Chapter 11 Old Acquaintance

Bai Yi's destination for this outing was the same area she had woken up in. She had already memorized the approximate locations of the mutant creatures nearby.

Although Bai Yi claimed she wasn't afraid of anything, when it came to actually hunting these mutant creatures, she didn't dare to take the risk.

One should still listen to their heart.

As Bai Yi consoled herself with this thought, she led 20 Bloodthirsty Beetles around these mutants, slaughtering all the wild monsters spawned by the game in the vicinity.

Not every creature had a treasure box, but to Bai Yi's surprise, all these treasure boxes could be stored in the warehouse.

Bai Yi collected the treasure boxes she encountered, preparing to open them all back in her territory.

This massacre of the weak also allowed Bai Yi to see the diversity of the game's so-called wild monsters.

Not to mention common wild monsters like the Wild Wolf and Black Bear, Bai Yi also saw Slimes and Goblins, which were unmistakably magical in nature.

She even encountered a lv.21 Fake Dragon, seven or eight meters long with no wings!

However, it also had the typical characteristics of a respawned wild monster, with average strength and only 1200 Life Volume.

Under the Bloodthirsty Beetle's 30 damage Impact skill, its massive body could hardly avoid being hit, and a single insect could reduce it to half health. Only one unlucky beetle was bitten and killed instantly.

After wiping out a large group of wild monsters, Bai Yi understood how Jun Lin managed to achieve the first kill on opening day.

"If Second Tier wild monsters are all at this level, and can be beaten to death simply by green-ranked soldiers, then Jun Lin's first kill on opening day as a First-tier seems not impossible.

Perhaps he even killed it by himself; I could have taken down that Slime just now!"

Bai Yi felt not a shred of shame for only being able to defeat a Slime, but rather an unusual sense of pride.

What's more important is that Bai Yi discovered they were actually real creatures!

She could actually read gene entries from them using her superpower!

To capture the genes of these unique wild monsters that she might not encounter again, Bai Yi decisively forwent extracting genes from the Infinite Moss, instead focusing her Magic Power on these wild monsters and successfully extracted three gene entries.

They were Material Digestion from a lv.1 Slime, Rapid Reproduction from a lv.9 Goblin, and Dragon Scale from that Fake Dragon!

This was Bai Yi's greatest loot from this excursion!

Watching the Fake Dragon, whose last sliver of health was finally depleted by the insects, slowly disperse into light particles, the panel gave a notification:

[A perfect victory, you have gained 210 Experience Points, you have obtained an Iron Treasure Box*1]

[You have leveled up from lv.4 to lv.5 (180/250), you have gained 1 free attribute point, you have gained 1 skill point]

[Your attribute Constitution has increased from 8 to 9]

"There are even treasure boxes here? But the next level up from a wooden treasure box is an iron one? I thought it would be bronze."

Now that the target was clear, finding hidden treasure boxes was easy.

Holding her nose, Bai Yi walked into the stinky Dragon Nest and kicked the dry grass casually with her foot, bumping into something hard.

She brushed aside the grass and indeed found a treasure box.

The box looked similar to the wooden ones, only bigger and with grayish-white iron bands around the edges.

This time Bai Yi was extremely grateful that the treasure boxes didn't need to be opened by hand; enduring the stench, she lightly tapped the treasure box, then hastily ran away without even watching the opening animation of the box.

Only after sprinting a hundred meters away from the Dragon Nest did Bai Yi start to check the panel's notifications:

[You have opened the Iron Treasure Box, you have obtained Barracks Blueprint – Four-legged Dragon Beast Nest (First-tier/Blue)*1, First-tier Rune Sword (First-tier/Blue)*1, Thin Dragon Blood Crystal (First-tier/Blue)*1]

[Four-legged Dragon Beast Nest Blueprint (First-tier/Blue): After studying, materials can be consumed to construct a [Four-legged Dragon Beast Nest], required materials: Lumber*50, Fresh Blood Flesh*100, Dragon Blood Grass*5]

[Four-legged Dragon Beast Nest (First-tier/Blue): Units [Four-legged Dragon Beast] can be recruited using materials, the nest comes with 3 initial units, recruitment costs: Fresh Blood Flesh*2]

"A blue weapon! And they've even dropped the barracks blueprints of the Fake Dragon!"

Bai Yi's eyes suddenly lit up, and she quickly retrieved the Rune Sword from the panel.

It was a silver-white one-handed sword with a leather sheath. Although Bai Yi had to hold it with both hands due to its size and weight, it was no less powerful.

[First-tier Rune Sword (Blue): A fine Rune Sword produced by the Karan Chamber of Commerce, enchanted with a First-tier Sharpness and Flame Rune, cuts through iron effortlessly, Attack Power coefficient 1.8, additional Attack Power +20, Physical Penetration +5, attacks deal an additional 10 points of Fire damage.]

"Magic equipment? There's magic in this world?"

Bai Yi's questions rose again, having always felt that something was off.

"Why do all the game-spawned wild monsters seem out of place in this world?"

But now was clearly not the time to ponder these questions. Bai Yi held the Rune Sword in her hand, feeling she now also had some self-protection ability.

Bai Yi was ready to head back, but the Rune Sword had renewed her confidence, so she decided to walk a bit further along the edge of the forest.

But this time, Bai Yi wasn't so lucky.

Just as she climbed over a bush, she encountered an "old acquaintance".

"Roar meow!"

"Damn! Big Cat!"

Under a tree not far away, the Big Cat Bai Yi had encountered earlier that day was squatting there, which scared her into hastily raising the Rune Sword in her hand, forgetting even to pull it out of the scabbard.

However, a closer look revealed that there was something clearly wrong with the Big Cat.

Beneath it was a patch of blood that had turned black and one of its hind legs was twisted at an abnormal angle.

There was also an exaggerated wound on its abdomen, and within the bloody hole, a glimpse of pale flesh could be seen.

[Fierce Toothed Cat]

Life Value: 1152/4250

Magic Power Value: ???/???

Level: lv.29 (Second Tier)

Attributes: Strength 12 (originally 30), Spirit ???, Agility 24 (originally 36), Constitution: ???

Talent:

Cat's Agility (Green): Even after mutation, the agility characteristic of cats remains, Agility +50%

Thick-skinned (Green): A robust body! Strength +10, Max Life Value +1250, reduces 10 points of physical damage

???

Skills:

Intimidation (Green): Emit a fierce roar, spreading the aura of a Hunter, to induce fear in the target.

Wind Blowing (Purple): Channel airflow to surround oneself, increasing movement speed by 100%, the next melee attack deals an additional 50% physical damage.

???

[This isn't a tiger, this is a sick cat!]

"Shit! A low-health boss!"

The moment she saw the Big Cat, Bai Yi thought of retreating, and even now, seeing its extremely poor condition, she was somewhat afraid to make a move.

This might be like those elephants chained by a thin iron chain.

The fear given by the Big Cat when she woke up that day was deeply etched in Bai Yi's mind.

No!

If it's not killed now, once it recovers later, there would be no chance!

It's just a wounded Mutant Creature!

I still have so many Beetles and two bodyguards!

Can't be a coward!

The moment she made her decision, Bai Yi felt as if she had broken through some shackles, her thoughts became extremely clear, and a plan was instantly formed in her mind.

She ordered the Beetles to split into three groups; one group would launch a frontal assault to distract the Big Cat's vision, and the other two groups would rush in from both sides.

The two bodyguards would stay by her side, not expecting the Insects to kill the Big Cat instantly, but just to hold it off, as it wouldn't possibly last long in its current state.

Even just grinding away with the Beetles could deplete the remaining thousand-plus Blood Volume!

Bai Yi raised a hand, and the bushes behind the Big Cat instantly swelled, entwining around the Big Cat.

The Big Cat, originally on alert for Bai Yi, was completely unprepared for an attack from the bushes behind it.

Caught off guard, it was quickly entangled.

Buzz!

The Beetles, prepared for the opportunity created by their master, did not miss this chance and transformed themselves into projectiles, slamming into it.

The battle was about to erupt.

...

Fierce Toothed Cat: Often found at the edge of woodlands, with a widespread distribution near White Poplar Mountain, solitary; however, during the mating period, two individuals will jointly raise their young, extremely aggressive, has a slight Wind attribute superpower, can reach Second Tier upon maturity, and some powerful individuals may reach Third Tier, extremely dangerous.

— Compilation of Mutant Creatures of White Poplar City