Wilderness: I Tame Beasts to Survive-Chapter 51 - 50: Attracting Hatred
Lü Xiuning stared at the dozen or so large snakes writhing in the distance, their slick bodies turning his stomach. He hesitated, falling silent for a few seconds before finally speaking.
"Han Ning, can your Yin Yi handle that largest Silver-Scaled Python?"
"If it’s just one, then..." Han Ning began, but trailed off. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
He was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly noticed the Silver-Scaled Python up ahead. It had finished devouring the metal sculpture beneath it and violently shoved aside a nearby Iron-toothed Giant Snake, brazenly taking over its companion’s sculpture and continuing to chow down.
The shoved-aside Iron-toothed Giant Snake didn’t dare fight back. It coiled up dejectedly on the ground, staring wistfully at the Silver-Scaled Python.
And as the Silver-Scaled Python moved, Han Ning noticed that the other side of its body was still covered in pitch-black scales.
This half-black, half-silver characteristic basically confirmed that the evolved form of the Iron-toothed Snake was the Silver-Scaled Python!
"Hm? It hasn’t finished evolving?"
Everyone watching quietly noticed something strange about the Silver-Scaled Python.
"Then we shouldn’t call it a Silver-Scaled Python. It should still be called an Iron-toothed Giant Snake."
Seeing the Iron-toothed Giant Snake’s unique state, Lü Xiuning’s worried expression eased slightly.
"Since it hasn’t fully evolved into a Silver-Scaled Python, Yin Yi should have no problem dealing with it."
Han Ning compared their strengths. The evolved Yin Yi could have easily crushed and insta-killed the five-meter-long Iron-toothed Giant Snake from a few days ago.
This half-evolved Iron-toothed Giant Snake, while stronger, was very likely no match for Yin Yi.
Thinking about the worst-case scenario, even if they couldn’t win, Yin Yi could still cover their escape.
However, the probability of that was extremely low.
Lü Xiuning thought for a moment and said, "These dozen or so Iron-toothed Giant Snakes will still be hard to deal with. I have an idea. Let’s send up the drone first to check the surroundings and confirm if that other Silver-Scaled Python is nearby."
"If it’s not..."
As he spoke, he glanced around and pointed to a row of decorative boulders up ahead.
"You’ve all probably played online games before. In a bit, we’ll have Yin Yi and the other Silver Lotus Woods hide behind this boulder, while we humans hide further away. Then, we’ll send one person to shoot an arrow from a Compound Bow at one of the Iron-toothed Giant Snakes to get its attention and try to lure it over."
A faint smile appeared on Han Ning’s face. "Pulling aggro? I never would’ve guessed, Teacher Lü. You always look so serious, but it seems you’ve played your fair share of games."
"I was young once, too. Who hasn’t played an MMO?"
Lü Xiuning smiled and continued,
"If one Iron-toothed Giant Snake comes over, our fifty Silver Lotus Wood plants can each shoot out two Vine Whips and tie it up instantly. Then Yin Yi can kill it on the spot."
"If too many of them come... we can also catch them off guard with a preemptive strike, instantly killing a few Iron-toothed Giant Snakes. Then we’ll have Yin Yi fight the biggest one while we hold off the other giant snakes and take them down one by one. How does that sound?"
"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant."
"I think it’s feasible. Not too risky."
Hearing this, the other students all nodded, showing they had no objections.
"Based on our combat experience from the past two days, the weak points of an Iron-toothed Giant Snake over five meters long are its relatively fragile eyes and belly. For other parts, although bullets can pierce the scales, it takes at least several shots. So, if any Iron-toothed Giant Snakes come over later, aim for their eyes and bellies," Liu Yueming added.
"Leave the task of shooting the arrow to me. I have good eyesight." Han Ning volunteered, raising his hand to take on the archery duty.
"Alright. Yin Yi’s evolution should have enhanced your physical condition considerably." Lü Xiuning nodded, then took off his backpack, pulled out a drone, quickly assembled the parts, and flew it into the sky.
It was morning, the time of day with the most abundant light and the thinnest fog. Visibility was good. The drone flew dozens of meters into the air and, using the boulders as a starting point, flew forward while filming the ground below.
Han Ning stood to the side, using his sharp vision to help Lü Xiuning correct its course.
Everything went smoothly. A few minutes later, the drone returned to its starting point.
Lü Xiuning took out the memory card, inserted it into a tablet, and began reviewing the aerial footage.
The drone’s flight path covered a one-square-kilometer area from the boulders to the processing center.
"Huh? What’s this..."
When the video’s progress bar was about two-thirds of the way through, Lü Xiuning suddenly paused it and zoomed in on the image.
The group then saw several blurry, tangled pixels appear in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
Lü Xiuning zoomed in and out repeatedly before coming to a conclusion. "This largest string of white pixels is probably that Silver-Scaled Python. It looks like it’s... mating right now..."
"Looking at the location, it’s the grassy area next to the processing center, about 350 meters from here. That’s a relatively safe distance."
"In that case, let’s not waste any time. Let’s begin." Han Ning asked a student behind him for the Compound Bow.
Lü Xiuning waved his hand, signaling the others to move back. "Right. The rest of us will fall back 80 meters. Leave all the Silver Lotus Wood behind the boulders."
Following Han Ning’s command, Yin Yi and the other forty-nine Silver Lotus Wood plants hid silently behind the boulders. They were arranged in two rows, waiting for the zombies to arrive, just like in *Plants vs. Zombies*.
By now, the dozen or so Iron-toothed Giant Snakes had almost completely devoured the metal sculptures. They were now milling about on the nearby grass.
Han Ning peeked out from behind a boulder, took aim at one of the Iron-toothed Giant Snakes, and nocked an arrow to his bow.
WHOOSH!
The silvery-white arrow, carrying powerful kinetic energy, successfully struck the belly of an Iron-toothed Giant Snake.
The reason they didn’t use a gun was that the sound of a rifle shot was too loud and could attract unnecessary trouble.
Since the goal was just to lure it, a Compound Bow would work just as well.
"Hiss?"
The Iron-toothed Giant Snake, which had been immersed in pleasure, suddenly felt a sharp pain in its belly. It reared up its upper body, its brass-colored eyes scanning the direction the arrow came from as its forked tongue flicked in and out.
Seeing this, Han Ning stood straight up in the Iron-toothed Giant Snake’s line of sight, gave it a wide grin, and fired another arrow right in front of it.
"HIIISSSSSS!!"
’What does this strange, upright creature think it’s doing?!’
Enraged by Han Ning’s provocation, the Iron-toothed Giant Snake furiously untangled itself from the other Iron-toothed Giant Snake beneath it and charged toward him.
The Iron-toothed Giant Snake that had been underneath it, suddenly interrupted, was in an equally foul mood and slithered after it.
The other Iron-toothed Giant Snakes paid no attention to the actions of their kin nearby.
"Here they come, here they come! Two of them... that’s still acceptable!" Han Ning picked up a rock from the ground, hurled it at the rapidly approaching Iron-toothed Giant Snakes, and then, without waiting to see if it hit, turned and sprinted back.
