Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Oh.” Gao Peng nodded his head, then shut the black suitcase.
“What are you doing?” The Desolate Frost Lion was stunned.
“I’ll have to disappoint you for the time being, then. You can wait until we get some high-class spirit materials before you eat.” Gao Peng amiably patted the little lion on the head.
The Desolate Frost Lion was blank.
Gao Peng got up and placed the black suitcase in a location where the lion couldn’t reach it, then instructed the others not to feed it before he turned and left.
The Desolate Frost Lion was too prideful. Even though he had established a Blood Contract with it, its nature was still just as proud.
Having once been just a step away from reaching Overlord-tier at its peak, it definitely had the right to be proud, but this didn’t mean that Gao Peng had to put up with its behavior.
A good man didn’t talk about his past glory. However strong it had been in the past, it was still the past. Its attitude needed some refining. Gao Peng was looking for a familiar, not a spoiled brat.
The next day, the Desolate Frost Lion was sitting right outside Gao Peng’s bedroom, looking at Gao Peng with puppy eyes after going hungry for a night. It was the first thing that Gao Peng saw once he opened the door. Who knew how long it had been sitting out there?
“Are you going to eat this kind of low-class food after all?”
The Desolate Frost Lion blinked but didn’t answer.
“You must be the Wang Zejing of lions.”
“Huh?” The Desolate Frost Lion tilted its head. What Wang Zejing?
Gao Peng brought down the suitcase, opened it up, and placed it on the floor. The lion immediately lunged at it. Munch, munch…
After feeding the Desolate Frost Lion, Gao Peng suddenly felt a resentful gaze lock onto him from behind. He turned only to see Da Zi quietly staring at him from the wall. It was a long and meaningful gaze. Da Zi even nodded intermittently.
“Da Zi…”
“It’s all right, you don’t need to say anymore. I understand everything,” Da Zi waved its maxillipeds. “You go ahead and feed your little lion.”
With that, Da Zi turned and left. A minute passed. Then two minutes. Then three…
Lying in another corner, Da Zi frowned. Why hasn’t Gao Peng come?!
On the other hand, Gao Peng had left the villa and was headed for the lab. A new batch of monsters had just been transported over, and quite a few of the species were newly discovered monsters. Although Gao Peng rarely carried out experiments personally, new species of monsters attracted his interest.
It was just like how players of trading card games had a kind of “collector’s addiction.”
Arriving at the holding cells for the monsters, the air was filled with the smell of disinfectant. The floor beneath Gao Peng’s feet was very clean, and it was very quiet, as well. His footsteps echoed through the walkway.
In the leftmost cell was a gold-colored frog the size of a watermelon. Its eyes were large like two light bulbs, and yellow stripes ran across its back, making it look like a large golden watermelon.
Gao Peng felt a sense of familiarity the moment he set his eyes on the creature. It felt as though he had seen this kind of frog somewhere before…
In the cell, the large golden frog was sitting right in the middle. Its cheeks were blown up, and its throat was emitting a low croaking sound. That was until Gao Peng’s head appeared in the glass window. Suddenly, the large golden frog’s eyes opened wide.
It opened its mouth, and a veritable waterfall of spit gushed out of its throat.
Bang!
The bulletproof glass shook violently, giving off a loud sound.
[Monster Name]: Golden Melon-Skinned Frog
[Monster Level]: Level 19
[Monster Grade]: Excellent-grade
[Monster Attribute]: Metal
[Monster Weakness]: 1. Fire-type 2. Abdominal region
[Monster Condition]: Healthy (Angry)
[Monster Description]: A rare variant of the Melon-Skinned Frog. Unlike its social counterparts, the Golden Melon-Skinned Frog prefers to live in solitude. But at the same time, it also inherited the bad habit of spitting at others. Because it does not live in groups, its survival rate is lower.
[Pathways for Promotion to Perfect Grade]: 1. Exploding Golden Melon Frog (Enrage evolution) 2. Golden Toad (Metal-type evolution). 3. Flaming Golden Toad (Fire-type evolution)
So it was a close relative of the Melon-Skinned Frog. It was no wonder that Gao Peng had felt like it looked familiar at first glance.
Continuing on, the second cell was empty. After pressing a red button on the side, a spray gun popped out from the ceiling of the cell and started spraying out large quantities of red powder.
Achoo.
The outline of a semi-transparent, lizard-like creature began to appear on the wall. The monster was over ten feet long. Its body color had completely blended in with the color of the wall behind it. The sneeze just now had revealed its presence.
[Monster Name]: Reclusive Illusion Lizard
[Monster Level]: Level 22 (Commander-tier)
[Monster Grade]: Excellent-grade
[Monster Attribute]: Wood/Poison
[Monster Weakness]: 1. Metal-type 2. Fire-type
[Monster Condition]: Healthy (Surprised)
[Monster Description]: A small-sized life form that lives in the forests. Skilled at hiding itself and erasing its tracks. Skilled in laying in wait and ambushing prey.
[Pathways for Promotion to Perfect Grade]: 1. Wood Dragon Poison Lizard (Poison-type evolution) 2. Shadow Hunter Lizard (Shadow evolution)
In the last cell was a variation of a twin-headed Thorny Raging Bear. Thorny Raging Bears weren’t uncommon, but a twin-headed one was rare indeed.
Although there were always new monsters being discovered, there were few new species of monsters that were truly valuable.
For Gao Peng, what mattered most was reproductive ability. This meant that species such as the twin-headed Thorny Raging Bear and the Golden Melon-Skinned Frog weren’t creatures of high value to him.
The Reclusive Illusion Lizard had a strong hiding ability. If it could be captured and reproduced in large amounts, it would be a rather valuable new species of monster. Whether it was used only internally within the Southern Sky Group or sold externally, it would be a decent choice.
From his large white coat, Gao Peng took out a little booklet. He put a tick next to the Reclusive Illusion Lizard’s name and noted down a bit more information at the end.
He exited the monster holding area, then tossed the little booklet to Xu Qingzhi, who was waiting outside.
“Monsters one and three aren’t of much value. Monster two has some worth. Have the Reconnaissance Division continue to capture more.”
“Understood.” Xu Qingzhi took the booklet and hurriedly nodded in acknowledgment.
It wasn’t just that day. A few months back, Gao Peng began identifying the values of different monsters. In these few months, the Southern Sky Group had continually captured large numbers of monsters and then begun to cultivate and breed them.
The mature monsters that were bred would then be evolved by the drug serums prepared by Gao Peng, then given to members of major departments under the Southern Sky Group.
What Gao Peng looked forward to achieving was the day that he didn’t have to do anything personally, when his subordinates would be able to manage all matters on their own. But of course, there would still be quite some time before they achieved such a state…
After settling matters back in Yuzhou City for two days, Gao Peng returned back to the Spatial Rift again.
Just the day before, Yuzhou City had publicly announced the existence of the Spatial Rift in the Baiye District. At the same time, they had locked down the area.
The uproar and debates in the outside world had nothing to do with Gao Peng. Naturally, the Yuzhou government and the Southern Sky Group would settle things properly.
Because of the existence of the Spatial Rift, the Baiye District underwent a huge makeover. The originally decrepit area saw a large number of buildings being torn down. One by one, houses were being leveled, and a new wide road was being built.
At the same time, the people originally living in the Baiye District were relocated, and a large commercial square was being built with the Spatial Rift at the center. The Spatial Rift had continually expanded and, at this point, was now a 13-foot-wide, 20-foot-tall pitch black hole.
Next to the rift was a unit of high-level trainers, strictly blocking anyone from coming or going through at all hours of the day.
Gao Peng didn’t require any identification; his face was the best identification. By now, most of Yuzhou City’s trainers recognized him. He went through the rift, descending into the Desolate Labyrinth of the Black Fog World…
—
Outside the Desolate Labyrinth was a wide expanse of plains. Right then, a group of uninvited guests appeared on the plains.
A burly metal beast raced across the plains, kicking up fine sand and forming a long trail of sand clouds behind it.
The modified extra-large SUV had numerous monsters following next to it closely, not the slightest bit slower than the SUV.
Screech—
The tires screamed as they ran across the gravel, drifting before coming to a stop. The car door was forcefully pushed open, and a group of black men climbed out.
The one in the lead was wearing sunglasses. He was well-built, donning a tight-fitting camouflage tank top and khaki combat trousers.
“What a marvelous sight. This is a downright miracle!” the black man behind him exclaimed.
On the plains in front of them, a gigantic block of a stone wall covered the entire horizon. The high stone walls were covered in markings, and a large, thick tendril draped down the outer wall.
The sky shimmered with blurry yellow light, looking somewhat like stars, or scattered light.
“This is the ruins that were indicated on the map?” asked one of the black men excitedly. “This is definitely a miracle!”
“We’re the first ones to arrive here, which means that all the treasure here belongs to us,” said a potbellied black man, revealing a smile on his face.
“Such large ruins. Who knows how much good stuff there is inside?”
A small and skinny black man pointed at one of the entrances and exclaimed excitedly, “Over there, look over there. Does that look like an entrance?”
“What are you waiting for? Let’s hurry and go inside.”
