Chapter 20
The gnarled, desiccated tree in front was sturdy and towering. The swarm of insects was about to overrun them, and Shen Tang twisted her plump body frantically climbing up the tree.
The scene looked ridiculous and laughable, but fortunately, the camp was under attack, and no one spared her a glance.
“Huff huff p>
Shen Tang’s hands transformed into sharp claws, digging into the rough tree trunk, and she huffed and puffed, climbing several meters up, sweating all over.
Luckily, the original host was a Beastman from the Cat Clan, which gave her some talent for tree climbing.
[Go Shen Tang, those mutant spiders are closing in p>
Terrified, Shen Tang glanced back to see a group of watermelon-sized mutant spiders gathering at the base of the tree, wiggling their eight legs as they climbed up.
The swarm was climbing swiftly, almost catching up to her!
The system continued broadcasting the distance in her mind,
[2 meters… 1 meter… 90 centimeters… 80 centimeters… 50 centimeters p>
Scared stiff, Shen Tang’s face turned pale. She shut her eyes, using all her strength, climbing blindly upward, and quickly scurried to the tree’s top.
The system fell silent, not expecting her to be such an agile chunky person.
[Congratulations, the mutant spiders haven’t caught up. This location’s safety index is as high as 78%. You can stay here and wait for the battle below to end p>
Shen Tang slumped onto a thick tree branch. Looking down made her legs almost buckle and she nearly fell off.
How was it this high?
It looked about thirty to forty meters tall. Did she climb up here p>
Shen Tang felt like crying but there were no tears. Now she had acrophobia and was worried how she would get down later.
Oh well, at least it was better than being eaten alive by those bugs.
The higher you stand, the further you see. Shen Tang took in the whole battlefield from her vantage point.
Xiao Jin and the others were almost done wiping out the zombies on the perimeter, and many Beastmen were running back to camp to clear out the insect swarm.
The ambush cost a small part of their forces, remaining Beastmen clustered around the females, protecting them.
Shen Tang noticed An Ya was also present. She hadn’t paid attention to her earlier, guessing she had been in another armored vehicle.
Shen Tang recalled this female’s fondness for Lu Xiao and her aversion to Shen Tang for having occupied Lu Xiao. Speaking of him, she hadn’t seen Lu Xiao in days.
Xiao Jin and Lu Xiao had both led a team on a mission, and now Xiao Jin was back, but there was no word from Lu Xiao and his team. Could something have happened?
After the battle, she needed to find a chance to ask Xiao Jin.
In her deep thoughts, Shen Tang didn’t notice the impending danger behind her.
A mutant snake, drawn by the scent of a living being, was slithering silently up the tree trunk. Its color matched the trunk’s, making it hard to spot p>
Upon reaching striking distance, the mutant snake opened its gaping mouth, launching at Shen Tang like an arrow released from a bow.
But the next second, a larger, more menacing white snake appeared, swallowing the mutant snake in one bite!
Hearing the commotion, Shen Tang turned to see the white snake behind her and let out a scream, almost falling off the tree.
She didn’t know much about snakes, but with a head like that, wasn’t it a cobra? And they were highly venomous!
Xue Yinzhou noticed the fear in the female’s eyes, a hint of sarcasm flashed in the serpent’s pupils, truly foolish, couldn’t even tell if something was a Beastman.
Shen Tang noticed the disdain in the white snake’s human-like expression, and since it showed no aggression, she realized it might be a Beastman?
[This is your Snake Husband, Xue Yinzhou,] the system reminded her.
Shen Tang let out a breath of relief, patting her chest and smiling at the white snake, “So it’s you, you scared me! I thought it was a wild beast p>
As she spoke, she also noticed the white snake was still holding a half-eaten length of snake tail in its mouth.
It reminded her of something she’d seen in documentaries: King cobras eat snakes.
[A mutant snake tried to attack you earlier, and it was Xue Yinzhou who ate it. Without his timely arrival, you might have been toast p>
Shen Tang quickly said, “Thank you for saving me p>
Xue Yinzhou’s gaze fell upon Shen Tang. Her body curled in fear, full of jiggling fat, making her even more repulsively unattractive.
Silvery-purple snake eyes glinted with cold disdain, his voice was indifferent and deep, “Don’t flatter yourself, I wasn’t saving you p>
With that, the white snake slithered down the trunk and vanished into the night.
Shen Tang pursed her lips. To be frank, Xiao Jin’s dislike ranked the highest, but the one she feared most was Xue Yinzhou.
Xue Yinzhou’s attitude towards the original host was extremely unclear, making it hard to figure out what he wanted. He barely showed his face, and even the original host only saw him a few times, making him quite a challenge to win over.
But… what did he mean by that?
Shen Tang recalled he ate a mutant snake and, only realizing now, pollutants were supposed to be highly toxic, harming a Beastman’s body, yet he consumed it?
“System, is Xue Yinzhou’s special ability purification p>
[No, purification is a very rare special talent. Even if one commits a grave crime, Beastmen with purification abilities are pardoned and not exiled to polluted lands.] the system explained, [Xue Yinzhou’s talent is more bizarrely powerful, it’s devouring. He can consume anything in the world and transform it into his own strength, with polluted creatures also part of his menu p>
Apparently, Xue Yinzhou wasn’t saving her, he just helped inadvertently.
“System, keep an eye out for me. If any danger appears, make sure to notify me immediately p>
[Certainly, host, but Xue Yinzhou just went down to eat all the pollutants around, so the current safety probability is 99 p>
Shen Tang nodded and continued watching the battlefield unfolding below. The zombies were completely eliminated, leaving only the troublesome swarm of mutant insects.
The insects weren’t very powerful, but they multiplied rapidly and could lay eggs in Beastmen’s bodies, making them very difficult to guard against.
After killing one spider, the bursting yellow fluid in its belly contained eggs. Once the eggs touched air, they could hatch in just three minutes… no matter how many you kill, they keep coming.
Shen Tang recalled the system’s reward of a bottle of insecticide.
“The bugs you mentioned, could they be these ones p>
[Indeed, the system-produced high efficiency insecticide can eliminate over 96% of post-apocalyptic mutant insect species. Please use it carefully, host p>
Shen Tang was tempted but quickly set the idea aside, her eyes flickering with contemplation.
People’s nature is selfish; these Beastmen were strangers to her, mostly vile individuals. And now she only had this one bottle of insecticide, best kept as a trump card for self-preservation. There was no need to use it now and risk unwanted trouble.
On the battlefield, Xiao Jin was nowhere to be seen, Shen Li and others were still engaged in a fierce struggle.
Shen Tang felt torn about whether to use the insecticide; her mission was to win over the male lead, and he certainly couldn’t die, right?
Suddenly, she widened her eyes in shock, a look of pure amazement flashing through her gaze.
A fiery red massive figure appeared on the battlefield, clearing the fog and breaking through the night.
Shen Li transformed into his true form, a beautiful Red Fox with a body like swirling flames, its limbs long and agile, bushy and elegant fox tail exuding an aura of mystery and nobility, starkly out of place with everything around.
All Beastmen and females present stared in awe, forgetting to move their hands.
Shen Li had never manifested his beast form before; he always stayed human on the battlefield. It was the first time everyone witnessed his true form!
So beautiful!