160: The Black Steel Baboon King was instantly killed.
The misunderstanding was resolved during a pleasant session of 'calisthenics,' and both sides buried the hatchet.
"First, tell me about yourselves. What's your relationship with her?" Xie Ning looked at the group and asked with a frown, still maintaining some vigilance in his heart.
The group exchanged glances, and finally, Captain Li took charge of the introduction: "Yan Ruyu, she was also once a member of the Huaguo Security Action..."
After spending over a minute listening to the explanation, Xie Ning gained a bit more understanding of Yan Ruyu's past.
It turned out she was formerly a member of the Huaguo Security Action Group. Due to her extraordinary performance, she was promoted to captain in a very short time. The number of members in her team even grew rapidly from the original dozen or so to over a hundred. Compared to other squads, hers was only stronger, never weaker. She held a very high reputation within the group and was once considered the person most likely to be promoted to Chief of the Security Group within five years.
Unfortunately, after the traitor incident broke out, the public outcry left her disheartened. Ignoring all attempts to stop her, she left the Huaguo Security Action Team.
The five people in front of him were all members she had led back then. They all knew Yan Ruyu was at Lingnan Academy, but because of their special duties, they couldn't just go see her whenever they wanted.
Even though a person's expressions and mannerisms can be faked, the momentary fluctuations in their eyes cannot be hidden.
In the five pairs of eyes before him, an irrepressible excitement and ecstasy were currently showing.
While he couldn't fully trust them yet, he could at least be certain they harbored no hostility toward Yan Ruyu.
"As you can see, this is the bracelet she gave me." Xie Ning fiddled with the bracelet on his hand and smiled. "Don't worry, she's doing quite well right now."
"That's good, that's good..." Captain Li nodded vigorously, repeating the phrase under his breath.
"I'm so envious. To think you'd actually be able to stay by Boss Yan's side, that's just wonderful..." Chen Pingan, with a bruised and swollen face, grinned foolishly, his eyes glistening slightly.
Xu Shaoxiang pushed up his glasses, his originally simple expression turning lecherous. He put an arm around Xie Ning's shoulder and said, "Student Xie Ning, being a student must be quite boring. Maybe I should help you out."
His every word and action made it seem like he was looking to 'exchange resources' with someone at the next table.
"Help me with what?" Xie Ning asked, puzzled.
Xu Shaoxiang chuckled. "I'll go to school for you, and you do my missions for me."
"Get lost!" Xie Ning retorted bluntly.
After chatting for a bit on the spot and seeing that no more movement was coming from the Experimental Base, the group boarded the fighter jet that had flown in. After cloaking themselves, they departed into the distance.
The fighter jet was about ten meters in diameter with eight seats. It was a half-human, half-beast mechanical lifeform with simple thought processes and was easy to operate. Whether for combat or transport, it was an excellent piece of equipment.
It was only now that Xie Ning learned of the existence of such Yao Beasts. Greatly curious and heading in the same direction, he hitched a ride and headed west.
Just after the group left on the fighter jet...
A tiny figure slithered out from the forest, dazed and dizzy.
It was the Ice Crystal Snake that had been knocked unconscious earlier. It watched the departing fighter jet from afar with a look of bewilderment. It hurriedly chased after it for about ten meters, but seeing it getting further and further away, it couldn't help but hesitate.
They just left like that?
"Roar..."
A low growl came from above its head, followed by a glob of thick, foul-smelling saliva dripping onto it. It slowly looked up to see a Saber-toothed Tiger looking down at it with its tongue out, its expression practically saying 'delivery is here.'
The Ice Crystal Snake was so startled it jolted, completely forgetting it possessed decent combat power itself. It picked a random direction and fled with all its might.
An hour later... Boom!
The reinforced ground above the Experimental Base suddenly exploded outward.
A charred hand reached out from within, trembling as it braced against the ground to pull a body out. Beside this figure, a heavily injured big cat watched her with concern.
The charred figure was unrecognizable, but the curvaceous figure and the big cat beside her proved her identity—the Demon Cat Woman.
She lay on the ground, her aura weak and her body trembling, with little strength left to move. Opening a pair of resentful eyes, she gritted her teeth and said, "That damned little thief! I will definitely kill you!"
...Xie Ning was unaware of what happened after he left. At this moment, he was on the fighter jet, listening to the group talk about Yan Ruyu's past. Occasionally, he would answer some questions about Yan Ruyu's life at the academy.
Just then, the roar of a wild beast rang out, followed by a violent shaking of the fighter jet that made it difficult for everyone to stay in their seats.
"What's going on?" Captain Li shouted.
The pilot's voice came through the headset: "That fellow in the mountains has woken up! It wants to eat our fighter jet!"
"What?!" Not just Captain Li, but the others were also shocked and looked out the windows one after another.
Xie Ning followed their gaze.
He saw the fighter jet caught in a massive vortex, swaying from side to side. The source of the vortex was a giant Yao Beast in the mountains.
It was five zhang tall and shaped like a baboon. Its fur was pitch black like steel, with the tips shimmering with a cold light. It had an even longer tail that was as powerful as a whip.
At this moment, it was roaring with its mouth wide open, revealing sharp fangs. A black vortex erupted from its mouth, engulfing the fighter jet, seemingly trying to pull the jet into its maw.
"A Gold Level 9 Monarch Yao Beast!" Xie Ning's eyes widened.
Yang Three Blades, who was the Ice Blade Woman, looked at Xie Ning in surprise and said, "I didn't expect you to be able to recognize its rank. Impressive."
Xie Ning smiled and didn't explain, but he noticed Captain Li's strange expression and couldn't help asking:
"Do you know this Yao Beast?"
"I wouldn't say we know it, but we've heard of it." Xu Shaoxiang operated the machine a few times and then turned the screen around. "This was the Black Steel Baboon King's previous appearance—a Gold Level 5 Lord-rank Yao Beast. Although powerful, it wasn't enough to pose much of a threat to the surrounding towns. But not long ago, it promoted to a Monarch-rank Black Steel Baboon King, exceeding the city's response capabilities, so it was reported to our Security Action Team."
"I see. Then why not interrupt its attack? If this continues, the fighter jet is likely to crash." Xie Ning asked again.
Captain Li shook his head and was about to speak when the pilot's voice came through the headset: "Do not attack! Everyone, cease all attacks! I'll find a way to bypass it!"
Xie Ning was even more confused upon hearing this. Captain Li then explained: "The group has been planning for this Black Steel Baboon King for a long time. We hope to negotiate terms with it so it stays peacefully in the forest and governs the Yao Beasts in the mountains."
"You can do that?" Xie Ning couldn't help but be surprised.
"Yes," Captain Li nodded. "The stronger a Yao Beast's power, the higher its intelligence usually is. By the Monarch-rank, they are no less intelligent than humans. They often rule over a territory. If we kill them just for our own peace, we would have to pay a massive price. Conversely, reaching a cooperation not only avoids casualties but also helps manage the local Yao Beasts."
"One way Yao Beasts differ from humans is that they don't have too many schemes. Once a cooperation is reached, as long as we don't provoke it, it has no reason to attack humans," Xu Shaoxiang added.
Captain Li nodded, then looked at the Black Steel Baboon King below, frowning as he said, "The explosion just now must have woken it up. It's a full month early. This is trouble... the group's preparations aren't ready at all."
Just then, the pulling force grew stronger and stronger, and the fighter jet showed signs of losing control.
"It looks like we can't avoid it. Call for backup! Prepare for battle!"
In an instant, the group prepared for combat, ready to jump from the jet at any moment.
Right then, Xie Ning caught a glimpse of a flying shadow out of the corner of his eye and quickly shouted, "Wait!"
Captain Li and the other three looked at Xie Ning in confusion, only to see a smile playing at the corners of his eyes.
Following his gaze, a flash of sword light streaked past, and then the Black Steel Baboon King let out a miserable scream and crashed to the ground.
A graceful figure appeared in front of the fighter jet, leaving the members of the team in a daze.
The pilot muttered blankly:
"Well, the group's plan has gone up in smoke..."