After thinking it over, Lin Li gave up on the idea of selling the spirit artifact dagger. Since he happened to be lacking a spirit artifact dagger himself, he decided to keep it for his own use.
He infused the spirit artifact dagger with some Spiritual Energy, and a pale golden Spiritual Light immediately surfaced along the blade.
"Shk."
Lin Li raised his hand and brought the knife down. The spirit artifact dagger, wreathed in pale golden Spiritual Light, easily sliced off a large chunk of flesh from the Gray Wolf Exotic Beast.
After taking a large piece of Exotic Beast Meat, Lin Li reached out and pressed his hand against the Gray Wolf Exotic Beast's corpse, storing it in the Mysterious Small Island.
"Splash..."
After washing the blood-covered Gray Wolf Exotic Beast meat with water, Lin Li broke off a branch from a tree. He skewered the meat on it, then stuck the branch beside the campfire to roast.
Lifting the unfinished instant noodles, Lin Li sat on a little stool and ate. Every now and then, he raised his head to glance at the Exotic Beast meat roasting by the fire.
Under the flames' roasting heat, the Exotic Beast meat skewered on the branch soon began to sizzle with grease.
"Crackle, crackle..."
As the dripping grease fell into the campfire, the flames leaped upward from time to time.
"Gulp, gulp..."
"Ah..." After finishing the instant noodles, Lin Li drank all the broth, then let out a soft breath.
The Exotic Beast meat would still need a while to finish roasting. There was a small stream not far ahead, so Lin Li stood up, gathered the bowls and chopsticks, and went to the stream to wash them.
"Splash..."
Small fish could occasionally be seen swimming through the crystal-clear stream. Bright sunlight shone down on its surface, making it glitter with golden light.
Squatting by the stream and washing the bowls and chopsticks, Lin Li put the pot, bowls, and utensils into the Mysterious Small Island once he was done.
"The weather's really hot!" After squatting by the stream and washing dishes for a while, Lin Li felt a slight sheen of sweat on his body. Looking up at the sun, he muttered, then scooped up some stream water and splashed it onto his face.
After washing his face with the cool stream water, he felt refreshed from head to toe.
Lin Li then stood up and returned to the campfire. He reached out and pulled up the branch stuck in the ground, then brought the roasted meat close and gave it a sniff.
"Smells great. A little longer, and this Gray Wolf Exotic Beast meat should be done."
Lin Li took two small bottles of seasoning from the plastic bag beside him.
He sprinkled some salt over the roasted Gray Wolf Exotic Beast meat, then added some chili powder.
"Roasting meat in this desolate wilderness, where not a soul lives and danger lurks everywhere, really has its own special flavor!"
Sitting on the little stool and holding the roasted meat over the campfire as he turned it, Lin Li looked out at the boundless wilderness in the distance and sighed involuntarily.
A few more minutes passed, and the Exotic Beast meat in Lin Li's hand was completely cooked.
"Phew..."
Lin Li blew on the steaming roasted Exotic Beast meat, then took a small bite.
"I must've added too much salt. I'll use less next time. The chili powder is just right, though. If I added any more, it'd be too spicy."
Lin Li ate the roasted Exotic Beast meat bite after bite. Halfway through, he felt a little regretful that he had not brought any Happy Soda for Otaku on this trip.
"I've been getting up early and staying out late to hunt Exotic Beasts these past few days. The food I bought last time is almost gone too. I'll make another trip to the supermarket after I get home.
"This time, I'll buy more food that can be stored for a long time and keep it in the Mysterious Small Island... Hmm, I absolutely can't forget the Happy Soda for Otaku this time. I'll buy several cases and keep them around to drink slowly."
Just as Lin Li was eating the fragrant roasted Exotic Beast meat and thinking about making a big shopping trip to the supermarket after returning home, the dense grass where the Gray Wolf Exotic Beast had appeared earlier began rustling again.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."
Sitting on the little stool and eating roasted Exotic Beast meat, Lin Li heard the commotion and immediately stood up. He looked suspiciously at the grass in the distance where the sound was coming from, a hint of pleasant surprise rising in his heart.
"No way. Is my luck really this good today? In the space of a moment, another Exotic Beast has come right to my door."
Before long, three figures emerged from the grass.
When he saw the three figures, a trace of disappointment flashed through Lin Li's eyes, and he sat back down.
He ate the Exotic Beast meat in his hand while watching the three Exotic Beast Hunters in the distance, who were staring at him.
The three of them wore camouflage uniforms and carried backpacks. Each held a different Spiritual Energy weapon: a longsword, a long saber, and a long spear.
The three Exotic Beast Hunters had originally worn wary expressions. But when they saw Lin Li sitting in the shade and eating roasted meat, the wariness on their faces instantly turned into astonishment.
When people cooked and lived in the wilderness, Exotic Beasts would often spot the column of smoke rising from a campfire. There was a high chance they would then head toward the smoke and launch a sneak attack on whoever had built the fire.
Therefore, nowadays, when most Exotic Beast Hunters entered the wilderness to hunt, they ate the convenient food they carried with them whenever they got hungry.
For example, self-heating boxed meals, self-heating hot pot, energy bars, canned food, and so on.
Although convenient food did not taste very good and could become tiresome if eaten often, it required no fire, saved time, and was easy to carry. All of that was extremely important to Exotic Beast Hunters.
Of course, if you had confidence in your strength, were not afraid of being ambushed by Exotic Beasts, and did not mind the trouble of cooking, you could always light a fire and make a meal.
"Hello there, friend! Having lunch?" The Crew-cut Man leading the group was in his early forties. He stopped five or six meters away from Lin Li and greeted him as he ate the roasted Exotic Beast meat.
The three Exotic Beast Hunters consisted of two men and one woman. The Crew-cut Man leading them was in his early forties, while the other two were in their early thirties. The man was bald, and the woman had a short bob cut.
Seeing that they had come over to greet him, Lin Li swallowed the Exotic Beast meat in his mouth and replied to the Crew-cut Man, "Yeah. Have you eaten lunch?"
"We have."
"Oh!"
The Crew-cut Man looked around, then asked Lin Li again, "Friend, where are your teammates? How come you're the only one left here?"
"Teammates?" Lin Li shook his head. "I don't have any teammates. There's only me here."
"You're alone?!!!" The three Exotic Beast Hunters were utterly shocked when they heard Lin Li.
The Crew-cut Man had been an Exotic Beast Hunter for several years. As an experienced Exotic Beast Hunter at the Second-Order Early Stage, after his initial surprise, he looked at the young man in his early twenties before him and immediately knitted his brows.
Hah, another inexperienced yet recklessly audacious rookie. What are these young people thinking? Are they really not afraid of dying? The Crew-cut Man made his judgment of Lin Li inwardly.
Then he spoke up. "Little brother, you haven't been an Exotic Beast Hunter for long, have you?"
Lin Li, who was eating roasted Exotic Beast meat, nodded. Then he said to the Crew-cut Man, "I've been an Exotic Beast Hunter for less than ten days."
Before you continue