However, Zhou Ziwei's eyesight was far beyond that of ordinary people. In addition, this godforsaken place was now surrounded by endless darkness except for the sea of fire behind him. Therefore, although the ray of dawn in the distance was not very noticeable, it was still seen by Zhou Ziwei against the backdrop of the darkness in front of him.
Sure enough... Since this world has plants and oxygen, how could it not have sunlight? It's just so strange... Since the dawn is about to appear, it proves that the darkness here just now was just night. But... It's fine if there's no moon at night, but why are there no stars in the sky?
However, this was clearly not a problem Zhou Ziwei had time to worry about. After a slight pause, he immediately adjusted his direction and ran towards the direction where the dawn was rising, at a speed several times faster than before...
After running towards the direction of the sunrise for a few more minutes, the ray of morning light became more and more conspicuous. At this moment, not only Zhou Ziwei, but also Chu Qiutang and Wang Xuewei, who were being dragged in the air and were already in a semi-conscious state, suddenly noticed this strange phenomenon. They were immediately invigorated, waving their hands and pointing in the direction of the sunrise, and couldn't help but let out excited shouts.
Moreover, due to their height, they saw something Zhou Ziwei couldn't see at all... a shimmering expanse of water revealed under the glow of the morning sun...
It's over...it's finally over. They could vaguely see that in the distance, there seemed to be a very wide river, and on the opposite bank of the river was a barren, rocky desert.
Although it seems lifeless there, for them now, even the vast, uninhabited Gobi Desert is much more appealing than this oasis made up of red plants that exude endless vitality. At least there won't be a raging fire there that's almost engulfing the entire world!
Hearing the two beautiful women screaming wildly in the air, Zhou Ziwei ran with even more vigor.
There's a river ahead... Thank goodness, it looks like we can finally escape this time.
Volume 2 The Assassin's Nightmare Chapter 382 The Feeling of Electric Shock
With a "plop," after a final burst of rapid running, Zhou Ziwei, like a burning arrow, leaped directly into the quietly flowing river, his body ablaze with flames.
The icy river water extinguished the flames on Zhou Ziwei's body instantly, but the alternation of hot and cold brought a new round of intense pain to his legs, which were already badly burned.
However, Zhou Ziwei had no time to care about these injuries, because the two kite beauties who had been flying with him in the sky for half a day had begun to fall diagonally forward because he suddenly stopped moving forward.
Falling from a height of over ten meters into the river should not normally kill anyone, especially since both of them were wearing combat suits with waterproof features and built-in breathing systems. So even if Zhou Ziwei didn't go to pick them up, they wouldn't be in any danger.
However, Zhou Ziwei is a man of his word. Since he said he would catch the two beauties when he threw them into the air, he naturally wouldn't go back on his word now.
As Zhou Ziwei tightened the two ropes tied to his wrists, he kicked the water with both feet with force. With a loud "boom," the kick sent a huge splash several meters high into the air. Zhou Ziwei, propelled by the recoil, slid across the water like a torpedo, skimming a considerable distance before leaping out of the water and flying towards where Wang Xuewei and Chu Qiutang had descended.
Zhou Ziwei, standing more than half a meter above the water, casually tossed down the rope in his hand. Then, his palms danced rapidly in the air like butterflies flitting among flowers, easily creating layers of shock-absorbing force fields.
Just as the shock-absorbing force field was being set up, the two beautiful women who had been flying kites for so long finally fell to the ground.
Falling from such a height, and at such a high speed, had already terrified both women, leaving them pale with fright. Although they knew they wouldn't die from falling into the water, the innate fear in girls still made them scream and utter sounds they couldn't even understand themselves.
Then, seeing that Zhou Ziwei had indeed kept his promise and even leaped out of the water to catch them, the two women were moved and spontaneously opened their arms as if to give Zhou Ziwei a warm hug. However, when they realized that the other had made the same move, they both felt a strange panic and withdrew their hands at the same time. Their tacit understanding was something even twin sisters would envy.
The expected intense physical pain didn't occur. When Wang Xuewei and Chu Qiutang fell heavily into Zhou Ziwei's arms, they felt as if they had first fallen into a thick layer of cotton wool. Their bodies went limp, instantly dissipating most of the force of their fall. Then they truly felt Zhou Ziwei's strong arms encircle their slender waists, and then, together with Zhou Ziwei, they gently fell into the calm river water...
For some reason, even though there were two layers of thick combat uniforms between them, the two women involuntarily felt an electric shock the moment Zhou Ziwei embraced their slender waists. The sensation started from the softest part of their waists, abruptly triggered by the slight collision with Zhou Ziwei's arm, and then spread throughout their bodies like ripples from a pebble thrown into water. Instantly, their bodies felt so comfortable that they seemed to lose all their strength, and they both collapsed into Zhou Ziwei's arms. Although they had safely landed in the water, neither of them was willing to exert any effort to swim, instead pressing their entire body weight onto Zhou Ziwei...
"The book said that lovers would have that electric feeling, and it's actually true... Oh my god... Could I have really fallen in love with him? But... but he's Sister Wang's husband... and... and now I'm a disfigured ugly monster, how could he possibly be interested in me?" Poor Chu Qiutang was completely flustered and had no idea what to do.
Wang Xuewei wasn't much better off than Chu Qiutang at this moment. She felt the sensation of electricity drilling into her body, which caused her to spasm slightly. Afterward, she felt so comfortable that she didn't even want to think. However, she couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.
Why was it that before, when we occasionally had physical contact, I only felt a slight aversion, but now… it really felt like I'd been electrocuted? Could it be… that my feelings for him have changed? It's so strange…
The two poor women were so engrossed in snuggling in Zhou Ziwei's arms, lazily enjoying the electric-like comfort and sense of security he gave them, that they completely failed to notice that Zhou Ziwei, on the other hand, was not enjoying the pleasure of having two women on either side. Instead, he was frowning slightly, lost in his own thoughts...
This is strange... The residual energy in this shock-absorbing field seems to have automatically seeped into their bodies. What... how is this possible? Logically speaking... once this simple force field fails, the scattered energy should naturally dissipate into the air. Even I can't retrieve these scattered soul energies, so how... are these scattered energies now seeping into their bodies on their own? Could it be because they just consumed the Soul Pearl?
This is unbelievable... Oh no, will this energy that's been injected into their bodies cause them any harm? Otherwise, why would they both suddenly feel so weak and powerless?
Upon noticing this, Zhou Ziwei suddenly panicked. He realized that just dragging them through the air for almost an hour must have been quite a burden for the two women! And now, with the residual soul power in the force field suddenly invading their bodies, wouldn't something really go wrong?
However, the three of them were still deep in the wide river. Although the river flowed gently and the water was clear, Zhou Ziwei still had a feeling of unease. He did not dare to stay there for long and decided to take the two women to the opposite bank to give them a thorough examination.
Zhou Ziwei has devoured so many souls that he himself has lost count. Among these souls, many were skilled swimmers in their previous lives. By acquiring so many precious soul memories and gradually integrating them, Zhou Ziwei has unknowingly reached an extremely high level of swimming ability. At this moment, although he is carrying two people in his arms, he seems to have no burden at all. He moves freely in the water like a big fish simply by swinging his legs, and soon he has approached the opposite riverbank.
However, at that moment, a strong suction force suddenly came from behind him. Caught off guard, Zhou Ziwei felt Wang Xuewei, whom he was holding in his left arms, suddenly jolt and then immediately slipped out of his arms, flying backwards into the water behind him with a "whoosh".
Zhou Ziwei was taken aback. He immediately sent his soul power through that direction and was astonished to see a huge monster emerging from the deep water.
It was a monster shaped like a large ball, with a round body that was seven or eight meters in diameter. It had eight tentacles as thick as an adult's arm growing from it. At this moment, the other end of the rope tied around Wang Xuewei's waist was wrapped around one of the monster's tentacles. The monster used its monstrous strength to suddenly drag Wang Xuewei away from Zhou Ziwei's arms.
As Wang Xuewei rapidly approached, a gigantic mouth, at least two meters wide, suddenly split open on the monster's round body. Within the mouth, snow-white teeth crisscrossed like sharp daggers, exuding a chilling aura.
After the giant mouth opened, it suddenly inhaled, and Wang Xuewei was swept up by a strong current of water and shot straight into that menacing giant mouth.
Zhou Ziwei had no doubt that if Wang Xuewei were bitten by that monster, no matter how tough her combat suit was, it would be torn to shreds by the monster's sharp teeth in an instant.
"You beast, how dare you!" Zhou Ziwei roared, first swinging his arms forcefully to throw Chu Qiutang, who was equally terrified, towards the shore. Then, with a sudden swift movement in the water, he turned around like the most agile eel and chased after Wang Xuewei at top speed...
If the monster had simply used its tentacles to drag Wang Xuewei across the rope, Zhou Ziwei's superhuman speed might have allowed him to catch up with her halfway. However, with the powerful suction from the monster's enormous mouth, it was impossible for Zhou Ziwei to overtake her.
"Stop right there!" In this critical moment, Zhou Ziwei naturally wouldn't hesitate to expend his soul power. With a thought, a large amount of liquid soul power gushed out from between his eyebrows, transforming into a giant, tangible yet intangible energy net. This net completely enveloped Wang Xuewei, who was about to be thrown into the monster's maw. Then, through the unique semi-material properties of the liquid soul power, it effectively neutralized most of the suction force from the monster's mouth, causing Wang Xuewei's figure to pause briefly in the water.
This brief pause gave Zhou Ziwei a chance to catch his breath. He kicked his foot hard in the water, and his body accelerated more than twice in an instant. In a flash, he rushed to Wang Xuewei's side, first grabbing her tightly from behind, and then using one hand to pull hard on the climbing rope around her waist.
With a "snap," the climbing rope broke, finally freeing Wang Xuewei from the monster's control.
"Squeak—" The giant water monster seemed to be enraged because its food had been snatched away. Its huge mouth, which was wide open, twitched slightly and then emitted a series of sharp and piercing cries, like a knife slicing across glass.
However, the monster's cries were unusually strange in frequency and were transmitted through the water. The chilling effect was far beyond what could be imitated by simply scratching glass with a knife.
Upon hearing that sharp scream, Wang Xuewei, who was already pale with fright, felt her blood surge and her brain buzz incessantly. Her body felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and at the same time, thin streaks of bright red blood immediately oozed from her mouth and nose.
When the shout rang out, Zhou Ziwei also felt a wave of dizziness. However, his physical fitness was naturally far superior to Wang Xuewei's. Therefore, although he was affected to some extent, the effect was only a momentary lapse in concentration for him, and he quickly returned to normal.
However, just as Zhou Ziwei suddenly came to his senses, he saw the monster's eight tentacles lashing out at their bodies with lightning speed. The powerful force caused the water to surge violently like an erupting volcano. The tentacles were so fast that they created illusory afterimages in the water.
Zhou Ziwei was horrified. Just by looking at the force of the water flow caused by the touch, he could tell that if these tentacles, which resembled giant pythons, were to actually strike them, they would likely suffer broken bones and tendons, even if they weren't killed immediately. Fortunately, he regained consciousness a little earlier; any later, they would probably have already been struck.
However, although Zhou Ziwei woke up before the eight tentacles reached him, it was not an easy task for him to carry Wang Xuewei and escape from the range of the eight tentacles' attack in such a short time.
If he were alone, it would be fine, but with Wang Xuewei in his arms, he had no way to escape the gaps in the attack formed by those eight tentacles.
Zhou Ziwei felt a chill in his heart and instantly set up a defensive force field around himself. However, in this emergency situation, and with the two of them in the water, Zhou Ziwei had no idea how powerful the force field he had hastily set up would be. At that moment, Zhou Ziwei could only do his best to hold Wang Xuewei firmly in his arms. At the same time, he suddenly opened his eyes wide with anger and let out a silent roar at the giant water monster.
Don't think you're the only one who can scare people with shouts. I'm the real expert in this area—Soul Roar.
This water monster was too large, and it was obvious that it possessed considerable intelligence. Therefore, Zhou Ziwei did not think that he could actually harm this big guy by using his ordinary soul roar. You know, when Zhou Ziwei used this move against the Bat King, it didn't seem to have much effect. And now, no matter how you look at it, this big water monster seemed to be much more ferocious than the Bat King.
So Zhou Ziwei simply used the enhanced version of the Soul Roar, which he had always wanted to practice but was reluctant to expend his soul power to do so.
This so-called enhanced version of Soul Roar is actually quite simple; it simply uses liquid soul power as a carrier to carry out the Soul Roar attack.
As Zhou Ziwei roared, a strange ripple suddenly appeared in the turbulent water. Orange ripples spread forward at an alarming speed, but this spread was tightly confined to an extremely narrow area, as if an invisible beam of energy had pierced heavily into the giant water monster's gaping maw...
With a "poof," the giant water monster's two thick tentacles struck the force field that Zhou Ziwei had hastily set up around Zhou Ziwei and Wang Xuewei. Instantly, the water rippled violently. Although the defensive force field barely withstood the heavy blow from the two tentacles, it then burst silently like an invisible bubble.
The remaining six tentacles followed closely, bringing with them surging waves and illusory afterimages in the water. In the blink of an eye, they reached Zhou Ziwei. Just as Zhou Ziwei was about to fight them to the death, the giant water monster's body suddenly stiffened. Its two enormous, watermelon-sized, emerald-green pupils burst open without warning, and countless streams of green liquid, like water arrows, shot out, instantly turning the surrounding turbulent waters into an eerie green.
As the two giant pupils exploded, the attack speed of the six giant tentacles immediately froze. Although they still managed to strike Zhou Ziwei's body heavily with the help of inertia, the force was many times less than Zhou Ziwei had anticipated.
The heavy blow caused Zhou Ziwei's facial features to twitch in pain, followed by a soft groan. However, Zhou Ziwei managed to withstand it. The unfortunate giant water monster, on the other hand, was like a deflated balloon. Its huge, round body began to wither rapidly, and its eight tentacles lost all power. It could only sway weakly with the ripples in the swaying water, no longer possessing the strength to attack.
Feeling the life force of the giant creature in front of him recede like the tide in an instant, Zhou Ziwei finally breathed a sigh of relief. He gently moved his limbs, which had almost been severed, in the water, then, holding Wang Xuewei in one arm and grabbing one of the monster's tentacles with the other, he quickly swam towards the opposite riverbank...
You bastard, didn't you want to eat my wife? Well then, I'll eat you, hmph... I was worried I wouldn't find any food here, but you idiot delivered yourself right to my doorstep.
Volume Two: The Assassin's Nightmare, Chapter 383: Cutting Flesh to Heal Wounds
With one arm around Wang Xuewei and the other dragging the giant water monster, Zhou Ziwei quickly swam to the shore.
Chu Qiutang had been anxiously waiting there for a long time. When she saw that the two of them had returned safely, she was overjoyed and jumped for joy. As soon as Zhou Ziwei got closer, she couldn't wait to reach out and take Wang Xuewei away first.
Zhou Ziwei freed up his hands and used both to grab the giant water monster, slowly dragging it ashore.
This water monster was quite large, and its weight was naturally astonishing. Although its round, ball-like body had deflated considerably after its eyes exploded, it still weighed at least six or seven hundred pounds.
He hadn't felt anything while being dragged along in the water using its buoyancy, but being pulled ashore surprised Zhou Ziwei. It was only because of his amazing physical strength that he realized someone else might not have been able to lift it.
At this moment, Wang Xuewei and Chu Qiutang had already removed their masks. Chu Qiutang was checking Wang Xuewei's injuries. After all, Wang Xuewei had just bled from her mouth and nose, which looked quite frightening. However, based on Chu Qiutang's experience, after checking for a while, she found that Wang Xuewei was not seriously injured, and then she breathed a sigh of relief.
As soon as the two women turned around, they saw that Zhou Ziwei had already dragged the giant water monster ashore. At this moment, Zhou Ziwei was prying open the water monster's mouth, which was more than two meters wide, and tilting his head to look into the monster's belly.
It looked as if a water monster had opened its mouth wide, about to bite Zhou Ziwei's head off. The two women gasped in surprise at the sight.
Zhou Ziwei was startled by their screams. Fortunately, he had good self-control. Otherwise, if his hand had trembled and the monster's mouth had closed, it might have actually snapped his head off.
Zhou Ziwei glared at the two women with annoyance, then straightened up slightly and kicked the monster's massive mouth several times. Amidst the splattering green blood, a long, dagger-like tooth was finally kicked off by Zhou Ziwei. He picked it up, washed it in the river, and then played with it in his hand for a moment. Glancing sideways at the two women, he said, "How about this? It'll definitely make a nice decoration when we hang it on the wall back home, right?"
"No, no..." Wang Xuewei felt nauseous at the sight of those gleaming white teeth, especially after recalling her near-death experience from the monster's enormous mouth. She felt dizzy and exclaimed, "No... It's disgusting to hang this thing in the house!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ziwei gave Wang Xuewei a slightly strange look, but then smiled and said, "I was just joking with people. Biologists in China would definitely be very interested in this, hehe... Even if I wanted to take it home, I'm afraid they wouldn't allow it, hehe... A biological specimen from another world... Anything like that would cause a sensation around the world if it were taken out. How could I dare to hang it up as a decoration?"
Wang Xuewei breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but then she immediately thought that she and Zhou Ziwei had decided to divorce after returning from this trip, so what reason did she have to restrict Zhou Ziwei from putting anything in the house?
Thinking of the strange look Zhou Ziwei had given her just now, Wang Xuewei felt both ashamed and sad, and lowered her head absentmindedly.
Recalling how Zhou Ziwei had risked his life to save her from the monster's mouth, and how he had been lashed by the monster's tentacles while protecting her, a sharp, piercing pain shot through a soft spot in her heart.
"Ziwei, you...you seemed to have been slapped a few times by that monster's claws. Are you...are you alright? Let me see..." Wang Xuewei said, stepping forward to unbutton Zhou Ziwei's clothes. She had vaguely seen that the monster's claws seemed to have struck Zhou Ziwei's shoulders and back, and judging from the looks of it, he was probably badly injured...
"Ah... your combat uniform was burned to pieces long ago... and your legs..." At this moment, Chu Qiutang also noticed that Zhou Ziwei's combat uniform had been burned with one shocking hole after another. She couldn't help but scream in fright, and then rushed over like a madwoman and desperately started tearing at Zhou Ziwei's pants.
Suddenly, two beautiful women started pulling at his clothes from above and below him. Zhou Ziwei had a sudden feeling that he was about to be sexually assaulted. He was so frightened that he cried out and hurriedly took two steps back, clutching his clothes tightly with both hands. He looked at the two women with a mixture of amusement and exasperation and said, "What are you doing? If you do anything else, I'll scream for help!"
The two women breathed a slight sigh of relief when they saw that Zhou Ziwei could still joke with them. Then, their pretty faces flushed red, and they became a little shy. Neither of them had ever been intimate with a man before, so they naturally felt a little awkward being teased by Zhou Ziwei like this.
However, upon thinking of Zhou Ziwei's potentially serious injuries, their expressions immediately became resolute.
Wang Xuewei bit her red lips and said, "What indecent assault... No matter what, I'm still your legal wife, right? So, as your wife, I need to see you... see the injuries on your body. What does that count as indecent assault? Let me see quickly. I think I just saw that monster whip your back several times... Tell me where it hurts, don't try to bear it all by yourself!"
Chu Qiutang felt a little intimidated by Wang Xuewei's confident words, but when she saw the charred holes in Zhou Ziwei's pants, her eyes immediately welled up with tears. She forced a stern face and said, "I am the medic of the expedition team. The burns on your legs must be very serious. I need to examine your burns now. Please cooperate, okay?"
As soon as Chu Qiutang finished speaking, tears streamed down her face. Without waiting for Zhou Ziwei's objection, she immediately went over and forcefully began to pull down Zhou Ziwei's pants...
When Zhou Ziwei was stripped down to only his underwear by Wang Xuewei and Chu Qiutang, the ambiguous atmosphere, coupled with the occasional touches of the two women's delicate hands on his body, caused Zhou Ziwei to have a somewhat unavoidable male reaction. Under the last piece of clothing covering his body, a rather spectacular little tent was vaguely erected, which almost made Zhou Ziwei jump into the river... Sigh... This is too embarrassing!
Fortunately, the two women were not distracted by Zhou Ziwei's impressive physique at this moment; their attention was now focused on the shocking scars on his body.
From the waist down, there was hardly a patch of good flesh on his thighs. The charred marks showed the extent of the high temperature that those areas had endured. The charred skin, clumped together, caused the two women's tears to flow like a flood, dripping all over Zhou Ziwei's body.
On Zhou Ziwei's upper body, there were also six very conspicuous purplish-blue marks, which were equally terrifying to look at. They were obviously the places where he had been whipped by the water monster's tentacles.
Fortunately, the monster's tentacles struck Zhou Ziwei after it died. Otherwise, if Zhou Ziwei's soul roar hadn't worked, he would have at least suffered broken bones and tendons, even if he hadn't been killed by those blows!
Looking at the scorched wounds, each one a patch of unbroken flesh, and remembering Zhou Ziwei's figure running through the sea of fire for their sake, looking at the purplish bruises, remembering how Zhou Ziwei fought to the death against the giant water monster for their sake, especially Wang Xuewei, and remembering how Zhou Ziwei held her tightly in his arms when those tentacles swept towards them like lightning, the two women were immediately moved to tears, each hugging Zhou Ziwei on either side and weeping bitterly.
"Hey... I'm not going to die, what are you two doing... Uh... Don't cry, you... why are you crying!" Zhou Ziwei was half-naked, being tightly hugged by two beautiful women. With the slightest movement of his body, he would naturally touch a certain soft part of the two women's bodies. This made Zhou Ziwei's erect little brother seem unwilling to bow down. Helpless, he had to secretly extract the soul power from that part of his body's nerve lines to make the little guy calm down a bit.
However, he knew that this method couldn't be used repeatedly, nor for too long. Without the nourishment of soul power, nerve endings would easily wither. Well… if other parts withered, so be it! Zhou Ziwei wasn't too concerned. After all, he was quite confident in his abilities; even if the nerve endings in a certain area died, he could gradually restore them. But… but his manhood couldn't be damaged… he dared not take that risk…
Actually, these injuries weren't a big deal for Zhou Ziwei. The purplish-blue marks on his upper body were just some ruptured capillaries caused by the water monster's impact with the water, resulting in some blood stasis in the muscles. Zhou Ziwei didn't even bother to treat these injuries, since he had deliberately reduced his body's sensitivity and could hardly feel any pain.
As for the burns on his legs, they were a bit more troublesome. Under the local stimulation of Zhou Ziwei's soul power, it wasn't a big deal to make the cells regenerate and the wounds heal. The problem was that he had to remove the charred and burned flesh before he could proceed with the next step of treatment. Otherwise, the new flesh and the original charred flesh would become tangled together and immediately form the kind of frightening scars that burn patients have.