Chapter Sixty: Taking the Initiative

After killing the avian, grayish creature, he immediately checked his mental energy expenditure and absorption. It had originally read “56,510.95” points, and now it was “56,534.5”—an increase of 23.55 points.

It worked, just as he had hoped.

This meant that the mental energy consumed in purification was far less than what the bird-like thing had provided him. He’d witnessed Da Bai’s many battles, and creatures of this crow-like size usually produced a mental core worth between 20 and 40 points. In other words, this time, the “weakness purification” had cost him only a few points of mental energy at most.

If he had simply purified it directly, the process would have been a direct clash and annihilation—whatever mental energy the enemy held, he’d have to expend an equal amount to counter it.

He could infer something else as well: monsters killed with this “Father of Systems” could be wholly absorbed; no mental core would drop.

With these realizations, Fan Bei moved forward to continue his hunt.

But this time, no more evil spirits came forward to die.

Now and then, one would appear in the air, but at the sight of Fan Bei running toward it, it would fly away at a great distance, as if it had seen Da Bai or Xiao Bai before.

Fan Bei spent a long time walking farther and farther, yet gained nothing more. He turned back, puzzled.

“Xiao Bai, you once said these low-level evil spirits are chaotic and mindless, but they seem to have a strong sense for evading danger?”

At this moment, Da Bai was following him, rolling an iron ball along and clearly enjoying himself. His “protect the master” instincts seemed to have faded significantly.

“Foolish mortal,” came the simulated sound waves from the iron ball, “chaotic spiritual life forms have a keener sense for danger. The rational ones might analyze the situation before deciding to fight or flee. But these act purely on instinct, skipping all deliberation.”

Fan Bei understood, but still felt a little frustrated. He said to Da Bai, “Da Bai, does this guy always preface everything he says to you with ‘foolish Da Bai’ too?”

Da Bai looked bewildered, barking, “No, he’s always very polite and flattering to me, and usually very patient. Only once in a while does he lose his temper.”

The iron ball continued, “Foolish mortal, Da Bai may be only a dog, but he is recognized by the most mysterious being in this universe. His essence is far beyond yours, and he is my equal. Kings may jest with kings, but would they joke with a mere peasant such as yourself?”

Fan Bei was left speechless.

Da Bai, sensing his master’s displeasure, quickly gave the iron ball a slap. “Xiao Bai, be more respectful to my master. If people heard you, they might think I’m just a fool’s dog.”

“No need, Da Bai, don’t bother persuading it.” Fan Bei waved his hand and pressed on.

It was only through personal experience that he realized how difficult and fruitless monster-hunting really was.

The valley of the shelter, once a nest of evil spirits, had been emptied after so many days of Da Bai’s battles—now it was deserted.

The few he’d encountered earlier must have migrated here recently from outside.

After all, this was the real world, not a monster-grinding game. The creatures could flee, and once dead, wouldn’t just respawn. Only breeding could sustain their populations.

No wonder, looking at the system logs from recent days, whether it was Lin Zhongqing or Lang Sheng, their rate of “pay-to-win” had dropped from an initial frenzy to a stable daily trickle—ten or twenty for the former, three to five for the latter.

Surveying the empty valley and the green-covered earth, Fan Bei stood in a daze, and it seemed as though the voices of old companions echoed in his ears.

“Xiao Fan, don’t work so hard at your studies. We’re here for you.”

“Yeah, you’re only ten, there’s no rush to learn to drive.”

It was these worthless things—now vanished without a trace, now so easily destroyed—that had annihilated the entire shelter!

It didn’t take overwhelming strength to defeat them…

He clenched his fist, a blaze of anger surging in his chest.

At that moment, a distant voice rang out.

“Oh? Are you angry at your own helplessness too? Such a familiar feeling.”

It was a low, bitter, resentful voice.

He looked in the direction from which it came, and saw, in the middle of the ruined road about a kilometer away, a man approaching.

Even at such a distance, the man could observe his state and project his voice with clarity—Fan Bei immediately realized how formidable he was.

“He’s very strong, foolish mortal. You’d best avoid conflict. Even Da Bai is no match for him,” the iron ball suddenly warned.

Da Bai instantly set down the iron ball and moved in front of Fan Bei, watching the distant figure warily.

After issuing its warning, the iron ball quietly rolled away, disappearing into the roadside grass…

Fan Bei fixed his gaze on the man. Moments before, he’d been a kilometer away, but within seconds, he appeared right before him.

He was a young man—short, pale, with a sharp chin, perhaps in his early twenties. His eyes were a mingling of blood-red and black, and a scar ran beneath one eyelid, as if struck by a whip.

“Such serious eyes,” the scarred man said, glancing at Fan Bei. “Is there a settlement further ahead?”

“There is, but it’s remote, and you have to walk a long way in and out. How did you get here?” Fan Bei asked politely.

The shelter was deep in the valley; to reach the outside, one had to travel north, then east, along a zigzag route with only one way in or out. No one would pass by by chance; you had to backtrack a long way.

The last time Xie Bo brought supplies and personnel, this was precisely why he’d left the main group waiting at the valley entrance.

The scarred man ignored Fan Bei’s question, speaking to himself instead: “Go back and tell your people to prepare one hundred kilos of gold, three hundred liters of water, and five hundred catties of food. Bring it all here…”

His tone was heavy, but carried a lofty, unquestionable authority.

“Oh, we have all of that. I wonder what you intend to offer in exchange?” Fan Bei replied calmly.

“Exchange?” The scarred man sneered, extending his hand. A mass of black, flickering flame appeared in his palm. “How about exchanging your lives?”

“So you mean to rob us? I’ll remind you, though our shelter is small, we are protected by a benevolent and noble presence.”

As Fan Bei spoke, he gathered his mental energy in his eyes.

Da Bai looked at the iron ball hiding in the grass and barked several times, but it ignored him.

Xiao Bai thought to itself, “A benevolent and noble presence? What’s that? I, Tian Bai, am just a humble, innocent spiritual being passing by.”

Then it sent a thought to Da Bai: “Don’t shout, Da Bai. Convince your master to accept his terms. At best, it means a short reprieve. But you should run—maybe he won’t care about a dog.”

Da Bai howled, then glared fiercely at the scarred man, bracing himself for a leap.

“A noble protector? Foolish, ignorant mortals—do you still believe in saviors?” The scarred man looked at Fan Bei with hatred and open disgust; Da Bai’s growling only fueled his contempt.

“Let’s see if your noble protector can save your dog’s life now!”

A cold light flashed in his eyes, and he raised his hand, ready to hurl the black flame at Da Bai.

Before he could complete the gesture, Fan Bei finally caught a glimpse of faint white lines flickering across the man’s body. Instantly, he willed:

“Weakness purification!”

At once, great black flames erupted from the man, and then white lines emerged from his lower abdomen and spread rapidly across his body!

“What—how is this possible?” The scarred man tried to raise his hand against Fan Bei, but found himself immobilized.

The white lines soon covered him entirely. His eyes widened, filled with disbelief, shock—and terror.

Strike first! Hesitation means death!

Without a moment’s delay, Fan Bei drew his pistol and fired three shots at the man’s face.

The first two did nothing, the black flames around him deflecting the bullets. But as the third shot rang out, the white lines had already reached his face, and the flames vanished. The bullet struck his brow dead center.