Chapter Twenty: Foolishness

Lin Lei hesitated for a moment, then quietly hoisted the demon ghost onto his back and headed toward the flickering firelight. By the time he arrived, the commotion had already subsided.

In the shadowy forest, flames blazed fiercely, and the ground was littered with countless burning corpses of demon ghosts—at least a hundred, with ten or more belonging to the second tier and above. Yet, there was no sign of Wen Xiang nearby.

“That kid must’ve advanced to the second realm as well. He’s savage...” Lin Lei’s lips twitched as he surveyed the carnage.

“An A-level gift is just too powerful!”

Over all this time, Lin Lei had only managed to slay just over a hundred demon ghosts himself, but Wen Xiang had wiped out more than a hundred in a single battle! And he’d even plundered two second-tier demon ghosts in the process.

In truth, Wen Xiang’s ‘Flame Dragon’ ability clearly allowed him to generate and control fire, which was especially effective against demon ghosts. The fire also illuminated his surroundings.

“But now... it’s all mine!” Lin Lei licked his lips and strode forward without hesitation, activating his Gluttony.

Wherever he went, the corpses vanished one after another. After devouring every demon ghost present, Lin Lei’s Gluttony energy increased by over three hundred units at once, breaking the one-thousand mark for the first time!

Afterward, Lin Lei quietly pursued the direction where Wen Xiang had disappeared.

He hadn’t gone far before he paused, his brows arching. In the distance, he heard thunderous explosions and Wen Xiang’s loud, fierce shout:

“So what if you’re a third-tier anomaly? I can take you down myself!”

Suddenly, a fiery blast erupted in the distance, illuminating all the darkness around.

Lin Lei froze, then raised the bracelet on his wrist. The crystal on it glowed brightest in the direction of Wen Xiang’s voice.

“That kid...”

Lin Lei’s mouth twisted. He had never expected Wen Xiang to be so reckless, charging off alone to duel a third-tier anomaly!

“If he loses...” Lin Lei narrowed his eyes.

Among the three, the fiercest firepower belonged unquestionably to Wen Xiang. If Wen Xiang died, Lin Lei would have to face the third-tier alone—unless it was still a demon ghost, but even then, with the possibility of plundering and recovering, he wasn’t confident.

Lin Lei was formidable, but lacked any ranged attacks, forced to fight anomalies in close combat with little margin for error.

The higher the anomaly’s tier, the greater the difference in power.

He rolled his eyes in frustration, slung the demon ghost corpse over his shoulder, and sped toward the blast of fiery dragon.

In the darkness, Lin Lei moved with astonishing agility, reaching the battlefield within minutes.

He found himself on a clearing before a mountain cave, devoid of any plants or trees. Around him were many corpses still burning with flames, and rows of sinister white bones—judging by their shapes, these too had once been demon ghosts.

Not far away, Wen Xiang was half-kneeling on the ground, his face deathly pale, blood trickling from his lips. A ring of blue light shielded him, and as he swung his arms, fire serpents coiled in the sky, continually bombarding a monstrous creature four or five meters tall.

The creature’s body was covered in glossy black fur, with four arms, each ending in sharp claws. Its visage was grotesque: bulging eyes set on either side of its head, and a vertical maw filled with jagged teeth dominating its face.

“Not a demon ghost. This is trouble.”

The basic anomaly compendium had no entry for this creature, so Lin Lei couldn’t identify it. Its oppressive appearance alone made clear it was anything but simple.

The black monster was vast, its explosive power staggering, speed far surpassing that of the second-tier demon ghosts.

Wen Xiang’s fire serpents left many scorch marks, making the creature howl in pain, but only managed to slow its movements slightly—clearly, they couldn’t inflict any real damage.

Thud, thud, thud!

The monster lunged at Wen Xiang in the blink of an eye.

Boom!

Its massive clawed hand struck at Wen Xiang, but thanks to the blue light ring, the claws failed to pierce the barrier. Instead, Wen Xiang was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground!

Blood sprayed from his mouth, terror filling his face, and the ring of light around him quickly fractured, cracks spreading everywhere—it was about to collapse...

This light ring was a defensive source artifact provided by the Investigation Bureau for the three of them; each had something similar.

However, these were low-tier artifacts with limited defensive capacity.

In this ‘Forbidden Zone,’ higher-level source artifacts couldn’t be brought in, and their number was restricted.

“That idiot!”

Lin Lei rolled his eyes, hesitated for a moment, then quietly set down the demon ghost he carried and reached for the silver bracelet on his left wrist.

This was Lin Lei’s own defensive source artifact, capable of generating a light shield.

Using ‘Night Walker’ to hide in the shadows, he crept toward Wen Xiang.

Given the monster’s size, it was safe to assume its strength was immense. Lin Lei had no intention of confronting it head-on; he meant to rescue Wen Xiang, regroup with Zhen Shuang, and challenge the creature together.

Although the surrounding firelight prevented total darkness, Lin Lei still benefited from its blessings, slipping through the shadows and arriving behind Wen Xiang in an instant.

Meanwhile, the monster struck again, its claw descending.

Crack!

The blue light ring around Wen Xiang shattered, sending his body flying.

Low-tier source artifacts couldn’t withstand repeated blows from a third-tier anomaly!

Swish!

The monster’s other hand reached out at that moment.

“It’s over...” Despair and regret swept across Wen Xiang’s face; he closed his eyes tight.

Just then—

Whoosh!

With a rush of air, Lin Lei seized the moment, leaping high and catching Wen Xiang midair!

After plundering several demon ghosts, Lin Lei’s jumping power was extraordinary.

However, as he leaped, he automatically exited his ‘Night Walker’ stealth state.

At the same time, a ring of light flashed around him—his defensive source artifact activating.

Boom!

The monster’s powerful claw struck the shield around Lin Lei.

The two crashed to the ground like a smashed basketball, but the shield held; Lin Lei suffered the shock of impact but was unscathed.

“You...” Wen Xiang saw Lin Lei and nearly burst into tears. “I’m still alive...”

Lin Lei rolled his eyes, then immediately carried Wen Xiang and sprinted into the darkness.

Roar!

The monster bellowed in fury, all four claws lunging at Lin Lei.

Carrying a person, Lin Lei’s speed inevitably fell. At such a moment, he couldn’t find the chance to slip back into stealth; he could only run for it.

Though smaller and more agile, Lin Lei couldn’t match the monster’s explosive power and long legs in straight-line speed.

He relied on his agility, darting and weaving rapidly, constantly dodging and shifting!

Even so, he was struck several times, the shield around him trembling precariously, nearly spent.

Now, blood poured from his nose, and he urgently shouted at Wen Xiang, “What are you staring at? Help out! Can’t you still use your ability?!”