146: Chapter 146 The Timid Ostrich

Hu Gualing had been grumbling incessantly about how low the drop rates were for killing monsters in the game Fantasy Jianghu, but after Xiao Niao lowered his voice and shushed him, he immediately shut his mouth and vigilantly scanned the area within 180 degrees in front of him.

Tang Yao also tightened her grip on the beast-taming rope in her hand.

Since they left the village, Xiao Niao was often the first to notice any movement along the way.

At first, Hu Gualing and Tang Yao thought it was because Xiao Niao was timid, so he was always focused on observing every little rustle, resulting in high alertness.

But slowly, they realized that wasn't the case.

Sometimes they could only see the monster's silhouette and couldn't clearly make out the blurry name hovering above its head, yet Xiao Niao would already call out the monster's name, and every time the monster got close enough to see, the name above its head was indeed the one Xiao Niao had told them.

It seemed that Xiao Niao didn't just have better alertness than them; he had better eyesight and could see farther.

Tang Yao didn't think much of this, as she only knew Xiao Niao from within the game and didn't understand his real-life situation, just assuming he was the type of person with naturally excellent vision.

But Hu Gualing had his doubts. He knew a bit about Xiao Niao's real-life identity: a top student, an IT expert, whose daily work involved staring at a computer writing code. Shouldn't someone like that usually be nearsighted and wear glasses?

Yet, how could Xiao Niao's eyes see farther than his own, and he wasn't even nearsighted?

Could it be that Xiao Niao had some innate talent, and instead of ruining his eyes with high-intensity use, he had actually trained them to be better?

Hu Gualing couldn't figure it out, but there was no doubt that Xiao Niao could see farther than him, so after being reminded by Xiao Niao, he immediately shut his mouth and observed his surroundings.

However, after a round of observation, he didn't see anything amiss. Still, Hu Gualing didn't dare to let his guard down and asked in a low voice, "Is it another Wild Dog this time?"

The reason he asked this was because, including the one they had just killed, they had encountered Wild Dogs three times in a row.

Xiao Niao shook his head and whispered, "Not a Wild Dog."

"Not a Wild Dog?" Hu Gualing suddenly became both excited and alert. "Then what is it?"

Xiao Niao squinted his eyes and scrutinized it for a moment, then said uncertainly, "It seems to be a... Ostrich."

Hu Gualing and Tang Yao said almost in unison, "Ostrich?"

Ostriches are typical creatures of the wasteland and aren't particularly rare in reality, but they hadn't seen one in the game yet, so they all found it a bit novel. Hu Gualing and Tang Yao followed the direction of Xiao Niao's gaze, and sure enough, at the edge of their vision, they saw a long-legged ground bird.

Although they couldn't see the name above its head clearly, they had already witnessed Xiao Niao's eyesight, so if he said it was an Ostrich, there wouldn't be any mistake.

"What do you think?" Although this monster didn't look like it would drop valuable items, it was at least a creature they were encountering for the first time. Hu Gualing was very interested and gave a look to ask for his teammates' opinions.

Tang Yao was also very interested and said excitedly, "Let's go, let's go check it out."

Xiao Niao wanted to say it wasn't worth the effort, as they had already seen some typical desert creatures before—herbivorous animals like hares, moose, and ostriches that didn't have strong aggression.

Since they could survive in the desert, they surely had their own means of escape. Even if they ran at full speed, they wouldn't be able to catch up, and they would only waste their stamina for nothing. If they were unlucky and encountered an emergency, they wouldn't have enough energy to deal with it.

Xiao Niao thought this, but seeing that the two main combatants, Hu Gualing and Tang Yao, were in agreement and wanted to go take a look, he, who had been tagging along, naturally didn't want to spoil the fun. He nodded, and the three of them quietly crept toward the Ostrich.

After finally creeping within twenty or thirty zhang, Hu Gualing and Tang Yao could finally see the full appearance of the Ostrich and the name hovering above its head: [Timid Ostrich].

Xiao Niao whispered, "We can't go any further, or it will notice us."

Hu Gualing whispered, "Those two legs are thick and long; it must be able to run very fast."

Tang Yao whispered, "Those two legs are thick and long; they must taste delicious when roasted."

Gulp, gulp, gulp—three sounds of swallowing saliva rang out simultaneously.

The three of them exchanged knowing glances and nodded in unison.

Xiao Niao whispered, "But how are we going to catch it? This is a Timid Ostrich; if it discovers us, it will definitely run away immediately."

Just as he finished speaking, he noticed that the gazes of Tang Yao and Hu Gualing were all focused on him.

"Why are you looking at me?" Xiao Niao asked, puzzled. He followed their gazes and found that they were looking at the old longbow he was holding in his hand.

"Are you saying... I should do it?" Xiao Niao's voice carried a hint of uncertainty and eagerness.

The bow in his hand was just for show. Since leaving the village, he hadn't fired a single arrow.

However, he really wanted to participate in the battle, but in every previous fight, Hu Gualing had rushed ahead to block the monsters and engage them. With his half-baked archery skills, he would aim for a long time but never dare to fire.

Now, however, the Ostrich strolling slowly in front of them was different. It hadn't discovered the danger yet, making it essentially a live target.

Xiao Niao had always shot at scarecrows in the village and had long wanted to experience shooting at a beast. Although the Ostrich in front of them was called a bird, its fat body couldn't fly, and its size was similar to a small or medium-sized beast. Calling it a beast wasn't an exaggeration at all. It was the perfect target for his first live-target shooting practice.

Besides, even if he missed, it would just scare the Ostrich away, and he wouldn't lose anything.

Thinking this, Xiao Niao felt no more hesitation. He crouched down halfway, raised his bow with his left hand, took an arrow with his right hand, nocked it, and slowly drew the string.

Hu Gualing whispered a reminder, "One arrow definitely won't kill it. Try to aim for vital spots to disable it. Once you hit it, we'll chase after it immediately."

Tang Yao also whispered a reminder, "Try not to shoot the legs. I heard that if the blood drains out, it won't taste good."