Night Encounter with a Mutated Beast

Zhang Ping spent an entire morning picking the iron beads out of the dough one by one.

That afternoon, Liu Tiefeng arranged for him to familiarize himself with various materials. Most special materials in Mingzhu City came primarily from Mutated Beasts and mutated plants.

Take the Crimson Refining Snake, for example. It had originally been an ordinary red-banded snake, a nonvenomous species.

But after becoming a Mutated Beast, it changed from a harmless snake into a venomous one. Not only did it grow fangs capable of secreting fiery poison, but its scales also mutated, granting it formidable defense. It could even radiate intense heat, leaving scorched traces wherever it passed.

Zhang Ping did not resist learning any of this. In fact, he was more attentive than he had ever been while studying math, physics, and chemistry in his previous life. As Liu Tiefeng taught him, he would also casually mention the methods he had used to deal with Mutated Beasts while gathering materials in his youth.

Those methods were all precious experience.

For the next two days, Zhang Ping immersed himself in study until the night of the twenty-second.

The other party had asked him to meet at the small park behind the beef brisket ramen shop on the twenty-third, but he planned to scout the area first and familiarize himself with the surroundings.

After all, ever since the original owner had enrolled at Pearl Ability Academy, it had been three years since he last returned to the orphanage. Zhang Ping had no idea how much that place had changed.

After making sure Liu Tiefeng had fallen asleep, Zhang Ping slipped out of Iron Soul under cover of night.

He was already wearing the Assassination Ring, making him seem like a phantom of the night.

Not far from Iron Soul, a Heavenly Fox with the human skin of a burly man pasted to its forehead stared listlessly at the shop sign.

It did not notice Zhang Ping leaving through a window on the side of the shop at all. It even subconsciously neglected its mission, merely staring blankly at the storefront.

Suspicious. Suspicious.

How could a fox possibly not be suspicious?

"Luo Shiyu" had never let go of her suspicions about Zhang Ping.

But she believed that even if Zhang Ping was truly a suspect, he definitely was not the main leader.

So she had dispatched subordinates to monitor Zhang Ping's every move, hoping to uncover the resistance among humans.

The problem was that Zhang Ping behaved perfectly normally during the day. At night, however, due to the effects of Nightwalker and the Assassination Ring, although the Heavenly Foxes she sent still remembered their mission, they would always subconsciously overlook crucial information. After several days, they had gained nothing.

Tonight was the final surveillance.

If they found nothing again, this Heavenly Fox would give up monitoring Zhang Ping.

The journey was uneventful.

Ten minutes later, Zhang Ping arrived at the small park.

This small park was already very different from the one in his memories. Many trees had appeared in what had once been flat open ground. They were neither especially tall nor particularly dense, yet upon entering the park, he felt as though he had stepped into a forest.

Something was wrong.

Zhang Ping instinctively gripped the dagger hidden in his sleeve.

He had the feeling that someone was watching him. There were others in these woods.

Suddenly, he saw a flash of red light on his right. He immediately adjusted his stance, then saw a rat about the size of an adult house cat slowly emerge from behind a tree.

This was a Mutated Beast!

The instant Zhang Ping saw the rat, he made his judgment and activated Appraisal.

[Appraisal successful]

[Mutated Beast: Armored Venom-Tail Rat]

[Race: Mutated Rat]

[Potential: ??]

[Lifespan: 50]

[Rank: Beginner Mutated Beast]

[Level: 5]

[Talents]

[Venomous Tail: The bony spike at the tip of its tail contains potent venom]

[Hardened Fur: Its fur is like armor, greatly increasing its defense, but reducing its agility]

Luckily, it was only a beginner Mutated Beast.

Level two against level five—there was a gap, but it was not an overwhelming one.

Zhang Ping felt slightly relieved after reading the results. If it had been an intermediate Mutated Beast, he probably would not have escaped death tonight.

But even a beginner Mutated Beast could not be underestimated.

The appraisal result had clearly shown that the Armored Venom-Tail Rat's tail contained deadly poison.

Lacking experience, Zhang Ping had not brought antidotes with him when he went out.

As far as he knew, the venom of all Mutated Beasts acted extremely quickly.

Without a universal antidote on hand, being poisoned was practically a death sentence.

He could not let his guard down.

But there was no need to panic excessively.

It was like encountering a venomous snake. As long as he did not get bitten, he would be fine.

Zhang Ping tightened his grip on the dagger in his right hand, his gaze fixed on the Armored Venom-Tail Rat.

The Armored Venom-Tail Rat did not act rashly. Instead, it circled Zhang Ping, searching for an opening.

Mutated Beasts were not stupid. Many traps effective against ordinary animals were difficult to use against them.

They were more cautious than normal animals when probing their prey. If the prey was too strong, they would retreat on their own. If they discovered weakness, they would strike while the prey was vulnerable.

Zhang Ping ordered himself to remain calm, then reviewed everything he had learned at school about dealing with Mutated Beasts. The next moment, he chose to take the initiative.

His feet exploded with force, and he shot through the darkness like a cheetah.

The Armored Venom-Tail Rat's entire body was covered in hardened fur. Aside from elemental Awakeners, most Awakeners who encountered one would choose to attack its eyes, its most obvious weak point.

Beauty's Tear's sharp tip stabbed toward the Armored Venom-Tail Rat's weakness. Unable to dodge in time, it simply curled itself into a ball and spun clockwise to deflect the force. Zhang Ping's strike, aimed at its weak point, ultimately landed on its hard fur, with most of its power dispersed.

The Armored Venom-Tail Rat's fur was incredibly tough.

Even though the dagger in Zhang Ping's hand was exceptionally sharp, after most of the force had been redirected, it still could not harm the Armored Venom-Tail Rat in the slightest.

When his first strike missed, Zhang Ping immediately retreated.

The Armored Venom-Tail Rat suddenly unfurled its curled body. Its scarlet eyes locked onto Zhang Ping as its tail stabbed out repeatedly.

Because of its height, every attack from the Armored Venom-Tail Rat's tail targeted Zhang Ping's knees. He could not block them and could only rise onto his toes and retreat repeatedly, quickly widening the distance between himself and the rat.

Seeing its series of attacks miss, the Armored Venom-Tail Rat immediately stopped attacking to conserve its strength.

A meter away, Zhang Ping panted, sweat already beading on his forehead.

The main reason was that he had held nothing back in his earlier attack, and the subsequent chain of evasions had demanded his full concentration.

Sure enough, actual combat consumed far more stamina than training.

Pearl Ability Academy had specialized classes that taught students how to distribute and conserve their strength.

After thinking it over, Zhang Ping simply changed the way he held his dagger, and his stance shifted as well. His left foot moved forward and his right foot moved back, while both hands gradually rose.

Pearl Fist: Rat-Chasing Form!

Zhang Ping knew very well that his fists alone could not bring out the Rat-Chasing Form's power.

So he still did not abandon his dagger, while also incorporating Pearl Fist's methods for dealing with small Mutated Beasts.

He was faster than the Armored Venom-Tail Rat. After he widened the distance, it did not dare act rashly. In fact, he could have continued backing away and completely escaped the Armored Venom-Tail Rat.

The problem was that the patrol teams had already been taken over by the Heavenly Foxes, and he could not find anyone to ask for help.

If he did not deal with the Armored Venom-Tail Rat before him, children from the orphanage might come play in the park tomorrow and get killed.

That was an outcome he could not accept.

He took a deep breath.

Then he stepped toward the Armored Venom-Tail Rat again.

The Armored Venom-Tail Rat's body contracted slightly, while its tail lifted high into the air, making it look like a giant scorpion.

Suddenly, Zhang Ping accelerated sharply. He first attacked the Armored Venom-Tail Rat's right side, then switched to the left as its tail stabbed toward the right.

But the Armored Venom-Tail Rat reacted extremely quickly. Its tail twisted into an S-shape and immediately stabbed toward Zhang Ping's outstretched arm.

An opening.

Zhang Ping's eyes lit up. He dropped into a low horse stance, forcefully lowering his center of gravity.

As he sank into the stance, his hand changed trajectory as well, narrowly passing by the Armored Venom-Tail Rat's tail.

The Armored Venom-Tail Rat's center was wide open. Faced with the sudden change in Zhang Ping's punch, it had no way to evade. It could only exert all its strength and desperately retreat.

But it was too late.

Before it could even move, Zhang Ping's punch struck its head.

The punch was heavy and powerful. Even with its hardened fur protecting it, the Armored Venom-Tail Rat's vision went black.

By the time it regained its sight, a flash of blade light was already upon it.

Zhang Ping drove the dagger in his hand into the Armored Venom-Tail Rat's eye, instantly piercing its eyeball. Then the dagger drove straight in, penetrating its brain.

Yet in the final second before its death, the Armored Venom-Tail Rat's body reacted instinctively. It curled up and stabbed its tail toward Zhang Ping's wrist.

Zhang Ping had been guarding against the Armored Venom-Tail Rat's tail all along. The moment it curled up, he withdrew his hand and leaped backward.

In the blink of an eye, the battle was over.

The Armored Venom-Tail Rat's final counterattack missed. Its corpse fell to the ground, blood flowing from its eye socket.

"Whew."

Zhang Ping took two steps back and let out a slight sigh of relief.

The outcome was not unexpected.

After all, it was nighttime. With the Nightwalker talent, he already possessed a tremendous advantage.

On top of that, this Mutated Beast's weakness was extremely obvious.

Because the Armored Venom-Tail Rat's fur had greatly enhanced its defense, its weight had increased accordingly, making it relatively slow. Zhang Ping's movement speed increased at night because his weight was reduced. With one growing stronger as the other grew weaker, the Armored Venom-Tail Rat found it difficult to evade him.

But the appearance of this Armored Venom-Tail Rat was somewhat strange. And with Nightwalker plus the Assassination Ring, the Armored Venom-Tail Rat should theoretically have been unable to notice him at all.

He looked around. Considering how much stamina he had expended, he ultimately chose not to linger and decisively turned to leave.

Several minutes later, a woman in a light green military uniform appeared beside the Armored Venom-Tail Rat's corpse. She crouched down to inspect its cause of death.

"Sister Sisi, do you think that old friend of yours is human or a Mutated Beast?" She lifted the Armored Venom-Tail Rat by hand and asked.

At some point, a woman in white had appeared behind her. She wore an ice mask, and faint white mist drifted from her hair.

"I don't know, but I hope he's human," the woman replied calmly.

Although the organization had confirmed that Mutated Beasts had infiltrated the city, it had only identified a handful of them. Every time an organization member entered the city, it was extremely dangerous.

If Zhang Ping's abnormal—even bizarre—behavior had not attracted the organization's attention, she would not have rashly made contact with him.

"However... if my Life Talisman shatters tomorrow, detonate the Black Chamber immediately," the woman added after some thought.

After all, she had insisted on contacting Zhang Ping. If anything went wrong, she had to take responsibility.

The woman in military uniform fell silent for a moment before saying, "If you ask me, Zhang Ping is definitely a Mutated Beast. We should just kill him."

"No. At the very least, I can be certain that Zhang Ping's killing intent that night was real," the woman in white refuted.

The woman in military uniform stood and looked at the Armored Venom-Tail Rat's corpse. She sighed. "I hope you're right, Sister Sisi. At least he didn't swallow this stinking rat whole. Maybe he really is human."

"Enough. This isn't a place to stay for long. Let's go," the woman in white said.

The two of them then gathered up the Armored Venom-Tail Rat's corpse and quickly vanished into the darkness.

The next day, Zhang Ping got up early.

Today, he decided to try the Dough-Kneading Forging Technique again in the morning.

Over the past two days, he had continued taking the Contract Gem on schedule each morning. Though he had changed his training method to kneading dough, it actually consumed more stamina than his usual exercise. Because he could feel himself improving, he had given up his ordinary workouts and focused on practicing kneading.

After swallowing the Contract Gem, he picked up the prepared materials and placed them into the furnace fire. Liu Tiefeng stood nearby, smoking as he instructed him.

Perhaps because he was mentally prepared this time, the high temperature did not force him back. He gritted his teeth and continued moving his hands, crushing and kneading the various materials together.

Suddenly, he felt a burning pain in his stomach and could not help sucking in a sharp breath.

Who would have thought that with that inhale, he would draw the flames from the furnace into his nose as though they were a stream of water? The warm fire traveled down his throat and into his stomach. He immediately felt more alert, while his kneading motions became smoother.

A new talent again?

Zhang Ping thought this, but the forging was not over, so he did not dare get distracted. Instead, he focused even more intently on his hands.

Liu Tiefeng watched from the side without saying anything. Every Awakener in Mingzhu City possessed different abilities, and all sorts of bizarre powers existed. He had long since stopped finding such things strange.

But shortly afterward, he sensed something was wrong and said, "The furnace temperature is too low. Add firewood, quickly."

Zhang Ping also realized that he had just absorbed too much heat. He hurriedly freed one hand and added wood to the furnace.

Once the flames burned brightly again, he continued with his work.