...
Ren Zhong appeared once more at the edge of the Indigo Prairie.
Advance!
Learning from experience, this time he kept a distance of over twenty meters from the Black Giant Bear's hiding mound.
But instead of leaving immediately, he curved around to a spot about twenty meters in front of the mound.
Ren Zhong, the Black Bear Mound, and where the dragonfly was about to appear – the three formed a straight line.
Just as the slightly battered dragonfly showed its head, Ren Zhong turned, raised his hand, and threw.
A pebble the size of an infant's fist traced a parabolic arc, landing right in the bushes on the Black Bear Mound.
Roar!
The angry Black Bear charged out of the bushes.
At this moment, the dragonfly flew close to the ground, skimming right over its head.
The bear swung its paw upward, the iron claws flashing coldly, slapping straight onto the dragonfly's face.
The dragonfly was caught off guard, flying backward several meters.
Seizing the moment, the bear chased after it with a vengeance.
The two ferocious beasts clashed fiercely.
The dragonfly hovered up and down, attacking relentlessly.
The bear roared and swung its massive paws wildly.
Meanwhile, the instigator, Ren Zhong, seized the opportunity to escape farther afield.
This time he managed to run for an additional five minutes, but unfortunately, the further he ran, the more his physical strength waned, and he slowed down considerably.
Finally, he halted in front of a three-meter-wide ravine, unable to move forward.
Unable to jump across, he turned back to look.
Incredibly, the dragonfly was pursuing again.
Much of the Iron-feathered Bluebird's blood had fallen from its body, and the rear half of its nine-segment long abdomen was severed, dangling by a bit of skin.
It flew less steadily than before, swaying left and right.
In its eight long legs, it clutched something round and rolling, gnawed beyond recognition, likely the Black Bear's head.
According to Ren Zhong's understanding of wild animals, with such serious injuries, it should be looking for a safe place to heal, not chasing prey.
Yet the dragonfly pursued him relentlessly, like a monster in Journey to the West drawn to the scent of Tang Monk's flesh.
Though the dragonfly was wounded, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse.
Ren Zhong wielded the Alloy Stick to strike the dragonfly's wings and head twice, but still died without dignity.
...
Again reaching the front of the ravine, Ren Zhong brought along a vine this time.
He looped the vine over a protruding rock at the ravine's edge, then released it and slid down the ravine, gritting his teeth.
Midway, his hip accidentally struck an outcrop, losing balance, and he tumbled all the way down to the ravine's bottom, dazed and confused.
But in the next second, he picked himself up in pain, grabbed the lower end of the vine, and leaned back sharply, lifting his legs and launching off the ravine's vertical sidewall, body parallel to the ground.
At that instant, the dragonfly appeared at the top of the ravine, swooping down like a bomber.
Ignoring the incoming dragonfly, Ren Zhong's forehead veins pulsed bulgingly, and he gritted his teeth, straining his waist, abdomen, and legs again.
Above, the rock the vine was looped around shifted.
A two-meter long, one-meter wide, half-meter thick board-like slab of rock toppled from the ravine's wall, falling straight down.
This rock was exactly the detail Ren Zhong had observed with the Underworld God's Eye View after his previous death, which could be used advantageously.
The section below the rock was fractured and teetering, ready to fall if its center of gravity was disturbed.
There was every chance he could yank this thing down.
As the rock descended, with its support lost, Ren Zhong's back crashed heavily onto the ground.
Though his mind was hazy, he firmly recalled the plan. His right hand groped for the pre-placed Alloy Stick beside him, firmly grasping it, thrusting it upward.
The Alloy Stick was slightly longer than the dragonfly's slender legs, perfectly wedging between its head and thorax.
The dragonfly's eight legs thrashed, hacking at the Alloy Stick, making a series of cracking sounds.
The surface of the stick bore notches from the assaults.
Ren Zhong's hands gripping the Alloy Stick trembled fiercely, nearly surrendering the grasp.
Yet a powerful survival instinct compelled him to hold on, refusing to let go.
The dragonfly's wings ceased vibrating, seemingly trying to press down with its weight.
Luckily, the insect's body density wasn't high; despite appearing metallic, the dragonfly only weighed dozens of kilograms, manageable for Ren Zhong.
Finally, a shadow loomed behind the dragonfly, as the fallen rock slab began to roll down.
Ren Zhong thrust upward with renewed vigor, subtly pushing the metal stick, while swiftly rolling to the left.
The dragonfly pressed downward again.
The lower end of the Alloy Stick brushed against Ren Zhong's ribs.
Ren Zhong pushed with his right hand, clutching the stick's lower end with one hand.
Instead of resisting, he aligned with the dragonfly's downward momentum, relaxing his right hand.
Bam!
The bottom of the Alloy Stick hit the ground, and at the same moment, the rock slab smacked squarely onto the dragonfly's back!
A grating creak resounded, making one's teeth ache.
Ren Zhong released his right hand, rolling further to the left several times.
Turning back, he saw.
The stone slab rested at an angle.
The Alloy Stick's upper end propped it up.
The lower end was deeply embedded in the soil.
As for the once-mighty dragonfly, it was skewered on the stick.
The stick pierced through the soft tissue connecting its head and thorax, with a greenish fluid slowly trickling down the length of the stick.
The dragonfly struggled on, attempting to break free.
Its throat was punctured, and one of its wings was pinned by the stone slab, preventing its escape.
Unwillingly, its slender legs curved, slashing the stick repeatedly.
However, it was much weakened, each strike leaving only shallow cuts, unable to sever the Alloy Stick in short order.
"You've killed me so many times, yet you've met your match today."
Seeing this, Ren Zhong climbed up again, picked a stone from the side, and with all his might, smashed it onto its head.
Throwing one stone, then picking another.
Again and again, strike after strike…
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…
In the wilderness, the muffling echoes resounded repeatedly.
Unsure how much time had passed, Ren Zhong flopped to the ground, lying on his back, gasping for air, his face utterly pale.
Even now, traces of the sunset's glow could still be seen in the sky, not yet night.
Ren Zhong's clothes were tattered, the exposed skin bruised and purplish, with some lacerations seeping blood from unknown moments.
The persistent dragonfly was finally truly dead.
Its distorted head sagged aside, the huge compound eyes marked and pitted like gnawed bicycle headlights.
Ren Zhong tried to sit up, made several efforts, but couldn't get up.
He was already very ill, and achieving this outcome had taken every ounce of his strength.
With the dragonfly dead, his mind relaxed abruptly, collapsing.
Every part of his body screamed in pain, completely void of strength, even moving a finger was impossible.
Sensing the dwindling strength leaving his body, Ren Zhong hazily thought.
I am exhausted, spent.
Having struggled this long and finally slaying the dragonfly, yet still facing a desolate end like a wandering ghost dying in the wild.
Dejected.
But he knew there was still a chance to start over.
Next time, when sliding down from the ravine, I'll be more careful to avoid a fall, this should make things easier.
However, there were new problems too.
This time, accurately piercing the joint connecting the dragonfly's head and thorax with the Alloy Stick involved significant luck.
The rock slab's rolling stance as it fell, and the force direction when it finally hit the dragonfly's back were subtle; if slightly off, the stick might not have pierced the dragonfly.
This success was ten percent skill, ninety percent luck.
If repeating, nine out of ten times would likely result in failure.
Yet he was unconcerned; if he could kill it once, he could do it ten or a hundred times.
He wasn't disheartened, even felt a bit proud.
A predator like the dragonfly, transported to Earth in the 21st century, could easily dispatch a Siberian tiger.
A dying cancer patient from the "ancient times" managing to fight it to a standstill, even if perishing alongside, was honorable.
Death with no regrets.
The weary and battered Ren Zhong felt his consciousness sinking, his eyelids heavy, increasingly succumbing to sleep.
In his daze, he vaguely perceived several shadows descending from the sky.
Too weary to resist, he simply cursed in his mind.
I'm truly jinxed, what a choice of breakthrough, killing one only for several more to show up.
Isn't this unfair?
Next time, no dragonflies; can't take it.
"Hey, why is there a person lying in the ravine? Wow, no way, there's even a First Level Ruined Beast pinned under this stone slab! Just recently killed! What a find."
A sudden crisp and melodious female voice, heavenly to his ears, echoed around Ren Zhong.
He abruptly opened his eyes.
In that instant, he identified two critical pieces of information.
First, there were indeed humans on this planet!
Finally encountering living people!
Second, they spoke Mandarin.
Ah, I'm home.