Although the group had left home before dawn, renting the vehicle, buying supplies, and traveling had taken over five hours in total.
It was indeed time for lunch now.
This valley was a hunting ground Ying Li had specifically chosen. The cliff walls on both sides were filled with Flying Mutant Beast nests. Most of the beasts were D-Rank, with a very small number at C-Rank.
Hunting flying beasts was much more troublesome than hunting land-bound ones, so many Hunting Teams bypassed this place.
But Ying Li wanted Luo Qiming and the others to learn how to fight various types of beasts, Flying Mutant Beasts included, so he came here.
Ying Li chose a slightly concave section of the cliff face and had Luo Qiming and the others clear all the Mutated Flora there.
“Every time we leave the city, we need to choose a suitable place as our camp. Our vehicle is very important to us. If we lose it in the wilderness, we might not be able to return…” Ying Li shared his experience.
Sentinel Academy also emphasized the importance of the vehicle, especially since their food and water were generally stored inside it.
There were even specialized vehicle repair courses at the academy, requiring every Sentinel to understand the vehicle’s construction and learn how to fix it.
But the methods taught at the academy for establishing camps and concealing vehicles in the wild were too basic, practically useless in actual hunts.
Experienced Sentinels never used the academy’s methods to set up camp.
Ying Li had chosen the campsite himself and explained the reasoning.
From the sky, this spot was in a visual blind spot, and the location was very easy to defend.
After parking the vehicle in the designated spot, the group ate a quick meal.
During the meal, Ying Li talked about the weaknesses of the Flying Mutant Beasts living in this valley and several suitable hunting methods.
Once finished eating, he took Luo Qiming and Hong Mayi out to hunt, leaving the other two behind to set up camp.
Building defensive lines with stones, camouflaging the camp with Mutated Flora, spraying beast-repelling chemicals, setting up Firearms… they had plenty to do, plus they had to protect Xiang Ye.
Before leaving, Ying Li specifically instructed Xiang Ye, “Our vehicle has some defensive capability. Stay inside and don’t come out. If you encounter danger, set off the alarm I gave you and fight against the beasts using the method I taught you last night.”
Worried about Xiang Ye facing danger outside the city, Ying Li had not only taught him a Mental Power training method the previous night but also how to attack with Mental Power.
A Guide’s Mental Power was too gentle to easily injure a beast, but it could affect their actions. Xiang Ye could first confuse the beast with Mental Power, then attack it with a Firearm.
For this, Ying Li had even bought several highly lethal but single-use Mini Cannons for Xiang Ye.
“Okay,” Xiang Ye obediently agreed.
Only then did Ying Li leave.
Watching Ying Li’s figure recede into the distance, Xiang Ye took a deep breath and began studying his Mental Power, extending it outward.
While in the Underground City, afraid others would notice something unusual, he had never fully released his Mental Power, so he didn’t know exactly how large an area it could cover.
Now was a good chance to test it.
Hu Xiangyang and Shi Tai wouldn’t detect his Mental Power—Xiang Ye had confirmed this while training at the training field.
His Mental Power slowly expanded outward, using the application methods Ying Li had taught him during this period to scout the surroundings.
To his knowledge, D-Rank Guides could usually only extend their Mental Power about one meter, covering a radius of one meter around their body.
Of course, some stronger D-Rank Guides could reach two or even three meters.
As for C-Rank Guides, their Mental Power could extend over ten meters.
What higher ranks like B-Rank or A-Rank were like, no one knew.
The Underground City was cramped. Extending Mental Power to spy on surroundings was a very rude act explicitly prohibited by law. So besides calming a Sentinel’s Mental Sea, Guides generally didn’t use their Mental Power much otherwise.
Xiang Ye discovered his Mental Power could probably extend fifty meters, meaning anything happening within a fifty-meter radius around him, he could clearly perceive.
Their entire camp was within that coverage. He could see every move Hu Xiangyang and Shi Tai made.
But afraid they would discover him, he was very careful, trying to bypass them as much as possible.
After scouting around and leaving some Mental Power to monitor the surroundings, Xiang Ye began training his Mental Power using the method Ying Li taught him.
While busy, Hu Xiangyang and Shi Tai glanced at their vehicle.
Seeing Xiang Ye sitting obediently inside, causing no trouble, they suddenly felt that bringing a Guide along might not be as troublesome as they thought.
Xiang Ye was truly the most well-behaved Guide they had ever seen, just… he ate way too much.
The two used surrounding stones, Mutated Flora, and their own adhesive to construct a Defensive Fortification. They also pitched tents around the vehicle, including Ying Li’s tent on top of the vehicle’s roof.
Their vehicle had a truck bed in the back and a cab in front that could seat four. The cab roof was about two meters long, just right for pitching a tent.
After setting up that tent and climbing down from the roof, Hu Xiangyang winked at Xiang Ye. “Little Xiang Ye, this is Captain Ying’s tent. You two can sleep together tonight!”
Xiang Ye’s Mental Power involuntarily rippled.
Hu Xiangyang’s Mental Power suddenly tensed. Though nothing was visibly wrong around him, why did he feel like he was being watched?
The two were busy for over an hour, and by the time they had roughly set up camp, Ying Li and the others returned, carrying a dead Flying Mutant Beast.
Then, Luo Qiming and Hong Mayi processed the beast’s corpse at the camp while Hu Xiangyang and Shi Tai went out with Ying Li to hunt.
The bones of Flying Mutant Beasts were mostly hollow and fragile, not worth much, but their feathers were valuable.
High-ranked Sentinels didn’t care about that small money, but Luo Qiming and his team did. So, after extracting the Crystal Core, they began laboriously plucking the beast’s feathers.
Xiang Ye lay on the vehicle window watching them pluck feathers and casually chatted with them. “What will these feathers be used for once brought back to the Underground City?”
“Decorations, and also clothing. Many expensive garments are made from Mutant Beast materials. The Central District folks really like them, apparently. And when they’re done with them, the clothes can be recycled into fungal nutrient solution. They call it ‘eco-friendly,'” Luo Qiming said.
They were fast, and soon had completely plucked the beast bare.
The featherless beast looked just like an oversized chicken.
Ying Li had bought chicken before, which Xiang Ye loved eating. Seeing such a massive chunk of meat now, he couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.
If only this meat were edible!
Luo Qiming noticed Xiang Ye’s expression and chuckled. “Hungry? Too bad Mutant Beast meat is inedible.”
As he spoke, he took out a handheld Corrosive Energy scanner and placed it on the beast.
The scanner immediately lit up red and emitted an alarm.
The alarm wasn’t loud, but its pitch was piercing. One could tell immediately that the beast meat was bad news.
“At this level, one bite would kill us!” Luo Qiming sighed. “Captain Ying’s rank is high, so one bite might not kill him, but it would still send his Mental Power into a rampage. Two bites, and even he wouldn’t last.”
Xiang Ye felt deeply disappointed hearing this.
Never having eaten meat before recently, he hadn’t known what he was missing. But now, having tasted it, he knew how delicious it was!
Having such a large piece of meat in front of him but being unable to eat a single bite was agonizing just to think about.
Xiang Ye turned away, refusing to look at the large chunk of meat anymore, and continued training his Mental Power, though he also started to miss Ying Li.
On the other side, Ying Li was leading Hu Xiangyang and Shi Tai in a battle against a Flying Mutant Beast.
A hooked claw shot by Ying Li caught the wing feathers of the beast, which had a wingspan over five meters across. Unable to take flight, it shrieked in rage at Ying Li, swiping with its sharp talons.
Ying Li nimbly dodged. Rather than attacking the beast further, he let Hu Xiangyang and the other man attack it.
“Firearms aren’t cheap. Use Mental Power to attack it as much as possible,” Ying Li instructed.
Hu Xiangyang acknowledged, coating a spear with Mental Power and hurling it at the beast. The spear pierced into its flesh.
The beast thrashed, emitting piercing cries. At that moment, Shi Tai’s attack also landed…
Wounded, the beast became even more frenzied, but Hu Xiangyang and Shi Tai didn’t give up, continuing their assault.
Half an hour later, both men suffered cuts from the beast’s sharp feathers, their bodies covered in small wounds, but they also killed this D-Rank beast.
They’d actually killed a Flying Mutant Beast, notoriously difficult to hunt!
The two were exhilarated, wanting to celebrate, only to realize Ying Li was no longer beside them.
Shi Tai looked around. “Where’s Captain Ying?”
How had Ying Li disappeared in the blink of an eye?
He’d been constantly monitoring the surroundings with his Mental Power, yet he hadn’t even noticed when Ying Li left.
Hu Xiangyang looked up at the sky and pointed into the distance. “Over there.”
Following his gaze, Shi Tai saw Ying Li rapidly scaling the cliff face.
A Flying Mutant Beast spotted Ying Li and attacked him. Ying Li casually swatted, and the beast was slain instantly, plummeting from the sky.
It had taken them ages to hunt their single beast. What about Ying Li? Killed one with a single swing.
The gap was enormous!
Unaware of Hu Xiangyang and Shi Tai’s thoughts, Ying Li climbed the cliff to retrieve a clutch of Mutant Beast eggs.
Freshly laid Flying Mutant Beast eggs had relatively stable Corrosive Energy, edible in small amounts. But once the embryo inside began developing, they became inedible.
He had already locked onto a freshly laid clutch with his Mental Power.
The nest embedded in the cliff had a diameter of two meters. Ying Li wrapped it in Mental Power, balanced it on his head, and jumped down…
He landed lightly on the ground, placed the two beasts he’d killed while climbing into the nest, hoisted it up, and called to Shi Tai and Hu Xiangyang, “Let’s head back quickly.”
“Captain Ying, what’s with the nest?” Hu Xiangyang asked.
Ying Li replied, “Freshly laid Flying Mutant Beast eggs can be eaten in small quantities. A treat for tonight.”
By the time they returned to camp, Luo Qiming and Hong Mayi had already processed the hunted beast. Seeing them bring back three more beasts plus a nest, Luo Qiming was surprised.
Xiang Ye got out of the vehicle and ran towards Ying Li. “Big Brother Ying, are these the Mutant Beast eggs you mentioned?”
“Right, these are the ones that can be eaten in small amounts,” Ying Li said, pulling out the Corrosive Energy scanner to scan the eggs in his hand.
The scanner lit up yellow. Ordinary people would die from a single bite of yellow-labeled food, but Sentinels and Guides could handle a few bites without issue.
Though they generally didn’t eat it; overconsumption would disrupt their internal Corrosive Energy and affect their Mental Sea.
Each egg was the size of a basketball. Ying Li placed them beside the vehicle, then took the nest outside as part of the camp’s camouflage.
Beasts were powerful but not particularly intelligent. As long as they disguised the camp well, the beasts wouldn’t attack them.
Ying Li’s presence meant the camp was safe. Xiang Ye followed behind Ying Li, holding an egg and drooling.
This egg was huge and looked incredibly tasty!
Such a shame he couldn’t eat much.
Thinking this, Xiang Ye began observing the egg in his hands with his Mental Power.
The Guide Academy only taught Guides how to use Mental Power to calm a Sentinel’s Mental Sea, nothing else.
When Guides first appeared, some ventured outside the city to hunt. But their combat ability was too weak, and they were easily killed by Mutant Beasts. Over time, Guides not participating in hunting became an accepted rule.
It was as if a Guide’s sole purpose was merely to calm a Sentinel’s Mental Sea.
However, Xiang Ye had never received the “official education” of the Guide Academy.
And Ying Li was someone who dared to challenge, dared to innovate. He had taught Xiang Ye a whole array of Mental Power application methods.
He also shared his understanding of Corrosive Energy with him.
Right now, Xiang Ye held the Mutant Beast egg, scanning it back and forth with his Mental Power.
As he looked, he noticed the egg contained many flickering Black Spots.
The yolk part had more spots, the albumen fewer.
What were these Black Spots?
Xiang Ye used a Mental Tentacle to grab one of the spots and pulled it out of the egg.
The Black Spot immediately stuck to his Mental Power.
Instinctively feeling it wasn’t good, he used another Mental Tentacle to swat the contaminated tendril, knocking the Black Spot off.
The Black Spot dispersed into the air. Xiang Ye was about to ask Ying Li what this was when he heard Ying Li say, “Xiang Ye, get back in the vehicle. I’m heading out again.”
Xiang Ye complied, taking the egg with him into the vehicle.
This egg contained many Black Spots. He suddenly realized he could practice his Mental Power by capturing these Black Spots.
Catching the spots was difficult, but since he had nothing else to do, he’d just slowly catch them!
Thinking this, Xiang Ye continued catching them. As he worked, he grew hungry.
The vehicle had the Water Chestnuts he hadn’t finished at lunch. He ate a few bites and suddenly discovered the Water Chestnuts also contained Black Spots, just very few.
A shiver ran down Xiang Ye’s spine as a possibility dawned on him.
Could these Black Spots be the reason Mutant Beast meat was inedible?
But if it was because of the Black Spots, why hadn’t anyone discovered it before?
Xiang Ye was thoroughly puzzled, but after finishing the Water Chestnuts, he still said to Hu Xiangyang, “Hu Xiangyang, can you give me a piece of Mutant Beast meat?”
“What do you need beast meat for?” Hu Xiangyang asked.
“I’m just curious what Mutant Beast meat is like.”
Hu Xiangyang frowned. “Mutant Beast meat is inedible.”
“You don’t think I’d eat raw meat, do you? I won’t eat it, I just want to look!” Xiang Ye said.
Beast meat carried Corrosive Energy and theoretically shouldn’t be brought near a Guide—it might contaminate their Mental Power.
But Hu Xiangyang wasn’t well-versed in these regulations. Furthermore, Xiang Ye displayed zero typical Guide mannerisms, even joining them on a hunt…
He cut a chunk of meat and handed it to Xiang Ye.
Xiang Ye examined it with his Mental Power. Good heavens, it was absolutely teeming with Black Spots!
If he had trypophobia, he’d certainly feel nauseous and vomit.
Xiang Ye placed the chunk of meat as far from himself as possible, then asked Hu Xiangyang to pick a leaf for him.
If Xiang Ye were a Sentinel, Hu Xiangyang would think he was too demanding. But Xiang Ye was a Guide.
A Guide’s only request was for him to pick a leaf… Hu Xiangyang chose several whole, nice-looking leaves, picked them, and gave them to Xiang Ye.
As expected, these leaves were also filled with Black Spots.
But leaves were thin, so the overall amount of spots was smaller.
Xiang Ye took a tender leaf the size of his palm and started capturing the tiny Black Spots inside it.
By the time Ying Li returned again, he had captured every single tiny Black Spot in the tender leaf.
“Big Brother Ying!” Xiang Ye waved the leaf in his hand excitedly at Ying Li.
Seeing him like this, Ying Li couldn’t help but smile.
Sentinels were usually very serious during hunts and rarely joked around.
But Xiang Ye was so happy, his mood was infectious.
“Hungry? Have you been bored?” Ying Li asked Xiang Ye.
Xiang Ye said, “I’ve already eaten, so I’m not hungry now… Big Brother Ying, can you take me to look around nearby?”
Ying Li agreed without hesitation. “Of course.” He had already classified Xiang Ye as one of his own. If one of his own made a request, as long as it wasn’t excessive, he would agree.
“Then let’s go look around. Big Brother Ying, I want to bring the Corrosive Energy scanner to see if there’s anything edible nearby,” Xiang Ye said.
Ying Li nodded and brought the scanner along.
Based on his experience, none of the plants around here were edible.
Generally, edible plants had shells; it was presumably the shell that blocked the Corrosive Energy’s erosion, keeping their Corrosive Energy content relatively low.
But maybe not; he didn’t know the exact reason.
Regardless, if Xiang Ye wanted to scan, they would scan. It wouldn’t take much time anyway.
Ying Li had the others process the beasts in the camp while he took Xiang Ye out. “There’s a place nearby with great scenery. Do you want to take some photos?”
Guides all loved taking pictures. Even when Wu Nian just went out for a meal, he would take many photos.
Xiang Ye agreed, then urged Ying Li, “Let’s go faster!”
Ying Li thought for a moment, scooped Xiang Ye up in a child-carrying hold, and ran towards the spot.
If Xiang Ye walked himself, it would take half an hour, and he might also get scratched by Mutated Flora.
It was easier to just carry him.
In less than five minutes, Ying Li stopped. He chose an exposed rock as a resting spot, placed Xiang Ye on it, and said with a smile, “This is the place. It’s very beautiful here, perfect for photos.”
He pulled out his Communication Terminal, ready to take photos of Xiang Ye, when Xiang Ye suddenly asked, “Big Brother Ying, there’s no one nearby, right? It’s safe here, right?”
Ying Li paused, realizing something. “It’s safe. What is it?”
Xiang Ye handed a leaf to Ying Li. “Big Brother Ying, use the Corrosive Energy scanner on this leaf.”
Ying Li silently took the leaf and scanned it with the device.
The scanner lit up green. This leaf had extremely low Corrosive Energy content! If it wasn’t toxic, then it was edible.
But under normal circumstances, a leaf like this shouldn’t possibly have such low Corrosive Energy content!
Ying Li suddenly looked up sharply at Xiang Ye, his eyes betraying his excitement. “Xiang Ye, what exactly is going on? Did you discover something?”
