Qin Hua gaped at the sight in front of her. 

[Acidic secretions? Woof!] The thought of acid pouring out everywhere along with this pungent smell already made her nauseous.

Besides, fighting in this small cramped up space which was literally their home base would definitely put her at a disadvantage.

Qin Hua's figure silently blurred as she considered backing out. She couldn't help but think that it would be better to lure these guys out in the open and then fight them on a more even ground.

However, the kitty who was left behind didn't quite get the memo and meowed as cutely and as innocently as ever.

Meow! 

[Ah fuck! Damn you, Coco!] Qin Hua started sweating. [Maybe they didn't hear you?]

Before she could finish that thought, its small voice reverberated and echoed multiple times in the set of empty hollow tunnels.

Almost immediately, several big round eyes studded on ugly slimy heads popped out of the bundles of noodled mess and locked their gazes onto the cat.

[Woof! Woof!] Qin Hua knew that now she had run out of options and was about to dive headfirst into the wormhole, but then she noticed how slowly these guys moved.

[Huh?] 

She carefully watched their movements and her eyes brightened up even further.

[Woof! These guys are too slow!] 

The worms only slowly uncoiled themselves and it looked like she still had plenty of time left to leave in case that's what she wanted to do.

Qin Hua started to hesitate after seeing their huge weakness. 

Since she was no longer able to improve herself using the weaker beasts and zombies, this opportunity in front of her was more of a blessing if she somehow managed to get through it.

On the other hand, she was vastly outnumbered, in an enclosed space, with a dozen or two mutated earthworms capable of secreting acidic stuff.

[Woof? Can I do this?]

As she stood near the entrance of the cave and licked her canines thinking about the fight, the cat beside her meowed again and she snapped into action.

[I can definitely do this. If not I will just take the furball and run. Why am I thinking so much? Woof!]

[Chunky heal me, you adorable idiot. Woof! Woof!] 

Qin Hua barked and dashed forward. The worms now noticed her presence as well and started moving towards her.

The worms might be stinking but the experience points from them were still priceless. The pitch black wolf let out a loud howl, reverberating amidst the hollow walls.

[Majestic Roar!]

[Fenrir's Rage]

[Leech Bite]

[Rip]

[Maul]

Qin Hua leaped into the bundle of worms and before they could sort themselves out, she started tearing apart huge chunks of their flesh.

She wasn't even keeping track of which worm she was clawing and she rapidly did as much damage as she could.

Fwooosh!

The worms immediately responded and speeded up a bit but weirdly the acid attack which Qin Hua was expecting was nowhere to be found.

[They are not spitting out acid? Woof?]

She had already leaped back expecting a bout of acid coming for her and now that nothing was happening, she jumped back in again.

[Chaos Ball]

[Leech Bite]

[Rip]

[Maul]

She started digging in ferociously without holding back and the noodle of worms was crumbling down from all sides. The worms were unable to even latch on to her tail as her black figure bounded here and there.

She had no idea why the beasts were not fighting back at their full strength but she wasn't going to wait for them.

<Ding. 1 Level 15 Rotten Tendril Centipede killed>

<Ding. 500 Experience points have been rewarded>

<Ding. 1 Level 19 Rotten Tendril Centipede killed>

<Ding. 700 Experience points have been rewarded>

<Ding. 1 Level 21 Rotten Tendril Centipede killed>

<Ding. 1500 Experience points have been rewarded>

Three worms died quickly in the blink of an eye and Qin Hua continued to chow down on them even though her mouth was filled with the nauseating putrid stench.

Rawrrr! Rawrrr! Rawwwr!

The centipedes shouted loudly and their movements began to quicken. 

[Woof! Are they finally attacking?] Qin Hua's eyes brightened and she swiftly moved, evading all their attacks. Even at their best, the worms were still relatively slow compared to her.

But this time, they fought back.

Fwooosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

The worms moved, spilling acidic ooze from their pores. In an instant, the entire place was almost filled with slimy acidic mess.

Hisss. The spot where the acid touched her fur sizzled and Qin Hua saw her health dropping in chunks. She was no longer able to move freely.

[Huh? Why didn't they use this move from the beginning?]

Her eyes widened as she saw more and more slimy ooze gurgling out of the worms. The stench as well intensified, making her unable to breathe.

[Woof! Time to run?] She had hoped to kill a few more of them but she didn't want to unnecessarily take the riskier route.

A few would probably chase after her, out of the hole and she could leisurely kill those.

[Let's go, Coco! Woof!]

[Dark Arrow]

[Dark Arrow]

[Chaos Ball]

She caught the cat with her right paw and dashed out of the cave opening intending to run out to open grounds, but suddenly she stopped once again as something had caught her eye at the last moment.

Qin Hua turned around and stared at the group of worms.

They squirmed and barred their several rows of teeth at her. However, her eyes were fixated on something else. At the center of the cluster of worms, a small object slowly became visible.

[Woof? What is that?]

She instantly had a feeling that this was not something ordinary. From the behavior of the worms, it was clear how much they valued this item.

In fact, this was probably why they hadn't attacked her with their acidic secretions right from the get go. They were definitely trying to protect the object.

As she was pondering what it might be, another thought popped into her mind. [Is this the reason why these worms quickly became powerful?]

Qin Hua licked her lips and muttered. [Inspect]