Just as the livestream chat suspected—
Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw were headed straight for the oasis.
The moment the audience realized it, warnings flooded the screen.
"Bro, calm down!! That E-rank monster is NOT something you can mess with!"
"Bullets and grenades did nothing—what are you two going to fight it with? Her saber?!"
"This is suicide!"
They weren't wrong about one thing.
Aside from the weapon in Raven Shaw's hand, the pair looked practically unarmed.
And even that "sword" wasn't what most viewers imagined.
It wasn't a European longsword.
It was a combat saber—a sleek Chinese saber, built for one thing: killing.
But to modern people watching from behind a screen, cold steel instinctively felt inferior to guns.
At seven paces, the gun is faster.
Inside seven, it's faster still—and deadlier.
That was the common belief.
The appearance of an E-rank lifeform had already thrown the entire Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone into chaos.
Everyone wanted the oasis.
Everyone feared it.
Because the logic was obvious now:
If you could claim that oasis—especially with an E-rank guardian—
the reward would almost certainly include an E-rank Chest.
And everyone had already seen what an F- Chest could do.
All Attributes +3.
Marcus, who was already near the peak of human capability, had outright broken the human limit.
Noah Drake wasn't as extreme, but he'd still surged to the top end of what a normal body could achieve.
That kind of growth was intoxicating.
So of course, some people gambled anyway.
After Noah Drake and Marcus fled the oasis, a few bold competitors crept in—hoping the monster had moved on.
They were wrong.
One after another, the greedy and the desperate were hunted down.
Only when those people truly became the Greenback Croc's meals did the rest of the competitors finally accept reality:
That creature wasn't prey.
It was a wall.
And the obsession with the oasis cooled—replaced by a more sensible plan:
Farm safer targets first. Build strength. Then come back.
In everyone's eyes, Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw belonged to the first category—
the ones who hadn't learned yet.
The ones blinded by greed and walking into death.
They didn't care what anyone thought.
Under Adrian Vale's lead, the two finally reached the oasis.
A desert oasis didn't need much explanation.
It was a pocket of paradise in hell—
cool air, living greenery, a softness underfoot you didn't feel in sand.
But everyone knew what hid beneath that calm.
A predator.
A slaughterhouse wearing a pretty mask.
Still, Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw walked in like they were taking a casual stroll.
And the moment the camera followed their steps, the audience saw why the oasis had become a graveyard.
Their path was littered with evidence.
Spent casings scattered in the dirt.
Charred patches where explosives had scorched the ground.
You didn't have to guess whose work that was.
And beyond that…
blood.
Dark stains soaked into the earth at intervals—ugly, dried, and unmistakable.
The remains of people who had entered for greed…
and never walked out.
The livestream chat turned cold.
"They still went in… I'm numb."
"Is this a paradise? This is a damn butcher shop."
"And they can look at this and not even flinch… do they actually have a plan?"
"No way. They're just pretending to be tough."
Of course, none of it reached them.
Adrian Vale's gaze remained flat.
But his nose…
twitched.
He inhaled.
To others, that metallic stench would be nauseating.
To Adrian Vale—
it was temptation.
A feast.
The ghoul instinct coiled in his chest like a spring tightening.
It told him, quietly and clearly:
Hunting time.
Rustle—rustle.
A nearby bush shook.
Then went still again.
The chat froze.
Everyone held their breath.
And in the next instant, a familiar silhouette slid into view.
The Greenback Croc.
But compared to the one Noah Drake and Marcus had faced earlier…
this one looked worse.
Not damaged.
Not injured.
Worse in the way a killer looks worse after it's been busy.
If the earlier croc was "fresh out of the factory,"
this one was stained.
Its body was speckled with dried blood in ugly patches—spattered across its hide like rust.
Yet none of that blood belonged to it.
Not a single wound marred its armor.
Even after taking a grenade to the face, it still carried no visible injuries.
That kind of defense made the viewers' stomachs sink.
The croc's crimson eyes locked onto the two new intruders.
It let out a low, hungry rumble.
And as its massive jaws opened slightly, everyone saw it—
shreds of flesh caught between serrated teeth.
Fresh.
Some viewers swore they saw something that looked like a human forearm lodged inside its mouth.
The chat erupted in pure panic.
"Holy—its teeth still have MEAT on them!"
"That's not a monster 'that might eat people'—it already HAS!"
"RUN!! You two—RUN NOW!!"
"It's too close… even if they run, that thing's speed is insane."
"This is it. They're done."
No response.
No retreat.
Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw simply stared at the man-eating beast without changing expression.
To ordinary people, this would be the moment terror takes over.
But Adrian Vale wasn't ordinary.
Not anymore.
A predator that eats humans?
Fine.
But the question now wasn't whether the Greenback Croc would eat someone.
It was—
who eats who.
And on that point, Adrian Vale was the only one who felt truly certain.
Because one thing was undeniable:
Hunting time had arrived.
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