Chapter 37: Bountiful Harvest

Chi Zhonglin’s smile froze, and he slowly opened his mouth, taking a while before he blurted out:

“Holy crap!”

“That’s over two hundred meters…” Ren Mian estimated the distance with amazement in her eyes, applauding sincerely, “That arrow of yours must have surpassed a super ranger’s standard. Even a legendary ranger couldn’t do better!”

Ji Xinghuo turned around with a smile, “It’s all luck, really.”

Ren Mian laughed meaningfully but said nothing more.

“Damn!” Chi Zhonglin finally snapped back to reality, looking around at the spider corpses and his clean self, he couldn’t help but remark, “I’ve been in the Star Realm for three or four years and never experienced such an effortless battle. I did nothing and it was over.”

Jiangnan Caiyi appeared beside him, “Does Zhonglin Jun think this is not good?”

“Of course it’s great! So thrilling!”

Chi Zhonglin kept nodding, his eyes filled with eagerness as he looked at Ji Xinghuo, “So this is what it feels like to have a skilled archer in the team. It really lowers the difficulty of battle, I don’t have to fight tooth and nail anymore.”

“Ji Xinghuo is really amazing!”

Jiangnan Caiyi’s face was alight with brilliance; she had also killed a Shadow Roaming Spider but barely exerted herself otherwise.

Ji Xinghuo gave her a small smile.

“Let’s clean up the battlefield.”

Ren Mian was also pleased, but she didn’t forget the essentials. The battle ended quickly, yet it wasn’t quiet and might attract other dangers.

They began to cut apart the spider bodies.

Jiangnan Caiyi was skilled in this aspect. With her proficiency in cooking, she adeptly sliced the monster organs, knowing exactly where the exotic parts were.

Ji Xinghuo learned from her, using a tactical knife to collect the exotic parts.

Each of the odd-tier Shadow Roaming Spiders had an “Shadow Evasion” gland, located in the spider’s brain, about the size of a soybean, black and soft like sheep droppings.

“Shadow Evasion” is a premium ability.

Though not a core skill for the “Shadow Blade” profession, it’s indispensable. They won’t have trouble selling it; it’s priced around 150,000 Asia Yuan.

They collected nine glands from nine spiders, totaling over 1.35 million!

Ji Xinghuo was astounded.

No wonder these odd folks are so wealthy; the earnings from one battle can equal the salary of an ordinary person for ten years.

While cutting the exotic parts, he carefully retrieved his arrows, only a few of which were damaged; with minor repairs, most could be reused, saving some money on arrows.

Eventually, they reached the elite spider.

The four reached the corpse, looking down at the enormous spider that, even in death, had a daunting and ugly appearance.

The body bore burn marks, clearly from a high voltage current.

An electric arrow had pierced through its head.

“This ten thousand Asia Yuan wasn’t wasted.”

Ji Xinghuo joked with Chi Zhonglin, responding to his earlier comment before moving to pull out the electric arrow. The sturdy superconducting alloy arrow was undamaged, only slightly twisted; internally, it was intact.

“You’re tough!”

Chi Zhonglin was thoroughly impressed.

Killing this elite Shadow Roaming Spider wasn’t hard, but stopping it from escaping was another story, not to mention killing it so effortlessly.

Ren Mian glanced at the spider corpse, suggesting, “Elite leaders usually have more than one exotic part.”

“I’ll look for it.”

Jiangnan Caiyi, using a short knife, cut into the spider’s head and after some searching, extracted an “Shadow Evasion” gland, then carefully opened the chest where the legs connected to dig deeper for another.

This was Ji Xinghuo’s first time seeing such a large creature up close, and out of curiosity, he touched it.

As his hand touched the icy skin, a prompt appeared in his vision. His expression subtly changed but quickly returned to normal.

The interface was split into two – information on the left and a virtual avatar of a spider on the right.

【Monster: Shadow Roaming Spider】

【Level: Elite】

【Exotics: Shadow Evasion, Balance, Mind Shriek】

The left displayed monster information while the right showed the exotics’ locations. The Brain housed the missing Shadow Evasion; Balance was at the connection of the chest to the eight legs, which Jiangnan Caiyi had just opened; another was in the head.

Mind Shriek?

Ji Xinghuo examined closely. The Mind Shriek’s form was a brain lobe mixed with brain tissue, extremely hard to discern.

“Found it!”

Jiangnan Caiyi, using her blade, picked out a clump of white fibers entangled like hair, slowly wriggling as if alive, from the spider’s chest.

This was the “Balance” exotic.

A basic ability found in many monsters, so it wasn’t highly valued, priced around 30,000 Asia Yuan in the market.

“Let me see.” Ji Xinghuo took the exotic directly.

The ranger’s profession included Balance. He was a bit interested, holding it while an info screen popped up before him.

【Exotic: Balance】

【Grade: Basic】

【Fusion Success Rate: 81%】

【Upgrade Possible: Yes】

Ji Xinghuo thought an 81% fusion rate was already quite good compared to Star Power and Flash Step, but still significantly lower.

“Looks like I shouldn’t fuse with Balance.” He decided against using this exotic.

After Jiangnan Caiyi found the Balance, she didn’t stop there but switched to a katana to chop off six of the spider’s legs, keeping only the tips.

“Caiyi?”

Ji Xinghuo was puzzled.

“The leg meat of a Shadow Roaming Spider is a delicacy, especially the tips. I’m taking these with us, and I’ll cook everyone a great meal when we camp,” Jiangnan Caiyi explained, smiling, “Then, you can taste it, Ji Xinghuo Jun.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Ji Xinghuo responded and then, pretending to be merely curious, crouched down and made a few cuts in the spider’s brain, casually asking, “Could there be more exotics?”

“Oh?” Ren Mian raised an eyebrow, “You think there might be?”

“I sensed a unique magnetic field it emitted earlier, unlike any other Shadow Roaming Spider I’ve seen,” Ji Xinghuo said, part truth and part bluff.

“I’ll check.”

Ren Mian took out a thorn.

Under her control, the thorn rapidly grew, burrowing into the spider’s brain and expanding it like a balloon—except it didn’t burst, neatly dissecting each organ for clear viewing.

“There really is another one!” she exclaimed, immediately locating the exotic. The thorn wrapped around a piece of brain lobe, presenting it upfront.

Ren Mian quickly identified it, exclaiming in delight, “It’s a Mind Shriek.”

Chi Zhonglin and Jiangnan Caiyi were also surprised.

Mind Shriek was a high-quality exotic. Not highly graded but very rare, capable of launching an unseen mental attack that’s hard to guard against.

It was one of the “Mind Hacker’s” template abilities, valued around 800,000 Asia Yuan.

“Good thing I kept my distance from this monster, or I would have been in real trouble,” Chi Zhonglin admitted, visibly relieved.

A hit from a Mind Shriek might not harm the body much, but could cause severe headaches for days.

Ren Mian mused, “I thought it was strange just now; the number of spiders in this swarm was unusually high, almost half more than usual. Turns out it controlled such a big swarm with Mind Shriek. I had heard that Shadow Roaming Spiders have a low chance of awakening a Mind Shriek, but we actually encountered one today.”

“Sister Ren really is knowledgeable,” Ji Xinghuo praised timely.

“If it weren’t for your reminder, I would have overlooked it,” Ren Mian didn’t take credit, instead saying, “You killed this leader, and we barely did anything. The Mind Shriek exotic was also found because of you, so you should have it.”

“Chi Zhonglin, Caiyi, what do you think?”

Naturally, both had no objection.

Ji Xinghuo accepted the exotic without hesitating, thanking them before taking it.

Holding it, the Wanxiang Star Pupils interface showed the information: Mind Shriek’s fusion success rate was only 73%, indicating it wasn’t very suitable for him.

“Let’s go.”

The team packed up the exotics and didn’t linger, quickly leaving the forest.

Under the reflection of the Milky Way, the four traversed the dim forest.

Moving at night was naturally not as fast as during the day. With no paths and complex terrain, the team only made it about fifty kilometers in ten hours.

They encountered three more battles during that time.

Each time, Ji Xinghuo spotted the danger early and warned his teammates.

Then, Ren Mian activated the “Thought Necklace” she wore around her neck, connecting everyone’s minds and seamlessly welcoming the battle.

However, these fights weren’t fierce. There were only one or two odd monsters, none elite, and not many of them.

No one else needed to make a move; Ji Xinghuo ended them with just a few arrows.

As night set in, Ren Mian chose a campsite, hidden among trees in a secluded vale.

First, they set up a large tent big enough for four to move around in, stretching between several trees. She scattered a handful of seeds around, which quickly grew into a large thicket of spiny, tough shrubs, concealing the tent and preventing light from leaking outside.

Among the bushes were several repelling grasses, emitting a pungent, uncomfortable smell that drove away nearby wild animals and insects.

Around the outer circle, “Bell Flowers” had been planted in the ground, which would make a sound if stepped on, acting like alarm bells.

Between the tent’s surrounding bushes and the bell flowers, from mid-air to the ground, tough thorns and a type of explosive chestnut fruit were spread out, bursting upon contact and shooting out sharp spikes in all directions.

Ji Xinghuo was impressed.

The functional capabilities of plant witches were truly boundless.

The tent was spacious inside, almost half a room in size, and not at all cramped. A lantern hung from the top, shining brightly.

It was also a plant-based light.

Jiangnan Caiyi used the spider leg meat to cook dinner for everyone, and it was indeed delicious as she promised!

“I’ll take the first watch tonight after dinner,” Ren Mian arranged, “I’ll cover the first half of the night, Ji Xinghuo, you take the second.”

“Okay,” Ji Xinghuo agreed.

Another duty of a marksman is to keep watch, usually handled by the team members with the sharpest senses, taking turns.

Ren Mian sat at the tent entrance.

Ji Xinghuo and the other two teammates took out their sleeping bags and climbed in, their breathing soon becoming steady.

Before sleep, he checked the Wanxiang Star Pupils interface; today’s battles had netted him 15 points of spiritual source energy.

Thirteen of those points came from the spider swarm, with the elite Shadow Roaming Spider contributing four points and the remaining two from the later fights.

15 points!

Ji Xinghuo was exhilarated.

The progress on his Rotating Magnetic Field was at level one 102/359. If he could gain over ten points of spiritual source energy daily, he’d reach level two in just over a month!

Besides the spiritual source energy, there was the 800,000 valued Mind Shriek exotic and other exotics’ income share. Today’s earnings definitely exceeded a million Asia Yuan.

The first day of hunting had already earned back the money spent on equipment.

It was truly a bountiful harvest!

After counting his gains, Ji Xinghuo, satisfied and looking forward to the upcoming hunting journey, quickly fell asleep.