Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Da Zi, why did you rush in without my permission just now?” Gao Peng asked, pinching Da Zi’s two antennae and pulling them upward.
Da Zi’s head was pulled upward along with its antennae. It gave its master a perplexed look and made a bunch of unintelligible sounds from its mouth. Chichichi?
Gao Peng gently rubbed Da Zi’s head to comfort it. “Don’t act ignorant. Why did you rush in without my permission just now?”
“I dunno.” Da Zi lifted its head with a pitiful expression.
“There’s no use in acting cute!”
Da Zi cried in protest, curling tightly into a depressed purple ball.
After repeated interrogation by Gao Peng, Da Zi finally admitted the truth, “Smelt bear, wanted to eat.”
A centipede like you wanting to eat a bear? Your predatory instincts are pretty scary, huh? Gao Peng was shocked.
“And were you able to defeat the bear?” Gao Peng asked. On the body of the Black Wind Bear, other than lacerations along its chest and limbs that looked like they were caused by a sharp object, the only lethal wound was caused by Dumby’s punch, which had blown the bear’s head open.
Although Da Zi had risen to a Commander tier level, its attacking strategy still relied on using electricity to paralyze the enemy and then injecting venom into the enemy thereafter. Against larger creatures with thick flesh and tough hides, Da Zi’s maxillipeds and forcipules had a pretty low chance of success.
“Can! Can defeat it! It’s trash!” Da Zi said, its body stretching out in agitation and its two forcipules flailing around.
Suddenly, Gao Peng saw the figure of a tyrannical mantis in Da Zi. A centipede tyrant?
In human years, Da Zi was the current equivalent of an eleven- or twelve-year-old human child. Its personality was irritable, active, and highly aggressive, which was rather normal. This was not actually a bad thing. After all, only when a familiar was aggressive could there be more possibilities for battle. It was a good thing.
“The next time you want to attack another monster, you can, but you will have to get my permission first. Do you understand?” Gao Peng asked in a severe tone.
Da Zi grudgingly nodded.
“As punishment, there will be no food for you today,” said Gao Peng to Da Zi.
Da Zi’s waving pair of antennae suddenly froze.
“This is the punishment for your first offence. One day without food,” Gao Peng said coldly. “But as your trainer, not educating you properly is my fault as well, so I will join you in the punishment. There will be no food for me today either.”
Da Zi was stunned. Master will not be eating either?
The bear’s paw was initially cut off to be used as a meal, but since Gao Peng had made the sudden decision to discipline Da Zi, the paw ended up going to Stripey alone.
Stripey ate loudly, munching and crunching and even making occasional lip-smacking sounds. Even a simple raw bear’s paw seemed like a rare delicacy when Stripey was eating.
Gao Peng’s expression darkened. Can’t you see there are two of us fasting here!?
“Go outside and eat!” he demanded.
Stripey raised its head and tilted it in puzzlement. Pachi, pachi? Its mouthparts kept on moving as though it was slurping up a strand of noodle.
“Dumby, throw this guy outside.”
Stripey quickly raised its two claws, and, like an obedient henchman, carefully crept out of the cave sideways.
In the past, Da Zi would have rushed out with Stripey to play around. But today, Da Zi simply remained silent on the floor. It lazily rolled its eyes at Stripey and stayed in the cave.
Early the next morning, as the sky was beginning to turn bright, gentle rays of light shone through the gaps between the vines that draped across the entrance of the cave and illuminated the already extinguished campfire.
“Candidate Xiao Nuoyan eliminated. Candidate Xiao Nuoyan eliminated.” The repeating announcement echoed across the sky above the forest.
Someone has already been eliminated?
Gao Peng got up from the ground and rubbed his empty stomach.
…
“Through the tracking device on each candidate, we are able to see their exact location.”
On the TV program, the host and his guest were sitting opposite one another.
In front of their screens, the audience gave gasps of surprise.
The guest sitting opposite the host was a young man in his early twenties. He was wearing a tight white shirt, looking youthful and radiant, with a warm smile on his face.
“Hey, that’s Duan Wu! Didu’s “Dragon in the Clouds” Duan Wu,” said someone in surprise. “I thought Duan Wu didn’t like to take part in such programs…”
Yangcheng’s Pearl River Delta, Modu’s Jinling Dragon Convergence, and Yuzhou’s Western Capital—currently, these were the three areas where young monster trainer powerhouses gathered within the Huaxia district. In these areas, active monster trainer powerhouses were relatively young, and young people made up most of the population, making the place youthful, vibrant, and attractive to younger monster trainers.
Other than these three areas, Didu was also a place where many strong monster trainers gathered, but Didu’s environment was more oppressive and the powerhouses there were usually older. These older monster trainer powerhouses preferred to live quietly within Didu.
“Dragon in the Clouds” Duan Wu was among the few young powerhouses within Didu, and he was of great repute. After becoming famous, Duan Wu’s background and past experiences were dug up and made known to all. Born into a family of bureaucrats, his father was a prominent member in the Allied Government. Before the Cataclysm, his hobby was cricket fighting. Apparently, the familiar that brought him to fame was evolved from one of the champion crickets that he had owned.
“We can clearly see that, in order to get the highest number of points, most of the candidates have gone to the center of the forest. The point pillars are basically all situated within the center region of the forest. As of now, the participant with the highest score is… Jun Moyi.”
From the footage taken by a drone in the sky, the audience could see a giant black anaconda slithering its way around the trees, killing monsters one by one in brutal fashion.
“The first-place candidate is actually a girl. This is definitely unexpected,” said the host, a little surprised. “What do you think about this, Mr. Duan Wu?”
The host intended for Duan Wu to give his analysis on Jun Moyi, who was currently in first place. Though Jun Moyi rarely smiled, she was still a good-looking girl. This would definitely pique the curiosity of the audience.
“Not bad. I believe this species of black snake is a Black Anaconda. This Black Anaconda’s scales are full of shine and its body is well-built, so its grade should be rather high as well. It seems to have been raised well. From a battle perspective, this Black Anaconda must have been through frequent battles, as it seems very practiced in combat,” said Duan Wu, giving his analysis seriously.
The host was speechless. I’m asking you for your views on the trainer, not the familiar…
Many in the audience couldn’t help but laugh. “Dragon in the Clouds” Duan Wu was known to be hopelessly single, and his display today truly lived up to his reputation. He seemed to have a powerful, innate ability to stay single.
“Mr. Duan Wu’s analysis is spot on as always. A professional indeed,” the host said, smiling.
“Thank you,” said Duan Wu calmly as he nodded in thanks.
“Let us now look at the candidate who is currently in last place…”
On the screen, green dots were flashing across the entire Dayang Mountain Forest. Each dot of light represented a candidate’s position.
One of the green dots around the periphery was enlarged. It was at the outermost area, almost along the boundary of Dayang Mountain.
“This candidate seems rather cautious. Perhaps he is making some preparations?” the host asked with a smile.
The scene cut to footage from an aerial drone, where on a large rock jutting out from the ground, a teenager was lying down, spread-eagled like a salted fish, staring blankly at the sky. Beside him, a centipede, a spider, and a skeleton were all quietly lying on the open ground, their heads turned toward the sky.
The atmosphere in the broadcasting room suddenly became awkward.
As though uncomfortable in its position, Da Zi flipped over, its thousand claws facing the sky and exposing its white underside. One by one, its yellow claws spread outwards, putting itself in a rather embarrassing position.
In front of their screens, audiences were laughing out loud. Preparations? What kind of preparations was he making? Salted Fish Form 3 – Flipping of the Salted Fish?
