Apocalypse Gachapon

Chapter 1828: First

Kumaʼs mood relaxed a bit.

He had contacted the team a few minutes ago; in another half hour, they could meet up.

This tracking mission had been somewhat unlucky.

As a member of the Tearhound Ghost Race, he possessed the tracking abilities his race was best known for, along with decent talent in other areas.

Yes, the word ”genius” had always surrounded him since childhood.

But after arriving here, that changed.

Kuma was initially very unaccustomed to it. After all, having been used to being the center of attention, suddenly becoming a supporting character was quite a difference. However, he quickly adapted because some things couldnʼt be made up for by pride alone.

Here, everyone was a genius; everyone had once been a proud child of heaven. To gain respect and admiration, there was only one type of person: a genius among geniuses.

Unfortunately, Kuma was not that, and his racial abilities destined he could never be.

But he was still very important. His abilities gave him a special status, and that feeling was actually not bad.
Right now, Kuma was on his way back to reclaim that feeling.

Thinking of this, Kuma inwardly cursed Ye Zhongmingʼs companion.

So shameless.

If he couldnʼt win, he ran; if he couldnʼt run, he lured monsters—no, lured people. This method was laughable!

But then Kumaʼs mood sank.

Wasnʼt this also a kind of ability? An ability to handle crises. When luring someone to kill his companion, the other party had also taken great risks. But they had timed it well, chosen the route well, taken the risk, and left confidently, leaving Kuma to flee.

To be honest, if the team hadnʼt contacted Kuma to tell him to return, he wouldnʼt have known what to do next.

Keep chasing? Kuma no longer had the courage; he wasnʼt really good at head-on confrontation. But not chasing? It would be hard to explain returning after losing one in a two-on-one situation.

That order had freed him from hesitation.

But after walking here, Kuma stopped because in this rainforest, a pile of large and small stones had suddenly appeared, scattered haphazardly on the path ahead.

The vigilance of a top expert made Kuma feel these stones were problematic.

Stones appearing in a forest werenʼt impossible, but this was a rainforest—humid air, lush vegetation. How could these stones not be eroded by moss and vines? They were still so smooth?

Kuma looked left and right. He initially thought going around was a good idea, but seeing that the left was a small lake connected to a swamp and the right was a hillside that looked like it had been cut open, with a small waterfall cascading down, he knew that either route would take some time and involve unknown dangers.

He thought for a moment, then simply sat on the ground, closed his eyes slightly, and after a moment, a phantom of some kind of monsterʼs head appeared behind him. The most noticeable feature of the monster was its enormous nose.

The nose sniffed towards the stone pile, paused for a moment, then disappeared.

Kuma stood up and walked slowly towards the stone pile.

That was his racial ability, used for close-range detection. It was hard for nearby scents to escape its nose.

There had been some discovery, but it ultimately gave a negative answer. After considering it, Kuma decided to walk through the stone pile.

If he went around either side, he might miss the team.

He found an angle and first approached a stone about the size of a human head. He observed it carefully. Having used his ability and already half-relieved, he felt much more at ease.

He recognized this type of stone; it was called internal heat stone. It was composed of a substance that could cause some corrosion to warm-blooded life forms or various liquids. This also explained why there was no vegetation on them and why they were so smooth. Looking closely, around where they contacted the ground, there was a small vacuum zone—vegetation also knew to seek advantage and avoid harm.

So that was it. He had overthought it.

Kuma relaxed a bit more, but he still carefully scouted the surroundings again. After confirming there was no danger, he continued forward and soon walked out of the stone pile.

This time, he truly relaxed.

Ahead was clear, smooth going. Kuma couldnʼt help but quicken his pace.

But the change occurred right at this moment. A long bone dagger stabbed up from under the soil towards Kuma, who happened to be walking above it.

Kuma was shocked. He really hadnʼt expected an attack at his most relaxed moment. So damn sneaky—not ambushing in the stone pile, but in the flat ground behind it, which anyone would consider dangerous after passing through the hazardous area, striking at the moment of instant relaxation after traversing danger.

This life form was truly treacherous!

Also, in that instant, Kuma understood why his ability had hesitated slightly before giving him a safe signal.

Because the assassin had buried himself in the soil, buried deep, and had been buried for some time. He used the vibrations of Kuma walking above to decide the timing and direction of his attack!

It was sudden, but Kuma was, after all, a level-nine expert. He kept his composure in a crisis. Those stones that had previously created the mucous membrane cage fell from his body, instantly forming a very small shield, only about the size of a human palm.

However, it was enough to block the bone dagger thrusting from below. It was also enough to give him to cross this area.

But just as Kuma began to move, he seemed to hear a faint ”murmur” sound, though he had no time to investigate.

The bone dagger struck the small stone shield with a clear, crisp sound. Kuma, who had already lifted his body, smiled at the corner of his mouth.

This ambush was excellent, but he had successfully solved it!

Having avoided the attack, the rest would be much easier. Even if he just ran, he could hold out until meeting up with the team.

There was a sound of wind from above. Kuma looked up and saw a white shadow whistling towards him. He knew now who had made the sound he heard earlier.

It was extremely fast. Kuma, already in the air, couldnʼt dodge.

With a bang, the spherical object directly hit Kumaʼs raised face, smashing the Tearhound Ghost Race member down. Besides splattered blood, a few strands of hair floated in the air.

The figure emerging from under the soil with the dagger grabbed Kumaʼs ankle with its free hand and flung him onto a large internal heat stone not far away. Without pause, it teleported to the side, stabbed a knife into Kumaʼs throat, pulled it out, then swung horizontally, severing the head.

Only in death did Kuma see that the one who killed him was Ye Zhongming, whom the other team members were supposed to handle.

You guys are too trash... This was the final thought of this Tearhound Ghost Race member.

Qiuqiu landed on Ye Zhongmingʼs shoulder, using several thin threads as feet because otherwise, its ownerʼs head was a bit in the way; there wasnʼt enough space.

After settling, it shook off the blood on its body, looking disgusted.

Ye Zhongming, who had lost his sense of taste on this new day, picked up Kumaʼs head and placed it on an internal heat stone. Immediately, a sizzling sound arose.

”One on one, youʼre too weak.”

Qiuqiu rolled its eyes to the side, feeling its owner didnʼt consider it a person, and secretly wiped the last bit of dirty blood on its ownerʼs shoulder...