(Xyrean Province- Inner Regions)
(The Mermaid's Lake- Forest Outskirts)
"Where are we going?" Chen Xiao asked nervously as he followed Liu Tao into a deeper part of the forest.
"Look…" Liu Tao stopped moving for a moment and turned around to face the former class monitor with a serious expression on her face.
"We are useless… we are nothing but a burden for Qin Lan and Liu Yifei… they have abilities, and we don't."
"Yes… but Sister Lan said that she is going to train us so that we can defend ourselves…" Chen Xiao retorted angrily.
"After she finishes training Liu Yifei… can you wait that long? What if something happens?" Liu Tao replied shakily as her body trembled with an emotion that Chen Xiao could not place.
Liu Tao's words hung in the air and despite his best efforts, Chen Xiao could not help but agree with her point.
"So, what do you want to do?" Chen Xiao asked in a defeated tone.
"Look all we have to do is hunt down one of those mutated animals and then swallow the crystal to activate our hidden powers…" Liu Tao whispered with a determined glint in her eyes.
Chen Xiao opened his mouth to argue some more but his expression changed as Liu Tao lifted up her shirt to reveal the gun hidden in her waistband.
"When… when did you?" Chen Xiao asked in shock as he took a step back.
"Relax… I'm not going to shoot you… I managed to grab one when Liu Yifei was practising taking items out of her storage space…" Liu Tao explained casually.
She held the handgun in her hand and an intoxicating smile flashed across her face.
This weapon… it made her feel strong.
After feeling helpless and having to be rescued all the time… it felt good… it felt right…
Sister Lan was a good person, but she did not understand what it was like to feel weak and helpless.
Liu Tao bravely stepped forward and continued to look for traces of mutated animals. Chen Xiao hesitated for a moment and then followed her.
He did not agree with the course of action that she was taking but he was scared to leave her on her own in case something happened.
The two young teenagers walked through the forest as the sun gradually began to drift towards the horizon.
Warm orange rays of sunlight streamed down from the treetops and casted long dark shadows on the forest floor.
The chirping of birds gradually faded away and one could hear the sounds of insects chattering and animals rustling through the bushes.
"Look… let's go back already…" Chen Xiao suggested weakly as he placed his hand on Liu Tao's shoulder to get her attention.
"No! We need to do this tonight!" Liu Tao replied with furrowed brows as she knelt down and examined a large paw print on the ground.
It seemed to resemble a dog's but there was something off about it that Liu Tao could not place her finger on.
Howl!
A loud cry echoed through the forest that sent a shiver down both teenagers' spines. Liu Tao and Chen Xiao exchanged glances as they glanced in the direction of the noise.
Chen Xiao shook his head multiple times, but Liu Tao bravely walked towards the noise with her fingers tightly wrapped around the gun's trigger.
At the first sign of trouble, she was prepared to empty an entire magazine into whatever monster made that sound.
Liu Tao could hear the steady beating of her heart as she got closer and closer to the direction of the growls.
No… she could not afford to run… she needed strength to protect herself…
Sister Lan for some reason thought that it was too big a risk to give them crystals since they did not show any signs of developing abilities.
And now… Liu Tao felt as though she had no choice but to take matters into her own hands.
At the end of the day, the only person that one could trust was themselves.
The pair continued walking for ten minutes until they finally arrived at a large cave that was next to a cliff.
The entrance to the cave was a vast empty hole of nothingness. A void where light was unable to penetrate its inner depths.
Liu Tao could hear the growls and howls coming from deep inside the cave and hesitantly approached its entrance.
"Are you insane?!" Chen Xiao whispered fiercely as he grabbed Liu Tao's shoulder and this time he didn't let go.
"I'm done… no… no! It's bad enough that you convinced me to wander around this god forsaken forest but now you want to go inside a cave that obviously has some kind of monster inside?"
"You don't have to come… just wait outside…" Liu Tao gritted her teeth in annoyance.
'Umm… you are the one with the weapon… if that thing kills you… what do you think is going to happen to me?" Chen Xiao sarcastically spoke.
After bottling up his rage inside for the last several hours, Chen Xiao was finally at his breaking point.
"Fuck! I can't believe that I didn't stop you sooner! This is clearly a mistake!" Chen Xiao whispered angrily as he tightened his grip on Liu Tao's shoulder.
"I just… ouch!"
Chen Xiao gripped his head in pain as Liu Tao swung the gun around and slammed the end of the weapon against the young teenage boy's temple.
The former class monitor fell on the ground with a heavy thud and could only watch in disbelief as Liu Tao ran inside the cave.
He shook his head and ran after her after only a moment of hesitation. Chen Xiao approached the entrance and froze in fear as he heard the sound of a gunshot.
Bang!
There was a brief moment of silence and then another round of gunshots could be heard.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Chen Xiao looked inside the cave and tried to see if he could spot Liu Tao, but it was too dark, and the sun had already begun to set.
Bang! Bang!
Two more gunshots rang out and this time they were accompanied by a piercing scream of pain that sounded oddly human-like.
"Liu Tao!" Chen Xiao cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled. He heard the sound of footsteps and hurriedly took a few steps back.
A girl walked through the cave entrance and blinked twice as she stared at the outside world with a thoughtful expression on her face.
She was completely unharmed, so Chen Xiao let out a secret sigh of relief. He ran up to the teenage girl and wrapped his arms around her body.
"Thank goodness you are alright…" Chen Xiao spoke happily as he hugged 'Liu Tao'.
What he did not notice was that there was no trace of familiarity or recognition in the teenage girl's eyes as she looked at him.
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