Reporting You for Feeding

The three of them left the tent and packed everything into their backpacks.

Chen Shu also put away the slime. To summon it again, he would need to wait for a while.

"Naughty Chen, where are we going next?"

The three of them waited in the cave. The slime was their only combat strength, so they had to ensure it could be summoned at any time.

If it was left outside continuously, the mutant thunderbird wouldn't be able to carry such a heavy thing.

"Next step? We're heading straight into the depths of the canyon! There must be something good there!"

Chen Shu spoke confidently. With protection on their side, he planned to venture deep into the Ice Canyon.

"As long as we find a basic-level mutant beast, wouldn't we secure first place right away?"

Most mutant beasts were iron-rank. Only species with very poor bloodlines would result in basic-level mutant beasts.

After a while, Chen Shu stood up, indicating that he could now summon the slime at any moment.

...

...

The three of them mounted the mutant thunderbird and headed toward the depths of the canyon.

"Hmm? They really do have guts!"

Shen Wushuang had been following the three from behind. As an S-rank Ice Luan, it was easy for him to catch up with the mutant thunderbird.

Soon, the three arrived at a point five hundred meters below the canyon entrance, a region that was already beyond the boundary he had marked.

Shen Wushuang did not step in to stop them; he simply followed from afar.

With his strength, even if they encountered a lord-level beast, he could still retreat safely with the three of them.

"Why do I feel like the temperature suddenly dropped?"

Xu Xingxing shivered and pulled a sweater from his backpack.

Chen Shu nodded slightly. Layers of thin ice had already appeared on the surrounding canyon walls.

If they went any deeper, the ice would get thicker—this was the origin of the Ice Canyon's name.

The part of the canyon below five hundred meters was the true Ice Canyon.

"Be careful!"

Chen Shu's gaze turned serious, his playful demeanor gone.

The three of them maintained low-altitude flight. Xu Xingxing also focused completely, ready to activate the thunderbird's skill to escape instantly if danger appeared.

"There are eight beasts ahead! Around level eight!"

"Beast group on the left, number unknown!"

"Two beasts on the left front, iron-rank!"

Xie Sunan's insect butterfly continuously released a detection energy field, capturing all nearby beast activity.

The three worked in perfect sync. Even as trainee beastmasters, they were still able to roam freely through the Ice Canyon.

Chen Shu said, "Head toward the iron-rank beasts. Fly a bit higher!"

Iron-rank beasts had a higher chance of guarding herbs.

The mutant thunderbird veered toward the left front.

Sure enough, a moment later, they saw two ice apes pacing back and forth.

Between them were three blue spirit plants.

"Huh? Ice Leaf Flowers?"

Chen Shu raised his eyebrows. This was one of the mission targets they had accepted.

At this moment, a set of options appeared before Chen Shu.

[Option 1: Pretend not to see it and sneak away. Reward: Moderate beastmaster energy]

[Option 2: Take a shortcut and steal the Ice Leaf Flowers! Reward: Explosive Potion]

[Option 3: Defeat the two ice apes head-on. Reward: Slime gains +5% to all attributes]

Chen Shu frowned. The third option was clearly the most beneficial.

He asked, "Old Xie, Little Xing, do you think my slime can take out those two ice apes?"

The two were stunned when they heard this, momentarily frozen.

Xie Sunan patted his shoulder with a look of silent mourning...

Xu Xingxing said seriously, "I'm reporting you!"

Chen Shu looked confused. "Reporting me? What did I do?"

"Reporting you for feeding!"

"…"

Chen Shu twitched at the corner of his mouth and protested, "So none of you believe in me, huh?"

Xie Sunan raised his eyebrows and said, "You want to use facts to prove that we're right?"

"No need to prove it. Actually... I don't believe in myself either!"

Chen Shu said, "Little Xing, get ready to steal the herbs!"

As soon as he finished, the golden slime dropped from the sky and landed not far from the two ice apes.

At first, the two ice apes looked disdainful and didn't pay any attention to the slime.

But in an instant, the slime's body expanded, transforming into a huge behemoth.

Its actual strength was only level 8, but its size alone could overwhelm iron-rank beasts.

It might not win the fight, but it certainly had presence!

"Little Yellow, give me a roar—scare them a bit!"

Chen Shu planned to use the slime to attract the ice apes while the mutant thunderbird stole the herbs.

Beasts, after all, usually had intelligence no higher than Young Tang—they weren't that bright.

The slime stared with its big round eyes, doing its best to look fierce.

Then it let out a terrifying roar: "Gooji! Gooji!"

"…"

The two ice apes looked utterly confused. Although they didn't feel threatened, such a huge creature couldn't be tolerated in their territory.

Roar!

The two ice apes roared and instantly lunged forward.

Whoosh… whoosh…

The slime immediately activated "Dreamkill" and entered a sleep state.

When it sleeps, it really sleeps—nothing can stop it!

"Now!"

The mutant thunderbird's eyes lit up with lightning, and blue light shimmered across its wings.

With two skills activated, the mutant thunderbird's speed suddenly skyrocketed.

"You hid this skill back in September?"

Chen Shu remembered that the thunderbird didn't use this skill in its battle with the Wind Beast.

Xu Xingxing said, "It was added after the tournament!"

"My bad for asking..."

The mutant thunderbird shot forward like a blue streak of light.

The two ice apes didn't even react in time. In the blink of an eye, the three Ice Leaf Flowers in their territory were stolen.

Roar!

Their expressions turned feral, their bodies instantly coated in layers of solid ice.

Even though they activated their innate skill "Frost Armor," it was useless.

The mutant thunderbird's speed was incredible—not something they could keep up with.

"Get close to the slime, I need to retrieve it!"

The thunderbird made a sharp turn and flew directly above the slime.

Seeing that the distance was just right, Chen Shu immediately recalled it into the beast space.

Although it had been surrounded by the two ice apes, the sleeping slime could hold out for a while.

The three of them rode the mutant thunderbird away, leaving behind the two enraged, roaring ice apes.

Before leaving, the thunderbird even spat playfully on them and shook its butt…

Chen Shu now suspected that the thunderbird's obnoxious personality was innate—it had little to do with Xu Xingxing.