"A Surprise"

"This nest is pretty creative."

Lin Fan looked at the nest of the Iron-Bristled Demon Badger in front of him.

Inside, scraps of cloth, moldy banknotes, and dry grass were mixed together. There were even a few bits of metal that had been chewed to pieces.

The mess was piled up in the corner, giving off a strange, indescribable smell.

Lin Fan switched on his tactical flashlight and swept the beam over the pile of garbage.

"Hm?"

Under the beam, Lin Fan suddenly spotted something in the middle of the rotten grass that reflected a cold sheen. It looked like it was in a completely different league from all the junk around it.

Lin Fan hurried over and bent to pick it up.

The moment his hand touched it, a chill ran across his fingertips.

As he lifted it, his wrist suddenly sank.

The fist-sized object weighed as much as a block of lead.

"So heavy?"

Lin Fan rubbed the dirt off with his thumb, revealing a fine, crystalline fracture beneath.

"Is this... Kro Alloy?"

Lin Fan raised an eyebrow. This was an absolute treasure.

Judging by the shape and purity of the fracture, it was high-grade material, at least Series 3.

It must have been a fragment of some unlucky high-level martial artist's War Blade, picked up by the beast and used as a chew toy.

"This little piece should be worth several tons of scrap metal."

Lin Fan weighed it in his hand, a grin spreading across his face.

"Let's see what else is in here."

He was just about to rummage through the heap of dry grass when a faint sound came from deep within the pile of junk.

"Wuu... wuu..."

The sound was as faint as a mosquito's buzz. If the basement hadn't been so eerily quiet, Lin Fan wouldn't have heard it at all.

"Could it be!"

At the sound, Lin Fan's eyes lit up.

Carefully, he parted the thick, musty dry grass. A small hollow lined with soft fur appeared before him.

Inside, three tiny creatures, each no bigger than his palm, were huddled together.

Their bodies were covered in fine, pale-gray scales, and their eyes hadn't opened yet. Startled by the cold air, they instinctively pressed against each other, trembling.

"Holy crap, they really are monster cubs!"

Lin Fan narrowed his eyes, his breathing growing quick and shallow.

These were the offspring of that high-level beast general.

Monster cubs of this caliber, especially tough-skinned breeds like the Iron-Bristled Demon Badger, were hot commodities on the black market.

Whether sold to some powerful family as guard dogs or sent to a lab to be dissected for research, they fetched a staggering price.

And judging by their size, they were only a few days old—the perfect age to train.

"I've never had luck this good. Not even when I stepped in dog shit."

Without hesitation, Lin Fan reached out. Spiritual Force flickered at his fingertip.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Three light taps landed precisely on the cubs' necks.

The three cubs didn't make a sound. Their bodies went limp, and they passed out.

Lin Fan swung his backpack around, dumped all the assorted junk inside onto the ground, then stuffed the three warm little creatures into it as if they were potatoes.

He zipped the bag shut, leaving only a small gap for air.

The backpack bulged instantly, its weight pressing heavily against his back.

But to Lin Fan, the load was a sweet burden.

"All done. The whole family, safe and sound!"

After searching the nest and confirming there was nothing else of value, Lin Fan didn't waste any more time.

He pushed off with both legs and darted back the way he'd come, as nimble as a cat.

On this trip, he'd not only upgraded his weapon but also raided a high-level beast general's nest and made off with three priceless cubs. He'd made a killing.

Once he got back to Base City, just thinking about how much he could get for the stuff in his backpack made his heart race.

And if he could take down a few more foolish beasts along the way...

But then.

The moment he burst back aboveground and set foot on the broken concrete road—

A sudden chill exploded without warning, shooting from his tailbone straight to the crown of his head and making his scalp prickle.

Even the wind seemed to fall silent.

The bright sunlight suddenly dimmed, as if something had blotted out the sky.

"Huff... huff..."

Heavy breathing sounded right above Lin Fan's head.

It was as loud as a bellows, and the stench and heat it carried were so overpowering they made him want to retch. The breath blasted right onto the back of his head.

Lin Fan skidded to a halt, his soles carving two deep furrows into the ground.

He stiffly raised his head.

When he realized what was happening, his pupils contracted sharply.

"Holy crap..."

Less than ten meters away, a "mountain" now stood in the middle of what had been an empty street.

The colossal beast completely blocked the sunlight overhead, casting a vast shadow that swallowed Lin Fan whole.

It was a monster of an absurd size.

Over ten meters tall at the shoulder and nearly fifteen meters long, it looked like a heavy armored train parked across the road.

Its entire body was covered in thick scales that gleamed like black iron. Each scale was as large as a shield, its edges sharp as blades, and its surface was crisscrossed with white scratches.

Two curved tusks flared outward from either side of its broad, heavy snout, like giant ivory scimitars.

As it breathed, the thick layer of fat beneath its scales rose and fell slightly, radiating a raw, brutish strength.

The single horn atop its head was even stranger. It looked like some kind of eerie, dark-red crystal.

A red glow seemed to flow within it, like molten lava, radiating enough heat to make the air around it shimmer.

"Elementary Lord... Iron-Clad Tyrant."

Lin Fan's throat bobbed as he forced himself to swallow. The name flashed through his mind.

This was a mutant of the Bloodthirsty Tank species, a true overlord of the wilderness.

The beast, freshly returned from a hunt, still had half the corpse of an Iron-Bristled Wild Boar hanging from its mouth.

Blood dripped from the corners of its mouth, gathering into a pool on the ground.

Its enormous, lantern-sized red eyes were fixed on the "little guy" who had crawled out of its basement.

There was even a hint of humanlike confusion in its gaze, as if it couldn't understand why an ant would dare to trespass in its territory.

Man and beast stared each other down, frozen in place.

The air seemed to solidify.

Lin Fan felt his Spiritual Force screaming a warning. This pressure was on a completely different level from that high-level beast general.

Suddenly.

The Iron-Clad Tyrant's enormous nostrils flared twice.

"Sniff... sniff..."

It had caught the scent.

Beyond the smell of the half-eaten boar in its mouth, the air carried another scent—extremely faint, but unforgettable to the beast.

In an instant, the confusion in its eyes vanished, replaced by overwhelming fury!

It was the scent of its cubs!

And it was wafting straight from the bulging backpack on the human's back!

Thud.

The half-eaten boar hit the ground with a heavy smack. The beast's gaze locked onto Lin Fan's backpack.

"ROAR!!!"

A thunderous bellow exploded through the air!

The roar became a tangible shock wave and slammed toward him in a sweeping arc.

Loose stones on the ground leaped from the force. The windows of several unfinished buildings nearby shattered at once, raining glass down in a clatter.

Lin Fan felt as if an awl had stabbed his eardrums. His head rang in an instant.

He didn't have time to think. His body reacted faster than his brain.

Run!