Chapter 47: Mutation

"Hoo..."

Han Ning let out a long breath and asked, "Boss Lin, is the southern side really just the relatively safest among the three entrances?"

If even the monsters at the southern entrance were this powerful, wouldn't exploring the two northern entrances result in even more casualties?

Lin Qianqian shook her head.

"No, vortex-armored crabs generally only inhabit areas three hundred meters deep into the fog zone. I have no idea why that one wandered to the outer perimeter."

"Furthermore, vortex-armored crabs usually prefer to hunt alone. It is very rare for them to move in pairs or groups, and we have never encountered such a thing during our previous explorations."

"Perhaps something unusual has happened deep within the fog zone."

At this, she sighed and said, "Han Ning, your strength exceeded my expectations. Dealing with a vortex-armored crab previously required at least six people, three of whom had to be vice-president-tier Awakeners."

"I never expected the three of us to kill one."

"I see." Han Ning nodded. "Boss Lin, what are our arrangements for next?"

"Since you still have plenty of stamina, how about we hunt some marsh lizards nearby?" Lin Qianqian looked up and down at Han Ning, whose breathing had gradually returned to steady, and smiled.

"Alright."

With the day still young, they utilized Xuebing's ability to sense its own kind, combined with Yu Na's scouting methods, and hunted over a dozen more marsh lizards in the southern area. They only returned to the resort once their energies were mostly depleted.

Since the energy released by the marsh lizards was split among three people, Lin Qianqian's theory was that all three of them posed a significant threat to ordinary marsh lizards anyway.

Consequently, the dozen or so marsh lizards brought Han Ning the following gains:

[Druid Growth Progress +120] (Current Lv4, 227/600)
[Marsh Lizard Growth Progress +36] (Current 71/200)
[Vines Technique (Advanced) Proficiency +20] (Current 38/500)
[Animal Companion Proficiency +25, Current 105/200]
...

Upon returning to the resort, the three of them sat in the resting area, eating to replenish their stamina.

Han Ning held a few pieces of beef jerky, washed them down with milk, and chewed vigorously.

Yu Na held a thickened, oversized instant noodle cake in both hands, crunching away with her cheeks puffed out, looking just like a little hamster.

In contrast, Lin Qianqian appeared much more elegant, delicately pinching a piece of compressed biscuit, taking a bite, and sipping her milk.

It was almost as if she were enjoying afternoon tea at a trendy cafe.

"Boss Lin, what use is this pair of crab pincers?"

Han Ning finished off the beef jerky and milk in a few bites, unzipped his backpack, took out the pair of white crab pincers wrapped in a bag, and examined them closely.

Lin Qianqian stopped eating and replied, "You can sell them to Awakeners who have awakened water-type abilities."

"These pincers seem to contain a certain amount of water-type energy, and coupled with their special structure, water-type Awakeners can use them to slightly amplify the power of their water-type abilities."

"They have that kind of use?" Han Ning tapped lightly on the arm-thick crab pincer, his tone surprised.

Wasn't this basically a mage's staff?

Except it was a budget version.

He carefully set the heavy pincers aside and shifted his gaze to the bag of snow-white crab meat. "What about this meat?"

Lin Qianqian answered, "The meat of the vortex-armored crab is infused with the aura of the Black Tide. Awakeners can consume it in small amounts, and it provides a very strong sense of satiety."

"Ordinary people must never eat it. Their bodies cannot withstand the corrosion of the Black Tide aura. Consuming it leads to mental derangement and uncontrollable, malignant mutations of body tissues at the mildest, and turning into a mindless monster at the worst. Back in the early days of our association, someone secretly fed a little low-grade mirage worm meat to their family member, and the result..."

She did not continue. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke again.

"If you don't want to eat it, you can feed it to your pet."

Since ordinary people couldn't handle it, Xu Ming and Yinyin definitely must not touch it.

"Hiss-ha, hiss-ha..."

As if to validate her words, a rapid series of hissing sounds came from Xuebing's throat. Its yellow, vertical pupils stared fixedly at the bag of meat in Han Ning's hand, its tail gently slapping the ground while its large head kept rubbing against Han Ning's leg, saliva practically dripping down.

Seeing Xuebing's eager appearance, Han Ning couldn't help but smile.

He took out a few chunks of heavy, snow-white crab meat and handed them to Xuebing.

"Here, a reward for you. You did a good job today."

"Roar!" Xuebing let out a happy, low growl, opened its large mouth wide, and precisely caught the crab meat.

The crab meat vanished into its mouth at a visible speed, and a wave of satisfaction transmitted over through the soul contract.

[Marsh Lizard Growth Progress +3, Current 74/200]

"The crab meat can even boost Xuebing's growth progress. Not bad..." Han Ning nodded inwardly.

After resting for a while and feeling the spiritual energy slowly recovering within his body, Han Ning did not linger long at Biyun Resort.

Taking Xuebing with him, he activated [Fish Gills] and plunged his figure into the turbid rainwater, swimming rapidly toward the direction of the apartment building.

On the way home, Han Ning couldn't help but ponder.

Commuting several kilometers back and forth between the apartment building and the resort every day was simply too troublesome.

Aside from Liu Feng's little clique, there were hardly anyone left in the apartment building where he currently resided.

There was basically no need to stay there any longer.

"It's time to move." Han Ning made up his mind.

Biyun Resort had a stable communication platform and a marketplace. Whether viewed from the perspective of safety, information gathering, or future development, it was far superior to an apartment building isolated amidst floodwaters.

There were many people there. Once Xu Ming and Yinyin moved over, they wouldn't have to spend all day staring blankly in an empty room like they did now.

Xu Ming could also help gather all sorts of information and build connections. In the future, getting some live small animals back for him to raise would be entirely feasible.

Inside Apartment 803.

Han Ning walked over to the planting area in the corner of the balcony as usual.

First, he cast accelerated growth on the other crops.

Finally, his gaze fell upon the two potted plants serving as his primary experimental subjects.

Han Ning mobilized his spiritual energy, causing his palms to glow with a verdant halo brimming with the aura of life.

The beam of light accurately enveloped the potato sprout on the left.

As the green light seeped in, the leaf veins became clearer and greener, the stem stood tall, and it radiated vibrant vitality, though there were no other anomalies.

[Natural Blessing (Junior) Proficiency +1, Current 31/200]

He turned to the tomato sprout on the right and continued casting Natural Blessing.

The green light flowed, and the branches and leaves of the tomato sprout greedily absorbed the energy, swaying slightly.

[Natural Blessing (Junior) Proficiency +1, Current 32/200]

Everything seemed identical to before.

Han Ning sighed inwardly, preparing to cast the blessing on the potato sprout once more.

However, just as he gathered his spiritual energy and swept his gaze across the tomato sprout, his movements paused slightly.

He noticed that a few seconds after the verdant brilliance completely faded from the tomato sprout that had just received the blessing, the edges of several older leaves near its base quietly emitted an extremely faint yet strikingly distinct red halo.