Chapter Fifty-Four: The Gourd Brothers?

Although the Toad Monster seemed truly dead this time, given its previous act of playing dead, Shen Lie didn’t dare to rush forward recklessly. Instead, he struck again with the World-Destroying Hammer from a safe distance. Seeing the creature flattened and motionless, he finally confirmed its death.

Before Du Lili and Duan Yu arrived, Shen Lie took the initiative to retrieve the fiery red orb the Toad Monster had spat out. Despite the creature being fire-elemental, the orb was unexpectedly icy cold to the touch, radiating a cool aura.

“Hm?” Suddenly, Shen Lie felt a subtle movement from the pendant hanging around his neck. Upon closer inspection, after picking up the orb, the pendant on his chest emitted a faint reaction.

“What’s going on? Could this orb be a hidden spatial rift?” The pendant’s unusual response startled Shen Lie. Before the apocalypse, this pendant had once helped him detect a concealed fissure in his home’s bathroom. Afterwards, it showed no further reactions. The jade on its surface had long since cracked, replaced by an unknown material, and the pendant itself had shrunk significantly.

Shen Lie had no idea that this pendant had once saved his life when he fell into the teleportation array cavern beneath the Golden Hall. At that time, he was unconscious. After leaving the Golden Hall, he had studied the pendant multiple times but never discerned any abnormalities. Since arriving in Dongfeng Town, he had been on high alert, and after the pendant cracked and shrank, it lost its ability to detect spatial rifts. Gradually, Shen Lie had forgotten about it—until now, when the orb’s presence reactivated the pendant.

“King Shen, you’re just too fierce! Brother, I truly admire you!” Just as Shen Lie reached to take a closer look at the pendant, Duan Yu’s voice rang out behind him. His eyes flickered in caution, and without a trace, he slipped the orb into his pocket.

Of course, Du Lili and Duan Yu had both seen the red orb, but no one mentioned it. This monster had essentially been defeated by Shen Lie alone; naturally, the spoils belonged to him.

“I think Professor Toad Monster would definitely like this. How about we take it back?” Du Lili suddenly suggested as the three gathered around the toad’s corpse.

Shen Lie had no objections. The creature’s meat was inedible anyway, and bringing it back to Professor Liu for research could prove beneficial. If any valuable discoveries arose, he would have reason to claim a share.

Duan Yu couldn’t complain either; the monster had nothing to do with him. If not for Du Lili and Shen Lie, he probably wouldn’t have survived here. So, he cooperated fully, calling over his two subordinates to load the toad’s carcass onto the vehicle.

With the Toad Monster—their greatest obstacle—dealt with, Shen Lie noticed Duan Yu’s expression brighten immediately, confidence evidently restored regarding their mission to harvest the gourds. Indeed, neither the wasp swarm nor the fish in the water had posed any real threat.

Du Lili’s Fire Dragon Technique was the wasps’ bane; a single fiery dragon wiped out two-thirds of them, and the rest fled, abandoning even their nest.

As for the fish, after two heavy hammer strikes from Shen Lie, they became docile, scurrying to the far side of the pond in submission. Even if all the plants by the water’s edge were cleared away, they likely wouldn’t return.

The three easily reached the gourd vines. Shen Lie and Duan Yu were slightly exhilarated, and Du Lili was no exception. There were about twenty to thirty gourds on the vines, most larger than the one Duan Yu had previously retrieved. Several had already begun to yellow, signaling imminent ripeness.

“One, two, three, four, five, six.” Shen Lie counted the mature gourds from a distance. These six were undoubtedly larger than the others. If their capacity exceeded tenfold, they would be priceless treasures.

Six mature gourds, three people—just enough to split evenly. Without hesitation, Shen Lie stepped forward, picked the six gourds, and handed them to Du Lili and Duan Yu before turning back to harvest the smaller green gourds.

Suddenly, Shen Lie’s eyes lit up. Between the three vines, beneath the top leaves of the middle one, he spotted an exceptionally small gourd. Though tiny and green, its shade was different—an ink-green adorned with winding, serpent-like patterns that marked it as extraordinary.

The little gourd, hidden beneath the leaves, was easy to overlook. Shen Lie placed the picked gourds on the ground and reached out to pluck the small one.

“Ah!”

Just as Shen Lie plucked the small gourd, a sharp scream came from behind—Duan Yu’s voice. Shen Lie twisted and dodged sideways, all while glancing back at the scene.

His eyes nearly popped out in shock. On the ground stood six little figures resembling dwarfs—though not quite human, covered in dense white fur. The six snarled angrily at Du Lili and Duan Yu, who stared back in stunned caution.

“What the hell? Are these Golden Gourd Warriors?” Shen Lie’s mind raced wildly as he looked at the scattered gourd shards beneath them.

“What’s going on?” Seeing that the six showed no immediate signs of attack, Shen Lie swallowed hard and cautiously asked. The bizarre scene was almost too much for even his nerves to bear.

“I don’t know. I was about to check the spatial capacity of the ripe gourds. Before I could cut one open, they all suddenly cracked, and this happened,” Duan Yu explained, nearly in tears. He had come for these mature gourds, and now not a single one remained intact. Worse, these little gourd warriors had appeared. It was heartbreaking. The green gourds’ limited space meant even doubling it wouldn’t yield much. Bringing them back wouldn’t net anything worthwhile, and now they owed a big favor. If only they hadn’t come!

“Watch out!” Shen Lie knew better than to judge these creatures by size. His eyes remained fixed on the six little figures. Suddenly, one’s eyes glowed red, its chest heaving as if preparing a powerful attack. He immediately warned the others.

Thanks to Shen Lie’s timely shout, Duan Yu, still dazed, instantly activated his speed ability, flashing several meters away.

Speed abilities were indeed excellent for escaping danger. Just as Duan Yu moved, the small gourd warrior opened its mouth and shot out a fiery rocket, striking the spot where Duan Yu had been.

“Damn, they really can breathe fire! I knew these little guys might actually be the Gourd Warriors!” Duan Yu wailed in terror. Even Du Lili’s expression turned grave as she raised her hand, summoning a small fiery dragon that surged toward the six little figures.

After the recent exhausting use of their powers, both Du Lili and Shen Lie’s bloodline energies were nearly depleted. Duan Yu had been along for the ride with minimal effort, but his combat abilities were far too weak.

“Squeak! Squeak!” The little fiery dragon caused the six to emit high-pitched squeals as they scattered in panic. Yet one stood firm, shooting a water arrow from its mouth that collided with Du Lili’s fiery dragon. The clash produced sizzling sounds as the two attacks neutralized each other.

“No way. That’s the Fifth Warrior, the one who can spray water. The one who shot fire must be the Fourth Warrior. Damn, could there be a Sixth Warrior who can turn invisible? Everyone be on guard!” Seeing the water arrow, Shen Lie and Du Lili held firm, but Duan Yu began to shout and run away in panic.