Xu An watched the lone beasts before her, killing them with a flick of her wrist, then casually storing their useful carcasses into her spatial storage.
"These white-furred rats are endless. Do you think we've reached their nest?" Zhou Haimei complained while dispatching rats.
These rat-like monsters, though small in size, possessed sharp fangs like their rodent counterparts. Two long, white whiskers twitched by their mouths, their fur was pure white, and their black eyes darted around in their sockets. If one were to disregard their offensive capabilities, one would have to admit they were quite cute. However, these rats typically fought in swarms, their biting force being astonishingly strong. Like bloodthirsty ants, after their passage, only bare bones would remain. Xu An and her companions had followed the trail of carcasses to reach this point. The main issue was that after painstakingly killing a group, Zhou Haimei would check her wristband, only to find they were worth a mere single point.
"These things are so difficult to kill, yet they're only worth one point. Isn't that a bit unfair?" The audience watching the broadcast on their screens, seeing Xu An, Zhou Haimei, and the others so exhausted they could barely lift their arms, also began to question the organizer's scoring system.
"Don't just talk about Xu An, I'm getting tired just watching. I don't know why the organizers only gave one point. Did Xu An's team offend someone?" someone watching the live broadcast in the studio complained to a friend next to them. Coincidentally, that friend was Qin Chuan. Due to the matter of mycelium, Qin Chuan had not participated in this extreme cold competition. Recalling the phone call he received yesterday, Qin Chuan's gaze fell upon Xu An again.
"Hey, big brother, say something! I invited you to watch the broadcast, but you're clearly distracted. At least respond to me," his friend said, looking at Qin Chuan's absentminded expression with a hint of exasperation. No wonder Qin Chuan, in his thirties, was still a bachelor. With such a wooden demeanor, it was unlikely he'd find a partner!
Just then, a seemingly inconspicuous rat managed to evade everyone's attacks and made a beeline for Li Xin, whose defense was the weakest. The white, long whiskers twitched like a guiding radar, constantly pointing towards Li Xin's direction. The little white rat opened its wide mouth, and in the blink of an eye, it was about to bite Li Xin's carotid artery. A "zizi zizi zizi" sound followed, sending shivers down one's spine.
Xu An, in the process of turning, saw the rat poised to bite Li Xin's neck. Without a moment's hesitation, Xu An hurled the dagger in her hand towards Li Xin's head. For a brief moment, everyone present fell silent, especially Li Cheng, who looked at Xu An with disbelief, seemingly unable to comprehend why she would do such a thing. However, before anyone could grasp the meaning behind Xu An's action, Li Xin's scream echoed from behind them. The rat, which had been perched on Li Xin's shoulder, about to bite her carotid artery, was now pierced through its entire body by Xu An's dagger. As if unwilling to accept its fate, its body fell rigidly from Li Xin's shoulder, tumbling into the snow. Xu An looked at everyone with a cold expression, offering no explanation, only stating in a rapid voice, "Everyone be careful." Instantly, the burning gazes that had been fixed on her dissipated. Everyone suddenly understood Xu An's intentions. Among them, only Li Cheng lowered his head in shame, attacking the rats with even more fervor.
Li Xin, on the other hand, was rather carefree. She hadn't forgotten to retrieve Xu An's dagger. Recalling the scene just moments before, Li Xin still felt a pang of fear, but then she thought of Xu An's appearance as she threw the dagger, and a surge of uncontainable joy swept through her. Ah, Xu An was so cool! Only Zhou Haimei believed in Xu An steadfastly. She would never doubt Xu An, nor would she ever believe that Xu An would harm her teammates. As for Guan Shan, his expression remained unchanged, making it impossible to gauge his thoughts on Xu An at that moment.
After finally repelling the rats, the group had a chance to catch their breath and rest. Li Cheng walked up to Xu An. "I'm sorry about earlier. I suspected you." Xu An was so exhausted she had no strength left. In normal circumstances, she might have been a little angry, or felt that Li Cheng was being somewhat ungrateful. But now, Xu An simply waved her hand, indicating she was fine. "Let's rest first. These rat swarms are coming in aggressively."
Li Cheng, looking at Xu An's demeanor, didn't feel much better. His sister and he had always depended on each other. They were accustomed to relying only on each other and trusting only each other. If this had happened with someone else, Li Cheng wouldn't have felt any guilt. Because even if someone had saved his sister at that moment, he would have assumed it was to exchange this favor for some benefit. But when it came to Xu An, suspecting her for the first time made Li Cheng feel uneasy, or rather, intensely guilty. However, Li Cheng was not someone who couldn't distinguish between important and urgent matters. He didn't say much more, but went to his sister's side, thoroughly checked her from head to toe, and after confirming she was fine, he firmly gave her a rap on the head.
"Ow! Big brother, why did you hit me?" Li Xin cradled her head, looking at her brother with dissatisfaction. She felt her brother was becoming increasingly strange. "I told you to be careful. Xu An saved you this time, but what about next time? Can you expect someone else to save you every time!" Li Cheng lectured his sister, frustrated by her lack of self-discipline. Although such incidents had happened before, Li Xin's vigilance then was many times higher than it was now. Li Cheng understood. Back then, their only reliance was on each other, so they dared not sleep too deeply at night. Sometimes they even dared not sleep at all, often using all sorts of means to fight off drowsiness, with the two of them taking turns to get a brief nap. It was only after joining Xu An's team that the Li siblings experienced what it was like to sleep peacefully for the first time.
"Ah, I get it. Stop nagging," Li Xin said, breaking free from Li Cheng and hopping off to find Xu An. Li Cheng watched his sister become increasingly lively and cheerful, a great internal struggle raging within him. Li Cheng himself didn't know if this change for his sister was good or bad.