The strange forest

Chapter 55

(Unedited)

…

It was already the morning the next day when I and Auntie Xiao Rin arrive on the outskirts of city H. I began following the strange flow of Qi in the air and soon arrive near a small dilapidated house in an urban community.

I was a bit familiar with this location as this area looks like the place where I first saw those three ladies. As I landed on the ground, we were met with a figure that suddenly darted out of the thickets.

Around that figure are floating knives which looks like it formed an array for the purpose of protecting her and at the same time attacking.

When our eyes met, she showed a surprised look on her beautiful face.

"Xin Wei! You… What are you doing here? I thought…" Jin Jiwon was a bit surprised upon seeing me and Xiao Rin.

"Hello… I was a bit worried about you four because of the commotion that has been going on lately." I said while looking at her camouflage suit and vest.

I could tell that these girls have been busy taking down some mercenary groups. That's why the Hunters were sent to take care of them.

"Umm… Well, it was all an accident. We did not want to provoke anyone, but these people would not let us go…" she said but remorse could not be seen in her eyes.

I could tell that she grew numb in killing and that her fortitude has been strengthened. Plus her Qi aura is becoming stronger which surprised me a bit.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

But before Jin Jiwon could answer, she suddenly heard something from her intercom.

"What? What is happening?"

"A monster? Wait for me, I'm coming!" she suddenly said as she looks at me.

I already knew what is happening from her words, so I decided to help them.

We ran towards the trees behind a tall house. This place is like the borderline between the forest and the outer part of the city.

The wide expanse of tall trees is a perfect place for the mutated beasts to lurk around and hunt. And for this reason, no one dares to live in this place.

But it seems that Jin Jiwon and the three girls decided to stay here for a while and try to test the waters before entering the forest. The reason for this is the strength of the beasts within the forest. They are afraid that they would become food for them and this made them hesitate to exit the city.

As we near an area where there is great devastation that is happening, I could see three women jumping all over the place while trying to dodge the strikes of a gigantic six meters tall mantis.

The beast was too huge that its exoskeleton is showing cracks on its surface. I did not know why it looks like that the exoskeleton of the mantis looks old, but one thing is for sure. This beast did not grow normally.

I could tell the dark aura around its body and the semi-toxic air it emits.

"Auntie Xiao Rin, you should stay here and hide. I will help them…" I said as I put her down beside a large tree.

When I turn around, I could see Bai Yunya being flung to the side as she hits a tree. The tree broke in two as Bai Yunya spews a mouthful of blood.

But I could see the anger and determination in her eyes as she slowly picks up her fallen knife and then charges back to the fight. She did not even notice my presence with all the blood lust she is emitting.

I did not know what happened when I went away, but these girls seem to have improved by leaps and bounds. I could tell the Bai Yunya seem to be able to envelop her body with Qi energy and fight in close range.

Yang Chin on the other hand seems to be adept at controlling the fire elements as she would fling fireballs towards the giant mantis. Then for her defense, she would use ice as a shield. Her elemental control is a bit baffling to me.

On the other hand, Zhang Wanwan supports the two by healing their wounds and providing support by controlling the plants in the area.

Seeing these three fights like this made me think, what did they experience that they would grow in such a short time?

Suddenly, Ji Jiwon joined the fray and the giant mantis did not last more than 5 minutes before it fell to the ground with different wounds on its body.

"You guys… Why did you lure such a huge monster?" Ji Jiwon suddenly complained.

"It was Bai Yunya… I told her not to go deeper as I could feel strange vibration in the plants, but she would not listen…" Zhang Wanwan suddenly complained.

"Hey, I was just tempted to… Sorry!" Bai Yunya said with a sheepish smile.

I could not help but show a faint smile on my face looking at these girls.

Suddenly, they seem to have noticed my presence when the three of them showed wide and happy smiles on their faces as they immediately ran towards me.

"It's Wei!"

"What are you doing here? I thought you have already gone to the city?"

"Have come to take us with you?"

The three simultaneously asked me and I just look at them. I could not answer their questions. It seems that my worries are a bit unfounded.

If those Hunters faced these girls, I am not sure who would win. But I think these four have a great fighting chance.

However, I also know that I could not just bet on luck with that. Since I could tell their strength, I knew that they would still grow stronger, once this world would continue its evolutionary path. From that huge monster, I could somewhat tell that there is something wrong within the forest.

"Guy… I'm just here because I'm a bit worried about you four… There are Hunters coming after you…" I then explained what had happened.

Upon hearing my explanation, Bai Yunya and the three showed a pale complexion. As people from the inner city, they are aware of who the Hunters are. These are specially trained people of the syndicate. Their only purpose is to find, search, hunt, and kill for the syndicate. And nothing can stop them in their mission unless one could kill them.

But who can easily kill a Hunter?

Only another Hunter can kill a Hunter, hence for ordinary people, they are death gods that are feared and respected.

However, they are not ordinary beings anymore. They now have the power of those Hunters, so they should have not been afraid of them, right?

But I could tell that the three are still afraid of them. I guess it is an innate fear that was implanted when they were living in the inner city.

"Alright, I find it weird that there would be a huge insect in this place. However, there is only one, so this kind of mutation is not inherent and is only rare. I think we should find the source of this mutation before you guys can leave the city…" I said.

The four of them nodded their heads and agree with my plan. I then look at them and wanted to explain what we should do next when I saw them showing a strange expression on their faces. I wanted to ask what is wrong, but then I could see them looking somewhere else.

The three girls are looking behind me. From their expression, I could tell that something is really wrong.

I did not have to turn around, I just used my senses to detect that there is another person standing behind me.

And it seems that this person is that figure that was hiding behind the shadows last night. How he was able to follow us and the reason why I was not able to detect it is a bit baffling for me.

I slowly turn around and I saw that person holding Auntie Xiao Rin by her waist while a dagger is pointed at her neck.

When I saw this scene, my mind suddenly went blank. It was like something exploded in my mind and tons of images filled my awareness. Those images were the nightmare that I have from before. It was the day that I regretted the most.

I saw the image of Lin Qiao, her pretty little face, and her plea for mercy for my sake. Her beautiful eyes turned into something that is full of distress.

Then her images of being slit by her throat and falling to the ground as life ebbs away from those once lively eyes.

My heart began to feel pain, my emotion was in disarray and my rage is rising. I know that I already lost control of myself at this time as I could not control how I feel right now.

But then, there is only one thing that's in my mind, and that is…

… to kill.