Within Li Zhonglou's heart, there was only one type of Hei Zi that he treated differently: Hua Zi, an anomaly even among Hei Zi. This individual had displayed his uniqueness from the very beginning. In Li Zhonglou's eyes, even if he couldn't become a true friend, he was at least a potential partner.
As for the others, encountering any other Hei Zi meant no words were needed; they were to be killed.
In truth, Li Zhonglou was unaware that A Wen was also a Hei Zi who had limited contact with humans. Although he had received some education about humans from his elders, he remained somewhat naive at heart.
If it were someone else, it might not have gone so smoothly.
After dealing with the Hei Zi and collecting its remnant soul, Li Zhonglou quietly returned above the beast den, resuming his original position.
Just as he had suspected, the Hei Zi on the opposite side had long since disappeared.
"Tianhun Grass, a precious holy medicine for treating soul injuries. Such a valuable item wouldn't be left without a full-scale assault," Li Zhonglou murmured. After learning about the medicinal effects of this holy medicine, he had already designated it as something he must obtain. With it, he might be able to recover his cultivation and strength to its peak before leaving.
After all, he had an interview at the General Bureau once he left. For a member of a special forces team to join the regular establishment, it was obvious even with one's toes that it wouldn't be smooth sailing. No one would willingly have someone suddenly appear to snatch their resources.
Therefore, the Tianhun Grass was something he was determined to acquire.
However, rushing in blindly was also not advisable. The success of his previous act had consumed all his remnant soul. Now, there was no remnant soul left to supply Old Lin and the others.
As for the Little Knife team and the others, Li Zhonglou suddenly had a different perspective.
From the beginning until now, they had never mentioned this matter to him. According to A Wen, the primary reason the mutated boar beasts chose this place as their lair was the existence of the Tianhun Grass. The properties of the Tianhun Grass not only had excellent healing effects on humans and Hei Zi but were also a great tonic for mutated beasts.
The king of a beast pack could even use it to break through to a higher realm!
The Little Knife team's concealment of this point was not just to prevent outsiders like him from coveting it. Perhaps new recruits would think so, but there was definitely a hidden agenda behind it. Before figuring this out, whether they were friends or foes would require further deliberation.
A simple point: if the Tianhun Grass truly had such value, and the Little Knife team did not intend to let Li Zhonglou know, what would be the consequences if he discovered it after following them in?
Murder to silence him! That was the simplest and most direct method!
Another reason why Li Zhonglou was not acting rashly was that his own strength was insufficient. After so many days of recovery, he had only reached the fifth realm. Whether it was the average strength of this Hei Zi team or the top combat power of the Little Knife team, if a fight broke out, he would be caught in the crossfire.
After thinking it over, it seemed only one option remained.
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?"
Li Zhonglou rubbed his chin. While somewhat unethical to a certain extent, it was also the most stable method.
Never mind, he would first gather information!
Li Zhonglou quickly made his decision. The Hei Zi pursuing him had already taken nearly ten minutes. He didn't know when the other Hei Zi had entered, but he assumed the situation inside was close to stabilizing. Any further hesitation might mean he couldn't even play the role of the oriole.
As for the matter of ethics, it was the Little Knife team that had concealed information first. Li Zhonglou did not have too much of a psychological burden about this. After all, the risk was present, and his life was his own. Without considering this, the Little Knife team would forever remain in his uncertain category.
Having made his decision, Li Zhonglou quickly descended and reached the entrance of the cave.
When it came to stealth, Li Zhonglou had absolute confidence. One of the characteristics of Mai Qian was self-control. Even without internal energy, Li Zhonglou was confident he could hide from the eyes of a sixth-realm cultivator without being discovered!
Well, he had already suffered a great loss at the hands of a seventh-realm expert. Even though he hadn't truly experienced the characteristics of the seventh realm, Li Zhonglou considered it a different level.
There was no one guarding the cave entrance, and Li Zhonglou smoothly returned to the first cave.
The space that he had personally dealt with, the first cave, was already empty. However, as soon as he entered, Li Zhonglou heard the fierce fighting sounds coming from behind the steel stone.
In addition to the sounds of explosions, he could also hear the roar of a ferocious beast.
The roar was filled with intense anger!
Had they already started fighting?
If it were just a mutated beast, the fighting sounds wouldn't be like this. There was clearly someone engaged in combat.
Li Zhonglou quietly moved towards a cave opening next to the steel stone. That was an entrance they had specifically left, requiring them only to bend down to pass through, while the size of the mutated boar beasts meant they could never use it.
As he approached, he heard angry shouts from inside.
"Damn it! It really is you Hei Zi causing trouble!"
"Foolish humans, stop struggling. Today, none of you will escape, and the Tianhun Grass will also be ours."
The second voice was clearly filled with smugness. The next moment, the roar of the Little Knife team captain echoed again.
"Despicable Hei Zi, if you have the guts, fight me one on one!"
Li Zhonglou had also moved to the cave entrance by this time, and the situation inside was immediately clear.
The first thing that caught his eye was the ground littered with corpses and severed limbs, all of the mutated boar beasts that had been slaughtered. Further inside, at the end of the original second cave, a new passage had appeared.
The passage was not small, fully capable of accommodating mutated boar beasts. However, the members of the Little Knife team were currently trapped within the passage. On one side were the fierce attacks of the Hei Zi, and on the other side was a golden figure.
A golden-furred mutated beast?
Li Zhonglou was stunned for a moment, then realized that this should be the ultimate boss of this mutated boar beast lair, the rumored mother beast.
The Little Knife team had also not mentioned this to him. It was some basic information he had learned from the boss earlier. In the underground world, for teams, missions involving the mother beast generally offered nearly double the reward compared to other missions, but the danger was also the same.
The reason the boss mentioned this at the time was to remind Li Zhonglou that as a newcomer joining a team, it was best not to seek out missions involving the mother beast. Most teams would find one or two inexperienced newcomers to act as cannon fodder, for example, tasks like luring out the mother beast would be assigned to newcomers.
And at this moment, the Little Knife team in the passage was clearly at the end of their rope. Their strength was already stretched to its limit against any single side. Now, facing enemies on both sides, the outcome was predictable.
In this situation, even if Li Zhonglou wanted to help, he couldn't. All he could do was watch and wait.
On the battlefield, facing the captain's scolding, the leader of the Hei Zi, the middle-aged man from earlier, let out a triumphant laugh.