The soldiers were not surprised. They pulled out their cold weapons and prepared to engage with the Shadow Panther in close combat.
Douglas and the others had received Gaia's warning in advance and quickly set up their battle formations.
They set up their mounted machine guns and took out their rocket launchers, aiming them in the direction of the Shadow Panther.
The Shadow Panther also knew how to adapt. With a single glance, it knew where this team's weaknesses were.
Without hesitation, it opened its huge mouth and lunged in the direction of Wendell and the others.
Due to Douglas's behavior earlier, the two professors were very dissatisfied with Douglas.
In order to create trouble for Douglas, they deliberately led their students to delay the progress of Douglas and the others.
Douglas and the others did not car. They just followed their own plan.
Once they left, the expert group and the exploration team had been separated from each other. There was even quite some distance between them.
This made it convenient for the Shadow Panther.
The fangs in the Shadow Panther's mouth and the bloodlust in its eyes made the professors and students tremble in fear.
No one could doubt the sharpness of the claws and fangs of this beast. Once it pounced on someone, it could easily tear them into shreds.
Just as it was about to reach the man with dreads, Brad suddenly fired a crossbow bolt.
The heavy crossbow bolt whistled in the wind.
"Whoosh!"
It landed a few centimeters in front of the Shadow Panther and was barely any distance away from the man with dreadlocks.
If Brad had missed by even a little bit, the crossbow bolt would have directly struck the man in dreads.
The Shadow Panther was also shocked by the crossbow bolt and quickly staggered a few steps back.
It had no doubt that this crossbow bolt could penetrate the defense of its fur and pierce through its flesh.
William took advantage of the situation and rushed toward the Shadow Panther. He raised his shield and smashed it down at his target.
"Bam!"
William was flung into the air.
Brad saw the opportunity and took out three throwing knives from his waist. He aimed at the white area on the Shadow Panther's abdomen, preparing to throw them.
However, the young man with glasses had recovered from his panic and suddenly rushed over and shouted at Brad.
"Why do you want to hurt it?
"It didn't have any intention to attack us just now. It was just driving us away. We were the ones who stepped into its territory. As long as we retreat without provoking it, it won't attack us.
"If you throw a throwing knife, it will definitely just make it even angrier. Then, we won't be able to escape."
Brad was very angry. He stuffed the throwing knife back into their sheaths and put down the heavy crossbow. He then proceeded to put on a protective glove.
"Slap!"
Brad slapped the face of the bespectacled youth, knocking him to the ground.
Then, he stepped on his head and said, enunciating each word.
"I don't care what kind of animal lover you are, I only care about the safety of my teammates."
"If you're so worried about the safety of the Shadow Panther, then go and chase it away yourself. We only have one priority right now, and that is to kill this monster."
"You bunch of murderers!" The bespectacled youth tried to spit at Brad, but since he was still being stepped on, he swallowed a few mouthfuls of dust instead.
Seeing the brat's expression, Brad kicked the young man away with one foot, revealing a disgusted expression as he rubbed his shoes on the ground.
"Piece of sh*t! You disgust me."
While Brad was being caught up with the bespectacled youth, Gaia and the others had already subdued the Shadow Panther.
It was daytime now, so the Shadow Panther's strength had been weakened. Its strength was much weaker right now than at night, so Gaia and the others were still able to subdue it so easily.
However, Gaia felt that something was off. He felt that even if it was daytime, the strength of this Shadow Panther should not have been this weak.
It was as if it was injured...
Injured...
Gaia seemed to have an idea of what was going on. Just as he was about to think about it more, he remembered that William was still lying there.
He quickly ran over and helped William up.
"Phew, are you okay?"
"This guy is really strong," William said while grimacing.
The Shadow Panther's attack almost broke his bones.
He then looked at the explosion-proof shield in his hand. There was a visible dent on it.
It made him feel a little scared. This was not an ordinary explosion-proof shield that could only block bullets from low-speed pistols.
Instead, it was a specialized piece of gear that was enough to block shots from a high-caliber sniper rifle's 12.7mm bullet. However, it was so easily dented by the Shadow Panther.
Was that head made of steel?
————————————————
Douglas ran over and injected the Shadow Panther with an anesthetic. Then, he tied the Shadow Panther up with a special binding belt.
This was a rare research sample.
He had let the Greenwood Wolf escape the last time, losing the opportunity to study that extraordinary creature. This time, he would not make the same mistake.
"Mr. Douglas, can you show us the monster?" Professor Ronald walked over, revealing a friendly smile.
"No." Douglas, who was checking the strength of the binding belt, rejected Professor Ronald's request without hesitation.
"Why? These creatures are the property of all humans. We have the right to understand these creatures!" Professor Ronald said angrily.
William walked over and said directly, "According to the agreement signed between the Klaus Family and the Federation, before the Federation officially intervenes in the development of Planet Mushu, all the discoveries made by the Klaus Family belong solely to the Klaus Family. No one else has the right to interfere."
Gaia added, "Even without this agreement, do you think you can just stroll in and just casually take away all the results of our hard work? How could such a good deal exist?"
Professor Ronald was about to argue, but Gaia continued, "If you're still prepared to say such meaningless words, then you don't have to say anything at all. We will never agree."
Professor Ronald was furious, but they still had to rely on Gaia and the others to lead them in and out of the jungle. They did not have the courage to speak at all.
At this moment, the anesthetic took effect. The Shadow Panther that was still struggling suddenly fell asleep.
Before Douglas could let out a sigh of relief, a sudden change occurred.
At this moment, the Shadow Panther's body was trembling non-stop. A beige gelatinous lump was bulging and growing in the creature's abdomen. One could even clearly see the blood in its body slowly being drained away.
Douglas hurriedly ran away from the Shadow Panther and shouted at the same time.
"Run! This Shadow Panther is infected."
Everyone in the exploration team was frightened and trembled all over.
The tragic situation with Gaia's infection last time was still engraved in their hearts. Hearing this word being uttered out loud made their bodies shiver.