Chapter 150: Returning to the Misty Space

It was impossible to say how enormous an adult kaiju beast might become. Perhaps it could weigh several hundred tons, or even more than a thousand.

If such a creature appeared on Blue Star, that would be the true beginning of a disaster for humanity.

Lu Chen also believed that day would not be far off.

By then, he feared even he might be helpless.

A thought suddenly occurred to him: American alligators generally reached adulthood at ten to twelve years of age. If that calculation held true, then he himself could be considered to be in his juvenile stage. There was still unlimited room for growth in the future.

At that moment, Dong Mingjun appeared nearby in a flash.

“Your Excellency, Dragon King, would you be willing to hand the Kaiju Beast King’s remains over to humanity for research? We are prepared to purchase them for two thousand Grade-One Spirit Stones.”

To them, the corpse of this dead mutated beast possessed immense scientific value.

If they could uncover the secret behind its ability to withstand physical attacks, they could develop corresponding weapons and methods of attack.

If another kaiju-beast invasion occurred, humanity would not be left in such a miserable state.

“Five thousand. I’ll keep a few remains and give you the rest.”

The corpse of a mutated beast was valuable, but spirit stones were even more attractive.

“Deal!”

Dong Mingjun immediately nodded.

One million energy points were worth only two thousand five hundred spirit stones when converted. By turning around and earning twice as much, Lu Chen felt that he possessed a real talent for business.

Of course, humanity would not lose out in the transaction either.

Spirit stones could be mined at any time. In fact, more than ten mines had already been discovered within the borders of Xia, and large quantities of spirit stones were being produced every day. High-grade spirit stones, naturally, remained scarce.

Besides supplying the Crisis Response Group’s daily needs, some of the stones were released onto the market, while the rest were stored as strategic resources.

Thus, Grade-One Spirit Stones were no longer particularly rare. They were perfect for trading with the Dragon King.

After all, there was only one Kaiju Beast King carcass this complete on the entire Blue Star. Its significance was enormous. The smaller kaiju beasts also possessed tremendous research value and could be used in exchanges with other countries.

***

In the Internet age, all information spread at lightning speed.

The battle that had taken place on the beach of Dragonport City soon spread across Blue Star.

After watching the videos, countless people were left utterly stunned.

At the same time, the name of the Dragon King once again resounded throughout the world. Many netizens called him the Guardian of Blue Star and humanity’s best friend. Numerous businesses even spotted an opportunity and rushed to launch all kinds of cartoon merchandise featuring the Dragon King.

The companies of Melligan, meanwhile, broke into cold sweats one after another after watching the battle footage.

Had they known that this mutated American alligator possessed such terrifying strength, how could they ever have dared to set their sights on it?

As for why the Dragon King had suddenly helped humanity, many countries sent people to investigate.

They soon learned the truth behind the matter: it had all been a trade involving spirit stones.

Once they understood what had happened, quite a few countries began entertaining ideas of their own. If similar invasions by mutated beasts occurred in the future, they might be able to ask the Dragon King for assistance. All it would cost was a few spirit stones.

The turmoil of the human world had little to do with Lu Chen.

After accepting the spirit stones delivered by Dong Mingjun, he did not return to the primeval forests of Madura. Instead, he entered the hot-spring valley of Southern Sky Mountain once more.

Golden Spot was delighted by his arrival and hurriedly ordered the monkeys to bring out delicious fruits and food.

Seeing how respectful the creature was, Lu Chen directly rewarded it with a Grade-One Spirit Stone.

Back then, Lu Chen had gone to great lengths just to obtain a single Grade-One Spirit Stone.

Now, spirit stones were no longer anything rare to him.

Giving one to Golden Spot would also help strengthen their relationship.

The creature leaped about excitedly, hurriedly opened its mouth, and swallowed the stone. It then carefully sensed the changes taking place within its body.

When night fell, Lu Chen soon entered the Misty Space through the rift.

Returning to the old place, he found everything unchanged.

Thick water vapor shrouded the surroundings, limiting visibility to little more than twenty meters.

But Lu Chen’s scale-sensing abilities had improved several times over since his previous visit. He could easily detect the faintest disturbances in the mist hundreds of meters away.

Combined with his danger perception, he had no fear of encountering anything dangerous. This time, he intended to explore deeper into the Misty Space.

When he reached the place where he had once mined spirit stones, Lu Chen was somewhat surprised.

He had originally assumed that, after his departure, the Xia Mining Company would begin exploiting the mineral vein here.

Unexpectedly, they had left it untouched.

After pausing briefly, Lu Chen continued deeper into the region.

When he passed the Demon-Eater Tree, he stopped once again.

The plant-like life-form had been blasted until only its roots remained, yet it had not truly died. Around the surviving stump, quite a few new branches had grown. Many fist-sized cocoons hung from them.

The Demon-Eater Tree’s memory was clearly much better than that of the giant kelp forest. When it saw Lu Chen, it never once displayed any intention of attacking.

Instead, its roots obediently hid beneath the ground, not daring to show themselves.

Curious, Lu Chen tore open several cocoons to inspect them.

Inside, besides insects, there were also the remains of several small animals. Clearly, after losing its soft branches, its hunting ability had declined dramatically.

Lu Chen thought for a moment and decided not to destroy the Demon-Eater Tree completely.

Instead, he would leave it there for the time being and let it continue growing.

After all, once this thing reached a certain stage of growth, it could produce psionic wood cores.

A single core could provide tens of thousands of energy points, even surpassing a Grade-Three Spirit Stone.

Perhaps after some time, he would be able to harvest another batch.

Moreover, judging from the growth of the Demon-Eater Tree sapling in his inner space, as long as it had sufficient blood and flesh to consume, it would continue evolving without end.

A thought stirred within him, and Lu Chen directed his consciousness into the inner space.

What the hell…

The moment he saw the Demon-Eater Tree sapling, his beast pupils widened.

It had originally stood only a little over three meters tall, with a trunk as thick as a bowl.

In just three short days, it had grown to more than six meters, its trunk as thick as a water barrel. Dozens of black branches, each of a different thickness, stretched out in every direction like tentacles or suction tubes.

They wrapped the kaiju-beast carcasses into cocoons and continuously sucked out their nutrients.

The sight was bizarre and gruesome.

When making the deal with Dong Mingjun, Lu Chen had deliberately kept seven or eight kaiju-beast carcasses. He had conducted experiments before and found that the flesh of these minor creatures was not particularly nutritious, yielding roughly four energy points per pound.

Lu Chen naturally thought little of that amount, but neither did he waste it. Instead, he had stuffed all the carcasses into his inner space to serve as nourishment for the Demon-Eater Tree.

He had not expected the creature to be so greedy, intending to swallow all the flesh in a single sitting.

Compared with the mother tree before him, its appetite was even greater. It was truly a case of a greedy snake trying to swallow an elephant.

It also seemed far stranger and more terrifying.

The more Lu Chen watched, the more he felt that he might have cultivated an extraordinary tree monster. Deep down, he even felt somewhat uneasy. If the creature became powerful enough to turn on its host, the consequences would be disastrous.

After all, planting a tree in his inner space was also a first for him. No one could say what it might eventually become.

If it truly turned on him, that would be nothing more than suffering the consequences of his own actions.

Should he appraise it again?

As soon as the thought arose, Lu Chen instinctively looked at the data on the system panel.