Nine lives lingered among the corpses of the Spirit Fire Rhinos, occasionally searching for useful items.
"All the magic crystals have been dug out, the horns removed, and the inner fire pills taken," said a life-form completely wrapped in a white robe. Upon closer inspection, one would notice it floated slightly above the ground, its hood standing upright but revealing nothing but darkness inside.
"Twelve have been skinned, one half-skinned, and the rest still have their hides intact."
The speaker of these words looked almost human, except for its unusually long arms and hunched waist, its fingertips nearly brushing the ground.
"Nothing valuable left," said a third life-form, a companion of the long-armed one.
"These hides arenât bad," piped up a little girl with pigtails, standing only about 1.3 meters tall, her voice sweet and childish.
Were it not for her bulging goldfish-like eyes, she might have been called adorable.
The two-meter-long polearm she wielded looked bizarrely out of place compared to her petite frame.
"Probably worth... around fifteen points. Not bad," remarked a human as he tore into the flesh of a Spirit Fire Rhino, shoving raw meat into his mouth. Blood dripped from his chin and body as he chewed.
The sight made the man in golden armor and the woman in purple armor frown in disgust.
"Hofkaf, must you do that? Humanity has long moved past the age of eating raw flesh. Are you regressing?" snapped the purple-armored woman.
"Heh, at least Iâm not dragging around a deadâ"
"Shut up if you want to live!"
Another man strode over and slapped Hofkaf across the head, sending the half-chewed meat flying.
Hofkaf didnât dodge, just chuckled without apology, though he obediently fell silent.
"Keep your brother in line, Wade," the golden-armored man said, shooting him a glance before turning toward a grotesque life-form with patchy hair and a nose full of holes.
Wade shrugged but said nothing.
"Kuma, any progress?"
The golden-armored man crouched beside Kuma, who sat on the ground.
"Working on it," Kuma muttered, clutching a handful of dirt.
The golden-armored man glanced at the purple-armored woman, who nodded.
"Five more points for you."
Having successfully extorted more, Kumaâs monstrous face twisted into a grin. "Then Iâll hurry."
He swallowed the dirt, and moments later, hazy images appearedâscenes of Ye Zhongming delivering the final blow to the level-nine Spirit Fire Rhino.
When they saw him plunge his weapon into the beastâs body, several of them whistled in excitementâno fear, only thrill.
"Hawkins, weâve changed our minds. These two killed so many Spirit Fire Rhinosâthey must have a ton of points. Weâve been helping you instead of hunting, so our scores are pitiful. Weâre at the bottom of the rankings now, and you know what happens to the last place after three days⊠death. You owe us. How about we split their points after killing them?"
The pigtailed, bug-eyed girl tapped her massive blade against the ground, staring at Hawkins and Amus.
Though the others didnât voice agreement, their gazes said enough.
"That wasnât the deal," Amus said coldly, clearly displeased.
"But you never mentioned these two would be so tough," countered the long-armed life-form, finding a convenient excuse.
"Are they really that strong to us?" Hawkins asked sharply.
"Of course! Two people took down four level-nine Spirit Fire Rhinos. Even the nine of us would struggle to do that."
"And donât forget all the level-eight ones. These two are no joke," the little girl added, giggling without a trace of fear.
Hawkins and Amus exchanged a glance. They knew these people were exploiting the situation, but they needed their help. After a momentâs hesitation, they nodded.
"Youâll get the points after, but we deliver the killing blow."
"Deal."
âŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ
"Whatâs wrong?" Jie Kui grumbled, still upset they hadnât taken all the spoils. Those materials were far better than what theyâd scavenged at the beginnerâs camp yesterdayâeasily worth over ten points.
"Someoneâs heading toward the battlefield. Quite a few of them."
"Howâd you know?"
"Detection Sense."
Jie Kui scoffed. "The clan really spoils you, teaching you everything."
Detection Sense was a long-range scouting skill, useful for broad warnings but not precise details.
"Because I can actually learn it."
The retort made Jie Kuiâs face twitch.
Back in their clan, their preparation time had been short. Theyâd had to master parasite knowledge, study the races of the universe, and familiarize themselves with their gearâhardly any time for extra skills. Jie Kui hadnât managed it, but this guy hadâa brutal reminder of the gap between them.
"What now?"
Having grown used to deferring to Ye Zhongming, Jie Kui asked for direction.
"Ignore them. We have other things to do." Ye Zhongming held up the Spirit Fire Rhino horn heâd been fiddling with.
"Whatâs it for?" Jie Kui thought they should take it back to trade for points.
This time, Ye Zhongming didnât keep him in the dark. "The main material for the Spirit Fire Formation. Itâs for dealing with No. 36 on the listâthe Biset II parasite, the Aqua Fox."
"WTF?! Are you insane?!"
The creatures on the list were ranked by points, descending from top to bottom. Even the lower-ranked ones offered more points than unlisted targets.
With thousands of entries, the top creatures were tempting, but given the new rules, they were clearly meant for team huntsâboss-level threats, not solo endeavors.
For example, Ye Zhongmingâs target, the Aqua Fox, was worth 280 points. Killing it would practically guarantee access to the official storeâs second floor!
To put it in perspective, a level-nine Spirit Fire Rhino was worth maybe five or six points, and even the Rhino King wouldnât exceed ten. A 280-point Aqua Fox? How strong must it be?
This wasnât something two people could handle.
No matter how much faith Jie Kui had in Ye Zhongming, he vehemently objected.
Ye Zhongming just smiled. "Weâre not going now. We need to buy supplies at camp first."
Seeing his protests ignored, Jie Kui rolled his eyes. Then he remembered something else. "Why not just kill the ones following us?"
Ye Zhongming sprinted ahead, calling back, "Too scrawny. Let them fatten up first."
"If they even dare to keep chasing us."