Puppet waited off to one side as he watched the old man work.
The Mercenary Group remained vigilant, but apart from those keeping watch, the others slowly gathered around.
Only when they approached the fallen giant wolf did they truly feel the oppressive presence radiating from its enormous body. Their hearts tightened, and none of them dared venture any closer.
Another member exclaimed, "Boss, did you kill this huge wolf?"
Puppet said nothing.
The bald woman gave the man a look that said, "Are you out of your mind?" She said, "This is this little wolf's territory. If we kill it, a whole swarm of Convergence Zone creatures will come here. The boss is a lot smarter than you."
"Of course! That's why he's the boss!"
Xuan Ge walked over too, giving the speaker a slap on the head.
"Are you an idiot? That wolf belongs to a Fighter. Leave it alive, and he might ignore you. Kill it, and he might come after us. Will you hold him off then? You'd just be making trouble for the boss! Every damn day, all you do is cause problems. Use your brain!"
The old man ignored them, harvesting one plant after another. His movements did not look fast, but they had a steady rhythm, and he finished each plant in no time.
After watching for a while, the others found themselves almost entranced. Someone remarked, "This old man knows his stuff."
"Hey, what's that stuff actually good for? It doesn't look special."
"Apparently it's useful to Fighters. No idea what it actually does. We don't need to worry about all that anyway. All we need to know is that it sells for a fortune."
"True enough."
After twenty minutes or so, the old man had harvested everything he could. He briskly