Chapter 126: Greed

"Is that so?" Gao Lianhu scratched his head.

"It was that vehicle that passed us while we were busy driving away the avian swarm earlier!" said the handsome young man with sharp, starry eyes and sword-like brows, his voice deep and resonant.

"Right, that heavily armored, modified vehicle!" Fang Lin exclaimed in surprise. "Whoever is driving that must have parked here for the same reason as us—heading into Exclusion Zone No. 9!"

"Damn!"

"Is that for real?"

"Isn't that a bit too coincidental?"

"..."

The group chimed in, some stunned, others bewildered, their reactions varying.

"Well, I don't think it's a big deal, is it?" a girl with a ponytail analyzed. "Exclusion Zone No. 9 is massive. The chances of us running into them once we're inside are extremely slim."

"Dandan is right. Everyone, don't make a scene. Let's get off the vehicle and prepare to assemble the motorboat," said a capable-looking girl with short hair as she opened the door and jumped out.

"Right, right, the motorboat comes first." Gao Lianhu followed closely behind.

The others also stepped out of the vehicle, unloading the necessary equipment to assemble the makeshift motorboat. To navigate the marshes, a boat was indispensable. The craft prepared by Fang Lin and his team was a hybrid, part inflatable and part mechanical. Once in the water, they would use oars rather than the engine to avoid alerting the aquatic life and drawing them out with the noise. Silence was the foundation of their upcoming operation.

In addition to the boat, the group was well-prepared with specialized supplies: medicinal powders to repel water-dwelling creatures, tinctures to mask their scent, and masks to protect against toxic fumes.

Once the motorboat was assembled, they hoisted it onto their shoulders and began walking toward the edge of Exclusion Zone No. 9.

"Speaking of which, how did the people in that armored truck assemble their boat so fast? We arrived just after them, and they were already gone," Fang Lin wondered aloud as they walked.

"Who knows? Maybe they don't even need a motorboat," Zhou Hailong chuckled.

"How is that possible? If they don't use a boat, are they going to fly?" Gao Lianhu laughed as well. "Aside from the miasma, Exclusion Zone No. 9 is crawling with venomous creatures everywhere. The water is the only place that's remotely safe."

"Heh, maybe they really are flying!" Fang Lin grinned.

The handsome young man with sharp eyes remained silent until they reached the edge of the zone. He suddenly stopped, turned to the group, and declared, "Everyone, pay attention. Per our agreement, I am in command once we enter the zone. If anyone has concerns, speak now. Once we cross that line, no changes will be permitted. Does anyone have any questions?"

"No!"

"Good. Let's go!"

...

Whoosh!

Swish!

High above the marshes, a figure drifted as gracefully as a fairy, riding the wind like a falling leaf, circling the heavens. The gray, hazy miasma not only failed to impede him but served as a source of leverage, parting automatically as he strolled through the air.

The miasma was a toxic gas generated by the decay of forest flora and fauna. To others, Exclusion Zone No. 9 was a death trap, a place to be avoided at all costs. But in Tang Mubai’s eyes, this miasma was no different from ordinary mist—he could disperse it or gather it at will. Under the influence of his "Toxin Control" divine ability, all miasma within a ten-meter radius of him was under his command.

Tang Mubai utilized the "Sky-Dancing Arts," stepping lightly onto the treetops at the edge of the marsh, gliding with the ease of a giant bird. With his sixth sense pushed to its limit, he followed the vague direction toward the convergence point of the yin energy.

As he passed over a stretch of mudflats—

Swish!

A flat, circular, crimson tongue, thirty or forty meters long, suddenly shot out from the mud, slicing through the air in an attempt to snare Tang Mubai’s feet.

"Cloud-Rolling Palm!"

In a flash, Tang Mubai adjusted his stance, leaping higher while thrusting both palms downward.

"Bang!" "Boom!"

A dull explosion thundered in mid-air. The crimson tongue retracted into the mud with lightning speed, vanishing instantly. Tang Mubai’s palm strike slammed into the mudflats, blasting a massive cloud of earth and sludge into the sky. A foul stench, heavy with a mixture of rot, immediately permeated the air.

Swish! Swish!

Tang Mubai shifted his position, quickly retreating. Using the "Sky-Dancing Arts," he stepped through the void and headed straight for the forest. Just as he was about to leave the mudflats—

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

Four more crimson tongues erupted from the stinking mud, surrounding him from all sides. Like a closing fishing net, they moved to entrap him.

"Won't you give up!"

Tang Mubai let out a cold shout. As he maneuvered to stay airborne, he drew his Flame Bone Saber. Then, letting himself drop freely, he swung the blade in a full circle around his body.

Slash!

A scorching, fiery blade aura traced a perfect circle around him. The four encircling crimson tongues were severed instantly, writhing in agony.

"Croak—!"

A pained frog-like cry echoed out. The calm mudflats erupted with a "boom," heaving upward like an exploding shell, sending countless tons of mud and sludge flying.

Amidst the rain of mud, a toad the size of a tank, standing five or six meters tall, lunged into the sky. Its body was half-covered in slime, its dark-brown skin covered in tiny, fleshy nodules. In its gaping maw, the four half-severed crimson tongues dangled and twitched. Its emerald eyes burned with a mixture of madness and murderous intent. As its massive frame plummeted back toward the mud, it spat a glob of ink-green liquid at the airborne Tang Mubai.

"Whoosh-boom!"

Tang Mubai didn't dodge. He swung the Flame Bone Saber downward in a fierce cleaving motion. The searing blade aura first incinerated the ink-green liquid into ash, then continued its path, splitting the toad’s head in two. Blood and viscera spilled out, splashing into the mud and staining the flats crimson.

The thick scent of blood overwhelmed the foul stench in the air.

[Vitality +258]

A recovery notification flickered in his mind. Tang Mubai looked with mild surprise at the carcass of the emerald-eyed toad, its split body still twitching in the mire.

"This emerald-eyed toad... it was actually at the commander level?"

For non-human life forms, a vitality level exceeding two hundred generally signified a commander-level threat. Such beings possessed far greater lethality and destructive power than elite-level creatures, often armed with their own survival trump cards—like the Blood Shield of an Orc. This toad hadn't even had the chance to reveal its own. If it had been conscious, it probably would have wept.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak~"

A sharp, piercing sound arose. At the edge of the mudflats, a swarm of pitch-black shadows, each the size of a cat, suddenly appeared. They moved with incredible speed, covering the mudflats like a dense, black tide. Within ten seconds, they had swarmed over the toad’s carcass. Another ten seconds passed, and they moved on, leaving behind nothing but a stark white skeleton of the emerald-eyed toad, lying silently under the dome of the sky.

Before the swarm dispersed, they suddenly paused, looking upward.

The next moment, thousands of bloodthirsty, greedy eyes were locked directly onto Tang Mubai.