Question: How Many Strale Is a Borisin Hunting Pack Worth?
On the morning I left the Dual-Phase Paradise, a light mist rose over Mooring Port.
After boarding the Chasing the Moon, Jingxing settled his luggage, did a final check of the cabin's resources, and went to the cockpit to prepare for takeoff.
As the engine hummed, he sent Zhenzhu a farewell message. She replied quickly with just four words—"Have a safe journey."
As the Chasing the Moon ascended into the sky, Jingxing glanced out the porthole. The Dual-Phase Paradise shrank smaller and smaller beneath his feet. First, he could see the railway tracks of Haiyuan City running along the sea, then the entire sea of Hattopia, and finally the whole planet shrank into a graffiti-covered pellet, receding into a tiny point of light in the dark sea of stars.
Meanwhile, Huan Yue, who always wore a playful expression, kept turning her head to glance at Chasing the Moon, as if she were saying goodbye.
"Speaking of which, this Illusion Moon should also be related to Aha, right?" Jingxing waved at Illusion Moon and then sat down to talk to himself.
This time he didn't set a destination. After adjusting the star map to a "non-combat zone" filter, he randomly chose a direction among several star systems that were currently in a state of peace, and instead of following the Star Rail laid out by Akivili, he planned to let the Chasing the Moon drift slowly.
After setting up autopilot, Jingxing returned to his studio to mix colors and practice his skills. In the coming days, if he came across a planet that caught his eye, he would land there, sketch it, paint a picture, and then return to continue his journey.
Over the next two weeks, he landed three times, drawing a canyon that runs north to south across the planet, a satellite ring of a gas giant, and a nameless sea of colorful flowers.
Upon arriving at a new planet, Jingxing would take a photo of the place he had visited and send it to his friends. Zhenzhu would always reply quickly. Although she didn't say much, her words were always words of advice and encouragement.
However, Jingxing spent most of her time exchanging messages with Robin. Her new drama, an urban workplace drama, had already started filming, and she was playing a recent graduate working in the workplace. Robin sent her photos from the set, showing a row of uniforms hanging in her dressing room and a thick stack of scripts spread out on the table.
"Sometimes the director asks me to deliberately act out the mistakes that only newcomers to the workplace would make, it's so difficult..." She poured out all her pent-up complaints to Jingxing, "Even when I first started out, I wouldn't have made those mistakes."
"But a talented artist like you Robin, is extremely rare, isn't it?"
"A genius? I feel I'm far inferior to you," the Robin scoffed. "His first painting was sold to a genius for hundreds of millions of Credits —equivalent to my earnings from two years of acting in a TV series."
"It merely touched on Ms. Herta's sore spot." Jingxing didn't believe the painting's value could be replicated; "Selling it for that price again later would definitely be difficult."
Occasionally, he would chat with Yunli for a few minutes. The girl's replies were always abrupt and unpredictable; one sentence might be about sword practice, the next about food. Once, she suddenly blurted out, "Grandpa said there's a hunting group of Borisin in a nearby star field. I should be going with my senior brothers Senior Sisters to hunt them down soon."
Jingxing asked, "A hunting pack? Is it very large?"
"It depends. A few hundred or a thousand beasts are just the small fry." Yunli's voice was filled with gritted teeth. "We've been hunting down these Abominations of Abundance all over the world. Anyone who finds them can report it and get a reward. If you happen to see them outside, don't be a hero. Remember their location first, then tell me. Although it might not be us who wipes them out, I think General Tianji will be very happy."
Jingxing dismissed it as casual conversation and replied, "I probably won't meet him."
Half a month later, one evening, a gray-green planet appeared on the Chasing the Moon's navigation system. The star chart was marked: Priva II, no civilization, no mineral resources, no development value.
After three lines of "none," the exploration team from Interastral Peace Corporation didn't even bother to write any extra annotations.
Ke Jingxing peered out the porthole for a while and then perked up—the planet was covered with forests and plains, with large swaths of green peeking out from under the clouds, some deep and some light, like an unfinished oil painting. He immediately decided to make this another place to gather inspiration and chose to land.
The surface of Priva II is even more beautiful than it appears from space. Towering trees form domes, vines hang from the branches, and the mist in the forest is tinged with pale gold by the setting sun.
Jingxing hadn't walked far with his painting box on his back when he decided to stay there for a while. He had even already mentally sketched out the next painting he was going to do.
Before he could even adjust the location and set up the easel, he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye—
It was a section of tree trunk that had been cut off; the break was fresh, and sap was still seeping from the stub.
Jingxing squatted down to examine it. The edges of the break were not neat, as if it had been snapped off by something.
Is it a tool?
No, if you use tools to cut wood, the cut won't be so rough.
After walking a few more steps, Jingxing noticed a series of deep pits on the decaying leaves—footprints.
He straightened up, a chill running down his neck.
These traces, no matter how you look at them, seem to indicate that humanoid beings were living there.
But the company clearly marked this place as a desolate planet, so the humanoid creatures appearing here...
Jingxing acted decisively, following the method taught by Xuzhao, gathering his Path Energy layer by layer. He imagined himself being "painted" into this forest, letting the wind, insects, and shadows pass through him.
"As long as you don't do anything that goes against your Path, the Path Energy is almost omnipotent." Jingxing Xing looked down at himself, who was almost completely invisible, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
After doing all this, he followed the shadows of the trees and groped his way towards the direction the marks extended.
Not long after, Jingxing saw "them".
It was a camp far larger than he had imagined. Tents made of animal hides stretched from the forest all the way to the distant slopes. Campfires formed a winding river of fire, and the air was filled with the pungent, foul smell of rotting flesh and juices. It made Jingxing's face turn pale, and he couldn't help but frown. Fortunately, he immediately used his Path Energy to shield himself from these sensations, which prevented him from vomiting.
In the center of the camp stood several tall bone pillars, with faded battle flags hanging atop them, the patterns on the flags resembling a wolf.
Borisin.
Jingxing recognized the figures moving around the camp—wolf-like heads, hunched backs, and moving silently.
This is a hunting group of the Borisin, and it appears to be quite large.
Although he had only seen their silhouettes in picture books and news reports, at this moment those silhouettes seemed to come alive, moving right under his nose, their fangs gleaming yellow in the firelight.
The Borisin cubs rolled around the fire pit, making low gurgling sounds in their throats; sentries patrolled the edge of the camp in twos and threes, Jingxing slowed his breathing, not daring to blink even once.
He had previously thought he wouldn't run into Borisin and that Yunli's reminder was unnecessary, but now it seems...
"Let's retreat from here first, then contact Yunli and see how many Strale we can exchange for these Borisin," Jingxing decided.