Playboy: Medical and Martial Master

After exploring for about twenty minutes, the loud crack of a breaking tree suddenly echoed from the dense forest ahead of their camp, followed by two gunshots.

The three of them heard the commotion simultaneously. Their hearts sank, and they hurriedly returned to the camp to regroup.

Huang Qianggang showed Sun Zhe a newly acquired AK-47 rifle and said, ”Doctor Sun, let’s go check it out. It might be the herb-gathering team!”

Sun Zhe had the exact same idea. Without another word, he sprinted toward the sound, completely ignoring his own injuries. Leaping into the trees, he pushed his Witch’s Step to its absolute limit.

「Soon.」

Sun Zhe was the first to arrive at the source of the noise. He was startled to find that a large swath of trees had been snapped and broken, completely leveling the area.

Suddenly, a massive shadow flashed through the undergrowth and into his line of sight. Although the figure disappeared too quickly for him to see it fully, Sun Zhe could tell it was the body of a snake. The dark, glossy scales emitted a chilling sheen; just a single glance from afar was enough to make his scalp tingle.

”AH—! Help!”

Just then, a blood-curdling scream erupted from the bushes.

Sun Zhe’s heart dropped. Without the slightest hesitation, he leaped down from the tree and darted toward the undergrowth using his Witch’s Step. As he burst through the bushes and finally got a clear look at the giant snake, the sheer visual impact sent a wave of pressure crashing down on him.

A chill shot up from the base of his spine to the top of his skull. The veins on his temples throbbed, and he didn’t even dare to breathe too heavily. Other than in movies, he had never seen a snake this massive in his entire life. Humans have a natural fear of gigantic creatures, a primal terror that seems to be etched into our very DNA.

Sun Zhe was no exception. At that moment, he was so frightened his legs went weak.

He stared intently at the giant snake, the palms of his hands slick with cold sweat, not daring to make a rash move. The snake was as thick as a water barrel and covered in black scales, its underbelly a grayish-white. A red stripe ran down its back, and atop its head were two bulbous protrusions.

Just then, the snake whipped its head around. Its two red eyes, each larger than an ostrich egg, locked onto Sun Zhe. The vertical pupils contracted slightly, radiating a bloodthirsty intent that seemed to pierce his very soul.

As Sun Zhe met the snake’s gaze, he swallowed nervously and finally noticed a person dangling from its mouth. The man looked to be in his twenties and was still dressed in combat gear, clearly a mercenary.

At that moment, the snake had already swallowed the mercenary’s lower body, leaving only his upper half exposed. Both hands gripped a thorny vine tightly, as if it were his last hope. He refused to let go, even as the thorns skinned his palms and tore away his flesh.

When truly faced with death, no one is without fear. Even mercenaries like him, who lived on the edge and braved hails of bullets, were no exception.

Sun Zhe took a deep breath to suppress his terror. A brilliant surge of electricity suddenly flared around his body as he lunged forward, slamming his fist into the snake’s vital point just below its head.

The powerful electric current spread instantly. The giant snake was shocked so badly it thrashed on the ground like a loach pulled from the water, with white smoke sizzling from its body.

Seeing that his True Qi Thunder Transformation was effective, Sun Zhe felt a surge of joy. After skillfully dodging a sweep of the snake’s tail, he landed several more punches. He beat the creature until it hissed and shrieked, finally opening its mouth and spitting out the mercenary.

Sun Zhe rushed forward to help the mercenary up, carrying him as he dashed out of the undergrowth. The giant snake, seemingly terrified of being electrocuted again, opened its gaping maw and let out an eerie hiss at Sun Zhe but didn’t dare to give chase.

At that moment, Huang Qianggang and Bai Ran hurried over. Seeing Sun Zhe was safe and had even rescued someone, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

”Ah Zhe, are you okay?”

”I’m fine!”

Huang Qianggang stared at the massive snake head poking out of the bushes and blurted out, ”Holy shit! What a huge spicy stick!”

He hefted his rifle. ”I’ve got the Great Equalizer right here, and today I’m sending you to the next life—physically!”

”Damn!”

Saying this, he raised the AK and fired a full magazine at the giant snake.

However, the 7.62mm bullets only left shallow marks on its scales, failing to inflict any real damage.

Sun Zhe said, ”Huang, stop shooting! Let’s go!”

「Before long.」

The three returned to the encampment with the mercenary they had rescued from the snake’s jaws.

”Spit it out. What’s your name?” Huang Qianggang demanded, pointing his gun at the mercenary. He had a deep-seated contempt for people who made a living by the gun.

The mercenary leaned weakly against a tree trunk, his face pale. Two gaping, penetrating wounds in his waist oozed blood incessantly, impossible to staunch, and the flesh around them was visibly darkening.

Sun Zhe briefly examined his injuries and then shook his head. The snake’s fangs had pierced the man’s stomach and injected a massive amount of venom into his body. In this condition, not even the gods could save him now.

”My name is Zhou Hang...” the man rasped. ”Buddy... thank you for saving me. I know I’m not going to make it, but at least I didn’t die in that beast’s mouth... Really, thank you.”

Sun Zhe nodded. ”You should say something useful.”

”...”

From Zhou Hang’s dying confession, Sun Zhe learned that he was from the Zhou Family—one of the mercenaries they kept overseas. These mercenaries typically earned money for the Zhou Family abroad and would be recalled whenever the family needed them.

Furthermore, Sun Zhe discovered that this squad of mercenaries had been dispatched by Han Xinyue. Their objective was to take control of Hengyun Pharmaceutical’s herb-gathering team and, through them, acquire their medicinal formulas.

What Sun Zhe found truly unbelievable was that the person leading this group of mercenaries was none other than the Su Family’s live-in son-in-law—Ye Fei.

About half a month ago, Ye Fei had led a group of mercenaries into Celestial Prison Mountain and caught up with Hengyun Pharmaceutical’s team. He had originally planned to take them down immediately, but the Su Family’s team also had a few experts among them. The two sides were locked in a stalemate, with neither able to gain the upper hand in the primordial jungle.

Later, Su Nanzhi received word and led several of the Su Family’s Martial Artist experts as reinforcements. In the end, however, Su Nanzhi’s group was driven into the depths of Bone Stone Forest. The Zhou Family simply had more people and superior weaponry. Even a Martial Artist can’t withstand many bullets.

Ye Fei and his men occupied the camp. He intended to rest there before pursuing Su Nanzhi further into Bone Stone Forest, but a sudden rainstorm hit. Then, a massive snake appeared, causing a flood that destroyed the camp.

In the chaos, Zhou Hang was separated from the main force and was left to wander the jungle alone. He had planned to sneak back to the camp to check on the situation today but was targeted by the massive snake instead.

”Son of a bitch!” Huang Qianggang roared. ”The Zhou Family! What a fucking Zhou Family! And that Ye Fei is a complete animal! The Su Family treated him so well, yet he colludes with the Zhou Family to frame them!”

Furious, he fired a burst from his rifle into the sky to vent his anger.

Bai Ran lightly kicked his calf. ”Are you crazy? What if you attract the snake by making all that noise?”

Hearing that, Huang Qianggang shivered and quickly backed away.

Bai Ran stared at Zhou Hang’s corpse on the ground, her eyes cold as she said slowly, ”Rather than the Zhou Family, it would be more accurate to say it’s the Jade Fox Sect.” She turned to Sun Zhe. ”Ah Zhe, what’s your plan now?”

Sun Zhe replied without a moment’s hesitation, ”We keep going until we find Nanzhi.”

Bai Ran nodded. ”Then I’ll go with you.”

Huang Qianggang laughed freely. ”Count me in, too! But to be honest, Doctor Sun, I’ve never been past this camp. I have no idea what dangers lie ahead.”

RUSTLE... RUSTLE... RUSTLE...

Just then, a rustling sound came from the dense woods behind them, accompanied by the snapping of branches.

Hearing the noise, all three felt their hearts sink, assuming the giant snake had found them again. Huang Qianggang decisively flicked off the safety and aimed his AK at the forest, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

”Come on, you big bastard! I was just getting a craving for some snake meat!”

Sun Zhe’s gaze locked sharply onto the forest as he said in a low voice, ”You two, back off. I’ve already fought this snake. It’s nothing like those Corpse Wolves from before; your gun is useless against it.”

Unexpectedly, just as he finished speaking, two graceful figures leaped out of the woods. It wasn’t the terrifying great snake they had imagined.

Huang Qianggang’s eyes widened in shock. ”What the hell? Did that snake cultivate into a demon? It can even transform into people!”

Sun Zhe focused his gaze, his brow furrowing. ”Why is it you two?”

He hadn’t expected the newcomers to be the master-disciple duo, Yao Rao and Han Xinyue.

At this moment, Han Xinyue, dressed in mountaineering gear, looked at Sun Zhe with equal surprise and astonishment.

”Sun Zhe, what are you doing here? Were you the ones shooting just now?”