Chapter 95

After saying that, Ma Le cut off the communication, leaving Lingzhi staring blankly at the Miracle Badge: "Why, why didn't I meet you a few worlds earlier..."

On Ma Le's side, the reason he cut off the communication was that he had encountered a prey.

In the dense forest, a blonde girl held a somewhat charred short sword and was nervously moving forward. In this terrifying arena, encountering other tributes was dangerous, let alone venomous snakes and wild dogs.

Although Ma Le did not often participate in group training, he recognized this girl. She was Grima from District 1, a professional tribute. Compared to other characters, she was stronger and more ruthless. In the original story, Grima used a bow and arrow, but her skills were far inferior to Katniss's. Katniss used killer bees to sting her to death and then took the bow and arrow. Now, the bow and arrow had already been taken by Ma Le, and the other supplies had been burned. Grima could only use this weapon, which she had scavenged from the ruins and was covered in black soot.

In the original story, Grima died quickly and did not show much ability. However, it should be noted that the youth of District 1 were proud to become tributes. They were not selected by lottery but through competition. To stand out among them, Grima was definitely not simple. But this complexity was only in the eyes of the characters. To adventurers, she was still within the realm of ordinary people.

Ma Le did not want the Hunger Games to end too early, so his target was only those experts who could pose a threat to the trio of Lingzhi. Grima, this "delicate girl," could live a few more days.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a noise behind him. Before he could react, he felt a powerful force from behind. Taken by surprise, Ma Le was thrown out and fell in front of Grima, startling the girl.

However, Grima was trained and, recognizing that Ma Le was not one of her own, her first reaction was to swing her sword. Ma Le rolled to avoid the blade, knelt on the ground, and looked in the direction of the attack. He saw a huge black beast clawing at the ground. The beast was about the size of a black bear, with a body structure similar to a mastiff, a large head, and a wide mouth with sharp teeth, clearly not an easy opponent.

"Mutated animal? They released mutated animals so early?" Ma Le was surprised. In the original story, such non-dog, non-wolf monsters had appeared, but that was in the later stages of the game when few tributes remained, and the organizers released them to increase the game's entertainment value. Now, why were they released so early?

While Ma Le was stunned, several more identical beasts emerged from behind the monster. Grima was already terrified. Although she was a professional tribute, she was only a teenager. She could be ruthless when killing, but facing such a man-eating beast, she fell to the ground and crawled backward in panic.

The mutated beasts were not about to let them go. Three of them pounced immediately, one chasing the fleeing Grima, and two attacking Ma Le. Ma Le pulled out his dagger, ready to fight, but suddenly heard a noise from the grass behind him. "Damn it, these beasts also know how to play a two-pronged attack?!" Ma Le roared, striking a monster's belly with one hand and grabbing the dead skin on the back of its head with the other, swinging it and throwing it into the grass. He then turned and stabbed another monster in the head, killing it instantly.

After the first monster flew into the grass, a human scream suddenly came from the grass. Ma Le was surprised but had no time to think about it, as the last two monsters were already pouncing.

Ma Le sneered, threw away his dagger, and punched both monsters with both hands. He used the Nine Yang True Force in both punches, each causing over 100 points of damage. The punches hit the monsters' open mouths, and the true force exploded, turning their brains into mush, killing them instantly.

After resolving the immediate danger, Ma Le looked at Grima. The girl lay motionless on the ground, her stomach torn open, and the monster that attacked her was feasting on her insides, completely ignoring the chaos outside.

Ma Le sighed, walked over, and kicked the beast's neck, breaking it. He then picked up Grima's short sword and walked toward the grass where the noise had come from.

The monster he had thrown had been hit by his first punch, which, although not using internal force, had triggered a fatal blow. The monster should not have survived. Ma Le had thrown it to intimidate the other monsters, but unexpectedly, a human scream came from the grass.

Ma Le parted the grass and saw two bodies on the ground. One was the monster, with its chest bones deeply indented. The other was a tall, handsome boy holding a javelin. Ma Le recognized him as Marlin, Grima's partner from District 1, skilled in javelins and spears, and a strong character in the original story.

Marlin had died from a blow to the head, essentially being crushed by the monster. Now, it seemed that Grima had been a decoy, pretending to walk alone in the forest to lure attackers, while Marlin would ambush them. However, they encountered the monsters, and Marlin tried to escape in the chaos, but was mistaken for a lurking monster by Ma Le and killed...

"Ah, gunners have always been unlucky..." Ma Le sighed. This guy was really unlucky. Being hit by a monster was not dangerous, but who would have thought it would hit his head, truly a case of being hit while lying down.

In total, five monsters dropped two treasure chests, one blue and one white. However, as soon as Ma Le touched them, they turned into light and were absorbed into the Miracle Badge, and he could no longer retrieve them. It seemed the restrictions of the Hunger Games were strict, not even allowing the use of items obtained...

Besides the treasure chests, the five monsters also gave Ma Le 1,000 points for the kills. To his surprise, they also dropped an enchantment card! However, like the treasure chests, the card was immediately absorbed into the storage space upon touch, and he could not even see its attributes...

Ma Le then contacted Lingzhi, confirmed that she was safe, and reminded her to be careful of the monsters before ending the communication and continuing deeper into the forest.

...

At a small stream deep in the forest, the tall and muscular Helias was cleaning his wounds. His partner, the slender Ophelia, stood expressionless nearby, seemingly alert to the dangers around them. Their story partners had already been eliminated by the two of them. Helias was a radical person. Although his suggestions were not adopted, he still adhered to his initial idea and killed the District 1 characters first, despite the lack of practical benefits.

Helias's wounds were from the recent attack by mutated beasts. For some reason, the organizers seemed eager to increase the difficulty of the Hunger Games, releasing a large number of mutated beasts throughout the forest. There were frequent explosions and changes in the arena, and several tributes had already died. Helias, with his powerful strength, had killed four beasts alone, although he survived, he was lightly injured and his stamina was somewhat depleted.

Suddenly, Ophelia's expression turned serious, and she extended her hand toward the forest, shooting a white light arrow. However, as the light arrow was about to enter the forest, it suddenly changed direction, making a large arc and returning the way it came.

Ophelia frowned and shot another light arrow, which canceled out the first. The two arrows were shot less than a second apart, indicating that Ophelia had mastered the energy system, which was quite rare for a beginner.

Helias stood up and called out to the forest, "Since you're here, why don't you show yourself?" As he spoke, the air in front of the forest distorted, and three tributes soon appeared: Cato, Clove, and Moon Lake from District 2.

"Ophelia, known as the Soul Song, lives up to her reputation, discovering us so quickly!" Moon Lake's voice was soft and alluring, containing a certain magic. Ordinary men might have been lost in fantasies just by hearing her, but for a skilled person like Helias, such a charm was not impressive.

"Do you plan to take advantage of my injury?" Helias sneered. "Even if I have only half a life left, dealing with scum like you is more than enough!"

Moon Lake laughed, "I naturally believe in Helias's abilities, but I don't like shouting and fighting. I didn't come here to declare war..." As she spoke, she threw something to Helias, who caught it and saw that it was an external medicine ointment.

"My sponsor seems very considerate. Seeing me bitten by wild dogs, they specially sent this. I used a little, and the rest should be enough to heal your wounds," Moon Lake said, but noticed that Helias was suspiciously sniffing it and examining it thoroughly. Moon Lake was somewhat displeased, "Doubt is the greatest disrespect to a lady. Does Mr. Helias fear a woman's trick? Here, props can't be used, so how could it be poisoned? Besides, the specific effects can be seen with a scan of the badge."

Helias looked at Moon Lake, sneered, and said, "I don't think a female who relies on sex to win deserves the title of 'lady'!" He then handed the ointment to Ophelia. The devout Soul Song mixed the ointment with her fingers, closed her eyes to sense it for a moment, and then nodded. Helias then applied the ointment to his wounds with peace of mind.

This special ointment could heal wounds in a few hours for ordinary people. For the special constitution of adventurers, the effect was even stronger. As the ointment seeped into his skin, Helias's wounds visibly healed, and within a few dozen seconds, they began to scab over.

Although amazed by the ointment's effectiveness, Helias did not thank Moon Lake for bringing it, as he knew that this woman's deliberate kindness must have a purpose.

"Speak, what do you want?" Helias asked straightforwardly.

Moon Lake smiled and did not beat around the bush, "My partner, Kellayev, is dead!"

"I know!" Helias said with a hint of regret. "I saw his photo on the dome an hour ago. He was a strong man, and I hoped to compete with him, but now there's no chance..."

"He was killed in one hit!" Moon Lake's expression turned serious. "And it was when we had the numerical advantage!"

"What?" Helias's face changed, incredulous.