Strange hid behind a large tree immediately, cursing angrily.
"If I had a hunting rifle, I'd definitely shoot it down and turn it into roast chicken."
"It's waiting for an opportunity, waiting for us to reach an open area." Banner said, panting heavily.
"Alice, what should we do now?"
Hughes, holding his bow and arrow, didn't even make a move to draw the bow this time.
He cowered behind the tree, his eyes unfocused, appearing very helpless.
The shrill scream from when Donald was snatched away yesterday was about to repeat.
His glass heart, which he had finally managed to piece back together and called courage, was instantly eroded and pierced by the fire of fear.
Banner heard Hughes's dependent and weak words, and couldn't help but turn his head and glare at him fiercely.
"Hughes, you have a weapon in your hand, act like a man."
But Hughes just kept his head down, shivering.
In this life-or-death moment, this grown man, instead of summoning the courage to face the danger himself, was spinelessly thinking of relying on a fifteen-year-old girl to come up with a plan.
Regarding Hughes's plea for help, Alice didn't actually have any particular thoughts, nor did she feel contempt.
Although she had soul-transmigrated into this delicate loli appearance, in her rational mind, she never considered herself a real young girl.
Protecting the weak was the responsibility of the strong.
She glanced at the Pterosaur circling overhead, then at the mountaintop not far ahead.
There was a bare rock platform there, the best place to send a signal, but also a death zone completely exposed to the air.
If they didn't lure the beast away, they would become sitting ducks the moment they stepped onto that platform.
The next moment, she stated her response plan, her tone as calm as if she were discussing what to have for lunch.
"I will go and lure the Pterosaur away; you take the opportunity to get to the mountaintop and send the signal."
Strange and Banner thought they had misheard, or even thought this was a bad joke. The two looked at Alice in stunned silence.
"What did you say?" Strange picked his ear.
Alice had to repeat it, emphasizing her tone: "I said, I will act as bait and lure it away. You seize the opportunity, rush to the mountaintop, and turn on that damn transmitter."
"No, absolutely not."
Banner reacted immediately, rejecting Alice's dangerous plan without a second thought.
He was even a bit angry.
"Even if someone needs to lure it away, it should be us grown men. How can we let a little girl go to her death? Alice, you've already done enough for us along the way; we owe you too much."
"That's right." Strange also became uncharacteristically serious, "Although I don't want to die, I don't want to live the rest of my life in the guilt of letting a little girl die for me. I'll go lure it away; besides, I'm not slow at running."
Watching these two men fighting to go to their deaths, a trace of warmth flashed in Alice's heart.
At least they still had a conscience, unlike the coward next to them.
"Listen, this isn't a melodrama; this is a tactical choice."
Alice shook her head, speaking eloquently and clearly enough that no one could refute her.
"First, I am only younger than you in age, but when it comes to wilderness survival skills and escape techniques, the three of you combined don't measure up to a single finger of mine. If you go to lure it, there's a high probability you'll be snatched away in less than ten seconds."
"Secondly, I am small in size and a small target; I am much more agile at darting through the jungle than you are. It can catch up to me, but it won't necessarily be able to grab me."
She had already made up her mind.
Rather than letting those two rookies, Strange and Banner, recklessly act as bait—where failure could lead to a total wipeout in minutes—it was better for her to step in herself.
At least she had a trump card.
That [Kato Megumi] card, which was still in cooldown, would allow her to instantly turn invisible once the cooldown time passed.
Seeing that Banner and Strange were still hesitant and adamantly disagreed with her doing this.
Alice knew there was no time to explain.
She gritted her teeth, stopped wasting words, and threw out one sentence: "That's enough, that's it. This is an order. We'll meet at the mountaintop; I'll be back soon."
After speaking, without waiting for them to react, she suddenly rushed out from behind the tree.
"Alice—" Banner was horrified, reaching out to grab her.
But he grabbed at empty air.
That petite figure had already run into the open ground.
Alice stopped, looked up at the massive monster in the sky, put her hands on her hips, raised a middle finger, and shouted loudly with her crisp voice.
"Hey, featherless idiot, ugly monster, come and chase me! I'm right here."
Even to attract its attention, she picked up a stone and threw it hard toward the sky.
This series of provocative actions clearly worked.
The Pterosaur was an aerial overlord; when had it ever been insulted by such an ant?
It was instantly enraged, let out a sharp screech, abandoned its circling, folded its wings, and dove toward Alice like a meteorite.
Even though Banner and Strange rushed out afterward, yelling and even throwing stones at it in an attempt to draw its attention.
But the beast had locked onto that blonde little person who had provoked it.
Its golden eyes held only that running figure; it stared fixedly at Alice, refusing to let go, determined to tear her to pieces.
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