Sugar Bean

The excitement of the tusk appraiser could not be concealed. Even someone who knew nothing about teeth could seemingly sense something extraordinary from his emotions. Especially since the tooth still gave off black currents that clung without dispersing, drifting faintly like a demon descending upon the world. Such a strange spectacle was enough to tell any ordinary person that something new had been created.

"What is a Black Demon Tooth?"

That was everyone's question. Li Ziran was just as curious.

The funny thing was that, even now, he had no idea what exactly he had made. Yet his keen spiritual perception told him that the Corpse Dragon's teeth had undergone a qualitative transformation.

They had lost some of their sharpness, but gained a special magical energy.

"It is a special kind of tooth. Ancient parchment scrolls recorded it: Black Demon Teeth possess powerful anesthetic properties and elemental suppressive force, an ability exceedingly rare within the Elemental Tide." Tago explained with a face full of excitement, "Just now, I sensed a particularly unusual divine fluctuation. But whether it is truly the legendary Black Nightmare Fang still needs to be verified."

"Verified? You still aren't sure?" The giant elephant captain looked suspiciously at the tusk appraiser. His two pupils rolled incessantly, as if calculating something. "You mean this tooth is something remarkable?"

"Of course. This is absolutely the greatest achievement. I never dared imagine that I would see such precious teeth in my lifetime. Of course, without testing, I cannot provide specific data yet, but they are absolutely extraordinary." The tusk appraiser was already walking toward the Corpse Dragon's teeth, eager to determine the teeth's properties.

Li Ziran also wanted to understand exactly what he had tinkered into existence.

Dragon teeth, Medusa's petrifying power, and Necromantic Power had passed through the neural network, the three energies wondrously fusing into one peculiar energy.

This bizarre process was like conducting a chemical experiment.

It was fascinating, yet even more bewildering.

Just as Li Ziran was brimming with excitement and wanted to determine the teeth's effects, the giant elephant captain unexpectedly refused to let the tusk appraiser approach. He even had Tago removed from the underground chamber.

This bizarre behavior deeply puzzled Li Ziran. The captain seemed terrified that anyone might learn the teeth's secret.

After driving Tago away, he called up to Karen among the Corpse Dragon's teeth, "Karen, you've been up there for quite a while. Hurry down. I've prepared some fine wine. Let's have a comfortable drink, let the master quietly finish modifying the teeth, and once this swamp disappears, we'll capture all those crocodiles. Medusa will be in the bag."

At the words "in the bag," everyone erupted in excited cheers.

Karen smiled along with the crowd's cheers, then gave Li Ziran a strange look. It was a peculiar gaze, as though he had just achieved something extraordinary.

"Li, I knew you could do it. Keep at it. We'll be waiting for a rich return." His voice was loud, as though he was not speaking to Li Ziran at all, but deliberately announcing it to everyone in the underground chamber.

After speaking, he gave Li Ziran a huge hug. Yet at that moment, he leaned close to Li Ziran's ear and smiled strangely. "The laws of survival tell us not to be cleverer than we should be, right?"

With that, he inexplicably patted Li Ziran on the shoulder and slid down along the rope.

That strange gesture made every hair on Li Ziran's body stand on end.

Li Ziran had always lived according to the laws of survival. He strictly followed every rule needed to survive, and that was the foundation that had kept him alive and steady on the Wasteland.

Yet hearing those words from another person now felt as though his own mind had been torn away from him, filling him with an inexplicable panic.

He stared motionlessly at Karen's retreating figure, recalling every step since joining the Thornflower Slave-Trading Corps, only to find himself completely shrouded in fog.

He could not tell whether his next step would lead onto level ground or into an abyss.

Li Ziran slowly gathered his thoughts. He understood that now was not the time to act. Sometimes, the more desperately one wanted something, the less likely one was to obtain it.

Seizing the right opportunity was one of the most important laws of survival. He needed to wait for an opportunity.

That opportunity had to be created by heaven itself. If it never came, he might very well be trapped to death in this slave-trading corps.

Everyone was cheering, while Li Ziran gradually calmed down. He needed to proceed with the next stage of work in an orderly fashion, following someone else's rules.

He controlled Medusa's petrifying teeth and guided Necromantic Power into them. The petrifying power vanished, the Necromantic Power vanished, and the Corpse Dragon teeth's sharpness vanished as well, replaced by a condensed cluster of black threads.

One tooth, then two.

Li Ziran completed his task like a puppet. Every time he modified a tooth, cheers would rise up.

But to Li Ziran, those cheers were nothing but a ridiculous joke.

This was not his achievement at all.

The Corpse Dragon tooth modification took an entire day, and he was tormented for that entire day.

There was not much work, but by the time he climbed down from the gums, his whole body was nearly falling apart.

The mental pressure left him unable to catch his breath. He needed to rest properly.

Or rather, he needed to have a proper talk with Medusa. Ideally, he needed to find out what had happened between this girl and Karen, because that would help him understand Karen.

At this moment, Li Ziran had realized that he was gradually becoming a puppet. It was not magic, of course, but every one of his thoughts had to cling tightly to another person's thoughts.

He hated that feeling. It was like desperately chasing after another runner, trying every possible way to adapt to the other person's rhythm.

That sort of oppression was suffocating.

Therefore, he had to figure some things out now.

Clearly, heaven was not giving him such an opportunity.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Thunderous applause rang out as the beings centered around the giant elephant captain applauded him with all their might.

"Let us welcome our hero with the warmest applause!"

The giant elephant captain's long trunk stretched directly beneath Li Ziran's feet. His most important organ now seemed to have become Li Ziran's red carpet.

Li Ziran scratched his head. Wasn't trampling on his own trunk an insult to his dignity?

Of course, it could also be seen as the grandest welcoming ceremony.

He could not refuse the goodwill. He allowed the long trunk to wrap around him and lift him high into the air, where he received everyone's cheers.

Yet at this moment, Li Ziran's eyes searched the crowd intently for any trace of Karen.

He found him!

He was in a corner, head lowered as though deep in thought, seemingly utterly out of place amid the lively crowd.

Yet these noisy beings seemed more like backdrop boards arranged solely for him.

"Li, you've rendered tremendous help this time. Do you have any wishes? So long as it is something I can do, I will certainly find a way to satisfy you!" the giant elephant captain said excitedly.

Li Ziran shook his head. He had no desire to do so, because this was not his achievement at all.

If he did have a wish, there was only one: tell him what exactly the captain of the Thornflower Slave-Trading Corps was plotting.

"It was Karen's contribution, actually..."

Li Ziran wanted to tell the truth and bring Karen into the spotlight.

But at that moment, Karen suddenly stood and said, "Li, perhaps you still don't understand Captain Giant Elephant's power. On this Wasteland, so long as you want it, whether precious gems or peerless beauties, there is nothing you cannot obtain. He has close ties with many slave towns. Be bold and ask. Don't let anyone look down on you."

He was smiling, occasionally glancing at the giant elephant captain.

The giant elephant captain seemed greatly pleased. The wrinkles on his brow nearly curved into a smile.

But Li Ziran caught a trace of sharpness, and it was directed at Karen.

Li Ziran noticed that nearly imperceptible emotional fluctuation. This was a good opportunity.

There was friction between them.

Li Ziran had also been wondering. From the beginning, this giant elephant captain had been meek and subservient, lacking all the dignity of a high-ranking slave-trading corps captain, as though someone had seized him by the tail.

Now, at last, there was a faint trace of a captain's authority.

This entire change had come merely from completing the tooth modification. It was as though these teeth were not meant to help them capture slaves, but were chips in a contest of strength between the two sides.

"Captain, we still haven't tested the teeth's effects. If they bite one of the Crocodile Warriors in half in one bite, then all our work will have been for nothing." Li Ziran wanted to add a little firewood to this small conflict. Though he did not know whether it would help, saying a few more words cost him nothing.

Li Ziran knew his own worth very well. Excessive enthusiasm often carried ulterior motives, especially in a slave-trading corps where profit stood above all else. Such enthusiasm was saturated with benefits visible to the naked eye.

But if one carefully sorted through it using the laws of survival, one would discover an interesting phenomenon.

Displays of excessive enthusiasm often meant that there was ample room for profit.

Though Li Ziran did not know what value he held for the Cannon captain, he would make simple use of it.

"Hehe, since you want to see it, let everyone feast their eyes on it." The Cannon captain pointed toward the underground chamber.

The mountain-like Corpse Dragon slowly rose. Its enormous skull pressed directly against the ceiling, its tightly shut eyes abruptly opening as two pale ghostly beams shot out like spotlights.

At the intersection of those two beams sat a figure completely enveloped in a black robe, cross-legged. A White-Bone Skull Staff stood beside the figure, the skull atop the staff flashing with red light. Each flash opened the Corpse Dragon's mouth a little wider.

Gradually, two rows of teeth, cold enough to chill the bones, were exposed, and threads of bizarre black vapor spread out, as though an enchanter had imbued the teeth with special magic.

The Cannon captain quietly watched the continuously rising black vapor, his eyes filled with extreme obsession.

Li Ziran, meanwhile, watched Karen. Karen was looking at the Cannon captain, who was lost in fascination, his eyes full of disdain.

Then, with a thunderous rumble like enormous stones rolling down, dozens of fully armed Crocodile Warriors appeared before Li Ziran's eyes.

The warriors desperately flailed their tails in midair, dreaming of flying like birds, but it was useless.

Falling from such a height, they were basically doomed.

Suddenly, Li Ziran's vision went black. A violent gust nearly swept him off the elephant trunk. By the time he regained his senses, the Crocodile Warriors had already vanished.

Crunch! Crunch!

Chewing sounds and screams came from the Corpse Dragon's mouth. Looking over, Li Ziran saw Crocodile Warriors wedged between the Corpse Dragon's teeth, rolling about like Sugar Bean.

Crunch!

The teeth closed together. What should have been a grisly scene with blood flowing like a river produced not a drop of blood.

The formerly sharp dragon teeth seemed to have turned into soft cotton. The instant they touched the Crocodile Warriors, they sank inward.

Yet bizarrely, the Crocodile Warriors stopped moving.

The Black Nightmare Light instantly choked the struggling Crocodile Warriors unconscious.

This effect... was it the effect of an anesthetic?

It was too fast. They lost all resistance in almost an instant.

Just as Li Ziran thought it was over, crackling sounds suddenly rang out. Those completely unconscious Crocodile Warriors bizarrely began to shrink.

Cracks appeared across their hard shells, spreading directly from their heads to their tails.

In the blink of an eye, the Crocodile Warriors' armor shattered, yet instead of the expected spray of blood, the broken shells and flesh continued compressing toward the center.

Centered around the Crocodile Warriors, it seemed as though a space of extreme collapse had formed.

Li Ziran opened his mouth wide in excitement. He could not believe this was energy created through his own hands. He abruptly turned to Karen, who was smiling faintly, seeming to carry a trace of particular satisfaction.

What kind of person was he?

He definitely could not be an ordinary slave-trading corps captain. No slave-trading corps captain possessed such powerful alchemical skill.

The emergence of the Black Nightmare Fang did not rely merely on knowledge of organ transplantation. It contained far more alchemical elements.

What Karen seemed to need was merely the most basic neural energy input from organ transplantation.

The Crocodile Warriors' screams had completely vanished. The whole underground chamber was filled with the crackling sound of popcorn being made.

Finally, with a sweep of the Corpse Dragon's long tongue, all the warriors entered the Corpse Dragon's pitch-black belly.

The sound of machine chains began to ring out nearby, followed by the sound of conveyor belts moving. From a machine resembling a doorway on the left side of the karst cave, a thumb-sized Sugar Bean was conveyed out.

A Fishman laborer picked up the Sugar Bean and brought it to the Cannon captain.

"How did you do it?"

The Cannon captain examined the tiny Sugar Bean as though scrutinizing a priceless gem.

Li Ziran was completely stunned. If no one had told him, he never would have imagined that this had once been one of the Crocodile Warriors clad in thick armor. At this moment, he was almost incoherent.

"What?"

"Li, you truly are a genius. The teeth are perfect. You absolutely have the potential to become a top-tier Grand Witch Doctor." Praise poured from the Cannon captain's mouth.

"Yes, they're perfect!" Karen also held a Sugar Bean, gently turning it over in his hand. "I thought you would perform exceptionally well, but I never expected you to be exceptional to this extent. Even those Grand Witch Doctors who have long been famous across the Wasteland could never achieve this."

The flattery made Li Ziran want to vomit. Others might not know, but did Karen not know how the Black Nightmare Fang had appeared?

"Not at all. I only thought of it on the spot. The Goddess of Fortune favored me!" Li Ziran replied with a perfunctory smile.

But the Fire Elephant captain did not see it that way. He directly said, "Li, in view of your outstanding performance, I plan to give you five percent of this swamp's harvest. Come to my slave-trading corps in the future, how about it?"

That single sentence gave Li Ziran a huge fright.

If before it had been merely empty promises, this was now a real, tangible share of the harvest.

Five percent. Based on the scale of the swamp before him, he could receive at least around fifty Crocodile Warriors and five Medusas, not to mention countless Fishman laborers.

He would become rich overnight!

But... was that possible?