CH 49

Chapter 49: 【o(￣︶￣)o】

After Xia Liansheng left, Cheng Tianxiang still suspiciously looked outside the tent to make sure he had truly gone before coming back in and sitting by the hospital bed.

Pouting, she complained, “Xia Liansheng may look good and have a good attitude, but he gets so fierce during missions. He doesn’t let us argue or give our opinions. He only apologizes when something goes wrong.”

“You were lucky this time, Sister Sihan! But next time, we can’t rely on luck. When we go on missions with him again, we must be more cautious to avoid any mishaps!”

Xie Sihan felt that it wasn’t right to do that, as following the captain’s orders during missions is the correct approach. However, Xia Liansheng’s previous actions did leave her with some lingering fear.

At that time, Cheng Tianxiang was in the aerial realm, while Xia Liansheng and she were hunting down half-beastmen on the ground. After clearing the surrounding area, Cheng Tianxiang had planned to fly around and observe. However, she received an order from Xia Liansheng to return to the ground.

He even indicated a landing spot not too far from where he and Xie Sihan were. It only required walking over, although Cheng Tianxiang could descend from the sky much faster.

So when Xie Sihan and Xia Liansheng went over, they happened to see Cheng Tianxiang, who had just transformed into human form, being ambushed by a half-beastman that emerged from the nearby bushes.

Xie Sihan didn’t think much at that moment and rushed over. Fortunately, she was fast enough and the injured leg of the half-beastman hindered its movement, affecting its speed.

As a result, Xie Sihan blocked the attack from the half-beastman and protected Cheng Tianxiang. However, Xie Sihan herself was seriously injured, with bites and scratches, but fortunately, it wasn’t too severe.

Otherwise, both Cheng Tianxiang and Xie Sihan would definitely not have given Xia Liansheng such a good face so quickly. Of course, this cannot be entirely blamed on Xia Liansheng. It’s just that the landing spot he chose for Cheng Tianxiang was not really reasonable. Xia Liansheng later explained that the area was more open, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

But in reality, that’s where the problem arose. After Xia Liansheng left the tent, he walked alone to a secluded corner and stood there quietly, lost in thought.

Some people passed by from a distance and could only see Xia Liansheng’s back. But soon, Qin Jiuzhen, who somehow got the news, walked over to this area. He looked around as if he was searching for something.

When his gaze fell on Xia Liansheng, a smile appeared on his face, and he slowly approached, “Liansheng ge? You… you’re back? Was this mission difficult?”

He hadn’t finished speaking when he saw Xia Liansheng turning his head, his expression very unpleasant, even his gaze looked dangerous. What’s going on? Could it be that he’s no longer interested in me?

As soon as Xia Liansheng noticed that the person behind him was Qin Jiuzhen, he immediately concealed his gloomy mood, gave a faint smile, and reached out to touch his fluffy hair, “Xiao Zhen…”

Qin Jiuzhen blinked, realizing that Xia Liansheng wasn’t angry with him. He breathed a sigh of relief, “I… I heard you came back, so I came to find you. I thought you were inside, I couldn’t get in, but I didn’t expect you to be here. Were you waiting for me here?”

Xia Liansheng had just come here to be alone, but he didn’t expect Qin Jiuzhen to find him so quickly. “Yeah, I was waiting for you here, to see if you could find me.”

Qin Jiuzhen said, “Liansheng ge, you also have your bad moments, but I still like you. By the way, you seemed to be in a bad mood earlier, is it…?”

Xia Liansheng sighed and pulled him to sit on a nearby rock. He briefly explained the previous mission, it wasn’t a secret anyway, even if Qin Jiuzhen knew, it wouldn’t make a difference.

Qin Jiuzhen furrowed his brows slightly, defending Xia Liansheng, “Why are they like this? A more open area provides better visibility, allowing us to observe many dangerous things and confirm the safety there.”

“Isn’t Cheng Tianxiang a variant beastman herself? Can’t she fly? Before descending from the sky, didn’t she carefully observe whether it was safe there?”

“How can they blame it all on Liansheng ge in the end? Are they trying to shift the blame? Just because they got injured due to their own mistakes?”

“Besides, isn’t the injured person the woman who was with Liansheng ge? She can’t fly, right? What right do they have to blame you? I’m sure it’s just the two women sticking together and excluding Liansheng ge.”

Xia Liansheng didn’t initially think this way. Although he also felt that it wasn’t entirely his fault, he hadn’t considered everything comprehensively. After all, he was the team leader.

But now, listening to Qin Jiuzhen defend him, he suddenly felt like he was being too self-righteous. Responsibility wasn’t solely on his shoulders, so why should he feel guilty and embarrassed?

Why should he apologize to those two women? Just because they’re women and they excluded him from the team?

Yes, if Qin Jiuzhen hadn’t explained all this to him, he wouldn’t have even thought about it.

Qin Jiuzhen said, “Liansheng ge, you shouldn’t blame yourself, otherwise they will definitely think that Liansheng ge is easy to bully and they’ll bully you even more!”

Xia Liansheng hesitated, “But I’m the team leader. If there are problems…”

Qin Jiuzhen interrupted, “Well, if that’s the case, in the future, before making decisions, Liansheng ge can discuss with them first, right? That way, if any problems arise, it won’t be solely Liansheng ge’s responsibility.”

“If the decision made by three people leads to problems, then the responsibility should be shared by all three. No one can blame anyone. Of course, Liansheng ge, you must protect yourself first and foremost. If something happens to you, then I…”

Xia Liansheng sighed and pulled Qin Jiuzhen into his arms. “Don’t say these ominous words. You will be fine!”

Qin Jiuzhen replied, “As long as Liansheng ge is fine, then I will definitely be fine too.”

After talking with Qin Jiuzhen, Xia Liansheng’s mood improved significantly. He then took Qin Jiuzhen out to eat. While eating, he casually asked, “Did you see them earlier?”

Qin Jiuzhen was momentarily confused. Who did they refer to… Qin Jiulin?

After thinking for a moment, he said, “I’m not really sure, but I heard that his team always comes back from time to time. Every time they come back, they have a big feast, and after eating, they either rest or go out again.”

“They come and go in a hurry, I haven’t seen them myself, I just heard it from others.”

Xia Liansheng asked, “Did their mission succeed?”

Qin Jiuzhen blinked and took a bite of food. “I’m not really sure about that, but I heard that there weren’t any major issues. But I don’t know about their progress.”

“Did anyone get injured?”

Qin Jiuzhen replied, “I don’t know about that, but I haven’t heard of anyone in their team getting injured.”

Xia Liansheng’s expression remained unchanged, but Qin Jiuzhen could tell that he was feeling unhappy. His own team member got injured, while Qin Jiulin’s squad seemed to have a smooth mission without any injuries. Was that why Xia Liansheng felt a bit unbalanced?

Qin Jiuzhen said, “Liansheng ge, in my heart, you’re the most amazing!”

Xia Liansheng replied, “I know, Xiao Zhen… thank you for your support.”

Actually, Xia Liansheng wasn’t thinking about these things. He just wanted to know if Qin Jiulin got injured. After all, he had to wait for Qin Jiulin… and he had to regain Qin Jiulin’s affection before that!

Of course, even if he couldn’t do anything about their feelings, at least he wanted to regain Qin Jiulin’s trust. If possible, he wanted to show his back to Qin Jiulin during battle!

Only then would his plan have a chance of success. At that time… at that time, Xiao Zhen could truly stand by his side!

And then there was Qi Yue… the one who provided inspiration to everyone!

Qi Yue and Qi Jinglan were sisters, and then there was Duan Qiufeng…

How did the relationship among these three change? According to what he knew, it seemed like Duan Qiufeng was very loyal to Qi Yue in the early stages, which was why Qi Yue was willing to take care of them and treat them well, and in the end…

But now, Qi Yue had completely abandoned her sister and boyfriend and was now following Liu Zhongyuan and Qin Jiulin, forming a team of three.

His previous assumption was the most likely, but he hadn’t confirmed one hundred percent if Liu Zhongyuan was in the same situation as him.

But the difference was, the other party wanted to save? While he just wanted someone to accompany him for a lifetime.

Qin Jiuzhen asked, “Liansheng ge, why aren’t you eating? I heard that Beastmen need to eat a lot to feel full. Are you not in the mood, so you don’t have an appetite?”

Xia Liansheng touched his stomach. It wasn’t that he didn’t have an appetite, he was actually very hungry. “Let’s eat first.”

Qin Jiulin had no idea that Xia Liansheng was thinking about him. He was currently checking the situation of the rat swarm with Liu Zhongyuan and Qi Yue, as it had already been three days.

Qin Jiulin said, “Something seems off with the situation.”

Liu Zhongyuan replied, “Did you see it? Some of the rats are already lying on the ground, twitching, but the other rats aren’t paying them any attention.”

Qin Jiulin asked, “What’s going on? Don’t they plan on relocating?”

Qi Yue said, “Maybe the situation hasn’t exceeded their expectations yet.”

Qin Jiulin said, “That’s very likely. Let’s wait a bit longer then.”

After waiting for half a day, the situation over there had indeed become much worse by evening. One-third of the rats on the ground were lying motionless, and many of them were frothing at the mouth and convulsing. Qin Jiulin even discovered a rat that had been twitching since morning and had only just died.

Liu Zhongyuan exclaimed, “They’re coming out!”

Qin Jiulin and Qi Yue quickly looked over and were surprised to see that rats were continuously pouring out like a fountain from the dark corners. The black tide had taken over many streets, and as far as the eye could see, it was densely packed with rats. They were all mixed together, squeezed together, forming a black wave on the streets.

Qin Jiulin said, “This is too spectacular and disgusting.”

Liu Zhongyuan also felt a bit disgusted and slowly shifted his gaze. “Could it be that all the rats hiding in their nests have come out? Why did they come out? To find the culprit before dying?”

Qi Yue exclaimed, “Ah! They’re coming this way!!”

Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan exclaimed, “!”

They looked in that direction and indeed, the rats were heading towards their hiding spot.

Liu Zhongyuan asked, “Is it real or just a coincidence? Did they discover us? Or are they simply retreating in this direction?”

Qin Jiulin replied, “In any case, let’s run first. Qi Yue, transform and fly higher. I remember rats have pretty good jumping abilities, and if you fly low, you might get injured by them.”

Qi Yue said, “Okay, I understand!”

He quickly transformed into a snowy owl and flew high into the sky, while Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan could only run on the ground. They transformed into their animal forms and chose a suitable direction to run forward.

As they ran, they continuously observed the rat swarm that kept surging towards them from behind. They occasionally took turns, and to their surprise, the rat swarm behind them also turned. This meant that they were indeed being targeted by the swarm as the culprits!

Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan ran very fast, but Qin Jiulin would occasionally slow down to wait for Liu Zhongyuan; otherwise, Liu Zhongyuan would have been left far behind.

Surprisingly, Liu Zhongyuan’s speed had always been a dissatisfaction for him. His massive body could indeed cover a great distance in a short time, but it also posed certain obstacles.

Qin Jiulin, as the giant tiger he transformed into, was more agile. However, Liu Zhongyuan had completely adapted to his snake form and, during this period, trained himself continuously, finding some tricks to hasten his pace. He estimated that he could even match their current speed.

In fact, Qin Jiulin was also a bit surprised when he witnessed Liu Zhongyuan’s current speed. It had improved significantly. Truly, pressure brings motivation!

In this way, they continuously led the still-moving rat swarm around, sometimes circling back to places they had passed before. They could even see the densely scattered rat corpses on the ground in those places.

The rat swarm behind them doesn’t seem like it’s going to give up easily. It has been chasing them for the entire night. Qi Yue, who was flying in the sky, has exhausted all his strength and found a tall tree to rest on top of. Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan are equally tired.

Fortunately, after they managed to distance themselves from the rat swarm, they have a bit of time to rest. They plan to speed up and shake off the swarm when it gets close again. They have been doing this from dusk till dawn.

Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan are now standing on a hill, looking at the distant rat swarm. Both of them have transformed into human form.

Liu Zhongyuan says, “There aren’t many left.”

Qin Jiulin replies, “About half of them are dead, maybe even three-quarters. The remaining ones are not a threat. Shall we just kill them directly?”

Liu Zhongyuan says, “The rat swarm has a grudge against the three of us. They must have remembered our scent. If we encounter them outside in the future, it will be a fight to the death. Moreover, they might come back to attack us again once they regroup.”

Qin Jiulin says, “That’s not possible. By the time they come back, we will have occupied the entire city. They won’t be able to get close to us.”

Liu Zhongyuan says, “The Chief Commander knows how difficult it is to deal with the rat swarm. He has been studying ways to control them from the inside, so at least we are safe inside.”

Qin Jiulin says, “We can’t stay indoors forever, right?”

Liu Zhongyuan says, “Let’s focus on the current situation first. The rat swarm has stopped following us and is heading in the opposite direction.”

Qin Jiulin says, “They probably realized that even if they caught up to us, they wouldn’t be able to do much. So, they retreated, especially since they couldn’t catch up.”

Qin Jiulin waves to Qi Yue, who is flying towards them. After landing on the ground, Qi Yue quickly puts on his clothes and sits down, panting heavily. “These rats are really persistent.”

Qin Jiulin says, “Out of the rats that escaped, how many do you think will survive?”

Liu Zhongyuan smirks, “I don’t know. Maybe three or four? Maybe none? Maybe around ten? Hahaha…”

Qin Jiulin is surprised, “Are you that confident in your poison?”

Liu Zhongyuan says, “Of course. I’m certain they will all be killed.”

Qin Jiulin says, “But the poison was diluted, right? And the toxin that you gave to the military that day, it seems like they didn’t fully turn it into poison powder. In other words, this poison powder…”

Qi Yue whispers, “And even if some survive, they will have to share the toxicity of the powder with the entire rat swarm. I estimate at least a hundred will survive.”

Liu Zhongyuan says, “Even if that’s the case, we don’t need to worry. In my opinion, even if they survive, they may not have reproductive ability or may not be healthy.”

Qin Jiulin says, “Alright, our current mission is to go and check the streets. If Qi Yue has rested enough, he can go up and observe from above. If everything is fine, the two of us will join him.”

Qi Yue said, “No problem, I’ll go.”

They returned to their original position and continued to observe the situation on the streets from a distance. In broad daylight, they could see clearly that, apart from the scattered rat corpses, there was nothing else to be seen. Not even any half-beast individuals or animals.

Of course, it was very likely that they had all been eaten by the rat swarm, and now that they knew there was a swarm nearby, they wouldn’t come close. Since the swarm had only recently left this area, the surrounding animals hadn’t come to investigate yet.

With no animals around, there were no half-beast individuals hunting for flesh and blood here. It was incredibly quiet. They observed for over an hour without any movement or sound.

Qi Yue transformed into a snowy owl and flew over, circling in the sky for a long time. He observed a large area but found nothing. He even flew to a distant place where animals and half-beast individuals were known to appear, but still didn’t notice anything strange.

Qin Jiulin asked, “Are they all dead?”

It was already the fourth day, and the poison takes two to five days to take effect. It was still the fourth day.

Liu Zhongyuan replied, “Let’s wait until the fifth day…tomorrow, to go and check again. If there’s a rat swarm lurking in underground nests, we shouldn’t fly. We don’t want to get surrounded. I’ll be fine since my scales are very thick. I can curl up my body and tuck my head inside. But you’re different.”

Qin Jiulin thought about it and agreed, “Alright, let’s go tomorrow, as you say.”

Qi Yue interjected, “Shall we go back to the military camp first and have a meal? Maybe even take a bath? We’re all dirty and stinky. I’ve been flying for so long…I’m fine, but you two have been running on the ground, stepping on many smelly rat corpses. You should clean up, shouldn’t you?”

Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan exchanged a silent glance before shifting their gaze to Qi Yue.

Liu Zhongyuan chuckled, “You’re right, we’re dirty and need to clean up. But you don’t need to. You’ve been flying in the sky, why would you need to wash? Just go back and have your meal.”

Qi Yue blinked, “Oh?”

And so, with Qi Yue in the middle, they made their way back to the military camp. They didn’t stay long, heading straight to take a bath and then to have their meal. When the three of them appeared, they immediately attracted the attention of many others.

Of course, when it was time to eat, the serving staff were considerate enough to serve them in large iron buckets. One bucket of rice and three buckets of dishes, along with a bucket of soup.

Amidst the astonished gazes of those around them, they elegantly and quickly finished off the buckets of food, putting down their chopsticks, patting their bellies, and leaving the military camp.

After they left, someone commented, “Oh my, they ate so much.”

“These three are different types of beast individuals. I’ve heard they do eat a lot, but eating this much in one meal could last one or two days. We’re not the same…”

“Yeah, who made us just ordinary beast individuals?”

“By the way, have you seen the animal forms of the variant beast individuals?”

“I haven’t seen them. What about you guys?”

“I haven’t seen them either. It seems like no one has. It’s quite mysterious, huh?”

“I have seen them.”

The person who spoke immediately found themselves surrounded by curious gazes, with many people approaching to inquire about the animal forms of the variant beast individuals.

Unable to handle the questions, they whispered, “It’s okay to tell you. The military camp didn’t specifically forbid us from talking about it, and we’re all beast individuals, so it’s fine to share.”

“Actually, a few days ago, I saw another team of variant beast individuals returning. I caught a glimpse of them transforming from their animal forms to human forms.”

“Wasn’t it the three of them?”

“No, it was a different team of three. One was a black panther, over three meters tall! One was a gray wolf, about six meters tall! And there was one that could fly, like a goose or something.”

“Anyway, their sizes were all extremely large! At least two or three times bigger than regular beast individuals!”

“So, they’re impressive because of their size…but if it’s just about size, it doesn’t seem like a big deal, right? When we have more numbers, we can still accomplish things they can’t, right?”

“Then why do they receive so many privileges?”

“Why are you telling me? It’s useless. If you have a problem, go talk to the head of the army. These are the rules set by the head of the army! Seriously, let’s just eat already. Don’t worry about all this!”

“Let’s eat, let’s eat.”

Upon learning that the variant beast individuals only differ from ordinary beast individuals in terms of their transformed size, many ordinary beast individuals had a change of heart.

Gradually, they started to feel that the variant beast individuals weren’t necessarily more powerful than them. However, they only shared these thoughts privately and didn’t express them openly.

It didn’t affect their mission progress, so even the team leaders who were aware of the situation didn’t pay much attention to it. Even if they did, they would only intervene if the variant beast individuals made a major mistake that would lead to losses for the army.