Chapter 16: Native Inhabitants of the Planet

Li Changzhou searched him again.

Besides the "Honeybee Sting Crossbow" on his arm, there was nothing else.

The "Invincible Wind Fire Wheel" had no skill in shooting arrows, yet he could actually hit Zheng Qing from such a distance?

Was it his own innate talent? Like him, possessing the appearance of the male protagonist as well as the warrior's indomitable will?

"Ah!" Li Changzhou held his waist, his face twisted in pain.

Once his mind wandered, the pain took over again.

Back on the hill, Zheng Qing, who had been kicked by him, was fine and even asked, "Are you hurt? I can do simple bandaging, I can help you."

"He, ah," Li Qianxia, that annoying pest, came over again, "is suffering from excessive indulgence."

"Forgot the dagger over the character for lust," Yang Qinglan also said.

"Yes, yes, yes, I am diseased, I am lustful." Li Changzhou bent down, the two giggling girls helped Zheng Qing onto his back.

Li Qianxia asked with slight concern, "Are you okay? If you're tired, I can carry her for a while."

"You can carry me later, I don't want to walk," Li Changzhou offered another option.

Li Qianxia gave his butt a whip-like smack as if driving a donkey.

Bending over, carrying her like a heavy sack of snakeskin, it was with great difficulty they reached the crest of the sand dune.

Without a word, no one had the mindset or the energy to talk, and they walked intermittently for over twenty minutes before reaching the canyon visible from atop the sand dune.

Arriving at the edge of the canyon, Li Changzhou couldn't wait to put Zheng Qing down and straighten his back, taking a long breath of relief.

Happiness is all about comparison; now he actually felt standing in the desert wasn't so bad.

"There's no one below," Yang Qinglan withdrew her gaze from scanning the canyon, "but still be careful, animals might hide in the crevices or corners."

"How do we get down?" Li Qianxia leaned over to gauge the four-meter deep canyon.

The cliff wall was very steep, but because of the sand, it wasn't really devoid of footholds.

"I'll go down first," Li Changzhou said, "With me below, even if you fall, you don't have to worry about getting hurt."

"Do you know how to use the Qiankun Great Shift?" Li Qianxia asked immediately.

"Didn't expect you to have such high expectations for your brother. Sorry, actually, I'm just suffering from an old problem, wanting to take advantage of you and serve as a cushion," he replied.

"I'll teach you a way to lessen the impact when jumping from a high place," Zheng Qing said with an instructor's tone, "It's simple, keep your legs together when you land, knees slightly bent, and roll sideways upon impact to distribute the force to your legs and back."

Li Qianxia cocked her head, imagining what the landing posture might be like.

Li Changzhou, like a dung beetle, faced backward and began descending the cliff step by step.

"Brother, are you okay?" Li Qianxia called from above.

"It's a bit strenuous, but I can hold on!" Li Changzhou took a deep breath and only let go of his hands once he made sure his footing was secure.

For someone like Zheng Qing, a special forces soldier, this cliff might be descended quickly with little effort.

But for a college girl like Yang Qinglan who had invested all her points in Perception, it might require some courage.

Miss Yang's courage was without question; she was somewhat slow but descended safely.

When it was the turn of Zheng Qing, who couldn't walk, Li Qianxia slowly lowered her down like a rope, and once she grabbed onto the cliff wall with her hands, Zheng Qing let go on her own.

Landing on her back, she rolled in the canyon, and that was the end of it.

It might have been a bit painful, but she had a high tolerance for pain and also possessed the instinct "10% Pain Immunity," making it seem even more trivial for her.

Li Qianxia, who had invested points in Agility, zipped down effortlessly as if descending stairs.

Yang Qinglan planned to enhance her Agility next time and not lag behind in harsh environments.

After everyone descended, the four of them carefully searched along the valley and soon found water seeping from the cliff wall.

Using moist soil, they built a small dam, and quickly gathered a handful of water.

"This water may look murky, but it's filtered through rock layers, cleaner than city water; you can drink it directly," Zheng Qing explained, like a desert encyclopedia.

Typical of a special forces soldier.

"Ladies first," Li Changzhou's gaze turned to Yang Qinglan.

Her physical strength was the weakest here.

"You drink first," Yang Qinglan wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm, "you carried a person, your exertion was the greatest."

"Still saying these things?" Li Changzhou chuckled.

"Qing Lan, you go first. My brother wants to drink what you've drunk," Li Qianxia whispered.

"?"

"Is that so? Alright, consider it a reward to him," Yang Qinglan nodded, as if she had just understood.

"????" Li Changzhou was utterly baffled, "Where exactly did the misunderstanding occur that made you think of me as such a pervert?"

"The two of you have a good relationship," Zheng Qing sighed, "Having a good relationship with your teammates is more important than anything else."

It sounded as though there was a story there, but Li Changzhou wasn't interested in other people's stories.

Yang Qinglan walked toward the puddle, cupping her hands like the two halves of a crescent moon, gradually bringing them together in the water.

With shade above her head and water before her eyes, Li Qianxia felt a bit more spirited and began to speak, "Brother, did you see it? That snake just suddenly—"

Yang Qinglan's body jerked backward suddenly.

Startled, Li Qianxia turned around, her movement slow;

Zheng Qing, who was about to examine the injury on her knee, looked up, her eyebrows slowly raising, her gaze turning sharp;

Yang Qinglan's sports shoes plowed two shallow furrows into the ground, sending gravel flying.

The water she held in her hands splashed into the air, one bead flying out of the canyon's shade and turning into a white pearl under the blazing sun.

'Control Dopamine'

Enforced rationality.

Li Changzhou couldn't tell if it was he who had activated it voluntarily, or if it had been triggered by fright.

A pink flesh-colored tongue followed right behind the backpedaling Yang Qinglan, shooting out like a spring.

Invisible was the owner of the tongue; it was as if a mouth had suddenly sprouted from the rock.

He raised his AK and unleashed flames.

"Bang, bang, bang!" The noise was deafening, echoing through the canyon.

Rocks blasted from the cliff wall, and the surface of the puddle rippled tumultuously.

With a swish, the tongue disappeared into the cliff face, and a piece of rock skin moved, as quick as lightning.

"Qian Xia! Wolf Howl!" Li Changzhou shouted.

Li Qianxia howled toward the sky, with the intimidation of a wolf king!

The rock skin trembled, as if a player controlling a game character suddenly left to go to the bathroom, stopping and remaining motionless right there.

The sound of 'bang, bang, bang,' and the bullets struck like venomous snakes.

Blood and flesh splattered, and a four-legged snake, about the length of Li Changzhou's forearm, peeled from the rock layer and fell onto the canyon's red ground.

The four-legged snake was severed in the middle, its color gradually shifting from that of the rock to stark black.

"Qing Lan, are you okay?" Li Qianxia lowered her chin, which she had raised, and hurried over to help Yang Qinglan.

"I'm fine," Yang Qinglan shook her head, her heart racing fast.

It was fortunate that she had allocated her two upgrade points entirely to Perception.

Even with a high Perception of 7 points, she still only realized something was wrong with the cliff face when she was close to it.

"That was terrifying, the chameleon actually ambushed us right above the puddle!" Li Qianxia also had her heart racing with fear.

What if it had been her brother who went to drink water first? Wouldn't he be dead already?

She thought of something and asked, "This chameleon is so small, how does it kill people? Does it have poison?"

"Not sure," Yang Qinglan recalled the scene, "Its tongue aimed for my eyes; it could be poisonous, or it might just pluck out a person's eyes alive."

Li Qianxia blinked instinctively, her bright eyes a testament to her fear.

"Many animals like to ambush at watering spots, like crocodiles, eagles, and so on," Zheng Qing said, surveying the surroundings, completely on alert.

"Hey, look at this."

The three of them followed Li Changzhou's voice and saw the body, now uncertain whether it was a chameleon or a gecko, had turned into a tail that was severed in two pieces.

The tail was still wriggling, as though there was life within.

"I know about tail autonomy for survival, but what I hit was clearly its body," Li Changzhou said, kicking the tail with his foot.

"We can't continue to judge this world by our past experiences," Yang Qinglan said gravely, as if speaking to him and to herself at the same time.

"Right, and there's that snake that could enlarge and shrink!" Li Qianxia vividly remembered that scene.

"The Science Academy has a saying," Zheng Qing recalled, "'Those of us who summarize the rules of the universe based on phenomena of our own planet are thoroughly natives of a planet.'"

The echoes of gunshots and wolf howls in the canyon had finally become distant and quiet, as if retreating.

The sudden silence carried a strange, eerie sense.

"Let's drink some water first," said Yang Qinglan with a sigh. "The fact that this animal, whether a gecko or a chameleon, was guarding here suggests that there are no other competitors nearby for now."