Chapter 23: An Inch of Gold Cannot Buy an Inch of Time

The lock on this miniaturized shipping container was a facial recognition type. Lin Li walked up to the container and leaned his face toward the electronic screen on it.

The electronic screen began its facial recognition scan. After confirming the identity of the customer who placed the order, the container’s electronic lock opened automatically.

Then, Lin Li began moving the rabbit Mutant Beast and the Wild Boar Beast into the container.

The rabbit Mutant Beast, which was nearly a meter tall, weighed only a few dozen pounds, making it very easy to place inside the container.

The roughly 300-pound Wild Boar Beast, however, was difficult to manage. It took a great deal of effort for Lin Li to drag it into the container.

"HUUFF..." Looking at the Wild Boar Beast’s corpse, which he had loaded into the container only after a great struggle, Lin Li let out a few soft pants and wiped the sweat from his brow.

’Now I get why other Exotic Beast Hunters form teams to work together,’ he thought. ’Besides increasing safety, you have companions to lend a hand carrying the prey when you hunt a large Mutant Beast.’

The interior of the miniaturized container was surprisingly spacious. Even with a 300-pound Wild Boar Beast and the rabbit Mutant Beast inside, it didn’t seem crowded at all. ’It could probably fit another Wild Boar Beast,’ Lin Li estimated.

After loading the prey into the container, Lin Li closed the door.

As the door closed, the container’s electronic lock made a crisp BEEP. Then, a "Confirm Return Trip" option appeared on the electronic screen.

Lin Li reached out and tapped the option. The transport drone hovering in mid-air immediately began to increase its altitude.

"WHIRRR..."

The propellers on the transport drone’s eight rotors emitted a loud humming sound as it easily lifted the miniaturized container holding over 300 pounds of Exotic Beast Meat.

When the transport drone reached an altitude of three hundred meters, it began to fly toward the city.

’All set. Now I just have to wait for the money to come in.’ Standing by the mud pit, Lin Li watched the transport drone fly away, his heart filled with anticipation... It couldn’t be helped; he was just too poor right now.

’That battle with the Wild Boar Beast just now used up most of my Spiritual Energy, and my body is exhausted. I’ll call it a day. I’ll go home, get some rest, and fight again tomorrow.’

"RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE..."

Suddenly, a sound came from the grass behind him, and a rabbit Mutant Beast leaped out of the bushes.

Lin Li, who had just been about to go home and rest, met the gaze of the suddenly-appeared rabbit Mutant Beast. His eyes lit up, and he immediately dismissed the thought of returning home. ’It won’t be too late to rest after I take care of this rabbit.’

...

"SQUELCH."

"HUFF... HUFF... HUFF..." Panting heavily, Lin Li swung his weapon. The Spiritual Longsword, glowing with a faint golden Spiritual Light, swiftly pierced the rabbit Mutant Beast’s neck.

He had been fighting since morning, with only a short break for lunch. After being active for so long, his stamina was severely drained, and his accuracy had dropped significantly.

He had intended to strike the rabbit Mutant Beast’s head, but ended up stabbing its neck instead.

Moreover, his Spiritual Longsword had struck the rabbit Mutant Beast’s neck but failed to pierce all the way through.

Gravely wounded, the rabbit Mutant Beast flew into a rage. It twisted its neck, broke free from the Spiritual Longsword, and lunged violently at Lin Li.

Unfortunately, the gap in their strength was too great. The rabbit Mutant Beast was only at the First Rank Initial Stage and was already severely injured, so when it leaped at Lin Li, he simply sent it flying with a single kick.

"THUD."

The rabbit Mutant Beast was sent flying, tumbling several times on the ground. Just as it tried to scramble up from the grass, Lin Li rushed to its side. Gripping the hilt of his Spiritual Longsword in a reverse grip with both hands, point down, he forcefully stabbed at the creature.

"SQUELCH."

The longsword plunged into its brain. This strike pierced straight through the rabbit Mutant Beast’s head, pinning it firmly to the grassy ground.

"HUFF..."

Gasping for breath, Lin Li looked at the dead rabbit Mutant Beast and muttered to himself, ’Now I really don’t have the strength to fight any more Mutant Beasts. I have to get home and rest quickly.’

Pulling his Spiritual Longsword from the rabbit Mutant Beast’s head, Lin Li crouched down, touched the corpse, and stored it in the Mysterious Small Island. Then, he immediately started running toward the city.

...

The rabbit Mutant Beast’s blood pooled on the ground, staining a small patch of grass red. The scent of blood drifted on a breeze into the depths of the wilderness.

"RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE..."

An agile figure moved through the dense, leafy grass, occasionally sniffing the air to follow the scent of blood and determine its direction.

A little over ten minutes after Lin Li had left, a Gray Wolf Beast—covered in gray fur, one and a half meters long, and eighty centimeters tall—arrived at the spot where he had just killed the rabbit Mutant Beast.

The Gray Wolf Beast lowered its head to sniff the soil soaked with the rabbit’s blood. It scanned its surroundings but found no corpse.

"AWOOO..." Having come all this way only to find nothing, the Gray Wolf Beast let out a disappointed howl.

Then, its stomach growling with hunger, the Gray Wolf Beast ducked back into the dense, leafy grass and headed toward its usual hunting grounds to find prey.

Fortunately, Lin Li had returned to the city immediately after killing the rabbit Mutant Beast. Otherwise, he would have been attacked by the Gray Wolf Beast that had tracked the scent of blood to the location.

...

With the sun hanging low on the horizon, a figure holding a Spiritual Longsword walked briskly through the grass. When he saw a straight road appear in the distance, a brilliant smile immediately spread across his face, and he quickened his pace, running toward the distant road.

’Finally made it out.’

Lin Li had been cautious the entire way back. The moment he stepped onto the flat pavement of the road, his mind and body completely relaxed.

He had reached the safe zone, but it was still nearly a half-hour walk before he was back in the city.

This was because his current location was still a long way from Chenghua Avenue, the farthest point taxis were willing to go.

’I can’t walk this stretch of road every time I go to the wilderness. It’s an hour round trip! That’s one hour per trip, ten hours for ten trips, a hundred hours for a hundred. An inch of gold can’t buy an inch of time!’

Once in the safe zone, Lin Li stored his Spiritual Longsword in the Mysterious Small Island. As he walked toward Chenghua Avenue, he mulled things over.

’At this stage, I don’t have enough money to buy a car, so I’ll have to settle for the next best thing: renting a used car for transportation.’

’I remember seeing a recently opened used car rental company on the way to the market to buy Exotic Beast Meat. I’ll go check it out tomorrow morning... If the rent is cheap, I’ll just get one there.’

...