Huohuo's reaction could not have been faster.
Compared to other plant-type spirit pets, which were always half a beat slower to react, the Entangling Vines released by the trap it had left behind could even keep up with a buffalo running at full speed.
However, a beast of such immense bulk, even without extraordinary power, was not something an ordinary first-rank spirit beast could bind with vines while it was charging at full speed.
Huohuo's vines had only just wrapped around the buffalo's head before they snapped apart.
Little Grass refused to admit defeat.
Yet before the absolute disparity in bulk, even with its vines bolstered by the Hauling skill, it still could not stop a buffalo charging at full speed.
"Huohuo! Trip it!" Zhou Lu saw that Huohuo was unwilling to give up and hurriedly called out.
The next second, vines shot up from the ground and bound one of the buffalo's legs. Having instantly lost its balance, the buffalo slammed hard into the ground and even slid forward for some distance.
It tried to get back up, but Huohuo's trip had directly broken its leg.
Naturally, Xu Wuhu would not let such a perfect opportunity slip by. He stepped forward with practiced ease and harvested the buffalo's life.
"If we hand it over to a merchant in the safe zone later, we should be able to trade it for one or two thousand bucks." Xu Wuhu laughed at Zhou Lu.
A few thousand bucks did not really amount to much for Xu Wuhu. The main thing was that the joy of such a harvest was simply intoxicating.
Zhou Lu could not help sighing. Just like that, one or two thousand bucks were in hand. No wonder everyone was squeezing their brains dry to become Beast Tamers.
But this was not what concerned him most right now.
Lowering his head to glance at Huohuo, Zhou Lu had clearly sensed a faint change in it at the instant it tripped the buffalo.
He had felt this sensation before, when Huohuo had snatched the Hauling skill from the Flying Jade Bee.
The buffalo was not a spirit beast and therefore had no skills, so this sensation was highly likely to be an increase in an attribute.
Strength, defense, speed, luck... in theory, every attribute of any living creature had a specific numerical value.
But apart from being felt through outward changes, such shifts generally only gave you concrete values during Growth Projection.
Zhou Lu could clearly sense that Huohuo's branches and leaves had grown a little thicker and sturdier.
This sensation had not appeared when Huohuo tripped the second buffalo.
That was normal. The ability to draw out power had never been guaranteed to succeed one hundred percent of the time.
He just did not know whether this probability benefited from luck bonuses.
With that thought, Zhou Lu's gaze fell upon the system interface.
When Huohuo smashed Li Yi with Sticky Baby, the system had given Zhou Lu rewards for two failed missions.
The failed reward for the mission to kill Li Yi had given Zhou Lu a permanent random C-rank Skill Card.
The failed reward for training interference had given Zhou Lu a one-use Beast Tamer Skill Card.
Yet this Beast Tamer Skill was not Feedback, but Body Feed.
Body Feed: Beast Tamer Skill. Limited to once per day. You reduce all your own attributes by 30%, granting a 100% bonus to a specific attribute of a designated spirit pet for a period of time. (The duration varies according to the designated attribute. Once the bonus ends, both parties' attributes return to their original state.)
Zhou Lu did not quite understand why, when the mission reward was distributed at only 10%, the skill had changed from Feedback to Body Feed.
But if Huohuo's Draw Out skill really benefited from luck bonuses, then using Body Feed to double Huohuo's luck seemed like an excellent choice.
However, to find that out, he needed a comparison.
Although hunting buffalo could draw out more attributes, hunting a buffalo was not something Huohuo could accomplish alone. On top of that, drawing out power did not trigger one hundred percent of the time, making it far too inefficient.
So Zhou Lu set his sights on the chipmunks scattered all across this grassland.
Chipmunks were standard first-rank spirit beasts, but their actual attributes definitely could not compare to a buffalo's. Most spirit beasts surpassed ordinary beasts because they possessed skills, not because of differences in attributes—especially when the disparity in size was so enormous.
For Huohuo, chipmunks were undoubtedly much easier prey than buffalo, as Huohuo's earlier performance had already made clear.
During the group's break, Zhou Lu began using chipmunks to test the probability of Huohuo drawing out power.
He could basically confirm that he only sensed something when it drew out a permanent skill or permanent attribute.
"You seem very interested in chipmunks?" Li Yi held Sticky Baby as he watched Huohuo repeatedly roll chipmunks out of the grass, then spoke.
"Mm." Zhou Lu nodded without explaining much.
Li Yi thought for a moment before asking, "Are you confident you can catch chipmunks without hurting them too badly?"
Zhou Lu glanced at Huohuo.
Huohuo could now catch the little mice quite skillfully without harming their lives. Upholding the principle of sustainable draining-the-pond-to-catch-the-fish, Zhou Lu released all the chipmunks it caught. "I think it shouldn't be a problem."
Li Yi suddenly smiled. "Then don't waste that labor. I've got a pretty good business opportunity here. Maybe we can even earn back the ticket money from this trip."
The moment Zhou Lu heard that, his interest was immediately piqued.
Li Yi then told Zhou Lu what he knew.
One of his father's business partners intended to purchase a batch of chipmunks for experiments with a new medicine.
The cost of artificially breeding spirit beasts was simply too great. Chipmunks were neither high-value spirit beasts nor endangered creatures, so collecting them in the wild was cheaper.
As first-rank spirit beasts, their purchase price was not low.
"So? Interested in joining?" Li Yi's eyes shone as he spoke, as though this matter interested him far more than training did.
Zhou Lu suddenly felt there was a reason the two of them needed the Class Monitor to support them.
If they had even the slightest drive when it came to Beast Tamer combat, they would have chosen stronger spirit beasts, wouldn't they? Even if their families had complete evolution paths, it was not as if they could not contract a second pet.
Li Yi clearly had not put his mind into the Combat Department.
"But the training..." Zhou Lu hesitated.
"Go! Good opportunities vanish in the blink of an eye—you can't miss them!" Just as he hesitated, Xu Wuhu's voice rang out. "My older brothers taught me in different ways that opportunities are the sort of thing that, once missed, will never come again."
"And besides." Xu Wuhu gave Zhou Lu a thumbs-up. "I think we've trained incredibly well already! We'll have more than enough to pass the exam with high marks!"
What? We had only trained for half a day! How was that more than enough?!
Ding! Mission completed!
You successfully caused Xu Wuhu and the others to abandon grassland training, greatly lowering Zhou Lu's chance of passing the preliminary combat test.
The system has issued the reward. Please collect it.
Successfully activated follow-up mission: Exam Interference
*****
Optional Mission Seven: Exam Interference
Mission Introduction: The preliminary combat test was the starting point of Zhou Lu's rise. With his outstanding performance in the exam, he obtained a large number of Academic Credits, won Xu Yilong's favor, and laid the foundation for entering the Pioneer Army. Although you have successfully interfered with his training, it remains impossible to rule out the possibility that he will still perform brilliantly in the exam. Find a way to interfere with this preliminary combat test.
Mission Reward: Beast Tamer Skill Card (Body Feed)
******
What the hell kind of mission completion was that?
Was I the one trying to stop them from training?! I was clearly the passive party here, okay?!
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