I Start with a Mysterious Island-Chapter 39: The Melon-Eating Bystander Hiding in the Dense Bushes

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: The Melon-Eating Bystander Hiding in the Dense Bushes

The sun sank in the west, painting the azure sky with a brilliant crimson coat.

"Haaah..."

Panting, Lin Li wiped the sweat from his brow as he pulled his Spiritual Longsword from the body of the Luhua Chicken Beast.

Ever since he killed the first Luhua Chicken Beast, it was as if he’d kicked a hornet’s nest—more and more of them kept coming out one after another.

And so, he spent the entire afternoon battling Luhua Chicken Beasts.

By now, he had killed a total of nine Luhua Chicken Beasts. Including the Black Snake Beast he’d hunted at the beginning of the day, Lin Li had killed a total of ten Mutant Beasts today.

This far exceeded his initial goal of killing five Mutant Beasts this afternoon.

’Haha... My luck is incredible today! I killed ten Mutant Beasts in just one afternoon. If I start tomorrow morning and work all day, could I kill twenty?

If that’s the case, then it won’t be long before I see that little green fruit ripen.’

Lin Li crouched down to store the dead Luhua Chicken Beast in the Mysterious Small Island, chuckling to himself as he imagined the next few days going just as smoothly as today.

...

GLUG GLUG GLUG...

Exhausted from a busy afternoon, Lin Li retrieved a bottle of mineral water he’d previously stored on the Mysterious Small Island. He twisted off the cap and downed nearly half of it in one go.

"Haaah..."

After chugging nearly half the bottle, he let out a long breath, feeling a sense of relief wash over his entire body.

’The sun’s about to set. I need to get home quickly.’

Lin Li took out his phone, opened a map app, and checked his location. The GPS showed he was four or five kilometers away from the safe zone.

’Tsk... I got too carried away with the hunt and ended up this far out. I need to be more careful in the future. I can’t accidentally wander even farther away. If I run into a Tier Two Mutant Beast, I’ll be in serious trouble.’

After using the map to confirm the general direction back to the safe zone, Lin Li prepared to head back.

But just then, a tremendous boom echoed from the distance.

BOOM.

Accompanying the boom was a pillar of fire that shot up into the sky.

The sky-high pillar of fire was so massive that it was clearly visible even from a great distance.

"What... What’s going on?" Lin Li stared, dumbfounded and slack-jawed, at the spot where the towering pillar of fire had vanished in an instant.

He couldn’t visually estimate the exact diameter of the now-vanished pillar of fire, but it must have shot at least fifteen or sixteen meters into the sky.

Looking around, all he could see were wildly overgrown flowers, grass, and trees. There were no modern human facilities in sight.

Lin Li had only ever seen a pillar of fire like that on the news not long ago.

He remembered the news report: a natural gas pipeline had been damaged somewhere due to a construction worker’s mistake.

Subsequently, the leaking gas ignited, causing a pillar of fire to erupt into the sky.

But Lin Li was in the wilderness now, where there were obviously no natural gas pipelines. Plus, the fact that the pillar of fire appeared and then immediately vanished made a gas leak even more unlikely.

After all, a pillar of fire from a leaking gas pipeline wasn’t so easy to extinguish.

Therefore, the pillar of fire that had suddenly appeared and vanished was most likely created by a Cultivator using a Superpower, or possibly by a Mutant Beast using one.

’If it’s the former, that’s one thing, but if it’s the latter... Staying here would be too dangerous. I have to leave right away.’

Lin Li quickly analyzed the situation in his mind and decided to flee toward the safe zone immediately. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Unfortunately, just as he was about to move, the fierce sounds of a battle, accompanied by a ferocious beast’s roar, suddenly erupted behind him.

BANG, BANG, BANG...

ROAR...

Hearing the intense sounds of battle rapidly approaching his position, Lin Li abandoned the idea of running. He spun around and dove into a patch of dense bushes.

It was the right decision. The very next second after Lin Li dove into the bushes, two figures appeared several dozen meters away from his hiding spot.

Given their terrifying speed, catching up to a fleeing Lin Li would have been a matter of moments.

Not knowing if they were friend or foe, hiding was the best option.

BANG.

The two figures slammed their fists against each other. The resulting shockwave sent the surrounding grass and trees rustling wildly.

Both sides retreated six or seven meters. After steadying themselves, they panted heavily, their gazes never leaving each other.

Hiding in the bushes, Lin Li’s eyes were wide as he watched the two figures facing off several dozen meters away.

One was a middle-aged man in his early forties, about 1.75 meters tall, with a square face, a buzz cut, and dressed in camouflage.

He wore metallic gloves, and from the faint golden Spiritual Light that occasionally flashed from them, one could tell they were likely a Spiritual Artifact.

The other figure facing off against the middle-aged man was an ape-like Mutant Beast nearly two meters tall.

This ape-like Mutant Beast was covered in white fur. It had powerful limbs, and its fangs protruded from its mouth. Its ink-black eyes were filled with killing intent as it stared at the middle-aged man.

’What a terrifying Mutant Beast.’

Hiding in the bushes, Lin Li observed the white ape-like Mutant Beast. Although he couldn’t use Spiritual Perception to sense the intensity of the Spiritual Energy Waves it emitted to judge its strength, like a Tier Two Cultivator could, he could clearly feel the terrifying killing intent radiating from it.

’Stay calm. Control your breathing. That white ape-like Mutant Beast and the middle-aged man are definitely Tier Two Cultivators.

Cultivators at their level can use Spiritual Perception to sense their surroundings. They’re especially sensitive to living things that emit Spiritual Energy Waves. I absolutely cannot mobilize the Spiritual Energy in my body right now.

If they sense the Spiritual Energy Waves coming from me, my only choice will be to immediately hide in the Mysterious Small Island for refuge.’

Hiding in the bushes, Lin Li forced himself to relax his entire body and mind, refusing to let tension take control.

ROAR...

After a brief standoff, the white ape-like Mutant Beast let out a roar at the middle-aged man.

"Heh... You’re all bark and no bite. Don’t think you can scare me away like this... You took a blade to the heart. As long as I keep you tied up in this fight, your death is just around the corner."

Facing the white ape-like Mutant Beast’s roar, the middle-aged man was completely unafraid. Instead, he chuckled and spoke to his opponent.

...