Her nerves were taut, and every muscle in her body was primed to explode into action at a moment's notice.
Yin Chen walked in the middle. Several crystal-clear ice cones floated beside him, spinning silently, ready to seek out the enemy.
Chen Guan paused his steps.
"On the left, thirty meters."
His voice was not loud, but it rang out with exceptional clarity across the silent wasteland.
Before he could even finish speaking, Hong Yuan moved.
The ground beneath her feet exploded as she launched herself forward like a fired cannonball, charging straight toward the waist-high shrubs.
"Mine!"
Boom!
The giant axe swung down with a crushing force, completely obliterating the bushes along with the dirt and rocks behind them.
Amidst the flying dust, a dark shadow darted out agilely, dodging the fatal blow.
It was a pitch-black demon fox with three tails. It was not large, but its speed was astonishing.
A single eye on its forehead gleamed with a cunning light.
Tier-three, Three-Tailed Trickster Fox.
"Trying to run?"
Yin Chen scoffed coldly. The ice cones he had prepared shot through the air, sealing off all of the demon fox's escape routes.
Crack!
The fox's four limbs were instantly frozen to the ground, rendering it immobile. It let out a shrill shriek, and the single eye on its forehead shot out a mental shockwave straight at the closest target, Hong Yuan.
Hong Yuan's movements stalled, clearly affected by the attack.
Right at that moment, a dark figure slipped silently into the battlefield.
Chen Guan had somehow appeared behind the demon fox. Instead of using the blade of his scythe, he reversed the handle and used its heavy end to deliver a precise, measured strike to the back of the fox's neck.
Thud.
A muffled sound echoed.
The three-tailed fox's shriek abruptly ceased. Its body went limp, collapsing to the ground, completely unconscious.
The entire process, from discovery to subjugation, took no more than ten seconds.
Hong Yuan shook her head, recovering from the mental shockwave. Looking at the unconscious demon fox on the ground, she looked a bit embarrassed. "I..."
"Too inefficient."
Black Crow's cold voice came from behind, cutting her off.
He walked over to the demon fox, nudged it with the tip of his boot to confirm it was only unconscious, and then looked up at the three of them.
"From spotting the target to gaining control, it took twelve seconds. Five of those seconds were wasted on meaningless destruction and unnecessary showing off."
His gaze fell on Hong Yuan, devoid of any emotion. "Your first strike kicked up dust that obstructed your teammates' vision. If the demon fox hadn't fled, but instead chose to counterattack from the dust cloud, you would be injured right now."
He then looked at Yin Chen. "The ice cones only restrained its limbs, but failed to restrict its mental attack. Fail."
Finally, his eyes rested on Chen Guan.
"You did alright."
After saying that, he ignored the demon fox on the ground, tossed a red capture ball to Yin Chen, and raised his hand to point toward a low hill in the east.
His words made Yin Chen and Hong Yuan's hearts sink. Being critiqued like that naturally stung their pride.
"See that valley? Intel shows there is a Black Rock Lizard nest there. Target count: over thirty."
"Time limit: one hour."
Black Crow lowered his hand and turned around, his back to them and to the valley that exuded an ominous aura.
"Now, begin your performance."
Yin Chen's face fell. He used the capture ball Black Crow had given him to store the demon fox on the ground, then resignedly hurried to catch up with the other two who had already set off.
The entrance to the valley looked like a hideous scar stretching across the scarlet wasteland.
The wind blew out from the valley, carrying a burnt stench and the distinct musky odor of a monster nest.
Hong Yuan's breathing grew noticeably heavier. She gripped her giant axe with both hands and assumed a standard charging stance, her muscles taut beneath her combat suit.
"Thirty Black Rock Lizards, captured alive, in one hour." Yin Chen repeated the mission objective, his voice stripped of its former composure.
A few wisps of icy blue frost lingered at his fingertips as his eyes darted between the valley entrance and the surrounding cliff walls, trying to find the optimal casting position.
Capturing them alive, especially a pack of monsters, was far more difficult than simply killing them.
Black Rock Lizards had thick hides, tough flesh, and boundless strength. Although they were only tier-three monsters, when they moved in packs, even tier-four Awakened would have to avoid their sharp edge.
Attacking with brute force could easily kill them by accident, but using mind control was tricky because their mental resistance was not low.
Based on Yin Chen's understanding of his own abilities, he could not control thirty Black Rock Lizards simultaneously.
Even if that number were cut in half, he couldn't control fifteen.
"How do we fight this?" Hong Yuan looked at Chen Guan, her voice low. Through their previous teamwork, she had grown accustomed to handing over command to him.
Yin Chen's gaze also shifted over.
Chen Guan didn't answer immediately. His eyes swept over the valley's terrain.
The entrance was narrow, but the inside was spacious. There were several caves of varying sizes on the cliffs on both sides, likely the Black Rock Lizards' habitats.
A typical urn-shaped trap.
Several plans flashed through Chen Guan's mind, only to be quickly rejected. A frontal assault was too inefficient, and luring them out one by one was too slow.
He needed the most efficient plan.
"Hong Yuan," Chen Guan spoke.
"Here!"
"In five minutes, go in from the front. Make as much noise as possible and draw the attention of all the lizards to yourself. Don't go for the kill; just keep them occupied."
Hong Yuan paused for a moment, then broke into a grin, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. "I'm good at that."
Chen Guan turned his gaze to Yin Chen. "Your task is the heaviest. There are seven cave entrances in the valley—three on the eastern wall, four on the western. I need you to seal six of them with ice walls within thirty seconds of Hong Yuan charging in. Leave only the deepest one on the west side open as a gap."
Yin Chen's mental energy instantly expanded, sensing the locations Chen Guan mentioned.
He quickly understood Chen Guan's intention. This was a corral hunt.
"No problem," Yin Chen nodded. This would be a test of his mental energy control, but it was still within his capabilities.
It was certainly better than forcing him to control thirty tier-three monsters at once.
"What about you?" He asked the most crucial question: what role would Chen Guan play in this operation?
"I'll handle the cleanup."
After Chen Guan said that, he took a few steps back, and his presence instantly retracted to the absolute limit.
Even though he was carrying a large black coffin on his back, which should have been exceptionally conspicuous, in Yin Chen's perception, Chen Guan had now become nothing more than a rock.
If he closed his eyes, he wouldn't even know there was a person standing there.
How bizarre...
To think someone so conspicuous actually possessed the talents of an assassin.
Black Crow stood on a distant high ground, his arms crossed, coldly observing all of this.
He did not interfere, nor did he offer any warnings.
On the battlefield, the commander's decision was everything.
He wanted to see just how far this Huaqing student could go.
Five minutes later.
"Time's up," Yin Chen's voice rang out in the team comms.
Hong Yuan moved. She transformed into a crimson meteor, her giant axe dragging a long trail of sparks along the ground as she charged into the valley with an unstoppable momentum.
Boom!
She brought her axe down on the ground at the valley entrance. The hard rock layer instantly fractured, sending crushed stones flying in all directions.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
