How Do We Play If This Boss Isn't Nerfed?-Chapter 76 - 74: Hunting Ground

"M-Mr. Chen said... it’d be better if we looked out for each other."

Zhang Yuqing’s voice was quiet, laced with a hint of nervousness she hadn’t even noticed herself.

"Should we... team up?"

She finally got the whole sentence out.

She didn’t know why she was so nervous.

Lin Ye paused.

He looked up at Zhang Yuqing, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

"What else?"

He had come to find Zhang Yuqing for this very purpose.

After all, they were from the same school.

In this first phase, there was no direct competition between them.

A reliable teammate to watch his blind spots was better than being alone, forced to guard against threats from every direction.

Zhang Yuqing felt her cheeks flush.

’I guess I just asked a really dumb question.’

’He sought me out. Why else would he be here if not to team up?’

Ignoring her awkwardness, Lin Ye handed her a bag of purified water.

He then sat down without another word.

Given his constitution, he didn’t really need to rest.

But Zhang Yuqing was clearly in poor condition, and rushing off wasn’t a wise option.

His gaze didn’t linger on Zhang Yuqing. Instead, it discreetly swept across every person and corner of the square.

Something about the atmosphere at this temporary gathering spot felt very wrong.

Lin Ye’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

’There are fewer people.’

He remembered that a few minutes ago, the largest group in the square, with at least seven or eight people, was occupying the best spot by the fountain.

But now, that group was gone.

It wasn’t just them; several other small groups of two or three had also vanished.

All that remained were a few scattered lone wolves who looked tough to mess with, and some people resting with injuries, like Zhang Yuqing.

The foul stench of mutated beasts in the air also seemed a bit stronger than before.

Lin Ye stood up.

He said only one word to Zhang Yuqing, who was still taking small sips of water, trying to calm herself.

"Go."

"Huh? Right now...?"

Zhang Yuqing was confused. She had just caught her breath.

But seeing the unyielding look in Lin Ye’s eyes, she instinctively stood up, stowed the half-empty bag of water, and followed him.

Just as the two of them left the square and entered a nearby alley...

"AHHH—!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream suddenly erupted from the direction of the square behind them!

It was followed by a second, and a third!

Accompanying the screams was the sound of heavy trampling, like the beating of war drums.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE...

It was the sound of countless mutated beasts stamping the ground with sharp claws and iron hooves!

Zhang Yuqing’s face instantly turned deathly pale.

She whipped her head around, only to see dozens, even hundreds of mutated beasts of all shapes and sizes, like a black tide bursting from a broken dam, pouring out from the streets on all sides and madly rushing towards the center of the square!

Those contestants who had just been celebrating finding a safe spot to rest were instantly swallowed by the terrifying beast tide!

"How could... How could there be so many mutated beasts?!"

Zhang Yuqing’s voice trembled, a chill running from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.

"The official rules of the competition state that in the first phase, contestants cannot kill each other."

"But the rules don’t forbid killing by proxy."

Lin Ye said in a deep voice.

Zhang Yuqing was no fool.

She instantly understood the meaning behind his words.

’This was deliberate!’

’This terrifying beast tide was deliberately lured here by someone!’

’A fatal surprise for those who’d let their guard down from injury and exhaustion!’

’Using mutated beasts to eliminate the competition!’

An indescribable chill seized her heart.

The depravity of the human heart was countless times more terrifying than these hideous monsters.

"Rested enough?"

Lin Ye suddenly asked.

Zhang Yuqing nodded subconsciously. She was still reeling from the shock and lingering fear.

’But this place isn’t safe anymore. We have to leave. Now.’

However, in the next instant, Lin Ye’s actions made her brain short-circuit.

To Zhang Yuqing’s utter horror, not only did Lin Ye not continue to flee with her, but instead... he turned and faced the square teeming with the beast tide!

’Wh-what is he doing?!’

’Is he going back?’

’Is he insane?!’

Like a black arrow loosed from a bow, Lin Ye shot out of the alley, charging to intercept three or four passing mutated boars!

Those frenzied boars were using their tusks to flip over a concrete slab, searching for new prey.

But when they saw Lin Ye charging at them, their bloodlust was instantly replaced by a soul-deep terror!

WHIMPER!

They let out panicked, chaotic squeals. Their massive bodies seemed to be mired in mud, their movements becoming sluggish and stiff.

Zhang Yuqing’s eyes widened in shock.

Those mutated boars, which had been incomparably fierce just moments ago, were now acting as if they had run into their natural predator!

SHINK!

The black spear was a blur, so fast it left only a straight, dark line in the air.

As Lin Ye’s figure blurred past the first boar, his standard-issue longspear unerringly plunged into its eye socket, the tip bursting out the back of its skull.

One hit, one kill!

He didn’t even pause. He yanked his spear free, spun, and chased after the other three boars, which were already terrified and trying to flee.

Zhang Yuqing was completely dumbfounded.

Every thrust of his spear was the epitome of efficiency.

Every step perfectly anticipated the monsters’ escape routes.

Not a single wasted movement, not an ounce of wasted energy.

Every strike landed on a vital point.

It was as if slaughtering these mutated beasts that made others tremble in fear was, for him, as natural as breathing—an inborn instinct.

As the massacre in the square drew to a close, more and more mutated beasts that had failed to secure a meal began to scatter.

Lin Ye’s own slaughter became even more precise and efficient.

A Level 11 Mutated Giant Wolf pounced from the side, but he caught it with a backhanded strike. The spear’s shaft slammed into its flank like an iron whip, eliciting a mid-air shriek of shattering bone.

With a flick of his wrist, the spear tip shot up from below, piercing its throat.

In a daze, Zhang Yuqing had an absurd thought.

This most dangerous and chaotic area had, in an instant, become his own personal hunting ground!

She finally understood why Lin Ye had turned back.

The deadly beast tide that others would do anything to avoid... was, to him, a paradise for racking up points!

By holding this alley entrance, they could simply wait for the prey to come to them. A steady stream of mutated beasts would charge right at them.

’Zhang Yuqing, how can you just stand here staring?’

’Get in there and help him!’

Zhang Yuqing tightened her grip on the Rain Listening Sword.

’If we’re a team...’

’...then I have to pull my weight!’

"Left!"

With a sharp cry, Zhang Yuqing’s figure flashed forward like a streak of light, intercepting a mutated hyena that was circling from behind a building.

Her blade flashed, clear and cold as autumn water.

The Rain Listening Sword carved an elegant yet lethal arc, cleanly slicing through the hyena’s throat.

Lin Ye glanced at her from the corner of his eye but didn’t say anything.

But after Zhang Yuqing joined the fray, a gap quietly opened in his otherwise impenetrable defense.

This allowed him to focus more on his frontal assault, confidently leaving the blind spots that had required him to turn and defend to his new teammate.

A single glance.

A single sidestep.

Though it was the first time they had ever fought together, they displayed an astonishing synergy.

Lin Ye’s spear style was all wide, powerful sweeps, filled with a raw, violent beauty. Every strike was heavy and potent, a perfect example of brute force overwhelming technique.

Zhang Yuqing’s sword, by contrast, was agile and elegant. Like a butterfly flitting through flowers, it always found the most clever angle for a fatal strike.