CSMCDB - Chapter 52
Chapter 52
This reminded Wen Yuncheng of nature documentaries she had watched, as well as stories of pythons swallowing people, the truth of which she never knew. When she was little and visiting her grandmother's house, her family would tell her vivid stories about pythons swallowing people to scare her into not running around or playing on the mountain. They said that after killing the python, a human corpse was found in its stomach.
Swallowing a person was different from swallowing a giant wolf. The wolf was too large, though this python was also of a massive variety. Watching the scene, Wen Yuncheng felt her teeth ache and couldn't help but want to rub her arms. But just as she raised her hand, Lin Jinyu grabbed her wrist.
"Wait until it's finished swallowing."
Evidently, Lin Jinyu had misunderstood something.
However, Wen Yuncheng liked this kind of misunderstanding. She looked at the hand gripping her wrist—fair and delicate, with a slightly cool touch. Of course, it could also be that her own body temperature was higher. Wen Yuncheng obediently agreed, turning her wrist to proactively take Lin Jinyu's hand.
The Little Ice Mountain glanced at her but said nothing, continuing to watch the giant python feed with concentration.
The corpse of a demonic beast was also a great supplement for other demonic beasts. After all, even humans could strengthen their bodies by eating the meat of high-level demonic beasts.
The feeding process was long. Wen Yuncheng watched as the python's belly bulged bit by bit, as if it would burst in the next second. Its wounds were squeezed, causing them to bleed, but the python didn't stop, slowly swallowing the entire giant wolf.
After swallowing its meal, the giant python didn't move. It seemed to be resting, or perhaps digesting. After all, having swallowed such a large wolf, it would be very difficult for it to move at this moment.
This was the opportunity Lin Jinyu and Wen Yuncheng had been waiting for.
They quickly approached. Wen Yuncheng took out all her turrets and guardians in one go. The guardians charged up, as did the turrets. Since their charging times were different, Wen Yuncheng had specifically calculated the delay to ensure all the attacks would hit the giant python at once. She held a flame exploder, a G-14 grenade, and a stun grenade in her hand, counting down silently in her mind...
With a resonant hum, Star Power coalesced into swords, forming a sword array that instantly surrounded the giant python. The continuously rotating sword bodies, connected to Lin Jinyu through her Star Power, constantly emitted an icy aura. The giant python let out an angry hiss, writhing as it tried to escape. It was at this moment that Wen Yuncheng threw the stun grenade.
A loud "bang" caused the Star Lord-level giant python to be dazed for a moment, and that moment was all Wen Yuncheng needed.
The attacks from the turrets and guardians poured out, along with the grenade and flame exploder. The giant python was instantly enveloped in a massive amount of Star Power energy! And that wasn't all. Lin Jinyu beckoned with her hand, recalling her longsword, then instantly severed the connection to the other replicated Star Power swords, causing the five of them to explode in an instant.
With her sword back in hand, she executed an incredibly fluid three-slash combo. Star Power swept across the ground, the trajectories of the three attacks leaving a layer of frost on the earth before viciously striking the giant python.
Listening to the violent explosions and watching the feast of detonations, Wen Yuncheng suddenly understood the saying, "Explosion is an art."
Lin Jinyu sheathed her longsword. Ignoring Wen Yuncheng, who was still controlling the turrets and guardians to charge up their Star Power cannons, she began to search for the location of the ripe spirit fruit.
A Star Lord-level demonic beast wasn't so easy to kill in one shot. Although this giant python had been severely injured in its earlier fight with the giant wolf, with her current strength... it was better to bombard it for an hour first and then check if the python was still breathing.
Under these circumstances, the energy of the turrets and guardians was consumed quickly. Wen Yuncheng went to replenish them one by one. If she ran out of mana herself, she would sit down and rest for a while, recovering before continuing to supply energy to the turrets and guardians.
Lin Jinyu entered the python's cave. Wen Yuncheng wanted to follow, but someone had to stand guard outside. So she tightly gripped the communication stone connected to Lin Jinyu.
—"This giant python should be the guardian beast of the spirit fruit. This is where it lives."
Many demonic beasts, upon discovering a spirit fruit, would settle nearby, waiting for it to ripen so they could eat it themselves. This was the origin of the term "guardian demonic beast." In reality, it couldn't really be called guarding; "food hoarding" was a much more fitting description.
"Is it safe inside?"
—"Yes."
Then there was silence. While the Star Power cannons were still charging, Wen Yuncheng could hear Lin Jinyu's footsteps if she held her breath and concentrated. She clutched the communication stone, imagining what the cave would look like—probably damp and dark.
—"It's a Body Tempering Fruit."
Wen Yuncheng's eyes curved into crescents. While multitasking by channeling energy to the turrets and controlling them to attack the seemingly dying giant python, she nervously watched the direction of the cave.
...Lin Jinyu came out.
Wen Yuncheng immediately let out a sigh of relief and smiled. Lin Jinyu walked up to her and handed her a square box made of some unknown material. "You eat it."
"...For me?" Wen Yuncheng said. "Then... then I'll give you Star Stones?"
"No need."
Wen Yuncheng clutched the box tightly and said to 1947: Look, look at her. How could I not like her?
1947 remained silent. It thought back to the previous Long Aotians. It seemed that those Long Aotians had also encountered girls like Lin Jinyu, but... people were always greedy and insatiable. 1947 didn't know what Wen Yuncheng would become in the future, but it knew that while "staying true to your original intentions" was easy to say, it was very difficult to do.
[If, in the future, someone appears who is more beautiful than Lin Jinyu, has a better figure, is gentler to you, and is more outstanding and perfect, will you still like Lin Jinyu?]
Wen Yuncheng accepted the box and pulled Lin Jinyu to sit down and start a bonfire. Since the crisis was over, it was time for a late-night snack. She still remembered that Lin Jinyu hadn't eaten much today. As for the steamed buns from the mall? No matter how delicious they were, they were still just steamed buns. She skillfully gathered branches, surrounded them with stones, and then used a flint to create sparks and light the small twigs. Then she took out skewered silver-scaled fish from her ring... Lin Jinyu sat on the other side, seemingly recovering her Star Power.
Wen Yuncheng glanced at Lin Jinyu with a hint of fondness before answering 1947's question: In this world, there are many people—both men and women—who are more outstanding, better, and more worthy of being liked than Lin Jinyu. That's a certainty. But what does their existence have to do with me? In my heart, I like her, so she is the best.
People grow old, and looks fade. It's not that I only like the young Lin Jinyu, nor that my affection for her will stop at a certain age... Of course, I can't make any guarantees right now, but at this moment, I like her the most. 1947, stop asking such meaningless questions.
[...Alright.] 1947 agreed. Such hypothetical questions were indeed quite meaningless.
After a simple meal of fish and a short rest, Wen Yuncheng got up and retrieved some of the guardians that had run out of energy. She converted her mana into energy to recharge them one by one, then placed them in her storage ring.
The turrets had also stopped firing. Lin Jinyu drew her sword, preparing to go and check if the giant python was dead. Wen Yuncheng, still worried, threw another flame exploder and a grenade over. Only after seeing that the giant python didn't move did she nod in agreement.
—The giant python was indeed dead, as dead as could be.
Perhaps it initially had the thought of a final, desperate bite at these humans before dying, but under the prolonged artillery barrage, it clearly hadn't managed to hold on until that moment.
Watching Lin Jinyu simply chop off the python's head, then skin it and remove the bones to retrieve the undamaged, valuable materials, Wen Yuncheng felt relieved. She finished recharging all the guardians and put them back in her ring. Next were the turrets. However, the turrets required far more mana than the guardians, and Wen Yuncheng couldn't recharge them in a short time. So, she collected all the turrets, planning to continue after she had recovered a bit.
She ran over to Lin Jinyu to see if there was anything she could do to help. Just as she approached, she saw Lin Jinyu suddenly retract her hand while deboning with a dagger.
"What's wrong? Did a bone prick your hand? Where are you hurt?" Wen Yuncheng hurried over and, before Lin Jinyu could react, grabbed her hand. Lin Jinyu's hand was covered in snake blood, making it impossible to see where the wound was. Just as Wen Yuncheng was about to impulsively use her mouth, 1947, terrified, started blasting suona music in her head, accompanied by a flood of [Get a grip!] messages.
Wen Yuncheng felt a cold sweat break out on her back. She calmly took a towel and clean water from her ring, wiped Lin Jinyu's hand clean, and then saw the cut on her index finger.
It wasn't a very deep cut.
Lin Jinyu looked at her finger, her brows furrowed. Her already cold face seemed to grow even colder. "...It wasn't a prick. It felt like something bit me." She didn't pull her left hand back. Instead, she used her right hand to pick up the dagger and poke at the giant python's flesh, but found nothing.
"Let me do it. You go rest." Seeing a small bead of blood emerge from Lin Jinyu's wound, Wen Yuncheng felt both a sense of endearment and heartache. She took out a small knife specifically for butchering and began to dissect the snake.
Lin Jinyu nodded silently. She stood up and glanced at Wen Yuncheng with some concern. "Be careful."
In response, she received a big smile and a cheerful, "Okay!"
Wen Yuncheng cleaned and separated the snake meat and bones. As for the skin... it was clearly useless now. She burned the rest of the carcass with another flame exploder to suppress the smell of blood. Then, she carefully washed her hands and face with water from her ring, got up, and ran a couple of laps to air out the smell on her body before returning to the bonfire. She sat down and took out a turret to charge it.
[Eat the Body Tempering Fruit.] 1947 urged.
Alright, I'll eat it. Wen Yuncheng agreed. After contributing all her mana to the turret, she took out the small box. Opening it, she was greeted by the sweet fragrance she had smelled before.
However, the Body Tempering Fruit was actually bluish-green... This color was not at all appetizing. Wen Yuncheng complained about the fruit's appearance before popping the whole thing into her mouth. Her teeth pierced the skin, and a burst of clear, sweet juice erupted in her mouth.
It melted on the tongue.
Just as Wen Yuncheng was about to savor the taste of the Body Tempering Fruit, a sudden surge of heat rushed through her limbs and bones. Every inch of her skeleton was burning hot! Wen Yuncheng closed her eyes to experience it carefully. It felt like being back in the Fire Tempering Bath. Only this time, it was like a relaxing medicinal bath...
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