Dongmei gave Wuxing one last deep kiss, just in case anything went wrong, and took off her backpack, passing it to him. All three of them walked towards Ethernum Crystal block, both Wuxing and Dongmei acting cautious. Only Scarlet was calm as she didn't know how dangerous those crystals were.
'How is the situation? Any dangers nearby?' Wuxing asked in his mind worried, scanning his surroundings. They were taking a lot of risks but knowing it will help Dongmei, he decided to agree.
'Not right now. There was one person passing by on the edge of my range but he already left, heading in the direction of the base. No mutated animals in the area as well. Only some harmless ones,' Devil Face reported. 'I noticed that it hasn't been long since this island transformed. Most animals are still in their early phase, having their predatory instincts intensified.
They should adapt with time and become much smarter.'
Even though there were none at the current moment, it didn't mean there would be none for the whole hour. He had to stay alert the whole time.
"Let's find a hideout before you eat it," Wuxing decided. "That block of crystals is like candy for all animals. They will come here sooner or later so it's better to move."
"I was thinking the same," Dongmei agreed and pulled out a knife to get a piece of crystal for herself. "I need a piece bit smaller than an egg."
The crystals were fragile so Dongmei only needed to stab it twice at the same spot for a small chunk to break off. She chipped the purple crystal until it had a desired size and kept it in her pocket.
"Let's go."
They walked in the direction of the base for a few minutes until they found a relatively hidden place behind a fallen tree. There were no caves in the area so they had to improvise.
Dongmei pulled out her crystal and informed, "Layla says I can't be disturbed else the evolution will fail."
Wuxing kissed her once again and assured, "Don't worry. I will take care of you. Just focus on your evolution."
She nodded with a loving gaze and sat down while leaning against the tree before placing the crystal in her mouth.
———
"It has been thirty minutes… Is Dongmei okay...?" Scarlet asked in a whisper, seeing that nothing changed in Dongmei this whole time. She had her eyes closed and sat without any movement. As the two didn't want to disturb her, they stayed silent most of the time,
"She is fine. She still needs half an hour so let's give her time," Wuxing whispered back, knowing Scarlet was already bored.
He took out one of the chocolates and gave her half to keep her busy. She naturally wouldn't reject one and happily munched on the chocolate. Unfortunately, the peace didn't last long.
'Two people chasing each other, running straight in your direction. Watch out,' Devil Face warned, snapping Wuxing back to focus.
"Get up, someone is coming," Wuxing alarmed Scarlet as he quickly stood up while lifting Scarlet up and gave her a knife. "Stay near Dongmei and protect her."
The orders were clear so she instinctively walked up to Dongmei and raised her knife up while holding it in two hands. Scarlet looked like she wanted to ask questions yet Wuxing had no time, pulling out two of the other knives he had.
He looked in the direction of the approaching enemies and waited.
'Something seems wrong.' Devil face suddenly realized. 'The escaping guy is coming straight at us without losing track. It can't be a coincidence. He had better escape route yet he chose to escape into the bushes just to get to us. He must be another Ability User and he knows our location.'
'Damn, I knew there would be many ability users joining the selection yet I did not think we would meet one so fast,' Wuxing cursed to himself and prepared to fight, knowing he couldn't run away.
Fair enough, in the next two minutes, they saw an individual running towards them with a smile. The young man of short brown hair had no weapon in his hand and he was holding onto his arm, seemingly injured. Wuxing exchanged gaze with him and ten meters away from them, the man suddenly turned to a different path, calling out to Wuxing, "Good luck!"
Right behind him, a buffed two meter tall man with bald head was running but stopped when he saw Wuxing with two beauties behind him. The desire in Wuxing to kill him increased when his gaze fell on both girls and he licked his lips.
"Hahaha," The bald man gigged maniacally as he called out to Wuxing, "Well, well, well. Who do we have here. I guess I found a better target." His dagger was dripping with blood as if he killed many just a moment ago.
"Don't worry, I will make your death quick. I don't have time for scum," Wuxing said coldly, already knowing who he had to deal with. It was a person who enjoyed killing.
He prepared his position and waited, staring at the bald man. The more he stalled, the better for him. Unfortunately, he didn't stopped having that luxury in no time.
"Dongmei doesn't seem okay. Her forehead is hot," Scarlet muttered worriedly, seeing Dongmei's face turned redder.
"Watch over her, I will handle this guy," Wuxing replied without turning back. Scarlet trusted him each to look away from the battle and care for Dongmei instead.
The bald man heard him and commented sarcastically as he walking up to Wuxing, "Your girl seems to be ill. Don't worry, when I'm don't with you I will take good care of her. I like when they can't scream."
When he was only a few meters away, he dashed forward, attacking without hesitation. He had a knife disadvantage but that didn't discourage him. Just as Wuxing thought the man would for sure die in the first counter, he saw the bald man flick his free wrist and a small shuriken flew out, heading straight towards the ladies.
Wuxing reacted instinctively and blocked it with his arm but that left an opening in his defense.
Aghh!
Both his hands were stabbed at the same time, one by the shuriken and the other by the knife, forcing him to let go of both his weapons. He jumped back right away, his hands dripping with blood and the bold man laughed.
"Haha, sometimes women can bring your doom! I knew you will defend them!"
Wuxing was already in the process of stopping his bleeding as the man trash talked. With weapons or not, Wuxing was bound to win. The only difference was the amount of pain he had to go through.
Noticing that Wuxing stayed silent, he seemed to lose interest in the and straight up attacked, aiming at Wuxing's head. Both his hands were injured and he could be considered an easy kill.
Too bad, Wuxing wasn't afraid of pain.
He lifted his hand to block and the knife went right past his palm, getting stuck inside it.
Wuxing grunted yet he didn't stop there, ripping the knife away from the surprised man before slashing with the knife across the man's eyes.
"Ahhh!" the bold man screamed as he stepped back while trying to cover his eyes but his cry was short-lived when Wuxing pounced again, using both hands to repeatedly stab the man's chest. He didn't stop until he was laying on the ground, dead.
Wuxing lost a lot of blood yet he still dragged himself towards the ladies and kneeled next to Scarlet with his hands behind his back. As he slowly pulled the knife out, he asked concerned.
"How is she?"