Chapter Ninety-Five: The Dinosaur Crisis (Third Watch)

Wang Long and Tao Xian were both injured, yet they combined their efforts to assault Gude. The Panlong Staff whistled with a piercing shriek as it swung; it was a fierce weapon, and Gude, fearing a direct collision with his arms, drew two steel pipes to parry left and right, struggling immensely to maintain his defense.

Chen Heng rescued Lan Yue. Her feet were bruised a terrifying, deep black where they had been pinched. The young girl was temporarily unable to use her light-body technique, struggling even to walk, yet her plum blossom darts had dealt Aaron, the team captain, a heavy blow, blinding both his eyes.

Wang Ling, meanwhile, was sprinting toward Keri. That man’s grenades were far too dangerous! Wang Ling felt deeply frustrated; he had never expected the Whirlwind Team to possess grenades. Such high-powered tools caused devastating damage to martial arts masters like Wang Long, who, unfamiliar with the weapons, had been caught completely off guard by the explosions.

In truth, this frustration was unnecessary. Wang Ling was no god; he could not have predicted the opponent's hidden cards. Given that not a single master had died under the onslaught of two grenades, and that Lan Yue had managed to cripple Aaron by seizing an opportunity created by the Sliding Turtle Shell and the Pink Heart, the situation was already remarkably favorable.

Wang Long and Tao Xian held the upper hand against Gude. Chen Heng and Lan Yue were positioned near the severely wounded Aaron. Seeing their side at a disadvantage and their captain in peril, Keri, the other member of the Whirlwind Team, suddenly produced two grenades in his hands.

Although the Whirlwind Team was an ordinary group formed with currency points, they lacked the mutual suspicion and calculation typical of such teams. The bond between Keri, Gude, and Aaron was deeper than the love between a man and a woman. Realizing their captain was in danger, Keri pulled the pins of the two grenades with his teeth, paused for a heartbeat, and hurled them toward Lan Yue and Chen Heng.

Just as the advent of firearms in real-world history had made martial arts inevitably decline, these thermal weapons posed a lethal threat to flesh and blood. Hence the saying, "No matter how good your kung fu, one bullet can take you down."

Against grenades, which were even more powerful than bullets, these martial arts masters found it difficult to defend. In fact, even for Dreamers, unless their strength reached a certain threshold, the threat from guns and explosives far exceeded that of fists and blades. This was precisely why the Dream Space imposed strict limitations on such weapons in the beginner zones and low-difficulty worlds.

A grenade explodes five seconds after the pin is pulled. Keri had held them for two seconds; the moment they struck Lan Yue and Chen Heng, they would detonate instantly.

However, Wang Ling, who had been charging at Keri, suddenly veered in front of Lan Yue and Chen Heng, blocking the path of the thrown grenades. A violent blast of air and fire erupted. The hard soil was churned up by the double explosion, leaving a shallow crater.

"Master! Boss!"

Lan Yue and Chen Heng cried out in alarm, but the next second, Wang Ling, wearing his gold-red mask, stepped out from the black smoke. His upper garment had been shredded, his trousers were in tatters, but the mask remained intact and gleaming. A few grenade fragments were embedded in his torso, but with a slight flex of his muscles, the shrapnel was ejected by the force of his flesh.

There were only faint marks on his skin; it hadn't even been pierced!

"How is this possible!"

Seeing Wang Ling unscathed, with his health bar showing no signs of depletion, Keri’s eyes widened, and he let out a shout of disbelief. Even with the damage reduction of the peace scene, the combined explosion of two grenades should have killed an ordinary person. Hadn't this guy only been through two main missions? His personal stats shouldn't have been much higher than an average person's!

He did not know that after spiritual energy modification, bloodline enhancement, and equipment bonuses, Wang Ling’s constitution had reached 46 points. He possessed not only formidable defense but had also activated his Pink Shield at the instant of the explosion to absorb part of the impact.

Combined with the 90% damage reduction between combatants in a peace scene, the two grenades, while powerful, were insufficient to inflict significant harm on Wang Ling—the blast had deducted a mere 6 points from his total of 286 health, a negligible amount.

"Hoo!"

Aaron let out a beast-like gasp as he dragged himself up from the ground. He quickly consumed a minor health potion and a minor spirit potion to recover his health and the energy spent on skills. However, his eyes could only be repaired upon returning to the Dream Space; in this world, he would likely have to live as a blind man.

More severely, the two plum blossom darts were embedded deep within his eye sockets, nearly touching his brain. Beyond the unbearable pain, this injury inflicted a status effect of bleeding and continuous health loss.

At this moment, Gude, who was fighting Wang Long and Tao Xian, suddenly unleashed the "Thunderstorm Whirlwind Leg," the signature move of the character Jack from *Final Fight*. Similar to the Double Dragon brothers' Hurricane Kick, it involved a high-speed spinning jump, with attack power comparable to Aaron's Spinning Punch.

Wang Long and his partner took a hit, but immediately used the momentum to leap backward, avoiding more severe damage. As Gude landed, he sprinted toward Aaron. Keri also rushed to his captain, the two preparing to link up and protect their wounded leader.

Wang Ling could not allow them to consolidate their formation. Keri and Gude were uninjured and at full combat capacity. Although Aaron had restored some health with potions, he was blind and suffering from continuous bleeding—this was the perfect chance to kill him!

Aaron was a powerful Dreamer and the captain of a team; a strength-based powerhouse with immense offensive capability, he might launch a desperate counterattack upon death. Wang Ling decided to finish him off personally.

"Lan Yue, protect yourself! Chen Heng, Wang Long, Tao Xian, block those two, watch out for grenades! I will take care of the wounded one!" Wang Ling commanded as he charged at Aaron.

"Hehehe, if you want to kill me, you’d better have the skill to back it up!"

Blood and vitreous fluid oozed from Aaron’s sockets. With his nose torn open, his face looked as terrifying as a demon’s. His ears twitched, and sensing the movement, he punched toward Wang Ling.

*Pop!*

With a faint crack, the Pink Heart was shattered by Aaron’s fist. However, the recoil from smashing the energy mass caused the joints in the little finger of the big man’s hand to collapse; clearly, the knuckles could not withstand such force.

Wang Ling did not draw his white iron musket. Under the damage reduction, the power of bullets was inferior to a knife thrust—after all, a thrust benefited from his 46 points of strength.

He materialized the meteor iron spearhead in his right hand and thrust it precisely at Aaron’s throat. Sensing the danger, Aaron, having recovered his spirit energy, unleashed his signature Spinning Punch. As his body and arms whirled rapidly, the spearhead only managed to leave a shallow gash on his throat before being swatted away by his heavy fist.

"Hehehe... Wang Ling! I never imagined—never imagined that a rookie with only two main missions under his belt could force us to this point. But do you think you can finish us off? Impossible! We are the Whirlwind Team, a group so formidable that even the super-powerhouse King Kong regards us with respect and has taken us under his wing!"

Aaron’s voice was heavy and hoarse. His face, smeared with blood and eye fluid, twisted into a ghastly grin. He let out a thunderous roar: "We, the Whirlwind Team, cannot fall by your hand!"

The moment his Spinning Punch skill ceased, a large iron cage suddenly appeared beside him, holding a terrifying beast.

It was a dinosaur!

A creature that had dominated the Earth’s food chain over a hundred million years ago!

The dinosaur in the cage stood slightly taller than a man, its appearance ferocious and imposing—rough, thick skin like a rhinoceros, a triangular skull, slender forelimbs, sickle-like claws, powerful hind legs, and a thick tail. These features combined to create an uncanny sensation; it seemed this creature was born for slaughter.

Visually, it was a carnivorous dinosaur: a Velociraptor.

However, this was no ordinary raptor, for no natural Velociraptor possessed skin patterned with veins of blood-red through its green hide. In fact, this was a mutated Velociraptor bred by the crime syndicates in the *Final Fight* world, known as a Blood-Vein Dragon! Compared to a common raptor, it was stronger, more powerful, possessed explosive muscle strength, and was far more vicious.

It was a true killing machine!

The Blood-Vein Dragon in the cage fixed its blood-soaked red eyes on Wang Ling and the others. It threw back its head and let out a roar, viscous drool dripping from its jaws! Within its gaping maw, one could see shark-like, jagged teeth still stained with scraps of flesh from some unknown creature—a truly terrifying sight.

This Blood-Vein Dragon was not a summoned beast or a familiar. The Whirlwind Team had completed a hidden mission in the *Final Fight* world, rescuing this mutated raptor from a gang, and had received the reward of being able to take it out of the plot world.

However, the creature was exceedingly violent. Once released, it would never be restrained again. It was a one-time-use tool; once let out, it could not be recovered and would remain in this *Plants vs. Zombies* world forever.

Wang Ling had emerged unscathed from the explosion of two grenades, and Aaron, though blinded, had heard Keri’s cry. He realized then that this rookie was not as weak as they had imagined, relying solely on summoned characters.

The Orc Team, the Thug Team, and everyone watching from outside the arena in the Dream Space had all been deceived!

Knowing the Whirlwind Team was now in dire straits, Aaron, as captain, finally made the decision to release the Blood-Vein Dragon.

"Now, it is time for the slaughter."

The iron cage restraining the beast crashed open!