Chapter 668 - 414: A Painful Price and a Close Call

Chapter 668: Chapter 414: A Painful Price and a Close Call

Under the scorching sun, the azure sky was dotted with a few white clouds.

A flock of small sparrows flew in from the direction of the city. They crossed the border between the safe zone and the wilderness, entering the treacherous wilds and landing not far from the safe zone.

"CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP..."

The little sparrows, out to forage, hopped cheerfully on the grass, chirping as they searched for food.

Suddenly, they noticed a strange sight beneath a large, leafy tree at the edge of the safe zone.

Space rippled outward like water, then began to twist and distort.

Amidst this distortion, countless golden particles of light materialized from thin air. They then converged to form a giant cocoon of light.

When the golden light dissipated, the cocoon vanished, and a figure covered in blood appeared in mid-air before plummeting to the ground.

THUD.

"Ahhh..." A pained scream escaped from Wang Hao’s lips.

The Space Transmission Spiritual Artifact on his hand, the very thing that had allowed him to escape the Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast, shattered into countless fragments the moment he hit the ground, dissipating into the air.

At this moment, Wang Hao’s appearance could only be described as utterly wretched.

In addition to the gash on his chest that was deep enough to reveal bone, dozens of new, finger-sized cuts, as if made by a sharp knife, now covered his body.

Dark red blood seeped from the wounds, soaking what was left of Wang Hao’s tattered suit.

"Fuck, goddammit... The price for using this half-finished Space Transmission Spiritual Artifact is way too high!" Wang Hao, utterly weakened, muttered to himself.

Right now, his stamina and Spiritual Energy were almost depleted, and his consciousness was fading.

If not for his tenacious willpower allowing him to grit his teeth and hang on, the severely injured Wang Hao would have likely passed out on the spot.

This Space Transmission Spiritual Artifact, newly developed by the researchers in the Heilin Society’s R&D department, was still just a prototype.

Upon activation, it would drain a massive amount of the user’s Spiritual Energy and stamina during teleportation, and the user’s body would also suffer considerable injuries from the spatial tearing.

When the researchers from the Heilin Society’s R&D department gave this prototype Space Transmission Spiritual Artifact to Wang Hao, they had explained all the costs of using it and warned him not to use it unless it was a last resort.

Wang Hao had mentally prepared himself for the consequences of using the prototype Space Transmission Spiritual Artifact.

But when he actually used it and personally experienced the pain wracking his body, he still couldn’t help but curse out loud.

Of course, after calming down, he had to admit the prototype Space Transmission Spiritual Artifact was still an excellent tool for escaping.

Without its help, it would have been impossible for Wang Hao to escape from that Peak Tier Two Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast on his own.

"HUFF..."

His breathing ragged, Wang Hao turned his head to look at the distant safe zone. He was only thirty or forty meters away from where he had parked his car.

But even this short distance was an insurmountable chasm for the severely injured Wang Hao.

Too injured to move, his only option was to call for help.

Wang Hao gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain from his many wounds. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and dialed Chen Xiaoyan’s number.

...

A car was parked in the shade of a roadside tree, diagonally across from the main entrance of the Ping’an Garden District.

A man and a woman sat in the driver’s and passenger’s seats. One was intently staring at the distant district entrance, while the other was leaning back against her seat with her eyes closed, resting.

"Yan, it’s been a while. Wang should have reached the location by now. Do you think he’s found any clues yet?" Zhu Daqi asked, turning to Chen Xiaoyan, who was resting with her eyes closed.

"We just have to wait for news. What’s the point of asking so many questions?" Chen Xiaoyan replied casually, her eyes still closed.

The words had barely left her lips when the phone in Chen Xiaoyan’s purse suddenly rang.

"RING RING RING..."

Chen Xiaoyan, who had been resting, opened her eyes. She grabbed her purse, opened it, and took out her phone. Seeing it was a call from Wang Hao, she quickly answered.

"Hello?"

"Chen Xiaoyan, *cough*... I’m badly hurt. Can’t move my body. You need to come help me, quickly..."

Hearing Wang Hao say he was seriously injured and needed her help, a look of shock appeared on Chen Xiaoyan’s stunning face. She asked in disbelief,

"What happened?"

"I can’t explain in just a few words. I’m sending you my location info now. Get over here right away..."

After saying that, Wang Hao hung up. A few seconds later, a location ping was sent to Chen Xiaoyan’s phone.

"Yan, what’s wrong?" Zhu Daqi asked curiously, seeing the uncertain expression on Chen Xiaoyan’s stunning face.

"Wang Hao is badly hurt. He needs us to pick him up," Chen Xiaoyan said concisely.

"What? Wang is badly hurt? Who hurt him? Was it a Mutant Beast?" After hearing Chen Xiaoyan’s simple explanation, Zhu Daqi froze for a moment, then asked in astonishment.

"He didn’t say what exactly happened, just that we need to get to him quickly," Chen Xiaoyan said.

"Then let’s hurry over to Wang!" Zhu Daqi said. The moment he finished speaking, he remembered that Wang Hao was in the treacherous wilderness and instantly regretted his eagerness.