The Detector in her bag had never given any special warnings, which meant all the young fern shoots in the area were safe to eat.
Cen Wu picked an entire basket without realizing she had wandered deep into the wetlands.
It wasn’t until one of her feet sank into the muddy ground that she noticed.
She quickly took several steps back.
The surroundings were eerily quiet.
There wasn’t even the faintest breeze.
Cen Wu cautiously began retracing her steps.
She hadn’t intended to bother with Lu You, but when she saw Lu You copying her, picking ferns with complete abandon, she rolled her eyes.
Lu You assumed Cen Wu was trying to chase her away and deliberately pretended not to notice.
The land was so vast.
It certainly didn’t have Cen Wu’s name written on it.
After finally finding edible ferns, she planned to gather as many as possible to bring back for Dad.
Cen Wu couldn’t be bothered with her.
Lu Han doted on Lu You so much that he had undoubtedly assigned Guard Squad members to protect her.
It wasn’t her concern.
The moment Cen Wu stepped back into the mushroom patch where she had first arrived, Lu You suddenly let out a terrified scream.
A blur shot straight toward Cen Wu from the side.
An arm wrapped around her waist before she was whisked away toward the source of the scream at incredible speed.
It was unbelievably fast.
Held under someone’s arm, all Cen Wu could see was a blur rushing past her eyes.
“Miss Lu, grab my hand!”
Before Cen Wu had even recovered from the dizzying speed, she was thrown through the air.
In the middle of the wetland lay a five-meter-long Komodo dragon.
Its prey had suddenly disappeared from right before its mouth, leaving it momentarily confused.
Just as it was about to follow the scent…
A dark figure dropped from the sky and landed squarely on its rock-hard back.
The Komodo dragon’s attention immediately shifted.
It spun around wildly, trying to fling the unexpected offering off its back.
Cen Wu had first been forced onto an express ride…
And now she was being spun around nonstop.
Her stomach churned violently.
“Blergh!”
She vomited all over the Komodo dragon.
The Komodo dragon: “…”
The moment she finished throwing up, Cen Wu immediately slammed a punch into its head.
Her strength was nothing to scoff at.
Unfortunately, the Komodo dragon was even tougher.
Its skull—and practically its entire back—was unbelievably hard.
Thanks to its mutation, its defenses were sturdy enough to withstand rifles and even artillery.
None of the prey Cen Wu had encountered before had ever remained completely unfazed after taking one of her punches.
Recalling a forum post she had read the previous night, she carefully stayed low against its back, making sure it couldn’t reach her with its jaws.
She had really been dragged into this because of Lu You.
She had already escaped…
Only to be kidnapped back by one of Lu You’s subordinates and used as bait.
Remembering the incredible speed with which she had been captured, she quickly concluded that the man was an Enhancement-Type Speed Ability User.
Cen Wu rolled her wrist before smashing another punch into the Komodo dragon’s head.
A Speed Ability…
That was exactly the kind of Ability she needed.
She opened her wristband and immediately sent an emergency signal to Cen Yuxing.
After a moment’s thought, she sent one to Chu Yueyue as well.
If you’re my brother, come help me slay a lizard!
The center of the wetland echoed with nothing but the Komodo dragon’s furious roars…
And the repeated thuds of fists striking solid flesh.
Cen Wu didn’t dare stop.
With the monster’s terrifying bite force, if it managed to sink its teeth into her…
She would end up as nothing more than scattered human remains.
“Younger Sister!”
Cen Wu looked up.
A short knife flew toward her and landed nearby.
The Komodo dragon’s body gradually stiffened as the voice reached it.
Taking advantage of the opening while Cen Yuxing restrained it with Mind Control, Cen Wu flipped off its back, grabbed the knife, and plunged it into the creature’s lower jaw.
No matter how skilled someone was…
They still feared a kitchen knife.
Its back was indeed nearly indestructible.
But from its lower jaw all the way to its belly…
Those areas were comparatively vulnerable.
The intense pain caused the Komodo dragon to shake off the Mind Control.
Roaring even more violently, it charged straight at Cen Wu.
The instant its jaws clamped onto her calf—
A powerful force slammed into Cen Wu, knocking her away.
Chu Yueyue had hardened her body with her Ability and used herself to block the fatal bite in Cen Wu’s place.
Cen Yuxing circled around once more and tossed another dagger to Cen Wu.
“Younger Sister, are you alright?”
Cen Wu shouted,
“Brother, control it one more time! Chu Yueyue, let’s flip it over together!”
The Komodo dragon was thoroughly fed up with the three human children.
Every time it was about to sink its teeth into flesh…
They interrupted it.
It whipped its enormous body around wildly.
Mud from the wetland splashed several meters into the air before raining back down, coating their vision.
Cen Wu wiped the mud from her face, picked up the dagger, and charged again.
Cen Yuxing continuously searched for the perfect opportunity to use Mind Control once more.
Chu Yueyue, who had been spat out after proving too tough to chew through, stood at the front as the shield protecting the other two.
It was the first time the three of them had ever fought together.
They made mistake after mistake.
Although Cen Wu avoided a fatal bite, one of the Komodo dragon’s teeth still sliced through her skin.
Blood immediately poured from the wound.
Without hesitation, she bit open the protective cap of a Regeneration Factor injector and stabbed herself with it.
At the same time, she and Chu Yueyue finally managed to overturn the Komodo dragon together, exposing its vulnerable belly.
Cen Wu leaped into the air.
Driving both daggers into its throat, she dragged the blades downward all the way to its abdomen.
No matter how powerful its mutation was…
It was still flesh and blood.
When the Komodo dragon tried to roll over again, Chu Yueyue snatched the short knife from Cen Wu’s hand and drove it straight into the creature’s mouth.
The blade pierced its brain.
Only then did the giant beast finally stop struggling.
Still shaken, Cen Yuxing hurried over, helped Cen Wu to her feet, and took out tissues to wipe the mud from her face.
“I didn’t expect we’d run into a Komodo dragon. Its hide is thick enough to be tanned into armor. We won’t hand this one over.”
Even though Chu Yueyue had exhausted nearly all her strength, she still remembered to ask,
“Can I have one of the hides?”
Cen Wu generously nodded.
“Of course. You were our biggest contributor.”
A rustling sound came from the floating water plants.
Footsteps.
Two people.
Cen Wu quietly hid one of the short knives beneath the Komodo dragon’s body before leaning weakly against Cen Yuxing as though she could barely move.
Chu Yueyue had no idea what she was doing.
She climbed to her feet anyway and crouched into a defensive stance.
“How impressive.”
Lu You emerged from behind the reeds.
She was spotless.
Elegant.
Looking down on them from above.
“I never expected you to kill a Komodo dragon.”
“But now…”
“It belongs to me.”
Seeing that it was Lu You, Chu Yueyue didn’t take her seriously at all.
“Are you still dreaming? What kind of fan—”
Before she could finish speaking, a figure too fast for the naked eye to follow kicked her over ten meters away.
“Miss Lu, how should we deal with them?”
Remembering Cen Yuxing’s Ability, Lu You immediately warned,
“Don’t look the boy in the eyes.”
“As for Cen Wu, throw her somewhere far away so she can’t find her way back to camp.”
Hearing that, Cen Yuxing instinctively held his younger sister even tighter.
He neither questioned her intentions nor tried to bargain using the Komodo dragon.
Instead, while no one was watching him, he quietly slipped a poisoned bayonet into Cen Wu’s hand.
“Number Five, do it.”
The moment Lu You gave the order, Number Five sprang into action.
He truly was fast.
Years of training at Base No. 9 had also given him formidable strength.
Otherwise, he never would have qualified to join Lu You’s Guard Squad.
Keeping only the corner of his eye on Cen Wu to avoid being controlled, Number Five pushed his Speed Ability to its limit.
Yet…
He accidentally caught a glimpse of a pair of amber-colored eyes.
Fortunately, he was fast enough.
As long as his body hadn’t stiffened yet, he only needed to carry the girl away from the boy.
Personally…
He thought it would have been easier to kill both of them.
That would save everyone the trouble.
Miss Lu was far too softhearted.
The instant Number Five grabbed Cen Wu’s arm—
A poisoned bayonet pierced straight through his heart.
Impossible!
I’m this fast…
How could they have found an opening?
They shouldn’t have been able to hit me at all!
His eyes bulged from their sockets.
Black blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.
With a heavy thud…
Number Five collapsed to the ground.