As the pigeon-egg-sized ball of white mist was absorbed by the Magical Little Tree, a message surfaced in Lin Li's mind.
"One percent."
'What does that mean? Do I have to kill another ninety-nine of these Mutant Beasts for you before you'll grow another one of those Magical Little Fruits?'
Although this question popped into Lin Li's head, no further information appeared in his mind.
'Let's get to it! It's only ninety-nine Mutant Beasts. I can get this done in no time.'
After psyching himself up, Lin Li left the Mysterious Small Island with a thought.
...
The brilliant golden sun slowly climbed the horizon. As it rose higher, the heat it cast upon the earth intensified, drying the damp wilderness.
Nearing noon, a tall figure chased a small one across the desolate wilderness.
It was a desperate chase. The small figure reached the bank of a stream, about to dive in and escape, but its relentless pursuer finally caught up.
SHLICK.
Glowing with a faint golden Spiritual Light, the Spiritual Longsword shot out like lightning, instantly piercing the head of the rabbit Mutant Beast.
THUMP.
The rabbit Mutant Beast, just about to leap into the stream, was killed instantly. Its body flew forward from momentum, thudding against the ground and rolling several times before stopping.
"Haaa..."
Gazing at the rabbit Mutant Beast he'd killed in one strike, Lin Li panted heavily and muttered, "This thing sure can run. If I'd been a second later, it would've escaped into the stream."
After returning to the real world from the Mysterious Small Island, Lin Li had immediately begun searching for Mutant Beasts to hunt.
He'd been at it all morning. Including the one he just killed, he had taken down a total of six rabbit Mutant Beasts.
Killing only six rabbit Mutant Beasts in a single morning was a result Lin Li was not happy with.
If his afternoon was just as efficient, he would hunt thirteen or fourteen rabbit Mutant Beasts at most for the whole day.
His current goal was to kill ninety-nine Mutant Beasts. At this rate, it would take him about a week to complete it.
Too slow.
'There are too few Mutant Beasts around here! It takes forever just to find one.'
'Maybe after lunch, I should push a little deeper into the wilderness?'
Easily killing several Mutant Beasts in one morning had boosted Lin Li's confidence, making him want to push past the one-kilometer-radius activity zone he had initially set for himself.
The outskirts of the wilderness had been swept clean by Exotic Beast Hunters many times. As a result, most of the Mutant Beasts living here would instinctively flee deeper into the wilds at the slightest sign of trouble.
There had been a group of relatively bold rabbit Mutant Beasts living in this area, but after Lin Li killed several of them in a row, many others that got wind of it began to flee.
This was why it had become increasingly difficult for Lin Li to find more of them.
'That settles it. After lunch, I'll push a little deeper into the wilderness... Five hundred meters. Going another five hundred meters shouldn't put me in any real danger.'
To speed things up, Lin Li mulled it over for a moment and made his decision.
He then walked over to the rabbit Mutant Beast whose head he had pierced with his sword, extended his right hand, and touched his index finger to its body.
With a thought, Lin Li sent the rabbit Mutant Beast to the Mysterious Small Island.
The blood-soaked corpse of a rabbit Mutant Beast materialized on the Mysterious Small Island.
A few seconds after the rabbit Mutant Beast's corpse appeared on the Mysterious Small Island, it dissolved into a ball of white mist and was absorbed by the nearby Magical Little Tree.
After absorbing the flesh and blood of six rabbit Mutant Beasts, the Magical Little Tree, which had looked somewhat malnourished before, now appeared much more vibrant.
Its slightly yellowed leaves began to turn green, and a tiny, rice-grain-sized green fruit had even sprouted on one of its brown branches.
Without close inspection, it was impossible to spot the tiny, rice-grain-sized green fruit with the naked eye.
...
"CHIRP, CHIRP..."
Lin Li found a large tree by the crystal-clear stream where the cicadas' chirping was a little quieter.
He stepped into its shade, ready to eat lunch.
After a busy morning, he hadn't used much of his Spiritual Energy, but chasing those frantically fleeing rabbit Mutant Beasts had drained a lot of his physical stamina. His stomach was growling with hunger.
With a thought, Lin Li retrieved a black backpack from the Mysterious Small Island.
He unzipped the backpack and took out a box of self-heating rice.
He unwrapped the package, added some water from the stream, and the rice began to heat itself.
A few minutes later, Lin Li was leaning against the large, leafy tree, holding the heated meal. He enjoyed the cool breeze of the wilderness and listened to the chirping cicadas as he ate the self-heating rice with great relish, even though it wasn't particularly tasty.
When you're starving, even a self-heating meal you normally dislike can seem like a delicacy.
The self-heating rice Lin Li was now savoring was one he had bought online six months ago.
He had bought three boxes at the time. After eating one, he decided the stuff didn't taste very good, but it felt like a waste to throw it out, so he had tossed the remaining meals into a storage closet.
Lin Li had completely forgotten about the two boxes of self-heating rice in his closet, but now, he only had a few dozen dollars to his name.
It was poverty that reminded him he still had two almost-expired boxes of self-heating rice he hadn't eaten.
"BURP~"
Full now, Lin Li let out a burp. The lingering taste of the self-heating rice made him frown slightly.
When he was hungry, the bland meal had seemed like a gourmet feast. Now that he was full, he found the taste unpleasant.
'Sigh, I'm completely broke. If I don't make some money soon, forget eating—I won't even be able to pay the electric bill.'
Lin Li, whose electricity bill averaged nearly two hundred dollars a month, suddenly remembered that today was the due date.
He decided he should temporarily stop feeding the Magical Little Tree with Mutant Beast flesh. The immediate priority was to hunt some Mutant Beasts for money, just to make ends meet.
"RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE..."
A sudden rustling came from a patch of meter-high bushes in the distance, and then a rabbit Mutant Beast, nearly a meter tall, shot out from the foliage.
The rabbit Mutant Beast had just woken up in its burrow. It was a little thirsty, so it decided to head to the stream for a drink.
'What rotten luck! This is the worst!'
The rabbit Mutant Beast had just darted out of the bushes, intending to quench its thirst at the stream.
But there, under a large, leafy tree by the stream, stood a human. At this moment, the human's face was filled with delighted surprise, and he was staring fixedly at it with greedy eyes.
...