Jungle Rules and New Attributes

Chapter 38: Jungle Rules and New Attributes

Little One obediently refrained from acting, waiting for Xu Zhi's command.

Xu Zhi ordered it to collect the cores from the ground. When the monkeys saw Little One picking them up, their posture instantly shifted from trembling in fear to slightly relaxing. Once Little One had taken them all, they chattered as they backed away and vanished into the woods.

Xu Zhi stared strangely at the thirteen additional cores in the inventory. Was it because the leader of that troop of monkeys had developed intelligence?

Or were monkeys simply rather clever animals by nature?

Judging by its behavior, this probably wasn't its first time doing this.

Or perhaps it wasn't just them—maybe other animals in the forest did the same?

Was this difference caused by the distinct ecological environments of mutated animals in cities and mutated animals in forests?

Many thoughts flashed through Xu Zhi's mind. In the end, it decided to have Little One test it out.

When encountering prey, it was not to kill it immediately. Instead, it was to intimidate it and see what it did.

Before the day was over, Little One encountered quite a few prey animals in the forest. Following Xu Zhi's orders, it intimidated them one by one. Most solitary and relatively weak prey could only tremble beneath its intimidation.

A small number of herd animals, or somewhat stronger prey, would "hand over" their cores like that troop of monkeys.

It seemed that before human society had reached a consensus, the animals of the forest had already established one: the strong preyed on the weak, and cores were important resources.

That was not particularly strange. After all, the animal kingdom had always been like this. There was simply one more resource now—cores.

A single trip into the forest had added thirty-two cores directly to Xu Zhi's inventory. Combined with Xiao Zhen and Doggie's gains, the total number of cores was nearing forty.

"...Isn't my luck a little too good?"

Xu Zhi rubbed her arms. Why did she feel a little like some kind of chosen one, favored even by heaven? How was it that the moment a troublesome problem appeared, the solution showed up before her?

But this also made Xu Zhi somewhat wary of the forest.

If the mutated animals in the forest had started operating this way long ago, then... those powerful mutated animals had probably already accumulated large quantities of mutated cores for their own use. Their levels might not be lower than Little One's!

No, there were definitely mutated animals stronger than Little One.

Because black fruits also appeared in the forest, and the things in the forest belonged to the strong.

"Looks like Little One needs to be more cautious."

Those mutated animals that ruled their own mountains—killing them would definitely yield a huge amount of "wealth."

That wealth naturally did not refer to gold, silver, or jewels, but cores and energy.

Xu Zhi's eyes lit up. "The mutated animals in the city aren't enough anymore. I need to shift my focus to the forest."

In the city, humans and other species were the most important. Though mutated animals had no small presence, their true base should be in the forest.

Xu Zhi had no particular thoughts about humans, and she could not deal with the other species for the time being. That left only the forest.

"Starting tomorrow, the three of you will hunt in the forest. Don't wander too far apart. If you encounter danger, cooperate as much as possible. If you can't win, run."

That night, Xu Zhi instructed the three familiars after they returned from hunting.

Then she deliberately patted Doggie's head. "You've worked hard."

Doggie always received the fewest resources from her. Xu Zhi knew that was unfair to it, but she had no intention of changing her approach, so she could only make it up to Doggie in other ways.

For example, by being a little closer to it?

Xu Zhi hesitated over whether that would work, but the next second, she saw Doggie become instantly energized after she took the initiative to rub its head, frantically nuzzling her palm. She immediately knew that it worked wonderfully!

Doggie—or rather, all familiars—responded well to this.

Xu Zhi had once heard the saying, "There is no love without reason, except for a parent's love," but she had never understood it. After all, she had never felt much love from her own parents. Yet at this moment, she seemed to understand a little. Though it was not parental love, but the selfless love of "children."

That was not quite right either. It was more like the relationship between a "creator" and her "creations."

She had chosen the familiars, so they unconditionally supported, obeyed, and adored her, simply because she had chosen them and brought them into this world. Even if a game console stood between them, she was still the one who had made that choice.

It was a very strange bond. Xu Zhi felt that the distance between herself and her familiars had narrowed again.

She no longer seemed able to regard them purely as tools as she had in the beginning. There was now some of the closeness she felt toward her own people mixed in.

Xu Zhi did not think that was a bad thing. After all, who could refuse the passionate, selfless love of little animals?

And this was a dog that would not get angry even when neglected or treated unfairly, only work harder to find more prey for you!

Xu Zhi pinched Doggie's soft ear, and as though it sensed something, Doggie wagged its tail even more happily.

After soothing Doggie, Xu Zhi opened the inventory and counted today's gains.

Finally, among the familiar core colors, she saw two colors she had never seen before.

"Oh, just one more and I'll have the full set."

Seven colors were neatly arranged in the inventory. Among them, [Blade] was the most numerous, followed by [Moth].

The rarest were the two new colors, with only one core of each.

Xu Zhi opened them one by one, choosing to learn about these attributes through the narrator's prompts.

First was [Forge], an orange color somewhat like flames.

[Forge: The principle of transformation and destruction.]

[It is the principle of change, skill, fire, destruction, shaping, and strength. It is associated with technology, industry, and forging. Its bearers possess originality, mechanical thinking, and superhuman strength.]

The narrator's words made Xu Zhi raise an eyebrow. "Sure enough, that little booklet is completely unreliable."

It had not mentioned destruction or strength at all. Yet [Forge] was undoubtedly related to creation. That did not mean those with the [Forge] attribute posed no threat; on the contrary, that "superhuman strength" was also crucial.

[Forge] might even become highly sought after, because its bearers could probably craft extraordinary items.

Xu Zhi opened the next attribute. It was a purple core, and when she tapped it, a single word appeared: [Opening].

"What a shame."

It was not [Lamp], the one that interested her most.

[Opening: The principle of opening and dismantling.]

"...Huh?"

Xu Zhi recalled the handbook's contents and was left speechless.

[It is associated with wounds, locksmiths, doors, and keys. It encompasses revelation, opening, and dismantling. Its bearers are characterized by insight, and it is also the principle of thieves and oracles.]

"..."

"It isn't entirely inaccurate, but the accurate parts are far too superficial."

Xu Zhi understood now. The outside world's understanding of extraordinary attributes was still not deep enough. After all, they did not have a cheat like hers. To fully understand them, they would probably need more time.

Still, the revelation and oracles of [Opening] made Xu Zhi pay close attention. She had a feeling that this attribute would produce some very unusual extraordinary individuals.