56: Chapter 56 The Ring That Was Targeted, First Steps into the Wilderness

After saying this, Qin Ding didn't even linger; he walked right past the burly man with Da Hei, his entire demeanor crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

The burly man only came back to his senses while watching Qin Ding's fast-receding back. His eyes shifted constantly, filled with annoyance, dissatisfaction, and, most of all, regret.

"Tsk, these days, it seems young people who look like newcomers aren't as easy to fool as before?"

The burly man scratched his head, his gaze almost fixed on the black ring worn on the index finger of Qin Ding's right hand, his heart growing increasingly dissatisfied.

"Tsk, I should have had Red Snake come over. Maybe she could have used seduction. How could a young man pretending to be cool handle that?"

Just as the burly man was feeling annoyed and regretful, a red-haired woman with a curvaceous figure and a pretty face, along with a Thin Tall Man, walked over from not far away.

"Boss, did that young kid leave already? He didn't agree to your offer?"

Red Snake looked at Qin Ding, whose back was barely visible, a flash of regret in her eyes. "A Storage Ring, I haven't even been able to bring myself to buy one."

"I just don't know how big the space in that Storage Ring is."

Her words pierced the burly man's heart like a thorn. He turned his head and glared at Red Snake in annoyance, his tone clearly impatient. "Alright, isn't your Red Breath Snake quite good at scent tracking?"

"If we can't trick him into traveling with us, won't it be the same if we just track him down ourselves later?"

Seeing that the situation within the team was a bit off, the Thin Tall Man immediately stepped out to smooth things over.

"Alright, alright, there's nothing worth arguing about. Boss, let's leave the city first. Even if we can't find that kid later, it's really not a big deal."

"After all, that kid is so young and doesn't have anyone with him. Even if he does have a Storage Ring, it's probably the lowest-level, one-cubic-meter type. We've obtained plenty of those; there's no need to take this to heart."

It had to be said that the Thin Tall Man was good at smoothing things over. After his words, Red Snake's pointed accusations vanished, and the anger the burly man felt, provoked by Red Snake, also subsided.

"Skinny, I'll give you credit for having a silver tongue. Let's go, let's go pick up our beast companions first and head to the wild."

Meanwhile.

Having quickly left the burly man behind, Qin Ding thoughtfully raised his right hand, examining the Storage Ring on it.

"Could it be that they targeted me because of the Storage Ring? If so, they probably often engage in murdering and looting in the wild. After all, why work hard to earn money when it's faster to just rob someone..."

Qin Ding whispered to himself, a meaningful smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

"Woo..."

[Boss, I've memorized that person's scent. As long as it's not too far, I should be able to find him.]

Hearing this, Qin Ding's eyes flickered, and he nodded.

To be honest, he was also a bit curious about what his Earth Dog meant by "not too far"—specifically, how far that actually was. This time, he could properly test it out.

Walking straight to the city exit, the guards there were no longer Patrol Officers, but soldiers.

In his line of sight, soldiers stood at the base of the wall, one sentry every twenty meters, each with one beast companion. However, unlike the standardized beast companions of the Patrol Officers, the beast companions of every federal soldier were different.

There were dogs, snakes, pigs, and cows—a motley collection. But one thing was certain: none of the beast companions were below level twenty-one.

And one of the soldiers guarding the exit, clearly a federal officer, had a beast companion that reached level thirty-three, the Commander Rank.

[Beast Companion: Sky-Breaking Owl]

[Aptitude: Good]

[Element: Wind]

[Level: 33 (Commander)]

[Abilities: Wind Element Control (Entry Level), Night Vision, Silent, Sharp Eyes, Piercing Claws, Nighttime Assassin]

[Bloodline: Owl (85%), Eagle (15%)]

[Evolution Direction (Eagle): Requires reaching level 51]

[Evolution Direction (Owl): Requires reaching level 51]

[Aptitude Improvement: ...]

[Description: A killer with maxed-out movement and offensive capabilities at night. It can even hunt eagle-type beasts much larger than itself. Its combat ability drops during the day, but it remains a relatively strong aerial spirit beast. It usually lives in forests with tall trees and has very good cultivation value.]

Owl... looking at it, it seems to be an owl?

The officer glanced at Qin Ding and, realizing he was a very young man, subconsciously prepared to say something, but inadvertently locked eyes with Qin Ding, who was looking over.

Those pitch-black eyes had dilated pupils; they were calm, devoid of any anticipation or nervousness about entering the wild for the first time, and even lacked any emotional color.

This young man has killed people.

The officer narrowed his eyes slightly, withdrawing the thought of offering a warning. At the same time, he began to wonder which of the twelve high schools in Chang City this young man in front of him was a Class Competition participant from.

Hmm, I'll ask around after the shift change.

Qin Ding walked past the officer with Da Hei quite naturally, only stopping once he had exited the city gate to look around.

The surrounding environment wasn't like what Qin Ding had imagined—that there would be a forest right outside the city. It wasn't that way at all; instead, there was a stretch of concrete road extending forward, connecting all the way to the edge of the forest a hundred meters outside the city wall.

He looked at the others leaving the city; they were all choosing a direction to move in without any hesitation, and almost all of them were in teams of two or more. As for someone like him, alone with one beast companion...

He was the only one.

"Woo..."

[Boss, should we follow the others or what should we do...]

"Just pick a direction at random. I just don't know how our luck will be..."

The internet did say to just pick a direction after leaving the city, while keeping an eye out for anyone following, and then to leave the area at full speed once completely inside the forest.

After a rough glance, Qin Ding chose a direction with fewer people. "This way."

As he spoke, with a vault, Qin Ding sat directly on Da Hei's back. After all, what he needed to do next was to quickly get out of other people's sight. Compared to running on his own two legs, it was better to ride Da Hei, just as he was doing now.

"Awooo."

[Boss, sit tight. I must let you experience my full speed.]

Hearing this, Qin Ding didn't say anything, just raised an eyebrow. He naturally knew that last time during the Class Competition, when Da Hei was carrying Bai Muxue, it had only used two or three tenths of its strength.

"Alright, let's go."

As his voice fell, the Sha Jin Wolf shot out like an arrow released from a bow. The powerful inertia nearly sent Qin Ding, who was riding a wolf for the first time, flying. He immediately lowered his body, sitting in a posture that was almost lying flat on Da Hei's back.

"So fast!"

At this moment, Qin Ding was somewhat astonished and uncertain. He had never imagined that Da Hei's speed could be this fast; it was somewhat exaggerated.

He slightly turned his head to scan the scenery that was rapidly receding like a slideshow, his heart filled with astonishment.

At this speed, it didn't feel any slower than some mediocre cars!

Is it because of the Stubborn Stone Body? Its physical strength is twenty percent higher than that of its kin.

At the city exit.

The burly man watched the black wolf that had disappeared in the blink of an eye, clenching his teeth and sucking in a few breaths of cold air.

"Isn't this black wolf's aura only level eleven? How could it be this fast?"

The woman named Red Snake laughed and shook her head. "Don't even think about tracking it at this speed. Just consider it lost; things like this happened often in the past."

Hearing this, the burly man fell silent, and after a moment, sighed and shook her head.

"That's all we can do."

--- I'm not in good condition today, so there's only one update; I owe one more. Finally, the usual request for updates, five-star reviews, and some free support. Thank you, my patrons.