The hatch opened, and people scrambled to evacuate in all directions, running towards the woods. Groups of three or five, armed with weapons, pulled out laser guns for long-range shooting, while two passengers concentrated Energy Balls as they ran, hurling them at the approaching Twin-Winged Star Beasts.
Together, they took down one Twin-Winged Star Beast.
The remaining Six-Winged Star Beast was clearly much stronger, it spread its wings, let out a fierce roar, and, instead of attacking the spaceship, it charged toward the fleeing crowd.
With every grab and flap of its wings, more than a dozen people were sent flying, and those caught in its claws were killed instantly.
Qu Tong was running amidst another group when she glanced back, frowning involuntarily.
She was momentarily distracted and got bumped by someone next to her, nearly falling flat on the ground.
Coldness flashed through Qu Tong's eyes as she turned back to see the giant beast pouncing towards her.
And beneath its claws were several people screaming in terror, including the little girl who liked her Tomato Seedling a lot.
By then, the girl's face had gone pale, and she stood there frozen in horror.
Qu Tong quickly dropped to the ground to avoid being blown away by the wind from the wings while the people next to her weren't so lucky and were sent flying, crashing hard onto the ground.
Just as the claws were about to strike again, huge vines suddenly sprouted from behind the Star Beast, wrapping around its two claws and pulling them backwards.
The Star Beast fell to the ground, crushing a swath of greenery, and before it could rise again, the vines wrapped around the creature's neck. The seemingly soft vines grew spikes, plunging directly into the flesh, and blood gushed out.
The Star Beast struggled fiercely, beating the ground with its wings.
At the same time, the sound of buzzing engines passed through, and two silver-black fighter jets hovered overhead, marked with a wolf emblem at the forefront.
The people, shocked, watched the scene unfold and forgot to run for a moment.
"What is that?"
"Don't know, but it seems powerful, the Star Beasts are no match!"
"We're saved! The rescue team is here to save us!"
Finally, the giant beast stopped struggling. Its inky blue eyes gradually lost their luster, and its proud head fell to the ground with a thunderous thud.
The vines retracted their branches, blending in as just another ordinary vine, hardly distinguishable in height from the surrounding trees.
Only then did the old lady come to her senses, hurriedly crawling over to embrace the little girl who had narrowly escaped death, crying tears of joy.
Cheers came from the crowd, but everyone still too shaken, didn't dare to get too close to the carcass of the Star Beast.
The fighter jets landed in a clear area, and a dozen soldiers dressed in black uniforms emerged.
Meanwhile, the blue-suited captain of the spaceship walked out from the crowd of escapees, bowing profusely with gratitude to the leading officer: "Officer, you arrived just in time, thank you so much!"
Cheng Feng took a step back, his expression somewhat odd, but he still spoke solemnly, "I'm a member of the First Army Corps, just happened to be passing nearby and received a distress signal from here, so I came to check it out."
Seeing the danger was eliminated and still puzzled, Cheng Feng didn't show it and raised his left hand, signaling with two fingers. Immediately, some soldiers stepped forward to check on the injured.
Cheng Feng continued to ask, "Can the spaceship still fly? Do you want me to send a message to a nearby docking station and have another ship sent over?"
The captain of the spaceship promptly boarded to inspect and then stood in the hatch a short while later, calling out to Cheng Feng and others, "The main mechanics are undamaged, I've activated the auto-repair, and we'll be able to take off in half an hour."
"Alright, in a while, let one of the fighters escort you to Capital Star." Cheng Feng finished speaking and instructed two more soldiers to organize others onto the ship while he went to inspect the Six-Winged Star Beast's carcass.
His gaze focused on the strange vine plant nearby, but he didn't act rashly, he had just witnessed it kill a Star Beast of no weak strength from his aircraft.
Spiritual power spread out, detecting only two B-rank Psychics, causing the clear and handsome brow of Cheng Feng to furrow deeply.
The survivors made their way toward the spaceship.
"Big sis, are you hurt? Let me help you up," a loud auntie's voice rang in Qu Tong's ears as she reached out to pull Qu Tong up.
"No need!" Qu Tong subconsciously blocked the auntie's hand.
The auntie was stunned for a moment, but Qu Tong realized her mistake and showed a kind smile, "Thank you, I'm fine."
"Haha, that's good, that's good, you're young, it must've been your first time seeing a Star Beast, you must've been scared, your face went all pale. Just go back and rest, we have the military protection now; there won't be any problems," the auntie said, not minding the rejection and cheerfully reassuring.
Qu Tong didn't say anything, which was taken as agreement.
Then she picked up the flowerpot with the Tomato Seedling that had fallen to the side and stood up slowly; beneath the long sleeve, no one saw her trembling right hand.
Cheng Feng heard the commotion and glanced over, but quickly looked away again.
Once everyone had boarded the ship and the injured were given basic treatment and the dead were registered, Cheng Feng approached the two organizing the boarding and asked softly, "Did you find anything unusual?"
The two shook their heads in confusion.
After sensing around again and finding no other life forms besides the people on the ship and themselves, Cheng Feng tapped on the holographic computer a few times, then arranged for a fighter jet to escort the ship as it took off once more.
Meanwhile, he stayed behind with a few others to take care of the aftermath.
It wasn't long before another small fighter jet arrived. This jet bore no insignia; its pure black body and full metallic sheen made it clear it was a high-grade fighter jet.
A person descended from the jet, dressed in a black combat uniform and battlefield boots, with deep-set and sculpted features, a high and straight nose, pale thin lips, and a pair of distinctive, narrow eyes that were devoid of much emotion—distant and indifferent.
"Better be something worth my time," Si Yuting frowned slightly, but his eyes quickly swept over the scene.
Cheng Feng, long accustomed to Si Yuting's way of interaction, clapped his shoulder and teased, "Don't worry, this won't delay your return for the blind date."
He then received a sharp glare.
Cheng Feng quickly dropped the gossiping demeanor and changed the subject, "Take a look at the Star Beast's wound and this strange plant. It's my first time seeing this kind of attack. There are remnants of spiritual power on it, strong enough to kill a level five Star Beast. I estimate it's an A-rank Psychic or above. But what's strange is, I can't find the person who did it."
Cheng Feng relayed all the information he had gathered to Si Yuting.
After examining the wound on the Star Beast's neck, Si Yuting's gaze shifted to the green plant in the bushes.
After a moment, he reached out his hand with clearly defined knuckles.
Cheng Feng wanted to caution Si Yuting to be careful but felt it would be unnecessary—in the entire Canaan Empire, very few could injure him.
The vine plant appeared normal other than being excessively green, but Si Yuting felt a slight fluctuation of spiritual power and his usually cold and calm eyes deepened.
"Find something?" Cheng Feng noticed Si Yuting's change and asked.
"Not sure."
"Tch."
"Have someone dig up this thing and take it back for Jiang Zhou to analyze," Si Yuting ordered as he withdrew his hand.
With no other leads and guessing that the other party didn't want to reveal their identity, and since their actions appeared to be aimed at saving others, they didn't stay long. After reporting to the local patrol base, they also left.
Upon returning to the spaceship, Qu Tong made a beeline for her room, using the last of her strength to lock the door behind her.
She didn't even make it back to her bed before she slid down against a cabinet, her fingers twitching slightly before she finally passed out.
This wasn't good, but she was too weak now.