Translator: AnubisTL
Scar Dog's words hung in the air.
Zhao Ritian and Li Hao exchanged glances, their brows furrowing in thought. After a moment, they spoke in unison: "It's true, mutated beasts have become much rarer lately."
"Remember when we first arrived in this world? Mutated beasts were everywhere."
"They mostly came out at night, but you could still spot them occasionally during the day."
"But now, it's like they've vanished completely, even at night."
"You've noticed it too," Scar Dog nodded, casually pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it before settling onto a swing, swaying gently. "I was planning to build a perpetual motion machine that automatically slaughters monsters."
"But the mutated beast population has clearly plummeted."
"What if there's a fixed number of mutated beasts? As players keep killing them, the total number doesn't actually decrease?"
"That's possible," Li Hao agreed with a thoughtful nod. "After all this time, we haven't seen a single mutated beast cub. That strongly suggests they don't reproduce."
"Or perhaps, they're simply very difficult to breed."
"In that case, it's not surprising that mutated beasts have gradually been hunted to extinction by race players over time."
"That's highly probable."
Scar Dog nodded, quickly dismissing the matter. He hopped off the swing and declared, "Alright, let's go! I've got a new project."
"Time to get to work, brothers!"
"Charge! Charge! Charge!"
"Zhao Ritian, call your slime! Time to get to work!"
Meanwhile, deep within the jungle of the Ten Thousand Races Arena, a group of ape-man race players had gathered.
Suville stood before an elder, his face flushed with shame. He murmured, "Race Chief, I underestimated him this time. I failed to secure the top ranking and even let Human Player Chen Jiang claim the reward."
"Punish me as you see fit."
"There's no need for that," the race chief of the third tribe of the ape-man race replied, shaking his head. "How can you say you underestimated him? Underestimation implies you could have won but failed due to arrogance."
"Chen Jiang completely overwhelmed you. It had nothing to do with underestimation."
"Besides, why would I punish you?"
"Although the top ranking was taken by the Human Player Chen Jiang, our ape-man race secured 94 out of the top 100 reward slots. In terms of overall rewards, we earned far more than Chen Jiang."
"From this perspective, our ape-man race emerged victorious this time."
"However, my decisions also played a role."
"The sage and I were so confident you would crush Chen Jiang in this event, especially since it was specifically designed for the ape-man race. We believed that defeating Chen Jiang would bring you immense fame and boost the overall morale of our race."
"Looking back, we underestimated him."
"If we hadn't invited Chen Jiang to participate, the top ranking would undoubtedly belong to you, Suville."
"Enough self-blame. The ape-man race has already reaped significant gains from this event."
"Understood!"
Suville gritted his teeth, paused briefly, then turned and sprinted into the jungle. He leaped onto a vine, swinging himself into the distance.
Tens of thousands of meters from Kindling City, in a desolate wilderness, a young man in his early twenties sat barefoot on a rock, his expression blank as he watched a mutated beast circle him.
After a long silence, he sighed deeply.
He lay flat on the ground, completely unguarded, staring blankly at the sky above. His expression was dazed as he murmured, "When will this ever end?"
His name was Wang Defa.
He had been a man since birth.
He had been wandering the wilderness for a long time now.
Yes, today was another day of aimless wandering.
Wang Defa mentally added a pointless commentary to his thoughts, then fell silent again, unsure of what else to think about.
After another long silence, he suddenly glanced at his talent panel.
[Talent Panel]: Solitary Wanderer
[Talent Effect]: A lone tiger always walks alone. When you are completely alone, without any companions, each mutated beast you kill will guarantee a one-star item drop. Furthermore, each mutated beast or alien race player you kill will permanently increase your physical attributes.
[However, as a price, if you spend more than one hour in the company of fellow race members or alien race players, your talent will be permanently lost.]
He had to admit, he actually quite liked his innate ability.
This ability had allowed him to survive—and even thrive—after being transported to this world.
But it came with significant drawbacks.
Humans are social creatures, and he had been wandering the wilderness alone for nearly four months, pushing him to the brink of collapse.
A few days ago, he heard that the human race had successfully built and defended a city, which made him genuinely happy.
Just as he was about to eagerly rush through the light gate to Kindling City and join the main human force, he glanced at his innate ability and stopped in his tracks.
He couldn't afford to lose his ability.
Though he loathed the price it demanded.
Even when Chen Jiang had topped the race kill rankings, granting all human players a chance to randomly reroll their personal innate abilities, he had refused to change his.
Despite the ability's severe side effects.
Without it, he doubted he could survive long in the Ten Thousand Races Arena.
Just then—
The mutated beast, which had been circling Wang Defa with predatory eyes, finally succumbed to its bloodlust. With a roar, it leaped into the air and charged toward him.
Boom!
Lying on the ground, Wang Defa casually threw a punch. The mutated beast's skull shattered instantly, its corpse collapsing to the ground. After a few convulsive twitches, it lay still.
Blood slowly seeped from the beast's body, forming a crimson pool.
"Sigh."
Wang Defa sighed again, sensing a one-star item materialize in his space bracelet. Too apathetic to even check it, he remained sprawled on the ground, staring blankly up at the sky.
He already wore four space bracelets, each overflowing with one-star items—the accumulated loot from the past few months.
But lately, mutated beasts had become increasingly scarce.
Come to think of it, he missed global events like "Mist Paradise."
Only during such events could he interact with human players without worrying about his innate ability's permanent failure after an hour of companionship.
Even the current "Ten-Thousand-Meter Vine" event would do.
As long as it was an event not held within the Ten Thousand Races Arena, he could ignore the cost of using his innate ability.
"Ugh..."
Wang Defa's expression suddenly stiffened as he recalled the difficulty of the "Ten-Thousand-Meter Vine" event. A slight twitch tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Forget about this event.
The mortality rate is too high.
While he wanted to interact with human players, he wasn't willing to risk his life for it.
With a heavy sigh, he stood up, ready to continue his solitary journey into the distance, like a lonely hero.
Lonely hero?
Come to think of it, I haven't heard anyone sing that song in ages.
A song that used to make him frown now suddenly made him wish someone would hum a few bars in his ear.
Just as Wang Defa was lost in thought, a mutated beast materialized out of thin air right in front of him without warning.
"What the hell?"
Wang Defa stared at the scene before him, slightly bewildered. Why does this look like the monster spawn animations from those trashy web games?
Is this how mutated beasts appear?
He hesitated briefly, then drew a futuristic-looking rifle from his chest. With cautious steps, he advanced toward the spot where the mutated beast had materialized out of thin air.
Feng Jiutian, his expression tinged with resentment, glared at the elderly figure on the screen, making one last desperate plea. "Grandfather, the upcoming global event is our chance! The mechanical race is guaranteed to win!"
"If you give me this opportunity, I can overturn everything and start anew!"
"It's too late for that now," the white-haired elder on the screen replied after a moment of silence, shaking his head. "Perhaps next time. The elder council still holds your past failures against you."
"Grandfather..."
Just as Feng Jiutian was about to plead further, the call abruptly ended.
Staring at the suddenly blank screen, Feng Jiutian stood motionless, his fists clenched, his expression shifting between anger and frustration. He remained silent, his head bowed, lost in thought.
His subordinate, standing nearby, kept his eyes lowered, maintaining a respectful silence. Lord Feng Jiutian's emotions were far too easy to read.
When Feng Jiutian gazed into the distance, it meant he was in an excellent mood. At such times, he would engage in light banter with anyone who approached him, a smile never leaving his face.
Conversely, when Feng Jiutian lowered his gaze to the ground, it signaled extreme displeasure. Anyone who dared approach him then would likely be rewarded with two resounding slaps—the best possible outcome.
A competent subordinate knew when to take the blame and when to keep silent.
Inside Kindling City, the human guardian sat at a table, his brow furrowed as he stared at an item before him, his expression grim and unyielding. He had clearly been sitting there for a long time.
After a moment, he sighed softly, his eyes slightly clouded as he reread the item's description:
[Item Name: Star Observation Tower]
[Item Star: Three-Star Item]
[Item Details: A special building that can only be placed in Kindling City. It originates from the global event 'Guardian of Kindling City' and serves as a unique architectural reward for the city's final stand.]
[Item Effect: Once placed, you will receive complete information about each upcoming global event the day before it begins, excluding temporarily activated global events.]
[Item Restriction: You must kill five human players within this building daily, or the item will become inactive.]
[Item Description: "The darker the night, the brighter the stars shine."]
He slowly placed the item on the table, leaning back wearily in his chair. He picked up a pair of glasses from the nearby table and put them on, his gaze drifting absently to the flickering flame of the oil lamp beside him. He remained silent.
The item's effect was undeniably powerful.
Knowing all the details of global events a day in advance meant they could prepare for them ahead of time.
This advantage would become even more critical as the global events grew increasingly brutal over time.
However, the item's restriction kept him hesitating.
He had to kill five human players within the building every day.
In truth, this was a small number.
Even over a month, it would only require killing 150 human players.
Given Kindling City's current population, 150 human players was a mere drop in the bucket.
But he didn't want to open that door.
He had established Kindling City to protect the human race, but if protecting them required killing them, wouldn't his title as the human guardian become a joke?
He had hesitated for a long time, unable to make a decision.
Back on Blue Star, he had never held high office. The Human Race Guardian Association wasn't an official organization either. He was just an ordinary old man with a bit of luck, who wanted to protect human players and work together to survive until the end.
He wasn't particularly decisive.
At that moment, for some reason, Chen Jiang suddenly came to mind.
If it were Chen Jiang, he probably wouldn't hesitate at all and would immediately choose to deploy the item, right?
After all, the cost was completely disproportionate to the benefits. Logically, there was nothing to hesitate about.
"Hah!"
In the dimly lit room, he leaned back in his chair and remained silent for a long time before lightly tapping the table. A man with a solemn expression quickly entered. "Guardian Lord, what are your orders?"
"Here, take this item and find a suitable place to deploy it in Kindling City."
"Yes, sir."
"Oh, and one more thing..."
The human guardian paused before speaking, "From today onward, anyone who commits rape, robbery, or any other act that severely disrupts the peace and order of Kindling City will be arrested and detained in the death row."
"Yes, sir!"
After the man left, the elder sighed softly, leaned back in his chair, and fell silent. Perhaps he truly wasn't suited for this position.
"Brother Jiang!"
Chen Jiang had just climbed down from the treetop bed where he'd rested for a few hours when Scar Dog excitedly called out, "Look what we found!"
"A huge, fat, delicious fish!"
"It took us ages to catch it in the Underground River!"
Chen Jiang gave Scar Dog a strange look as he cradled the struggling, ten-pound fish. After a moment, he asked, "Scar Dog, how do you maintain such constant high energy?"
"You're making it easy for people to suspect you're on drugs."
Just then—
A white pearl, resembling a pearl, suddenly rolled out of the violently thrashing fish's mouth.
"Pretty," Chen Jiang remarked, casually picking up the pearl and weighing it in his hand. He was about to toss it aside when a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes.
This bead actually has an item panel?
This bead is actually an item?
(End of the Chapter)
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