"Surprise"

"This nest is built quite creatively."

Lin Fan looked at the Iron-Bristled Demon Badger's nest that appeared before him.

Inside the nest, tattered rags, moldy banknotes, and dried grass were mixed together, even interspersed with a few pieces of metal chewed into shreds.

It was piled messily in the corner, emitting an indescribable, strange odor.

Lin Fan turned on his tactical flashlight, the beam sweeping across the pile of trash.

"Hmm?"

Under the illumination of the beam, Lin Fan suddenly saw something in the middle of the pile of rotten grass reflecting a cold luster, looking completely out of place compared to the surrounding junk.

Lin Fan walked over quickly, bent down, and picked it up.

The moment his hand touched it, he felt a chill on his fingertips.

As he lifted the object, his wrist sank abruptly.

This fist-sized item was as heavy as a lead block.

"So heavy?"

Lin Fan rubbed the dirt off with his thumb, revealing a delicate, crystalline fracture underneath.

"Is this... Kro Alloy?"

Lin Fan raised an eyebrow; this was definitely high-quality stuff.

Judging by the shape and purity of the fracture, it was at least a high-end piece starting at Grade 3.

This must have been a fragment of a battle saber left behind by some unlucky high-level martial artist, only to be picked up by this beast to use as a teething toy.

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

Lin Fan weighed it in his hand, his mouth curling into a grin.

"Let me see what else is good in here."

Just as he was about to rummage through the pile of rotten grass again, a few extremely faint movements came from the depths of the debris.

"Whimper... whimper..."

The sound was as thin as a mosquito's hum; if the basement hadn't been deathly silent, Lin Fan would never have heard it.

"Could it be!"

Hearing this, Lin Fan's eyes lit up instantly!

He carefully pushed aside the thick, musty-smelling dried grass, and a small pit lined with soft fur appeared before him.

In the pit, three little things not even the size of a palm were huddled together.

They were covered in fine, light-gray scales, their eyes not yet open. Stung by the cold air, they instinctively burrowed into each other, shivering.

"Holy crap, they really are monster cubs!"

Lin Fan narrowed his eyes, his breathing becoming rapid.

This was the spawn of that high-level beast general.

Monster cubs of this caliber, especially from a thick-skinned breed like the Iron-Bristled Demon Badger, were hard currency on the black market.

Whether sold to wealthy families as guard dogs or sent to laboratories for dissection and research, the price was terrifyingly high.

And judging by their size, they were only a few days old—the perfect time for training.

"This luck—I wouldn't have it this good even if I stepped in dog shit every time I went out."

Lin Fan didn't hesitate. He extended his finger, and his spiritual power flickered slightly at the tip.

Pop, pop, pop.

Three light taps landed precisely on the necks of the three little cubs.

Without a sound, the three cubs went limp and passed out instantly.

Lin Fan grabbed his backpack, dumped out the miscellaneous items inside, and stuffed the three warm little things in like potatoes.

He zipped it up, leaving only a small gap for air.

The backpack bulged instantly, weighing heavily on his back.

But for Lin Fan, this weight was a sweet burden.

"All set, the whole family is together!"

After rummaging through the nest again to ensure there was nothing else of value, Lin Fan stopped wasting time.

He pushed off with his legs, and like a nimble civet cat, he darted out along the path he had come.

This trip hadn't just upgraded his weapon; he had also raided the lair of a high-level beast general and snagged three priceless cubs. He had made a killing.

As long as he returned to the base city and sold the contents of this backpack, the figure alone made his heart race.

If he could manage to slaughter a few more blind monsters on the way back...

However.

The moment he burst out to the surface and his soles touched the shattered concrete road.

A chill exploded without warning, shooting from his tailbone straight to his crown, making his scalp tingle.

The sound of the wind seemed to vanish at that very moment.

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

"Huff... huff..."

Heavy breathing sounded right above Lin Fan's head.

The sound was as loud as a bellows, carrying a thick, nauseating stench and heat that sprayed directly onto the back of his neck.

Lin Fan slammed on the brakes, his soles plowing two deep furrows into the ground.

He raised his head stiffly.

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

"Holy shit..."

Less than ten meters away, where the street had been empty, there was now a "mountain."

The sunlight from above was completely blocked by this behemoth, casting a massive shadow that engulfed Lin Fan.

It was a monster of absurd proportions.

With a shoulder height of over ten meters and a body length of nearly fifteen, it stood there like a heavy armored train blocking the road.

Its entire body was covered in a layer of thick, black-iron-lustered scales. Each scale was as large as a shield, with edges as sharp as blades, covered in crisscrossing white scratches.

On either side of its broad, heavy snout, two tusks curved outward like massive ivory scimitars.

With every breath, the thick layer of fat beneath the scales rose and fell, exuding a sense of primitive, brutal power.

The single horn on its head was even more peculiar, looking like a strange, dark-red crystal.

Red light flowed faintly within it, as if magma were circulating, emitting a high temperature that made the surrounding air ripple.

"Low-level Lord... Iron-Clad Tyrant."

Lin Fan swallowed hard, the name popping into his mind instantly.

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

At this moment, the giant, having just returned from a hunt, still had half a bloody Iron-Bristled Wild Boar carcass in its mouth.

Fresh blood dripped from the corners of its mouth, pooling into a puddle on the ground.

Those lantern-sized, crimson eyes were locked onto the "little speck" that had just crawled out of its basement.

There was even a hint of human-like confusion in its gaze, as if it couldn't fathom why an ant would dare to run wild in its territory.

Man and beast stood frozen, staring at each other.

The air seemed to solidify.

Lin Fan felt his spiritual power screaming in warning; this pressure was on an entirely different level from that high-level beast general from earlier.

Suddenly, the Iron-Clad Tyrant's massive nostrils flared twice.

"Sniff—sniff—"

It smelled it.

In the air, besides the bloody scent of the half-eaten boar in its mouth, there was a faint, yet unforgettable odor.

In that instant, the confusion in its eyes vanished, replaced by overwhelming, violent rage!

That was the scent of its cubs!

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

Thud.

The half-eaten boar carcass hit the ground with a heavy thud, and its gaze locked instantly onto Lin Fan's backpack.

"ROAR!!!"

An earth-shattering roar exploded!

The roar transformed into a tangible wave of sound, slamming toward him in a fan shape.

The gravel on the ground danced violently, and the glass in the surrounding unfinished buildings shattered instantly, raining down like a downpour.

Lin Fan felt as if his eardrums had been pierced by an awl, his head buzzing instantly.

Without a single thought, his body reacted faster than his brain.

Run!