# Chapter 20: Sudden Onset
Boom!
An earth-shaking sensation appeared, stone chips falling from above the cave. Su Xiao, who had been sound asleep, suddenly opened his eyes.
He sat up, the weakness and fatigue swept away.
Looking around, the cave was somewhat dim, the entrance blocked, no abnormalities.
Boom! Boom!
Loud noises came from afar, conservatively estimated at half a kilometer away. Su Xiao let out a long breath.
He took out a waterproof pocket watch to check the time — it was already 11 AM.
Today was the second day of the survival trial. Although the first day was somewhat embarrassing and difficult, Su Xiao had made it through the most difficult day.
Just arriving at Devourer Island, he was unfamiliar with this place. It wasn't just Su Xiao — other contractors were the same.
[Remaining time: 215 hours. Contractors alive: 456.]
Those who survived the first day had gained some understanding of Devourer Island. The main cause of the large number of casualties on the first day was parachuting.
Some contractors encountered Devourer Island's creatures upon landing, making high casualty rates inevitable.
Death tolls would be high on the first day, then rapidly decrease on the second.
Starting from the third day, contractor deaths would begin to rise, with each subsequent day seeing more and more deaths. The last two to three days should be the most brutal and fierce.
To find food and fresh water, one had to explore Devourer Island, which inevitably meant encountering native creatures or meeting other contractors.
Inside the cave, Su Xiao stretched his muscles. The natives he dealt with yesterday were quite strong, but that was also related to his poor condition.
Crossing the entire grassland had consumed a lot of stamina, and in the ten hours after that, he hadn't had a single drop of water. Having that level of combat ability at the time was already decent.
He had to leave the Red Soil Region as soon as possible. There was too little food here. With sufficient stamina, dealing with those natives, though not easy, would never be as tragic and fierce as yesterday. Being hungry to the point of weakness all over was a terrible experience.
The rumbling outside the cave continued. Su Xiao moved the stones blocking the entrance. Light streamed into the cave, and his pupils dilated slightly to adapt to the sudden brightness.
Walking slowly out of the cave, the rumbling became clearer. The sound came from a plain on the right side.
Su Xiao climbed a slope and looked down at the plain where the rumbling originated.
Seeing the scene in the distance, Su Xiao instinctively crouched on the slope.
On the distant plain, densely packed red-skinned natives were charging and shouting. Conservative estimate: over ten thousand.
Bubu Wang, still groggy, followed behind Su Xiao. Bubu Wang had a habit of liking to howl after waking up.
Like a snow wolf, Bubu Wang stood on the slope, the breeze ruffling its smooth fur. Its head lifted.
Accidentally seeing the scene below, Bubu Wang's already-prepared "Awoo~" got stuck in its throat. It saw those densely packed natives.
Bubu Wang was so scared it almost pissed itself, quickly retreating behind the slope with an expression of "scared the baby to death."
The sounds of battle came from afar. The red-skinned natives' enemy wasn't humans, but a creature Su Xiao had never seen before.
This creature resembled a giant scorpion, about three meters long, its entire body covered in black exoskeleton. Thick legs pierced into the ground, and its curved tail and mouth each had a large pincer.
Seeing this creature, Su Xiao immediately thought of the insect race.
No wonder Su Xiao thought so — this giant scorpion-like creature was completely born for battle. It had two hearts and no brain as a vital weak point.
He took out [Havana Eye]. Because the distance was somewhat far, Su Xiao wasn't sure if the detection would succeed.
[Detecting...]
[Due to excessive distance, only 87% data obtained.]
Data as follows:
Name: Sting Scorpion
Health: 100%
Mana: 50
Strength: 16
Agility: 14
Stamina: 8
Intelligence: 5
Charm: -1
Skill 1: Exoskeleton Lv.1 (Passive), Defense +2
Skill 2: Acid Blood Lv.1 (Passive), Blood is corrosive.
Skill 3: Void Insect Race (Passive) Can survive in extremely harsh environments, can digest over 80% of organic matter.
Skill 4: Collective Combat (Passive), When Sting Scorpions exceed 300, Strength +2, Agility +2. When exceeding 1000, Strength +3, Agility +3. When exceeding 10,000, Strength +5, Agility +5.
...
[Tip: The Hunter has encountered the two main factions of the Red Soil Region. Red Soil Region intelligence unlocked 20%.]
[The Red Soil Region is naturally formed, with scarce food and scarce fresh water.]
[70% of the Red Soil Region is occupied by two types of creatures: the "Yasman Tribe (Red-skinned Natives)" and the "Void Insect Race."]
[The two types of creatures have been warring in the Red Soil Region for over three hundred years.]
[The Yasman Tribe occupies 31% of the region, the Void Insect Race occupies 39%.]
...
Seeing this data, Su Xiao gained some understanding of the Red Soil Region. There were two types of creatures here that were most troublesome: the Yasman Tribe and the Void Insect Race.
The Void Insect Race had massive numbers — just the Sting Scorpions on the plain alone exceeded over a hundred thousand. It could be called a sea of insects.
Although he now understood the power distribution of the Red Soil Region, this didn't help much with survival. Instead, the prospects looked bleak.
Su Xiao really wanted to leave this damn place. In simple terms: "This ghost place is too poor — there's nothing to eat."
Leaving the Red Soil Region wasn't simple. Not to mention the two factions within the region, just the harsh environment alone was enough to be fatal.
Observing from the slope for a while, Su Xiao prepared to go around the battlefield on the plain.
But just then, rumbling gradually came from both sides. Su Xiao's expression changed drastically.
"Could it be..."
He stood up and looked into the distance. Somehow, large numbers of red-skinned natives and Sting Scorpions were charging from all directions — front, back, left, and right.
His position wasn't at the edge of the battlefield at all, but right at the center. It was just that the battlefield was so large, he hadn't noticed at first.
As far as the eye could see, there were enemies everywhere. Red-skinned natives and Sting Scorpions surged like tides from both sides.
"Bubu, hide."
Su Xiao pulled open the buttons at his collar. Although he didn't want to get involved in this war, it was now unavoidable.
Since it couldn't be avoided, he would fight his way out. He was in good condition now.
Clang!
Dragon-Slaying Flash left its sheath. Su Xiao didn't maximize Azure Steel Shadow — it was easy to imagine this war wouldn't end anytime soon.
A Sting Scorpion emitting a sour, fishy smell charged at him. Sting Scorpions had no intelligence; they only followed the queen's command: kill all bipedal creatures.
The Sting Scorpion rushed to Su Xiao's side. The long blade swept across. The Sting Scorpion's forward path skewed, and it crashed into a rock. A green mark appeared on its shell — cut in two, the cross-section smooth as a mirror.
Swoosh~.
A wooden spear was thrown from afar. Su Xiao was all too familiar with this kind of spear — it was from the red-skinned natives.
Su Xiao sidestepped to dodge the spear, pulled out the black gun from his outer thigh with one hand, and fired several shots.
Something unexpected happened — that red-skinned native was shot dead directly. This made Su Xiao somewhat puzzled.
He thought of a possibility. The ones he dealt with yesterday might have been elites of the red-skinned natives. Those guys had body toughness that was downright abnormal, as if cast from iron.
These red-skinned natives on the battlefield were much weaker. Even if there were dozens or even hundreds, Su Xiao could easily handle them.
The red-skinned natives and Sting Scorpions collided, like two waves crashing together.
Flesh splattered, limbs flew. The hatred between the red-skinned natives and the insect race had lasted for centuries — meeting meant life or death.
At the center of the battlefield, a storm of blade light bloomed. All enemies daring to approach Su Xiao were chopped to pieces, whether red-skinned natives or Sting Scorpions.