"Team... Captain!" The dark figure suddenly spoke, startling Ji Yueyao. She leaped back warily, blinked, lowered her center of gravity, and assumed a defensive stance. "Zhu Mu... What are you doing here?!"
That's right, the person lying in a sorry state in front of a tree trunk is Zhu Mu. He reached out his hand, then realized that his buttocks were caught on thorns behind him again, and he rolled around like a turtle for a long time without being able to get up.
Ji Yueyao frowned, squinted, stepped forward, grabbed his hand, and pulled him up.
"What are you doing here? Are you a superhuman?" Ji Yueyao squinted at Zhu Mu, who was smiling sheepishly in front of her, and asked coldly.
Zhu Mu scratched his head, and when he saw Ji Yueyao's sharp gaze, he felt a stiffness at the corner of his mouth. He chuckled awkwardly and said, "It's definitely not feasible for the captain to come to the Forbidden Forest alone... Having me here will also be a good look-in."
He did not answer Ji Yueyao's second question because he felt that the answer was no longer necessary.
Ji Yueyao raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying, "You're a superhuman, why did you keep it from us?"
If Zhu Mu were to be identified as a superhuman, all of Ji Yueyao's doubts would be resolved. Why would Zhu Mu possess five senses comparable to those of a termite? Why would Zhu Mu appear so thin yet be surprisingly strong? ...So Zhu Mu is a superhuman.
Takeki's smile froze again. He scratched his head, looking somewhat conflicted, and said, "Captain... I'm afraid that if I had revealed that I'm a superhuman from the beginning, I wouldn't have been able to come with you alive... because superhumans are too much of a threat. I might have been killed right there."
"..." Ji Yueyao rolled her eyes, turned around and ran forward quickly, "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you if you expose your superpower now?"
Just as Zhu Mu was about to answer, he saw Ji Yueyao run off without looking back, so he quickly chased after her. Fortunately, Ji Yueyao didn't seem to be trying to shake him off, so she let him follow closely behind.
"I have no choice but to do this, Captain. If I hadn't revealed my abilities, the termites wouldn't have let me come at all!" Zhu Mu followed behind in anguish, afraid that Ji Yueyao wouldn't hear him if he spoke softly, but also afraid that speaking loudly would attract other creatures. He was torn between these conflicting emotions.
"I reckon you've already made the termites feel threatened." Ji Yueyao stopped in her tracks, stood still, and pulled out a dagger, pointing it directly at Zhu Mu's neck as he caught up. Zhu Mu quickly stopped, the coldness on his neck making him almost breathe cautiously.
"team leader?"
“It was indeed dangerous for me to be alone in the Forbidden Forest, but you definitely wouldn’t have come out alive alone either.” Ji Yueyao thrust her dagger forward, pressing it into Zhu Mu’s neck, leaving a deep indentation. Her gaze was sharp and cold as ice. Seeing Zhu Mu gritting his teeth and refusing to back down, she withdrew her hand. She crouched down, focusing her gaze on the ground, seemingly searching for something. “When you get back this time, the termites will probably tell me they’re going to isolate you.”
Upon hearing this, Zhu Mu was stunned for a moment, then his face fell. He sighed, "Captain, you have to plead for me."
"We'll see how I feel then." Ji Yueyao shrugged, leaving Zhu Mu with a faint silhouette.
"It depends on my mood?!" Zhu Mu followed behind Ji Yueyao with a furrowed brow, his complicated expression undisguised. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Captain, do you... trust me?"
"I don't believe you." Ji Yueyao spoke decisively, shattering Zhu Mu's fragile heart.
He sobbed silently, trying to piece his broken heart back together, "Then why did you still let me follow you, Captain?"
"Do you think you'll just stop following me if I tell you not to?" Ji Yueyao stood up impatiently, flicking the dirt off her hands, and glanced at Zhu Mu. "If you want to hurt me... do you think I'll give you that chance?"
Zhu Mu was taken aback, then saw Ji Yueyao turn around and start searching for something on the ground again. She was actually facing away from him; wasn't she afraid he might really be an enemy?
At such close range, if he wanted to attack, he could definitely hurt her.
Could this be considered a form of trust in disguise? Zhu Mu's eyebrows furrowed into a tangled mess. He shook his head, but a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.
The captain is always saying one thing and meaning another.
"Watch out!" Just as Zhu Mu was lost in thought, Ji Yueyao suddenly turned around and shouted, then grabbed Zhu Mu and pulled him to the side.
Bamboo stumbled, and when he turned around, he saw a dense swarm of ants crawling behind him!
To be precise, they should be classified as low-level man-eating ant-like birds. These birds are mostly gregarious, about ten times the size of an ordinary ant. Not only are they not very large, but their exoskeletons are also extremely soft and fragile, feeling more like the skin of a caterpillar than an ant's. Their movement speed is not very slow, but it is indeed slower than that of ordinary birds. Therefore, if prey spots them, they have a very difficult time hunting successfully, which is why they are classified as low-level birds, as their attack speed is a major weakness.
However, their eating speed is definitely faster than that of ordinary alien species, which means that once caught by these man-eating ant-like alien birds, there is basically no hope of survival.
They don't just eat meat; sometimes plants are also excellent food for them.
However, these man-eating ant-like birds have an extremely high reproductive rate; without natural predators, they can reproduce to tens of thousands in just a few hours. Furthermore, they possess extremely powerful teeth; if bitten, a large chunk of flesh can be torn off in less than a second.
Because of their extremely soft bodies, they make almost no sound when they move. Even superhumans have difficulty detecting them, so he barely noticed these strange birds behind the bamboo tree.
"Damn, that was close." Zhu Mu took a half step back, feeling a chill run down his spine. These man-eating ant-like birds were falling from the branches above his head. If Ji Yueyao hadn't pulled him away, he probably would have been bitten by these man-eating ants by now... and being bitten wouldn't just result in a couple of welts; it would tear off a large chunk of flesh.
Fortunately, the man-eating ant-like alien birds were relatively slow-moving, and were only slowly approaching from all directions. However… when Zhu Mu looked up at the dense, white mass around him, a chill still ran down his spine.
"Be careful, more and more man-eating ant-like alien birds are approaching us from all directions. We're surrounded..." Ji Yueyao glanced at the still-shaken bamboo and wood, squatted down, touched the ground, and continued searching for gaps that the umbrella-type alien plants had overlooked. It should be around here...
"Ah?" Zhu Mu exclaimed in horror, "What are we going to do?!"
Ji Yueyao rolled her eyes at him. She had finally found a spot with loosely packed umbrella-shaped exotic plants. She stood up, stretched, and said casually, "Found it. Let's get ready to go." (To be continued.)
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