Chapter 57: Bai Tingting: So, You Were the One Peeking on Us
After reaching the city hall, Qingqing and Mu Nujiao, both plant element mages, sensed something was wrong, though they couldn't pinpoint exactly what.
"I have a strange feeling about this place." Qingqing said.
"I feel the same." Mu Nujiao added.
"Maybe we should leave two people outside." someone suggested.
"I'll stay outside."
Seeing Mo Fan volunteer to stay outside, Bai Tingting, who trusted his abilities, quickly chimed in, "I'll stay too."
The others, meanwhile, ventured deeper into the building.
Not long after, the building began to shake violently. The vines covering the structure started writhing, coming to life like vicious creatures devouring prey.
"What should we do? They're trapped inside." Bai Tingting said, her expression tense.
The thick plant growth covering the building was as tough as a wall of earth. Those inside the city hall were already deep within, and escaping would be like trying to climb out of a giant creature's throat.
"Look up there." Mo Fan said, pointing to the second level of the building.
Bai Tingting looked up, her scalp tingling with fear.
On the second level was a massive, grotesque head. It wasn't an animal head but resembled a giant tree stump. If it weren't for the gaping black maw opening and closing, no one would believe the thing was alive.
The tree-like head took up nearly the entire second level of the building. Countless tendrils fed into its gaping mouth, making it look like a demon wrapped in bark, hungrily devouring something.
"That's a False Fiend!" Bai Tingting gasped, her face pale as she saw the monster up close for the first time.
At the same time, a gust of black wind roared down the street, bending trees and sending debris flying. A rusted bicycle was picked up by the wind, hurled into a nearby building, and shattered into pieces.
Amid this terrifying scene, Mo Fan quickly grabbed Bai Tingting and used his shadow magic to flee.
"You… you have shadow magic?!" Bai Tingting asked, shocked.
"I'll explain later." Mo Fan replied casually.
"Wait a second… were you the one peeking at us that day?" Bai Tingting suddenly remembered, her cheeks flushing red.
"It wasn't me! How could you even think about that at a time like this?" Mo Fan was speechless.
He didn't expect her to figure it out so quickly.
For now, Bai Tingting pushed the thought aside, focusing on the danger at hand. Together, they snuck a glance back at the city hall.
Under a dark cloud, a massive creature with leathery wings was approaching. As it got closer, its wings seemed to grow even larger. Beneath those wings was a hulking body that looked like a giant lizard. Its skin was thick, covered with knobby scales from head to tail, and its long tail ended in a sharp point that gleamed menacingly in the sunlight.
The winged lizard dived down, crashing into the second level of the building. Its enormous maw opened wide, revealing rows of jagged teeth like stalactites.
With a single bite, the creature tore into the second level, making the reinforced concrete crumble like foam. Its true target was the False Fiend's tree-like head, which let out an ear-piercing scream like a city-wide alarm as the creature bit down.
With one brutal chomp, the False Fiend was torn apart.
Seeing the monster's gruesome death, Bai Tingting turned pale. "That was a Wyvern-Serpent!"
Mo Fan nodded.
"It's gone now. Let's go. The others might need help." he said, leading Bai Tingting towards the group.
As they arrived, they saw the team stumbling out of the building, battered and exhausted.
Song Xia had already passed out, her breath shallow and weak. Bai Tingting quickly rushed to provide aid.
"Damn it, whose idea was it to enter this building? We almost lost our lives!" someone cursed, covered in dirt and debris.
Liao Mingxuan glared at Mo Fan angrily. "It was you, wasn't it? Very clever of you. You stayed outside while we went inside to die. Mo Fan, you're vicious!"
Mo Fan glanced at Liao Mingxuan and calmly replied with just one word, "Idiot."
"You were supposed to cover us outside, but you hid instead! You're heartless!" Liao Mingxuan shouted.
His leg was badly injured, and the pain, combined with his anger, made him lash out.
Unlike him, the others from Pearl Academy, like Luo Song and Shen Mingxiao, remained silent, watching the situation unfold.
"What happened in there? The whole building collapsed." Zhao Manyan asked.
"It was a False Fiend. Then a Wyvern-Serpent showed up." Mo Fan explained.
Hearing this, everyone's faces went pale.
A False Fiend was already difficult enough to handle, but to think there was also a Wyvern-Serpent, a commander-level creature with dragon blood!
"Damn it, I want to go back!"
"Me too. This place is insane. What was Principal Song thinking, sending us here? Look at what we've been up against! There's no way we can deal with this!" Liao Mingxuan was the first to complain.
Song Xia had nearly died, and several others had barely escaped being dragged away by the vines. It had been a nightmare.
What terrified them the most was the realization that they only survived because the Wyvern-Serpent had shown up and killed the False Fiend. The whole building had collapsed—who in their right mind would want to stay here any longer?
"It seems the Hunter's Alliance was wrong about the danger level here. This place is far more dangerous than the reports said. But maybe we were just unlucky, running into such powerful creatures. If we're careful, we can still complete the mission." Lu Zhenghe quickly tried to calm everyone down.
His teammates were surprised.
Lu Zhenghe's sudden display of bravery was uncharacteristic. Normally, he'd be the first one to want to run away in such situations. Everyone who knew him was a bit puzzled.
"I don't think the Hunter's Alliance made a mistake. It's just that the only people who returned from here probably only explored safe areas. Everyone else likely died here." Zhao Manyan said grimly.
(End of Chapter)