Chapter 139: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Giant Creatures

"Shh!" Mo Sanpang jumped out from the bushes at the sound of the child's shouting. "What are you yelling for? Mind your manners."

"Who cares about manners? Mom, someone is peeping at me!" The child kept yelling, incidentally waking up the girl who had just fallen asleep.

Once awakened, the girl started screaming even more vigorously.

"Mom, there's a pervert! A pervert is spying on us!" The girl shrieked at the top of her lungs, and before long, she had attracted the attention of Qingyin and the others.

However, the others were preoccupied with their own thoughts; after casting a glance toward the commotion, they simply closed their eyes again.

Only Qingyin walked over.

"What is going on with you?" Seeing Sanpang standing in front of the child, Qingyin hurried over and scooped up her child. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just saw the little one come over here to pee by himself and got a bit worried." Seeing Qingyin approach, Mo Sanpang tensed up, putting on an expression of concern. "Look, if a kid runs off to pee alone, what if he runs into danger? Someone has to keep an eye on him!"

"Is that true?" Qingyin asked, looking down at her child.

"No, he was crouching in the bushes watching us," the boy replied.

"Well, I was just trying not to startle them," Mo Sanpang chuckled awkwardly and began walking away. "That's why I was crouching there. Since you're safe now, I'm going back to sleep. You all go back to doing whatever you were doing; don't mind me."

With that, Sanpang walked behind a tree, opened his sleeping bag, and crawled inside.

But that night was not as peaceful as the previous ones.

Liu Chang had only just fallen asleep when, in a semi-conscious state, he suddenly caught a bitter, fishy scent similar to medicinal herbs. When the smell first appeared, Liu Chang didn't think much of it. After all, this was a jungle, and many small insects carried such odors.

However, after a while, he realized something was wrong. His heart jolted, and he opened his eyes. Liu Chang stood up, twitching his nose to trace the scent from afar.

The medicinal smell had drifted on the wind, at first faint and sporadic, but soon it grew increasingly pungent. To Liu Chang’s sensitive nose, the scent began to feel overwhelming.

This meant that the approaching swarm was either massive in number or comprised of individual insects of immense size.

Once the scent became strong enough for him to be certain that the creature was headed straight for their group, Liu Chang woke everyone up.

"Alert! Everyone, stay alert! Don't go back to sleep!" Liu Chang kicked He Zhizhi, who was sleeping next to him. "Stop sleeping, all of you! A big one is coming."

"A big one?" Struck in the back by Liu Chang's kick, He Zhizhi jolted awake and immediately caught the scent in the air. "I was sleeping too soundly; I didn't even smell it."

He Zhizhi stood up, looking ashamed as she woke her companions while sniffing the air. "It's a really large insect. Judging by the smell, it’s like a centipede!"

"It should be a centipede. Get ready to fight or flee," Liu Chang said, looking at the awakened Xiaojing. "Can you sense it?"

"Yes, it has entered my perception range—three hundred meters away. It’s something very powerful," Xiaojing said, keeping her eyes closed as she sensed the creature. "Its life force is incredibly vibrant, a value close to 100. Brother, can you handle it?"

"Probably not. I don't have a weapon for dealing with giants," Liu Chang said, raising his pistol. "This thing won't cut it."

"Then what do we do?" Sanpang asked.

"It's fine, I'll go draw it away." Being unable to defeat it didn't mean he couldn't maneuver around it. While Liu Chang was still far from the pinnacle of existence represented by Li Qingshui or the Great Willow Tree, he was considered a top-tier life form in the human world. If he had the right tools, he might just be able to take down that giant centipede.

"We'll go with you," the three clones volunteered upon hearing Liu Chang was leaving. "We can help."

"Alright, let's go together," Liu Chang said, grabbing the children by their collars—two in one hand, one in the other—and vanished deep into the jungle at high speed.

Following the trail of the scent, Liu Chang soon saw the source of the heavy medicinal odor: a giant centipede.

The size of this creature was even greater than he had imagined. Even from thirty meters away, Liu Chang couldn't see its entirety, but just looking at the massive head exposed, one could guess the scale of its body.

The body was flat, roughly two and a half meters wide, excluding the long legs; with the legs, it was four meters across—as wide as a small house. Its length was well over thirty meters; Liu Chang estimated it had to be at least fifty.

Judging by its body, it was much larger than the millipede he had encountered before. Furthermore, it was deep red with thick, armored plating, looking far more formidable than the millipede they had previously faced.

Upon catching sight of the beast, Liu Chang didn't hesitate; he fired a shot directly at the giant centipede's body.

*Bang!*

The bullet struck the giant centipede, sparking upon impact, but it merely lodged itself into the creature's armor.

"The armor on this thing is harder than any creature I've ever seen!" Liu Chang fired another shot, successfully drawing the giant centipede's attention, and then, clutching the three children, he turned and ran.

The centipede gave chase.

"However, its movement speed isn't that fast!" Though the three children were being dragged by their collars under Liu Chang's arms, they remained calm, actually starting to analyze the biological pros and cons of the giant centipede on the spot.

"Yes, it's true. When an animal's size increases to a certain point, its movement is inevitably compromised," the three children discussed amidst the jolting of the run. "For instance, the Brontosaurus in Earth's history, or elephants, or whales. While they are top-tier species, their movement speed is not top-tier."

"Indeed, and an overly large body is disadvantageous for hunting. Excessive size easily overloads the brain. Therefore, mindless gigantism is unwise."

"But this guy in front of us seems quite successful," the third one laughed. "After all, the greatest advantage of gigantism is having no natural predators—in the jungle, a lion can't defeat a bull, let alone an elephant. In ancient history, a T-Rex couldn't beat a Brontosaurus. The greatest advantage of gigantism is combat power."

"So, if Liu Chang lacks heavy weaponry, he won't be able to inflict any damage on this centipede at all," the eldest concluded.

"Hey, hey, hey! I’m the one doing the work here!" Liu Chang roared as he sprinted through the jungle, trying to lead the giant centipede in another direction. The massive creature might not have been fast, but it certainly wasn't slow, keeping pace right behind him. Hearing the three children casually debating, he couldn't help but shout, "Are you three here to watch a show or to help me out?"

"To help," the eldest replied.

"Then what are you discussing?"