Chapter 407: Chapter 407

The timeline returns to before Qian Qi and Xu Jinghong left the team.

When Qian Qi and Xu Jinghong sneakily left, preparing to tackle the instance boss, Xi Pingzhe, who had been secretly observing their movements, hesitated only briefly before also sneaking after them.

His Contracted Beast was a Magma Hunting Dog, which could follow the tracks left by the Silver Wolf along the way to stealthily track Qian Qi and Xu Jinghong. However, even though Qian Qi was able to avoid the paths where A-level and B-level Magical Beasts roamed, thanks to the system’s guidance, it didn’t mean that Xi Pingzhe, who followed them with a time and distance lag, could perfectly avoid the appearance of Magical Beasts.

Sure enough, within a few minutes of following, Xi Pingzhe had the extremely bad luck of being ambushed by a dozen or so Magical Beasts.

A battle was inevitable, and just as he thought he and his dog were doomed, a burst of bullets whizzed past his ear, swiftly cutting down all the Magical Beasts surrounding him like a hot knife through butter.

There was no doubt in Xi Pingzhe’s mind who had come to his aid.

He immediately wiped away his tears of gratitude, hugging Sheng Qing’s leg miserably as she arrived, his cowlick on top of his head reaching towards Sheng Qing like Adam’s hand reaching out to God in the "Genesis" painting, full of longing, "Sister Sheng Qing! Thank goodness you saved my dog’s life! Wuwuwu!"

Sheng Qing raised her arm to grasp his cowlick, pulling him from her leg to stand in front of her, "Keep a safe distance."

Being too close to an idiot can be contagious.

"Sister Sheng Qing," Xi Pingzhe patted his cowlick and started to persuade Sheng Qing seriously, "Master left with a burden, I’m worried! Why didn’t she take me? After all, I’m a C-level Beast Master, isn’t my Magma Hunting Dog stronger than Xu Jinghong’s?"

Sheng Qing gave him a cold glance with her beautiful eyes, "Your Magma Hunting Dog is stronger than Xu, but what does that have to do with you being stronger than Xu?"

The implication was that the A-level instance was fraught with danger, and the Magma Hunting Dog was useless here. If an unexpected event led to the death of the Contracted Beast, Xi Pingzhe, who only had D-level Derived Skills, would be an even bigger burden than the burden Xu Jinghong, who possessed C-level skills.

"Besides..." The long-haired, aloof girl added nonchalantly, "Your cooking isn’t as good as Xu’s. If you can’t win over a woman’s stomach, naturally you’ll become a backup option."

Being a bigger burden than Xu Jinghong, damage +10.

Not cooking as well as Xu Jinghong, damage +100.

Becoming Xu Jinghong’s backup option, damage +100000000000.

Xi Pingzhe suddenly knelt on the ground, and at that moment, something that he had never understood began to clearly unravel, "So... if both levels are about the same, it’s not just about competing in strength, but in other aspects as well!"

And Xu Jinghong had won because of cooking skills?!

Once out of the instance, he would learn to cook!

"Let’s go." Sheng Qing walked beside the Magma Hunting Dog. Because Xi Pingzhe was close to Sheng Qing, the Magma Hunting Dog wasn’t averse to Sheng Qing’s approach, but Sheng Qing eyed its coarse beast skin and beast armor with slight disdain, her expressionless face revealing her slight displeasure.

She liked things that were fluffy.

The Magma Hunting Dog, at a glance, seemed uncomfortable.

"Where to?" Xi Pingzhe was still savoring the "Path of the Strong," thinking that Sheng Qing was about to take him back.

"Qi Qi." Sheng Qing’s words were concise.

Since they entered the instance, they were teammates. Sheng Qing, having been taught by Dean Fan since she was a child, could not abandon any teammate who still might live. Since Qian Qi left on her own, Sheng Qing, whether as a friend or a teammate, could not allow her to travel alone.

So, she would certainly take Xi Pingzhe to chase after Qian Qi.

What? You ask about Xu Jinghong?

Seeing that Sheng Qing was willing to travel together, Xi Pingzhe immediately beamed with joy, hurriedly leading the Magma Hunting Dog to crouch down as he and Sheng Qing carefully followed Qian Qi and Xu Jinghong, passing through the Northern Valley Area and moving on to the Northwest Lava Zone.

Afterwards, due to the increasing heat and not having Anti-Heat Magic Potion, Sheng Qing and Xi Pingzhe had to stop, finding the highest peak, disguising themselves safely, and continuously observing the direction in which Qian Qi disappeared.

Xi Pingzhe mused that since Qian Qi and Xu Jinghong had left Moyu in the Northern Valley, they would definitely return to the Northern Valley. In that case, waiting here wouldn’t be futile.

Yet, he felt something was wrong, a sense of crisis lingered in his mind, making his scalp tingle.

Xi Pingzhe had experienced many instances and joined various teams, having some special abilities to have survived thus far, especially his sharp perception of danger.

This perception wasn’t merely sensory; it came with certain characteristics: if he only sensed a mortal danger without physical anomalies, he usually averted danger, like when Qian Qi saved him from a drop before, or just now when Sheng Qing saved him.

But if it involved sudden goosebumps, a tingling scalp, and tremors...

Sheng Qing was tying some newly made grass skin disguise, just about to make one for Xi Pingzhe too, when she glanced out of the corner of her eye and her gaze suddenly fixed on Xi Pingzhe’s head.

The originally lively and obedient cowlick was now all over the place, like an imp thrown into a hot oil pan, desperately trying to escape in all directions.

"Xi, your cowlick..." Sheng Qing carefully examined it and confirmed, "It’s split."

Take care of it well!

Unexpectedly, Xi Pingzhe was horrified: !!!

"What—" Xi Pingzhe let out a sharp shriek!

His cowlick had split?!

No, this was a big disaster! A huge disaster was coming!!!

"We’re in danger!" Xi Pingzhe trembled, "Big danger!"

Was an A-level Magical Beast watching them?! Where was it?! Could he and Sheng Qing handle it?!

Xi Pingzhe’s fear didn’t seem feigned, and Sheng Qing’s expression instantly turned serious as she set up her sniper rifle to scout the surroundings.

But after a few minutes of observation, she found nothing that could significantly threaten their lives except for some low-level Magical Beasts.

"It’s quite safe here." Sheng Qing confirmed.

"No...not yet..." Xi Pingzhe squatted down, hugging his head, feeling the goosebumps rise on his skin bit by bit, "It’s too strange. This feeling is like telling me that wherever I escape to, I’ll encounter a massive crisis."

"Danger, coming from all directions."

What kind of danger could be so terrifying and unavoidable?

Could it be... a crisis from a swarm of reptilian Mages?

Sheng Qing verified the surroundings again, but still found nothing. Compared to Xi Pingzhe, who relied on intuition, Sheng Qing clearly preferred to speak with facts, so she didn’t pay more attention to Xi Pingzhe’s condition and continued to work on their disguises.

Xi Pingzhe suddenly calmed down, as if foreseeing that there was no escape in a minute, he dug a small pit on the mountaintop and buried his small notebook inside.

"Master, your autobiography can only be written up to here." He clasped his hands together in prayer, "I hope someone fateful finds it and continues my will for it. I’ve been very happy being your disciple these past few days."

Just as Xi Pingzhe finished burying it, a rumbling shook the ground, and Sheng Qing immediately pointed her sniper rifle at the source of the noise, only to be shocked when she found a large group of Molten Rock Demons charging in their direction.

No, that wasn’t right...

With a slight adjustment of the aiming lens, she was astonished to find the Magical Beast Tide was coming from all directions, heading toward...

the direction in which Qian Qi and Xu Jinghong had left!

These Magical Beasts seemed attracted to something, and there were even many Flying Magical Beasts passing by without giving Sheng Qing and Xi, hidden on the mountaintop with grass camouflage, a second glance, heading continuously northwest instead.

After the Magical Beast Tide passed, Sheng Qing and Xi Pingzhe on the high mountain remained unharmed.

She turned to Xi Pingzhe and said, "We’re fine."

Although the Magical Beast Tide came from all directions, neither she nor Xi Pingzhe were affected.

Xi Pingzhe shook his head, the cowlick on his head still seeming to scream in agony, "No, no, strange... the crisis hasn’t been resolved, and it feels... even stronger."

Just as he finished speaking, a "boom" echoed, a force seemingly capable of shattering the sky left them aghast, and Sheng Qing and Xi Pingzhe jerked their heads up to see a massive black peak in the distance suddenly spew forth a magma tsunami toward the sky!

Following that tsunami, a flow poured down from the mountain’s center, crashing toward all directions!

Xi Pingzhe: ... Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn NovєlFіre.net

So the crisis wasn’t coming from all directions but was heading in all directions!