Everyone immediately became vigilant and quickly looked up.
On top of a towering tree, a two-meter-tall black crow stood on a thick branch.
Calling it a crow, it's not quite a crow.
This creature was covered in black feathers and had a pair of blood-red eyes.
The bird's beak was half a meter long.
The sharp claws on its legs were even sharper than those of an eagle.
[Black Crow]
Level: LV2
Attribute: Wind
Skill: Beak Strike
Tier: Divine Level (Tier Five)
Talent: Feather Transformation (Unawakened)
Combat Power: 900
Blood Volume: 12000
Blood Asura spun the scythe, ready to rush up.
"Blood Asura, wait!"
Ye Chen hurriedly stopped him, and only then did Blood Asura halt, but it was already staring intently at the Black Crow above.
"Brother Chen, what's the matter? It's just an LV2 level monster, isn't it something Blood Asura can handle himself?"
Zhu Qiang asked curiously.
Tang Qiu said, "This isn't a monster; it's a pet."
Ye Chen squinted his eyes and spoke to the Black Crow.
"Stop hiding, come out!"
Soon, a head emerged from behind the Black Crow, and a nineteen-year-old boy peeked out.
Lin Nuoyi and Iron Bull finally relaxed.
The boy, a bit embarrassed, greeted everyone and said, "Hello, my name is Xiao Tian."
The boy named Xiao Tian patted the back of the Black Crow: "Xiao Hei, come down."
The Black Crow slowly flapped its wings and descended from the tree.
Xiao Tian also climbed down from the Black Crow, limping over to Ye Chen and the others.
It was only then that Ye Chen noticed Xiao Tian had a disability.
He couldn't help but ask, "Why are you and your pet in the forest?"
Xiao Tian scratched his head and smiled awkwardly, "There are monsters everywhere outside; I'm scared, so I hide in the forest."
Zhu Qiang looked up at the tree and exclaimed in surprise.
"Wow, you've built a house up there."
Everyone looked up.
Between the two thick branches of a large tree, there was indeed a small wooden house.
"The outside and the ground are too dangerous, so I built a house up there. Usually, Xiao Hei flies out to find food and drink for me."
Wow! Xiao Tian treats his pet like a nanny. The Black Crow stood by and occasionally shook its feathers.
Ye Chen already understood the situation in his heart, so he said, "Alright then, be careful on your own."
After saying that, Ye Chen prepared to move forward again. This area was definitely not safe to stay in.
If they encountered the Law Enforcement Team that knew Hou Qinghua, it would be another problem.
"Brother, it's dangerous up ahead. There's an outdoor factory, a shady workshop, with bad people inside!"
Xiao Tian suddenly spoke from behind, causing Ye Chen to turn around abruptly, his eyes brightening.
"Bad people? How strong are they?"
Xiao Tian scratched his head, "I'm not sure, but they're pretty powerful. If you want to go over, you should take that small path instead!"
He pointed in another direction.
Ye Chen smiled and nodded, throwing the Tiger Skin Divine Garment to Xiao Tian, "This is the Tiger Skin Divine Garment. It can evade detection by monsters below LV10 but cannot avoid human sight. Be careful on your own here."
The Tiger Skin Divine Garment was of no use to Ye Chen's group anymore.
After all, monsters below LV10 couldn't pose much of a threat to Ye Chen and his companions.
Seeing Xiao Tian, Ye Chen was reminded of his brother in real life.
Xiao Tian looked at the Tiger Skin Divine Garment in his hands, his heart filled with emotion, "Brother, what's your name?"
"Ye Chen!"
After the group left, Xiao Tian stood in place for a long time before returning to the top of the tree, continuing to hide.
Midway.
Tang Qiu said sarcastically, "Captain Ye, you're really generous, giving away such a good thing just like that!"
Ye Chen chuckled dryly without replying.
This girl didn't quite understand reality, still thinking of herself as the captain of the Law Enforcement Team!
After half an hour.
Hou Qinghua brought another small team into the forest.
They called Xiao Tian down from the tree to inquire about Ye Chen and the others' whereabouts.
Xiao Tian, grateful for Ye Chen's help, naturally didn't tell the truth.
He pointed Hou Qinghua in the direction of the shady workshop.
After Hou Qinghua left, Xiao Tian rode off on the Black Crow.
Continuing to find another big tree to live on.
After all, a living person can't be hung on just one tree.
At this moment, Ye Chen and the others had reached the outskirts of a village. Lin Nuoyi looked at the map on her phone and said, "Once we go through this village, we'll reach the highway entrance. From there, we can get to Qing County."
"This village is called Gaojia Village."
Ye Chen checked the time and said, "There are still cooking fires in the village ahead, indicating there might be people."
"Shall we go take a look?"
Ye Chen nodded and then headed towards the village.
The place was remote; for kilometers around, there were just fields, so there weren't many monsters in the area.
Just as they reached the village entrance, a group of young people suddenly appeared, yelling, "What are you doing!"
These must be the villagers, all around thirty years old. Their pets were only LV2, and Tier Three Rare.
Ye Chen cupped his hands and said, "I am Ye Chen, and these are my teammates. We mean no harm; we just want to reach the highway entrance ahead."
The leader, holding a shovel, looked at Ye Chen and the others, "I'm Gao Xing, the village chief of Gaojia Village. You can't pass through here; take another path."
Hearing this, Tang Qiu frowned immediately.
Beside Gao Xing, a villager named Gao Chao tugged at Gao Xing's clothes, "Chief, their pets are at least LV3. That guy named Ye Chen has an LV4 pet. We should be polite."
Hearing this, Gao Xing was startled, quickly checking their information.
"My god, an LV4 pet, Tier Seven Sacred Artifact."
Gao Xing instantly became uneasy and quickly said, "Big brothers and sisters, you may pass, but please don't harm our villagers. We have many defenseless elderly and children in our village!"
Gao Xing's speech was a bit stuttering.
Tang Qiu immediately pouted, "Who's your big sister? I'm only twenty-five!"
She was full of anger with nowhere to vent and was instantly dissatisfied.
"Miss, Missy, I was wrong, please, go ahead!"
Ye Chen glanced at Tang Qiu and said, "Alright, let's move on."
He led the four of them forward.
As they passed Gao Xing and the others, the villagers quickly bowed their heads in respect for the strong.
Upon leaving the village, they saw the highway entrance not far ahead.
The toll station had long been in ruins, with damaged cars sporadically parked on the highway.
Evidently, there had been monsters on this highway before. Seeing the desolate scene, Lin Nuoyi couldn't help but sigh.
"I wonder if this world can ever return to the way it was before."
Ye Chen consoled, "Whether we can return to the past, we don't know, but our primary goal is still survival."
Lin Nuoyi nodded slightly, without saying a word.
The group continued along the highway for over two hours until a highway exit finally appeared before them.
The broken sign read: Welcome to Qing County.
Just like the previous entrance, it was also in ruins.
Now the group had entered the territory of Qing County.
However.
This place still belonged to the Seventh Region.