"They've already found me?"
Ye Feng was quite surprised.
From their conversation, it was clear that Chen Shangyong, the man with the slanted bangs and pointed hair, was the older brother of Chen Guozhen, whom he had beaten half to death and castrated yesterday.
"Kid, I'm talking to you!"
"You b-"
Seeing Ye Feng's lack of response, Chen Shangyong became furious.
He let out a roar, took the AK47 off his back, and aimed it at Ye Feng.
The twenty-odd subordinates Chen Shangyong had brought with him also took out various weapons, looking threateningly at Ye Feng. Several of them held revolvers.
However, because Ye Feng was on the higher ground of the slope and Chen Shangyong and his men were at the bottom, their stance lacked any intimidating aura.
"Thump thump thump!..."
Just as Ye Feng was about to make a move, a loud stomping sound echoed from the ground, making the entire earth tremble slightly.
"What beast horde is running this way?"
"Why so sudden?"
Hearing the sound, Ye Feng's expression changed slightly.
The scene was eerily similar to when he was in Zhanbi City, and the crocodile-man summoned a group of human-faced monsters, triggering a zombie riot.
"Hmph-jee! Hmph-jee..."
"Moo!..."
While Ye Feng was thinking, a sound like a mixture of pigs and elephants echoed.
"Not good, it's a berserk elephant-pig!"
Upon hearing this, someone among Chen Shangyong's twenty-odd subordinates on the tricycle shouted, their faces filled with panic.
"Moo!"
Following a loud elephant trumpeting sound that reached everyone's ears.
A colossal figure suddenly burst from behind a large dirt mound and charged directly at Ye Feng and the others.
It was only then that Ye Feng got a clear look at what the person had called a berserk elephant-pig: a beast with a face resembling a pig but the body size of an elephant.
"Beep~ Hint: Berserk Elephant-Pig. Resembles a pig, but the size of an elephant. Carnivorous, sensitive to the smell of blood, an excellent runner, irritable, and highly aggressive!"
At this moment, the system's prompt also sounded.
"Moo!"
Another elephant trumpeting sound. The berserk elephant-pig had already reached a position less than 3 meters behind the tricycle Chen Shangyong had been riding.
Chen Shangyong's subordinates were startled by the sudden appearance of the berserk elephant-pig, fumbling in their panic and trying to escape the tricycle.
But because they had been packed too closely together, their struggles caused the tricycle to instantly overturn.
The twenty-odd men fell to the ground, most of them pinned under the tricycle, groaning in pain!
"Moo!"
The berserk elephant-pig roared and stomped directly onto the tricycle.
"Bang bang~..."
"Ah! Ah... Pain!... Ah..."
"Puff!"
The tricycle, under the immense weight of the berserk elephant-pig, instantly caved in. The subordinates trapped beneath the vehicle let out agonizing screams.
Several of them even spewed blood from their mouths...
"Hmph-jee! Hmph-jee~"
At this moment, the berserk elephant-pig lifted its foot and used its pig-like snout to push aside the tricycle, then began to feast on Chen Shangyong's subordinates.
For a time, there were more piercing screams...
"Moo moo!..."
Another round of trumpeting sounds, and this time it was very close. A large horde of berserk elephant-pigs was indeed running towards them.
"Lingxi, get in the car quickly!"
Seeing this, Ye Feng shouted urgently.
The next second, he scooped up the still-confused Xiaoxiao, who had just reached his side, quickly got into the Humvee, started the engine, and drove forward.
"Big... Big brother, so many... so many elephants with short trunks?"
"And they look like... pigs~"
Xiaoxiao said in astonishment as she looked at the scene through the rear window of the car.
"Those aren't elephants, they're berserk elephant-pigs!"
Ye Feng explained, pressing harder on the accelerator.
"Ah! Ah..."
Behind them, the screams of Chen Shangyong's subordinates continued to ring out, having been trampled or hit by the berserk elephant-pigs.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Ye Feng's brow furrowed.
He saw Chen Shangyong aiming the AK47 at him in the rearview mirror.
Ye Feng gripped the steering wheel, and the Barrett M82A1 instantly appeared in his hand, extended out the window.
"Bang!"
A deafening gunshot followed.
"Ah!..."
Chen Shangyong let out a pig-like scream as he was shot in half at the waist.
"Moo moo! ... Moo..."
At this moment, the berserk elephant-pig also reached the screaming Chen Shangyong and, with a few powerful stomps, crushed him into a pulp.
In just a few minutes,
Including Chen Shangyong, all twenty-odd people who had come to trouble Ye Feng met their end under the feet or in the mouths of the berserk elephant-pigs...
"Moo!"
The horde of berserk elephant-pigs, seemingly stimulated by the smell of blood, their eyes turned crimson, and they began to chase after Ye Feng and his group.
"Damn, these berserk elephant-pigs are so fast!"
Although the system had already informed Ye Feng that berserk elephant-pigs were good runners, he was still frustrated.
The terrain here was terrible, uneven, with occasional giant rocks blocking the path or large water pits. There was practically no road.
Even with the military Humvee's accelerator pressed to the floor, Ye Feng could only manage 60 km/h.
The berserk elephant-pigs, however, were clearly faster, gradually closing the distance between them and Ye Feng.
"Big... Big brother, there are so many berserk elephant-pigs... there are... over two hundred of them~"
"And they're all charging at us!"
At this moment, Xiaoxiao's voice rang out, dispelling any thought Ye Feng had of getting out to fight the berserk elephant-pigs.
He had observed earlier that the berserk elephant-pigs were not only huge but also had extremely tough hides; granite rocks shattered instantly when struck by their legs.
With so many of them, if they were to kick and ram the military Humvee, his vital mode of transportation would surely be destroyed...
"That's strange, why are the berserk elephant-pigs still chasing us?"
"We three don't have that much meat, it's not enough for them to share!"
Xiaoxiao's puzzled voice echoed.
"These berserk elephant-pigs might not be attacking us solely for food. Some animals have a very strong territorial instinct."
"They will eliminate any creature that enters their territory and is perceived as a threat, thereby establishing their dominance..."
Lingxi observed the horde of berserk elephant-pigs for a while and chimed in.
"Is that so~ Sister Lingxi, you know so much~"
Xiaoxiao looked at Lingxi with envy.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Ye Feng's expression changed.
He noticed that the rolling clouds in the sky ahead seemed unusual, and there was a faint acidic smell in the air.
"Big brother, the berserk elephant-pigs don't seem to be chasing us anymore?"
At this moment, Xiaoxiao's surprised voice rang out.
Ye Feng slowed down the car and looked back. He also heard the running sounds of the berserk elephant-pigs growing fainter.
Under the watchful eyes of Ye Feng and his companions, the stationary berserk elephant-pigs exchanged various sounds, seemingly communicating.
Finally, with a loud cry, they turned around and ran away without looking back...
"What the heck?"
Ye Feng stopped the car, utterly bewildered by what he had just witnessed.
"Perhaps we've run out of the berserk elephant-pigs' territory, and that's why they stopped chasing us?"
Xiaoxiao, recalling Lingxi's earlier words, ventured a guess.
"This... perhaps~"
Although it was a plausible explanation, for some reason, Ye Feng felt uneasy. Something felt off.
Even if the berserk elephant-pigs were no longer chasing them, they shouldn't have just run away.
After asserting their dominance in their territory, shouldn't they have leisurely walked back?
And in the berserk elephant-pigs' cries, there seemed to be a hint of fear!
"Whoosh~ Hiss~..."
At this moment, the clouds in the sky thickened, and the wind began to blow.
"Little one, there's something wrong with the air here; it's acidic and pungent!"
Suddenly, Lingxi's serious voice reached Ye Feng's ears.
...