22: Chapter 22 Death Desert 5

Realizing it was a physical event rather than a supernatural one, the yellow-haired youth immediately felt much bolder. He cautiously walked toward the white bone and peeked behind the cactus.

He saw a giant rat, about 30 to 40 centimeters long, with absurdly long legs—also about 30 to 40 centimeters—and a tail nearly a meter long, hiding behind the cactus and devouring the flesh on the white bone.

"Damn, what is this thing? Where did such a huge rat come from?!" the yellow-haired youth exclaimed.

"It's a Mutated Desert Jerboa, but it seems to have mutated." Wolf-tail Guy came up behind him, saw the scene as well, and spoke with a grave tone.

Hearing this, the yellow-haired youth seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Pfft, it's just a big rat, what's there to be afraid of?"

He looked at Wolf-tail Guy's grave expression and mocked, "You, on the other hand, are making such a fuss. Anyone who didn't know better would think it was some kind of monster."

"No, look closely at their teeth..." Before Wolf-tail Guy could speak, Camo Uncle frowned, his face full of gravity.

The yellow-haired youth was confused, but upon closer observation, he was horrified to discover that the yellowish-brown teeth chewing on the flesh stuck to the bone were actually sharp fangs that looked incredibly lethal!

The next second, the Mutated Desert Jerboa, having finished the flesh, began to gnaw on the bone with a "crunch, crunch" sound under the yellow-haired youth's terrified gaze. With effortless ease, as if tearing through paper, it pulverized the hard bone completely.

"Ah!!!" A scream shattered the silence of the oasis. It turned out to be Glasses Man, who had been standing not far away, unable to help but scream after seeing the rat.

After screaming, he realized it was inappropriate and, feeling a bit guilty, stammered, "S-sorry, I'm really afraid of these kinds of rodents..."

However, at this moment, no one was in the mood to listen to his explanation, because right after Glasses Man's scream, the Mutated Desert Jerboa that had been busy eating noticed them.

Its small, round ears twitched, its nose wiggled, and a pair of blood-red, bean-like eyes fixed on them. Then, a sharp screech, barely audible to normal human ears, pierced the sky.

The six players subconsciously huddled closer, their faces pale and their eyes filled with panic, because right after that screech, dozens of equally giant Mutated Desert Jerboas poked their heads out from various bushes.

"Oh my god..." Girl with Double Braids whispered in shock, "This is my first time seeing such a huge rat..."

Glasses Man also said in terror, "Isn't it said that these Desert Jerboas are solitary animals?!"

Camo Uncle looked vigilantly at the surrounding Mutated Desert Jerboas and replied, "These are Mutated Desert Jerboas; their habits are definitely different from ordinary jerboas... Watch out!"

Before the group could react, the first Mutated Desert Jerboa they had discovered lunged fiercely toward them!

The group saw a flash of black, and the Mutated Desert Jerboa was sent flying by a staff so dark that almost no light could reflect off it.

The group followed the staff and saw Wolf-tail Guy staring coldly at the squeaking, restless Mutated Desert Jerboas.

He said coldly, "Find some weapons nearby. I will not protect you."

As he spoke, the restless jerboas lunged forward in unison, their fierce, crimson eyes surging with greed, their sharp teeth flashing with a chilling glint as they opened their bloodthirsty maws to bite.

The yellow-haired youth picked up a fairly thick wooden branch from the ground. With a determined look, he stared at the group of menacing, lunging Mutated Desert Jerboas. Suppressing the fear in his heart, he gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and swung the wooden stick frantically.

"Hmph..." A muffled grunt sounded from beside the yellow-haired youth. He subconsciously opened his eyes and looked to his side, seeing Wolf-tail Guy clutching his shoulder, his brows slightly furrowed as he cast his gaze downward.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..." The yellow-haired youth instantly realized he had accidentally struck Wolf-tail Guy and turned red with shame.

He knew exactly how much force he had used; Wolf-tail Guy's shoulder must be bruised purple.

However, Wolf-tail Guy didn't even glance at the yellow-haired youth. He rubbed his shoulder slightly and continued to fend off the Mutated Desert Jerboas with his pitch-black staff.

The yellow-haired youth felt a bit resentful, but as soon as he thought about how he had caused Wolf-tail Guy's injury, that feeling of resentment instantly vanished.

He pulled himself together and continued to swing the wooden stick wildly, though this time he dared not close his eyes, keeping a constant watch to see if there were any other players around him.

Camo Uncle held an unknown disc-shaped object in his hand. Around the rim of the disc were six circular iron blades with jagged edges. Every 30 seconds, the blades would fly out on their own, shoot out one meter, and then automatically return.

During this time, Camo Uncle kept using the serrated disc in his hand to attack the lunging Mutated Desert Jerboas. Although his combat power was far inferior to Wolf-tail Guy's, but...

Camo Uncle looked at Glasses Man and Girl with Double Braids, who were even less capable than the yellow-haired youth, and a flash of disdain crossed his eyes.

Although Wolf-tail Guy kept saying he wouldn't protect anyone else, as he swung his staff, he was indeed consciously looking out for those around him, greatly relieving the pressure on the others.

In contrast, Luo Yuejian truly had no intention of protecting anyone else. She didn't even use the cards she had been toying with in her hand. With slight shifts of her body, she nimbly dodged all the attacks from the Mutated Desert Jerboas, causing Camo Uncle's eyelids to twitch as he watched, struggling to dodge himself.

Of course, this was not Luo Yuejian's intention. She possessed the Agility Instinct trait; dodging those attacks was as natural as breathing, and she would dodge automatically before she even realized it.

In the eyes of the others, it was simply like a work of art.

After being scratched by a Mutated Desert Jerboa yet again, Camo Uncle couldn't hold back any longer. While struggling to dodge and counterattack, he looked at Luo Yuejian and asked in a negotiating tone, "Can you please lend a hand? The rest of us don't have such good skills, and we're about to reach our limit."

Luo Yuejian thought to herself, "I want to too, but I really can't help it!" She actually wished that Agility Instinct wouldn't activate so she could just die under the claws of the Mutated Desert Jerboas!

Seeing that Luo Yuejian made no other move, Camo Uncle couldn't help but urge, "Don't you have props? Can you use a prop?"

It was only then that Luo Yuejian suddenly remembered she actually had props! She didn't really want her teammates to die either, so upon hearing Camo Uncle's reminder, she gave him a grateful look.

This look made Camo Uncle feel as if cold sweat was about to break out, even in such hot weather. He felt stiff all over and was inwardly very annoyed.

He knew Luo Yuejian wasn't someone easy to deal with, so why did he go and provoke her? It wasn't like they were at the end of their rope yet.

Just as he was regretting his actions, he saw Luo Yuejian hold a card between two fingers and swipe it gently. Blood sprayed from the neck of a jerboa that was lunging in mid-air. In an instant, the Mutated Desert Jerboa that the others treated like a formidable enemy fell dead on the spot.

You have to understand that a huge reason why these Mutated Desert Jerboas were so difficult to deal with was because they were extremely thick-skinned. Even Wolf-tail Guy's powerful attacks hadn't really killed many of them. Yet, White-haired Girl killed one the moment she made a move!

Camo Uncle watched, dumbfounded, a hint of jealousy flashing in his eyes. After a long while, he said in a seemingly friendly tone, "Is this your prop? How impressive. I think the sharpness of this card is no less than the legendary swords from ancient tales."