The King of Black Fog

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Li Changzhou hesitated about whether to learn "Earth Tunneling".

There were too many animals capable of digging, and it didn't seem as covert as "Concentration", "Control Dopamine", "Skin Enhancement", or "Healing".

After some thought, he decided to learn it anyway.

In the face of life and death, what else could a man like him, who did no evil, have to hide, except for his hard drive and browser history?

It wasn't just about his own life and death, but also about Li Qianxia, Yang Qinglan, and even little Turnip.

A wisp of black smoke slid out like a snake from the "hand" of the humanoid black fog, penetrated the black identity card, and retrieved "Earth Tunneling".

[B-rank Earth Tunneling: Travel underground, consuming 1 point of Constitution, 2 points of Strength, 1 point of Agility, and 1 point of Intelligence for every ten meters.]

After acquiring "Earth Tunneling", there was only one empty slot left in the skills section of Li Changzhou's white identity card.

He turned his gaze to little Turnip.

Little Turnip was diligently stacking pebbles, mumbling to itself, with clear, drooling saliva ready to drip at any time.

'The last skill must at least be on the same level as "Avoid Death and Prolong Life",' he thought.

As dawn began to break, Li Changzhou woke up Li Qianxia, who rubbed her eyes before patting Yang Qinglan on the shoulder, waking her in turn.

Only a few embers remained in the fire pit, which were then doused with water to extinguish thoroughly, preventing a fire hazard.

They packed up and let little Turnip find a direction that wasn't too dangerous.

"Little Turnip, do you want a weapon?" Walking through the misty forest in the early morning, Li Qianxia was spirited and had rested well.

"Weapon?"

"Yeah, didn't we confiscate an iron rod yesterday? Do you want it?"

"No," little Turnip refused without a second thought, "I don't like sticks."

"Why not! Monkeys are supposed to use sticks!"

"Even circus monkeys ride bicycles," Li Changzhou, leading the way with an iron rod in hand, added.

The captured bow was held by Yang Qinglan, but her eyes were tasked with releasing "Attract And Repel", which required supreme concentration. Without practice, it was hard for her to aim while doing so.

"We're almost there." Little Turnip looked ahead.

Passing through the woods, the view suddenly opened up, and everywhere was a rolling sea of green.

They stood by a river a few meters wide.

Purple and light blue flowers bloomed along both banks of the river, and beyond that stretched vast expanses of alfalfa.

Walking on the grass was like sailing across green water, their whole bodies floating in a sea of grass.

"Do you know where it is?" Li Qianxia whispered.

"Not sure." Little Turnip shook its head. Being short, it wasn't taller than the grass, and there were no trees nearby to serve as a platform for it to leap from.

Li Qianxia wanted to let it ride on her shoulder, but it felt too dangerous and refused.

Li Changzhou cast a glance at Yang Qinglan, who nodded slightly. Locating the enemy was a job for her Perception.

The sky was a brilliant blue, the gentle rolling hills were lush with greenery, which called to mind the classic Windows wallpaper, satisfying everyone's imagination of the prairie.

Suddenly, Yang Qinglan stopped in her tracks, prompting the others to halt urgently as well.

Little Turnip was far away from them, and if not for knowing it was there, it would have been impossible to see it in the grass at first glance.

'Where is it?' Li Changzhou inquired with a look to Yang Qinglan.

She had her eyes closed, following that mysterious feeling inside her heart. Then she opened her eyes and indicated the blue flowers by the stream.

Li Changzhou squinted his eyes. With 4 points of Perception, guided by Yang Qinglan's directions, he too noticed something was amiss.

A figure was lying in the flowers, dressed in blue clothes, with even a blue face.

A chameleon's ability? Or was it actually a chameleon?

There were more than one place to drink water, many safe spots. This meant hiding here was probably an attempt to leverage the water and the camouflage ability to survive until the end of the game?

It was a good strategy, but it also depended on luck.

If the "drop point" was on the western side of the mountain or if they encountered someone who could see through the disguise, the situation would become very risky.

For instance, right now.

Li Changzhou put away his iron rod and pretended to look elsewhere, then suddenly opened fire.

The hiss of the bullets tore through the grass, scattered petals, shattered the vague patches of color, and blood sprayed everywhere.

A four-legged creature as thick and as long as a human thigh lay silent in the grass, motionless, as an identity card slid off its top and fell into the pool of blood.

The beast had a tumorous head, was covered in dark grey skin, had a large belly, robust hind limbs and tail, as well as a dorsal fin.

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"What kind of animal is this? It looks like Godzilla!" Li Changzhou exclaimed in amazement.

"Gila monster. Read more books," Yang Qinglan explained and criticized with conciseness.

"Maybe Godzilla will really appear in the future. Damn, where is my God Light Stick?" Li Changzhou gripped his AK and walked towards the body.

"Danger is coming!" Little Radish suddenly shouted.

"Boom!"

The water surface exploded.

A water buffalo, towering like a steel tower, stood amidst the sky-high spray.

It had already taken on a humanoid form, freeing its front hooves to walk on its hind ones, resembling the minotaur from various works very closely.

Li Changzhou pressed the trigger; the unrelenting muzzle spat out bullets like a furious dragon.

The water buffalo's horns rapidly melted, turning into a black Horned Robe covering its entire body, including a transparent protective film over its eyes. The bullets hit the Horned Robe without any effect.

"Moo!" Along with the long bellow, the Bull Fist, wrapped with Strength, tore through the air and headed towards Li Changzhou.

Li Changzhou did not waver at all, still calmly targeting a spot on the chest and continued firing without interruption.

One bullet shot up, and before it could fall, the second hammered down like an iron mallet, pushing the first further in.

Midway, the water buffalo's unstoppable fist suddenly lost its Strength.

The bullet-proof buffalo's body, unshaken by a single step, collapsed backward like a mountain landslide.

"Attract And Repel"

Another Wolf Howl sounded, and Li Qianxia, holding an iron rod, rushed up with great Speed, skimming over the grass and flowers like a dragonfly skittering across the water.

"Ding!"

The sharp tip of the rod and the hard Horned Robe collided, emitting a crisp metallic sound.

The six-needle nozzle at the tip of the rod couldn't advance an inch!

With palms like pillars clutching the water buffalo at the bottom of the stream, the enormous bovine eyes swept toward the close Li Qianxia.

Li Qianxia's heart clenched violently as if someone had harshly squeezed it.

The Crisis Sense that prickled her Skin made her feel like a mosquito trying to suck blood from a person engrossed in reading.

The mosquito landed on the arm, six needle-mouthparts shining, and just then, the Human's eyeballs moved, shifting the gaze from the book onto it.

Right now, the look from this buffalo gave Li Qianxia such a terrifying, hair-raising sensation.

The water buffalo lifted its right arm and swung violently; its huge fist rapidly filled her vision.

"Qian Xia!"

Her brother's urgent shout came through her ear, and Li Qianxia snapped to her senses as if startled, ducking her head instinctively.

"Bang!" Her flying ponytail burst open like a black dandelion.

Li Qianxia kicked off the buffalo's body with both feet and fled hastily with her hair streaming over her shoulders.

No sooner had she left than Li Changzhou also backed away; this buffalo was not something they could handle now.

The water buffalo again plunged its right hand into the riverbed and when it raised out of the water again, it held a rock.

With a "moo," its arm muscles bulged, and with a powerful squeeze of the hand, the rock shattered into small pebbles.

Li Changzhou's eyes grew cold.

"Control Dopamine"

He lunged forward off the ground, firing at the riverbed the buffalo gripped in its left hand, trying to make it lose its balance, while he ran towards Yang Qinglan.

Just as he shielded Yang Qinglan with his body, the water buffalo raised its right hand and threw it with all its might from the left shoulder to the right hip.

"Swoosh!"

The pebbles shot from the palm like bullets.

Despite continuous shooting from Li Changzhou, his body was still hit by the pebbles.

"Skin Enhancement"

Without the suppressive gaze of Yang Qinglan, the water buffalo stood up proudly, with stream water winding down its robustly muscled arms. Both of its palms each clutched a rock.

"Go!" Li Changzhou ordered in a low voice.

Without asking useless questions like 'what about you,' Yang Qinglan threw a handful of grass seeds between Li Changzhou and the water buffalo, releasing the Iron Grass Arrows and turned to run.

She didn't run aimlessly but kept in a straight line with Li Changzhou and the water buffalo.

Little Radish had already run ahead of her without knowing when.