The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 35: Forbidden Land (5)

The trio lay in the hill's grass they had used to scout out the Zoo during the morning with tense expressions. There was hardly any light to see by as the clouds covered the moon in the sky. This made it extremely difficult for them to pinpoint any beasts that were wandering around the Zoo at this hour.

Luckily for them, it seemed like most of the nocturnal predators actually left the confines of this zone to hunt outside of it. Significantly reducing the risks that they would have to face. Dani felt reassured about her job after receiving the items that Jason had made. They had done a few tests when it was still daylight to check out how well the camouflage worked against human eyes.

Harry was more than surprised to see how well the blankets actually worked. Whenever he would try to spot Dani in their camp area, he consistently failed to pick out the right spot. Jason had gotten a little revenge against the geezer when it was his turn to hide. He chose to lay down in the grass directly at Harry's feet when he was not looking.

When Harry failed to spot him, Jason jumped up and gave him the biggest scare he had ever had in his life! Naturally, Harry was so startled that he thumped Jason in the eye as a defensive mechanism. Now, Jason had to nurse two black eyes, but it was totally worth it, in his opinion.

Dani gulped as she picked out her first target area to teleport to. With a slight popping noise, she disappeared. It was at this time that Harry and Jason exchanged a panicked expression. 'Shit! I totally forgot about the noise she makes whenever she does that!' Jason thought while wanting to slap himself for his stupidity!

They had been so focused on other things that they forgot that Dani's ability released a strange sound whenever it was used! To them, this noise had become a natural sound to their daily lives. However, that clearly would not be the case for beasts down there in the Zoo!

The pair watched on as Dani reappeared in a grassy area by a body of water with a light pop. From their vantage point, they were able to see the grass flatten where she had appeared, so this was how they could keep track of her. A moment after she appeared in that place, Jason gasped. A large pair of eyes suddenly popped up from the water as several spines pierced its surface.

'Get out of there! Come on, Dani!' Jason silently prayed. He could tell that she had not spotted the silent danger due to the grass blocking her vision. Whatever the beast was, it slowly made its way to the water's edge close to Dani. It was almost as if the beast was entirely sure of where the noise had come from.

Suddenly, there was a popping noise and a loud splash! Dani had just teleported again. Right at the same time that the reptile hidden in the murky waters had chosen to lunge for her previous position. A large mouth snapped shut where her head had previously been, giving the two men heart palpitations because of how close it had been to snatching Dani.

This time, the pair had lost track of her. They had discussed what she should try and obtain before they began the operation. She would try and grab as many flowers as she could as she made her way to the fake rock structure. This was in case she felt the need to abandon the job before she could grab the flowers that Jason wanted the most.

At least, that way, they would not go home empty-handed. However, to do this, Dani had to take a roundabout route to that specific enclosure. Dani could feel the sweat on her brow as she felt like she was being watched by a pair of hungry eyes. In truth, even she did not consider the noise that she made, only realising this potentially fatal flaw after she made her first jump!

She hurriedly tore up some nearby plants before stuffing them in her backpack, which had been positioned so that it was on her chest instead of her back. This was simply because it would be easier to store the plants quickly. Her instincts warned her that she stayed in that position for long enough, and she did not hesitate to make her next jump.

This process continued a few times, and every time she made a new jump, a beast would lunge at her previous position. Because of this, Jason was able to follow what path she had chosen. But only after she had already left for a new spot. It was like watching a live stream with a slight delay. He knew that something new would have already developed by the time he found out where she had gone. He could only hope that one of these beasts would not manage to get her before she could get away.

Jason silently praised the perfume he had created. He could only believe that the lack of a scent coming from Dani was delaying the beasts' ability to pinpoint her exact location. Dani hesitated as she finally reached her destination. She had managed to grab quite a lot of plants on the way here, but she felt an intrinsic fear as she stared at the fake rocks from between two metal bars. Her mind went back to what Harry had told her while Jason had worked on the items they needed.

"Now Dani, that golden cat is called a Trion. It may not look like much compared to the other beasts in there but make no mistake. It is undoubtedly the king of that jungle!"

Dani shivered as she remembered Harry's warning. She knew that if it woke up, then she would have to make a quick getaway. There would be no time to stop between teleports. Harry had emphasised just how fast that beast was. Not just that, but the metallic properties of its fur made it almost impossible to injure.

'Can I do it in one jump?' Dani gauged the distance to the blue flowers at the top of the rocks. Her ability was still quite limited when it came to its range, but that was probably due to it still being relatively new to her. It always took a bit of time for anyone to achieve their power's full potential.

Dani sighed as she pictured the location she wanted to jump to in her mind. Suddenly it felt like some sort of barrier had erected itself in her mind. The backlash of the failed teleport gave her a splitting headache. 'Damn it! Looks like I'll have to jump twice then.'

This was the worst-case scenario. Twice the jumps equalled twice the noise. The risk of awakening the Trion had just doubled in a single moment! Dani breathed heavily as she tried to calm her nerves. 'It's fine, girl! You've got this!' Dani knew that it was better to just get it over with rather than plague herself with worries of what would happen if shit went sideways.

Pop!

Pop!

Dani did not dare to breathe as she quickly reached out to grab the blue flowers directly in front of her. The entire night air seemed as if it had just suddenly gone silent! As if the whole Zoo was waiting for something! The moment that tugged the handful of plants out of the fake rocks, a loud roar shook the entire structure!

She could feel the vibrations originated from beneath her. Confirming that the Trion slept inside of the fake structure. Suddenly, Dani felt a hazardous sensation wash over her as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end!

Pop!

Jason watched on in horror! Just a moment ago, they heard the Trion's roar from their position on the hill. Dani had been completely visible to them while she was lying on those rocks. This was due to the lack of vegetation for the camouflage to work correctly. However, as soon as the Trion finished its roar, a large hole appeared where Dani had been as the Trion burst through from underneath her!

As that part of the structure broke apart, they could see that the inside was utterly hollow apart from a few rusted metal beams that seemed to hold it together. Jason guessed that they were probably used to support the weight of any animals that stood on top of the structure to prevent it from collapsing.

"This isn't the time to admire that!" Syssie hissed in his ear. "Pay attention to Dani! You guys need to make a run for it!"

Syssie's warning finally brought Jason to his senses as he saw Dani running and teleporting through the Zoo at a rapid pace. She had quickly discarded the blanket realising that it was too late for those minor tricks to be of any use now. Jason cursed as he nudged Harry in the ribs, who was watching the show with a worried expression.

"Gramps! Move! Dani's faster than us! If we're not quick, then we'll end up as that things dinner!" Jason urged before abandoning his own blanket and making a run for it. Leaving Harry to curse at his own stupidity.

'As the old saying goes. I don't have to outrun the hunter. I just have to be able to outrun you!' Despite the difficult situation, Jason could not help but crack a joke to himself. Perhaps it was just a stress reaction to the problem. But it was still made him laugh in the end.