Rotting Land: Survive

Left hand holding the bow, right hand hooking the string, both feet naturally apart.

Hu Xiaodong took in the scene in the field completely; he knew he had to do something, or else Wang Qiang would be doomed.

Suppressing his inner anxiety, Hu Xiaodong took a deep breath, then extended his arm and raised the bow and arrow in his hand.

By visual estimation, the distance between him and the Corpse Dog was about 30 meters. If the other party were a stationary target, then Hu Xiaodong still had enough confidence to take it down with one shot. But now...

Considering the swaying rice ears, the blinding sunlight, and the possibility of the Corpse Dog launching an attack at any time, he knew he wasn't one hundred percent sure of hitting the target with an arrow to the head.

So...

His head naturally turned, eyes level with the target, Hu Xiaodong's shoulders slowly lowered, and when the arrow and the forearm pulling the string formed a straight line, his aiming was complete.

Eyes, sight, target connected perfectly in line. In theory, he should have released the string and shot the arrow at this moment, but Hu Xiaodong remained immobile, why?

Because all indications from the Corpse Dog showed it was about to attack.

Once it did, the trajectory he was aiming at would inevitably deviate from the target. So Hu Xiaodong decisively shifted the bow and arrow slightly forward and upward, intending to gamble with the Corpse Dog using his pre-calculated aim correction.

There's no doubt that Hu Xiaodong's gamble was thrilling, because even he knew, if he guessed wrong, the Corpse Dog would definitely not give him a second chance to draw the bow and release the string.

Thus, the gamble would only result in one of two outcomes: either the Corpse Dog gets shot, saving Wang Qiang, or the arrow misses the target, and Wang Qiang meets his doom.

So how will the situation unfold?

As the Release Device let go, the sharp arrow whizzed out, simultaneously the long-harbored Corpse Dog shot forward as if receiving an attack signal.

In the air, the arrow flew like a meteor, tracing a streak of light; on the ground, the dog shot out like a cannonball, kicking up clouds of dust.

Finally, at a certain moment, the two intersected, and the Corpse Dog, just leaping into the air, was hit squarely in the abdomen by the incoming arrow.

Undoubtedly, hitting the abdomen was not fatal for the Corpse Dog, but for Hu Xiaodong, the purpose of that arrow had been fulfilled!

Wang Qiang had almost resigned himself to death. Although he instinctively rolled sideways as the Corpse Dog lunged, he knew very well that trying to completely avoid the Corpse Dog's pounce at such close range was nothing but a pipe dream.

And once this mutated beast broke even a bit of his skin, his life would be effectively over!

Why didn't I listen to my brothers' advice!

Why did I have to break the rules!

Why was I so arrogant!

On the brink of life and death, Wang Qiang finally reflected on his actions, but unfortunately, his realization seemed a little too late.

The last image in his eyes was a massive Black Shadow descending upon him. Tang Xiaoquan didn't even need to confirm what the Black Shadow was, as its heavy panting already clearly indicated its identity.

It's over, this was Wang Qiang's most honest feeling. As he thought of Huang Yaru, the terrifying scene of Lao Du's mutation, his face instantly turned ashen.

He knew very well that it was too late for anyone to save him, and death had become an unavoidable reality.

However, what he never expected, just when he was ready to embrace death and awaited the Corpse Dog's claw strike...

"Bang, thud," suddenly came the sound of turf flying in his ear.

Even after hitting the Corpse Dog, the arrow's intense momentum didn't diminish but directly lifted the massive body of the Corpse Dog by a few inches.

And it was these few inches that saved Wang Qiang's life.

Under the shadow of death, Wang Qiang didn't know what was happening above him. He almost instinctively glanced sideways, and it was this glance that made him...

His widened pupils suddenly contracted; about 10CM away from Wang Qiang, a horrifying deep gouge slid across the ground.

What's happening! This was the first question that floated into Wang Qiang's mind, but before he could think it through, his brother's shout from behind was like a head-on punch pulling his distracted, panicked spirit back.

"Don't just stand there, Qiang! Run!"

His body instinctively leaped up, adrenaline pumping at full throttle pushed all Wang Qiang's nerves to the peak.

Simultaneously, the Corpse Dog, which was shot but missed, quickly turned, and when it saw its prey getting up to flee, its bloodshot eyes turned even more crimson.

Black-red blood trickled down its abdomen, undoubtedly stimulating the beast's ferocity. After a couple of deep growls, it immediately followed like an arrow.

Wang Qiang's heightened nerves sensed the enemy behind him, and the oppressive footsteps of the Corpse Dog made the rice stalks in the field rustle.

Undoubtedly, two legs could never outrun four, especially when Wang Qiang was only 3 meters away from the Corpse Dog.

Even the ever-cautious Hu Xiaodong didn't expect the Corpse Dog's attack to be so fast and continuous. In haste, the second arrow he shot unsurprisingly missed the target.

This really was out of the tiger's den, into the wolf's lair! Wang Qiang cursed his bad luck internally, while his pace increased to its maximum.

It's said that people can unleash unimaginable potential in a crisis, which is true, but only relatively speaking.

At least for Wang Qiang at the moment, even though he was running the fastest he ever had in his life, compared to the Corpse Dog closely chasing behind, they were worlds apart.

The overhead sunlight once again dimmed, and Wang Qiang instinctively wanted to turn back, but just as he twisted, his shoulder was hit by a strong force, and he staggered and collapsed to the side.

What was that! When he heavily fell to the ground, Wang Qiang's mind buzzed, feeling as if the world was spinning and the earth was quaking. He tried to understand the current situation, but his muddled consciousness only faintly caught some shouting:

"Xiao Tang!"

"Tang Xiaoquan!"

"Tang Xiaoquan?" The familiar words echoed in his mind, and Wang Qiang fiercely shook his head twice, then suddenly exclaimed in sudden realization: "Quan! What's happened to Quan!"

Ignoring the severe pain in his body, Wang Qiang forcefully turned his face to the side, and instantly a terrifying Black Shadow was present in his eyes, and as he shifted his gaze downward, a cold air immediately sucked into his lungs.