The python’s sense of smell was extremely sharp, allowing it to slither over a hundred meters in an instant.
The moment the python coiled around her, Qin Zhiyu felt every hair on her body stand on end, goosebumps rising in waves. The foul stench from the snake’s mouth rushed straight into her nostrils.
Qin Zhiyu knew things were dire. If she remained bound any longer, her limbs would become oxygen-deprived, leading to congestion and shock. She hacked at the snake’s body with her Iron Sword, but the scales were tough and offered no leverage. Her Strength was insufficient to inflict any damage.
The python’s constriction robbed her of the strength to stand. As she was dragged to the ground, coiled tightly, she stared at the gaping maw before her and the fangs inching toward her arteries. Panic began to set in.
Her right hand, still gripping the sword, went limp. The Iron Sword slipped from her grasp and clattered to the ground.
That’s it—the storage space!
The detection hadn’t indicated the snake was venomous. She could afford to take a risk!
Qin Zhiyu clenched her fist and struck the python’s head with all her might, knocking it sideways. This only enraged the serpent further, causing it to open its jaws even wider, attempting to swallow her head whole.
“Now!”
Qin Zhiyu thrust her hand into the snake’s mouth, instantly retrieving a sword-axe from her storage space. Gripping the handle, she drove it deep into the soft organs of the python’s abdomen!
The snake’s sharp fangs raked her arm, leaving deep gashes. Blood streamed down her arm and into the serpent’s mouth. The scent of blood and the agony in its belly drove the python into a frenzy. It tightened its coils violently and thrashed its head.
At this rate, my right arm is done for! Enduring the suffocating, dull pain wracking her body, Qin Zhiyu gritted her teeth. With her left hand, she also reached into the snake’s maw, pulling out a stone sword horizontally to wedge its jaws open. This prevented the snake from closing its mouth and freed her right hand.
Using the stone sword in her right hand, she churned the blade inside the snake’s mouth repeatedly. Gradually, she felt the constricting force around her weaken. Prying the coils apart, she collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
Only after her blood circulated oxygen to every part of her body did Qin Zhiyu begin to recover.
“Whoosh!”
Someone was watching!
Dragging her battered and sluggish body, Qin Zhiyu tried to dodge, but her Agility was compromised. Clumsy in her movements, she couldn’t evade completely. A stone axe struck her left arm with brutal force!
Without hesitation, she rolled on the ground, scooping up the fallen Iron Sword. At the same moment, a slender woman was also reaching for the weapon.
Du Xinchen was puzzled. Despite her severe injuries, Qin Zhiyu remained agile. The Iron Sword she had hoped to claim for herself remained out of reach. However, seeing the bone-deep wounds on Qin Zhiyu, Du Xinchen knew her first strike had succeeded. Now was the time to press the advantage—strike while the enemy was weak!
A scimitar materialized in Du Xinchen’s hand out of thin air. Its blade gleamed wickedly sharp in the firelight.
She has a Storage Device too! Qin Zhiyu took in the scene, drawing her conclusion. This fight was going to be tough.
Her stiff limbs hampered Qin Zhiyu’s performance, but the bone-deep wound sharpened her mind. She fixed her gaze intently on Du Xinchen, calculating her odds of survival.
“Hand over everything you have, including your Storage Device, and I might consider sparing your life,” Du Xinchen declared, gripping her scimitar confidently as she stared Qin Zhiyu down.
“Whether you get anything depends on your skill,” Qin Zhiyu retorted, tossing her hair back. Without another word, she raised her Iron Sword and charged at Du Xinchen.
Du Xinchen reacted quickly, immediately blocking with her scimitar, but she hadn’t expected Qin Zhiyu to be so strong. Just blocking that one strike made her arm go numb, startling her. Instantly regretting her rash advance, she began to think of retreat.
However, Qin Zhiyu gave Du Xinchen no chance to retreat. With a swift and graceful twist of her wrist holding the sword, she hooked and knocked away the scimitar, then subdued Du Xinchen in an instant with a Grappling Technique. Before Du Xinchen could utter a word, her Life was ended.
Yesterday, while fleeing in haste, Du Xinchen had encountered this Python. At the time, she was accompanied by her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s nephew. Along the way, they encountered several humanoid monsters. Her boyfriend, protecting both her and his nephew, was severely injured.
Du Xinchen, who had never approved of picking up his nephew in the first place, was furious. Why did they have to drag along such a burden? Seizing an opportunity on the road, she pushed the nephew out, making him food for a mutant flower.
But Du Xinchen hadn’t expected her boyfriend to abandon protecting her in order to save his nephew, fighting the mutant flower bare-handed. He barely managed to kill the mutant flower and rescue his nephew, only to find the boy had already stopped breathing.
Overwhelmed by rage and aggravated by his severe injuries, he died soon after.
Witnessing this scene, Du Xinchen felt no sorrow. Instead, she thought her boyfriend had it coming—if he hadn’t gone to save that burden, he wouldn’t have died.
Just as she was cursing under her breath, she caught sight of three Treasure Chests appearing on the ground out of the corner of her eye. She immediately realized: could it be like in a game, where killing monsters drops equipment?
Opening the Treasure Chests, an instant windfall armed Du Xinchen from head to toe. The excitement kept her up all night, her spirits soaring. She believed she had gotten a head start and that her future was boundless.
Seeing others’ gains in the chat channel, she recalled the large Python she had encountered on the road. It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid of such creatures, but compared to the rich rewards, fear was insignificant.
Once she killed this snake, she would obtain more Resources to build her Sanctuary.
Little did she expect to find Qin Zhiyu battling the snake as soon as she arrived. Her initial delight—thinking heaven was helping her—turned into plans to reap the rewards without effort, securing two Treasure Chests.
Yet she never seriously considered that she was merely a delicate flower with no strength to speak of. Everything she had now was due to sheer dumb luck. And now that luck had abandoned her, as she met her end, would she reflect on her own foolishness?
Qin Zhiyu dropped Du Xinchen’s corpse. After this battle, she didn’t let her guard down. Taking out a medical kit, she bandaged herself while taking medicine to speed up healing, all the while maintaining Alert for her surroundings.
Once she confirmed the area was safe, she went to examine the Treasure Chests on the ground.
“A Red Iron Treasure Chest and a Bronze Treasure Chest!”
Qin Zhiyu couldn’t contain her joy. This fight was worth it, and instantly, the pain from her wounds seemed to fade.
Leaning against the Jujube Tree to rest, she used another healing kit, then stored the Treasure Chests and the snake’s corpse in her storage ring. Looking at the large Jujube Tree before her, her heart swelled with joy once more—this was truly a treasure.
After recovering some strength, Qin Zhiyu took out a shovel and uprooted the Jujube Tree, intending to place it in her storage device.
However, it turned out the tree was too large to fit into her bracelet.
Thinking, she placed the tree beside the jujube tree pit, threw Du Xinchen’s body into the large pit where the jujube tree had originally grown, casually buried it, and then carried the tree back to the Sanctuary.
It was only a ten-minute journey, not very far at all.
The three Treasure Chests in the bracelet seemed to possess a magical power, already masking the pain in her body.
Qin Zhiyu couldn’t wait to return to the Sanctuary and savor the joy of a bountiful harvest!