52: Chapter 52 The Same Taste

The habitat of the Sand Land Poison Scorpions was located in a Gobi desert to the southeast of Fengling City.

By the time Qin Ce arrived riding the Qingluan, it was already night.

Under the moonlight, the grayish-yellow sand stretched between undulating dunes, dotted with sparse drought-resistant thorn bushes and weathered rock pillars.

Three teams had already been engaged in a fierce battle here for a long time.

Qin Ce did not show himself immediately.

He had the Qingluan hover a hundred meters in the air, while his Nine-Star Insight silently swept over the area below.

Sand Land Poison Scorpions, Black Iron High-grade, with hard shells and tail stingers capable of paralyzing Bronze Rank Pet Beasts for several seconds.

They were accustomed to lurking half a meter beneath the sand, exposing only the spiracles on their carapaces, making them extremely difficult to detect.

The three teams responded in different ways:

One team drove "Earth-Digging Moles" to shuttle back and forth through the sand, using vibrations to force the poison scorpions to reveal themselves;

Another team used fire-type Pet Beasts to ignite the thorn bushes, attempting to smoke the scorpions out with thick smoke;

The third team was the most direct—the captain rode a Black Iron High-grade "Earth-shaking Rhino," trampling the sand repeatedly to force out the hidden creatures with pure physical shockwaves.

None of them were very efficient.

Qin Ce observed for ten minutes, and the three teams combined had killed fewer than ten poison scorpions.

Yet the mission requirement was thirty.

He patted the Qingluan's neck and slowly descended.

When that green shadow appeared above the sandy ground, the movements of the three teams all came to a halt.

"Qin Ce?!"

"Why is he here?!"

"Is the Shadow Monkey mission over there finished?"

Gazes filled with surprise, vigilance, and even a hint of curiosity converged on him.

Qin Ce ignored them.

He piloted the Qingluan to fly low against the sand, his Nine-Star Insight running at full power; the life-light points beneath the sand were as clear as stars in the night sky.

He flew very slowly, as if searching for something.

The members of the three teams below exchanged looks, but no one dared to act rashly—scattered news of the Shadow Monkey mission had already spread through various channels, though because the teams were still competing and no one wanted to talk about their embarrassment.

Therefore, everyone only vaguely knew that the captain of this solo team was not to be trifled with.

Soon, Qin Ce found his target.

It was a relatively flat patch of sand with at least ten scorpions lurking beneath, including two "Poison Scorpion Leaders" whose auras were significantly stronger, approaching Bronze Rank.

He hovered about ten meters above the sand and commanded the Qingluan to gather wind energy with him.

Wind energy condensed between the man and the beast.

Then it compressed, and compressed again.

Then, at Qin Ce's command, the two bursts of energy slammed into the sand surface one after another.

Boom! Boom!

The successive energy explosions interfered with each other.

Then, in the form of an energy vibration, it spread through the sand.

Whoosh—

Invisible wind pressure crashed down, and the sand surface rippled like water. The sand layer below was violently churned by this force, grains of sand tumbling, and the hidden scorpions were forcibly "vibrated" out!

Crash!

Over ten grayish-black scorpions popped out from the sand, their shells glinting coldly under the moonlight. Enraged by this sudden attack, they raised their tail stingers high and let out a threatening "hissing" sound.

Qin Ce did not attack.

He simply piloted the Qingluan to hover slowly above the scorpions, occasionally grazing the edge of a scorpion's shell with a Wind Blade; it caused no real damage, but it was enough to make the scorpion chase after him in a rage.

Thus, a bizarre scene unfolded:

Over ten Black Iron High-grade poison scorpions were sprinting across the sand, chasing a Qingluan, and then even more scorpions were provoked and joined in.

Meanwhile, Qin Ce, on the Qingluan's back, unhurriedly adjusted his direction and speed, keeping the scorpion swarm in a constant state of pursuit.

After the number of scorpions reached a certain amount.

Qin Ce began "strolling" toward the direction of the three teams.

"What... what does he want to do?" The captain of the Digging Mole Team asked, his voice trembling.

"What else could it be..." The captain of the Fire Tiger Team said with a grim expression, putting down the communicator he had just used to coordinate with the other teams. "Just like the Shadow Monkey mission, he's luring them over to force us to take action."

"Then should we... retreat?" the Earth-shaking Rhino Team captain hesitated.

Retreat?

The three captains looked at each other, seeing the struggle in each other's eyes.

Retreating meant giving up on this mission—but they had already invested too much time and resources here. Giving up now would not only mean all their previous efforts were in vain, but they might also lose points for failing the mission.

If they didn't retreat, they would have to face Qin Ce's schemes.

However, seeing these teams hesitating and remaining indifferent on the spot.

Qin Ce took the initiative to "stroll" the scorpion swarm, sweeping past about fifty meters to the side of the Digging Mole Team.

A Wind Blade grazed the shell of one poison scorpion, and in its rage, it actually broke away from the swarm and charged toward the nearest Digging Mole Team!

"Watch out!" the captain exclaimed.

The team members instinctively fought back—the moles burrowed to interfere, Wind Blades sniped from a distance, and earth walls blocked the way.

That poison scorpion was soon crippled by the focused fire.

Just as the final blow was about to land—

Whiz.

A Wind Blade shot in from the side, a precise finishing blow.

[Current Kill Count: 1/30]

The members of the Digging Mole Team froze in place.

"Damn it..." the captain gritted his teeth, "He's actually stealing from right under our noses!"

Almost simultaneously, Qin Ce "strolled" the scorpion swarm past the Fire Attack Team.

This time, two poison scorpions were deliberately "leaked" through, lunging straight for the Fire Attack Team's formation.

"Engage the enemy!" the Fire Attack captain roared.

Flames spewed out, and the poison scorpions struggled within the sea of fire.

At the moment of death, the Wind Blade appeared again.

[2/30]

[3/30]

"Qin Ce—!!" The Fire Attack captain's eyes turned red.

The third team, the Earth-shaking Rhino Team, was not spared either.

When the scorpion swarm "passed by" for the third time, Qin Ce even deliberately lowered his altitude, nearly letting several scorpions pounce onto the rhino's back.

Forced to fight, forced to deal damage, and then... forced to have their kills stolen.

This time, there was no greed like there had been with the Shadow Monkeys.

However, similarly, once human anger is ignited, it is very difficult to extinguish.

"We can't let him be so arrogant!" the Earth-Digging Mole captain bellowed. "Everyone, full output! Use the fastest speed to burst down these scorpions, don't give him the chance to steal!"

"Right! Chaotic attacks! We'll strike early so he can't judge the finishing blow!"

"Kill!"

The three teams, who were originally wary of each other, reached a brief understanding at this moment for the same goal—to stop Qin Ce from succeeding again.

They no longer held back; all their Pet Beasts erupted with full power, the light of their skills illuminating the sandy ground like broad daylight.

Under the dense firepower, the poison scorpions were irregularly and heavily wounded, then fell one by one.

What about Qin Ce?

He stopped luring the monsters.

He even stopped "strolling" and simply hovered above the battlefield, seemingly looking for opportunities in earnest.

Whenever he saw a poison scorpion about to die and an opportunity arose, he would strike decisively to take the kill.

This efficiency... compared to the Shadow Monkey mission, was pathetically low; he couldn't achieve precise kill-stealing at all.

It seemed that in terms of speed, he couldn't compete with those three teams either.

...