Chapter 21: Unexpected things keep happening one after another
Yu Luo exhaled a sigh of relief; at least they wasn’t completely surrounded. This was the perfect moment to launch an attack.
[Ding dong, System Mission: Kill all the wolves. Complete the mission to earn 100 reward points.
Failure will deduct 100 points from your total.]
It was clearly a giveaway task—her own father was being targeted by wolves. What choice did she have but to kill them?
“Mother, let’s attack from one flank while the two of us on our side come around from the other,” she instructed.
At that moment, the mother and daughter duo positioned themselves about twenty meters behind Yu Haojie, while the wolf pack was less than five meters away from him. Now, they dared not move forward any closer; both mother and daughter knew well the speed and explosive power of wolves.
Holding her crossbow, Ye Jiamai’s face turned pale as she silently nodded and cautiously moved toward the left side of Yu Haojie. She finally selected an ambush spot behind a large tree, waiting for Yu Luo to circle around from the other side so they could attack together.
Yu Luo extinguished her torch and, using the surrounding bushes for cover, moved to the right of Yu Haojie and the wolf pack. Once hidden, she waved at Ye Jiamai. Together, both of them drew their crossbows and fired!
A volley of short arrows rained down like raindrops from the side of the wolf pack and from Yu Haojie’s flank toward the wolves!
Just as Yu Haojie was about to turn and run, he suddenly heard a series of “whoosh, whoosh, whoosh” sounds in his ears!
Before he could see what was happening, the wolves that had been glaring at him let out howls one after another and collapsed! Upon closer inspection, when he saw the short arrows embedded in the wolves’ bodies, Yu Haojie’s heart leaped with joy. He didn’t care about the agitated wolf pack; he turned and ran off without further delay!
The startled wolves, seeing their comrades fall one by one—and those that weren’t hit in vital areas being struck again—began to turn tail and flee in droves!
But Yu Luo didn’t forget the system’s mission. These wolves had to be eliminated; if they weren’t, they might come back for revenge on this mountain tonight.
Thinking this, Yu Luo grabbed her crossbow and chased after the fleeing wolves. Though her speed couldn’t quite match the wolves, her crossbow fired quickly enough. And since the crossbow reloaded automatically, all she needed to do was rapidly pull the trigger again and again, launching a continuous barrage!
After chasing them for a dozen or so meters, the fleeing wolves finally couldn’t escape Yu Luo’s relentless pursuit—they fell one by one.
[Ding dong, Congratulations, host! You have successfully completed the mission. Reward: 100 system points. Your total points are now 300.]
As the system’s congratulatory message rang in her mind, Yu Luo’s sprinting suddenly halted. Just as she was about to catch her breath, her foot slipped, and she tumbled straight down the mountain slope!
“System, why didn’t you warn me of danger here?!”
Fortunately, her thick clothing somewhat protected her, but the surrounding thorns, weeds, and vines whipped against her skin, causing her body to roll down the slope. The speed was enough to tear her exposed skin, leaving it stinging painfully!
“Xiao Luo!”
Above her, she heard the desperate shouts of Yu Haojie and Ye Jiamai, but at that moment she barely had time to respond. She frantically reached out to grab her head, trying to prevent it from hitting the stones around her. At the same time, she caught sight of a large tree in the dim light below—a welcome sight. Just as her body was about to collide with that half-slope tree, she managed to grab a low-hanging branch!
Thanks to the branch’s support, her body was pulled to a stop right before the trunk of the large tree. Ignoring the pain all over her body, she quickly adjusted her position, using the tree to steady herself.
“Xiao Luo! Xiao Luo!” Again, she heard the anxious shouts of Yu Haojie and Ye Jiamai from above.
While chasing the wolf pack, the couple had noticed her, and though she hadn’t yet reached them, they could hear her calling, and they saw her silhouette rolling among the bushes below.
“Father, Mother—I’m blocked by a large tree below. I’m okay, don’t worry. Just let me catch my breath, and I’ll climb up soon.”
Hearing her call, the couple finally exhaled a sigh of relief. Wu Dahai’s torch was too precious for them to discard—in the pitch-black mountains, without that torch, they’d be lost.
“I’ll go down and fetch her. You hold the torch here.”
Surely, Wu Dahai wouldn’t really wait for his daughter to climb up on his own—after a day’s grueling travel and after chasing wolves, he suspected Yu Luo had long been exhausted.
“Alright, be careful. Hold onto the nearby vines or branches. You and Xiao Luo must not get hurt,” Ye Jiamai urged, taking the torch and scanning the area.
After resting for a while, Yu Luo drank some water and ate a little to regain her strength. At that moment, she felt completely drained—if not for the large tree on the slope, with its steep incline, she was certain she would have rolled all the way down.
[Ding dong, System Prompt: There is a cave 50 meters below. Inside the cave is an “Armor-Clad Beast.” If the host can adopt it, you will receive 100 reward points. If you fail to adopt it, 300 points will be deducted.]
“Damn it! System, are you trying to send me to my death again? Another one! What kind of stupid mission is this—one after another? What use are these points anyway? I only have about 300 points now. Tell me, what can I do with them?”
Hearing the system’s voice, Yu Luo was fuming. Then, upon hearing the name “Armor-Clad Beast,” which she had never even heard before, she felt the system was plotting against her life!
[Armor-Clad Beast: Possesses tunneling skills superior to that of a pangolin; capable of breaking through stone. If the host adopts it, in the wild lands—where rocky terrain is everywhere—it will undoubtedly be of immense help to the host.]
Yu Luo, “Alright, you really are my good system—you never forget to give me a chance along the way. I accept!”
Biting her lip hard, Yu Luo nodded firmly. Thinking of the appearance of a pangolin from her past, Yu Luo wasn’t too afraid. That so-called Armor-Clad Beast is probably not much different from a pangolin, right?
Before long, Wu Dahai, scrambling along the mountain slope and clinging to surrounding branches, reached Yu Luo’s side. “Xiao Luo, are you alright? Are you hurt? Let me see,” he said.
“Father, it’s so dark—you can’t see clearly. I’m fine. Didn’t I say I’d rest for a while and then climb up by myself?”
In the darkness, aside from hearing her father’s anxious tone, Yu Luo could barely see Wu Dahai’s face. Even so, his timely arrival made her sigh with relief—truly, a father is a father!
“At least Father still has the strength to come down and escort you, so that you’re less likely to be in danger. As long as you’re okay, later, you go ahead and lead the way; grab onto those branches and climb as hard as you can. I’ll be right behind you.”
