Chapter 24: Encounter

“What the hell is this thing? An alien?!”

A giant alien, like a demon from hell, was chasing right behind him. As he sprinted for his life, Chen Chong’s face was pale. He darted through the rainforest like a nimble ape, using trees as cover while frantically thinking of how to escape the clawed alien hunting him.

Chen Chong’s good luck ran out not long after he left the Mist. Following the river valley downstream, he encountered attacks from all sorts of bizarre Radiation Species. There was a terrifying venomous spider larger than an adult human, a python with heads on both ends, a wolf beast with disgusting compound eyes… and finally, the clawed alien that chased after him relentlessly now!

For all the previous dangers, Chen Chong used his peak human strength and sharp senses to either kill, dodge, or escape. But this clawed alien, which had appeared from nowhere, was undoubtedly the most power ful Radiation Species he had encountered so far. It seemed to be a high-level predator of the Wilderness. Its overwhelming physique and terrifying half-meter-long claws left Chen Chong with no thought of facing it head-on.

Seeing its immense strength as it casually smashed through trees and snapped vines, Chen Chong had no doubt that not just himself, but ten of him would be sliced to pieces in a few blinks of an eye, becoming its little snack.

Given the alien’s overwhelming size and strength, Chen Chong’s only advantage was his smaller size and agile movements. The complex terrain of the rainforest allowed him to stay ahead for now. However, this advantage was slowly fading as time passed and his stamina rapidly drained.

“As long as I can get out of this Wilderness alive, I must master those three martial arts as fast as possible!”

As he ran, Chen Chong couldn’t help but roar inwardly.

He believed that whether it was the 【Ultimate Infinite Qigong】, the 【Vajra Indestructible Divine Art】, or the 【Qi Blast Cannon Fist】, his situation would be much better right now if he had successfully started any of them. Unfortunately, the Main God had not restored the function of direct skill infusion, and the Wilderness was full of deadly threats, leaving him no time or conditions to practice!

In fact, for Chen Chong, the Mist Zone where he had previously found the Main God Fragment was relatively safe. However, the Mist Zone was simply too close to the base. He could not be sure if Diris, the powerful Transcendent, could resist the Mist’s hallucinogenic effects, nor could he confirm how much longer the Mist released by the golden tree would last after he removed the Main God Fragment. He had to leave that place as soon as possible.

And just as Chen Chong was running for his life, swearing oaths in his heart—

“Roar!”

A low growl tore through the rainforest, making countless branches rustle! Then, the ground actually started to tremble!

Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Chong saw a massive shadow in the direction beside him. With the ground shaking, it instantly crushed large swathes of trees. It was an Ape-like Giant Beast, five meters tall, its form revealing itself. Like a beast king whose territory had been invaded, it pounced fiercely toward the clawed alien behind Chen Chong!

This Ape-like Giant Beast was like a small hill, with a pair of sinister, yellow, vertical pupils like a viper’s. Its mouth was not a normal mouth, but a ferocious maw ringed with layers of sharp teeth. As its teeth writhed, waves of viciousness rolled off it, making one’s hair stand on end, an indescribable terror!

The iron-tower-like giant alien, three meters tall and already fierce and shocking enough, was nothing compared to this Ape-like Radiation Species.

“An even more ferocious one has arrived!”

His heart initially chilled, but then, instead of shock, Chen Chong felt joy!

Clearly, this rainforest was the Ape-like Giant Beast’s territory. The chase between him and the clawed alien had obviously attracted this giant beast’s attention. Compared to the small-framed Chen Chong, the much larger clawed alien was the more attractive target. So, it fiercely launched an attack on it.

Although these thoughts raced through his mind, Chen Chong still gritted his teeth and continued sprinting for his life, not daring to stop at all!

Roar!

Crack!

Boom!

Terrifying roars, the sound of large trees snapping, and the rumble of the shaking earth mingled together behind Chen Chong. The battle between these two top-of-the-food-chain monsters was clearly ferocious. But Chen Chong had no time to look back. Only after he had distanced himself over a hundred meters did he finally slow down and glance back.

Through the sightline blocked by countless branches, the battle seemed to be nearing its end. The Ape-like Giant Beast’s arms, as thick as millstones, were crisscrossed with deep, bloody gashes that almost revealed the bone. The ferocious clawed alien that had chased Chen Chong earlier had already had one leg torn off. It was howling miserably, standing on one leg, and madly flailing its half-meter-long claws. Its torn-off leg was currently being savagely chewed inside the Ape-like Giant Beast’s ferocious maw.

This Ape-like Giant Beast undoubtedly possessed a certain level of intelligence to cripple the clawed alien’s ability to run at the very start, allowing it to take its time. And clearly, the clawed alien was far from its match.

“Quite a show of King Kong vs. Alien.”

Watching the bloody scene of the two terrifying beasts tearing and gnawing at each other from afar, the understanding of this world’s danger and cruelty grew even more vivid in Chen Chong’s heart:

“Power, I must gain power as quickly as possible!”

The desire in his eyes burned like a raging fire. Chen Chong turned his head and, without hesitation, began sprinting, quickly distancing himself amidst the faint roars and chewing sounds behind him.

…

Three hours later, the sky was darkening, as if night was about to fall.

Woo, woo, woo…

The wind whimpered. This was a ruin in a barren area. Broken walls, collapsed structures, and shattered pillars were scattered and weathered, with no vegetation growing anywhere.

Before the more dangerous night fell, Chen Chong had trekked over forty kilometers with only a few close calls. He finally left the rainforest and found a seemingly safe place to rest.

This was also one of the few relatively safe resting points marked on the base’s map, discovered by Diris and his armed squad during their Wilderness explorations.

Chen Chong was not really worried that Diris and his armed squad would come looking for him. In fact, there were seven or eight such resting points on the map. Given the extreme danger of the Wilderness, splitting up their forces to search for him at every point would be an incredibly foolish move.

Letting out a long breath, Chen Chong carefully walked into the ruins. The mud smeared on his body and face had dried and was flaking off in large pieces.

This was a trick he had learned during his later Wilderness survival. Smearing mud all over his body could greatly mask his scent and body heat, reducing his chances of being discovered by Radiation Species.

This method had indeed been quite effective. During the last three hours of his Wilderness escape, his encounters with Radiation Species had decreased dramatically, allowing him to reach these ruins without major incident.

“It seems this place is indeed safe.”

Cautiously walking around the large, desolate ruins for a moment and confirming once more that no Radiation Species were present, Chen Chong felt a small sense of relief.

He then chose a dead zone at the edge of the ruins. He pulled out the tactical knife at his waist, quickly dug a shallow pit in the ground, and then picked up several stone slabs to prop against the corner wall, creating a hidden shelter.

Chen Chong squeezed his body into the shallow pit he had dug in the corner, then reached out to move the last stone slab, covering most of the gaps.

Inside the shelter, it was pitch black. Chen Chong let out a long breath and gripped his tactical knife tightly. His heart, which had been racing through the intense escape, gradually calmed down.

He was too tired.

“According to the map markers, I should be less than a hundred kilometers from the nearest survivor settlement. If it goes smoothly, I can reach it before night falls tomorrow.”

“I wonder if Lin Kun and the others managed to escape the base guards, whether they are dead or alive.”

“But Lin Kun also saw the map; he should remember those markers. And their Wilderness survival experience is richer than mine. If their luck isn’t too bad, they still have a chance to make it out.”

The Senzu Bean’s effect kept Chen Chong from hunger for ten days; he didn’t need to eat. But the intense, long-distance trek had exhausted him mentally to the extreme.

The thoughts in his mind turned slower and slower, gradually falling silent.

Some unknown amount of time passed.

Shh… Shh… Shh…

In this corner of the ruins, Chen Chong rested in a half-asleep, half-awake state. A faint rustling sound of footsteps seemed to flash by and disappear.

Someone was coming!

In the oppressive darkness cut off from the outside world, Chen Chong suddenly opened his drowsy eyes, held his breath, and raised the tactical knife in his hand!