Chapter 133 - 129: Blind Box Specialist

Besides the case of extracts, the only other valuable item Su Ze found was an artifact.

It was a Rank 3 artifact that looked like a piece of animal hide. Palm-sized, it had a transparent, gelatinous texture.

The two of them took stock of their haul from the trip: three artifacts, nearly twenty vials of extracts of Ranks 1, 2, and 3, one vial of a Rank 4 extract, the Storage Ear Pendant, and the Honey Pot Ants’ Evolution Honey Water.

There were also some miscellaneous materials and evolution-related medicines, which were worth a decent amount of money altogether.

Mr. Ya said, "Too bad. That guy with the buzz cut definitely had some good stuff on him."

He was still lamenting the missed opportunity to loot the corpse of the middle-aged man with the buzz cut.

Su Ze took the initiative. "As for these three artifacts, let’s get them appraised back home to see what they do before we divide them. We can decide then whether to sell them or keep them. Same for the Rank 4 extract—we’ll get it appraised, and if it’s a good fit for you, you can just take it and absorb it."

"I’d really like to have this Storage Ear Pendant," Su Ze said, not beating around the bush. "If you don’t mind, we can get it valued later to see how much it’s worth, and I’ll pay you the difference—"

Mr. Ya cut him off. "You don’t need to pay me for it. If you want it, it’s yours. We’ll sell the stuff we don’t need and split the money fifty-fifty."

Seeing that Su Ze was about to say something, Mr. Ya quickly added, "There is one thing I’d like to ask of you, though."

He chuckled, a slightly sheepish look on his face.

Su Ze was a little confused.

Mr. Ya had dealt with the Butterfly Stage man on his own, and he’d also been the one to find the Storage Ear Pendant. Su Ze had planned on letting him take the lion’s share, but it seemed Mr. Ya had something else in mind.

"What is it?" Su Ze asked.

Mr. Ya scratched his head. "Remember that Rank 3 Dung-Eater we saw before? I want to capture it alive!"

"Capture a maggot alive?" Su Ze’s eyes widened. "What are you planning to do?"

He suddenly remembered the way Mr. Ya’s eyes had lit up when he saw the Dung-Eater... ’No way... it can’t be! Do people from Luofan really all have such strange tastes?’

’I thought someone liking the Venomous Giant Lizard was already bizarre enough, but I never expected Mr. Ya to be even further off the beaten path.’

Noticing Su Ze’s increasingly odd stare, Mr. Ya realized what he was thinking and hurriedly explained, "I just want to raise it to Rank 4 so I can kill it later and make an extract. I... I’ve always absorbed Dung-Eater extracts."

As if he’d heard something unbelievable, Su Ze confirmed, "You’ve always absorbed Dung-Eater extracts?"

Mr. Ya nodded. "My family was poor. The first vial of extract I ever absorbed was a Rank 1 Dung-Eater extract I bought with my scholarship money. I never expected to get an incredibly powerful skill from it... I named this skill ’Void.’ It’s the one you saw that allowed me to escape from the Mutated Giant Crocodile’s stomach."

Su Ze was even more shocked. "A skill that powerful, and you’re telling me you got it from a Rank 1 Dung-Eater extract?"

Mr. Ya gave a wry smile. "I find it unbelievable myself. The ’Void’ skill’s effect is to break my body down into extremely fine particles, smaller even than my own cells. This makes me visually ’disappear,’ but my consciousness remains, and I can still control my form. In this state, I have no offensive capabilities, but I can pass through any object that has gaps."

"For example, I can easily move through the black soil of the Thousand Heroes Tomb. I can even pass through the gaps between the cells of an ordinary organism..."

Su Ze finally understood the full effect of Mr. Ya’s skill. He blurted out, "Doesn’t that make you invincible?"

Mr. Ya nodded slightly. "Although ’Void’ doesn’t last long, while it’s active, I am indeed nearly invincible. No one can attack me, find me, or trap me. I can escape at will."

"It’s unbelievable for such a powerful skill to come from a Rank 1 extract. It’s beyond S-rank, and far beyond the scope of a Rank 1 skill. I’d believe it if someone told me it was a Saint-rank skill. What’s more, I’ve checked all the data on beasts I could get my hands on, and not a single one is known to have this ability."

Su Ze immediately thought of his own Evolution Divine Grace Skill. It was just as powerful and had also come from a Rank 1 extract.

He wanted to ask Mr. Ya, ’Are you sure you absorbed a Dung-Eater extract? Not some kind of Bloodline Crystal?’

However, Su Ze knew that since Mr. Ya was willing to tell him the full effects of ’Void,’ he wouldn’t lie about something like this.

Su Ze asked, "So what happened next? Did you just fall in love with Dung-Eater extracts after that?"

Mr. Ya sighed, his voice tinged with bitterness. "When I got such a powerful skill, I was both ecstatic and terrified. I didn’t dare tell anyone. But what I didn’t know at the time was that the skill came with a curse!"

"For my second vial, I wanted to pick up an offensive skill, so I chose an extract that offered four offensive skills and only one defensive one. But wouldn’t you know it, I absorbed the defensive skill. At the time, I just figured I had bad luck."

"So for my third vial, partly to save money and partly because I refused to believe my luck was that terrible, I chose a Dung-Eater extract again. And I got another defensive skill—an S-rank one, this time... That’s when I started to suspect I was cursed to only ever get defensive skills."

"My experiences after that confirmed my theory. I really am cursed. Every time I absorb a Dung-Eater extract, I always, without fail, get a defensive skill of at least A-rank. But offensive skills seem to be completely off-limits to me."

"Something like that can happen?!" Su Ze was stunned. At the same time, he wondered, ’Don’t tell me my Evolution Divine Grace Skill has a curse, too?’

’Maybe I should try absorbing a Dung-Eater extract myself?’

’Then again, better not.’

’Su Ze didn’t want to find out what poop tasted like.’

Su Ze said, "So you’ve specialized in Dung-Eater extracts ever since?"

"Yep." Mr. Ya nodded candidly. Now that it was out in the open, he no longer felt embarrassed. "For me, Dung-Eater extracts are the best choice. The best bang for my buck."

Su Ze suddenly understood why Mr. Ya wanted to capture that Rank 3 Dung-Eater alive.

After its fourth evolution, a Dung-Eater becomes a Saint-rank, fly-type beast. But old habits die hard; even as a Rank 4 fly-beast, its favorite food is still the dung of other beasts, and it retains the same characteristics from its time as a Dung-Eater.

Therefore, the extract from a Rank 4 fly-beast that evolved from a Dung-Eater is still a total grab bag when it comes to skills.

However, a Rank 4 fly-beast is significantly more powerful than its Dung-Eater form, and its combat prowess is not weak among Rank 4 beasts. So, setting aside the question of whether its extract is even available on the market, the price would be astronomical if it were.

If Mr. Ya could capture the Rank 3 Dung-Eater alive and raise it to Rank 4, he would save himself the cost of a Rank 4 extract.

Su Ze said with a sense of helplessness, "Who knows how long it takes for a Rank 3 beast to evolve to Rank 4? And it could very well fail. Is it really worth all this trouble?"

Mr. Ya was full of confidence. "Trust me, I know more about Dung-Eaters than any evolution scholar. The one we saw earlier is just one step away from its fourth evolution. Besides, there’s almost no cost to raising one. Even if the evolution fails, I won’t have lost much."

"Alright then, let’s give it a shot." Su Ze was convinced.

Every Butterfly Stage evolver faced the same awkward predicament: the scarcity of Rank 4 extracts.

If you tried to hunt one yourself, you’d be outmatched.

Buy one? Far too expensive!

Besides, Rank 4 extracts were rarely traded for cash.

Having just reached the Butterfly Stage, Mr. Ya was facing this same dilemma, with no extract to absorb.

If he could successfully raise a Rank 4 fly-beast, one-third of his extract needs for the Butterfly Stage would be met.

Seeing Su Ze agree to help, Mr. Ya grinned. "I was just toying with the idea, but seeing that Storage Ear Pendant made me decide for real."

The Storage Ear Pendant had two cubic meters of space, which was just barely enough to hold the Rank 3 Dung-Eater.

Next, the two discussed and formulated a detailed capture plan.

Fortunately, although the Dung-Eater was a Rank 3 beast, its combat ability was trash. Its only strong suit was its ability to escape.

When it came to escaping, Mr. Ya feared no one. There was no way he’d let the Dung-Eater get away.

The plan they devised was simple: use poison. They would first knock out the Dung-Eater, then stuff it into the Earring Space to take back with them. Once they returned to Dongli University, there was a special facility for holding beasts where they could raise it.

The two of them had managed to wear down and kill a Rank 3, S-class Gravity Demon; dealing with a Rank 3 Dung-Eater would be a piece of cake. The difficult part was capturing it alive.

They immediately sprang into action, heading back to where they had first spotted the Dung-Eater.

After some searching, they finally spotted the Rank 3 Dung-Eater.

Su Ze and Mr. Ya’s teamwork was already flawless. They poisoned the Dung-Eater with ease.

The Dung-Eater truly was the perfect beast for Mr. Ya. After being hit, it showed no desire to fight back whatsoever. It just tucked its head and fled, moving surprisingly fast. Twisting its plump, pale body, it displayed an agility that defied its size. An ordinary Butterfly Stage evolver probably couldn’t have kept up with it.

Unfortunately for it, it had run into Mr. Ya. Man and maggot engaged in a chase underground. No matter how it fled, the Dung-Eater couldn’t shake him.

Whenever the Dung-Eater paused, Mr. Ya would immediately bring Su Ze over to bleed it and apply more poison.

After more than two hours of this, the Dung-Eater finally surrendered. It wasn’t that the poison had knocked it out; it was simply paralyzed with exhaustion.

Su Ze stored the helpless Dung-Eater in his Earring Space.

With that, their military training excursion came to a perfect conclusion. Both had reaped huge rewards and obtained the things they wanted most.

Mr. Ya brought Su Ze back to the surface in one swift trip.

Once back on the surface, they checked their phones and realized they had been underground for two full days.

Su Ze and Mr. Ya each took out a vial of a Rank 2 extract to turn in for their military training assignment, then headed for the training camp.