Chapter 32: Frog Pendant

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Frog Pendant

"Genetic Equipment?"

Ji Zhixing’s heart skipped a beat, and his footsteps involuntarily slowed. As he continued walking with the group, he separated a sliver of his consciousness to carefully inspect the newly appeared item.

In the Furnace Space, the amber-like pendant floated quietly, emitting a faint green glow. The moment his consciousness touched it, a stream of information flooded his mind:

[Genetic Equipment: (Unnamed)

Tier: One

Quality: One-Star

Ability: Breaststroke

Refining this equipment grants the automatic ability to swim the breaststroke and increases diving time by twenty minutes.]

"Tier One, One-Star..." Ji Zhixing thought to himself. "The quality isn’t high, and the ability is very ordinary—just for swimming and diving. But regardless, it’s still Genetic Equipment. Someone out there who needs it will be willing to pay for it. Even at its worst, it can still sell for twenty or thirty thousand genetic coins."

A wave of joy surged in his heart. Twenty or thirty thousand genetic coins were almost enough to buy two or three bottles of Stone Skin genetic potion.

"I didn’t expect a Giant Footed Frog to actually drop something," he noted inwardly. "And Genetic Equipment, no less. My genetic furnace truly yields different results than what ordinary people get."

He took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement so it wouldn’t show. "Naming it..." He pondered for a moment. "I’ll just call it the Frog Pendant." Having settled on a simple name, he gave it no further thought.

By now, the group had run to the edge of the campsite. The clearing was chaotic, as many teams had already returned.

"Zhixing, hurry up!" Liu Qifan shouted from the front.

"Coming." Ji Zhixing picked up his pace and followed them swiftly back to camp.

Inside the campsite, various teams were gathered together, buzzing with discussion as they tried to guess what had caused the loud explosion earlier. The teachers were taking a head count and maintaining order.

"Nobody wander off!" He Yanbing shouted at the top of her lungs. "Once everyone is back, we will end this training expedition early!"

Ji Zhixing and his companions found a spot to stand and looked around.

BOOM!

Suddenly, another massive explosion echoed from the direction of Lake Heart Island in the distance. This sound was even louder than the first. Even from this far away, the ground trembled beneath their feet.

"Those people from Yu City Middle School probably haven’t returned from Lake Heart Island yet, right?" Liu Qifan suddenly asked, as if realizing something. "Do you guys think they’re the ones causing all this commotion?"

Ji Zhixing shook his head, and Zhang Haoceng did the same. None of them knew.

"ROAR!"

Right at that moment, a deafening roar abruptly erupted, sounding as if it had exploded right next to their ears! The noise was so loud and sudden that Ji Zhixing’s eardrums vibrated and rang. The surrounding students all paled, and some even squatted down, covering their ears.

"What is that?" someone screamed in terror.

Ji Zhixing whipped his head around to look in the direction of the sound. Just a few dozen meters away in the clearing ahead of the camp, space was twisting and morphing. The air seemed to be torn open by an invisible giant hand, revealing a blurry rift. Beyond the rift, one could vaguely see a dense forest with towering trees that blocked out the sky, a scene entirely different from the wilderness outside.

And in that clearing, four massive black bears scratched their heads and suddenly walked out from inside the rift.

The leading bear was horrifyingly large, standing a full five or six meters tall. Its body was as black as ink, with its fur standing on end like a small mountain. Its eyes were dark red, gleaming with ferocity, and every step it took caused the ground to quake. The other three black bears were slightly smaller, but still stood three or four meters tall, appearing just as menacing.

"This is..." Ji Zhixing’s pupils shrank drastically.

"Oh no, it’s a Tier Three Genetic Beast!" a teacher exclaimed, their voice laced with terror.

"An Otherworldly Secret Realm!" another teacher yelled. "An Otherworldly Secret Realm has appeared here! Everyone, step back! Retreat, now!"

Before the teacher could even finish speaking, the largest black bear had already noticed the crowd at the campsite.

"ROAR!"

It let out an even more frenzied roar. The rolling soundwaves were so intense that some students were shocked into falling on their behinds. Dropping to all fours, the beast charged toward them, its heavy footsteps producing booming thuds against the earth.

"I’ll hold it off! Get out of here, quickly!" A figure dashed out from the crowd, heading straight for the giant bear. It was Chen Ye.

Moving like lightning, he closed the distance to the giant bear in the blink of an eye. A blood-colored longsword materialized out of thin air into his grasp, its blade glowing with a dark red light and exuding a heavy scent of blood.

"Get lost!" Chen Ye bellowed deeply, unleashing a slash.

The blood-red light surged, clashing with the giant bear’s claws with a deafening metallic clang. The giant bear was forced back two steps, and Chen Ye also swayed on his feet, but he immediately steadied himself and charged forward again, keeping the enormous beast firmly pinned down in combat. Man and bear engaged in a fierce battle. The ground around them was trampled and shattered, and shockwaves rippled through the air.

"ROAR! ROAR!"

The other three black bears roared. Seeing that they couldn’t intervene in the fight, they turned and charged at the surrounding students. One of the black bears was charging right in the direction of Ji Zhixing and his group!

Standing three or four meters tall and pitch-black all over, the black bear left deep claw marks in the ground with every step it took. Its dark red eyes swept over the group, fully exposing its vicious intent.

"Run!" Zhao Qing’s expression changed drastically as she cried out in alarm.

Even if these slightly smaller giant bears hadn’t reached the third tier, they were at least Tier Two Genetic Beasts. Although she was also a student of Yu City University, she had not yet broken through to the second tier, nor did she excel in head-on combat. Faced with this kind of Genetic Beast, she couldn’t possibly fend it off.

Ji Zhixing and his companions hastily scattered and sprinted for their lives.

The black bear paused for a moment. After a quick scan, it singled out the largest person among them—Luo Yongguang—and gave chase. Although Luo Yongguang had fused with the Wild Bull King gene, possessing decent strength and defense, his speed was no match for the black bear. Within a few strides, the beast had caught up to him, raising its massive paw high into the air.

"Luo Yongguang!" Liu Qifan shouted.

Fortunately, right at that moment, an upperclassman from Yu City University finally arrived. He thrust his spear toward the black bear’s eye, successfully intercepting it.

"Phew..." Ji Zhixing let out a sigh of relief.

Glancing around, he realized that Spatial Passages to the Alternate Space had appeared in more than just the location where the black bears had emerged. Several other spots around the campsite had also manifested these passages. One of the Spatial Passages was located not far from him.

"SCREECH!"

A piercing eagle’s cry suddenly rang out from the sky. Ji Zhixing looked up, and his face instantly paled.

High in the air, another patch of space had become blurry and distorted. Immediately after, several dark shadows flew out of it. They were giant eagles, pitch-black all over with wingspans stretching a full seven or eight meters wide. Their feathers gleamed with a metallic luster. They circled twice in the air, letting out sharp cries before diving straight down toward the crowd below.

"Dodge!" someone yelled.

A student from the Third Middle School couldn’t dodge in time and was grabbed by the shoulders by a black eagle’s sharp talons, getting carried straight up into the sky. The student screamed in terror, struggling desperately, but couldn’t break free at all. Two more students were snatched up, wailing as they were hauled into the air.

Another black eagle swooped down, its target none other than Qi Xingzhou. Qi Xingzhou reacted with extreme speed. A pair of shoes on his feet suddenly lit up, propelling his entire body forward a great distance and narrowly avoiding the black eagle’s claws.

Having missed its target, the black eagle flew back into the sky. It circled above, its dark red eyes scanning the ground.

Just as Ji Zhixing was still wondering where to hide, he suddenly felt a shadow fall over his head. He snapped his head up, his heart nearly stopping. That black eagle was diving straight toward him! With its wings tucked in, it looked like a black arrow, moving at an astonishing speed.

"Damn it!" Ji Zhixing’s expression twisted.

He frantically looked around, only to see the upperclassmen from Yu City University busy dealing with the black bears, while Chen Ye was tied down by the giant bear and couldn’t break away. The teachers were escorting the other students away, retreating much too far from him.

There was no one who could save him.

"There’s no time!" Ji Zhixing’s mind raced. He glanced at the black eagle, then at the patch of distorted space not far from him. "Behind that distorted space is an Otherworldly Secret Realm, and the danger inside is definitely massive. But if I stay here and get grabbed by the black eagle, it’s also a dead end. If I’m taken away, I’ll just be at its mercy. If I enter the Otherworldly Secret Realm, at least I can still fight for my life!"

Gritting his teeth, he abruptly changed direction and bolted toward the distorted space. He wasn’t very far from it to begin with. Thus, in just a few steps, he leaped forward, plunging his entire body into the blurry rift.

His vision blurred as the world spun around him. Behind him, the black eagle’s sharp talons scraped against his back, sending a flash of sharp pain through him.