[Severely wounded wild rabbit, combat power 0, dying]
The wild rabbit's original combat power certainly hadn't been 0, but now that it was severely wounded and dying, its combat power had dropped to zero.
The wolf must have caught the rabbit, then dropped it as bait when it noticed him following, lurking nearby to wait for him and claim another prey...
Ye Fei walked over to the rabbit, not caring whether the wolf had bitten it. He brought down the axe he had used to chop trees yesterday, emptying what little remained of its health bar.
[Killed a severely wounded wild rabbit, Survival Points +1] [Wild rabbit corpse: harvestable]
Was the sudden notification a kill reward?
Ye Fei wasn't sure whether killing any prey would earn him points, but he had no time to think about that now.
Tightening his grip on the axe, he turned and met the eyes of the wolf that sprang out.
The wolf was gray, but a layer of snow had covered it while it hid beneath a tree, making it look grayish-white.
Now that it had rushed out, the snow fell off as it ran, revealing its original gray coat.
But to reach Ye Fei, it needed to cross the four or five meters between them.
The little fox, Qingxue, sprang out of the snow and lunged at the wolf's neck. She only had to cover the distance between the wolf and the ground.
"Yip!"
The little white bundle clung to the wolf's neck, her sharp claws already slashing through its windpipe and blood vessels.
Yet the wolf kept charging at Ye Fei. Its single-minded focus while hunting had kept its eyes fixed on him from the start.
"Get away!"
Watching the wolf charge at him with its jaws wide open even as blood sprayed across the snow, Ye Fei swung his axe down at its head.
Thud!
The axe struck the wolf's head, its blade splitting the fur and skin and biting into the bone.
But Ye Fei simply wasn't strong enough. Even that full-force strike failed to break the wolf's skull, and the axe became lodged in it.
"Yip~"
The little fox raked her claws across the wolf's neck a few more times. This time, she destroyed the joints in its cervical spine.
[Severely wounded wild wolf, combat power 5, sharp teeth, dying]
The wolf collapsed into the snow, its health bar dropping rapidly, but it still had 5 points of combat power.
Even with its cervical spine destroyed, the wolf's eyes brimmed with hatred, and its jaws kept opening and snapping shut with vicious force.
Perhaps it was imagining that it had caught this human in its jaws and would tear him apart before it died.
"Qingxue, thanks for your hard work."
Ye Fei planted a foot on the wolf's neck and pulled the axe free with both hands. Then he used the blunt side to hammer at its head.
Only when the wolf's skull shattered did he catch the little fox as she leaped into his arms and stroke her in thanks.
[Killed a wild wolf, Survival Points +1] [Wild wolf corpse: harvestable]
The kill reward for the wolf was still just 1 point.
Both the rabbit's corpse and the wolf's were harvestable, but Ye Fei looked at his axe, whose durability had fallen to 5, and seriously doubted whether it could finish butchering both animals.
"Let's go. We're heading home first!"
Without a suitable harvesting tool, Ye Fei tried to put the corpses into his inventory, only to discover that unbutchered corpses couldn't be stored.
He picked up the rabbit's corpse in one hand and dragged the wolf's with the other, heading home.
He hadn't been far from home to begin with. Once he returned to the yard, he tossed both corpses onto the ground.
[Wild wolf corpse: harvestable, refresh countdown: 03:00:00] [Wild rabbit corpse: harvestable, refresh countdown: 03:00:00]
Countdowns appeared over both corpses when Ye Fei threw them onto the ground.
Sure enough, he still needed to deal with them.
As for why no countdown had appeared out in the snow, Ye Fei didn't know. He would investigate when he got his next prey.
The most important thing now was to buy a usable Dedicated Disassembly Knife for butchering prey.
When killing the wolf had brought his points up to 25, he had received a notification that an item was available for purchase in the points shop.
[Prey Butchering Knife: a knife specifically for butchering prey corpses, quick and convenient, durability 1000; price: 25 points]
With exactly 25 points on hand, Ye Fei bought it immediately.
Only after receiving it could he see its shape. Why did it look like a fruit knife...?
Fortunately, the Survival Mall hadn't cheated him on that front. The knife's weight in his hand, its feel, and its performance were all excellent.
He had expected the butchering to be troublesome, but with this knife, he finished surprisingly quickly.
He obtained 5 units of low-level leather.
The rabbit yielded 1 unit, and the wolf yielded 4.
There were also 2 portions of Rabbit Meat, 8 portions of Wild Wolf Meat, 5 beast bones, and 1 beast sinew.
His Inventory, which had been running low on items, was stuffed full again.
Looking at what he had, Ye Fei could only return indoors, open the pot, and put in both portions of Rabbit Meat. He added three bottles of water and set it to stew for one hour.
That freed up one slot, but he still had to find a way to clear out his Inventory. Otherwise, it would be miserable if he found something outside and couldn't pick it up.
[Low-level leather, 1 point each]
He listed all 5 pieces of leather first. That was the current going price, and since the trading interface charged neither stall fees nor taxes, Ye Fei thought the standard price was fine.
If they sold, he would get Survival Points. If not, he could retrieve them after 48 hours without a buyer.
The only problem was that he had just three listing slots.
He also listed the beast bones at 1 point each and the beast sinew at 5 points. Someone currently had sinew listed for 4 points, but he wasn't in a hurry to sell. He was merely clearing out his Inventory for now.
With three types of items listed for trade and two portions of Rabbit Meat stewing in the pot, the only addition to his Inventory was the 8 portions of Wild Wolf Meat he had just obtained.
As for the Dedicated Disassembly Knife, which had only lost 2 durability points, he hung it at his waist.
The sheath that came with the knife had a cord, making it easy to hang from his waist.
[Inventory 6/10: bread 20, water 19, low-level wood 27, Level-One Blood-Replenishing Pill 6, Level-One Spirit-Replenishing Pill 6, Wild Wolf Meat 8]
There were still four empty slots in his Inventory. Ye Fei checked the Rabbit Meat already stewing in the pot and the house's rapidly depleting Stored Energy, then picked up the axe he had left nearby and headed outside again.
This time, he hoped not to encounter any overly powerful prey. He just needed to complete his task first.
"Yip, yip~"
The little fox perched on Ye Fei's shoulder and rubbed her little head against his cheek, happy that the meat they had just obtained was already stewing in the pot.
Of course, she couldn't use these things herself, but she knew that once meat and water went in, there would be something delicious to eat after a while.
"Let's find some more meat, then we can come home and eat."
Watching the little fox act cute, Ye Fei spoke to her in good spirits, saying words she wouldn't understand.
Man and pet headed out again. The bloodstains in the snow outside had vanished without a trace. Ye Fei checked carefully to make sure no hidden traces of blood remained, then resumed his search with peace of mind.
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