A pack of Mutated Jackals, each one more robust than a calf, caught the scent of blood and excitedly closed in.
The lead jackal saw that its prey consisted of two human children and immediately signaled the others to charge.
Their reactions were incredibly fast.
Every time a stone came flying toward them, they dodged it with ease.
Cen Wu’s arm had grown sore from throwing rocks, yet the jackals hadn’t even suffered a scratch.
Luke didn’t continue using Mind Control.
Not only was it too draining, but he also didn’t have enough eyes to lock onto that many jackals at once.
“Let’s go.”
At this point, retreating was their only option.
Remembering that Xie Yuanchuan had told her to listen to Older Brother, Cen Wu immediately stopped thinking and simply grabbed the Wild Deer before following behind Luke.
The moment the two of them moved, the jackals eagerly crept closer.
Luke found it strange.
Why weren’t these jackals fighting over the Wild Deer? Why were they still following them?
When he looked back, he nearly tripped over his own feet.
“Didn’t I tell you to run? Why are you still carrying the Wild Deer?!”
Panting from running while dragging the deer, Cen Wu’s cheeks flushed pink. She wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“This is the prey we worked so hard to catch. Of course we’re taking it with us.”
“Is the prey more important than your life? Throw it away already.”
Luke sounded thoroughly exasperated.
“No!”
Cen Wu couldn’t bear to part with it.
Such a huge deer could feed them for days.
“Cen Wu!”
Luke slapped away the hand gripping the deer, grabbed her hand instead, and took off running.
Seeing the Wild Deer left behind, the jackals swarmed over it in an instant, tearing into the carcass.
Chunks of meat and shattered bones were bitten clean through and swallowed whole.
Just like…
The Zombies.
There were far more wolves than meat.
To the jackals that hadn’t gotten a share, the two fleeing children became walking meals.
After exchanging a few calls with one another, a smaller hunting group broke away from the pack and began pursuing them.
Luke sensed them catching up.
He forcefully shoved Cen Wu forward.
“Go find Mom. I’ll deal with them.”
Cen Wu obediently agreed.
Mom’s Fire Ability specialized in area attacks.
Against pack animals like wolves, it would be more than enough.
The sooner she found Mom, the sooner she could come back and save Luke.
Unfortunately…
She had greatly overestimated her own sense of direction.
Before Luke could even warn her that she was heading the wrong way, the ground suddenly disappeared beneath her feet.
She fell straight down.
Luke was truly out of options.
He casually took control of one of the jackals and made them attack each other.
Then, without looking back, he sprinted toward the direction where Cen Wu had vanished.
…
When Cen Wu woke up, every inch of her body ached.
Where had she fallen?
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Luke holding a large rock.
She swallowed nervously.
It looked far too much like a murder weapon.
It felt as though it could come crashing onto her head at any moment.
After all, he hadn’t wanted her to stay with the family in the first place.
The longer Cen Wu stared at him, the angrier she became.
She shot to her feet and, feeling thoroughly wronged, beat Luke up.
Luke was speechless.
He had only wanted to find a suitable weapon for self-defense.
Had that somehow become an unforgivable crime?
Luke decided not to argue with a little girl.
With his face swollen from the beating, he took the lead to scout the way ahead.
No matter how much he disliked Cen Wu, he had promised Mom that he would bring her home safely.
Having vented her anger, Cen Wu quietly followed behind him.
In her next life…
She never wanted to be someone with no sense of direction again.
Up ahead, Luke’s foot suddenly slipped.
He nearly fell off a large rock.
Before the pain even registered, a small, soft hand tightly grabbed his arm.
The two of them stared at each other with wide eyes for a long moment.
Neither of them spoke.
After that, they remained silent.
Yet their hands stayed tightly clasped together as they stumbled onward in search of the pickup truck.
After all, Cen Wu was only six years old.
She had spent the day fighting, running for her life, and even used up extra energy beating Luke.
By now, she was utterly exhausted.
She checked the time.
It had already been well over an hour.
“I want to rest for a bit. I’m hungry.”
Fortunately, neither of their backpacks had been lost.
She pulled out her water bottle and gulped down three large mouthfuls before the dryness in her throat finally eased.
Luke was also running low on strength.
Unfortunately, his backpack contained no food.
There was only a small dagger and a water bottle.
Even after filling his stomach with water, he still felt completely empty inside.
“Here.”
Cen Wu handed him one of the energy bars Xie Yuanchuan had made before taking a bite of one herself.
The taste…
Was dry.
But it was sweet.
Luke remained committed to his arrogant persona.
He had completely forgotten how the two of them had held hands and supported each other all the way here.
Without even reaching for it, he said,
“No need. Finish eating quickly so we can leave. If we drag this out until dark, it’ll be even more dangerous.”
Like a little hamster, Cen Wu puffed out her cheeks.
She simply turned her head away and ignored him.
“Hiss—”
Hearing Luke suddenly suck in a sharp breath, Cen Wu casually glanced over.
What now?
The next instant, her pupils shrank.
She lunged forward, grabbed a snake as thick as an arm by its tail, and slammed it against the ground like a whip.
The snake had originally intended to turn around and bite her.
But after being smashed into the ground a few times by an irresistible force, it died.
Cen Wu no longer had any appetite.
Looking at the two enormous fang marks on Luke’s arm, tears instantly streamed down her face.
She tightly grabbed his arm.
Without saying a word, she lowered her head and desperately sucked at the wound, trying to draw the blood out.
Luke’s eyes widened.
The cold, aloof expression on his face was completely replaced by overwhelming shock.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that this Younger Sister, who clearly didn’t get along with him…
Would voluntarily suck the blood from his wound to remove the poison.
The girl’s lips were slightly cold.
Her entire body trembled violently.
She gripped his arm so tightly that it actually hurt.
Luke lowered his gaze.
His expression became complicated.
“Older Brother… are you going to die? Please don’t die.”
Cen Wu spat out a mouthful of blood.
No matter how much she disliked him…
He was still her family.
She had finally found one.
She couldn’t bear to lose them again.
Not anyone.
“I brought Healing Factor!”
Cen Wu hurriedly opened her backpack.
Flustered yet forcing herself to stay calm, she pulled out two vials of Healing Factor.
Just as she was about to remove the protective cap and expose the needle, Luke reached out and pressed down on her arm.
Looking at her tear-streaked face, he thought she looked both foolish…
And pitiful.
His expression remained complicated, though there was far more helplessness than anything else.
“That snake wasn’t venomous.”
Its head was rounded.
It didn’t have any bright, complicated patterns.
It was just…
An ordinary Mutated Snake.
Cen Wu froze.
It took her a full two minutes to process what he had said.
Then she threw herself onto Luke’s lap and burst into tears.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?! You scared me to death, Older Brother!”
Hearing the trembling “Older Brother” that slipped from her lips, Luke found it surprisingly difficult not to smile.
Awkwardly, he rested a hand on her head and gently patted it.
“Stop crying.”
“If Mom sees you like this later, she’ll think I bullied you.”
“You couldn’t bully me anyway! The first time only worked because I wasn’t prepared! Do you know I almost got eaten by Zombies that day?!”
Without warning, Cen Wu began listing all of Luke’s crimes.
She complained endlessly about how awful Luke was…
Then immediately started talking about how wonderful Cen Yuxing was.
She muttered on and on, completely failing to notice that Luke’s face had grown darker and darker.
“Hey.”
“Between me and Cen Yuxing…”
“Which one do you like better as your Older Brother?”
Cen Wu answered without the slightest hesitation.
“Of course Cen Yuxing!”
Luke immediately pushed her off his lap.
Looking in disgust at the large wet patch on his pants, he snorted.
“If you like him more, then go find him!”
Caught completely off guard, Cen Wu tumbled backward and landed squarely on her bottom.
His moods really changed without warning!
Cen Yuxing would never act like that.
As for that snake…
Since it wasn’t venomous, Cen Wu certainly wasn’t about to waste such a valuable source of food.
After confirming that its contamination level was still within the edible range, she tied the snake into a knot and dragged it along by its tail, determined to bring it back with her.