Chapter 309: Chapter 221: Mysterious Existence 2
"The hexagrams show someone’s looking for us," Luo Feifei said.
"Hmm?" Li Xiang asked, suspicious. He immediately glanced up at the sky.
If someone was searching for them, it could only be with the help of something in the sky.
"Let’s rest in the rainforest for a bit, then. We’ll leave once it’s safe," Li Xiang said. He was glad he’d been sticking to land, often cutting across islands in Ryukyu, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
Instead of rashly crossing the vast Pacific Ocean.
Otherwise, out on the vast ocean... well, although it would be difficult to find a target as small as him, his extreme speed would create anomalies on the water’s surface.
He was treading on the waves, skimming the surface of the sea, not flying through the air. The shockwave—a type of compression wave—created by his supersonic speed would stir up ripples, much like a speedboat cutting through the water.
Although the Black Mountain Profound Armor mitigated most of the shockwave, his proximity to the water still made it impossible to avoid creating a visible disturbance.
The main issue was his current speed. It was so fast that sometimes, even after he’d run for over a hundred kilometers, the gleaming wake behind him was still clearly visible.
A gleaming wake that long would be much easier for high-resolution satellites to spot.
But by hiding on a large island like Sulawesi Island, which was hundreds of kilometers deep and covered by a lush rainforest, he could vanish without a trace.
Back when his top speed was 1.5 Mach, this phenomenon hadn’t been nearly as obvious. But now that his speed had exploded to 5 Mach, the "Silent Supersonic" performance of his Black Mountain Profound Armor was starting to fall short.
Simply put, the Armor couldn’t quite keep up anymore; it was no longer suitable for his needs.
Besides, while the Pacific Ocean could have terrible weather with monstrous waves, it also had its calm moments. Tonight, the weather was perfect. The moonlight shimmered like water, and the sea was as flat as a mirror.
This was especially true now that they had reached the equator, where the water was even more placid, as still as a mirror without a single ripple.
There’s a peculiar phenomenon near the equator: everywhere else, when water drains, it forms a vortex that spins either left or right. For example, in the Northern Hemisphere, the vortex spins counter-clockwise, and in the Southern Hemisphere, it spins clockwise. But near the equator, water drains straight down, without forming a vortex at all.
This is due to the equatorial doldrums and the absence of the Coriolis force.
After they had eaten their fill and rested for a couple of hours, the sun was up. Li Xiang led Luo Feifei on a walk through the tropical rainforest.
Since Li Xiang had a system inventory, Luo Feifei had stored her luggage with him when they’d set out.
Back in the Imperial Capital, the weather had been colder, so Luo Feifei had been dressed more warmly. Now, she wanted to change into something else, so Li Xiang took out her suitcase for her.
"Turn around. No peeking," Luo Feifei said with a light laugh.
After a while, Luo Feifei finally said, "I’m done. You can turn around now."
When Li Xiang turned back, he saw Luo Feifei had changed into a Japanese-style schoolgirl uniform.
At her age, dressed in that outfit, combined with her devastating beauty, the effect was lethal. Li Xiang was completely stunned for several seconds.
"Put my suitcase away for me, would you? I’ll need it again later, so don’t you dare complain about the trouble," Luo Feifei said with a smile.
"It’s no trouble," Li Xiang joked. "It’s not like I’m the one helping you change."
"Oh?" Luo Feifei raised an eyebrow and beckoned with her finger. "Then by all means."
Li Xiang immediately changed the subject. "This island has giant lizards. Want to go see them? I know where to find them. I can take you."
Komodo Dragons don’t just live on Komodo Island; they can be found on several nearby islands as well.
Additionally, there were Javan Rhinos, Babiru (with their pig-like heads, deer-like legs, and sharp tusks), Dwarf Water Buffalo from the Sulawesi Islands, Pig Deer (the world’s ugliest pig, memorable for its unique face and tusks), and Ghost Spectacled Monkeys...
Aside from large creatures like the Komodo Dragon and the reticulated python, the others were all smaller species.
Luo Feifei drew her White Tiger Sword and followed Li Xiang through the rainforest. It was a complete eye-opener for her.
In both her past life and this one, she had rarely ventured into such a place.
This was her first time doing so in this life. In her past life, the Apocalypse had already begun by the time she became an Extraordinary Being, so she’d never had the chance to visit a dangerous tropical rainforest like this. As a result, Luo Feifei was full of excitement.
"There’s a giant python about twenty meters to our left," Luo Feifei said. Her Insight Superpower was like having a 360-degree third eye, even more effective than radar at close range.
Li Xiang and Luo Feifei immediately walked over. As they got within ten meters, a system notification appeared: "Tier Eleven Mutated Creature detected: Reticulated Python."
The python was over four meters long, its belly grotesquely swollen. Luo Feifei frowned. "There’s a person inside its stomach."
Li Xiang raised his hand, and a streak of Sword Qi shot out. *TCHSS!* The giant python was dead.
System: "Congratulations, Host, for killing one Tier Eleven Mutated Reticulated Python. Reward: 1100 Achievement Points, three stalks of the Tier Six Mutated Spiritual Medicine, Underleaf Pearl, and one Tier Nine Extraordinary Item, a Bronze Spear."
"Should we cut open its belly to see?" Luo Feifei asked.
Li Xiang thought for a moment. "Let’s not. There must be a village nearby. I’ll carry the python’s corpse over, leave it by the village, and let the villagers deal with it."
"Mhm," Luo Feifei nodded repeatedly. ’Li Xiang is so considerate,’ she thought. ’If we cut it open now, what would we do with the body? Bury it? Then the family would never find them. Leave it? Then other animals would surely devour it.’
Li Xiang immediately leaped to the top of a large tree and scanned the surroundings. Sure enough, he spotted the faint outline of buildings a kilometer or two away. It was a small village.
The person had probably entered the rainforest to gather something and was attacked and eaten by the python.
After climbing down, Li Xiang began dragging the giant python. "Wait for me here," he said to Luo Feifei.
"No, I’m going with you." Luo Feifei shook her head. She didn’t want to be separated from him, even though she had no fear of her surroundings.
"Alright then."
Luo Feifei was fast herself, and the village wasn’t far, so they quickly reached its outskirts. Li Xiang tossed the python behind one of the houses. It landed with a loud thud.
Someone inside the house heard the noise and immediately came out to investigate. They discovered the giant python behind their home and let out a startled scream. Soon, other villagers rushed over.
They were all carrying makeshift weapons, but fortunately, the python was already dead.
The villagers cut open the python’s belly. Inside was an old woman, her face and hair still vaguely recognizable. A man immediately dropped to his knees, wailing in anguish. She was clearly his relative—most likely his mother.
Watching from their hiding spot in the rainforest, Li Xiang and Luo Feifei saw the scene unfold and couldn’t help but sigh with sorrow.
The villagers were furious. After recovering the old woman’s body, they grabbed their weapons and beat the python’s carcass to a pulp to vent their hatred.
"Let’s go." The two of them continued their adventure.
Along the way, Li Xiang killed a few wild animals. Luo Feifei didn’t know why, but since it was what he wanted to do, she naturally went along with it.
He didn’t explain, and she was smart enough not to ask.
They worked together in perfect harmony.
They spent the day exploring the island, and Li Xiang’s gains were significant. As the sun set, Luo Feifei asked him to get her suitcase out again. She changed into a swimsuit and invited him to go for a swim at the beach.
Li Xiang had also packed plenty of swimwear, of course. His was simple—just a pair of trunks. Not like Luo Feifei, who had swimsuits of all different styles.
She had packed many sexy swimsuits, including several bikinis, but this time she chose her most conservative one-piece, which kept her thoroughly covered.
It wasn’t that she was unwilling to let him see, just that she was a bit shy. She’d never worn such revealing swimwear before.
Even so, Luo Feifei was breathtakingly beautiful.
Once they were in the water, Luo Feifei was like a mermaid. Having awakened the Water Escape Superpower, she moved with effortless grace and could even breathe underwater for long periods.
"Come on," Luo Feifei said, taking his hand. "I’ll take you for a dive into the deep sea."
"I can’t go into the deep sea," Li Xiang said hesitantly. He actually owned a set of Purple Mirage Armor with a "Water Avoidance" Attribute, but it looked a bit effeminate—it was designed for a woman—so he was too embarrassed to take it out and wear it.
A grown man wearing women’s clothing... he wouldn’t care if no one was around, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it in front of Luo Feifei.
’If I put that on, Luo Feifei would laugh me to death.’
He planned to give this set of Armor to Jiang Cai’Er.
As for Luo Feifei, she herself had the Water Escape Superpower, so she didn’t need this set of Armor.
Li Xiang had also practiced the Wave-Treading Technique, but it was primarily for use on the water’s surface. He couldn’t last long in the deep sea; he’d have to surface for air after half an hour at most.
He didn’t have a Water Attribute constitution, so his progress with Water Attribute Techniques was lackluster. In fact, there were many he couldn’t even begin to learn.
"It’s fine, I have a way to make sure you can breathe." With that, Luo Feifei gave Li Xiang a tug and pulled him under the water.
