Chapter 46 - 44: I Like to Eat Sunflower Seeds

Chapter 46: Chapter 44: I Like to Eat Sunflower Seeds

They had just destroyed two sunflowers in a row.

The man with the earring relaxed slightly, feeling that victory was within his grasp and that his chances of survival had improved.

Wang Quanzhi’s confidence surged. He stared at the last sunflower—the one with Nie Qianqian’s face—and charged straight for it.

Xie Shaokun was about to follow him.

"Ahem."

Xia Yu’s cough rang out.

Xie Shaokun froze, instantly understanding her meaning. ’The hidden monster is about to appear. Get ready to kill it.’

He tightened his grip on the gun.

And at that very moment.

PFFT.

A thin red line appeared on the earringed man’s neck.

It happened so fast that he didn’t even realize his neck had been sliced open. The last thought in his mind was: ’Let’s just get this over with. The novel I’m following has probably been updated by now.’

’So fast!’

All Xia Yu saw was a flash of red light. She vaguely caught its trajectory and, relying purely on muscle memory, flung the Blood Butterfly from her hand.

"Enhancement!"

Xie Shaokun’s pupils contracted. He hadn’t seen a thing, only that something had flashed by.

But he was smart. ’Just watch Yu!’

The moment he saw Yu throw her Blood Butterfly, he activated his superpower.

It all happened in an instant.

CRACK.

In the blink of an eye, a strange sound echoed in the air.

’A hit!’

The sound was music to Xia Yu’s ears. Her eyes lit up, wanting to press the advantage and finish it off while it was wounded.

However, the hidden monster only paused for a moment before leaping away. Its speed had dropped slightly, but it was still faster than her own Peak burst speed. She watched as it was about to disappear into the darkness.

Xia Yu snatched the pistol and decisively pulled the trigger.

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

Three gunshots rang out in quick succession.

Before Xie Shaokun could even react, the pistol was back in his hand.

"Ah!"

Xia Yu cried out, covering her ears. She crouched on the ground, trembling.

She looked as if she were terrified.

"What’s going on?"

Wang Quanzhi, who was busy fighting off the Roots, was startled. In a moment of carelessness, a root pierced through his palm.

"Ah!"

He screamed and quickly retreated.

Once he was at a safe distance, he stared at the gun in Xie Shaokun’s hand, utterly confused. "What happened? You started shooting?"

THUD.

The earringed man collapsed. Blood gushed from the line around his neck, pooling around him.

"He’s dead?"

Wang Quanzhi leaped back in fright, his gaze fixed warily on Xie Shaokun.

At that moment, Xie Shaokun snapped out of his shock. Feeling Wang Quanzhi’s stare, he said, "Use your head. Does that wound look like it came from a gun?"

"It was the monster hiding in the dark."

Wang Quanzhi was stunned.

He instinctively scanned his surroundings. If not for a faint, weak cry, he wouldn’t have even noticed a small figure moving about ten meters away.

The night was too dark.

And that monster was too small.

"Go."

Xie Shaokun charged forward without hesitation.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw how Yu was acting. The corner of his mouth twitched.

’Her acting is on another level.’

Wang Quanzhi followed close behind.

As they got closer, they saw it.

"It must have been a black cat before."

"It’s been shot twice."

"One in the abdomen, one in the neck."

"Huh?"

"A blood-colored Butterfly Knife? It’s stuck in its thigh."

He took out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and narrated his observations. Finally, his eyes widened as he looked at Xie Shaokun in utter shock. "You... you did this?"

Xie Shaokun retorted, "If I didn’t do it, did you?"

Wang Quanzhi’s mouth twitched. His perception of Xie Shaokun rose to a new level.

In the dead of night.

From over ten meters away.

’His accuracy is insane!’

’Is he a master of both guns and Hidden Weapons?’

BANG.

Xie Shaokun didn’t approach rashly. Even though the Mutated Beast looked heavily injured and helpless, he decisively pulled the trigger.

He aimed for the head.

The Mutated Beast shuddered violently and died on the spot.

Then, keeping the gun aimed at the Mutated Beast, Xie Shaokun slowly approached. He used his pig-killing knife, under the Enhancement Effect, to slice open its head. He was delighted to find a Crystal Core and took it out.

The Mutated Beast didn’t move the entire time.

"Phew."

Only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. "It’s dead."

So much had happened in that single moment that Xie Shaokun hadn’t even had time to process it all before it was over. He had a newfound appreciation for how terrifying Yu was.

Her incredible reflexes, meticulous thinking, unshakable composure, and terrifying accuracy—he was no match for her in any of these areas.

In a word: respect.

"He doesn’t give the enemy any openings."

"Very good."

Xia Yu’s eyes showed her approval as she thought to herself.

’Xie Shaokun’s growth rate has exceeded my expectations. No wonder he’ll become one of the Strong People.’

Her gaze fell on the black cat’s eyes, and her heart skipped a beat. ’It was so close to evolving Red Eyes.’

The ranks of Mutants and Mutated Beasts are determined by their eyes. The initial level for both has eyes filled with web-like blood vessels.

The next level is Red Eyes.

The gap in overall combat power between each level is huge because it’s a comprehensive upgrade. When every single aspect is significantly stronger, a fight between levels is a complete blowout.

’It must have evolved this quickly because of its natural talent. The moment it became a Mutated Beast, it was already far beyond ordinary ones.’

Xia Yu analyzed the situation based on her experience.

"What’s that in your hand?"

Wang Quanzhi couldn’t help but ask, staring at the Crystal Core in Xie Shaokun’s hand.

"A Crystal Core."

Xie Shaokun blurted it out, then immediately realized he shouldn’t be so forthcoming.

Wang Quanzhi asked again, "What’s it for?"

"Don’t ask what you’re not supposed to know." Xie Shaokun waved his hand dismissively, handing the pig-killing knife to Wang Quanzhi. He then pulled out the Blood Butterfly and said, "Let’s go. We’ll kill the last sunflower first."

Wang Quanzhi frowned but could do nothing about it.

Beggars can’t be choosers. He could only obediently take the pig-killing knife and, enduring the piercing pain in his other hand, charge forward with Xie Shaokun.

Soon.

The last sunflower was destroyed.

Wang Quanzhi quickly bandaged his hand to stop the bleeding, thinking he could finally rest for a moment.

But then he saw Xie Shaokun chopping off the limbs of the earringed man and the other recently deceased corpses. He was about to ask why, but then he remembered how the previous dead, even those with only their heads left, had ’come back to life’ as monsters.

Suddenly, he understood.

’But why not just stab them in the head and be done with it? Why bother dismembering them?’

ROAR.

...

As time passed, the corpses, as expected, ’awoke’ one by one and turned into monsters.

However, with their limbs cut off, their movements were restricted, and Xie Shaokun killed them with ease.

’So he wants their Crystal Cores.’

Watching Xie Shaokun slice open the Mutants’ skulls, Wang Quanzhi instantly understood. ’But isn’t the drop rate for these Crystal Cores a little too low?’

He watched as Xie Shaokun cut open the heads of all the Mutants.

In total, he only got 11.

Wasn’t that a lot?

"So many!"

Xia Yu’s eyes lit up with delight.

Excluding the two Crystal Cores from the two Mutated Beasts, the Mutants had yielded a total of 9!

And there were over seventy people who came to the orchard!

The rate was already over ten percent.

How could that not be a lot?

Xie Shaokun didn’t know if it was a lot or a little. He put them away, walked toward the glass greenhouse, and said, "You two, help me pick up the sunflower seeds."

"Pick up every single one."

"Hurry up."

He knew time was running short, and the sunflower seeds were scattered all over the ground. It would take a long time to gather them all, so he didn’t dare waste a second. He aimed his gun directly at Xia Yu and Wang Quanzhi.

???

Wang Quanzhi was completely dumbfounded. Couldn’t they just rest for a bit?

"Now what’s this for?"

He couldn’t hold back and asked.

"Why do you care?"

Xie Shaokun said impatiently, "I like eating sunflower seeds, okay?"

Wang Quanzhi: "..."

Xia Yu: "..."