Strange Flying Squirrel

Food was extremely important!

Food shortages would plunge the entire exploration team into a desperate situation. Even just the pressure of a shortage alone could trigger panic and turmoil throughout the team.

After discussing it with Cang Xu, Zhen Jin went alone to Zi Di's tent.

The specifications of this tent were second only to Zhen Jin's.

There were no guards outside the tent.

Zhen Jin had originally wanted to arrange some personnel for Zi Di, but Zi Di had explicitly stated that it was not necessary.

She had her own defensive methods.

Zi Di had already rested. Configuring potions for all the members of the entire team had too huge a workload, and the procedures were also extremely troublesome, exhausting her.

Zhen Jin paced outside the tent. Although the problem was serious, Zhen Jin did not want to disturb Zi Di lightly.

Let her rest well.

Just as Zhen Jin was thinking this, Zi Di, who was sleeping soundly inside the dim tent, gently twitched her nose and then slowly opened her eyes.

"Is that you, My Lord?" Zi Di's voice came from inside the tent.

Zhen Jin had just turned around and wanted to leave, but upon hearing this voice, he immediately turned back. "It's me. There are some matters I need to discuss with you."

The sound of rustling quickly came from inside the tent, and soon Zhen Jin saw that Zi Di was already neatly dressed. She lifted the tent flap and greeted him personally.

"My Lord, please come in." Zi Di welcomed Zhen Jin into the tent.

Zhen Jin directly stated the purpose of his visit.

Zi Di, however, shook her head. "I am very sorry, but this time I am going to disappoint you, My Lord."

"Although My Lord's method is feasible, I need a crucial material to brew the corresponding potions."

"And I have almost used up this material, with only a tiny bit left as a reserve to guard against accidents."

"What kind of material is this? Can it be found here?" Zhen Jin was not willing to give up.

Zi Di shook her head, her expression troubled. "Perhaps this material grows somewhere on this island. But I do not have any relevant clues."

"Besides, even if we had such materials and brewed enough potions to use on the flock of sheep, the gains would not outweigh the losses. Because if we do that, we will expose the secret of the grass."

With the help of the potion, the flock cleared the chaotic magic within their bodies, and others would understand the truth that the flock was also a victim.

The true source of the magic—the grass—would thus be exposed.

The grass here was a magical plant, and once plucked, it was far easier to carry and transport than mutton.

Zhen Jin said, "I have already told Cang Xu this secret."

Zi Di was slightly startled, then immediately understood. "My Lord, you did the right thing. Cang Xu is indeed a rare talent."

"Perhaps he had already discovered this secret long ago, but he did not reveal it, which proves that he possesses quite a bit of wisdom."

"Or perhaps, he had not discovered this secret, but since My Lord was so frank about such a major secret, he naturally comprehended My Lord's sincerity in wanting to treat him as one of our own."

"Congratulations, My Lord, on recruiting such an excellent advisor."

Zhen Jin shook his head instead, telling Zi Di about the subsequent events.

Zi Di was quite surprised. "There could actually be such a Battle Qi Formula?"

She immediately frowned, her tone somewhat worried. "My Lord, such a Battle Qi Formula was contributed so easily; its value is probably not very high."

"Mr. Cang Xu himself is a scholar, not a beast tamer, and most crucially, he does not possess extraordinary power."

"If this Battle Qi Formula were of high value, he could completely exchange it with other nobles to gain greater benefits."

Regarding this, Zhen Jin maintained a different view. "Cang Xu does not seem like a person who does not know the gravity of matters; he is very measured in what he does. He understands the value of this grass, so the Battle Qi Formula he brought out is at least of equivalent value."

"This is his bargaining chip to retain his freedom and reject my recruitment. It is precisely because of this, however, that he has made me regard him even more highly."

Speaking up to this point, Zhen Jin smiled slightly.

Regarding the problem of food shortages, Zhen Jin asked Zi Di again.

Zi Di did not have any good solutions here either, only saying, "This island is very large and full of perils, but it also harbors rich resources. We can only take it step by step as we go. Perhaps we can find a food source superior to the flock of sheep. Furthermore, before finding My Lord, we set up several camps along the way, and supplies were kept in those camps. If we can find the way we came and obtain these supplies, we can also ease the difficult problem of the food shortage."

Zhen Jin nodded and, with slight disappointment, prepared to leave.

Just as he lifted the tent flap, a flash of hesitation crossed Zhen Jin's face, but in the end, he still turned around and asked, "Zi Di, do you still keep the blood of that monkey-tailed brown bear from earlier?"

Although he asked this, Zhen Jin did not hold out much hope.

The monkey-tailed brown bear's blood contained magic and was a magical material. However, the magic within the blood would rapidly dissipate over time. Preserving it was not easy, and the cost of preservation was very high.

Yet Zi Di's response gave Zhen Jin a pleasant surprise.

She actually still had some of the brown bear's blood.

"Give it to me," Zhen Jin said.

Zi Di did not ask anything; she directly opened the small leather pouch at her waist and handed several glass vials to Zhen Jin.

Zhen Jin grasped the reagent bottles containing the brown bear's blood and left Zi Di's tent.

The strongest person in the entire exploration team was himself.

Now with the food shortage, almost everyone else would experience a drastic drop in strength due to taking the potion.

Zhen Jin had never been able to mobilize Battle Qi, and under these circumstances, the ability of his hands to mutate into sharp claws became Zhen Jin's strongest means.

According to my previous conjecture, if I drink this brown bear blood, I can replenish the corresponding magic within my body. It is very likely to recreate the initial mutation! Clutching the glass bottle in his hand, Zhen Jin thought secretly.

His gaze was resolute, and he said to himself again, Of course, barring absolute necessity, I will not drink this blood.

Chaotic foreign magic would erode his flesh and diminish his potential.

But just as the Hundred Needles Clan Leader had said in his memories, sometimes one could not fear risks, nor could one dread sacrifice!

Early morning.

White mist lingered among the towering trees.

Blue-green moss and various brightly colored mushrooms dotted the forest floor.

An orange-yellow little deer was foraging for food among the woods.

It had set its sights on a patch of low bushes and was just about to approach when a rapid succession of sounds suddenly came from the other side of the bushes.

"Squeak squeak squeak..."

Startled, the deer whipped around like lightning and departed swiftly.

After a few breaths, the squeaking cries grew closer, mixed simultaneously with the shouting and urging of people.

"Chase!"

"Don't let these flying squirrels run away."

"Use the crossbows, quickly use the crossbows."

The sounds grew louder and louder, and subsequently, three flying squirrels squeaked wildly, leaping directly over the bushes and fleeing in a mad dash.

The pursuers behind them were blocked by the bushes, forcing their speed to drop as they watched the flying squirrels vanish into the forest.

"What a pity!"

"Sigh, we still didn't catch them."

The leaders among the pursuers were the two brothers Lan Zao and Huang Zao.

Huang Zao wore a look of reluctance and still wanted to give chase, but Lan Zao stopped him. "Have you forgotten Sir Zhen Jin's orders? Do not separate from the main force; we are already very far from Sir Zhen Jin now."

"I just wanted to get more food. This flying squirrel is quite large, its meat is safe, and it's also very plump," Huang Zao sighed.

The exploration team did not have much food left, and this formless, immense pressure already weighed upon everyone's heart.

Yet thinking of Zhen Jin's orders, Huang Zao could only grit his teeth and give up.

When several pursuers returned to the team, they saw that Bai Ya and the others had already begun processing the flying squirrel carcasses on the spot, skinning, cutting, cleaning, and then smoking them.

More than ten days had already passed. Zi Di had formulated enough potions, resolving the magic erosion within the exploration team members' bodies. After resting in place for a few days afterward, Zhen Jin led everyone to set off.

This team had experienced the crisis of toxin flare-ups, and the physical fitness and combat capability of almost everyone had slipped a notch, but having shared hardships together, they were even closer and more tacitly aligned.

During the subsequent journey, they successively encountered a few more crises, all of which were repelled by the united efforts of the masses under Zhen Jin's heroic standing forth to beat back the invading magical beasts.

"I am very sorry, Sir Zhen Jin, we only killed two flying squirrels," Huang Zao walked up to Zhen Jin and reported with shame.

Zhen Jin nodded and gave instructions, "Hand all of these over to Bai Ya and the others to process."

Not everyone was proficient in handling beast carcasses.

Yet Bai Ya was the son of a hunter and had received such training since childhood, making him extremely adept at it.

The mutton poisoning incident allowed this young man to stand out. He acquired the nickname of a lucky kid, and almost the entire exploration team had been cared for by him. Because of his quick hands, feet, and enthusiastic, simple nature, he reaped wonderful popularity.

Huang Zao carried two flying squirrels and walked to Bai Ya's side.

Bai Ya was processing a flying squirrel. The flying squirrel under his knife had already been skinned and its internal organs cleared. Bai Ya was using a knife, attempting to sever the flying squirrel's neck.

He hacked several times, but the bone of the neck still did not completely snap.

"Hey, Lucky Kid, use this." Huang Zao smiled, handing a knife to Bai Ya.

At a single glance, this knife was clearly crudely made. The hilt was merely slightly polished wood, and the blade was inserted into the hilt, fastened and wrapped with hemp rope and other materials as much as possible. Yet the blade was ferocious, flashing with a sharp, chilling gleam. It was neither quite steel nor quite iron; it was precisely one of the limbs of the Blade Spider.

This weapon naturally belonged to Zhen Jin, but after experiencing the poisoning incident, the combat power of the entire exploration team had declined. In order to boost combat power as much as possible, Zhen Jin selectively lent some blade weapons to his subordinates for use.

Bai Ya took the knife, touching one for the very first time.

His initial sensation was that it was lightweight, not nearly as heavy as he had imagined.

Bai Ya took aim at the flying squirrel's neck and struck with a single slash. Instantly, a flash of cold light swept across his vision, and the previously stubborn flying squirrel bone directly snapped into two sections.

Bai Ya immediately revealed a look of shock. Previously, when he hacked bones, it was as if he were hacking iron blocks. After hacking several times, his hands went numb without success. Now, using this knife, it felt like cutting into a piece of bread—truly effortless.

"Truly formidable!" Bai Ya gazed at this knife, letting out a heartfelt exclamation.

"That goes without saying; this is a Silver-level magical beast after all," Huang Zao laughed.

Bai Ya shook his head instead. "No, I'm referring to Sir Zhen Jin. That Silver-level Blade Spider must have been extremely terrifying. Yet My Lord defeated it; he is truly worthy of being a Temple Knight!"

As Bai Ya spoke, his heart was filled with adoration and reverence, all of which spilled over onto his face.

Huang Zao chuckled and agreed, "Indeed, being able to meet Sir Zhen Jin is truly our good fortune. To say nothing else, just recently when we encountered the flying squirrel pack, Sir Zhen Jin threw his daggers and hit every single target! Most of the flying squirrels were killed by My Lord!"

"Wait, with this knife, I can process the Flying Squirrel Leader's carcass." Thinking of something, Bai Ya's face brimmed with excitement as he ran off to another spot.

The Flying Squirrel Leader's carcass emitted the life aura of a Bronze-level, though this aura was rapidly weakening and, in less than half a day, would completely dissipate.

A dagger was stabbed into the eye socket of the Flying Squirrel Leader. This was the fatal wound, and it was precisely the handiwork of Zhen Jin.

Bai Ya gripped the Blade Spider Edge tightly, slowly aligning it to the proper position before cutting forcefully, quickly peeling away the flying squirrel's fur.

The Flying Squirrel Leader's hide was extremely tough, and ordinary iron swords could not cut through it.

Yet under the Blade Spider Edge, everything was easily resolved.

"Eh?" Bai Ya was in the middle of cutting open the Flying Squirrel Leader's abdominal cavity when his movements suddenly paused in his hands.

"What is it?" Huang Zao asked in doubt.

Bai Ya said with some uncertainty, "The meat of this Flying Squirrel Leader seems a bit different from the other flying squirrels."

Huang Zao took a look. "There's no difference at all."

"No." Bai Ya wore a solemn expression. He first handed the knife back to Huang Zao, then squatted on the ground to press down, and felt around closely near the flying squirrel's internal organs and bones.

Afterward, Bai Ya's tone became much more certain than before. "There are indeed many subtle differences. I'd better bring this to show Lord Cang Xu first."

"Mm. That's a good idea." Huang Zao expressed his approval.