"God damn! This is a bit too much!" Yang Tian exclaimed as he ran toward the forest while the Tank Lizard's tongue was still stuck to the tree trunk.
Yang Tian shouted as he ran, "Little dragon, come out and help! If you don't, no one's going to make roasted meat for you in the future!"
"Squeak squeak!"
The little green dragon squeaked from Yang Tian's chest and suddenly zipped out of Yang Tian's sleeves.
Its speed was the fastest Yang Tian had ever seen, like a flash of light.
A rumbling sound could be heard from behind him—the Tank Lizard had caught up in a short few seconds.
Luckily, Yang Tian passed by another large tree. With a burst of speed, he hid behind the tree and turned to take a look.
The little green dragon, when compared to the Tank Lizard, was minuscule. However, it was incredibly fast, and at that moment it was already on the beast's back.
The little green dragon leaped a few times and reached the Tank Lizard's head. With a few slashes of its claws, it blinded one of the beast's eyes.
The Tank Lizard spat its tongue out in the direction of its wounded eye. However, the little green dragon had already jumped off to the ground.
"Hiss…"
The Tank Lizard hissed again, and it seemed enraged. It spun on the spot as though it were looking for the little green dragon.
The eyes were the Tank Lizard's most vulnerable spot. When it was not blinded it did not make for a good target. At this time, it was an opportune moment!
Taking advantage of the fact that the little green dragon was running circles around the Tank Lizard drawing its attention, Yang Tian charged at the reptile again. He suddenly leaped into the air and savagely impaled the Tank Lizard's remaining good eye with his dagger. After that he kicked the beast's head, propelling his body away.
Then, the Tank Lizard was no longer Yang Tian's opponent.
Having lost its sight, the Tank Lizard's tongue was useless. Yang Tian pulled out another dagger and cut out a thick pine branch. He immediately shaved it into a sharp point.
Holding the two-meter long tree branch, Yang Tian charged at the abdomen of the Tank Lizard and shoved it deep into the wound he had previously made. He then savagely twisted the makeshift pike around, turning the beast's internal organs into a pulp.
Yang Tian then beat a hasty retreat.
Boom… boom… boom…
Yang Tian held his hands together twenty meters away, watching as the Tank Lizard struggled in pain. He believed that it would not take long for the brute to roll over and die.
The Tank Lizard was resilient, but even it could not survive damage to the internal organs.
At that moment, Yang Tian watched in anticipation.
The higher the Grade of Monster, the higher the chances it had of creating a Beast Core. The Tank Lizard finally collapsed, unmoving. It seemed that it was finally dead.
Yang Tian carefully picked up a rock and threw it at the Tank Lizard. It struck the beast on its head but it did not react. Yang Tian carefully approached it, dagger in hand.
Yang Tian finally sighed in relief when he retrieved the dagger stuck in the beast's eye.
This battle had drained him immensely, and his body was dyed red in the blood of the beast.
Following that, it was time to inspect the Tank Lizard's skull to see if there was a Beast Core.
Yang Tian used his dagger to peel away the Tank Lizard's skin before using the dagger to bore away at the bone. After expending a lot of energy, he finally drilled a hole the size of his fist.
Yang Tian was extremely lucky. He used the dagger to dig around in the lizard's brains, and found a yellow Beast Core the size of the tip of his thumb.
Because of its size, this Beast Core did not really shine. Perhaps it was because the energy was less concentrated.
Yang Tian looked at the Beast Core and hid it in the pocket of his shirt.
The little green dragon did not act as before to snatch the Grade Two Beast Core. Instead, it returned to Yang Tian's chest, closed its eyes, and appeared to have gone to sleep.
It was already noon—time to head back.
When Yang Tian sheathed his dagger and put his backpack back on, the group of six men who were originally fleeing was approaching him, guns in hand.
Yang Tian frowned and raised his guard as these men approached.
These men were armed with guns, and he was not yet bulletproof. His body was not as tough as a Monster's.
"Bro! Thank you. If it weren't for you we'd all be goners!" As the men approached, their leader, a large bald man spoke to Yang Tian with a smile.
Yang Tian smiled widely and waved his hand. "Just helping out! Also, why haven't you guys left?"
The large bald man laughed, and said, "We stayed to see if we could help. However, you're just too good bro! You could take on the Tank Lizard by yourself."
As he finished speaking, he extended his hand saying, "I'm Wang Wei, it's very good to meet you."
Even though Yang Tian was wary of these men, they had not shown any hostile intentions. Yang Tian extended his hand and shook Wang Wei's hand.
Wang Wei turned and continued to introduce Yang Tian, "These five gentlemen are all my companions. Li Feng, Zhao San, Sun Ming, Lin Zhong, and Liu Hao."
Yang Tian waved at the five men and introduced himself, "My name is Yang Tian."
"Brother Yang, we'd like to buy you a meal if you would be willing? We would all like to get to know someone as strong as you."
Wang Wei smiled as he spoke.
Yang Tian hesitated, but nodded.
Wang Wei smiled when he saw Yang Tian's agreement. "Come then, brother Yang! We'll take our car back to the High Alert Area. There's a good bar there. And there are a few new girls there—they're all still fresh. We'll introduce you to them."
Yang Tian knew this fellow was not a good man upon hearing his words. Now that he thought about it, he had gotten a strange vibe from their previous conversations.
Wang Wei finished talking and turned to lead Yang Tian toward the road.
When they left the mountain path and got onto a wide asphalt road, Yang Tian saw that there were three black four-wheel drives parked.
In this era, cars were rarely seen. It was clear that Wang Wei wielded some influence in the High Alert Area.
Wang Wei pointed at the three cars as he spoke, "Brother Yang must have come from the other road! You can only park in this area…"
As he spoke, Wang Wei picked up the pace.
Meanwhile, Wang Wei's companions slowed their pace, slowly lengthening their distance from Yang Tian.
"Go!"
Suddenly, Wang Wei turned and yelled.
Yang Tian's eyes narrowed and he rolled on the ground to dash behind a boulder by the road.
Bang bang bang…
Almost simultaneously, multiple gunshots could be heard.
A hail of bullets whizzed past Yang Tian's arm—one of them even grazing him.
The boulder Yang Tian was using as a cover was a little small and he could not conceal his entire body behind it.
It was fortunate that Yang Tian was cautious and situationally aware. At that moment, he realized something was off and had immediately dashed away. If he were to stay in that open area, he would have been turned into swiss cheese.