Li Keyi activated her special ability and, with the other ability users around her, went invisible. After crossing the frontline, they moved towards the beast tide in the central area. The beast tide was located in the very center, eerily quiet. Dozens of golden snub-nosed monkeys were continuously spraying hypnotic pollen, and these monkeys were also using damp cloth to cover their noses.
Shen Feng had initially thought that with their invisibility, they would be able to easily penetrate deep into enemy territory and kill the golden snub-nosed monkeys.
However, upon reaching the outskirts of the beast tide, the group immediately encountered an unforeseen situation. Many serpentine mutated beasts were alerted and turned towards Shen Feng's group, their forked tongues flicking continuously. Their bodies began to swell, emitting hissing sounds.
Shen Feng knew that this was how serpentine mutated beasts behaved when encountering danger. Rattlesnakes would shake their tails to startle predators, while other snakes would quickly inhale to inflate their bodies, making themselves appear more formidable and simultaneously emitting hissing sounds to intimidate enemies.
These snakes did not attack rashly but slowly coiled their bodies, tucking their heads in the center. If any enemy dared to approach, these snakes would launch an instant attack.
Shen Feng couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "What's going on? Aren't we invisible? How can these snakes still see us?"
Li Keyi frowned and suddenly recalled something. She said directly, "It seems many snakes have infrared sensing organs on the sides of their heads. So, these snakes aren't seeing us; rather, their infrared detection has sensed our presence!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng felt helpless and said, "In that case, there's no need for us to disguise ourselves. Let's charge straight in. Yue Hengyi and I will lead the way, Ke Yiming and Sister Qin will protect the flanks, and everyone else will follow us!"
Shen Feng's original plan was to charge directly in and kill the golden snub-nosed monkeys. The ability users' strength was sufficient to support him in doing so. If all else failed, he could use "Dong Feng Hao Dang" to disorient the mutated beasts and escape. Since they could no longer remain hidden, it was better to execute the original plan.
However, Fang Qinghao spoke up at this moment. He said earnestly, "No need for that. It's just that our heat emissions have been detected by these snakes, right? I encountered a stream on the way here. Let's retreat, and I'll use my ability to mask our heat emissions. We can still proceed deeper into the territory!"
Shen Feng considered it and decided there was no need to take risks. He agreed to Fang Qinghao's suggestion.
The group retreated a considerable distance, away from the edge of the beast tide. Only then did the serpentine mutated beasts relax and lie down on the ground at ease. From the snakes' perspective, the human-like objects they had sensed had moved away, indicating that the danger had passed.
Meanwhile, after Shen Feng's group retreated to the stream, Fang Qinghao unleashed his ability, drawing a large amount of clear water from the stream. The water slowly spread out, adhering closely to the light screen set up by Li Keyi. Now, with the water acting as a cover, even the snakes' infrared detection could not sense any heat emissions.
This time, the eight of them approached the beast tide again. The snakes on the ground detected nothing, indicating that the water had indeed masked the snakes' senses.
The group moved into the beast tide. However, many mutated beasts were packed closely together. To advance, it was inevitable that they would come into contact with the mutated beasts. Once alerted, it was possible that the plan would fail, as the golden snub-nosed monkeys were not without intelligence. If they sensed danger, they might very well flee.
In such a situation, Yue Hengyi had to act. Yue Hengyi unleashed his ability, and the surrounding area instantly became a three-times gravity field. The many mutated beasts that were slumbering were immediately subjected to three times their normal weight. Many mutated beasts suffered fractures, their bones piercing their internal organs, and they soon died in a most pitiable manner before their demise.
Yue Hengyi's ability was simple to use; it was essentially an enhancement of gravity, making it most useful in large-scale combat. However, this ability also had a fatal flaw: it could easily harm teammates. Fortunately, everyone present was an ability user and could withstand three times the normal gravity. If it were even a few times more, they might be able to endure it for a short period, but prolonged exposure would undoubtedly be fatal.
When all the mutated beasts were crushed to death, Shen Feng quickly said, "Alright, alright, Yue Hengyi, retract your ability. I can barely breathe!"
Upon hearing this, Yue Hengyi quickly withdrew his ability, and everyone felt a significant sense of relief, their breathing returning to normal.
"I was using it lightly. If I were to act seriously, I could unleash a five-times gravity field. At that point, you all might be kneeling!" Yue Hengyi said with a smile.
"Then we should thank you for holding back, really!" Ke Yiming said indignantly.
Real-world combat was not like games. In games, friendly fire was usually non-existent, but in reality, it was different. Yue Hengyi's gravity field, except for himself, affected everyone else. Therefore, although it was useful, it could easily lead to dissatisfaction among teammates.
Ke Yiming was now also a fifth-tier ability user. After he killed the Yangtze River Dragon King, he received commendations at the celebration banquet in Jinling. Not only did he receive a very imposing title, but he also obtained many evolution bases, which directly advanced him to the fifth tier. Now, Ke Yiming could proudly say that he was among the strongest ability users.
The group continued to advance. As they were walking, they suddenly saw figures in the distance through the water screen, and they were stunned. Could humans still be alive within the beast tide?
However, as they slowly approached, they realized that these were not humans. Although they were wearing clothes and adorned with jewelry, appearing to be richly dressed, the creature had very thick fur. Black fur was exposed on the outside, and at a glance, it was clear that these were黔金丝猴 (Qian Jin Si Hou - Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys)!
This golden snub-nosed monkey was over two meters tall and very robust. It was evident that this was its mutated size; otherwise, a non-mutated golden snub-nosed monkey would not have been able to grow so stout.
Some red-haired gorillas could grow to over two meters in height and were recognized as the second strongest primates (humans being the first). However, golden snub-nosed monkeys, being herbivores, had difficulty obtaining energy. Growing to two meters was entirely a fantasy.
At this moment, the golden snub-nosed monkey in the beast tide was wearing human clothes. On its upper body was a jacket, buttoned up, but it looked rather unsightly. On its lower body, it wore floral shorts, with peaches still faintly visible on them. Most shockingly, the golden snub-nosed monkey even wore hair accessories on its head, with a headband holding its fur upwards. On its fingers, it wore a large emerald ring!
"Am I dreaming?" Yue Hengyi, being the youngest at eighteen and having little experience, had never witnessed such a scene. A monkey had learned to dress itself.
"I never understood the meaning of the idiom 'mu hou er guan' (a monkey wearing a hat), but now I do!" Li Keyi said calmly.
The people present were clearly shocked by the sight before them. Circus monkeys might wear clothes, but those were put on by humans or after training. However, what they saw now was a golden snub-nosed monkey over two meters tall, mimicking humans and dressing itself. It was simply unbelievable!
Shen Feng frowned and said, "Stop talking about this. Let me kill it first! No matter how the monkey dresses up, it can't become human."
With that, Shen Feng raised his hand and fired a transparent wind blade. For animals of this size, there was no need to make a big fuss; a wind blade could kill it. However, for particularly massive animals, a wind blade was like a tickle, and against armored creatures, a few wind blades couldn't even break through their defenses.
The golden snub-nosed monkey, still dressed in its clothes, was acting as usual. It held a large bucket in one hand, containing a lot of pollen. Inside the bucket was also a scoop made of plastic.
The golden snub-nosed monkey covered its nose with a damp cloth in one hand. Although it was a bit uncomfortable, at least it wouldn't be hypnotized. With its other hand, it grabbed the scoop and began to splash pollen. Its task was simple: to spread the pollen, which would stabilize the numerous mutated beasts.
Suddenly, the golden snub-nosed monkey heard a "swish" sound near its ear, followed by a sharp pain in its chest. Looking down, it saw a profusely bleeding wound on its chest for some reason. Then, with its last ounce of strength, the golden snub-nosed monkey let out a piercing scream that tore through the night sky. Shortly after, the golden snub-nosed monkey fell to the ground and died completely.
The golden snub-nosed monkey's scream alerted many of the surrounding mutated beasts that were in slumber. Many mutated beasts had been sleeping for days. While sleeping was a good way to conserve energy, even sleeping consumed energy. Therefore, the alerted mutated beasts were all hungry. Due to their low intelligence, upon seeing the golden snub-nosed monkey lying on the ground, they began to tear at it with their mouths.
Mutated beasts were still mutated beasts. They did not feel gratitude for the care provided by the golden snub-nosed monkeys during these days. They were only temporarily hypnotized. When they awoke again, they would still eat whatever they saw. Although the golden snub-nosed monkeys had brought temporary stability to these mutated beasts, preventing humans from attacking freely, the mutated beasts did not develop a sense of gratitude because of this.
Shen Feng casually killed a golden snub-nosed monkey and began to underestimate them, thinking, "It's nothing special. Just a few dozen mutated golden snub-nosed monkeys? They're still too weak. As long as we continue to find golden snub-nosed monkeys and kill them one by one, the millstone plan can be restarted."
However, just as Shen Feng finished his thought, a harsh "clang clang clang" sound echoed from the distant mountains. This sound immediately alerted many mutated beasts.
The group had a bad premonition and quickly scanned their surroundings. They discovered several agile figures appearing within the beast tide. They were all wearing human clothes and had black fur. They were all golden snub-nosed monkeys, and they were all fleeing towards the direction of the small mountain.
Seeing this scene, everyone was dumbfounded. They hadn't expected the golden snub-nosed monkeys to run as soon as they sensed something was wrong. Moreover, the sound coming from the mountain earlier seemed familiar. Although the sound was harsh, they could still recognize it. It was cymbals. This instrument was typically used during funerals and weddings because it was too jarring and disruptive; generally, no one would play it casually.
"These monkeys are using cymbals to transmit messages? Are they kidding me?" Fang Qinghao couldn't help but exclaim. "Monkeys have learned to transmit messages. If this continues, will their brains evolve?"
The others also hadn't expected that monkeys would have a way to transmit messages, and they had learned it from humans. This was quite contrary to everyone's impression of monkeys.
Among them, the person who felt the most shocked was actually Shen Feng. He simply couldn't believe what he was seeing. A year ago, he had used a bronze bell to attract zombies. In this regard, the monkeys' intelligence was actually comparable to his own, something he absolutely could not accept.
Seeing Shen Feng's silence, Li Keyi couldn't help but step on his foot, her meaning quite clear: how could the person who opposed the decapitation operation be stunned at this moment?
Shen Feng, having been stepped on, immediately remembered the main task. Since their actions had been discovered, there was no need to continue disguising themselves. It was time to act!
"Ke Yiming, take Hou Xiaohua to the east to attract attention and create a bigger commotion," Shen Feng quickly said. Ke Yiming nodded, flames erupting from his body, and said, "Leave it to me!"
Hou Xiaohua's ability was skin reinforcement. Although this ability might seem useless, what effect could reinforced skin have? Such a thought was incorrect because the skin had a stratum corneum. As long as the stratum corneum was thickened, it could enhance defense. Not only could the skin on the limbs and torso withstand the sharp teeth and claws of mutated beasts, but even the skin on the face could block a grizzly bear's paw.