Rewards?

In the dim moonlight, Matthew watched as the first group of apprentices who had escaped vanished in the blink of an eye.

He recalled an old saying from his past life: "When disaster strikes, everyone flies away."

In such a critical moment, who would care about the life or death of a lowly apprentice like him?

"Still too weak!"

Without hesitation, Matthew determined the direction and immediately ran back the way he came.

Just then, a figure rushed out of the cave entrance in the valley.

He was moving so fast that the surrounding weeds swayed constantly, and the dust and fallen leaves he kicked up all over him.

Matthew felt a gust of wind coming from behind him and turned his head to see that Mold had rushed to his side.

Mold also looked at Matthew, a smug smile playing on his lips.

Matthew knew the meaning behind that smile; it was simply a way of leaving him behind to act as a human shield, buying him time to escape.

Just then, the monster army roared and charged out of the valley.

Snow Abyss Flower Mother charged ahead, her body disappearing underground, leaving a trail of snow and mist in her wake, and she was about to pounce on Matthew's back.

Seeing this, Matthew did not follow Mold in his escape; instead, he immediately changed direction and parted ways with Mold.

Mold sneered inwardly. He didn't believe Matthew could shake off the monster army; it was just a death throes.

However, Mold never expected that the pheromones refined by the system would have an even stronger scent, possessing a fatal attraction for the Snow Abyss Flower Mother.

The Snow Abyss Flower Mother was not disturbed by Matthew's actions; its massive body continued to crush forward without stopping.

Meanwhile, the monster army followed the trail of Snow Abyss Flower Mother towards Mold.

Mold couldn't help but curse.

"Damn it! Why didn't we go after that kid!"

In the distance, Matthew's lips curled into a smile.

Don't you like to laugh? Why aren't you laughing anymore?

However, Matthew had no time to be secretly pleased. Although the army of monsters had not followed, a Bloodclaw Beast was still relentlessly pursuing him.

This Bloodclaw Beast is much stronger than the Snowfang Clan. Its claws are extremely sharp, and even the Round Shield Technique can only withstand a few blows.

Matthew ran wildly, while on the other side, Mold and his army of monsters gradually disappeared into the distance.

Matthew dared not stop. Several times he was almost caught by the Bloodclaw Beast, and he barely managed to restrain it with the spell [Vine Growth].

But the monster's claws were like knives; the vines that had just wrapped around his body were instantly torn into pieces.

Although they couldn't hold out for long, each time they managed to buy Matthew space to escape...

Therefore, the Bloodclaw Beast behind him was so anxious that it jumped up and down, chattering incoherently.

He guessed that the monster was cursing him, and cursing him in a very vulgar way.

Matthew plunged into the dense forest, not forgetting the possible Snow Abyss Flower traps beneath his feet.

Therefore, he kept a close eye on the information transmitted by the system while he was on the run.

However, he did this not to avoid the Snow Abyss Flower, but rather...

"Found it!"

After searching for a while, he finally found traces of the Snow Abyss Flower in the snow ahead.

"System, extract the specific pheromone!"

Matthew looked at the ring on his hand and brought up the virtual panel.

Immediately, some tiny particles carrying special pheromones were extracted.

He didn't catch the particles with his hands, but let them fall to the ground.

Matthew calculated the safe distance, quickly circled around to the back of the Snow Abyss Flower trap, and then suddenly turned around.

At the same time, he quickly chanted a spell and cast "Vine Growth" on the soil with small particles.

Slender vines broke through the snow, carrying tiny flying particles, and wrapped around the Bloodclaw Beast's feet like small snakes.

The bound Bloodclaw Beast roared, its sharp claws flashing with cold light, instantly tearing the vines to shreds.

Enraged by the damned vines that had repeatedly thwarted its progress, the Bloodclaw Beast was completely enraged.

Seeing that Matthew was standing still, it didn't think twice and immediately leaped forward, intending to tear this human who had "teasing" it apart.

However, at that moment, a flower bud underground seemed to smell something, and with a tremor, it suddenly burst out of the soil.

The flower bud suddenly split open, revealing ferocious sharp teeth, and the Bloodclaw Beast, which was leaping in mid-air, landed right inside.

"Crack—" The next moment, the flower bud's sharp teeth clashed, and blood splattered everywhere as it closed.

Matthew finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew, finally solved!"

This chase had left him almost completely exhausted. He slumped down next to a large tree, panting heavily.

After swallowing the Bloodclaw Beast, the Snow Abyss Flower quickly burrowed underground, awaiting the next gift from nature.

Unlike the Mother Flower, the Snow Abyss Flowers cannot move.

As long as you don't have any special pheromones that attract its attention and stay away from a certain distance, you don't need to worry about being attacked.

Although the Bloodclaw Beasts had been dealt with, this was still the outer perimeter of the Snowfang Clan's lair, and Matthew dared not linger.

He refined the remaining dry rations into food crystals and swallowed them in one gulp, then quickly got up without taking a break.

Matthew planned to return to the temporary camp first.

It's quite a distance from that forest, about an hour's drive away.

"Hopefully the temporary camp wasn't affected, otherwise we'll have to walk back to the sect's base."

"Tap, tap..."

Just then, Matthew suddenly felt a chill on his shoulder, as if something had landed on him.

He looked up and saw tiny specks of white snow falling from the sky.

"Is it snowing?"

A biting wind blew by, and Matthew shivered.

Without further hesitation, he immediately started running out of the forest.

……

The snow fell softly, and in the freezing cold, Matthew walked for an unknown amount of time.

His body was almost frozen stiff, numb and devoid of feeling, with only a stubborn will sustaining him.

"Almost there, almost there..."

Matthew constantly reminded himself of this.

He returned along the path from the temporary camp he remembered.

However, the snow fell heavier and heavier, and after his escape, his already weakened body quickly reached its limit.

At this moment, his steps were unsteady and his body was trembling violently.

"Thump—" He swayed and fell heavily to the ground.

He could already see the tents of the temporary camp swaying in the wind and snow at the edge of his field of vision.

"Almost there, almost there..."

"Matthew?"

A gasp interrupted his murmur.

When Matthew looked up and followed the footsteps of the person approaching, he saw a familiar face.

"Tao, Tao De..."

……

Ten minutes later.

With Todd's help, Matthew returned to the temporary camp.

"I'm finally back."

After entering the tent, Matthew collapsed onto the ground.

"Your body is almost frozen. Quickly drink this dose of cold-resistant medicine."

At that moment, Todd pulled a vial of medicine from under his robe; the crystal-clear solution flowed inside the glass tube.

Matthew took it shakily, bit off the cork with his teeth, and drank it down.

Suddenly, Matthew felt a warm sensation explode in his stomach, instantly spreading throughout his body.

"Thank you, Todd."

Todd was also forcibly conscripted, but he was lucky enough to be assigned to be a sentry at the camp.

"I was wondering why that dark figure looked so familiar. It was you."

"You're really lucky; you're the only one from the entire investigation team who made it back."

A look of sadness crossed Todd's eyes, and then he sighed softly.

"Why……"

"There aren't many junior apprentices who can return from this kind of mission."

Don't forget to collect your reward for this mission later.

"award?"