by Tai Baiyang
Oh god! How can the speed be so fast!
Zhang Mu had never thought that the little King Kong would be so strong even after the weakening. If it was like this now, then during the debugging period, it had probably been unbeatable.
There was no time for him to block King Kong's attack with his knife. He just moved his head aside and used his shoulders to resist the huge fist.
Undoubtedly, his bones would be completely broken, but he had no other choice. All he hoped for was that Yuan Rui would inject all her energy into him and make him recover his peak combat power.
Right now he couldn't care so much. He could do nothing but entrust his life to Yuan Rui. At this moment, preserving his life was the most important thing because life meant hope.
However, he had overlooked an important factor.
That is, Little Black who was ready to fight.
As Zhang Mu readied himself to be punched, Little Black immediately stood in front of him to protect him.
Zhang Mu's view was blocked by Little Black, but he still heard its wail. And then he flew out as the Obsidian Beetle that was beaten back by King Kong knocked into him.
Little Black withstood all the power from King Kong's punch. Zhang Mu stood up, dusted off his clothes and looked towards Little Black anxiously.
King Kong was beating it and left Little Black no chance to counterattack. The King Kong punched him fist after fist.
There were many depressions on Little Black's hard shell, but it still couldn't rid itself of King Kong's shackles.
When Zhang Mu heard Little Black's sobs getting softer, saw its struggling becoming weaker and felt its pain through the link they shared; he got so indignant that he pushed off the ground, rushed at King Kong at five times his normal speed and hacked at the rock-covered arm with his sword.
However, the sharp blade met a hard bone at this time. It had no way of cutting through King Kong's stone armour and only caused some sparks.
Luckily, his sudden burst in speed made King Kong get off Little Black's back and retreat. It cautiously stared at Zhang Mu.
Zhang Mu was heartbroken as he touched Little Black's back. He ordered, "I'll cover the rear. You leave with Yuan Rui. It's my fault, I didn't expect that the King Kong would be so ferocious and powerful."
Yuan Rui who had been frightened silly had just recovered slightly. She stood up laboriously and walked to Zhuang Mu, grasping his clothes.
But at this time, Zhang Mu didn't look her and pushed her off, throwing the turned-small Little Black at her, "Take Little Black and go! Don't cause me any trouble! The King Kong is strong, but I can escape afterwards."
Yuan Rui trusted him. Since he said that he had the ability to leave, it must be true
Yuan Rui thought, "He can do it! I can't become a burden. I'll go with Black first. Uncle must come back."
"Uncle, we are going! You must hurry up, too!"
Seeing their backs disappeared in the distance, Zhang Mu smiled bitterly.
This time, he was really in trouble.
As expected, after seeing Yuan Rui leave holding Little Black, King Kong got restless and chased after them.
King Kong didn't want to let the Obsidian Beetle go because it was its prey and it was eager to eat its core.
Naturally, Zhang Mu would not let it chase them and he stopped it with his sword.
A thin young man of 1.83 meters holding his sword was standing in front of a huge monster of 3 meters. It looked like a toddler was fighting against a bruiser.
I don't want to fight against you not because I'm was afraid of you. It just because I wasn't interested in your meat. But to think you'd have the audacity to help my prey escape.
I can't take this anymore!
King Kong's decision was simple and direct: it would kill everyone who triesd to stop him from hunting his prey.
Its savagery was aroused. King Kong roared and jumped toward Zhang Mu to punch him.
A boulder-like impact hit the knife.
"Click!"
Zhang Mu's hands were shaking. To his desperation, the sword had broken.
Zhang Mu held his broken blade even though his hands were bleeding.
How can it be? How can the gap between us be so big?
In this moment, Zhang Mu realized what he had forgotten when he formed his plan. He had forgotten that, in his past life, the grotto was taken from the mutated animals at the expense of a massive amount of evolvers from three different bases.
Powerful mutated animals were always unrivalled even when they were weakened.
Zhang Mu thought, "Am I too greedy?"
But if he wasn't greedy, how would he get stronger?
On death's doorstep, what Zhang Mu felt wasn't regret but a little pity.
However, after a while, Zhang Mu found something was wrong.
How come I'm not dead yet?
He didn't know when the Obsidian Beetle had appeared behind King Kong. It became big and grabbed its arms, pulling them back.
This time, King Kong's fist stopped in the air only 20 centimeters away from Zhang Mu's chest. Zhang Mu quickly leaped to the side and cast away his broken sword.
He found that the wound on Little Black's back had healed. Yuan Rui ran towards Zhang Mu. Seeing his bloody hands, she felt heartbroken and said sadly, "Uncle, what's wrong with you? Why do you try to show off? If Little Black hadn't told me, you'd be dead now. You are a liar. You promised me that you could escape unscathed."
Seeing that there were no other wounds on Zhang Mu's body, Yuan Rui took a deep breath and started beat him.
Zhang Mu looked at Yuan Rui and then turned to look at the lively Obsidian Beetle. He questioned, "Can your energy heal mutated animals?"
"Yes! I thought Little Black's injuries were very serious, so I tried to treat them. The wounds were indeed serious as I had to use up all my energy. What's wrong? Can't my energy be used to treat him?"
Unexpectedly, Yuan Rui's power could also heal mutated animals. How lucky am I to meet someone who awakened with such an ability?
There was a huge gap between an evolver who could treat human beings and an evolver who could also treat mutated animals.
If her evolutionary potential were to develop even further in the future, maybe she'll be able to heal other beings.
Zhang Mu was frightened by his own ideas and gasped. He said to Yuan Rui, "Yuan Rui, this time you have really done a great job."
Then Little Black shouted Zhang Mu through their mental bond, "No more nonsense, I can't hold up anymore."
With that, Zhang Mu noticed that the King Kong had nearly broken free from Little Black's claws. He immediately picked up the broken sword and rushed towards the struggling monkey. Under King Kong's horrified gaze, he thrust it into its eyeball at a very high speed, piercing through the entire head with the sharpened blade.
King Kong's last struggles broke two of Little Black's claws. But it had long forgotten the pain as it ate the big beast core - that was three times bigger than those of normal monkeys - within King Kong's brain.
One person was staring dazedly at the dull knife in his hand, another person was standing still silently, and a beetle with broken claws was eating brain matter on its own. It was a strange sight.
Chapter 39: Arrival of the New Weapon
"I didn't think that the Tang sword that I got through so much effort would be broken."
Zhang Mu shook his head with a bitter smile.
One should know that, in his past life, he had used a weapon for three entire months and only threw away it when it got too worn-out. But this is normal. After all, he was not the same as in his past life, nor were the monsters he encountered now, who were much more powerful.
Although he knew that that was a truth, he still felt a little heartbroken as it was difficult for him to find a weapon that was especially good to deal with monsters.
If Zhang Mu was unable to find another weapon, he would have to fight the zombies with his bare hands.
That
's not good, he must find a suitable weapon.
Zhang Mu quickly glanced at Little Black claws on the ground while he thought. He showed a faint smile and looked greedily at Little Black who was still eating.
Feeling Zhang Mu's gaze, Little Black shivered as if it knew what Zhang Mu wanted to do. It finished King Kong's brain frantically and gathered its fallen claws under its body in order to hide them from Zhang Mu's greedy eyes.
"What do you want with my claws?" Little Black asked in its mind.
Hearing its question through the bond they both shared, Zhang Mu chuckled, "Anyway, they have fallen and can't put back on again. You know that my sword was broken, so it's better to give them to me. It would be such a pity if they were wasted!"
Little Black shook its head like a rattle drum. They were parts of its body. It could not accept them being used as weapons by Zhang Mu.
Although Little Black's claws were ripped off by King Kong, the actual reason why they broke was that the joints were not tough enough.
As for the claws themselves, they were the hardest part of its body along with its back and they were much sharper than blades refined by the humans. In Zhang Mu's opinion, they could become long daggers after making a few modifications.
This was why Zhang Mu desired them. The more he looked at them, the more he wanted them.
When Zhang Mu saw Little Black reluctance, he decided to try and tempt him. Zhang Mu said, "Little Black, how about I give you some crystals and beast cores in exchange? After all, if you don't give them me, they would go to waste since you can't possibly keep them as souvenirs, right?"
Seeing that Little Black was starting to hesitate, Zhang Mu continued, "Name a price. No matter how expensive, I'll pay for it. If what I have right now is not enough, I'll owe you and repay you in the future. How about it?"
After hearing this, Little Black wavered even more as it began to think that what Zhang Mu said made sense. But as its intelligence had improved, Little Black thought it couldn't agree so easily and must raise the price.
Little Black's small eyes kept turning and said with reluctance, "In the future, all the wind-type beast cores belong to me no matter how valuable they are. If you promise that, I'll give you my claws."
Zhang Mu promised without second thoughts because he had intended from the start to give Little Black all the cores that were good for it. After all, if Little Black's strength grew, it would also help him.
No matter how much Little Black's grew intellectually, it was no mac for Zhang Mu, a crafty businessman. Zhang Mu had paid nothing and made Little Black obediently hand over its claws.
Seeing Zhang Mu promised so decisively, Little Black wondered and said unconfidently, "Moreover, in the future, I'll pick out crystals first, or I won't give them you."
Zhang Mu knocked on its head and sneered, "You should learn to stop at the right time. I'm your master and you are supposed to give me everything you have. I'm already merciful by compensating you. Don't be insatiable!"
Little Black instantly lost his temper and felt that what Zhang Mu said was very reasonable. If Zhang Mu had given it a hard-hearted command, it couldn't have refused him. So it was already kind of him to consult with it.
Zhang Mu sneered, "Do you think I don't know that after eating King Kong's core and brains, your claws would quickly grow back and have the strength attribute of the mutated King Kong?"
After hearing that, Little Black was shocked and asked stutteringly, "Master, how did you know? I just felt a strand of heat coming from the fracture of my claws and joints, it felt like it was reviving. Although, it will indeed grow back automatically in half a month, how did you know I will get the King Kong's power?"
Damn, I spilled the beans. I forgot Little Black wasn't a bug with a low intelligence anymore.
Zhang Mu got nervous, but immediately, he calmed down and said, "Nonsense! Do you think I don't know what you are thinking? In the place where your claws are broken, the new flesh and blood are growing at a very high speed. I guess you will recover in one night. As for whether or not you will get the ability of King Kong, I didn't know. I was just trying you. I didn't expect it to be true. And you still dare to bargain with me? You're already getting the greatest benefit."
When Little Black realized Zhang Mu knew everything, it quickly picked up the two claws on the ground and gave them to Zhang Mu tamely. It was afraid he would really get angry.
Zhang Mu took them and wiped off the blood and dust. After he scraped off the residual flesh, a sharply curved dagger took form, reflecting cold light when illuminated by the torches on the ground.
Little Black looked gingerly at Zhang Mu who was studying its claws and asked, "The cores you promised me, will you give them to me?"
Zhang Mu was currently very excited about his new weapons. He waved his hands impatiently and said, "I never break my promises. Don't worry, all the wind-type cores will be given to you in the future."
Obtaining Zhang Mu's promise, Little Black was very happy and ate the rest of King Kong's meat.
At this time, Yuan Rui didn't care about Little Black anymore. She had been worried about it as she saw that its claws had broken. But after hearing what Zhang Mu said, she stopped worrying about it.
Yuan Rui walked towards Zhang Mu and said, "Uncle, there are no more monsters. Is the treasure you are looking for located here? But I have never heard any legends about it."
At this point, Zhang Mu moved his attention from the new daggers and stared at the grottoes meaningfully. He answered, "Yes, it was the cataclysm that made the treasure gain the chance to recover its great power. No one can refuse its temptation."
Yuan Rui just thought it was the foresight ability that had enabled Zhang Mu to see something. But Zhang Mu knew clearly just how many terrible and bloody conflicts the treasure stirred in his past life.
Chapter 40: The Secret of the Great Buddha
Watching Little Black stuff himself in satisfaction with the meat of the King Kong, Zhang Mu chuckled, "If you're so greedy, you'll have a problem sooner or later. You just wasted too much time."
Little Black flapped its wing innocently and didn’t mind whatever Zhang Mu said. Moreover, it was still looking at the mutated King Kong’s stone arm with pity in its eyes because it couldn't eat it.
In fact, Zhang Mu knew that he shouldn't blame Little Black as the King Kong, who had a great bloodline potential and first-ranked power, was of great allure to Little Black. On top of that, Little Black was stuck at a bottleneck in the first rank. Eating low-quality food wouldn't help it improve, no matter what the quantity of food was.
It was also the reason why Little Black forced itself to eat the King Kong's core, even if it wasn't really suitable for it.
In the end, it was still a great tonic.
Zhang Mu sensed that Little Black would evolve to the second rank sooner or later according to its present development.
He couldn't imagine what a big catastrophe it would be if the humans, who just learned their evolving abilities, were to face an uncontrolled second-ranked monster, merely in the first week of the cataclysm.
No matter how powerful the potential of an evolver was, it was impossible for the evolver to unleash all of his abilities for now because humans still needed to adapt to control their powers, and at the same time, Little Black did everything by instinct. As for ordinary people, every rank represented an insurmountable gap.
Only the people standing at the top had the ability to survive skip-rank battles, for they had excellent talent and terrifying combat instincts.
For the monsters, to evolve, they only needed to eat cores with the same properties as theirs, mutated animal's blood and flesh to refine their own core and use crystals to increase their energy.
However, for human beings, the path of evolution was more difficult because the flesh and blood of mutated animals didn't have much of an effect on them. The human beings who were born without the ability to control their energy and potential have to accumulate
energy first. Then, they need to use crystals to reinforce their energy and finally, they have to use beast cores that correspond to their attributes to refine their energy's purity level.
Through the bond he shared with Little Black, Zhang Mu perceived that the beetle was absorbing the flesh and blood it just ate and was transforming it into its own energy. With Little Black becoming more and more powerful, Zhang Mu got more confident.
Zhang Mu picked up a torch on the ground with one hand and held Yuan Rui with his other hand. He walked towards the grotto while Little Black had become small to digest the food it just ate.
Soon afterwards, they went into the grotto where the statue of the Great Buddha was located. The cave was not deep, because Zhang Mu had waved his torch and had seen the solemn Great Buddha who seemed to be staring at him.
In this kind of situation, the quietness in the grotto was indeed quite creepy. Yuan Rui was scared and got closer to Zhang Mu. Zhang Mu patted her hands softly to comfort her and said, "Don't worry! We have passed the most dangerous parts. There's nothing that can scare you."
Although Zhang Mu said so, the environment was indeed very eerie, as wisps of cold air came from the stone Buddha. It would be creepy if it weren’t an illusion.
"You stand here, I'll go up to take the treasure down."
Zhang Mu was about to let go of Yuan Rui's hand, but then found that she was grasping his arm tightly and had started to shiver. The environment was becoming colder and colder.
Zhang Mu turned his head to look to Little Black on his shoulder and then threw it to Yuan Rui, "You can go out and wait for me for a while. It's a little strange here, but nothing special."
Hearing Zhang Mu's words, Yuan Rui shivered and said, "Ok, I'll go out first."
Holding Little Black in her hand, Yuan Rui ran out of the grotto.
Zhang Mu felt quite confused. It wasn't that cold here, so why did Yuan Rui get scared like that?
Shaking his head, Zhang Mu threw this thought to the back of his mind and started to climb up the Great Buddha. At the places where he really couldn't find support, he had no choice but used Little Black's claw as a supporting point. Right now, he couldn't afford to care about the preservation of cultural relics.