The shadows swayed overhead, and the cloyingly sweet fragrance grew stronger, as if it could melt a person's bones.
A long leg clad in tight golden leather stepped out, followed by a face capable of making any man's blood race.
Hu Liena.
One of the Golden Generation of Spirit Hall, she was leaning against an old tree, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. Her gaze wandered over Qin Feng like a pair of hooked claws.
"That commotion just now gave big sister quite a scare."
She gave a coquettish little laugh, and two yellow Soul Rings and one purple Soul Ring silently appeared beneath her feet.
Second Soul Skill: Fox Charm.
A pink mist instantly spread, doubling the concentration of that cloying scent in the air.
"Uh..."
Yu Xiaogang, sitting on the ground, stared blankly. The empty lunchbox in his hand clattered to the ground, and a suspicious trickle of saliva ran from the corner of his mouth. He mumbled incoherently, "Bi... Bibi Dong..."
Even Grey Wolf, who was in the middle of tubing the Thunder Tyrannosaurus, froze.
His dead-fish eyes turned into hearts, and his tongue lolled out as he hugged the dinosaur's leg and rubbed against it. "Honey! Honghong! I caught a sheep! Don't hit me with the frying pan..."
Hu Liena's lips curled into a smile.
No one could resist her charm.
Not even that cold-looking little brat.
She swayed her hips and walked toward Qin Feng one step at a time, her voice soft and sweet. "Little brother, how about giving big sister that giant lizard? Big sister could..."
"Psssh—!!!"
A harsh burst of escaping air rudely interrupted her spell.
At some point, Qin Feng had produced a huge metal canister. He aimed it at Hu Liena's exquisite face and blasted her with it.
The white mist carried the pungent smell of menthol and powerful disinfectant, instantly overpowering the sweet scent.
"Cough, cough! Cough!"
The sudden chemical attack left Hu Liena choking and streaming with tears. The suggestive atmosphere vanished in an instant.
Covering her nose, she stumbled back several steps. Her alluring eyes now held nothing but shock and fury.
"You... What are you doing?! What the hell is this?!"
Qin Feng wore a gas mask, and his voice came out muffled, coldly professional.
"High-concentration deodorizer, mixed with five percent ammonia."
He shook the canister in his hand as if reviewing a lab report.
"What you call charm is simply the release of high concentrations of pheromones, which stimulate the olfactory bulbs of male organisms and affect the hypothalamus, causing abnormal dopamine and adrenaline secretion."
"Simply put, it's hormonal interference."
Qin Feng pointed at Hu Liena, who was still coughing.
"All it takes is a stronger, more pungent smell to cover your pheromones, then blocking the psychological cues triggered by visual stimuli. Your Soul Skill is nothing but a fart."
"A minty-fresh fart, at that."
"You—!"
Hu Liena's chest heaved with fury, straining against her thin leather outfit.
She was the saintess of Spirit Hall! A heaven's favorite!
When had anyone ever looked at her like she was trash? And now someone had sprayed disinfectant all over her face!
"You'll regret refusing my kindness!"
Hu Liena shrieked. The phantom of a Demon Fox behind her swelled abruptly, blades sprang from her fingertips, and she shot toward Qin Feng as a pink blur.
If charm wouldn't work, she'd break his legs!
Just then.
The bushes nearby suddenly rustled.
"You shameless old hag! Stay away from him!"
A pink figure shot out like a cannonball and landed in front of Qin Feng.
Xiao Wu.
She'd been hiding nearby and watching.
She hadn't wanted to come out. After all, Qin Feng was a pervert who'd been dissecting Soul Beasts just moments ago.
But when she saw Hu Liena's exaggerated figure, then looked down at her own flat chest, a strange surge of jealousy shot straight to her head.
Why did that woman have so much meat on her?
She had to be an Evil Soul Master!
"Who are you calling an old hag?!" Hu Liena was even angrier. She was only in her teens!
"You! You're dressed like that, with no shame at all!" Xiao Wu put her hands on her hips. Her legs were trembling, but she wasn't about to back down.
Qin Feng looked at Xiao Wu standing in front of him, his brows furrowing into a deep frown.
"In the way."
He reached out, grabbed Xiao Wu by her long rabbit ears, and lifted her up like a rabbit.
"Hey, hey, hey! That hurts! What are you doing?!" Xiao Wu flailed all four limbs.
"Get out of the way. Don't block me while I collect data."
Qin Feng casually tossed the hundred-thousand-year-old hooligan rabbit behind Grey Wolf.
"Brother Wolf, keep an eye on this rabbit. Don't let her cause trouble."
"Sure thing! Braised or steamed?" Grey Wolf wiped away his drool, finally coming around from his earlier hallucination.
Xiao Wu rolled around on the ground in a fit of rage. "Qin Feng! You bastard! I was helping you!"
Qin Feng ignored her completely.
Hu Liena's attack had already arrived.
Her claws sliced through the air, aimed straight at Qin Feng's throat.
"Die!"
Qin Feng stood where he was without even blinking.
"Clang!!!"
A metallic impact rang out, sharp enough to set one's teeth on edge.
Hu Liena felt as if she'd struck a steel plate. Her fingers went numb from the shock.
A greasy, pitch-black frying pan had suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking her killing blow.
Grey Wolf had somehow appeared beside them. He held the frying pan in one hand and a wrench in the other, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"Hey, you perfume-spraying woman."
"You think you can lay a hand on my boss?"
Grey Wolf rolled his dead-fish eyes and flicked his wrist.
"Don't you know how I made my fortune?"
"Whoosh—Bam!"
The frying pan drew a perfect arc through the air, moving so fast its afterimage was invisible.
Hu Liena didn't even have time to react before it felt like a Savage Bull had slammed into her left cheek.
She spun three and a half times in the air, then crashed heavily to the ground.
A bright red frying-pan mark now covered her once beautiful, alluring face, even the soot from the pan's bottom stamped onto her skin.
"Ah!!!"
Hu Liena clutched her face and screamed in utter despair.
She was disfigured!
"Brother Wolf, go easy. Don't break her bones. They're important data."
Qin Feng walked up behind him, holding something that looked like a flashlight.
"Bzzzt—"
A blue net shot out and instantly ensnared Hu Liena just as she tried to get up.
It was a High-Voltage Electromagnetic Capture Net. The more she struggled, the tighter it cinched, and it also released pulsed currents to paralyze her nerves.
Hu Liena's body convulsed. She collapsed to the ground, able only to glare at Qin Feng with eyes full of hatred and fear.
"What... What are you going to do...?"
"I'm with Spirit Hall... My teacher won't let you get away with this..."
Qin Feng crouched down, completely ignoring her threats.
He took a pair of calipers and a tape measure from his pocket.
His eyes burned with excitement, but there was no trace of desire in it—only a pure, chilling rationality.
"Hold still and cooperate."
Qin Feng placed the calipers against Hu Liena's shoulders.
"Shoulder width, 42 centimeters... Hmm, an excellent bone structure."
Then he took the tape measure and, as Hu Liena watched in terror, measured the circumference of her thigh.
"Extremely high thigh-muscle density, with strong explosive power. Exactly the kind of physical data needed for an Assault-Type Exoskeleton Armor."
"Waist-to-hip ratio, 0.7... Stable center of gravity, suitable for mounting heavy weapons."
As he measured, Qin Feng rapidly recorded everything in a small notebook, muttering to himself.
"Tsk, tsk. That pelvic structure is practically made for piloting."
Hu Liena was completely dumbfounded.
She'd thought this pervert was going to do something unspeakable to her.
But... he was taking measurements?
And talking about exoskeletons? Pilots?
This was more humiliating than being killed!
"Are... Are you even a man?!" Hu Liena was so mortified and furious that tears welled in her eyes.
"I'm a scientist."
Qin Feng put away the tape measure and pushed up his safety goggles, looking disgusted.
"Don't lump me in with those lowly creatures who think with their lower halves."
"To me, your body is just a pile of data—a pile of undeveloped biological material."
Xiao Wu watched, utterly dumbfounded.
She'd been fuming before, but now a chill suddenly ran down her spine.
This Qin Feng...
He wasn't interested in beautiful women. He was more interested in turning them into machines!
What a freak!
"Right. Data collection complete."
Qin Feng closed his notebook and stood up.
He glanced at Hu Liena, still lying on the ground and questioning her life, then waved to Grey Wolf.
"Brother Wolf, give her a shot of long-acting sedative and toss her aside."
"We might need this subject later. Don't kill her yet."
"Sure thing!" Grey Wolf pulled out a syringe thicker than his arm and grinned sinisterly.
Qin Feng turned away, not sparing Hu Liena another glance.
He raised his wrist and looked at the radar screen.
The green dot representing Tang San was blinking in a valley several kilometers away.
Beside it was also a red signal representing a Soul Beast.
"A four-hundred-year-old Ghost Vine?"
Qin Feng studied the signal and curled his lips in amusement.
"Looks like our 'protagonist' is in luck. He's already found a second choice."
"Too bad."
Qin Feng drew the modified revolver from his waist and spun it around his finger.
"Since I'm here, every blade of grass and every bug in the Soul Hunting Forest..."
"Will belong to the Qin family."
"Let's go, Brother Wolf. Bring Grandmaster along."
"Let's see our classmate Tang San's new Soul Ring."
"And while we're at it... teach him what 'ecological destruction' means."
Before you continue