Chapter 181 - Discovery

*Huff*Huff*

By the time Hao Xuan exited the tunnel he was breathing heavily for some reason. Normally he would be able to run several miles in one breath but for some strange reason, that wasn't the case in this world.

As he walked out, the surroundings got a little bit brighter, allowing him to see much further away.

"Woah," he shivered as a wave of cold air hit him head-on. How was it so damn cold here? Closing his eyes he adjusted the Qi from Black and felt it circulate through his entire system.

The creature in his hand had stopped struggling and would just look around every now and then. It knew there was no way it could overpower Hao Xuan so it had simply stopped trying.

Looking at the surroundings he slowly made his way back to the camp. About five minutes of sprinting later he was able to see the camp walls in the middle of the intersection of the three gullies.

"Open the gate!" he shouted while picking up speed. He was getting ready to just rush in through the open gate but there was no movement from the camp.

Hao Xuan stopped thirty meters away from the camp. After taking a closer look, the soldiers that should have been patrolling the walls were nowhere in sight. They would have heard him shouting earlier and someone would have come out by now but there was complete and utter silence.

Hao Xuan's expression turned serious as he waved his hand, taking out his glaive, "Oh god, is this it? Did it happen already?" he mumbled.

The bad feeling he was getting ever since he first found out about this mission just quadrupled in intensity. He slammed the Glaive's bottom half on the ground like a wizards staff. A wave of yellow energy spread outwards and when it got close to the camp, a barrier appeared for a second and then disappeared right after neutralizing it.

"The formations are still intact," he thought. Step by step he got closer, circulating his Qi through the glaive, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

As Hao Xuan neared the camp walls, the badge on his chest vibrated for a second and the camp gate opened on its own.

Entering the camp his frown got deeper as nothing but complete and total silence welcomed him with open arms. The tents were all still the same as he left them. There was no blood, no remaining Qi left in the air. There was absolutely no sign of a fight.

He looked around the Red Legion's resting area but could find no one.

Once again his heartbeat started increasing as the reality of the situation dawned on him. The entire camp was gone. They seemed to have just vanished into thin air....almost like they were 'spirited away'.

*Badump*

The mist, the three bells, missing towns, was it them again?

*Badump*

And if he was the only one left, how was he supposed to get back to the beast world without the scientists help? They were supposed to find the location of the rift on this side!

*Badump*

*Snort*

"AHHHHH!" upon hearing the unknown sound, Hao Xuan swiped the glaive sideways, sending an energy wave towards its source.

He jumped forward and turned towards the source of the sound ready to fight, only to be met with a crying face of a giant plump Rhino.

Fat droplets of tears tethered on the verge of falling down from Bao Bao's eyes as she looked at Hao Xuan with fear. The Wave of Qi he had just thrown out had fallen right in front of her. A few inches back and it would have severed her legs in half.

Hao Xuan was stunned for a good few seconds before he realized what had transpired.

"Wh-What the f*ck are you doing crawling behind someone like that?! You could've died you dumbass!" he shouted while pointing at the Bao Bao with his left hand, which incidentally held the unknown creature.

The already frightened Rhino saw the hideous creature and simply closed its eyes, passing out from pure fear.

Hao Xuan was left speechless. What kind of a beast passes out from being scared? And of something so small to boot?! How the hell had Shi Chun been training it??

A cloud of dust arose around the rhino as its massive body fell to the ground, blocking out most of the area in front of him. After taking another look at it, Hao Xuan didn't know whether to be ashamed that something this big got so close to him and he didn't even realize, or be impressed by the rhino that pulled it all off?

He waved his hand and took out a small cage from one of his storage rings and put the unknown creature inside it. The creature looked around curiously but didn't make a ruckus. He walked over the rhino and slapped its face.

"Oi, wake up already! How long do you plan to sleep?!"

But there was absolutely no response from Bao Bao. Its thick skin felt harder than a metal and actually hurt Hao Xuan's hands. He tried a few different methods ranging from kicking to even hitting it with hammers and swords, but to no avail.

Finally giving up, he took out a piece of dried meat and was about to take a bite when a gust of hot air almost pushed him down. Turning around he saw Bao Bao staring at the meat in his hand with twinkling eyes.

"...punching, kicking, slashing, hammering, none of it worked, but a piece of meat was enough to make you come to your senses?" he asked with an expressionless face, trying not to lash out again.

Bao Bao seemed to have forgotten the previous incident and simply looked at the meat while drooling.

Hao Xuan shook his head when he saw her reaction and finally gave up, "Fine," and threw the piece towards her. With a smooth lunging motion, the meat disappeared as soon as it got close to Bao Bao.

She happily chewed it a few times before swallowing it, and then looked at Hao Xuan expectedly.

"No! No more food," he shook his head angrily, "Where is everyone? Where is Shi Chun? Your master?" he asked.

Bao Bao walked closer dejectedly and lowered her head. There was a piece of paper attached to the back of its horn.

"Captain, the scientists found an underground structure with some creatures inside. They are hostile and attack on sight. Everyone had to be deployed along with your Red Legion and Ma Clan. Bao Bao knows where it is so just follow her and she will bring you over.

Love, Shi Chun."

"..."

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?!"