“Ah!”
Chen Bugu and the others only heard a scream.
Immediately after, Liu Shifu fell from the tree.
“Xiao Xiao, save him!”
Chen Bugu reacted quickly, immediately reminding Lin Xiaoxiao.
A blue light flashed in Lin Xiaoxiao’s eyes, and her Mind ability instantly activated!
Just as Liu Shifu was about to hit the ground, his body strangely and slowly stilled, and Chen Bugu quickly stepped forward to catch him.
“What happened?”
Chen Bugu put Liu Shifu down and only then discovered that three large wounds on his chest were constantly bleeding, clearly from being scratched by some monster.
Liu Shifu was in pain, and for a moment, he hadn't controlled his ability well, almost falling to the ground, fortunately Lin Xiaoxiao caught him with her Mind power in time.
He gritted his teeth and squatted on the ground, without a word, he raised the Lianxin Crossbow in his hand and shot diagonally upwards.
Ever since Liu Shifu started acting as the scout, Chen Bugu had given him the Lianxin Crossbow.
Firstly, Liu Shifu could rely on the Lianxin Crossbow to improve a few attributes; secondly, he could use it for self-preservation at any time if he encountered danger.
“Whoosh!”
Chen Bugu immediately looked in the direction the Crossbow flew.
The Crossbow was deeply embedded in the tree trunk; due to the hasty shot, this arrow did not hit the enemy.
But everyone had already seen the monster that attacked Liu Shifu.
It was a monkey-like monster, covered in brownish-red fur, with a long, large tail wrapped around a branch, its entire body hanging upside down from the tree, using its tail for leverage.
“It’s a Cat Ape!”
Chen Bugu instantly recognized this monster, recalling its information in his Mind.
Cat Ape: Cat ears, monkey face, claws like blades. A Black Iron Grade Low-Rank ape monster, living in forests, skilled at climbing, capable of moving quickly between trees. Its claws can extend up to 30cm, and its sharp claws and 1.5-meter long tail are its formidable weapons. Its skill is to transform its tail into an iron tail. It likes to collect red objects.
Chen Bugu was quite familiar with this creature, as Cat Apes, like Goblins, are very common monsters in the Starting Forest.
However, unlike Goblins who live in groups, Cat Apes mostly act alone, and their strength, when converted to human Awakeneds, is roughly around Black Iron Two Star.
It's just that the forest is the Cat Ape's home ground, and a Cat Ape climbing in the trees is much faster than running on the ground.
“Kill… kill it, whis… whistle… important…”
After Liu Shifu finished speaking, he activated Floating again, preparing to rush up.
Chen Bugu instantly understood the reason for Liu Shifu’s urgency; he had already seen the Cat Ape holding a red whistle in its hand.
That was a lucky whistle his family left for Liu Shifu; worried it might fall out of his pocket, Liu Shifu later simply tied it with a rope and wore it around his neck.
That's right, Cat Apes like to collect red objects, no wonder it attacked Liu Shifu.
Its objective from the very beginning was only the red whistle on Liu Shifu’s chest.
Seeing Liu Shifu float up, the Cat Ape turned and ran, jumping directly to another tree.
Liu Shifu completely disregarded his wounds and directly used Floating to pursue.
Everyone had no choice but to follow Liu Shifu's direction from below the trees.
Liu Shifu pursued with all his might, and his speed when activating Floating, as a Black Iron Two Star, was already faster than before.
However, the distance to the Cat Ape did not shorten at all, and even widened slightly.
Liu Shifu’s wounds kept seeping blood, and he was covered in sweat, whether from pain or anxiety.
Suddenly, the Cat Ape in front stopped and turned its head to look at Liu Shifu.
Without time to think much, Liu Shifu seized the opportunity to close the distance, and the Lianxin Crossbow in his hand was already strung.
However, before Liu Shifu could get close, the Cat Ape used its tail to grasp a branch behind it and swiftly swung upwards, using the momentum to flip in the air and attack Liu Shifu.
The Cat Ape was too agile, and Liu Shifu, raising the Lianxin Crossbow in his hand, couldn't aim quickly.
The Cat Ape rapidly approached Liu Shifu, then suddenly stopped, its 1.5-meter long tail gleaming with metallic luster, swinging down from above!
There was originally still a 2-meter distance between Liu Shifu and the Cat Ape, which was Liu Shifu's guaranteed hit range.
But before Liu Shifu could pull the trigger, the Cat Ape’s huge long tail swung down from above, and its tip landed precisely on Liu Shifu’s right shoulder.
A strange force struck, Liu Shifu spat out blood, his right shoulder collapsed, and he almost lost consciousness in mid-air.
Lin Xiaoxiao caught Liu Shifu with her Mind power again, and Lin Lin quickly activated Holy Light to heal Liu Shifu’s injuries.
Before completely losing consciousness, Liu Shifu only remembered lying on the ground, and the last thing Chen Bugu said to him was:
“Give me the whistle.”
Chen Bugu picked up the Lianxin Crossbow that had fallen nearby, and without stopping, continued to pursue the Cat Ape, which had swiftly fled after its successful attack.
The Cat Ape wasn't powerful; one arrow could take it down if it hit a vital spot.
“You all stay and keep watch. I won’t chase far; I’ll be back soon.”
Although Chen Bugu told Liu Shifu that he would have a chance to see his family, he knew in his heart that the probability was very slim.
The greatest possibility was that Liu Shifu would never see his family again in this life. Since that was the case, for an object like this, which held emotional significance and was highly valued by the person, he would try to help retrieve it.
If he couldn't catch up beyond one kilometer, Chen Bugu would choose to give up for safety reasons.
But within this one kilometer, he would do his best.
Upon hearing this, Bai Ting and the others consciously surrounded Lin Lin and Liu Shifu, ready for battle at any moment.
Although Bai Ting’s speed was faster than Chen Bugu’s, he understood that if Chen Bugu couldn't catch up, it would be useless for all of them to follow.
Chen Bugu ran at full speed, vaguely able to see the Cat Ape’s figure.
It used its two arms and a huge tail to flexibly climb and swing between different trees.
Its movements were just like the protagonist in the animated series 'Tarzan' he watched as a child.
After equipping the Lianxin Crossbow, Chen Bugu’s speed had reached 37 points, and he was slowly closing the distance.
At this rate, in one minute, the Cat Ape would enter his killing range.
It was embarrassing to admit, but of the 10 Crossbows brought out from the Black Iron treasure chest in Yu Tan Tunnel, only 2 were usable now.
The Cat Ape moved in the trees, and the only way Chen Bugu could attack it was with Crossbows.
Fireball was not fast enough; a monster as agile as the Cat Ape would probably easily dodge it.
Therefore, Chen Bugu only had two chances, and it would be best if one shot was a guaranteed kill.
Otherwise, if the beast sensed danger and continued to climb higher, even he would be helpless then.
After chasing for another minute, Chen Bugu finally got his chance.
A small open space appeared not far ahead, and the distance between the two closest trees exceeded 10 meters.
Perhaps that Cat Ape could swing across these 10 meters by wrapping its tail around a branch.
But the moment it leaped, its body couldn't move in the air, and his own vision would no longer be obstructed by branches and leaves, plus it just entered his killing range.
Feasible!
The Ape Cat indeed, as Chen Bugu expected, wrapped its tail around a thick branch, swung its body several times using inertia, and then flew towards the opposite side.
Opportunity!
Bullet Time activated!
In Chen Bugu’s vision, the Ape Cat’s movements suddenly became very slow.
Its speed while flying through the air was also reduced to 0.2x speed in Chen Bugu’s eyes.
Chen Bugu decisively raised the Lianxin Crossbow.
To achieve a one-shot kill and simultaneously avoid damaging the Crossbow, Chen Bugu chose not to enchant it, but instead directly activated “Lianxin”!
Within the Bullet Time state, a 0.2x speed world—this was simply the ultimate cheat for bow and Crossbow-type equipment, and Chen Bugu had realized this the first time he used Bullet Time.
“Whoosh!”
Bullet Time ended, and a red energy arrow followed closely behind the Crossbow, both arrows, one after the other, pierced through the Cat Ape’s head without surprise.
The Cat Ape’s body lost balance in mid-air and fell directly onto the open ground in front of him.
A surge of energy entered his body, Chen Bugu confirmed the Cat Ape was dead, and only then did he unhurriedly walk forward and retrieve Liu Shifu’s red whistle.
After retrieving the red whistle, Chen Bugu prepared to retrieve the Crossbow.
That shot, due to being fired at an upward angle and using “Lianxin,” the Crossbow still retained its momentum after piercing the Cat Ape’s head and flew into the distance.
Chen Bugu walked in the direction of the Crossbow, and after passing through the obstruction of several more trees, a large open space appeared before his eyes.
Chen Bugu stared at the scene before him, stunned.
The Crossbow was now deeply embedded in a plaque.
The plaque stood on a wall, with several elegant calligraphy characters written horizontally.
The characters were exceptionally well-written, with strong, forceful strokes that seemed to penetrate the paper.
Chen Bugu unconsciously read aloud:
“Tiancheng City First Hospital”