"Run! Get out of here, quick!"
Zhang Yang, who had no intention of chasing anyone right now, felt there was no hurry to pursue. The most urgent thing was to make these stupid wolves run for their lives as fast as possible.
He could take down one python king, but he absolutely couldn't withstand an entire swarm of pythons. What if they decided to charge the wolf pack?
Zhang Yang was planning to take over this wolf pack. If their numbers dropped too low and the system determined he failed the mission because of it, that would be a disaster.
The Azure Wolf King heard Zhang Yang's words.
Run?
He desperately wanted to, but his body didn't seem to agree.
The bones all over his body had been dislocated and crushed by that python king. Just managing to stand was already a miracle.
Fortunately, having subordinates was a wonderful thing. One azure wolf immediately crouched down, let the Azure Wolf King climb onto its back, and bolted away.
Seeing their leader flee, the rest of the wolf pack didn't hesitate for even a second. In the blink of an eye, they vanished into the jungle — they didn't even bother taking the bodies of their fallen comrades.
As for Zhang Yang? Sorry, they didn't know him.
Whether he lived or died — whose business was that?
Watching the wolves escape, Zhang Yang felt a wave of relief.
But the very next moment, every hair on his body stood on end.
The pythons that had been scattering in all directions suddenly became orderly again.
They stopped being chaotic. They moved with discipline, forming neat lines and surrounding Zhang Yang in a tight encirclement.
But they didn't completely close him in — there was still an opening in the direction of the fissure.
And it was precisely that opening that gave Zhang Yang an overwhelming sense of danger.
Suddenly, a vertical pupil appeared in the darkness of the fissure.
Zhang Yang's heart skipped a violent beat.
Wasn't that eye… a little too big?
An extremely bad premonition washed over him.
When the owner of that eye finally revealed itself, Zhang Yang panicked.
Wasn't this thing just a bit too exaggerated?
Way too big.
The python whose head he had just bitten off half of was only about ten meters long and half a meter thick.
But the one staring at him now was at least twenty meters long and one meter thick, with a bulging meaty lump on top of its head.
"Big brother… are you about to turn into a flood dragon or something?"
Zhang Yang felt a headache coming on.
That head was way too huge. He couldn't even fit it in his mouth.
It was like giving a toddler a massive apple — never mind whether his teeth could handle it; the real problem was there was nowhere to bite.
And even if there was a spot to bite, even if he still had his "heaven-defying strike" ability, Zhang Yang didn't believe for a second he could crush this thing's skull.
"Run!"
No more talking — just run.
This wasn't about being brave or cowardly anymore. This was about being smart or stupid. If he didn't run now, he was an idiot.
But the question was — run where?
Back the way he came?
Those pythons weren't decorations. One coil and he'd be dead.
Alright then, forward it is.
Zhang Yang didn't have many options. He spotted a relatively narrow fissure — the space was limited. Surely a one-meter-thick monster like that couldn't squeeze in, right?
The next moment, his actions left all the pythons stunned.
They personally watched as Zhang Yang crawled straight into the fissure.
He was literally belly-crawling, showing zero dignity as a wolf.
He looked more like a hardworking police dog on a mission.
Zhang Yang thought to himself: If I weren't so attached to this wolf body, I'd probably just turn into a snake right now and mess with them.
The real python king never expected Zhang Yang to do something like this. Soon, he vanished from sight.
Since Zhang Yang liked playing cat-and-mouse so much, the python king didn't mind playing along properly for a while.
The snake king slithered rapidly underground. His speed was actually faster than Zhang Yang's, but when he reached narrow sections, he was noticeably hindered.
But that wasn't a problem — just smash through violently.
Zhang Yang heard the booming sound of rocks shattering behind him and shivered. This felt way too much like a survival game.
"No time to think — just run faster!"
He pushed himself even harder. Whenever he encountered a tough spot, his claws came in handy — one swipe and the rock cracked open.
"What the hell is inside this fissure? Why does it feel so huge?"
As he ran, Zhang Yang gradually got used to the sensation. The python king's pursuit speed wasn't actually faster than his. Relying on his small size, Zhang Yang deliberately chose the narrowest paths.
Though the snake king was powerful, its only way of clearing obstacles was brute-force smashing. In terms of pure speed through tight spaces, it couldn't match Zhang Yang.
Ding! Task triggered: Kill the Snake King. Task requirement: Eliminate the pursuer — Python King. Task reward: Unknown.
Zhang Yang's mind was instantly filled with ten thousand galloping horses.
System bro, can you not mess with me like this? You want me to kill that thing behind me? Why don't you go try it yourself and show me?
Shouldn't a task at least consider the strength gap between the two sides?
With my skinny arms and legs, going up against that thing is basically just serving myself as a side dish.
Zhang Yang had zero intention of doubting his own judgment. Even if he spent all his evolution points right now and maxed both strength and agility to 30, he still wouldn't be a match for the giant snake behind him.
He completely ignored the task. If he didn't complete it, he still had more than fifty days to live. But if he really went all out and fought that python king head-on, he was pretty sure he wouldn't live to enjoy even one more day.
The old saying really was true: the outside world is full of opportunities… and equally full of danger.
After squeezing forward for quite a long distance, another old saying came to mind.
Heaven never seals off all paths.
That's right — heaven never seals off all paths.
He had actually broken through the rock layer and arrived in an underground cavern.
This underground space was quite spacious. Forget about fitting one python king — you could probably fit eight or ten of them running side by side without any problem.
Still, it was a rectangular area. With his eyes, he could still see the rock walls at both ends.
"I'm done for."
Zhang Yang glanced back. Although he couldn't yet see the python king, he could feel the rumbling vibrations of it smashing through the rock — it wasn't far away.
Going back the way he came would just mean throwing himself straight into the snake's mouth.
Jump.
With no other choice, Zhang Yang leaped down into the underground space.
This was a fissure layer.
Like two fingers pressed together but not perfectly aligned — there was a gap in between.
The ceiling was an elliptical dome. No sunlight reached here, yet it wasn't pitch dark. There were glowing stones embedded all around the walls.
The moment he landed, Zhang Yang had no time to admire the scenery. He was frantically searching for an exit.
Well… he found one.
There was a snake tunnel connected to this place — but right now, pythons were pouring out of it in an endless stream.
"So this really is Ben Yang's graveyard, huh?"
A bitter feeling rose in Zhang Yang's heart.
No way out. Surrounded by an entire nest of pythons. In this situation, even if he transformed into a python, they probably wouldn't let him go, right?
Ordinary pythons might still be fooled by his transformation, but that python king definitely wouldn't.
Because in those cold, emotionless vertical pupils, Zhang Yang had seen the light of intelligence.
A creature with wisdom, upon seeing him transform, would only become more curious — and dissecting him for study would be mandatory.
As for whether it could actually see him transform — there was no need to guess.
Because the snake king's head had already emerged.