Lin Li looked at the dead Mutant Beasts, his thoughts racing.
’Everyone’s caught up in the heat of battle right now. No one’s going to pay attention to dead Mutant Beasts. As long as I’m careful, no one will notice...’
After some quick thinking, the temptation of getting the Magical Little Fruit was too great. Lin Li made his decision.
Lin Li then approached the nearest dead Mutant Beast—the Porcupine Beast whose head he had run through with his sword.
Before acting, Lin Li cautiously observed his surroundings again, confirming that no one was looking his way. He immediately stretched out his hand and placed it on the body of the dead Porcupine Beast.
With a mere thought, the massive body of the Porcupine Beast vanished in an instant.
On the Mysterious Small Island, shrouded in a vast white mist, stood the Magical Little Tree. It wasn’t tall, only about two meters, and was situated in the island’s center. The moment a fresh Mutant Beast corpse appeared, the tree reacted instantly.
The Magical Little Tree’s reaction this time was much faster than before. It seems it learned its lesson from last time.
In an instant, the massive corpse of the Porcupine Beast dissolved into streams of white mist, which were then swiftly and completely absorbed by the Magical Little Tree’s canopy, now glowing with a faint golden Spiritual Light.
Just as the Magical Little Tree was about to return to calm, another Mutant Beast corpse appeared out of thin air on the Mysterious Small Island.
Seeing more food delivered right to it, the Magical Little Tree immediately sprang into action again.
And just as it was about to start on the second Mutant Beast corpse, a third appeared on the Mysterious Small Island, followed by a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh...
In less than three short minutes, over ten fresh Mutant Beast corpses had appeared one after another on the Mysterious Small Island, and as time went on, the number continued to grow.
???
The Magical Little Tree was dumbfounded by this sudden windfall, but it quickly snapped out of it and began to indulge in the grand feast.
The crown, glowing with a faint golden Spiritual Light, rapidly absorbed the streams of white mist that were transformed from the Mutant Beasts’ flesh and blood.
If Lin Li were on the Mysterious Small Island right now, he would discover that the Magical Little Fruit’s maturation progress was originally only 2.7 percent.
As the Magical Little Tree rapidly absorbed the white mist transformed from the flesh and blood of one Mutant Beast after another, the current progress also grew rapidly.
4.7 percent, 6.7 percent, 8.7 percent...
Every time the Magical Little Tree absorbed the flesh and blood of a Tier Two Mutant Beast, the current progress would increase by two percent.
This rate of increase was a bit off. Lin Li had killed Tier Two Mutant Beasts before, and back then, the Magical Little Tree absorbing the flesh and blood of a Tier Two Mutant Beast only increased the progress by 1.5 percent.
But now it was increasing by two percent. Why was there an extra 0.5 percent?
Unfortunately, Lin Li was not on the Mysterious Small Island right now and didn’t know that the Mutant Beast corpses he collected this time had such an effect. Otherwise, he might not have been able to resist grabbing a few more.
When the Magical Little Fruit’s maturation progress broke past ten percent, a small fruit the size of a grain of rice appeared on the branches of the Magical Little Tree.
The color of this small fruit was red. As the progress continued to increase, the initially rice-sized red fruit grew visibly larger.
"Ninety-eight point seven percent."
Half an hour later, the Magical Little Fruit’s maturation progress was just a tiny bit away from reaching one hundred percent.
At this moment, a red fruit the size of an egg hung from the branches of the Magical Little Tree.
Faintly, a weak, pale golden Spiritual Light flashed across the surface of the fiery-red fruit.
When no more Mutant Beast corpses appeared on the Mysterious Small Island, the Magical Little Tree, having had a wonderful, hearty meal, began to grow calm. The faint golden Spiritual Light radiating from its crown completely dissipated.
If not for the addition of the nearly ripe red fruit on the Magical Little Tree’s branches, which occasionally flashed with a faint Spiritual Light, it would be as if the grand feast just now had never happened.
.........
In the chaotic battlefield, Lin Li ran around, cautious yet efficient, quickly collecting the corpses of Mutant Beasts that had been dead for no more than an hour.
Occasionally, when he encountered an Investigator combat squad or an Exotic Beast Hunter combat squad that was at a disadvantage, he would lend a hand.
After receiving their thanks and watching them leave, he would once again, while no one was paying attention, transfer the corpse of a Mutant Beast that had been killed just minutes ago to the Mysterious Small Island.
Repeating the same process, his eyes and ears on high alert, Lin Li quietly harvested dozens of Tier Two Mutant Beasts. He didn’t count the exact number, but in any case, it was a rare and bountiful harvest.
’Last time, I searched everywhere in the wilderness under the scorching sun, and I couldn’t even find a few Tier Two Mutant Beasts in a whole day.
This time, in less than half an hour, I’ve harvested dozens of Tier Two Mutant Beasts. This is equivalent to a month of hard work.’
Lin Li grumbled to himself and quietly collected another Mutant Beast corpse.
Afterward, he looked at the Exotic Beast Group in the distance, which was being steadily beaten back with almost no chance of turning the tables, and his thoughts began to wander.
’If a controllable emergency like this happened every once in a while, that would be...’
ROAR...
Under the pursuit and encirclement of Liu Jialin and a group of Investigators, the Green Forest Wolf Beast that had awakened a Healing Superpower had nowhere to run.
After letting out a roar full of unwillingness and resentment, its head was blasted apart by a punch from Liu Jialin, who had closed the distance.
SPLAT... After its head exploded, viscous red and white matter splattered everywhere, covering Liu Jialin.
Retracting her fist, which was emitting shockwaves, and deactivating her Superpower, Liu Jialin raised her fair white hand and used the back of it to wipe the red and white matter from her face.
The foul, bloody smell made Liu Jialin frown slightly, but she didn’t pay it too much mind. She immediately shifted her attention to the distance, looking toward the ongoing battle between Wang Jing and the giant Wild Boar Beast.
At this point, the outcome of the battle was self-evident. The human side would achieve the final victory.
As long as Wang Jing defeated the giant Wild Boar Beast, the battle on the ground would be completely over.
As for the battle in the sky, the black gorilla-like Mutant Beast and the short Investigator were fighting with abandon. As they fought, they had flown off to who-knows-where, completely disappearing from everyone’s sight.
Happy times always seem to fly by. Lin Li, who had been quietly collecting Mutant Beast corpses on the battlefield, stopped his actions.
Because Wang Jing, with the help of her companions, had heavily wounded the Wild Boar Beast that was at the Peak of Tier Two, the battle on the ground was declared over.
If he continued to sneakily collect Mutant Beast corpses, he would be easily discovered, so he had to stop.
That incomparably ferocious giant Wild Boar Beast, at the Peak of Tier Two, had a truly tenacious Life Force.
Although it had several large, bloody holes on its body that were continuously gushing blood, it still managed to forcefully break through the encirclement of Investigators and Exotic Beast Hunters and successfully escape deep into the wilderness.
Among the Mutant Beasts mutated under the influence of the blood-colored round moon, it seemed the more powerful they were, the more their rationality returned when faced with life or death.
This was proven by the giant Wild Boar Beast at the Peak of Tier Two, which, despite its severe injuries, ultimately chose to break through the encirclement and flee.
As for the other Mutant Beasts with strength below the Peak of Tier Two, most had no intention of escaping when injured and on the verge of death. Instead, they chose to launch a frenzied, do-or-die struggle.
Phew...
An Exotic Beast Hunter, covered in blood and on the verge of exhaustion, watched as the last stubbornly resisting Mutant Beast on the battlefield was killed. He let out a long sigh, plopped down on the grass, and shouted happily.
"We won!"
Hearing this happy shout, the other Exotic Beast Hunters on the battlefield couldn’t help but cheer in response.
"We won!"
"Victory is ours!"
"Haha, we won..."
The cheerful laughter of the Exotic Beast Hunters was infectious, spreading to the Investigators. In an instant, the tense atmosphere of the battlefield changed.
’I made plans with Su Yue yesterday. I’m supposed to bring ingredients to her place at noon to learn how to make beef and potato stew! Now that the battle’s over, I should head home.
Er... Su Yue has a really sharp nose. I’d better take a good shower when I get home. If I go to her place reeking of blood, she’ll definitely smell it and start asking questions.’
Lin Li swung his right hand, flicking the Spiritual Longsword he was holding to shake off some of the red and white matter clinging to the blade. Then, he turned to leave the battlefield.
But just then, someone saw him and called out...
......