Unexpected Gain

According to Zhen Jin's plan, the Exploration Team would rest and recuperate for another two days.

A great deal of effort had gone into building this campsite. Failing to make good use of it would be far too wasteful. The surrounding area had been cleared, the Flying Squirrel pack had been hunted down, and the only threat was gone, so it was very safe.

The Flying Squirrel corpses still needed further processing.

The Exploration Team members also needed to continue honing their archery.

Besides that, the previous hunt had consumed many arrows and a small number of Short Bows. All of those needed replenishing.

The tremendous success of the hunt had vastly improved the Exploration Team's situation.

Now, Zhen Jin had enough time to craft better ranged weapons.

But after considering everything, Zhen Jin rationally abandoned the idea.

The next day.

Cang Xu went to see Zhen Jin. "Sir Zhen Jin, I have good news. I made a new discovery."

"Oh?" Zhen Jin knew that Cang Xu had been studying the Black Iron Head Rat's corpse. "Did you find a magic crystal inside the head rat?"

Cang Xu smiled and shook his head. "This Black Iron Head Rat had no magic crystal either. The magic power within its body was also utterly muddled. Soon after death, it all dissipated into nothing."

Zhen Jin muttered inwardly, The Black Iron Head Rat doesn't have a magic crystal, but I seem to have one inside me.

Cang Xu did not beat around the bush and said frankly, "It is like this, my lord. I cut open the Black Iron Head Rat's stomach and discovered that it had just eaten its fill before dying. Thus, much of the food in its stomach had yet to be digested. There was meat, bones, bird feathers, tree fruits, grass leaves, and so on. Among them, I also found a kind of Ground Potato."

Zhen Jin's gaze flickered slightly. "It seems these Flying Squirrels are omnivorous. We can try digging for these Ground Potatoes."

Cang Xu nodded. "My lord, not only Ground Potatoes. I suspect that the Flying Squirrel nest may also contain a large store of food."

"Why do you think so?" Zhen Jin asked.

"From the previous dissections, as well as my recent study of these head rat corpses, I discovered that their digestive ability is extremely powerful. Their gastric fluid can even slightly corrode swords and blades. Generally speaking, when creatures with such strong digestion are hungry, their stomach acid secretion makes them suffer terribly. To resist that hunger, they swallow things that are temporarily difficult to digest, such as stones. But there was nothing of that sort in these Flying Squirrels' stomachs. This shows that they had abundant food."

"We have basically investigated the surrounding area. I believe these Flying Squirrels are not merely omnivorous—they also possess the food-hoarding habits of creatures like squirrels. Usually, they explore everywhere and gather food. When hunger becomes unbearable, they can eat at once, preventing the entire pack from being driven mad by hunger."

"Very good." Zhen Jin patted Cang Xu on the shoulder in praise. "I will leave this matter to Lan Zao."

"My lord, please allow me to accompany them. I am very interested in the specific structure of the Flying Squirrel nest." Cang Xu took the opportunity to make a small request.

"Certainly." Zhen Jin agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Although protecting the elderly Scholar would require more manpower, ever since Zhen Jin had met Cang Xu, he had repeatedly received the old Scholar's help. As long as circumstances allowed, Zhen Jin did not mind satisfying the old Scholar's thirst for knowledge.

When Cang Xu returned to camp, his face was brimming with satisfaction.

Their haul also gave Zhen Jin a pleasant surprise.

Just as Cang Xu had predicted, the Flying Squirrel nest truly contained stored food.

Moreover, the food reserves were enormous. As the Exploration Team members raided the nest, many of them sighed, "These Flying Squirrels live better than people do!"

Although most of the food was inedible for humans, the Ground Potatoes, tree fruits, and the like amounted to one-third as much as the Flying Squirrel meat. This was a major addition to the Exploration Team's provisions.

Zi Di also achieved new results.

Using the Flying Squirrels' gastric fluid, Zi Di produced several Corrosion Potions. Once iron swords or blades were tainted with this potion, they would be reduced beyond recognition within a few breaths. Given enough of it, the soil could be corroded into a huge hole in just a few breaths.

Paired with an atomizing potion, it could create a highly corrosive acid mist. An ordinary person caught within it would suffer lung necrosis after breathing it for only a moment.

Although the Flying Squirrel hunt had been a tremendous success, it had used up the last of Zi Di's Combustion Potions.

These Corrosion Potions became a replacement, adding another means of dealing with enemies to the Exploration Team.

Of course, neither the previous Combustion Potions nor the current Corrosion Potions were magical potions. They merely made use of, refined, and enhanced the materials' original properties.

Magical potions had much more pronounced effects. But on this island mountain, low-level magical potions were ineffective.

Zhen Jin, on the other hand, had made no progress at all.

He could only temporarily abandon his original line of thought and turn in another direction.

He began to ponder: just how had the mysterious crystal core in his heart come into being?

"Was it a potion?" This was the answer Zhen Jin considered most likely.

Otherwise, why had both transformations been connected to the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear?

Night fell, and Zhen Jin summoned Zi Di again, probing indirectly about what had happened at the time.

Zi Di's answer brought Zhen Jin no new gains.

Zhen Jin sank into thought. "If some accident occurred while Zi Di was treating me and formed this crystal core, then taking potions might also trigger it again and cause another transformation."

"Did something happen? Or do you think there may be some hidden danger, my lord?" Zi Di asked.

"It is nothing. I merely wanted to understand a little more." Zhen Jin smiled, reassuring Zi Di. "It is getting late. We set out tomorrow. Go back and get some proper rest."

Zi Di nodded, her eyes shining. "Sir Zhen Jin, with you here, I believe we will definitely be able to leave this island."

Zhen Jin nodded. "Not only must we leave this island, we must also gather people's support as much as possible and recruit some manpower to form an initial foundation. Otherwise, when we arrive at White Sand City, with only you and me, it will be difficult to compete with the other two for the position of City Lord. Do not blame yourself, Zi Di. In truth, you already did very well this time."

Zi Di froze slightly, then gave a bitter laugh. "My lord, your gaze truly is sharp. To be honest, I hate the environment here. It is far too unfriendly to mages. The only thing I can do to help you is make potions. But the current conditions are simply too crude. If I had some alchemical equipment, I believe I could have promptly prepared poison specifically for the Flying Squirrels."

Zhen Jin sighed. "That is simply the reality. We have ended up on this strange island, with dangers lurking on every side. We are struggling to survive; anything can happen. We only need to give it our all—and all we can do is give it our all. Good night."

"Good night." Zi Di left.

Zhen Jin still did not tell Zi Di the truth.

On one hand, Zhen Jin did not want Zi Di to bear any more worry. She was already consumed by self-blame. Though they had spent little time together, Zhen Jin had discovered a streak of pride within the Purple-Eyed Girl. For someone like her, all he needed to offer was comfort, not rebuke and lashing. Such people needed no external pressure; they could strive to improve entirely on their own.

On the other hand, Zhen Jin also knew Zi Di's skill with potions. Even if he revealed the truth, Zi Di had no ability to solve this problem.

Since he had concealed it from Zi Di once, Zhen Jin did not mind concealing it a second time.

To Zhen Jin, the mutation ability brought by the mysterious crystal core was a trump card, something that could help him deal with perilous situations and formidable enemies. Yet at the same time, it carried immense hidden dangers.

"Does this mutation actually cause any harm? How can a human heart possibly contain a crystal core? Could this foreign organ reject the rest of my body's tissues?"

"What kind of damage will rashly mutating inflict on me? Physical injury, or impurities in my bloodline?"

"I can't sense the crystal core, and the mutation is beyond my control. Is it because the crystal core has only just grown and has yet to fully fuse with my body?"

"If this mutation happens too many times, will I become a beast and lose all my humanity?"

It was not only his body and bloodline that worried him, but the entire Exploration Team as well.

Zhen Jin knew why he was able to lead this group of people. First, because he was strong enough. Second, because of his identity.

He was a noble, and more importantly, a Temple Knight.

The latter identity was far more inspiring than the former.

If Zhen Jin's mutation were discovered and he were deemed a monster, then the advantages brought by that identity would be greatly weakened.

Although the hunt for the rat pack had succeeded, Zhen Jin knew that this success had merely reined in the horse at the cliff's edge, pulling the Exploration Team back from the brink of destruction.

The road ahead would surely be strewn with hardships and obstacles.

Whether the Exploration Team could withstand all these tribulations and trials was still difficult to say.

Zhen Jin did not want the hearts of this small team to waver.

Thus, he chose to bury this secret in his heart, cutting off any possibility of its spread at the source.

The deep night in the forest was far from peaceful.

The howls of wild beasts often rang out. Their cries were strange and bizarre—some truly howled, some whimpered, and some sounded like dry coughing.

Zhen Jin knew he needed to rest well, since they would set out early the next morning.

Yet lying on his bedding, he found himself unable to fall asleep.

So he simply summarized the conclusions he had reached over the past few days.

"From the looks of it, there are three main possibilities for triggering the body's mutation. The first is the pressure of imminent death, which triggers the instinctive reaction of the crystal core in my heart. The second is the intense emotions I experience under enormous pressure. The third is potions, primarily those involving blood. The crystal core in my heart was most likely caused by a potion. Although I did not absorb any external potions during these two mutations, perhaps there are still remnants inside my body."

Zhen Jin let out a faint sigh.

Though he had thought of many things, the current circumstances made him afraid to rashly test any of those possibilities.

On one hand, he had no guarantee of safety.

On the other hand, he bore responsibilities and could not lightly risk danger. He had to lead the entire Exploration Team, protect his Fiancee, and revitalize the Hundred Needles Family.

He had many things he needed to do.

"Also, after a mutation occurs, the crystal core in my heart consumes a great deal of magic power. Afterwards, it leaves me with an intensely powerful sense of emptiness and exhaustion."

With his mind full of thoughts, Zhen Jin drifted into sleep in a haze.

Even after falling asleep, the youth's brows remained faintly furrowed, as though he were still agonizing over his thoughts in his dreams.

No one knew how long passed before, with a sudden BOOM, the entire tent collapsed.

Zhen Jin awoke at once.

Though he had fallen asleep within the camp, he had remained vigilant, so he reacted swiftly.

"How could the tent suddenly collapse? What happened?!" Zhen Jin seized the Spider Blade beside him and swung it fiercely.

The sharp blade effortlessly sliced through the collapsed tent, allowing Zhen Jin to see everything outside.

The next instant, his body and mind jolted, and terror appeared on his face.