters around Yang Jin. A black shadow, over three meters long and grown with four limbs, swam over from the other side and opened its jaws to bite at Yang Jin.

"Crocodile — I've got it!" The instant she spoke, a bullet tore a bright line through the water and shot toward the crocodile.

When shooting at a target in the water from shore, refraction of light means the actual target is not in the same position as where the eye sees it. Xia Qing had no professional training in this area, so to hit accurately, she had also submerged herself.

Although she had only practiced three shots in another shallow pond, for an excellent sniper, that was already enough.

This shot, Xia Qing accurately hit the crocodile's eye. The crocodile, in agony, thrashed about in the water and slammed into the rock wall — when would it still have any mind to hunt the humans in the water?

Throughout Xia Qing's takedown of the crocodile, Yang Jin never once looked back, keeping his focus entirely on digging up the herbs.

The crocodile's thrashing and slamming reduced visibility in the water. Xia Qing gripped her gun tight, watching the waters behind and below Yang Jin.

A black dot appeared in the depths of the small pool and rapidly grew larger.

"Pull back!" The instant Xia Qing gave the order, she stood up from the shallow water and hauled upward on the rope in her left hand with all her might.

The other end of the rope in her hand was fastened across Yang Jin's shoulders.

Hurry, hurry, get up!

The moment Yang Jin heard Xia Qing's command, he also sensed the chilling killing intent rising from below. He was wearing a protective suit, which created far more drag in the water than a wetsuit, so the speed at which Yang Jin kicked off the rock wall and surged upward was, by no small margin, slower than the aquatic beast below him surging up.

But Xia Qing's strength was more than enough! With the powerful pull of the rope fastening, Yang Jin surged upward and broke the surface in a rush.

The instant his feet touched ground, the giant python that had been following him also burst from the water, the waves it threw up splashing straight at the two people by the pool.

The Black Wolf retreated at full speed. Xia Qing, also retreating at full speed, was pulled into Yang Jin's arms in a single grab — her feet left the ground and her speed instantly shot up. She turned to look back, and her eyes went wide.

This python's girth was nearly the same as that hardness-evolved black python the wolf pack had hunted — meaning this fellow was some fifteen meters long and weighed over a ton! On the more than three meters of its body exposed above the water, several bright-red, slender parasitic snakes were coiled around it.

That look really is freaking—

She noticed its head was facing the direction of her and Yang Jin, but it didn't seem to mean to chase them over. Xia Qing patted Yang Jin. "Captain Yang, hold on a sec — give me one of the herbs you picked."

Yang Jin stopped, took a herb from the dripping pouch at his waist, and handed it to Xia Qing.

Xia Qing held up the herb, waved it at the distant great snake, and called out as politely as she could, "Dig herb, dig — herb —"

Yang Jin lowered his voice. "You suspect this is a brain-domain evolved python?"

"I saw it didn't seem to mean to kill us, so I wanted to test whether it could communicate." Xia Qing replied softly. After waving it for a while, the python extended its forked giant tongue, and its head slowly turned to the other side.

Xia Qing's heart clenched tight — because the giant python's head had turned toward the direction where the Black Wolf was hiding!