Chapter 1353: Chapter 1262: Interstellar Life 33

The girl named Du Yunxi was completely Pei Shuangshuang’s little fangirl. The moment she saw Pei Shuangshuang, she stuck to her side, staring at Pei Shuangshuang with starry eyes, which made Pei Shuangshuang feel quite embarrassed.

Besides Du Yunxi, Du Qiyue’s other two teammates were both male. One was called Dong Yi, an ordinary-looking guy of not-so-tall height, who seemed a bit introverted.

The other was called Shao Pengfeng. Shao Pengfeng was somewhat handsome, with a baby-face and a little dimple that appeared when he smiled, making him look very likable.

Now eight people in total from both sides had gathered together, discussing cooperating and the route they would take. Liang Xuan was using a small stick to draw a simple map on the ground and was analyzing the route.

Liang Xuan studied battlefield analysis. He had a special Talent: he could shape his spiritual power into a bird and scout the surrounding terrain. This simple map was drawn by Liang Xuan after scouting with his spiritual power.

Pei Shuangshuang pondered as her hand slid across the map Liang Xuan had drawn. There were two water sources marked on the map in total. Pei Shuangshuang pointed to one of them and said to the others, "In our food supplies, the ratio of water isn’t high. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

When it comes to wilderness survival, water is even more important than food, so we must replenish our water storage first. We have to go to this water source no matter what.

But out in the wild, places around water sources are definitely the most dangerous. All kinds of creatures come here to drink, and they’re also the hunting grounds for large beasts."

Chi Ruiqiu crossed her arms and said, "Dangerous or not, we still have to go. If it comes down to it, you and I, plus Qi Yue—the three of us—will go fetch the water, and the rest can wait for us somewhere safe."

Pei Shuangshuang frowned slightly. Chi Ruiqiu’s method was the simplest, because whether it was Du Qiyue, Chi Ruiqiu, or even herself, none of them were afraid of the bit of danger involved in getting water.

But doing it that way would basically cut off Liang Xuan, Du Yunxi and the others from their growth process. If they were wrapped up and taken care of all the time, never experiencing danger themselves, they would never grow.

Even though that was what she thought, Pei Shuangshuang didn’t make the decision on her own. Instead, she turned her head and asked the others for their opinion: "What do you all think?"

If they were willing to grow, Pei Shuangshuang didn’t mind looking after them along the way. Likewise, if these people truly didn’t want to face danger, Pei Shuangshuang couldn’t meddle too much.

As soon as Pei Shuangshuang finished speaking, the first to respond was Du Yunxi: "I’ll go. I want to go with you to the water source to get water."

Pei Shuangshuang wasn’t surprised by Du Yunxi’s choice. This girl radiated youthful vitality and felt very proactive and upbeat.

Chu Xinqiong, Liang Xuan, Dong Yi, and Shao Pengfeng discussed it for a bit. After hesitating for quite a while, they still said they were willing to stay put and wait.

Pei Shuangshuang sighed in slight disappointment but didn’t say much more. Everyone had to take responsibility for their own choices; others couldn’t interfere.

Chi Ruiqiu, on the other hand, was very satisfied with their tactful decision and, for once, gave them a pleasant expression.

Since the decision had already been made, they found a safe spot and set up the tents. The tents came with their own protective measures, so staying inside would be safer.

After settling the others in, Pei Shuangshuang, Chi Ruiqiu, Du Qiyue, and Du Yunxi set off toward the water source to fetch water.

On the way, Du Qiyue and Chi Ruiqiu kept chatting and laughing. Du Qiyue even deliberately made some intimate gestures with Chi Ruiqiu, showing that the two of them were different from the others.

Unfortunately, Pei Shuangshuang had zero interest in that. Compared to Chi Ruiqiu, this two-faced man, Du Yunxi preferred to stick to her idol Pei Shuangshuang’s side and ask her questions.

The result was that Chi Ruiqiu and Du Qiyue, Pei Shuangshuang and Du Yunxi, ended up walking in two separate pairs. Pei Shuangshuang was also intentionally keeping her and Du Yunxi away from those two.

Even though Pei Shuangshuang could suppress her emotions, it still felt uncomfortable, as if she was constantly hovering at the most unpleasant edge of her mood.

In the distance, a shimmering little river came into view. The surface was calm, and there didn’t seem to be any large beasts lying in ambush on either bank.

But that was only on the surface. If one looked carefully, they would notice mottled, patterned hides faintly visible in the grass by the riverbank, and shapes in the water that looked like dead wood but actually had sharp, fanged jaws.

The riverbank was riddled with danger. The four of them heightened their vigilance, advancing in pairs and inching closer to the river. What was most dangerous wasn’t the beasts lurking on the bank, but the terrifying creatures in the river that looked like crocodiles, only several times larger.

According to the species compendium, these should be Crocodile Beasts. They were named that because their appearance was extremely similar to crocodiles, but they were even more ferocious in temperament and very hard to deal with.

All four had already taken out their weapons from their Space Buttons—handguns, all of them. The handguns were made of a special metal, light and easy to carry, with low recoil, and could be loaded with hundreds of compressed bullets.

The compressed bullets were tiny and mini-sized. Their biggest advantage was that a single handgun could be loaded with hundreds or even thousands of compressed bullets, avoiding the inconvenience of having to reload after just a few shots.

When firing, after aiming with spiritual power, they would trigger and shoot out the compressed bullets. The instant the bullets were stimulated by spiritual power, they would rapidly expand to the size of normal bullets.

The lethality of compressed bullets was in no way inferior to that of normal bullets—if anything, they were even more powerful. The compressed bullets Pei Shuangshuang and the others used were premium, custom-made ones.

Once these compressed bullets hit their prey, they would instantly unleash a powerful explosive force and detonate inside the prey’s body, inflicting maximum damage.

The four of them discussed it briefly. Du Yunxi and Du Qiyue would be in charge of drawing water, while Pei Shuangshuang and Chi Ruiqiu would each protect one of them.

Pei Shuangshuang naturally protected Du Yunxi, and Chi Ruiqiu protected Du Qiyue. The four of them carefully picked a relatively safe spot and approached the riverbank.

Du Yunxi and Du Qiyue hurriedly filled their bottles with water, while Pei Shuangshuang and Chi Ruiqiu gripped their handguns tightly, eyes and ears on full alert, standing tensely behind Du Yunxi and Du Qiyue.

Du Yunxi and Du Qiyue were nervous as well, but they weren’t ordinary girls. Even in their haste, there was no panic in their movements.

The placid surface of the water was utterly still, yet under it a dark shadow was spreading. Skin as hard to notice as dead wood, a massive maw full of fangs.

Its tiny eyes, so out of proportion with its size, were locked firmly on Du Yunxi, who was drawing water above it. Its mouth slowly opened, ready to begin a silent hunt.

Du Yunxi, who was focused on drawing water, had no idea that danger had already arrived. She was still bent over when a bullet whistled past her ear and hit the water. A splash of bright Yanhong blood instantly bloomed on the surface.

Startled, Du Yunxi jerked upright. There was something in the water!

Crash! A huge splash shattered the surface as an enormous Crocodile Beast rolled out of the water. Its great jaws gaped open in a soundless roar that carried invisible ripples. With sharp eyes, Du Yunxi noticed that one of the Crocodile Beast’s eyes was bleeding; it was clearly already blind.