Ruan Mingchu was taken aback for a moment, then broke into a bright smile, "Thank you."
Ruan Mingchu gave a gift as a token of his good wishes and a return gift of flowers.
After visiting the jewelry store again, Ruan Mingchu finally embarked on his journey to Deep Green Star.
It took him nearly seven days to travel back and forth, but when he returned to Deep Green Star, he found that the group had made almost no progress.
They even lingered at the spot where they were fighting the mutated rats.
The forest was damp and shady, and the mutated rat carcasses were not properly disposed of initially. By the time they rotted and smelled, it was too late to bury them.
As soon as Nguyen Minh Thu approached this place, a nauseating stench of decay followed him everywhere.
The atmosphere was oppressive. The young people all frowned, their faces gloomy, like powder kegs about to explode, as if they would burst at the slightest provocation.
Ruan Mingchu quietly walked behind Mu Yu, who was leaning against a tree trunk, gently placed his hand on Mu Yu's shoulder, and moved his fingers.
Mu Yu grabbed Ruan Mingchu's wrist, turned around and buried his head in the crook of Ruan Mingchu's neck, taking a deep breath.
It was as if his breath was a healing elixir, and taking a single breath would restore one's full health.
After using it, he threw it away. Mu Yu took a step back and pushed Ruan Mingchu away.
Ruan Mingchu looked at Mu Yu in surprise, her eyes full of accusation.
Mu Yu rolled his eyes: "Trying to scare me?"
Ruan Mingchu smiled innocently: "No way—"
Under Mu Yu's gaze, he quickly changed his tune: "It's not that I wasn't scared."
Mu Yu snorted smugly: "If you want to scare people, at least tone down your pheromones first. They're making my nose almost go numb."
Ruan Mingchu exclaimed, "Good heavens! Who was that snuggling in my arms and sucking just now?"
Mu Yu looked at the sky and the earth; if he didn't admit it, then he wasn't him.
Ruan Mingchu slowly smiled and opened her arms: "I want a hug."
Mu Yu, with an expression of "Why are you so clingy? I really can't do anything with you," reluctantly hugged Ruan Mingchu.
Ruan Mingchu gently yet firmly pulled Mu Yu into her arms, her gaze naturally falling on the glands at the back of Mu Yu's neck.
The pink glands are so delicate and luscious, as if they are exuding a sweet fragrance, tempting one to pick them.
Ruan Mingchu's eyes gradually turned red, and his canine teeth twitched restlessly, taking another bite. It was as if a demonic voice was bewitching Ruan Mingchu from the depths of his heart.
He lowered his head and gently kissed it, his lips touching the gland in a warm and friendly greeting.
"Is that alright?" Ruan Mingchu asked.
Mu Yu: "Bite if you want, why are you asking me?"
Ruan Mingchu chuckled, a faint thumping sound emanating from his chest and reaching Mu Yu.
He rubbed the gland with his thumb, feeling Mu Yu's stiff yet submissive body. "What if I want to do something excessive? Will you do whatever I want?"
Ruan Mingchu seemed to be asking casually, but he was actually extremely nervous inside. He couldn't imagine what would happen if Mu Yu didn't accept him.
"Mmm." Mu Yu hugged Ruan Mingchu's arm tighter, whether out of shyness or urging, it was hard to tell.
Ruan Mingchu didn't waste any more words. He lowered his head, took the gland into his mouth, and gently licked it. When Mu Yu relaxed, he suddenly bit down.
Pheromones are like a dammed mountain river that has suddenly been opened, surging out and recklessly conquering another person's body.
Mu Yu let out a muffled groan, clearly trying to hold it in, but a hint of it still slipped out unintentionally.
Just one temporary marking left Mu Yu breathless. Mu Yu supported Ruan Mingchu, and occasionally, a thought flashed through his blank mind: what would it be like to be marked for life?
He was carried and placed on a tree branch, or more precisely, in Ruan Mingchu's arms. Mu Yu tried to push him away a couple of times but couldn't, so he unceremoniously used Ruan Mingchu as a cushion.
After Mu Yu had rested, he began to tell Ruan Mingchu about what had happened in the past few days.
Ruan Xingyi reported the relevant information to Ruan Mingchu every day, but Ruan Mingchu still wanted to hear Mu Yu tell him.
Although Mu Yu's expression was calm, there was a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"There was almost another brawl, but it didn't happen because a mutated rat stirred things up. Otherwise, it definitely would have broken out. The resources you arranged have all reached what they consider to be the normal state."
That brawl was about the allocation of resources.
"After that, they lost interest in causing trouble. They walked for a week but still couldn't get out. They kept going in circles. Almost everyone who thought they could lead the way once, but they still couldn't get out of here."
Mu Yu was somewhat gloating, showing no sense of teamwork whatsoever; he deserved to fail to get out.
They can't get out because the terrain here is chaotic, interfering with the use of skills. In fact, if more than a hundred people unite, the power of their skills can break through the constraints of the chaotic terrain and provide them with the correct guidance.
Mu Yu scoffed, "It's not that no one has thought about joining forces. Either they have no tacit understanding at all, and their strengths are mutually exclusive, so they can't even exert the power of one side, let alone join forces. Or it's because they don't have enough people and their strength is insufficient."
Ultimately, the Alphas believe that Omega and Beta are a hindrance and have never considered joining forces with them; no Alpha would want to do something so degrading.
Ruan Mingchu didn't want to delve into their psychology. In his plan, he should have at least made it to Crocodile Mouth Bend by now, but he didn't expect to be still going around in circles at the starting point.
I can't say whether I'm disappointed or not, I'm just a little heartbroken.
"Is there no one who is free from gender bias?"
Mu Yu exclaimed "Ah," "It's not that there weren't any. On the fourth day, an A suggested that everyone work together, but after being ridiculed by everyone, he stopped talking."
He was mocked not only by his own kind, but also by the Omegas and Betas he wanted to respect.
After hearing all this, Ruan Mingchu felt even more upset.
We can't just stay here waiting for someone to suddenly realize their mistake.
"Let's add some firewood to make the fire burn even brighter."
Ruan Xingyi issued the order as instructed by Ruan Mingchu: "Resource replenishment will not be carried out if we cannot leave this place."
Before they could express their dissatisfaction, he added, "According to His Highness's estimate, you should be at Crocodile Mouth Bend now, and you are still 72 kilometers away from Crocodile Mouth Bend."
In other words, everyone's strength has been recognized, and this area can be breached.
Most people have stopped thinking about what would happen if they didn't have food or water, since they figured they wouldn't die in ten days or half a month anyway. Now, they are filled with shame.
If resources are simply not replenished, things will definitely get worse. This is because a five-star backpack contains almost two to three times the amount of food of a one-star backpack. In other words, a one-star backpack might only provide enough food for a week, barely enough to fill you up, while a five-star backpack allows you to eat and drink to your heart's content, providing delicious, nutritious, and satisfying meals.
Now only the five-star package has leftover food.
At such a crucial moment, if someone who should have received a five-star package is forcibly replaced with a one-star package, who would be willing to let it go?
Therefore, Nguyen Minh Thu would not let them make a fuss over this matter; he only made this request to emphasize the importance of backpacks to them again.
Soon, a large number of mutated rats were secretly driven over by Ruan Mingchu. With the external conflicts so significant, no one paid attention to the smaller internal conflicts.
This batch of mutated rats is not as strong as the previous batch, but their numbers are two to three times greater. This means that the fighters cannot keep them outside a certain circle, and the Omegas and some Betas who were originally protected in the rear must face the mutated rats head-on.
Nguyen Minh Thu closely monitored the situation on the field.
Seeing that the delicate little O and B creatures weren't screaming or frozen in fear, he felt a sense of relief. Although they just ran around aimlessly, always trying to hide behind others, regardless of whether they knew them or not, they always ended up staying behind someone.
It's as if they'd die if they even moved a hand.
Difficult to understand.
Those who were willing to take action had already done so. Even if they weren't as powerful as Alphas, many Betas had already killed one or more mutated rats.
Ruan Mingchu wrote their names down one by one in his notebook.
Will a person still not resist when faced with a life-or-death situation?
Ruan Mingchu was very curious about what kind of situation would make someone who only knew how to hide behind others rise up in resistance. Even if they didn't rise up, even if they still hid behind others, just using a skill to help out would be enough.
He scanned the crowd twice and found the Omega named Sun Qian, who was found by Gong Zhushen and had a strong personality and strength.
Sun Qian's main traits are that she likes to be the leader in her small circle, often getting into fights with the younger members of the O and B groups at school. Her best achievement was taking on five opponents at once, even tearing their arms apart. She also has incredibly sharp fingernails.
"It's you," Ruan Mingchu said, looking at Sun Qian, who was using the Betas around her to protect him, and gave her a cold smile.
As a mutated rat pounced on him, Sun Qian, both frightened and frustrated, tried to grab someone nearby to shield him from the disaster, only to find to her astonishment that she had no one left to use.
"Damn it!" Sun Qian cursed, covering his face and running away quickly. He tried to run into the crowd, but the mutated rat seemed to be targeting him, blocking his way every time.
With her path to help blocked, Sun Qian could only scream for help as she ran towards a deserted area. But her voice seemed to be muffled; no one heard her.
Ruan Mingchu testified that his voice was not blocked; it's just that some people didn't want to pay attention to him, and some people were willing but unable to.
Ruan Xingyi and the others also pretended to kill the mutated rats in the arena. Occasionally, when they saw someone who couldn't hold on, they would lend a hand, but they always made it look like they were very busy.
The prince and the man who was with him had not been seen. Sun Qian knew that he had to face the mutated rat by himself.
He must hold on until someone comes to rescue him!
Sun Qian told herself to hang in there and run faster.
Ruan Mingchu discovered that Sun Qian was really strong and fast. Although she was often about to be caught by the mutated rats, she always managed to escape by the skin of her teeth.
With such poor physical abilities, he didn't even think about fighting back. Even without offensive superpowers, his fingernails, with their [localized enhancement], could easily scratch this mutated rat cub to death.
That's right, the creature chasing after Sun Qian was just a cub with mediocre strength. Ruan Mingchu searched for a long time before finding a suitable one that could put pressure on Sun Qian without actually overwhelming her.
Ten minutes later, Sun Qian was still running, and the mutated rats were still chasing her. Ruan Mingchu was already tired of watching.
A moss-covered stone suddenly appeared under Sun Qian's feet. Sun Qian cried out "Ah!" and tripped over the stone, falling to the ground.
The mutated rat squeaked excitedly and pounced on Sun Qian with its mouth open.
Sun Qian rolled on the ground to dodge the attack, but the mutated rat's attack came immediately afterward, and he had no time to get up and run away.
"Aaaaaah, I'll fight you to the death!"
Finally, the scene Ruan Mingchu wanted to see arrived, but... it was a bit too brutal. The little cub was riddled with holes by sharp fingernails that had grown to half a meter long.
The stench of the mutated rat's blood splattered all over Sun Qian's body and face. He was breathing heavily and was so nauseous from the smell that he didn't dare to open his eyes.
He sat half-sitting on the ground for three or four minutes before tentatively opening one eye.
Upon seeing the horribly mutilated mutated rat, he vomited with a "whoosh".
Ruan Mingchu: ...
I thought they were used to it, but it turns out that just seeing the bloodshed caused by others isn't enough.
After vomiting until even the bile couldn't come up, Sun Qian finally came to her senses. Looking at her beautiful nails now in this terrible state, she grimaced in disgust, thankfully they would recover automatically once the skill wore off.
Only then did he take a good look at the mutated rat he had killed alone. Sun Qian burst into laughter, kicked it several times, and even cursed its ancestors for a while.
It's a pity there aren't any similar mutant rat pups anymore, otherwise Ruan Mingchu really wanted to see whether Sun Qian would choose to run away or kill the mutant rat.