Chapter 64: Venturing into Stellar Rift (Part-3)
The environment shimmered as Lin Fang’s body adjusted to the shift in space. The temperature was slightly humid, and the air was thick with unfamiliar scents of moss, blood, and wild energy.
The terrain they teleported to, randomly together, was a jagged forest, broken up with twisted trees, charred undergrowth, and faint patches of mist crawling across the ground like snakes.
Fan Yujing took the lead immediately. He unsheathed a long, slender blade from the sheath strapped to his back before turning to the group. "Listen up," he said in a crisp tone. "As you all know, I was a part of the scouting team. So, everyone just follows me without questioning."
As the team moved into formation, Lin Fang adjusted Black’s position on his shoulder and narrowed his eyes.
The forest grew thicker with every step. Vines dangled like skeletal fingers, and glowing insects buzzed lazily above fetid pools of mud.
Li Ying, the Dark Warriors guild representative and the master of Shadow Wyvern, walked beside Lin Fang, with her gloved fingers lightly resting on the hilt of her twin daggers. "So," she said casually, "first time inside a Rift?"
Lin Fang nodded. "Yeah. First one."
She smiled slightly. "It’ll be fine. These low-tier ones are pretty tame, unless you get cocky or stupid."
He nodded in silence.
Li Ying then gave him a quick glance before continuing, "We, the Dark Warriors Guild, handled many stable stellar rifts over the years. You can be assured of safety as long as you closely stick to us."
Lin Fang also nodded in silence, but this time, his gaze subtly shifted to the others walking ahead, where Fan Yujin was leading, Bo Mokong near the front, Sora scouting from a tree branch, and Keith bringing up the rear with the visor-equipped Hu Gouzi and Qin Wuyi.
Then he replied, "Sister Li, I have a question, though. All of you are B-rank Hunters. Why do you join Zero Guild when you could join a better one? Is it because of Master Li?"
Li Ying nodded with a blink. "Yeah."
"Who is Master Li anyway. Everyone seemed to be respectful toward him, for some reason. Is he a S-rank Hunter or something?" As Lin Fang asked to fulfill his curiosity, Li Ying blinked in surprise. "You don’t know who he was? Never tried searching his name on Baidu? He is not a simple S-rank hunter. He is the White Wolf of Northern Yan, one of the three SS-rank Hunters of the entire Zhonggou Continent. Well, he was retired and way past his prime, barely as strong as an S-rank Hunter, but he is still a legendary figure." She then leaned to his ear and whispered, "Actually, you know something. I and Li Xue are second cousins. That makes him more or less my uncle."
He gave a thoughtful nod. "I see."
Just then, Hu Gouzi raised a hand. "Something ahead," he murmured.
The group slowed to a halt.
Crouching near the edge of a muddy basin, a beast stood partially submerged in the muck. It was shaped like a tiger, its bulky body striped and muscular, but its head was malformed, with the flat snout of a tapir and drooping tusks.
"A tiger tapir," Hu Gouzi announced, pressing buttons on his visor. A holographic bio-scan projected above his arm. "Adult specimen. Level-16. Not a threat."
"Huh," Li Ying muttered. "Ugly thing."
Bo Mokong rolled his shoulders. "Let’s just kill it."
Fan Yujin waved a hand. "Do it quickly. We don’t waste time on garbage mobs."
Bo Mokong cracked his knuckles, stepping forward. "No problem," he said. "Just a level-16? I could punch it to death."
But then... Lin Fang’s voice rang out, grabbing the attention. "Wait."
Bo Mokong paused mid-step, turning to glare. "What?"
Lin Fang didn’t back down. He was staring at his own system interface, a faint holographic screen hovering before him. His eyes narrowed as he asked. "Are you sure it’s a Tiger Tapir?"
Keith scoffed. "We’ve got military-grade scanners, rookie. Of course it is."
Lin Fang glanced up at them, then back at his screen. His tone sharpened as he refuted his statement. "I don’t think it is... Tapir tigers don’t wander around the swamp, and even if they did, they wander in a herd."
[unknown]
[In disguise]
Only these two are displayed on his holographic screen. Hence, Lin Fang had no idea what kind of monster it was, but at the very least, he was sure that it is not what they thought it was.
However, his words only brought a frown to Bo Mokong’s face. "That’s nonsense."
Fan Yujin’s brows also furrowed slightly, though he didn’t turn around, but said, "Our scanners cannot be wrong, Lin Fang. It’s a standard-issue military device calibrated this morning."
Lin Fang didn’t argue anymore. He warned them. They didn’t listen. He can understand their ego and distrust of a rookie like him. He simply stared at the unknown monster, in full alert.
Meanwhile, Bo Mokong scoffed and raised his arm, pointing ahead. "Stop wasting time. Shredder, kill it!"
A shrill screech split the air as the Giant Flying Mantis shot forward like a green blur with its wings thrumming violently. It closed the distance in a heartbeat.
And then...
All of a sudden, dark tendrils burst out from the creature’s body. Long, slimy, and twisting unnaturally, they lashed toward Shredder like living chains. Meanwhile, its eyes turned blank and lifeless.
"What the hell..." Fan Yujin took a sudden step forward. "It’s a dead beast?"
"No..." Lin Fang said, voice low and calm as his screen flashed red. "More like a disguised one."
As he spoke, the beast’s skin began to melt and then shifted into something massive. Its stripes disappeared. Its fur turned to rock. Its bloated snout compressed, its body stretched and thickened until the so-called Tiger Tapir was gone.
In its place, there was a massive boa made of jagged stone, coiled like a fortress wall with its slate-grey eyes blinking once.
"ROCKY BOA," Lin Fang read aloud as his system fed the new data to him now that the disguise was over.
[Species: Rocky Boa - Lord Tier]
[Level: 48]
[Grade: Epic]
Lin Fang’s breath caught. "Epic grade, Lord Tier?"
His heart thumped in his chest.
’Seriously? The very first monster I run into in this Rift is a Lord Tier? Are you fuc*ing kidding me?’