Chapter 361 - 174: Monster

Chapter 361: Chapter 174: Monster

The SUV drove on the sand. Up ahead, a distinct patch of green was already visible. The color grew closer, sharpening from a blurry smudge into clear trees and shrubs.

Xu Mo gripped the steering wheel, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

Just as Xu Mo thought he could smoothly exit the desert and begin the next leg of his journey, his gaze suddenly froze.

To his left and right, at the border where gravel met sand, two shadows were rapidly closing in on the SUV.

Xu Mo’s first reaction was to slam on the brakes. Before the vehicle had even come to a full stop, his hand was already reaching for the Barrett on the passenger seat.

The two shadows were charging the SUV, and Xu Mo got a clear look at them in an instant.

The one on the left was about a meter and a half tall and two meters long. It looked like a hybrid of a large lizard and a wolf—its body covered in grayish-brown scales that gave off a dull sheen in the sunlight. The one on the right was slightly smaller but stockier. Its body was covered in short, dark red fur that rippled in the wind as it ran.

As they ran, both creatures let out guttural roars. These weren’t the senseless howls of a zombie; they were purposeful, as if the two were calling to each other or making a show of aggression.

’They’re hostile!’

The thought flashed through Xu Mo’s mind. He could tell at a glance that these two creatures had been lying in wait. They were likely hiding somewhere at the desert’s edge, watching for anything to emerge. Man or beast, anything that came out of the desert was their prey.

Xu Mo raised his rifle and aimed at the one on the left. The lizard-like creature was the faster of the two and was now less than a hundred meters from the SUV. It kicked up a cloud of sand and dust behind it, like a yellow dragon.

BANG!

The report of the Barrett shattered the silence of the open wasteland. The bullet carved an invisible trajectory through the air, speeding straight toward the creature.

The creature was still charging forward, completely unaware of the danger. An instant later, the bullet struck its body.

SPLAT!

With a sickening thud, a spray of blood mist erupted from the creature’s left side. Its forward momentum came to a sudden halt, its entire body jerking as if it had slammed into an invisible wall. The inertia sent its hind legs flipping over its head, and it tumbled twice in mid-air before crashing heavily onto the sand.

Xu Mo didn’t spare it a second glance, immediately swinging the rifle’s muzzle to the right.

The creature on the right had seen its companion fall. Its pace slowed noticeably, and it began to weave left and right. It seemed to understand that the human with the strange object could attack from a distance, so a straight charge was out of the question.

’Trying to serpentine?’

A small smile played on Xu Mo’s lips. The Barrett’s muzzle velocity was over eight hundred meters per second. At this range, evasive maneuvers were completely meaningless. The bullet would cover the distance in less than a tenth of a second; the distance it could move left or right in that time was completely insignificant.

Xu Mo predicted its trajectory and squeezed the trigger.

BANG! Another shot rang out.

The creature’s body shuddered violently, as if struck by an invisible giant hand. Its stride was instantly broken, and its whole body pitched forward, tumbling several times across the sand and kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

But it wasn’t dead!

Xu Mo saw it clearly. After tumbling to a stop, the Mutant Beast was actually struggling to its feet, trying to get up and resume its charge.

But Xu Mo gave it no such chance. He advanced a few steps, Barrett at the ready, and put another round into the struggling creature.

BANG!

This shot struck it squarely in the head. Its skull exploded, splattering dark red blood and brains everywhere.

Having dealt with that one, Xu Mo turned to the creature on the left. It was still lying on the sand, letting out a low hiss that was a mixture of pain and hatred.

Xu Mo put a final round into its head as well.

BANG.

Everything fell silent.

Confirming that both Mutant Beasts were dead, Xu Mo drew the Triangular Spike from his belt and walked over to the one on the left.

This Mutant Beast was quite large. Its grayish-brown scales glittered in the sun. Xu Mo prodded it with the Triangular Spike; the scales were tough, but the weapon’s tip could still pierce them. Its claws and teeth were long and jagged, possessing a kind of carnivorous beauty.

Xu Mo used the Triangular Spike to pry open its shattered skull and found a Crystal Core inside. It was a red Crystal Core, about the size of a thumb. Its shape was irregular, but its surface was smooth.

After stowing the Crystal Core, Xu Mo walked over to the other Mutant Beast. The one on the right was slightly smaller, and its dark red fur was coarse to the touch, like a boar’s bristles.

Xu Mo pried open its shattered head as well, but this time, he didn’t find a Crystal Core.

Puzzled, Xu Mo glanced around and spotted another red Crystal Core on the ground nearby.

It seemed the explosive impact of the Barrett’s round had blasted the Crystal Core right out of its head. It was, however, completely undamaged.

Xu Mo picked up the second Crystal Core and stood. He looked at the two cores in his hand, then thought of the others already stored in his backpack. With these two, he now had a total of five Crystal Cores.

Xu Mo still had no idea what these Crystal Cores were for. But given that every Mutant Beast seemed to have one, they were surely valuable. Perhaps they were a source of energy, or some kind of cultivation resource. Whatever the case, there was no harm in collecting them.