C10 The Sudden Change

"Oh no, it looks like they're heading our way. What do we do?" Wang Huan blurted out, his face etched with panic.

Lee Xiuping and Zhang Peng observed the trajectory of the three figures and their anxiety mounted.

In the Warzone, there was a pervasive lack of safety.

The fear wasn't just of wild beasts, but of other people as well.

And sometimes, even of teammates...

There was always the nagging worry that a teammate might sacrifice you as a human shield in a dire moment or, driven by greed, turn on you for a windfall.

Such betrayals were all too common.

"What's our move?"

"They wouldn't actually kill us, would they?"

"Even if they're not that brutal, they could still steal our stuff."

Lee Xiuping and the others were fraught with worry.

Being robbed of their war trophies would mean an automatic fail in their assessment.

"This is bad, they've spotted us," Wang Huan said, his voice laced with terror.

As expected, the three figures halted about four hundred meters away, one of them brandishing a bow and arrow.

"Don't make a move!"

Frozen with fear at this life-or-death juncture, the trio no longer dared to conceal themselves and rose from the underbrush.

The area, once a park, was now an open expanse with the nearest shelter a kilometer away. They were trapped.

"Please, don't kill us!" Lee Xiuping pleaded through tears.

The strangers paused, giving the three a moment of relief.

But then, a familiar voice reached them, "Lee Xiuping, Zhang Peng?"

It was Chiang Yu.

Stunned, Lee Xiuping and her companions exchanged incredulous glances, a wild theory forming in their minds.

"Is it Chiang Yu and his team?"

"So it is you guys," Chiang Yu remarked, his voice cooling as he lowered his bow and arrow.

"Damn, just our luck to run into these three," Chiang Yu muttered under his breath.

Lin Feng couldn't help but chuckle at the irony.

Chiang Yu clearly hadn't let bygones be bygones.

"Let's not make a big deal out of it. Now that we've bumped into each other, we might as well say hello."

The three approached.

Lee Xiuping and her group hadn't anticipated that not only had Chiang Yu and his team survived, but they had also thrived. Hastily removing their masks, they greeted them with eager smiles.

They were filled with immense regret. If only they had known, they would have teamed up with Lin Feng and the rest from the start.

"Chiang Yu, you guys really hit the jackpot, unlike us who just scraped by," Lee Xiuping said with a laugh, her voice tinged with an involuntary hint of ingratiating tone.

"It's decent," Chiang Yu responded coolly.

Their relationship had been lukewarm at best, and after the recent incident, his view of the trio had soured even more.

"Man, you guys are going to make a fortune," Zhang Peng remarked enviously to Liu Fei.

Lin Feng, on the other hand, was disregarded by the trio. In their eyes, the bounty of gains was all thanks to Chiang Yu and Liu Fei.

Lin Feng? A Third Level Trainee Warrior surviving here was already a feat. Expecting more would be laughable.

"Not too bad," Liu Fei said, scratching his head with a goofy smile.

"Hey, did you run into Gu Chen and his group?" Zhang Peng whispered.

"No, what about them?" Chiang Yu asked, his eyebrows arching, a note of irritation in his voice.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Zhang Peng chuckled awkwardly. He wasn't foolish; he could tell Chiang Yu was annoyed with them.

"Are you planning to leave the Warzone? What do you think about joining forces?" Lee Xiuping suggested.

The assessment was to survive three days in the Warzone, and it would soon be over with the coming of nightfall.

Lin Feng and his group had initially planned to exit the Warzone, but Chiang Yu, displeased with the others, stated flatly, "We're not looking to leave the Warzone just yet. We're planning to gather some more items to sell."

Encounters with monsters in the city were rare.

Even D-class monsters, though not particularly valuable, could add up to a significant sum.

Lin Feng and his two companions had gone on a frenzied spree over the last three days, slaughtering hundreds of monsters within Warzone 509.

They had amassed a substantial collection of pristine pelts and other materials.

Selling these could easily net them two to three hundred thousand—a tidy sum indeed.

Upon hearing Chiang Yu's plans, Lee Xiuping and the others responded with forced laughter, "Alright then, you guys carry on."

"Stay safe on the road," Lin Feng said with a smile before he, Chiang Yu, and Liu Fei departed.

Once they were out of sight, Zhang Peng couldn't contain his frustration, muttering under his breath, "Damn, what a mess."

Lee Xiuping let out a soft sigh. "At the end of the day, it's our own fault for not seizing the opportunity."

Wang Huan simply shook his head in agreement.

He couldn't help but feel envious of Chiang Yu and the others' gains, filled with regret.

Seeing the disheartened looks on their faces, Zhang Peng dropped the act and lamented, "If only we had that kind of haul."

The trio let out a series of deep sighs.

Eventually, they shook their heads, got up, and made their way out of the Warzone.

About five minutes into their walk, they were startled by a bloodcurdling scream, followed by sounds of panic. The noise was chaotic, with at least twenty people involved.

"What's happening?" Lee Xiuping and the others were immediately alarmed.

But it wasn't long before seven or eight people burst out of the dense forest ahead. Hot on their heels was a massive pack of wolves, each as formidable as a tiger.

One, in particular, stood out—massive as a rhino, its fur as white as snow, with a lightning-shaped mark on its forehead and blue eyes that surveyed its surroundings with a discernible air of pride.

"The Snow Wolf King?" Zhang Peng's voice shook with fear.

Lee Xiuping and Wang Huan shivered at the thought. The Snow Wolf King was no ordinary beast; once past its youth, it started at a C1 Level and could grow to a B1 Level with maturity.

Moreover, the Snow Wolf King was a natural leader, born with the power to command its pack.

They recalled a lesson from their junior high school days: in 2023, a mutated Snow Wolf King in the west had reached a formidable B7 Level, commanding an army of thirty thousand wolves.

Back then, just three years after Blue Star had entered the Taiyi world, Lofreydor had few Warriors. The battle against the Snow Wolf King was devastating; over two hundred thousand lives were lost to protect the city's evacuation.

In the end, it was only after the citizens had fled the city that the authorities deployed a nuclear weapon, annihilating the snow wolf king and its pack of wild wolves.

"Ah, save me, save me!"

In the brief moment of shock, three more examinees were tackled by the wild wolves, their calls for help filled with despair and terror.

But in no time, the wolves swarmed over them. At least five wild wolves converged, baring their blood-stained jaws.

These creatures worked in deadly unison, each targeting wrists, calves, and some going straight for the head or throat.

Despite being clad in battle armor, the examinees were immobilized and swiftly succumbed to the ferocious bites.

What followed was a gruesome spectacle of dismemberment.

"Fire the flare!"

Someone finally reached their breaking point and gave in to panic.

Pulling out a signal gun, they shot a flare into the sky.

Reluctantly calling for help on the final day meant certain elimination, but in the face of life and death, such concerns were cast aside.

"Run!"

Lee Xiuping snapped out of her daze, her face ashen as she yelled and bolted.

Zhang Peng and Wang Huan, shaken from their stupor, shivered as they hurried after her.

The intermittent, piercing screams behind them fueled their fear, spurring them to run recklessly.

Yet, as the old adage goes, when it rains, it pours. Mid-flight, they realized that dozens of monsters had emerged on the street ahead.

The sight of those bloodthirsty, frenzied eyes sent a chill through their hearts.

"We're done for!"

"Caught between a rock and a hard place!"

Lee Xiuping, Zhang Peng, and Wang Huan exchanged glances, nearly breaking down in tears.