Chapter 479: The Hunt for the Fugitives
by xennovelChapter 479: The Hunt for the Fugitives
After Huo Zhun and Crippled Wolf each tangled with a few evolved trees and vines with unpredictable attacks, Xia Qing finally noticed the subtle differences that appeared each time.
She opened her eyes and quickly called out, “Handsome Wolf, that tree up ahead—the one you were about to claw—will make wolves shed their fur. Don’t touch it. Huo, veer right! Avoid that tree thirty meters ahead!”
“Got it.”
Huo Zhun, who’d planned to use the thick side branch of that tree to leap ahead, shifted his weight and landed early, hopping to Crippled Wolf’s spot and springing off to the right to steer clear.
As they made it past that tree—which looked normal except for a strange feeling—Xia Qing closed her eyes again, focusing completely on the differences ahead.
Not long after they passed, a wild boar with blood-red eyes burst out of nowhere and rammed right into the trunk. Instantly, six thick roots shot up from beneath the Devastation Snow. The mindless boar didn’t dodge, and one of the roots pierced its belly. It let out a piercing howl.
Two lynxes chasing the boar skidded to a halt, glanced at the evolved wolf and human not far off, then quickly turned and left.
Huo Zhun and Crippled Wolf, who hadn’t gotten far, both stopped at once. They looked back and saw the boar skewered on the tree root. Huo Zhun’s pupils shrank.
Before Huo Zhun could ask, Xia Qing explained, “I noticed some bumps under the Devastation Snow at that tree. I figured they might be animal corpses.”
Huo Zhun stared in surprise at the bulges under the pine tree. “Your vision evolved?”
Xia Qing reminded him, “Huo, those are within fifty meters.”
After the great Blue Star evolution, humans’ abilities had doubled across the board. Spotting those watermelon-sized bulges from a hundred meters away hardly called for an evolved vision.
Huo Zhun grinned, “Shall we keep moving?”
“Yeah.” Xia Qing called to Crippled Wolf, “Handsome Wolf, stick with us.”
As they moved forward, whenever Xia Qing told Huo Zhun and Crippled Wolf to avoid a spot or plant, they followed her lead without hesitation. Huo Zhun didn’t want to fall into a trap, Crippled Wolf was terrified of losing its fur.
More than half an hour later, Crippled Wolf suddenly picked up speed. Xia Qing brightened, “The Alpha’s back!”
Huo Zhun kept running and asked between breaths, “Got news?”
“Seems like it.” Xia Qing asked, “Huo, you need a break?”
“I’m good. First time running this fast with a load—it’s a bit much, but I’ll manage. Let’s catch those fugitives, then we can rest.” Huo Zhun picked up his pace, charging after the two wolves.
When Xia Qing caught up, the Alpha looked up at her.
“Queen, did you find something?” The Alpha glanced at Xia Qing and bounded forward.
“Queen, you’re amazing!” Xia Qing praised the Alpha and motioned for Huo Zhun to follow.
Huo Zhun hadn’t expected the Wolf Pack to find the fugitives so quickly. He could barely hide his delight as he hurried after them.
A dozen minutes later, the Alpha led Xia Qing to a stone forest of thick sedimentary pillars, where they rejoined the Handsome Huge Wolf.
“They’re inside?” Huo Zhun stopped and whispered.
Basing her answer on the wolves’ formation, Xia Qing nodded, “They’re definitely hiding inside. And they’re less than a kilometer away from us in a straight line. Huo, put me down.”
Xia Qing had Huo Zhun set her down, then told him to pull a fully enclosed protective mask from her backpack. With shaking hands, she put it on the Alpha and lowered her voice through the walkie-talkie. She gestured for the Alpha: “There’s a poison-wielding enemy inside. Queen and this human—Huo—will go in together, find the enemy, then let Huo deal with him.”
Huo Zhun wanted to leave Xia Qing, clad in her airtight protective suit, in a sheltered spot, but Crippled Wolf blocked him and looked to the Huge Wolf for guidance.
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