Xu Wen carried a gong in one hand and crept forward about ten meters.
Clang! Clang clang!!!
The sound of the gong rang throughout the mountain forest. The birds and insects that had only just settled down took flight once again in a chaotic flurry.
Clang clang clang!!!
Three more strikes echoed through the woods.
As if responding to the challenge, the beast’s roar rang out again.
“It’s coming,” Su Nian said, tightening her grip on the dagger in her hand.
The hairs on Xu Wen’s body stood on end, but he didn’t stop striking the gong.
Clang clang clang!
The beast’s roars grew louder and louder, and soon they could hear heavy footsteps pounding against the earth.
The moment a massive silhouette emerged from the fog, Xu Wen threw away the gong and turned tail, sprinting for his life.
The giant beast had locked onto the troublemaker who had provoked it and charged straight toward him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each footstep felt like it was hammering directly against their hearts.
It was a brown bear.
A brown bear over three meters tall, its fur pressed tightly against its body. Its eyes glowed with an eerie red light, tusks the length of a human hand protruded from its mouth, and its paws were larger than fans.
Xu Wen leaped forward and cleared the trap.
The bear, however, had no such caution and plunged directly into the pit.
At that instant, Ye Huizhou’s lightning surged through the metal spikes lining the bottom of the trap and shot into the bear’s body. Gu Zhuoye’s flames ignited the surrounding dry branches in the blink of an eye, forming a square wall of fire that trapped the bear inside.
The mutated brown bear let out a howl. Planting its forelimbs against the ground, it pushed itself upward until more than half its body emerged from the pit.
The trap was too small.
Everyone’s hearts sank.
A lightning blade materialized in Ye Huizhou’s hand and came crashing down toward the bear’s skull.
The bear clumsily raised a paw to block, only to be driven back into the pit by the tremendous force.
At the same time, Gu Zhuoye’s flames condensed into a solid form. A long spear appeared out of thin air above the trap and plunged toward the bear’s glowing red eye.
The bear swatted at it with a claw, blocking the attack, then roared and crushed the flaming spear with its bare hand.
So strong!
Ye Xihe’s heart tightened.
While the bear remained trapped in the pit, she and Su Nian had already repositioned themselves farther down the path, ready to throw healing spheres at any moment.
Gu Zhuoye raised his hand, and the shattered spear reformed within his grasp.
Together with Ye Huizhou, he charged at the bear.
Xu Wen had already set up his sniper rifle. Calmly taking aim, he targeted the bear’s forehead and decisively pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The bullet struck its body but failed to penetrate even slightly, producing a harsh grinding sound as it scraped against skin as hard as stone armor.
“Holy crap! What is this thing? Its hide is ridiculously tough!”
Xu Wen cursed, but he dared not fire recklessly again.
His ammunition was limited, and he wanted to save it for critical moments.
After being attacked repeatedly, the brown bear had completely lost its temper. It let out two furious roars and slammed its massive paws into the ground.
The earth shook violently.
Stone spikes erupted beneath their feet.
Ye Huizhou and the others immediately sprang away, shock evident in their eyes.
This mutated bear actually had an ability.
Not far away, Su Nian grabbed Ye Xihe and retreated at incredible speed, narrowly avoiding the stone spikes.
That was Su Nian’s role. Using her speed ability, she would carry Ye Xihe out of danger whenever necessary.
Ye Huizhou charged forward again, his lightning blade cutting into the bear with strike after strike.
Gu Zhuoye refused to be outdone, attacking from the opposite side and forming a pincer assault with Ye Huizhou.
In a blur of motion, the bear’s fur crackled and burned under the flames. Then it slammed its paw down again, instantly filling the pit trap with earth.
Gu Zhuoye stepped back slightly.
“This thing’s defense is too high. Our abilities can’t leave any serious wounds on it.”
Every muscle in Ye Huizhou’s body tensed.
“No matter how strong its defense is, it has to have a weakness.”
The bear ignored the two of them entirely and charged straight toward Ye Xihe.
Su Nian’s scalp tingled with alarm.
She grabbed Ye Xihe and immediately turned to run.
Her ability functioned almost like teleportation and could be used repeatedly. After several flashes, they had already covered dozens of meters.
Ye Huizhou stepped directly into the bear’s path.
Gu Zhuoye’s flaming spear shot in from the side, its blazing tip grazing the bear’s eye.
When half the spear had passed, he twisted his body in midair. The spear transformed into a fireball in his palm, which he slammed onto the bear’s head.
Boom!
The fireball exploded.
The bear’s head snapped backward, forcing it to stagger several steps.
As the explosion drove its head back, Ye Huizhou caught sight of its exposed neck.
The fur there was softer and a different color from the rest of its body.
Lightning gathered in both of his hands. A dense electric net wrapped around the bear, causing it to convulse.
“Gu Zhuoye! Pry its mouth open!”
Without hesitation, Gu Zhuoye thrust the flaming spear into the bear’s mouth.
The bear was forced to raise its head.
It sensed the danger and tried to curl up defensively.
Ye Huizhou poured more power into the lightning, which surged violently as he shouted,
“Xu Wen! Aim for the neck!”
Xu Wen had also noticed the patch of softer fur.
Bang!
He fired.
Mid-flight, the bullet transformed into a blade and slashed deeply into the bear’s neck.
It worked!
The tension in Ye Xihe’s chest eased.
Everyone let out a breath of relief.
Unfortunately, before they could fully exhale, the bear moved again.
Its fur melted into its skin, and a hard shell as tough as steel plates grew across its body.
“ROAR!!!”
It slammed its paws down twice and stomped the ground, leaving a crater beneath its feet.
“Holy crap… this thing has a second phase?!”
Its murky eyes swept past Ye Huizhou and the others before settling on Ye Xihe.
“Run!”
Sensing danger, Su Nian grabbed Ye Xihe and bolted.
Ye Xihe’s heart pounded wildly.
In the original novel, mutated animals with a second phase didn’t appear until several months later. The Apocalypse had only just begun, so why had one appeared already?!
Meanwhile, Ye Huizhou once again stood in front of the bear.
Or rather, the armored bear now.
Several arm-thick bolts of lightning shot toward its eyes, neck, abdomen, and other vulnerable-looking areas.
He was testing for weaknesses in its second form.
Unfortunately, every bolt only left a scorched black mark on the bear’s hardened armor.
Holding his flaming spear in one hand, Gu Zhuoye remained motionless.
From a distance, Ye Xihe couldn’t help glancing back.
At this range, if anyone were injured, her healing might not reach them in time.
After a moment’s thought, she formed a healing sphere and pointed toward Ye Huizhou.
The glowing orb drifted gently above his head.
It worked!
If Ye Huizhou was injured, all she needed to do was direct the healing energy downward into his body.
She immediately created two more healing spheres and sent them floating above Gu Zhuoye and Xu Wen.
“Won’t this consume a lot of your ability?” Su Nian asked worriedly.
“Don’t worry, Sister Su Nian. I’ve improved quite a bit over the past few days.”
Meanwhile, the armored bear became attracted to the glowing spheres above the three men and stopped focusing on Ye Xihe.
Ye Huizhou secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Now he could devote himself fully to the battle.
The bear swung its enormous claws, trying to swat the glowing spheres above their heads.
The three men dodged repeatedly but no longer launched attacks.
There was little point.
The bear’s entire body was covered in armor. Their abilities barely affected it.
“Could its weakness be its eyes?” Xu Wen asked while dodging another swipe.
“No.”
Ye Huizhou had already tested that.
Even the eyes couldn’t be penetrated.
A strange expression suddenly appeared on Gu Zhuoye’s face.
“I think its weakness might be its butt.”
Hearing that, even Ye Huizhou couldn’t help turning to look at him.