69: Chapter 69 The boss should be dead, he won't blame us.

Inside the city ruins.

Su Wan crouched behind a fractured concrete beam, bow in her left hand and string pulled with her right. The bowstring was taut, emitting a faint creak, and the arrowhead was now steadily aimed forward.

The target was a Venom Giant Toad.

It squatted between collapsed buildings and rubble, its body as massive as a small truck. Its skin was a murky dark green, covered in uneven bumps.

Around it, the battle had already begun.

Lin Jianqiu moved rapidly around the giant toad like a shadow hugging the ground. Constantly shifting positions, every swing of the long blade in her hand accurately stabbed the giant toad.

However, the giant toad's skin was thick, so her attacks didn't have much effect. But her goal wasn't to kill it; it was mostly to provoke and distract.

On a relatively stable concrete platform further away, another teammate, Chen Yanzhi, was currently casting spells. Sharp-edged Ice Spears condensed in front of him and, with a whistling sound through the air, pelted the giant toad's back and flanks one after another, continuously wearing down its health.

As the battle continued, Su Wan's gaze remained locked on the giant toad, the tip of her arrow moving imperceptibly with its movements.

The giant toad was provoked by Lin Jianqiu's harassment once again. It suddenly raised its head, the air sac on its neck bulging and emitting a dull "gurgle," clearly preparing to spray venom.

But at that moment, as it raised its head, the position of its eyes was completely exposed.

Su Wan released her fingers.

The bowstring twanged, and the arrow turned into a streamlined flash of cold light, sinking into the giant toad's left eye with pinpoint accuracy.

"Puchi!"

The arrow pierced deep, all the way to the fletching, followed by a dull, inward-squeezing thud.

The giant toad's left eye socket immediately became a bloody mess, with thick fluid mixing with poisonous blood and splashing out.

The giant toad's massive body writhed in pain, and venom sprayed uncontrollably from its mouth, landing all around and corroding even more pits.

"Zhang Yuanfan!" Su Wan's voice immediately rang out without the slightest delay. "Go with Ah Qiu and finish it!"

As her voice fell, Zhang Yuanfan, who had been on standby at the rear flank, moved. He drew a foldable Tactical Short Spear from his back and flicked it straight with a click.

Zhang Yuanfan gritted his teeth and charged forward, gripping the short spear tightly.

However, before he could cover much distance, the Venom Giant Toad's remaining right eye suddenly swiveled, its vertical pupil instantly locking onto him.

Zhang Yuanfan felt a chill in his heart, and his footsteps subconsciously halted.

Facing the gaze of this massive monster, the momentary stiffness caused by his lack of combat experience left him rooted to the spot.

"Oh no!" Not far away, Su Wan's brows furrowed tightly as she cried out inwardly.

The giant toad's reaction was faster than she had anticipated.

It seemed to have identified this target with the weakest aura and stalled movements. Its massive body suddenly lowered, and a giant, mucus-covered claw swung down toward Zhang Yuanfan's head with a dull sound of rushing wind!

Zhang Yuanfan's pupils dilated, and his mind went blank; he actually forgot to dodge.

At the critical moment.

"Swish!"

A crimson trail tore through the air—it was an arrow trailing a tail of flames!

The arrow struck the weak point of the giant toad's descending claw wrist with precision and ferocity.

"Bang!"

The sound of the impact wasn't massive, but it caused the trajectory of the giant claw to visibly deviate. It grazed the tip of Zhang Yuanfan's nose and slammed heavily onto the ground, sending rubble flying and creating a shallow pit.

Almost at the same time the arrow hit, Su Wan's figure had already dashed out from behind the broken wall. In a few steps, she crossed the distance of ten or so meters and landed in front of the still-dazed Zhang Yuanfan.

There was no reprimand; her actions were as fast as instinct. Reaching out with her left hand, she gripped the middle of the Tactical Short Spear in Zhang Yuanfan's hand.

Then, holding her bow in her right hand and the end of the short spear in her left, she held the short spear level like a javelin.

A faint shimmer flowed over the bow's body, instantly spreading to the short spear.

That was an Archer skill she had activated.

Then, Su Wan turned her body slightly, exerted force from her waist and abdomen, and whipped her left arm out like a lash!

The short spear, temporarily imbued with the skill, turned into a blurry gray shadow and was hurled out, aimed directly at the giant toad's only remaining right eye!

"Pfft-Bang!"

The spearhead pierced deep into the eyeball, and the explosive energy from Su Wan's skill was suddenly released.

Amidst a duller explosion than before, the giant toad's last remaining right eye also turned into a mess of pulp.

The intense pain of total blindness sent the giant toad into a frenzy of struggle. Its massive body crashed around blindly, sending rubble flying from the surrounding ruins.

Su Wan kept a close eye on it and gave a clear command: "It's blind and in its death throes. Maintain a safe distance; do not approach!"

Upon hearing this, the others immediately retreated, pulling far enough away from the maddened Venom Giant Toad.

After keeping a considerable distance, the four of them quietly watched the massive creature writhe and crash around frantically in the pain of its lost vision and blood loss.

Feeling a bit more at ease, they planned to wait until it could no longer move before going in to harvest it.

After confirming it was temporarily safe, Zhang Yuanfan's rapid breathing finally began to steady.

Then, looking at the three people standing in front of him, a wave of lingering fear and shame washed over his face.

"I'm sorry, I just..."

He couldn't go on, not knowing how to describe his fatal mistake.

Lin Jianqiu and the other teammate didn't say anything. After giving him another look, they turned their gaze toward Su Wan, who was standing in front.

Su Wan withdrew her gaze from the giant toad, looked back, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

"It's fine. You've only been out with us a few times; it's normal. Once you've done this more often, you won't make this kind of mistake."

...

In the distance, the giant toad's struggles grew weaker, its roars became intermittent, and its massive body finally collapsed to the ground with a thud, leaving only its limbs twitching unconsciously.

"It's about time." Su Wan observed for a moment and made her judgment.

Lin Jianqiu and Zhang Yuanfan immediately stepped forward. With Lin Jianqiu leading the attack and Zhang Yuanfan assisting, they quickly ended its life.

After confirming the giant toad was completely dead, the four of them began harvesting it in an orderly fashion.

The giant toad had many good parts. After selling some items that were too heavy or of low value to the Mall's recycling service, and selecting high-value materials that could be traded for more points in the Gathering Area, the massive carcass was transformed into a pile of neatly organized material bundles.

The four gathered around the pile of materials again. Lin Jianqiu wiped the sweat from her brow, let out a breath, and looked at the others with some excitement.

"This is a good haul; it should sell for several hundred points."

"Mm." Su Wan nodded and reminded them, "Rest for five minutes, then we leave immediately. I heard a boss-level Beast King has appeared nearby; we shouldn't let ourselves run into it."

Everyone nodded and sat down to recover their stamina.

While resting, Chen Yanzhi suddenly looked up at the dusky sky and remarked with emotion, "Life feels so fulfilling every day now. It's only been a bit over a month since the Assessment started, but I feel like years have passed."

Hearing this, everyone smiled and nodded in agreement.

Indeed, their lives were very fulfilling now, though it was the kind of fulfillment that might cost them their lives.

...

While resting, Zhang Yuanfan unscrewed his canteen cap. Just as he was about to drink, his gaze unconsciously swept over the deeper ruins ahead.

Suddenly, he paused, squinted his eyes to look closely, and pointed in that direction with some uncertainty:

"Look over there... Is that a shop?"

The other three looked in the direction he was pointing.

Beneath a burial of concrete blocks and twisted rebar, they could indeed vaguely see the outline of a relatively intact storefront.

Upon seeing it clearly, everyone's eyes lit up.

After the first Assessment began, human society ground to a halt, and the production of various goods ceased.

After another month or two, most supplies in the cities were exhausted. By now, common goods and food from pre-Assessment human society were rarely seen.

Although Food Packs could be exchanged for just a few points... the taste was truly mediocre; they were just enough to keep one alive.

Nowadays, in the Gathering Area, even a useless bottle of cola could sell for one or two points.

This shop in front of them seemed to have been buried under the ruins long ago. If it hadn't been explored by others, they might be able to get some supplies that could no longer be bought.

The gazes of the three eventually landed on Su Wan, waiting for her to make the decision.

To be honest, the supplies from those shops didn't have much practical use, and Su Wan had just said they should leave in five minutes to avoid the smell of blood and the commotion attracting other monsters.

Su Wan was also looking at the storefront half-buried under the ruins. After a moment, she slowly spoke:

"Go ahead. The shop owner should be dead, so he won't blame us for stealing his things."

After she spoke, everyone let out a laugh.

"That's the first time I've seen you be so humorous," Lin Jianqiu said with a smile as she stood up.

Hearing this, Su Wan was also stunned for a moment, finally realizing.

Oh, so that person had been joking with her at the time.