Lin Qingyue seemed to have eyes in the back of her head.
Without even turning, she locked onto her attacker's position using only the whisper of the wind and the surge of killing intent. With a backhand strike, she executed a "Turning Horse Thrust" with her staff!
The pink staff carved a vicious arc through the air, its whistle tearing through the atmosphere as it slammed with pinpoint accuracy into the front leg joint of the ambushing Poison Wolf!
Crack!
The sickening crunch of shattering bone echoed through the air.
The Poison Wolf let out a short, piercing howl as its front leg twisted at an unnatural angle, sending it tumbling to the ground.
Almost simultaneously, Lin Qingyue's staff flowed back in a seamless half-circle before her.
Clang!
The staff's shaft precisely blocked the fangs of the Poison Wolf lunging from the front.
The clash rang out like metal striking stone.
With a flick of her wrist, she deftly redirected the wolf's momentum, throwing it off balance and exposing its vulnerable neck.
Without a moment's hesitation, Lin Qingyue stepped forward, raised her staff high like a warhammer, and brought it crashing down!
Thud!
The last Poison Wolf's head met the ground with a dull thud, and it collapsed instantly.
The battle, from start to finish, lasted barely a dozen seconds.
The three Level 18 Jungle Poison Wolves hadn't even managed to force Lin Qingyue to use a single basic Healing Spell.
Lin Xiyue stared blankly as her sister calmly retracted her staff. The delicate pink shaft was as pristine as new, without a single drop of wolf blood staining it.
She couldn't help but mutter, "Sis, I'm starting to seriously suspect you were a nation-toppling general in your past life..."
Lin Qingyue ignored her sister's quip and walked over to the Poison Wolf she had sent flying. It was still struggling on the ground. She pressed the tip of her staff down, delivering a final blow to end its suffering.
The points on her bracelet jumped to 45.
"Wolves are pack animals. The scent of blood will attract more trouble. We shouldn't linger here," she analyzed calmly, her gaze sweeping over the wolf corpses with a hint of regret.
The System Space couldn't store loot that wasn't generated by the System. Otherwise, these wolf fangs and pelts could have been exchanged for something.
Just as they were about to leave, the faint sounds of clashing weapons and human shouts drifted from the depths of the mist ahead.
Judging by the commotion, the battle seemed intense.
Lin Xiyue glanced at Lin Qingyue, her eyes silently asking, Should we check it out?
Lin Qingyue tapped her fingertip against her pink staff, pondering for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat.
Gathering intelligence on other teams' strength and the true nature of the monsters in this Dungeon was essential.
The two immediately suppressed their presence and moved like agile cats, using the tangled roots of massive trees for cover as they crept silently forward.
Pushing aside a fern leaf the size of a water basin, the scene before them made their scalps tingle.
These weren't ordinary monsters.
It was a surging black tide, composed of countless giant killer bees, each the size of an adult's fist!
Their wings vibrated at an ultra-high frequency, creating a deafening, scalp-numbing drone. The venomous stingers at their tails glinted with a cold, metallic light in the dimness.
Information flashed wildly on their bracelets:
[Shadowed Poison Bee Lv. 16] [Points: 10/each] [Traits: Swarm, Potent Venom, Paralysis, Hive Mind.]
"Wait, isn't that Zhang Xuchu's team?" Lin Xiyue suddenly gasped in a hushed voice.
Lin Qingyue focused her gaze. Sure enough.
Struggling desperately within that black tide were several familiar faces from their school.
The Shield Warrior holding the front line was Zhang Xuchu, known as the "Immovable Bastion."
At this moment, his prized enchanted greatshield was studded with so many bee stingers it resembled a hedgehog. The protective magical glow on its surface flickered erratically, threatening to extinguish at any moment.
The team's Fire Mage, Zhang Ming, was repeatedly interrupted mid-chant for his Fireball Spell by suicidal attacks from the fearless Poison Bees.
The Ranger Li Jun's arrows vanished into the swarm without a trace, failing to cause even the slightest ripple.
The worst off was the Priest at the rear, Wang Lin.
Her face was deathly pale and drenched in cold sweat. The healing light from her staff had dimmed to a flicker, as fragile as a candle in the wind.
Even more despairing was the sight behind the swarm: inside a hollow in a massive, withered tree, a grotesque, pulsating beehive continuously spewed out more Poison Bees!
"It's the beehive! We'll never kill them all unless we destroy it!" Zhang Xuchu roared, his voice thick with desperation.
His left arm was abnormally swollen, clearly from the bee venom.
"Their Priest is almost out of mana! Zhang Xuchu is about to break!" Lin Xiyue gripped Lin Qingyue's arm nervously, her voice laced with anxiety. "Sis, what should we do? Should we help? We're from the same school—we can't just watch them die!"
Just then, Zhang Xuchu, who was barely holding on, noticed the two sisters in the shadows of the trees.
A flicker of hope for survival flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly suppressed by the pride of a powerful warrior.
However, when another wave of bees nearly knocked him to the ground, that pride finally shattered under the fear of failure.
He roared with all his might:
"Lin Qingyue! Lin Xiyue! Help us!"
He shoved back a wave of bees with his shield, his voice hoarse. "We'll pay you 200 points as a reward!"
"Just help us destroy the beehive, and we'll transfer the points immediately! If we have to use our Life-saving Talismans to escape, this Martial Arts Exam will be a total failure!"
Before Lin Qingyue could answer, the familiar System notification chimed in her mind.
[Ding! Urgent Elation Quest issued: Beehive Rescue Operation]
[Quest Requirement: Conventional combat is not this System's style. The Host must complete the rescue in an unconventional manner to create an elating scene.]
[Quest Reward: Elation Value will be awarded based on the elation effect, with a base reward of 100 points.]
The corner of Lin Qingyue's mouth twitched. Unconventional manner?
In a life-or-death moment? Create an elating scene?
Her gaze fell on Zhang Xuchu's swollen arm and the Priest girl's pale face, then shifted to the blindingly pink bottle of "Potent Love-Binding Insect Repellent Fragrance" in her System Space.
An absurd, outrageous idea—yet one that perfectly matched the System's twisted sense of humor—surfaced in her mind.
"Sis?" Lin Xiyue asked, puzzled by her sister's sudden silence.
Lin Qingyue took a deep, somber breath and tightened her grip on her pink staff.
"Xiyue, prepare Holy Shield Charge."
Her voice was terrifyingly calm.
"Aim for the beehive. Clear a path for me."
"Huh? Sis, what are you doing? You're going to charge in alone?" Lin Xiyue exclaimed in shock.
Lin Qingyue didn't answer.
She simply retrieved the pink spray bottle from her Equipment Space—the one with the ridiculously girly, heart-shaped design.
Her expression was a mixture of the grim determination of a soldier heading into battle and the utter despair of someone about to face public humiliation.
I hope... that old lady wasn't lying to me...