Mutated Beasts

Ruo Ruo was the woman who had obtained that meteorite back then.

A Level Nine Warrior, she had happened to reach the threshold of breaking through to War General after obtaining that Dark Energy Stone. Her strength had originally been insufficient, but by a twist of fate, she absorbed the energy within the Dark Energy Stone and successfully broke through, becoming an exceptionally rare female War General.

Lin Zhen stood there with his spear for a moment before quickly making up his mind.

No matter what, he had to get his hands on that meteorite. Lin Zhen had lofty goals in this life. Not only did he need to cultivate quickly, but he also had to become the strongest at every stage.

He knew of many people's opportunities. Though he could not possibly take everything from everyone, now that an opportunity had appeared before him, how could he let it slip away?

As for Ruo Ruo herself, Lin Zhen did not care about her in the slightest.

As he planned in his heart, his feet never stopped moving. Carrying the Black Dragon Spear, he entered the Town, where waves of wild beast roars came from within.

The moment he reached the edge of Town, Lin Zhen spotted a Mutated Beast.

It lay there, as large as a millstone, its skin dark green and covered in pus-filled bumps. Its long tongue was curled around a human arm, swallowing it into its mouth. Upon seeing Lin Zhen, it immediately gulped down the arm, faced him, and flashed a fierce light from its tiny eyes.

"A Mutated Toad, an F-Rank Mutated Beast. It can attack with its tongue, and its body contains toxins. There are no obvious weak points on its surface; its weakness is its belly."

Lin Zhen had not seen Earth's Mutated Beasts for a very, very long time. Yet when he saw this toad, he could still recall their traits.

"Croak!"

The Mutated Toad cried out and lunged fiercely at Lin Zhen.

Its four limbs spread apart and its enormous mouth opened. Before its body even arrived, a two-meter-long tongue lashed out and coiled toward Lin Zhen.

Although the toad was only F-Rank, it was quite troublesome even among F-Rank beasts. Protected by its long tongue, Martial Artists found it difficult to strike its belly in a single blow.

Its ugly, vicious appearance and toxin-filled body had caused many novice students to fall prey to this kind of Mutated Beast.

But a Mutated Beast of this level was far too easy for Lin Zhen.

Because he possessed Mental Power.

With a thought, a Flying Knife at his waist shot into the air. A flash of cold light streaked past like lightning, and the toad's red tongue was severed!

"Croak!"

The toad shrieked in pain. Before it could land, Lin Zhen had already reached where it would fall, and the tip of his Black Dragon Spear slashed fiercely across its soft belly.

"Pfft!"

It was split open from end to end, its innards spilling out with a clatter. Lin Zhen had already dodged aside and was not stained in the slightest.

"An F-Rank Mutated Beast has not yet formed a crystal inside its body. It is not worth much."

He put away the toad's tongue. Toads had no ears, so their tongues were the spoils.

After dealing with the toad, Lin Zhen continued onward.

After walking about another hundred meters, he heard a series of clucking sounds ahead.

Turning the corner of a small street, he found a group of Mutated Beasts before him.

The one at the front stood nearly as tall as a person. Its legs were thick and powerful, a fiery red cockscomb crowned its head, and its sharp beak looked as though it had been forged from steel. The moment it saw Lin Zhen, it stopped.

Behind it followed around ten slightly shorter Mutated Beasts. They were not as robust as it was, but they were still quite large.

"Mutated roosters and hens, pack-type Mutated Beasts. Their beaks and claws are extremely hard and powerful. They can fly short distances and charge quickly. Their weak points are their necks and heads, while their vitality is relatively strong."

These chickens had once been food on the dinner table. But after God Transformation Day, all animals had mutated, and they were no exception. On the day of God Transformation Day, anyone who kept chickens at home had suffered disaster.

Upon seeing Lin Zhen, the rooster crowed, its call loud and clear. The hens around it seemed to have received an order and charged in from all directions.

The Black Dragon Spear withdrew and thrust forward. With a series of sharp cracks, points of cold light appeared in the air, instantly knocking five or six hens to the ground. A bloody hole appeared atop every chicken's head.

"The second layer of the Nine Heavy Spears River, Rainstorm. When unleashed, it is like rain striking banana leaves; its essence lies in speed. I have not yet mastered Rainstorm, but dealing with these F-Rank Mutated Beasts is still no problem."

His body shot forward, and the Black Dragon Spear thrust out several times in succession, knocking down the remaining hens.

The rooster flapped its wings and charged at Lin Zhen, swooping through the air like a bird as it viciously pecked at him.

Lin Zhen dodged with his exceptional Neural Reaction. Before the rooster could land, his Flying Knife had already arrived, piercing through its head.

The rooster hit the ground and continued to flap desperately. Lin Zhen walked over and added two more spear thrusts, finishing it off completely.

He extracted the rooster's heartblood, mixed it into medicine, and drank it. Then he collected the cockscombs from every chicken.

"These F-Rank Mutated Beasts really pose no threat to me at the moment. If I happen to pass by and see them, I can kill them along the way. There is no need to seek them out deliberately. After all, each F-Rank one is worth only one point. Killing higher-level Mutated Beasts is much faster."

Not long after killing the chickens, Lin Zhen heard the sounds of battle ahead.

He quickened his pace and saw a Level Nine Warrior fighting a group of Mutated Pigs.

Mutated Pigs were no longer the round, docile creatures they once were. Each one was nearly as tall as a person, their bristles standing on end, long tusks protruding from their mouths, and fierce light flashing in their eyes. They had become true wild beasts.

Mutated Pigs were E-Rank monsters. Their hides were thick and their flesh tough, with no obvious weak points. They could only be killed with overwhelming force. Yet this Warrior's weapon was merely a Short Sword. He clearly followed an agility-focused path, and his attacks did limited damage to the Mutated Pigs. He was barely holding on.

Lin Zhen did not go over to help immediately. There were eight Mutated Pigs in this group, and they were not easy to deal with. He was not some indiscriminate good guy who helped whenever he saw trouble.

When the Warrior saw Lin Zhen, his eyes first lit up, then quickly dimmed. "Damn! I thought a savior had arrived, but it turns out to be trash. You finally got the guts to enter Town? You see these Mutated Pigs and still do not hurry up and run?"

Lin Zhen climbed atop a broken wall nearby. The Mutated Pigs could not get up there. He sat down, laughed, and said, "Instead of wasting time mocking others, you should think about how to save your own life. Why should I run? Once you are eaten by these Mutated Pigs, that Short Sword of yours will belong to me. It looks pretty good. It should sell for a few hundred thousand."

The Level Nine Warrior had not expected Lin Zhen to be so shameless. He had wanted to provoke Lin Zhen into coming over to help, but he had not expected the other man to remain completely unmoved and simply wait there to watch him die.

With all his strength, he finally killed one smaller pig with a slash. But a larger pig grazed him. Being struck by such a massive creature was no different from being hit by a car, and the Warrior's movements became somewhat impaired.

At last, he could not help saying, "Lin Zhen, what will it take for you to help? As long as you draw away three pigs, I can kill these things one by one. Name your price."

"I do not care. These pack-type E-Rank Mutated Beasts are even more terrifying than ordinary D-Rank ones. You were foolish enough to provoke them, so you deserve to die."

"Damn it! Do you think I would deliberately provoke pack-type E-Rank beasts? There is a Meteorite Crater in that house, and I wanted to go take a look. Who knew there would be a whole group of these things inside?" The Warrior pointed casually.

"A Meteorite Crater?" Lin Zhen froze for a moment and looked in the direction the Warrior pointed. Sure enough, he saw a hole in the roof of a house, though it was partially covered by a broken wall. If Lin Zhen had not been sitting in just the right position, he truly would not have spotted this Meteorite Crater.

Lin Zhen's heart immediately surged with excitement. He had not expected to find a Meteorite Crater so quickly.

What kind of meteorite was in that crater? Voidstone? Dark Energy Stone? Or something else?