Chapter 35: Spreading Like Wildfire Across the Country

"Ah... a snake, an eight-headed monstrous snake! Help!"

"A silver centipede, oh my god, two meters long, it's chasing me! Help, Chu Feng, you scoundrel, is this your idea of a paradise? Kill these bugs for me!"

"Here we go again, a black tiger, it shattered a thousand-pound boulder with one swipe of its paw! Ah... I can't run anymore! Ox Demon King, save me! Chu Feng, help!"

That day, Zhou Quan wailed and howled, fleeing for his life. He was so exhausted he foamed at the mouth, almost convulsing, terrified and panicked.

They finally made it until noon, when the Yellow Ox got hungry and needed to eat, bringing their ordeal to an end.

At that moment, tears welled up in Zhou Quan's eyes. He felt incredibly relieved and happy that it was finally over.

His voice was hoarse; for most of the day, he had either been yelling as he fled or breathing fire to fight off giant beasts, leaving his throat swollen.

"Brother, you're too cruel! Not only are my heart, liver, and lungs trembling, but my very soul is shaking!" Zhou Quan panted, sitting on the ground.

Looking back, the primeval mountains were shrouded in miasma, and beast roars echoed endlessly. He truly didn't want to go back in; today's experience was truly etched in his memory, unforgettable for a lifetime.

"Do you know why I can deal with fierce birds and giant beasts? It's because I train here every day and slowly adapt," Chu Feng offered comfort.

"How can I compare to you? With one punch, you can smash boulders weighing thousands of pounds and knock down giant birds over ten meters long. You're a monster yourself; I can't survive here," Zhou Quan protested.

"You are an anomaly, and the flames you breathe can incinerate metal and melt stone. Their power is immense. As long as you can fully control them, traversing the mountains shouldn't be a problem," Chu Feng said.

He believed that as an anomaly, Zhou Quan's abilities could be enhanced, but only through continuous training could he unlock the hidden power within his body.

Also, since Zhou Quan had grown ox horns, perhaps the fruit he ate was indeed related to the Ox Demon clan. He could ask the Yellow Ox to teach him some skills for self-preservation.

Chu Feng became very serious, expressing his concerns about the future. The world was still undergoing abnormal changes, and the monsters in the mountains might charge out one day.

Moreover, who knew if even more terrifying things would occur?

In these extraordinary times, only by improving oneself could one hope to survive in the future.

Seeing how serious Chu Feng was, Zhou Quan wilted. In the current world, who didn't feel a deep sense of crisis? The world was becoming increasingly incomprehensible, and many people harbored hidden anxieties.

"Brother, I know you mean well, and you're right. I'll give it my all!" Zhou Quan decided.

In the mountains, the two men and the ox sat together, gathered around the fire. The raptor's leg meat was roasted golden and glistening, emitting an inviting aroma as fat dripped onto the flames with a sizzling sound.

"How can it smell so good?" Zhou Quan forgot his earlier hardships. He couldn't help but swallow repeatedly as he looked at the golden meat, especially after his half-day ordeal, which made his hunger even more unbearable.

"It's done!"

Chu Feng sprinkled salt and added a layer of honey, making the raptor's leg even more fragrant. He, too, felt his appetite stimulated.

"Moo!"

The two men and the ox began to eat, vying for the delicious food.

In an instant, the area was filled with chewing and swallowing sounds as all three devoured their meal ravenously.

"Oh my god, this is incredible! I've never had such delicious and fragrant wild game before. The meat quality is simply amazing; you can't find this outside!" Zhou Quan exclaimed.

This was no exaggeration; the meat of some fierce birds and strange beasts was astonishingly delicious. With just a little preparation, it became incredibly palatable, and its rich aroma could linger for a long time.

They gnawed a large bird leg completely clean. If they weren't so full, they probably would have roasted the other leg too.

"So satisfying! This taste, mmm, it's better than a feast for immortals! Just for this delicious food, I'll definitely come again!" Zhou Quan said, utterly content. He lay there, patting his swollen belly, as if he had forgotten his pathetic, wailing state from earlier.

Chu Feng and the Yellow Ox were eating a kind of bright red berry that melted in the mouth, with a sweet and fragrant taste – a rare delicacy.

For several days, they had been relying on various berries as their vegetables to supplement their diet, finding them quite delicious.

Zhou Quan tasted one and immediately started grabbing more; even though his stomach had no room left, he forced himself to eat, proclaiming that this place would indeed be his "paradise" from now on.

Hearing this, the Yellow Ox immediately looked disdainful. It took out its communicator, frantically tapped on it, and showed him a few photos it had taken earlier.

Upon seeing them, Zhou Quan was furious and embarrassed.

"Ox Demon King, how dare you secretly photograph me? Why capture me looking so ugly instead of my brave and mighty moments?" he fumed, yelling.

Each of the photos was unique. Chu Feng glanced at them and immediately burst into laughter.

In one photo, Zhou Quan was rolling his eyes in terror, almost fainting from fright. In another, he was weeping profusely, covering his head and scrambling away like a mouse. And in yet another, his eyes were wide with fear, utterly terrified...

There were only a few, but each was a "classic," piercing Zhou Quan to his core.

"Wait!" Zhou Quan's expression suddenly changed, and he blurted out, "Is that... the Embarrassing Photos Website? You uploaded them there!?"

The Yellow Ox nodded proudly, indicating that uploading a few pictures was simple.

Zhou Quan nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. What kind of place was the Embarrassing Photos Website? As the name suggested, it was a platform specifically for sharing embarrassing pictures, attracting an astonishing number of visitors daily.

It could be said that any even slightly interesting embarrassing photo was guaranteed to spread rapidly.

Fatty Zhou immediately panicked, shouting, "Ox Demon King, I'll fight you!"

However, the Yellow Ox simply kicked him aside. It found him inexplicable: why get so agitated over just a few pictures? Too impetuous, he'd never amount to much.

"Ox Demon King, you're a bully!" Zhou Quan stomped his feet, absolutely furious.

"Don't worry," Chu Feng comforted him, "that site gets a lot of new pictures every day. Many get buried as soon as they're posted, without even a chance to surface."

This brought Zhou Quan some relief, and he felt a little less anxious.

He leaned closer to the Yellow Ox and checked the view count. The result... his blood pressure shot up, his vision blurred, and he nearly collapsed.

How much time had passed? It was already approaching a hundred thousand views!

"Ox Demon King, I'm going to kill you!"

Fatty Zhou wailed miserably, his face turning green.

"It's growing so fast," Chu Feng commented from the side, "the view count has officially surpassed one hundred thousand. It's truly a viral hit."

"Damn it, someone save me!" Zhou Quan clutched his head, feeling overwhelmed. He had a premonition that these pictures might make him famous nationwide.

But not in a good way, because this was the Embarrassing Photos Website.

"Ox Demon King, look what you've done!" Zhou Quan charged again, wrestling with the Yellow Ox.

Clearly, he was no match and was easily subdued.

"You rotten ox, what are you laughing at? Don't you have any shame after doing something that angers both gods and men?" Zhou Quan yelled, enraged.

The Yellow Ox ignored him, staring at the screen, thoroughly enjoying reading the comments under the pictures.

Zhou Quan peeked and saw that the comments numbered over ten thousand! His blood pressure soared again.

"These pictures are just okay individually, but put them together, and they're a set of top-tier reaction images. Look, there's one where he's rolling his eyes in extreme terror, one where he's crying profusely with tears and snot, and another where he's so scared he's practically soiling himself while fleeing... All these combined, they're truly divine photos!"

"Exactly, I can imagine them staying popular for over half a year. I need to download a set!"

"This person is so funny. In this day and age, he still has a slicked-back hairstyle."

"Thanks, uploader! Already saved and added to my sticker collection."

Zhou Quan snatched the communicator, his fighting spirit surging. He furiously typed, engaging in a battle with the people leaving comments!

Chu Feng watched, utterly speechless.

"Where's the admin? Delete these pictures for me!"

Zhou Quan angrily left a message, lodging a complaint and trying to get the administrator to delete the photos.

At the same time, he also complained about the people in the comments section, because he was being collectively attacked in the replies.

However, the administrator quickly replied: "Sorry, your complaint request has failed. These pictures have been approved by over 99% of users and will be pinned to the top of the entire section for one month."

"Pfft!"

Fatty Zhou genuinely felt like spitting blood. Not only had his request to delete the pictures failed, but they were going to be pinned for a month?! What kind of idiotic administrator was this? He started cursing.

"Haha..." Chu Feng couldn't hold back anymore and burst into uncontrollable laughter.

As for the culprit, the Yellow Ox, it was in high spirits, reveling in the praise from countless commenters, whose remarks were all in its favor.

"Uploader, you're a god! Please accept my respect, thank you so much!"

"Divine pictures, uploader, you're brilliant!"

Zhou Quan couldn't stand seeing the Yellow Ox in such high spirits, accepting adoration and praise. His blood pressure shot up to dangerous levels, and he was about to smash the communicator.

The Yellow Ox, quick-eyed and nimble-hoofed, snatched it away.

"It's not so bad!" Chu Feng examined the photos carefully and offered this assessment.

At this moment of despair, hearing those words was like finding a refreshing stream in a desert for Zhou Quan; he felt a glimmer of comfort. He nervously asked, "You think these pictures aren't that embarrassing, do you?"

"They're very embarrassing. I just meant it's good that the monsters chasing you weren't also captured in the photos, so nothing was leaked!" Chu Feng replied.

Zhou Quan immediately turned away, ignoring him.

Soon after, Zhou Quan's communicator rang; someone was calling him.

"Big cousin, you're a genius! Those 'divine' pictures went viral everywhere!"

As these words came through, Fatty Zhou stomped his feet in anger and wanted to smash the communicator again. But realizing it was his own, he could only angrily end the call.

However, immediately after, another call came in, this time from his second cousin. As soon as he answered, he heard a loud voice booming, "Cousin, I completely admire you, you're so talented!"

"Talented my foot! Get lost!" Zhou Quan was beyond furious.

Then, his communicator kept ringing incessantly; many acquaintances were trying to reach him.

Zhou Quan completely lost his temper. He simply turned off his communicator, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.