On the snow.
Shen Heng and the others walked towards the two beast figures, one large and one small, lying unconscious on the ground.
Their original plan was simple: they would lie in ambush somewhere, use Qin Yu's abilities to minimize their presence, and then have Shen Heng lure out a Fourth Tier Calamity Beast for a surprise attack, knocking it unconscious and interrogating it.
Although the desired goal has been achieved, there were some unexpected twists and turns along the way.
Firstly, due to his limited abilities, Shen Heng didn't try to throw a glancing blow directly at the Fourth Tier Calamity Beast. Instead, he threw a glancing blow at the weaker Shadow Wolf that was closer to the outside, so that it would notice the commotion outside and then try to go inside to find the Fourth Tier Calamity Beast to check the situation.
Unexpectedly, after the Shadow Wolf went in, it ran out on its own after some time.
Left with no other option, Shen Heng gave a new indication when the Shadow Wolf appeared: having found clues, they needed to summon even stronger Calamity Beast to investigate the situation.
This time, there were no problems; it was a Fourth Tier Calamity Beast.
Unexpectedly, the Calamity Beast that emerged stopped halfway through its journey, realizing it had discovered the place and needed to return to report.
Helpless, Shen Heng had no choice but to assign different inclinations to the two beasts.
One strongly urged them to give up, while the other said they'd just take a look.
Finally, we succeeded.
but...
Shen Heng slowly stopped, his gaze falling on the One-Horned Lizard, which was significantly larger than the others.
"That two-legged worm again?"
"Does this One-Horned Lizard recognize me?"
Shen Heng looked at the One-Horned Lizard with a slightly puzzled expression.
Although the One-Horned Lizard had been looking at them, his intuition told him that those words were meant for him.
Where had he seen this One-Horned Lizard before?... Shen Heng pondered. He was somewhat ignorant about animals, and felt that all the Calamity Beast of the same species looked pretty much the same.
My brain quickly searched, and the image suddenly froze on the moment before entering the Erosion Zone, when the first Calamity Beast surged out of Erosion Zone.
At that time, a wave of Calamity Beast headed towards them, including a One-Horned Lizard was unable to defeat them and fled.
This was the only time he had come into contact with the One-Horned Lizard in the past few months.
So... is it that one?... Shen Heng's gaze swept across the One-Horned Lizard's face.
The shapes seem somewhat similar, but...
Shen Heng's gaze lingered on the One-Horned Lizard's head.
The single horn, which was originally in the center, was now tilting slightly to the other side.
On the other side it opens up, there is a slightly raised bulge.
"What's that?" Zhou Xuan also noticed the bulge and pointed at it.
Without waiting for a reply, he jumped onto the One-Horned Lizard's head and reached out to touch it.
"Hmm... it's a bit soft, but there seems to be something very hard underneath."
"It might be growing a second horn!" Shen Heng guessed.
"Huh? Will a second one grow?" Zhou Xuan turned to look at Shen Heng in surprise.
"That position, the one that the chairman will hold, is probably the corner!" Shen Heng's gaze fell on another corner on the side of that bulge.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuan withdrew his gaze, looking at the single horn and the bulge, and nodded thoughtfully.
"That makes sense, but shouldn't One-Horned Lizard only have one horn?"
"The name was chosen based on its past characteristics. In reality, even headquarters doesn't know what will happen to the Calamity Beast later," Shen Heng said.
"What's next? Is it going to... advance to the Fifth Tier?" Zhou Xuan sensed the Origin Power fluctuations emanating from the One-Horned Lizard and then said, "So that means the One-Horned Lizard will be renamed the Two-Horned Lizard from now on?"
"The name is going to be changed, but it probably won't be something like 'Two-Horned Lizard'," Shen Heng said.
"Hmm? Why?" Zhou Xuan asked.
"Since it can grow a second horn, there's no way to be sure if it will grow a third one, so it's unlikely to be named after the number of horns!" Shen Heng said calmly.
Zhou Xuan nodded slightly, then turned and asked,
"So how do we proceed with the interrogation now?"
This time, Shen Heng did not reply immediately.
He looked at the One-Horned Lizard, paused for a moment, and then said:
"I can interrogate the One-Horned Lizard using the method I just described, but that method is quite time-consuming and energy-intensive."
"At that time, I might not have enough energy to pay attention to what's happening outside."
"So, in the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you could keep watch along the sidelines. If any of the Calamity Beast discover that the One-Horned Lizard has awakened, notify them immediately and then return!"
Han Ling glanced at Shen Heng, said nothing, slung her gun over her shoulder, and turned to walk in another direction.
The others nodded in agreement, and led by Han Ling, they each walked in a different direction.
Zhou Xuan also put his hands behind his head and walked in one direction.
After walking a sufficient distance, it leaped onto a tree and looked around.
"Hmm... I wonder what useful information we can get from this interrogation?"
"Hmm? Something's not right!"
Zhou Xuan seemed to suddenly realize something, and his gaze fell on the three figures on the ground a little further away.
"Can One-Horned Lizard speak human language? If they can't, then even if they're Induction into speaking, Shen Heng won't understand!"
Zhou Xuan stared wide-eyed into the distance.
You see, Calamity Beast aren't born knowing how to speak human language. The ones we've encountered before that could all learn to speak after spending some time in human society...
"No, no!"
Zhou Xuan shook his head violently, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"If Shen Heng is going to interrogate them, it means he definitely believes that the two sides have communicated!"
"In other words, the One-Horned Lizard should be able to speak human language, or..."
As if he had thought of something, Zhou Xuan's lips curled up slightly, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.
"Can Shen Heng speak the language of the Calamity Beast?"
"So, telling us to leave was partly to warn us, but also because he didn't want us to see him speaking animal language?!"
Thinking about how Shen Heng was chattering away with the One-Horned Lizard after they left, Zhou Xuan couldn't help but smile again.
"Hey, really, we've known each other for so long, what's the point of hiding this? Even if what he says is hilarious, I won't laugh unless I can't help it!"
"Well, not necessarily. It's still possible that the One-Horned Lizard can speak human language!"
"After all, at the Fourth Tier, with the passive enhancement of mental strength, mastering a completely new language might be a little difficult, but for basic communication, it won't take much time!"
Thinking of this, Zhou Xuan nodded slightly.
"Hmm, that's possible!"
"Furthermore, even if he couldn't, Shen Heng could simply have the terminal record what the One-Horned Lizard said and then have the people at the base translate it!"
"But..."
As if he had thought of something, Zhou Xuan's smile widened even further.
He didn't think much more about it, but mentally praised himself for his cleverness and resourcefulness. He then sat on a thick tree branch and turned to be on guard about his surroundings.