Volume One: Planet of Ten Thousand Beasts Chapter 31: The Wolf Pack

The Desert Blue-Line Fat-Tailed Scorpion is incredibly fast, striking its prey with explosive bursts of speed to secure a kill in a single blow. However, it possesses one fatal flaw: a delay of a few seconds when dragging its prey back into the yellow sands. Li Juxu’s aiming window fell precisely within this brief interval.

Under normal circumstances, Li Juxu requires over three seconds to aim. Achieving a 2.5-second window now was a product of his environment; the target was within a specific, close range, and with no need to worry about retaliation, he could focus entirely on the shot. It was the convergence of these advantages that allowed for such an exceptional performance.

Sometimes the scorpions appeared one by one, and other times several emerged at once. Shark had prepared thoroughly, bringing enough mice to lure them out. The mice, sensing the danger of the area, constantly struggled to escape, only to be yanked back by the fishing line. Li Juxu felt as though he were playing a game of Whac-A-Mole, shooting wherever a scorpion poked its head out. Lin Lu initially tried to assist, but realizing her speed couldn't match Li Juxu’s, she shifted from tactical support to personal assistance, such as unwrapping chocolate for him.

As the night deepened, the temperature plummeted to minus 42 degrees Celsius. Despite the thick blankets beneath him, Li Juxu’s body was frozen stiff. He could endure the cold, but his hands becoming numb was a problem; he had already missed three shots, his delayed reactions hindering his accuracy. Still, for Shark and his team, this hit rate was already a pleasant surprise—their own snipers had developed such psychological trauma from the task that they were afraid to even pull the trigger.

Finally, just as Li Juxu’s eyes began to ache, a larger scorpion emerged, moving noticeably slower. Li Juxu, finger poised on the trigger, hesitated and released the pressure. The scorpion’s back was covered in a dense swarm of tiny, crystal-clear spiderlings. Through their translucent bodies, one could see blood tinged with a faint blue hue—this was Shark’s true target. Hearing Lin Lu’s breath hitch, Li Juxu made a slight adjustment to the muzzle and pulled the trigger.

*Bang.*

One of the scorpion’s chelae exploded. The creature tumbled across the ground, and while it was unclear if it was dazed, more than half of the baby scorpions were flung into the air, scattering everywhere. Shark and his team sprinted forward at top speed. Shark grabbed a cage, scooping up the scorpion along with the surrounding sand, while the others scrambled to collect the tiny scorpions.

The spiderlings were newly born and possessed almost no combat strength. The team moved with practiced efficiency; from the initial charge to their retreat, less than ten minutes had passed. As they scrambled out of the Blue Enchantress’s territory, over twenty adult scorpions emerged from beneath the sand, chasing after them with menacing intent. Shark, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, tossed a grenade behind him, blasting the pursuers away.

Li Juxu was astonished to see that after the explosion, the scorpions were not dead; aside from a few missing limbs, most were uninjured. Their durability was formidable. However, this delay had bought Shark and his team enough time to pull far ahead, leaving the scorpions unable to catch up.

"Let's move!" Lin Lu took the bag, and Li Juxu grabbed his sniper rifle to follow the group.

These crystal-like spiderlings were the objective, and with the mission complete, there was no need to linger. Everyone was in high spirits, surprised by how smoothly things had gone. Seeing the team’s excitement, and knowing it was nearly dawn, Shark decided to push forward and rest for two hours when the temperature became more tolerable, between 8:30 and 10:30 in the morning.

Though Shark didn't say it explicitly, Li Juxu understood the unspoken reason: they had killed a grey wolf on their way in. As pack animals, the wolf’s kin were likely searching for it, and being discovered would mean significant trouble. Pressing on to put distance between them and their previous location was the best way to mitigate the risk.

A short member of the team took over scouting duties, acting with extreme caution following the incident with Dandelion. Lin Lu quietly explained to Li Juxu that the reason Dandelion hadn't been tied to a safety rope was that during a previous trip, a member had fallen into quicksand; because they were tethered, the second person was dragged down as well, and the third only survived by cutting the rope just in time. Two lives had been lost that day. Sometimes a rope saves a life; other times, it becomes a death trap.

The nighttime march was cautious, but their good mood made the journey feel less arduous. Some were already fantasizing about how they would spend their pay, oblivious to the fact that Li Juxu’s expression had suddenly turned grave.

"We have a situation."

The team fell silent instantly. The scout stopped in his tracks, and everyone scanned the surroundings with heightened vigilance. Shark turned to look at Li Juxu.

"Behind us. Wolves. Many of them." Li Juxu’s words were brief, but they made everyone’s heart skip a beat. They all pulled out their binoculars to look back.

"At least fifty!" Stone gasped.

"They’re here for revenge. Spread out into formation and take them down," Shark commanded decisively.

Three members rushed forward to lay mines, among them the cute female hunter; only then did Li Juxu realize she was a demolition expert. The others retreated slightly, setting up sandbags, folding shields, and readying machine guns, ammunition, and grenades. By the time the demolition team returned, the grey wolves were within range.

"Conserve your ammo!" Shark’s instruction was a clear command to wait until the targets were closer. A third of their submachine gun ammunition had been in Dandelion’s pack, which had been lost in the quicksand, putting the group in a difficult position.

"Night Owl, you can operate independently," Shark said, then immediately added a note of trust—having seen his marksmanship, no one doubted he would waste a single bullet.

*Puff.*

A grey wolf’s head exploded. The pack panicked, darting forward like fighter jets at takeoff, covering seven or eight meters in a flash. Li Juxu’s index finger, already applying pressure to the trigger, froze. He shifted the muzzle, but the wolves were moving too fast to lock onto.

*Bang.*

A deafening explosion sent yellow sand flying. The lead wolves had triggered the landmines, flying over two meters into the air. The others were caught in the blast and braked violently, giving Li Juxu the opening he needed.

*Puff.*

Another wolf collapsed, a blood-hole the size of a cup opening in its neck, spraying blood everywhere. As Shark had said, the wolves were highly intelligent; realizing the path was mined, they immediately began to flank.

*Puff.*

A large hole appeared in a wolf’s abdomen, its entrails spilling out with its blood. Yet, the wolf was ferociously resilient; with a howl, it only ran faster.

"Fire!" Shark roared. A thunderous volley of gunfire tore through the night.