Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 41: Chapter 35: She’s Going Up the Mountain

’An Intermediate Beast...’

Tang Mo thought to herself. ’There’s no way I can win in a direct confrontation.’

’Besides, Qin Ling’s personal strength should be greater than mine. If he’s really trapped on the back mountain and can’t handle it, what chance do I have?’

Tang Mo gradually calmed down. She was a very rational person, rarely swayed by her emotions.

’No matter how important rescuing Qin Ling is, if there isn’t even a one percent chance of success, what’s the point of throwing my life away for nothing?’

She sat down and began to go through the items in her Space, one by one, calculating what resources she had and what her odds of success were.

Although she hadn’t encountered this Intermediate Beast at the school in her previous life, it was better to be safe than sorry, so she had prepared a few things to face potential unknown situations.

’It may be a mutant beast, not a species native to Earth, but since it’s snake-like, it must have some of a snake’s characteristics.’

’What are snakes most afraid of?’

’Realgar and fire.’

Tang Mo had prepared a large amount of realgar wine in her Space. As for fire, she also had two large barrels of gasoline. These were things that could be of great use at a critical moment.

Qin Ling’s personal strength might be greater than hers, but when factoring in equipment, his Overall Strength was likely quite a bit lower than Tang Mo’s.

Most importantly, Tang Mo’s goal was never to defeat the Intermediate Beast, but to rescue Qin Ling.

’Or, getting trapped with Qin Ling would also be fine.’

She was now certain that Qin Ling had run into trouble and was trapped there; otherwise, he would have definitely returned to school.

It had been over ten days since they left the school. He must have run out of food and supplies by now.

At this thought, a hint of anxiety appeared on Tang Mo’s face. Her spiritual power, which was rummaging through her Space, seemed to falter for a moment before moving even faster.

The realgar wine and fire were equipment for dealing with the snake. As for self-preservation, she now had plenty of tricks up her sleeve.

Her Wind Breaker, which she had been practicing for so long, had shown some decent results.

She was now very proficient in using her spiritual power. When it came to a critical moment, it would be an excellent tool for escaping.

There was also the gun Qin Ling had given her for self-defense, though it wouldn’t be much use against an Intermediate Beast.

However, if used for a sneak attack or to create a diversion while escaping, it might produce an unexpected result if wielded properly.

After carefully calculating in her mind, she thought, ’There’s a chance!’

Tang Mo estimated a rough success rate for her mission: at least seventy percent.

In truth, forget seventy percent; as long as it wasn’t zero, Tang Mo would have tried.

Because to her, Qin Ling was also someone she absolutely had to protect.

The mountains at night were far too dangerous. Tang Mo didn’t dare take the risk and could only go to sleep first, waiting until daylight to act.

The next day, Tang Mo packed everything from her small warehouse into her Space. With only a simple backpack on, she slipped out a small door and headed straight for the back mountain.

Tang Mo’s spiritual power was now far greater than an ordinary person’s, and her five senses were much sharper than normal. Her constant vigilance allowed her to avoid any direct encounters with mutant beasts along the way.

Even if she was careless and ran into one, with her speed, ordinary beasts couldn’t outrun her. Thus, she reached the foot of the back mountain smoothly.

Tang Mo found a relatively safe place to hide and started sending a message to Qin Ling.

”I’ve reached the back mountain. If you don’t want me to die too quickly, you’d better share your location with me right now.”

She knew Qin Ling had been receiving all the messages she’d sent. He just never replied because he didn’t want to worry her.

’If he isn’t unconscious and is still awake, he’ll definitely reply to this one.’ Tang Mo was confident of this.

Soon, a new message appeared on Tang Mo’s watch.

Tang Mo opened it and saw that it was, as expected, from Qin Ling.

There was an exasperated emoji and a single sentence.

”You really came?”

Having worried all night, Tang Mo finally let herself relax a little. ’He’s still alive. That’s good.’

She used her watch to take a picture of her surroundings and sent it to him without a single word.

Soon, a location ping came from Qin Ling’s end.

Qin Ling understood. Tang Mo was serious. If he didn’t tell her, she would really climb up, step by step, and search for him inch by inch.

In that instant, Qin Ling’s mind suddenly went blank.

It was gratitude, warmth, and something else, gradually filling Qin Ling’s entire chest.

”A snake-like Intermediate Beast is blocking the cave entrance. Be careful. Retreat as soon as you see it.”

He knew she wouldn’t give up if he told her not to come up. ’Then let her come and see. As long as I make some noise to attract the mutant beast’s attention, it won’t be hard for Tang Mo to escape.’

’Worse comes to worst, I’ll just risk it all.’

Qin Ling made up his mind. If Tang Mo could go this far for him, then it wasn’t impossible for him to sacrifice himself for Tang Mo. Besides, if things dragged on like this, he would die sooner or later anyway.

He was moved, he felt warmth, and he trusted her, but Qin Ling had never imagined Tang Mo could have any kind of interaction with this giant snake.

The difference in strength was just too great; even fighting seemed like a waste of time.

Opening the location Qin Ling sent, Tang Mo made a rough estimate and knew exactly where the cave entrance he mentioned was.

Back when she was picking that Spiritual Power Mushroom, Tang Mo had run up and down this mountain countless times. She was more familiar with it than anyone else.

Qin Ling’s position was about halfway up the mountain on the westernmost side, a steep cliff with a nearby cave that had a very small entrance.

Tang Mo quickly climbed halfway up the mountain and found the spot. She hid in a concealed location and began to devise a plan as she watched the giant snake a few hundred meters away.

Although she had heard about it, seeing the creature with her own eyes—about ten-odd meters long and so thick it would take three people to wrap their arms around it—still left Tang Mo in shock.

’If that snake swats me off the cliff, I probably wouldn’t even have a chance to struggle before saying goodbye to this beautiful world.’

At this moment, the giant snake was coiled on one side of the cliff, its head held high as it stared at the not-so-distant cave entrance, guarding it motionlessly.

Its constantly flicking tongue and long Poison Fangs were all signs that this big guy was not to be trifled with.

Tang Mo shrank back further, using her spiritual power to minimize her breathing, terrified that the huge creature would notice her.

After all, Intermediate Beasts were different from Basic-level Mutant Beasts. Their five senses were definitely much keener, and their movement speed and Strength were also faster. At this moment, Tang Mo didn’t dare to gamble at all.

’What if I fire a shot from a distance to make the snake chase me, allowing Qin Ling to escape in the meantime?’

Tang Mo considered the possibility.

But she quickly dismissed the idea. ’No, that won’t work. With this giant snake’s length, it could catch and swallow me before turning back to chase Qin Ling in a matter of minutes.’

’Then what else can I do? Even just getting into that cave would be enough.’

Tang Mo’s mind raced, trying to figure out what she could possibly do in this situation to break the stalemate.