The blond man's last remark struck a chord with them. If the first half of the first stage had already presented such an unexpected challenge, it was hard to say what other surprises lay ahead.
Seeing that his words had convinced the others, the Japanese man's expression turned somber. He fell silent and retreated to the side.
Li Zhonglou noted his reaction discreetly. Convinced by the blond man, the others agreed to take the detour.
They continued their journey, but this time, instead of following the strange slopes, they skirted the edges.
However, after less than ten minutes, a mangled corpse caught their attention.
"Is that... an arm?"
Number Three's exclamation prompted the Muay Thai woman to quickly cover the little girl's eyes. The group approached cautiously, only to discover a patch of bloody grass.
An arm, still wet with blood, lay there, silently recounting the events that had transpired.
A gust of wind carried a strong,腥味 (xīng wèi - fishy smell) into their nostrils. The blond man sensed something was amiss and quietly instructed,
"You all wait here. I'll go take a look."
As the blond man moved to go, Li Zhonglou stopped him.
"Let me go instead. I'm faster."
His words reminded them of their previous journey. Although they were unaware that Li Zhonglou had been shielding them from risks, their progress had been fastest when he scouted ahead. This was undeniable.
The blond man pondered for a moment and finally nodded. "Then be careful. If anything happens, alert us immediately."
In fact, it wasn't just about the pace of travel. Li Zhonglou's peculiar behavior up to this point had made the blond man vaguely suspect he was more than he appeared.
He now had a gut feeling that Li Zhonglou possessed some unknown abilities.
Li Zhonglou nodded and, with a burst of speed, vanished from their sight within moments.
At this point, the Muay Thai woman asked with a hint of worry, "Number Five should be alright, shouldn't he? After all, his strength isn't that great."
The blond man subconsciously replied, "Oh, why do you care so much..."
But before he could finish, he felt a killing intent and wisely shut his mouth, waving his hands. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. I have a feeling this kid is hiding his strength."
The blond man seized the opportunity to voice his speculation, narrowly escaping trouble. The Muay Thai woman nodded and added, "I think so too. Number Five might not be as simple as he seems."
Unbeknownst to them, the Japanese man, who had remained silent, flashed a hint of fear and disdain in his eyes upon hearing this.
The disdain, of course, was directed at the people around him.
Ahead, Li Zhonglou immediately increased his speed after leaving their sight and activated his Heavenly Eye with full透视 (tòushì - clairvoyance) to find the safest route.
Forget checking things out; time was paramount for Li Zhonglou. If they continued at their slow pace, he doubted they would even make it into the top hundred, let alone the top ten.
However, he was curious about the so-called Death Claw. Whether it was luck or misfortune, he found no trace of it by the time he reached the end of the怪坡 (guài pō - strange slope).
By then, half an hour had passed since he left the group. Walking slowly, they began to wonder if something had happened to him as he had not returned.
"Alas, my worries seem to be confirmed. Number Five might really be..."
The Muay Thai woman shook her head with a tone of regret, while the blond man's brow furrowed.
"It's been half an hour and he's still not back. We've already covered nearly a third of the path."
Number Two also chimed in with a complaint. If they hadn't been waiting for news from Li Zhonglou, they would have traveled much faster and perhaps already covered half the 怪坡.
Number Three was more blunt: "He's utterly useless, incapable of finishing what he starts. It looks like we'll have to carry extra kilograms of explosives in the next round."
"Now is not the time for that. If Number Five has indeed met with trouble, it means there's danger ahead."
The blond man reminded them. Number Two then spoke again, "Why don't we just cut through? We haven't encountered any danger along this path. Perhaps we've already passed the Death Claw's location?"
The others fell silent. Although they also found their current speed slow and thought Number Two's reasoning held some merit, none of them dared to take the gamble.
The name "Death Claw" was not given lightly; otherwise, so many people wouldn't have withdrawn from the competition.
Just then, a burst of wild laughter echoed from the nearby slope.
"That's it! The so-called Death Claw is nothing more than this!"
The voice was extremely arrogant and unreserved. The group's expressions changed instantly. They quickly concealed themselves and looked in the direction of the sound.
Soon, they saw a burly, muscular man, bare-chested, leap out of a burrow in the 怪坡, his long spear impaling a colossal creature.
The group looked closely and saw that the colossal creature had the head of a lion, the body of a tiger, and the tail of a scorpion.
It was indeed the Death Claw!
Everyone was secretly astonished. What surprised them even more was that the Death Claw was now impaled from spine to head by the hulking man and held aloft like a defeated dog.
"As expected, just a bunch of trash, scared to death by a mere reptile. Heh, with such strength, they dare to compete."
The hulking man scoffed, and holding the Death Claw, he disappeared from their sight.
Number Three couldn't help but say, "Is the Death Claw really that weak? Then why did those people before..."
The Muay Thai woman immediately shot him a glare. "Are you stupid? It's clear this person is incredibly strong."
Number Three was left speechless. He understood in his heart, but he was unwilling to accept this cruel reality.
Was the difference between people in this world truly this vast?
Number Three gazed at the retreating figure of the hulking man, feeling that he couldn't even last a single move against him.
Such a feeling was unbearable for those who inherently possessed pride.
However, Number Two then said, "Isn't this a good opportunity? Since the Death Claw has been killed, can't we proceed normally?"
The blond man pondered for a moment. "There should be more than one Death Claw. But judging from the current situation, the risk has indeed decreased. It depends on whether we are willing to take the chance."