The skirmish concluded without Su Xiao sustaining any injuries, but Bubuwang wasn't so lucky.
Bubuwang limped out from behind the tree, which was riddled with dozens of fist-sized holes. The injury was near its hind leg, close to its butt, and strangely enough, Bubuwang's face and body were covered in dirt.
In a typical scenario, the intense barrage would have seriously injured Bubuwang. However, Bubuwang, being the clever dog it was, immediately started digging a hole as soon as it took cover behind the tree, managing to excavate enough space to shelter most of its body in less than 0.2 seconds. Consequently, only its rear end was hit.
Limping out from behind the tree, Bubuwang ignored its injury and began searching for the roasted beast's leg.
"Here," Su Xiao said, picking up the beast's leg from the ground and shaking off the leaves. Bubuwang limped over eagerly.
Su Xiao examined Bubuwang's wound. It was deep but hadn't hit the bone.
"Let's treat the wound first," Su Xiao said, pulling out a slender knife. Bubuwang, remembering past experiences, immediately turned and tried to limp away, clearly recalling unpleasant memories.
Ten seconds later, Bubuwang was pinned down by Su Xiao.
"Oww!" Bubuwang howled, its teary eyes seeming to plead, "I don't want treatment!"
"Quit whining. If I don't remove those scales from your wound, you'll be limping for a long time," Su Xiao said, his words not comforting Bubuwang, who knew from long experience how rough Su Xiao could be in treating injuries.
Su Xiao's usual method for removing bullets was either digging them out with his fingers if they were shallow, or cutting open the wound if they were deep, followed by stitching it up—a straightforward and brutal process.
After three minutes of howling, Su Xiao extracted the bloody scale and applied medicine, stitched up the wound, and bandaged it.
Despite its tearful eyes, Bubuwang felt much better without the scales irritating its wound, and it was able to walk more easily.
Overall, the battle provided enough food for Su Xiao and Bubuwang for a day. In the Forest of the Strong, it was unrealistic to expect three meals a day; one meal a day would be enough to maintain their strength.
Combining the harvested food with the jerky in his backpack, Su Xiao had enough supplies for two days.
They quickly left the area, as the smell of blood was too strong. As for the corpses of the silver-scaled creatures, aside from the psychological hurdle of eating humanoid creatures, their flesh had a strange odor and might contain toxins, even if it wasn't outright poisonous.
"They went all out. If I'm right, most of the creatures in the Forest of the Strong have toxins in their bodies," Su Xiao remarked, his expression sour. These toxic creatures were likely placed here by Alice or the wolf butler on purpose.
Beyond the scarcity of food and the roaming guests, Su Xiao was more worried about Alice's doppelganger, who was also in the forest. Sooner or later, she would come looking for him.
"Woof," Bubuwang barked excitedly.
"Hmm?" Su Xiao looked at Bubuwang, quickly understanding its meaning.
"Did you find water?"
"Woof," Bubuwang barked again, running towards the east side of the forest, with Su Xiao following closely behind.
Ten minutes later, they reached a mountainous area with sparse trees. There were two mountains, one covered in dense vines forming natural cages, making it impossible to climb, and the other barren, without even a blade of grass.
Between the two mountains was a three-meter-wide rocky gorge, about ten meters deep, with more vines inside and the faint sound of water.
After some searching, Su Xiao found the water source: a spring midway up the vine-covered mountain, flowing down into the gorge and forming a stagnant pool. The water in the pool was undrinkable due to microorganisms and parasites, but the spring water flowing down was clean, having been filtered by rocks and carbon layers.
However, the vines blocking the way made it difficult to reach the spring. They could either climb through the gaps in the vines or forcefully clear a path.
Su Xiao grabbed a vine and tried to break it. With a snap, the vine broke, but it had taken 60% of his strength.
These vines were not only rooted in rock but were also incredibly sturdy. Clearing a path with Dragon Flash was possible but would consume a lot of time and energy, making it not worthwhile.
Humans differ from beasts in their use of tools. Su Xiao took out a remote-controlled drone from his storage space and attached a water bucket to it. He wasn't going to chop his way up the mountain like a brute; his storage space contained plenty of tools.
Biz...
Su Xiao operated the drone with the remote control. Bubuwang eagerly approached, wanting to play.
Su Xiao handed the remote to Bubuwang, which immediately perked up, its injuries seemingly forgotten.
While Bubuwang operated the drone to fetch water, Su Xiao took out a piece of jerky from his backpack. With food and water in short supply, they couldn't wait until they were hungry to eat. Eating small amounts frequently would help maintain their strength.
After tearing off a piece of jerky and tossing half to Bubuwang, Su Xiao began chewing his piece. The jerky was tough to chew, possibly made this way intentionally by Alice.
Bubuwang chewed the jerky with a bitter expression. If food weren't so scarce, it would have spat it out, as it was nearly inedible.
"Chew it a few times and swallow it," Su Xiao advised, his words muffled. He gulped down his jerky, nearly choking. Bubuwang did the same, their synchronized reaction was comical.
Biz...
The drone returned with the bucket filled with water, enough to last them at least two days.
Bubuwang, having lost a lot of blood, was extremely thirsty but didn't drink immediately, unsure if the water was safe.
Su Xiao took out a transparent carbon ball, a white-quality consumable used to test water quality.
If the ball turned red, the water was undrinkable; yellow meant drinkable but harmful; green was safe; and colorless indicated highly pure water.
Dropping the ball into the water, they waited a few minutes until it turned green, confirming the water was safe.
"Good, let's get more water, enough for five days at least..." Su Xiao began but was interrupted by a faint noise.
Click, click...
It sounded like the claws of some insect tapping on stone.
A pure white crab emerged from a crevice. It was the size of a palm, blending into the rocks and capable of masking its presence. Su Xiao hadn't sensed it until it was within seven meters.
"Food," Su Xiao smiled. They had found not only water but also more food. However, his smile quickly vanished.
Click, click, click, click...
The sound grew louder and more frequent. Su Xiao's pupils contracted as he witnessed an astonishing sight.
What he had thought was a barren mountain was a mass of white crabs, now disassembling themselves.
"Woof," Bubuwang barked excitedly, clearly thinking, "Master, so much food."
"Food, my foot! Run!" Su Xiao grabbed the water bucket and bolted. It was uncertain who would end up as food. These crabs, capable of surviving in the Forest of the Strong, were undoubtedly powerful. They were one of the apex predators in this ecosystem.