Chapter 90 - 86: Shock! The 4th Extraordinary Creature
As Chen Chong stared at the vine-covered cliff face before him, his pupils contracted sharply.
This feeling...
’It’s the exact same feeling I had when I first encountered the Stone Claw Eagle!’
His animal intuition gave him a distinct sense of crisis for every different danger and creature he faced.
The Blood-tooth Python, the Stone Claw Eagle, and even the Fierce Poisonous Bees from before—each had given Chen Chong a unique sense of crisis.
It was like tasting different foods; each one was distinct.
And this time, the feeling was identical to the one on that barren mountain.
’Or rather, it feels a bit weaker, as if the threat from the Stone Claw Eagle has diminished.’
Zhang Meng hadn’t lied. The injured Stone Claw Eagle was indeed hiding within these hills.
Only...
’Why can’t I see a cave?’
’All I see are dirt, weeds, and vines blanketing the hillside.’
Just then, Chen Chong suddenly froze.
Another intense feeling of crisis surfaced, overlapping with the one from the Stone Claw Eagle.
CRACK!
"Brother Chong, what’s wrong?"
Below, Xu Jun, who had been sitting on the ground, stood up and quickly asked after seeing Chen Chong nearly misstep and fall.
"I’m fine..."
Chen Chong waved down to them, then collected his thoughts and turned his gaze back to the cliff face.
’That feeling just now... I’ve never experienced anything like it.’
’It wasn’t from the Stone Claw Eagle, nor the Blood-tooth Python.’
’And it certainly wasn’t from a common dangerous creature like the Fierce Poisonous Bee.’
Although he had never experienced this feeling before, Chen Chong was absolutely certain this sense of crisis had to be coming from an Extraordinary Creature!
The feeling was, after all, in no way weaker than the ones produced by the Stone Claw Eagle and the Blood-tooth Python.
In fact... it was even a little stronger!
’Could there be two Extraordinary Creatures hiding in there?’
’The intel mentioned four Extraordinary Creatures in the Primitive Jungle. Besides the Blood-tooth Python, the Stone Claw Eagle, and the Unihorn Catfish, the last one has never shown itself. Could it be...?’
’That it’s in there?’
As he muttered to himself, Chen Chong felt a jolt of shock.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this was the first time they had found a trace of the final Extraordinary Creature.
Compared to the other three, this one was the most mysterious. It hadn’t shown itself once in nine days, and there wasn’t even any information about it.
No one had any idea what kind of beast it was.
Now, at long last, he had found a clue...
’But why would this Extraordinary Creature be in the same cave as the Stone Claw Eagle?’
’Do they know each other?’
’Did the injured Stone Claw Eagle come here seeking its protection?’
’And if Zhang Meng wasn’t lying, why has the cave vanished?’
’It’s completely covered by earth, rock, and plants, making it look identical to the rest of the cliff face.’
Just as Chen Chong tried to part the vines blocking his view to see what lay beyond...
It moved!
The vines concealing the cliff face before him... moved!
As if a gale had swept through, all the vines, leaves, and even the surrounding weeds began to tremble.
But there was no wind at all!
Chen Chong’s pupils contracted sharply once more.
At the same time, the sense of crisis related to the fourth Extraordinary Creature skyrocketed in just a few seconds!
’If I stay here for even a few more seconds, I’ll face a mortal danger!’
This feeling of imminent death was several times stronger than what he’d felt when the Blood-tooth Python had cornered him by the stream!
Chen Chong scrambled back, turned, and raced down the slope, not stopping until he reached the base of the hill.
"Brother Chong, what happened?"
"Let’s go. We can talk after we leave this place."
Glancing at the still-trembling vines above, Chen Chong knew they couldn’t linger. He quickly grabbed the others and led them away at a rapid pace.
...
Only after they were at least five hundred meters away did Chen Chong finally begin to slow his pace.
"Brother Chong, what the hell was that all about?"
"I saw you pause up there, then suddenly you came running down in a mad rush. Did you find something? Come on, tell me..."
Xu Jun was bursting with curiosity, pestering him relentlessly.
Huang Mao was the same, sticking close by, afraid he’d miss something.
In contrast, Wang Biao, Jia Wen, and Zhang Meng could see that something was seriously wrong.
They knew Chen Chong’s personality; for him to react like that, he must have discovered something major.
His expression grim, Chen Chong composed himself. After a moment of hesitation, he shared what he had discovered.
"What?"
"You’re saying the Stone Claw Eagle is really in there?"
"And a fourth Extraordinary Creature besides the Blood-tooth Python and the Unihorn Catfish?!"
Everyone was stunned, their faces a picture of disbelief.
They didn’t know how many Extraordinary Creatures were in the Primitive Jungle and had always assumed there were only three. The sudden appearance of a fourth was, needless to say, a shock.
They found it especially hard to believe when Chen Chong said that two of the creatures were together, and that this newly discovered one was even stronger than the other three.
"What are the two of them doing in the same cave?"
"So, Zhang Meng was telling the truth? There really was a cave there before?"
Chen Chong nodded.
"Yes. In all likelihood, the cave was concealed by one of the Extraordinary Creatures."
As for how, Chen Chong already had a theory.
The entrance hadn’t vanished. Instead, thick vines, tangled with weeds, dirt, and rock, had sealed it off.
This made the spot where the entrance should have been look indistinguishable from the rest of the cliff face.
In hindsight, if one were to observe carefully, they would notice that the area around the cave was slightly different from the rest of the hill.
Though the whole area was covered in countless wild plants like weeds, shrubs, and vines, the vines around the cave entrance were noticeably more numerous, thicker, and tougher than the others.
Without a doubt, this was the handiwork of the fourth and final Extraordinary Creature in the Primitive Jungle.