“Xiaoxiao, take the left. Xiaomeng, take the right. I’ll draw its attention from the front. Aim for its mouth!”
Lu Wanxin really was a veteran. She’d immediately figured out its weakness. The python had to be a host chosen by the magic power leaking out around it.
“Pink Jade, copy!”
Bai Xiaoxiao quickly flung two orbs of light at the giant python’s left side, and both struck their mark. But whether her attacks were too weak or it simply hadn’t noticed her, the python kept its eyes fixed on Lu Wanxin, who was holding its attention from the front.
“This isn’t the time for code names. There are only three of us here.”
Even as Lu Wanxin grumbled, she kept a barrier up to protect herself. The giant python lunged, opening its jaws to bite her. The seemingly sturdy barrier began to show cracks, and Wanxin quickly reinforced it with magic. Cai Mengmeng seized her chance and fired a burst of flame straight into the python’s open jaws.
Scorching heat engulfed the giant snake’s head, giving Lu Wanxin the chance to escape. She leaped back, her face grave as she watched the giant python—no, it was a magical beast now.
“This is Jade Light. The newly emerged patterned python magical beast is estimated to be B-Rank.”
Afraid the magical beast might disrupt the electronic signal, Lu Wanxin used magic to communicate and summed up the situation in a single sentence.
“Copy. If you need backup, I’ll send Zi Xuan and Zi Lan over.”
Zi Xuan and Zi Lan were still on standby at the agency and hadn’t been sent to another city. If they were needed, Captain Meng Ting could send them over to help.
“No need. The three of us should be able to handle this one.”
It was probably B-Rank, and Lu Wanxin hadn’t even shown her full strength yet. If the three of them worked together, taking it down shouldn’t be a problem.
While the magical beast was recovering, Bai Xiaoxiao and Cai Mengmeng launched several attacks at its mouth. But the giant python seemed to have a little intelligence. After taking a few hits, it shielded its head with its massive body, then began sweeping its tail across everything around it. The huge iron cage was crushed in an instant, sending up a cloud of dust.
Dust filled the air and hid the magical beast from view. The three of them used magic to blow it away, only to find the giant python had vanished, leaving behind a huge hole.
“Damn, that python can dig!”
Bai Xiaoxiao lowered her hands, her attack stopped, and frowned as she scanned the area. She tried sensing the magic around her, but found it was all muddled by interference. She could still sense the creature with the strongest magical presence, but the python had burrowed who knew how many meters underground. She couldn’t pinpoint its location.
“Spread out at once! Xiaoxiao, Xiaomeng, fly up and keep watch. Attack immediately if you spot the python.”
“Copy!”
Cai Mengmeng and Bai Xiaoxiao flew off in opposite directions to patrol from above. The zoo’s enclosures spread out beneath them, one after another. To the left was the predator zone, where all the animals were large carnivores.
Lu Wanxin calmed herself and sat cross-legged on the ground, releasing magic from one hand to search beneath the surface. She was even more skilled at using magic than Bai Xiaoxiao, and the feedback from her magical sensing should have let her lock onto the python’s location quickly.
But that was only how it should have worked in theory. The entire underground seemed to have turned into one enormous hollow. No matter how much magic she sent out, she couldn’t detect the beast at all. It was as if it had vanished into thin air.
“Xiaoxiao, have you found anything over there?”
The magical beast had taken one of Cai Mengmeng’s attacks, so its mouth had to be injured. If it escaped and started devouring people, the three of them would never be able to bear the responsibility.
“Captain Meng Ting, the magical beast got away from us. Please activate the magic array immediately to protect the nearby residents.”
“Copy.”
The huge magic array extending from the Idol Agency did a good job of protecting all of Tianhai Zoo.
It was like a glass dome covering the entire area. As long as the magical beast didn’t escape the zoo, the three of them still had a chance to kill it.
“Xiaoxiao, Xiaomeng, search the areas on either side. Call me at once if you find any sign of it.”
“Okay.”
Following the order, Bai Xiaoxiao headed left toward the predator zone.
It was frustrating how weak she was. She couldn’t even handle a B-Rank magical beast without help, and now she’d let it escape. How embarrassing.
As she flew over the lions’ enclosure, Bai Xiaoxiao caught the smell of blood.
A huge hole had opened in the ground nearby, with a large pool of blood around its rim. It looked like it had happened only minutes ago.
“Senior Wanxin, I found blood!”
As soon as Lu Wanxin received Bai Xiaoxiao’s message through magic, she rushed to the scene. Her blue magical outfit traced a graceful arc through the air, and she reached the spot where Xiaoxiao had found the blood in less than half a minute.
“Looks like it launched a surprise attack from underground and ate a lion. It’s probably trying to heal its wounds by feeding.”
Its strength should have been around B-Rank, but its scales had been reinforced. Even with her A-Rank strength, she couldn’t hurt it. Bai Xiaoxiao was frustrated by how powerful all the magical beasts she’d encountered lately were. The Returning Sea Demon Lizard had been the same; in the end, only the Silver Spear Battle Maiden had been able to take it down.
“Xiaoxiao, stay here and keep watch over this area. I’m going to check the black bear zone up ahead.”
Bai Xiaoxiao gave a quick bark of acknowledgment and watched Senior Wanxin leave.
She stared into the bottomless black hole before her. It felt as if something terribly frightening lurked inside.
Bai Xiaoxiao took a few frightened steps back. The sudden attack she’d imagined never came. The smell of blood was still strong, but she had no idea where the lions in this enclosure had gone.
She looked around. This area had been designed to imitate a grassland. It wasn’t very large, but it had a distinctly wild feel.
When she flew back into the sky, the other two still hadn’t spotted the magical beast. Bai Xiaoxiao’s gaze fell on a lion at the edge of the enclosure.
It was a male lion with a thick mane. He was lying on the ground, lazily licking his fur as he basked in the sun.
Poor thing. It hadn’t even noticed its companion being swallowed by the magical beast. But then Bai Xiaoxiao suddenly thought of another possibility.
What if the magical beast hadn’t eaten the lion to heal its wounds? What if it had created a bloody scene to lure her over, then planned to ambush her from behind?
The moment the thought crossed her mind, Bai Xiaoxiao hurriedly turned around. Thankfully, there was nothing there. Otherwise, she might really have been scared to death.
“Hiss!!!”
It wasn’t a lion’s or tiger’s roar. It was the sound a snake made when provoked.
“Huh?”
A fierce surge of magic suddenly rose beneath her feet. The instant Bai Xiaoxiao looked down, a foul-smelling abyss of a mouth appeared below her.
What kind of joke was this? She was more than ten meters above the ground!
From above another enclosure, Lu Wanxin saw Bai Xiaoxiao get swallowed and let out a scream.
“Xiaoxiao!!!”
