Chapter 51: Another Encounter with the Unexpected

The Ferocious Beast riot didn’t erupt from just one direction—it spread through all the areas near where Zhou Ming had discovered the Purpleblood Vine. Within the chaos, countless Mutated Animals were also mixed in.

Faced with the encirclement of the surging beast tide, Zhou Ming’s forehead had been grazed by a bullet. Crimson blood smeared half his face, yet he could only ignore the pain for now.

Choosing a direction with relatively less movement, he immediately dashed off.

The Ironthread Snake swarm had already been recalled into his Beast Space—after all, their speed would only slow down his escape.

Inkband and Vermilion Jade coiled around Zhou Ming’s shoulders on the left and right, striking down the Mutated Animals and Ferocious Beasts that lunged at him from the sides.

At this moment, Zhou Ming once again envied those Beast Tamers who had beasts they could ride.

“Jade Scorpion.”

Zhou Ming suddenly stopped in his tracks mid-sprint. A low-tier Ferocious Beast blocked his path ahead.

“Swish—”

Vermilion Jade and Inkband lunged toward the Jade Scorpion. The situation was dire, so Zhou Ming directly commanded his beasts to attack.

The Jade Scorpion’s exoskeleton possessed excellent defense, and its attack speed was astonishing. For Inkband, it was no small challenge—thus Vermilion Jade made the first move.

“Clang!”

Facing Vermilion Jade’s assault, the Jade Scorpion snapped its massive claws—strong enough to crush steel—viciously toward it.

The claws struck fast; Vermilion Jade narrowly evaded the deadly pinch.

Seeing this, the Jade Scorpion attempted to dodge sideways—but Zhou Ming had already driven Inkband into action.

Two needle-thin streams of venom shot toward the scorpion’s eyes, a skill Zhou Ming had specially trained Inkband to master.

The Jade Scorpion hurriedly crossed its claws to block, then swung its venomous tail from the side in an attempt to strike Vermilion Jade.

However, with Zhou Ming controlling Vermilion Jade, how could it be given the chance? The bone blade at Vermilion Jade’s tail gleamed as it sliced through the scorpion’s leg in one swift motion.

The Jade Scorpion’s body collapsed heavily to the right, its tail’s strike immediately losing aim.

Taking advantage of the moment, Vermilion Jade—under Zhou Ming’s command—swung its tail again, slicing off the scorpion’s tail, while Inkband spat out another stream of paralyzing venom.

The off-balance Jade Scorpion couldn’t defend in time—its eyes were struck directly by Inkband’s venom. Within a few breaths, its body stiffened completely.

What followed was Vermilion Jade’s performance—like a butcher expertly dismembering an ox, it severed the scorpion’s tail, claws, and legs one by one. Finally, with a forceful slash of its bone blade, it barely broke through the exoskeleton on the Jade Scorpion’s head.

“Move.”

After finishing off the Jade Scorpion, Zhou Ming immediately resumed his sprint, Vermilion Jade and Inkband returning to his shoulders.

As he passed the corpse, Zhou Ming snatched the most valuable part—the scorpion tail. The one-meter-long tail didn’t hinder his movement, and there was no way he’d leave it behind.

Fortunately, Zhou Ming had two Ferocious Beast–grade Ironthread Snakes, each with their own specialties. Depending on the situation, Zhou Ming could resolve fights in the quickest way possible.

Half an hour later, before the Ferocious Beast riot fully encircled the area, Zhou Ming—relying on his two capable allies, Inkband and Vermilion Jade—successfully broke through the chaos.

“Huff… huff…”

As soon as he emerged from the beast tide, Zhou Ming tore off his gas mask and gulped in the air, his lungs and throat burning with fiery pain.

After the suffocation eased, he quickly took out a Miasma-Clearing Pill, placed it in his mouth, and put his gas mask back on.

At this point, Zhou Ming looked utterly battered—blood on his forehead and face had already crusted into scabs. Fortunately, it was only a graze; otherwise, with how fast he had been running, he would’ve lost much more blood.

His combat suit was covered in traces of corrosion and tearing—marks left by the Mutated Animals. Thankfully, Zhou Ming practiced martial arts, and with the protection of his combat suit, he managed to avoid serious injury. Otherwise, with such a massive number of Mutated Animals, even Inkband and Vermilion Jade wouldn’t have been able to keep him completely safe.

“It was you who caused the Ferocious Beast riot.”

“Swish—”

One moment, Zhou Ming was resting his hands on his thighs, trying to catch his breath. The next, he had already drawn his most powerful weapon—the Thunder Type-2 Revolver—aiming toward the direction of the voice.

Inkband hissed threateningly. As for Vermilion Jade, it had already been injured earlier due to its weaker defense and had been recalled to the Beast Space.

Otherwise, Zhou Ming wouldn’t have just aimed—he would’ve fired outright. After all, a Beast Tamer of the Apprentice Rank commanding two Ferocious Beasts was something that must never be exposed unless absolutely necessary.

“Scorpion-Tailed Lion.”

“Thunder Type-2 Revolver.”

Both men spoke at the same time, their tones filled with surprise.

Although both faces were hidden behind gas masks, tension immediately filled the air.

Zhou Ming stared at the young man before him. The stranger had the standard appearance of a Hunter—combat uniform, specialized boots, a Storm-series rifle, a filtered gas mask, and a large-capacity backpack.

But none of that mattered—the important thing was the beast beneath him: the Scorpion-Tailed Lion.

Its body was half again as large as an ordinary lion’s, muscles bulging like carved marble. Its tail looked like a steel whip made of interlocked metal segments, ending in a needle-sharp stinger that glinted with a deadly chill.

Among the many types of low-tier Ferocious Beasts, ten were recognized by Hunters as kings among their kind—and the Scorpion-Tailed Lion was one of them.

Besides its terrifying strength and powerful body, what truly made it a monarch among low-tier beasts was its tail.

Nearly two meters long, flexible beyond imagination, capable of shattering alloy armor with a single strike—the stinger at its tip was both unguardable and lethally venomous.

The young man who had spoken so coldly earlier now had veins pulsing faintly at his temples.

Seeing Zhou Ming in such a disheveled state, he had assumed he could easily subdue him with his beast.

Even in close combat, relying on his Saint Elephant Type-2 Combat Suit, he wasn’t afraid of bullets.

But he hadn’t expected Zhou Ming to wield a Thunder Type-2 Revolver. Judging by his sharp, practiced movements, it was clearly no bluff—he could actually use the weapon known as the “King of Close Combat Firearms.”

The power of a single shot—neither he nor his Scorpion-Tailed Lion could withstand it unharmed.

After all, the Scorpion-Tailed Lion wasn’t known for defense, and even with his advanced combat suit, the sheer impact could be fatal.

“A Beast Tamer walking the path of a Gunfighter? That’s rare.”

After a moment of silence, it was the young stranger who finally broke the tense standoff.

“Having more skills never hurts.”

Zhou Ming replied calmly. He understood the term “Gunfighter”—a profession that fused martial arts and firearms to a high level of mastery.

Usually, only ordinary people without strong Beast Taming aptitude pursued this path, and its ceiling was low—at best, they could dominate only among Apprentice Beast Tamers.

Though Zhou Ming had trained in both martial arts and marksmanship, he was still far from being a true Gunfighter. A genuine one could fire the Thunder Type-2 Revolver three times in a short burst.

But Zhou Ming didn’t bother explaining the misunderstanding.

In his current state, his condition was terrible. After firing the Thunder Type-2 Revolver twice and running for so long, his right arm was throbbing with pain—any further use would risk fractures or even shattering the bone.

Among his beasts, only Inkband could still fight. As for the regular Ironthread Snake swarm, Zhou Ming didn’t expect them to be of much use anymore.