Chen Chao stepped on the soft grass, carefully moving closer to the woods.
He saw two black-striped zebras, their heads lowered as they foraged in the grass. One of the zebras suddenly raised its head in alert, and in its mouth was a human arm, tightly gripped by its virus-enhanced fangs.
Chen Chao's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately stopped in his tracks.
At this moment, he was only about twenty meters away from the two mutated zebras. Although the light could distort his vision and conceal his form, his breath and sound couldn't be hidden, so he had to be extremely cautious to approach successfully!
Chen Chao adjusted his breathing, controlling his pores to close and locking his sweat glands to avoid revealing his scent.
He stepped lightly on the grass, one step at a time, like a nimble cat, quietly closing the distance.
The two mutated zebras continued feeding. Beneath them was a human corpse wearing staff clothing. The clothes were torn and shredded, most of the flesh had been devoured, leaving behind only a half-eaten skeleton. The head, with the nose and cheeks bitten off, rolled into a lower patch of grass.
Chen Chao gripped his iron rod tightly. He didn't use a gun because the sound would alert nearby monsters.
Ten meters, eight meters...
Chen Chao was sneaking closer.
Suddenly, the alert zebra raised its head again. Its green eyes locked onto Chen Chao's position, flashing with malice.
Chen Chao cursed inwardly. It must have been his footfall that caused the creature to notice him. He immediately focused on controlling his heartbeat, slowing it down to once every sixty seconds.
Calm! Stay calm!
Chen Chao tightened his grip on the iron rod. If the zebra approached, he would strike it in a flash.
However, to Chen Chao's disappointment, the zebra kept its gaze fixed on his location but made no move to approach. After a few minutes, it lowered its head again to continue feeding.
Chen Chao sighed in relief and carefully took another step closer.
At that moment, both mutated zebras suddenly raised their heads, eyes gleaming with malice, and after a brief pause, they turned and galloped away, disappearing from view.
Chen Chao felt frustrated; his stealth had failed.
Although he had watched videos of light manipulators fighting in his past life, understanding their basic tactics was one thing, but using them himself was another.
Controlling light and using visual blind spots to conceal his body worked fine, but he had little experience with actual stealth. He realized the main reason for the failure was that his footfalls had been too loud. Even with his careful control, the mutated creatures had incredibly enhanced senses after their mutations. Even creatures not adept at hearing could now detect the smallest noises.
How can I move without making a sound?
Chen Chao fell into thought.
Ten minutes passed without any solutions. Feeling frustrated, he decided to continue tracking the zebras and gain experience through practice.
Following their tracks, Chen Chao soon spotted the two mutated zebras again, wandering across the grass.
Chen Chao immediately controlled his breathing and cautiously approached them from behind. When he reached the ten-meter danger zone, he became even more careful.
"Can't see me, can't see me..." Chen Chao silently repeated, raising his foot and preparing to step forward.
One of the zebras raised its head again, staring warily at Chen Chao's position.
Chen Chao cursed inwardly. Sure enough, the next moment, both zebras hissed and bolted into the distance, disappearing from view once again.
Chen Chao was so frustrated he almost wanted to draw his handgun and shoot them both.
Suddenly, a long cry rang out from the sky. A dark figure blocked out the sunlight as it soared through the air, heading towards the distant horizon. It was a massive black bird with a wingspan of about nine feet.
A few black feathers drifted down from the sky, carrying a faint rotting odor.
Chen Chao reached up and grabbed one, sniffing it. He breathed a sigh of relief. This black bird gave him an immense sense of pressure. If he had to fight it head-on, even if he survived, he would have to pay a heavy price.
Wait!
Wind?
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Chen Chao's mind, and he suddenly understood. So that's it—true stealth isn't about making no sound; it's about blending the sound with the wind so that it's indistinguishable from the rustling of the leaves!
Who would suspect the sound of wind?
Excited by the realization, Chen Chao immediately began tracking the zebras again. A few minutes later, he spotted them once more.
This time, Chen Chao quickly closed the distance, but when he entered the ten-meter range, he moved at the same speed as before, without making a single sound. His footfalls were so light they blended seamlessly with the rustling of the grass, indistinguishable from the wind.
The zebras had no idea. They continued wandering the grass.
Five meters, three meters!
Chen Chao struck with lightning speed!
He surged forward, his body a blur, and the iron rod smashed down onto the skull of one zebra, while his knee drove into the neck of the other zebra.
With a crunch, the bones in the neck shattered.
Without hesitation, Chen Chao lifted the rod again and swung it at the other zebra's neck, striking with brutal force.
Bang!
The skull cracked open. The zebra convulsed twice and finally collapsed, blood pouring from its crushed head, spilling onto the grass like a red fountain.
All of this took place within 1.5 seconds. During the approach, Chen Chao had mentally rehearsed this battle, so every action was fluid and seamless.
Chen Chao's chest heaved slightly. The 1.5 seconds of intense fighting had drained about a third of his energy.
He didn't relax. He immediately crouched down, pulled out a throwing knife strapped to his leg, and sliced open the bellies of the two mutated zebras, quickly eviscerating them.
Soon, he found a soft, white mass inside their chests, wobbling like jelly, covered by a thin membrane.
Chen Chao picked it up and immediately ate it.
The two gene energies had no taste, feeling like thick rice porridge, smooth as they slid down his throat into his stomach.
He immediately got up and left the area to avoid attracting other monsters with the scent of blood.
A few minutes later, Chen Chao felt the gene energy fully absorbed. His body seemed lighter, and his physical strength had slightly increased.
He entered the woods again to hunt.
Concealed in the light, he studied the tracks on the ground, judging the number and type of his targets from the tracks, selecting the ones he could handle with his current abilities, and tracked them down.
Half an hour later, Chen Chao had killed six mutated zebras and two mutated camels.
Having mastered the art of stealth, it was easy for him to close in on these mutated creatures and kill them effortlessly. However, some creatures with enhanced senses of smell and hearing were still impossible to approach.
Chen Chao jumped into a tree and rested on the treetop.
After half an hour of continuous hunting, his physical energy had been greatly depleted, and his cellular energy was running low, making it harder to control the light.
He leaned against a dry tree, relaxing his body and recovering his energy and cellular strength at the fastest rate.
"Hissss~!"
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from above.
Chen Chao's heart skipped a beat. He looked up and saw a slender green snakehead, no thicker than a finger, extending down from the treetop, less than half a meter away from him.
...