Chapter 1 A Mere Dog

"A mere dog chased me for half a day!" Realizing this, Feng Bujue was very annoyed. Moreover, he had already activated his skill. If he stopped now and fought in a normal state, then the survival points he had burned for over half a minute would have been wasted.

He quickly dodged out, intending to use the shortest amount of time and the fastest, most brutal attacks to blast the hound into slag.

He saw Feng Bujue move sideways in a sliding step, holding the flashlight in his left hand to shine forward, while his right hand tightly gripped the pipe wrench, ready to strike at any moment.

However, when the monster entered Feng Bujue's sight and was illuminated by the light, he was immediately shocked. He couldn't help but be grateful that he had activated Spiritual Consciousness Gathering Technique in advance...

A burst of rapid footsteps cut through the thin mist formed by the humid air. A huge, terrifying shadow came through the fog.

Its neck was proudly raised, its eyes were almond-shaped, its head was flat, and its ears were erect. Its white and strong teeth were in a scissor-like bite. Its muscles were well-developed and compact, its neck was slightly arched, gradually widening and merging with the body. Its back was short and strong, with sufficient width, and its thighs were long and wide. The proportions of the front and rear body were very balanced.

These were all characteristics of a well-trained, fit, and high-quality breed. Of course, as a Thriller Paradise monster, it was created to scare and kill people, not to participate in Westminster competitions, so it also had things that normal dogs didn't have.

It was as black as coal all over, its eyes as bright as fire. Its body was unbelievably large; comparing a tiger to it would be like comparing it to a cat.

Its fangs were exposed in its open mouth, and saliva dripped from the gaps between its teeth. The most exaggerated thing was that the hound's muzzle, neck hair, and the lower part of its neck were all shining, looking very much like the legendary hellhound, except that this monster only had one head, not three.

"This thing was made by alchemy, wasn't it!" As Feng Bujue exclaimed in dissatisfaction, the hound had already pounced on him with large strides.

If this monster stood on its hind legs, it could directly bite Feng Bujue's neck, so Feng Bujue didn't dare to be careless. He jumped backward with all his might, dodging the hound's pounce.

Feng Bujue jumped very far this time, even surprising himself. The bonus from Spiritual Consciousness Gathering Technique greatly exceeded his expectations. This was the first time he had experienced this kind of physical quality that was clearly higher than ordinary people. This even made him a little unaccustomed, such as the dynamic vision that increased greatly along with speed and strength... As long as he concentrated, everything in front of him seemed to slow down. He could even see a mosquito flying by, and he felt that he could accurately catch the mosquito with two fingers with a single reach.

At the end of the first *Matrix* movie, Neo, after awakening, seemed to have this feeling. When Smith attacked him for the last time, he easily took the opponent's attack. He looked puzzled and changed the hands that had received the attack to one hand. This was the normal reaction after one's strength had suddenly increased several times... a slight unsuitability.

The hound's attack did not stop. It howled and leaped out in an arc that was not inferior to Feng Bujue's previous jump, once again pouncing to kill.

Clang—

The sound of metal clashing echoed in the jungle. Feng Bujue was knocked down by the monster, but he was not bitten because the [Mario's Pipe Wrench] in his hand was stuck in the dog's mouth like a bone.

This hound had extremely strong bite force, its teeth as hard as steel. Its upper and lower jaws clamped down on the pipe wrench, a metal object, and it was completely fine. If it were an ordinary dog, its teeth would probably have shattered long ago.

At this close range, Feng Bujue could see even more clearly. It was really hard to say what breed of dog this was. Its head and fur were like a Doberman, but its body was like a Tibetan Mastiff. Its size was even larger than a lioness. He increasingly wanted to complain that this thing might be a synthetic beast.

Feng Bujue's strength was also great now. He used his right hand to firmly grip the pipe wrench, propping it horizontally in the dog's mouth, temporarily holding the monster at bay. His left hand released the flashlight, took out the small knife Zaroff had given him from his bag, and stabbed it into the dog's soft belly.

In an instant, Feng Bujue was sprayed with dog blood, but he knew that the battle was not over. The attack could not stop until the enemy was completely dead. He ignored the blood on his face and continued to exert force on his wrist, cutting all the way down from the hound's neck to its abdomen in a straight line. After all, the monster was still a dog. Once its most lethal mouth was suppressed, it was difficult for it to have any other way to fight to the death against a human with more flexible joints who could use weapons.

Before it died, the hound burst out with amazing power, even leaving deep tooth marks on the pipe wrench, but unfortunately, its power was not enough to destroy the equipment. The terrifying howl finally turned into a whimper. Its blood and viscera poured over Feng Bujue, and then it declared its end, its body limply falling.

Feng Bujue quickly pushed its huge body away with force, letting it fall to the side. He was already almost exhausted and was afraid of being crushed under the hound's corpse and unable to crawl out later.

After solving this brutal... probably dog, Feng Bujue immediately deactivated Spiritual Consciousness Gathering Technique. In this short period of less than three minutes, he burned survival points at a rate of 2% every five seconds. Coupled with the fact that his blood was already low before the battle began, his survival value had now dropped to 32%. There were still more than three hours before sunrise. If things continued like this, without Zaroff having to do it himself, another dog like this, or encountering one or two more "leech incidents," Feng Bujue would die on his own.

"Haa... haa..." After deactivating the skill, Feng Bujue gasped for breath, looking up. The pain, fatigue, discomfort, etc... surged like a tsunami. It seemed that there would be some sequelae after using Spiritual Consciousness Gathering Technique. These symptoms could not be explained clearly by the attributes or the description text in the menu; it was like a mental fatigue after excessive overload.

But there was no time for Feng Bujue to rest. He had to continue on his way. Every step he took toward the southeast, he was one step further away from danger. The plan to exchange space for time could not waste time while striving for space.

After breathing a little more evenly, Feng Bujue picked up the flashlight, put away his weapon, and continued on his way.

He was extremely uncomfortable. His body was covered in the blood and filth flowing from the hound's body, causing his clothes to stick to his skin. The humid environment and increasingly hot temperature tormented him.

However, Feng Bujue had a tenacious quality. His endurance was very good, which seemed a bit terrifying to others. This quality was reflected in many ways, in addition to surviving for a long time with only plain noodles, there were also... for example, he could be bullied by some middle-aged women who liked to lean on others when standing on a crowded bus for more than forty minutes without exploding; he could maintain a very calm expression after eating extremely unpalatable food made by a friend and finish it all, saying it was good; he could also not shower or change clothes for a week...

In short, physical discomfort had little impact on Feng Bujue. Some dog blood and viscera sticking to his body were not enough to challenge his ascetic-like endurance.

If a female player encountered this situation, she probably wouldn't be able to stand it. If she couldn't find water or something similar to clean herself in a short period of time, she might just log off directly.

Speaking of female players, the situation on One Sword's Allure and Cai Bupa's side was not optimistic either.

They also encountered a hound, basically the same as the monster Feng Bujue encountered. Fortunately, there were two of them, and One Sword's Allure was, after all, a player known for combat. In terms of combat strength alone, he was definitely stronger than Feng Bujue before he activated Spiritual Consciousness Gathering Technique.

At the beginning of the battle, One Sword rushed forward, relying on his fast movement to constantly circle around the hound with his long sword. But as time went on, he gradually fell into a disadvantage. He also knew very well that once he was pounced on by this monster, his throat would be bitten off in one bite, and he would die directly. Therefore, he could only engage in guerrilla warfare, consuming his stamina points in exchange for some of the monster's blood.

After a dozen or so moves, Bupa, who was retreating to the side, also saw that One Sword probably couldn't handle it alone. If he died, she would have to continue the game alone, which was something she was very unwilling to happen. Her title [Hide-and-Seek] granted a special ability that was an active skill, called [Count to Ten]. This skill was best activated with a teammate, so she had to try her best to ensure that she was not alone.

Therefore, Bupa decided to temporarily abandon the appearance of a weak person who "needed others to protect her." She took out her weapon and quietly approached the rear of the hound...

Not far away, One Sword's range of activity was being constantly compressed by the hound. He gradually retreated to a tree, and the space for maneuvering and dodging was gradually lost. He already had a relatively accurate assessment of the comparison between his combat power and that of this monster... His full speed was indeed three points faster than that of the hound, but that was it. The difference in strength was great, almost impossible to confront head-on.

That's how battles are. Before and during a fight, the mindset of the person involved will change. The information gained from merely "observing" an opponent is far less accurate than actually exchanging a few moves. The侥幸 (*jiao xing* - fluke) mentality of "how strong can the other party be" before the fight generally shatters quickly after the fight begins.

The consumption of stamina points doesn't wait for anyone, and the changes in the situation are not completely under One Sword's control. Now he was facing a decision: whether to lose a lot of health and go up and fight a few moves, exchanging for a relatively stable but miserable victory; or to continue to drag it out like this until he finds another way.

Just as One Sword was hesitating and unable to decide, a scene that shocked him appeared.

The place where they were fighting was right next to a stone wall. The surrounding trees were relatively sparse, and the night sky above was bright and beautiful. The stars sparkled with clear, cold light, and the moon hung high in the sky, immersing the place in a soft and hazy light.

In this moonlight, a petite figure suddenly leaped high, drawing an arc, and descended from the sky behind the hound. Both the monster and One Sword were stunned in place at the same time. The former was because it sensed danger, and the latter was because he was stunned by the scene in front of him.

Miss Bupa was raising a long-handled hammer high with both hands, descending like a tiger descending from the mountain, swinging straight down at the monster.