“Do we not need to collect these bodies?”
Su Yue looked at the mutated bird carcasses on the ground and asked with some curiosity.
“There’s no need. They’ve all been blasted into charcoal.”
Bai Xuan shook his head. After all, these mutated birds didn’t have much meat on them anyway, and they probably wouldn’t taste very good.
“Oh, okay.”
Su Yue nodded, and then the two of them wandered around the nature reserve for a while. From time to time, they would encounter some mutated beasts. Although these beasts weren’t as hostile toward them as the crimson giant tiger or the mutated bird flock Bai Xuan had encountered earlier, they would still attack them.
It was hard to tell if the beasts saw Bai Xuan and Su Yue as intruders stepping into their territory.
As for the outcome, there’s not much to say. Bai Xuan’s spatial ring ended up with quite a few more mutated creature corpses.
This time, he didn’t use the power of lightning to tear their bodies apart like before. Instead, he relied mostly on gravity or used force to penetrate their vital areas, trying his best not to damage their meat.
If the meat of these mutated creatures actually helped speed up cultivation and strengthen the body for humans, then their fate would be hard to predict.
Regardless of whether these creatures would later turn hostile toward humans, humans might very well be the ones to take the initiative and attack.
Right now, we’re at the very beginning of the spirit energy recovery. Many things from the past will gradually change until humans truly adapt to this new era.
But before that happens, humans and these mutated creatures cannot coexist peacefully.
It’s impossible for humans to pass laws protecting mutated creatures, and the mutated creatures won’t guarantee human safety.
Both sides are extremely dangerous to each other.
As for communication—well, once the spirit energy recovery deepens and these mutated creatures develop intelligence comparable to humans, maybe then it could be possible. But until then… there’s no chance at all.
And that period of time is bound to be a very long one.
Time slowly passed, and before we knew it, evening had arrived.
Bai Xuan and Su Yue didn’t stay in the nature reserve any longer. They walked out, and nearby there were places specifically arranged for them to rest.
Exploring the nature reserve isn’t something that can be done in a day or two. Although the mission didn’t specify how long they needed to patrol, they were to stay here until they received further instructions from their superiors.
It’s not like they had anything better to do anyway.
Besides, the facilities here had everything they needed. The accommodations weren’t as luxurious as a villa, but the decor was still top-notch.
And there was no need to worry about food—designated staff provided it.
For Bai Xuan, living in the nature reserve wasn’t bad at all. With his gravity-manipulation ability, he didn’t need to rely on any exercise equipment to train. Besides, wasn’t fighting mutated creatures way more interesting than just plain training?
As for Su Yue, she didn’t have any complaints either.
With Bai Xuan around for safety, she didn’t feel afraid.
And after witnessing just how terrifying Bai Xuan’s strength really was, she had come to realize, more or less, that the times were truly changing.
Take the crimson giant tiger they encountered at the very beginning—if Bai Xuan hadn’t been there, she would have died for sure.
And the mutated bird flock after that—their speed was probably comparable to bullets, wasn’t it?
And this is still just the early stages of the spirit energy recovery. Would there eventually be mutated creatures that aren’t afraid of guns or even heavy firepower? What about creatures that could withstand nuclear bombs?
Even if such creatures don’t appear, it’s still terrifying enough.
If they ever show up in human cities, how dangerous would that be?
A genuine desire to grow stronger welled up inside her, along with a sense of urgency.
As for the fact that the animals they hunted in the morning were part of the nature reserve? What did that have to do with her?
At a time like this, who cares about that?!
If you treat them like protected animals, they won’t go easy on you.
Bai Xuan had no idea what Su Yue was thinking. And frankly, her thoughts didn’t have much to do with him.
After finishing the meal that had been brought to them, Bai Xuan went back to his own room and started training.
Su Yue couldn’t help but admire Bai Xuan’s self-discipline.
He had incredible talent, wielding four abilities—lightning, metal element, space, and physical enhancement—and yet he still had such strong willpower.
It was the classic case of “someone more gifted than you working even harder than you.”
Bai Xuan’s overwhelming strength was probably inseparable from his intense training, wasn’t it?
Su Yue shook her head.
If it weren’t for today’s investigation, she never would have imagined that a human could already be this powerful.
Aside from the mutated creatures they encountered earlier, they later came across a massive, five-meter-tall bear covered in what looked like a thick layer of rock armor. Every step it took made the ground tremble.
But even such a powerful mutated creature was easily pierced by the sharp spines Bai Xuan had condensed from metal element energy.
And then Bai Xuan casually cut off its bear paws and both hind legs.
That bear’s defense had been incredibly tough. Her own ice-element spikes couldn’t pierce it no matter how hard she tried. But Bai Xuan made it look effortless.
Was it because the metal element is sharper than the ice element?
Maybe. But beyond that, it definitely had to do with Bai Xuan’s overwhelming power.
She had never seen anyone wield the metal element so powerfully before.
Over the next few days, Bai Xuan and Su Yue stuck to their routine of “nine to five”—entering the nature reserve at 9 a.m. to investigate the distribution of mutated creatures, while also casually picking out a few “lucky” ones to collect their bodies.
As time went on, some of the mutated creatures in the nature reserve would run away the moment they saw Bai Xuan and Su Yue. A few even memorized their scent and would flee as soon as they got close, which seriously interfered with their investigation work.
But there wasn’t much they could do about that. Surely their superiors would understand.
As for the taste of these mutated creatures, both Bai Xuan and Su Yue had to give them a big thumbs-up. The meat was firm yet tender, and the moment it entered your mouth, it released a rich, fragrant aroma that seemed to awaken some primal craving deep inside your body.
Once you started eating, you just couldn’t stop.
And since Bai Xuan had a rather special constitution, the few batches of meat they’d gathered disappeared completely within just two nights.
That forced them to go out and restock.
The effects were also quite noticeable. Although Bai Xuan didn’t feel much difference, Su Yue’s strength increased significantly every time she ate the meat.
It was probably safe to say that after they submitted their report, even though the area would still be called a nature reserve, its meaning would definitely change.
Who could resist delicious, tasty, and strength-boosting “food on legs”?
After finishing dinner made from the mutated creatures that night, Bai Xuan didn’t start training right away. Instead, he sat on the sofa with his eyes closed, his mind filled with a mysterious and complex passage of text.
It was the version of the Star Absorption Technique based on universal gravitation, from the world of Smiling, Proud Wanderer.
But this content…
“How come it’s exactly the same as the ‘Absorption Technique’ I found online?”
Bai Xuan rubbed his forehead in frustration. Could it be that in a different world, those made-up martial arts techniques that are completely useless in our world actually become real, genuine cultivation manuals in a martial arts world?
