Chapter 68: Symbiosis of the Different

Just stepping out of the airship landing field, Ji Xinghuo sensed several gazes on him which quickly shifted away.

He used his magnetic field sensing to locate the source of the gazes.

It was three extrahumans, one sitting at a cafe outside the landing field’s gate, another in a room on the third floor of a hotel across the street, secretly watching from behind a window.

There was also one mingling in the crowd, disguised as a traveler.

Their gazes swept over the people entering and leaving the airship landing area, paying special attention to lone travelers.

These lone travelers all shared one thing in common—they were carrying bows and arrows.

“People from Wan Beast Garden Group?”

Ji Xinghuo guessed internally.

The hunting team from Wan Beast Garden should have already returned to Olympia, and that super beastmaster who got shot by him surely held a high position. Wan Beast Garden Group wouldn’t let it go easily.

Yet, Ji Xinghuo wasn’t too worried since he had covered his face that day, showing only his eyes.

Before entering the City of Freedom, he changed his gear.

He stowed away his Dragon Falcon Bow and Thunder Chase Saber, switching to the compound bow of the hunter who fell to his arrows. He also took off his ceramic steel armor, now wearing a black leather armor, and even changed his backpack. His whole attire and gear were completely different from when he set off.

Ji Xinghuo walked out of the landing area boldly, pretending to be completely unaware of someone secretly tailing him.

Then he boarded a steam bus.

As expected, no one followed him; his change of clothes had worked.

He sat in the back of the bus, alone. A little green snake poked its head out of his front pocket, curiously observing everything around with its golden eyes.

Just a few hours ago, the snake had been quite scared when entering the City of Freedom, even wanting to run away.

Ji Xinghuo spent a long time comforting it before the little green snake agreed to enter the city.

“Hide well, don’t let anyone spot you.” Ji Xinghuo gently pressed its head back into the pocket, whispering softly. Olympia was more dangerous than the wilderness in some respects; the environment and smells were more complex. If the little green snake got lost, it might be very hard to find again.

The snake bit his finger lightly as a form of protest, though it didn’t break the skin.

“You little troublemaker…”

Ji Xinghuo felt helpless inside.

This time, his primary goal was to solve the communication issue with the little green snake.

The most straightforward method would be like a beastmaster, integrating with an “Animalspeaker” extrahuman type. However, he wasn’t interested in beastmasters and didn’t want to waste an integration opportunity on an ability that only allowed communication with wild beasts.

There were many abilities that allowed communication with creatures from the Star Realm.

Apart from Animalspeaker, there was also Friend of Birds, Mind Sync, Sense Sharing, Thought Link among others, and it wasn’t necessary to integrate an extrahuman type.

Many super-ability equipment companies developed communication devices for pets.

They generally turned the extrahuman type into a portable and small trinket that could be worn at all times, called a Command Ornament.

The effects of a Command Ornament were far inferior to those of an integrated extrahuman type.

For instance, as an Animalspeaker, beastmasters could communicate with their battle pets at any time, keeping a close connection. The Command Ornament made from Animalspeaker extrahuman type required multiple times more star energy when used, cutting off contact with the battle pet when not active, making it hard to maintain a close relationship with the pet.

Despite this, Command Ornaments were a good supplemental option for those other than beastmasters to have chances to own battle pets.

Many beastmasters bought several Command Ornaments to control more battle pets.

However, Command Ornaments were very expensive.

At the very least, they rated super-ability one star and cost two to three times more than other super-ability one-star equipment, reaching up to ten million wasn’t strange.

Ji Xinghuo’s minimum requirement was to buy one Command Ornament.

But he had a higher goal.

There was a transcendent ability called “Symbiosis of the Different” which could establish the closest connection between an extrahuman and a battle pet—not only could they communicate instantly, but they could also share abilities with each other!

An extrahuman could gain an ability from their battle pet.

Conversely, the battle pet would also gain an ability from its owner, achieving a true win-win situation.

Integrating Symbiosis of the Different was equivalent to integrating a new ability and also gaining a battle pet, definitely offering much better value than integrating a single ability alone. The greater the potential of the battle pet, the more significant the benefits from ability symbiosis, with the upper limit depending on the pet’s future!

Most beastmasters and those extrahuman professionals who owned battle pets were extremely eager for Symbiosis of the Different.

Consequently, Symbiosis of the Different was in high demand.

Moreover, it was a transcendent ability, meaning the lowest grade of this extrahuman type cost millions, not to mention the highly sought-after Symbiosis of the Different.

Hence, Ji Xinghuo had this idea but wasn’t very sure of it.

It depended on how much he could sell this trip’s gains for.

Ji Xinghuo got off the bus on Qinghao Street, near the villa area. His magnetic field sensing probed inside, revealing a smile on his face.

Ren Mian and Jiangnan Caiyi had both returned.

Chi Zhonglin wasn’t there; probably out having fun but would return tonight.

“Are they waiting for me?”

Ji Xinghuo didn’t rush into the villas but turned into an empty alley to change back into his ceramic steel armor. The Dragon Falcon Bow hung on his back, Thunder Chase also tucked into his waist. He put the extrahuman type he collected into his backpack, making himself look like he was just returning from a normal hunt, then entered the villa’s main gate.

As soon as he reached the door, Jiangnan Caiyi opened it from inside.

“Xinghuo!”

Her face was full of surprise and joy. “You’re finally back!”

“Caiyi.” Ji Xinghuo stepped inside and gave her a brief hug before letting go. “When did you guys get back to Olympia?”

“I came back last week.” Caiyi began helping Ji Xinghuo put down his large backpack and untie his equipment while speaking, “Sister came back three days ago, and Zhonglin just arrived yesterday but he’s not home now, went out to meet friends.”

She looked at the heavy backpack with concern, “Xinghuo, you suddenly going out hunting alone gave me a scare. Thankfully, you are back safely.”

“People need to grow. I can’t rely on you guys all the time.” Ji Xinghuo smiled.

He looked toward another door in the villa’s hall.

Ren Mian came out from the garden, wearing a well-fitted summer dress and a sun hat, her beautiful face adorned with a gentle smile.

“Sister Ren.”

“You’re back?” Ren Mian sized up Ji Xinghuo and nodded slightly, “Seems like you’ve had a substantial gain, and your strength must have also increased.”

Jiangnan Caiyi suddenly said, “Sister knew you went out alone when she came back. She was worried about you and said if you didn’t return in a few days, she would go to Peak Valley to find you.”

Ji Xinghuo had mentioned in his letter that he was going to Peak Valley.

“I made Sister Ren worry.” Ji Xinghuo smiled.

“You are my team member. As the team leader, it’s right for me to worry about your safety.” Ren Mian’s expression remained unchanged, but her explanation sounded somewhat superfluous.

Ji Xinghuo gave her a meaningful look: “Indeed.”

“Heard that Star Tears appeared in Peak Valley while you were there. Didn’t you go looking for them?” Ren Mian changed the topic.

“I did.” Ji Xinghuo nodded. “When the Star Tears fell, they flew right over my head.”

“Such a coincidence?” Jiangnan Caiyi looked astonished.

“It was spectacular. It was my first time seeing a celestial event of the Star Realm.” Ji Xinghuo chuckled, “Then I immediately went looking for the Star Tears, but there were too many people. I searched for several days unsuccessfully. It was too dangerous to act alone, so I came back.”

Ren Mian found it odd, “Didn’t your magnetic field sensing find them?”

“Maybe I was just unlucky.” Ji Xinghuo shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to tell others that he had obtained the Star Tears, which would only add unnecessary trouble.

Jiangnan Caiyi felt sorry for him, “That’s too bad.”

“Xinghuo, go freshen up. I’ll make you a bowl of noodles. You can tell us about this hunting trip while you eat.”

“Sure.”

Ji Xinghuo returned to his room and took a refreshing shower.

When he came out, Jiangnan Caiyi had already prepared a delicious bowl of beef noodles, complete with two sunny-side-up eggs, which looked very appetizing.

“Thanks, Caiyi.”

Under the watch of the two ladies, Ji Xinghuo devoured the entire bowl in two minutes, belched satisfyingly, and wore a content smile.

“Caiyi’s cooking skills are getting better. When I was outside, I often missed the food you made. Now that I finally got to eat it, it feels great!”

“You flatter me, Xinghuo.” Jiangnan Caiyi was a bit embarrassed but visibly pleased.

Suddenly, footsteps from Chi Zhonglin came from outside the door.

He pushed the door open and seeing the three sitting at the dining table, exclaimed loudly, “I wondered why there was a smell of beef noodles. Turns out, Xinghuo is back. Caiyi, make me a bowl too. I’m just in time since I’m hungry.” He rubbed his belly, his face showing his craving.

“Sure, Zhonglin, just a moment.” Jiangnan Caiyi asked, “Xinghuo, would you like to eat more?”

Ji Xinghuo nodded, “Please, Caiyi.”

Chi Zhonglin sat down next to Ji Xinghuo, wrapping his arm around his shoulder in a carefree manner, “Man, you’ve got guts. A rookie ranger daring to go to Peak Valley alone and yet returning intact. How was it? Any gains?”

Ji Xinghuo stood up to grab his backpack, and with a rustle, he poured over two hundred extrahuman types onto the table.

“So many?”

Chi Zhonglin’s eyes went wide.

Usually, the three of them together only hunted forty to fifty extrahuman types, and that’s because their strength far surpassed other extrahumans which allowed such a rich haul.

But Ji Xinghuo alone had gathered four to five times more than the whole team!

“How many creatures did you kill?” Chi Zhonglin picked up one extrahuman type after another from the table, identifying the most common as Rockskin, making up about two-thirds, with the rest being of decent quality—Tough, Explosive, Balanced, and even an excellent-level Giantize!

“I can’t quite remember how many I killed, but they were all pretty easy.” Ji Xinghuo picked up a stone-like extrahuman type from the table. “Take a look at this.”

Chi Zhonglin barely had time to examine it closely.

Ren Mian though, quickly recognized it, surprised, “Basaltic Rock Body!”

“What?”

Chi Zhonglin was shocked. He certainly knew that Basaltic Rock Body was a transcendent ability. He suddenly stood up, “You killed that Giant Scythe Demon?”

“Of course not.” Ji Xinghuo could only smile wryly. “It was another Giant Scythe Demon, a superior monster. Sadly, it didn’t have Earth Pulse.”

Chi Zhonglin’s emotions went up and down, and after a few seconds of stunned silence, he lamented, “Ah, if only it had Earth Pulse. What a pity, what a pity!”

He sat down again, shaking his head with a smile, “But if it had Earth Pulse, you probably couldn’t have hunted it. Still, the fact that you could solo kill a Giant Scythe Demon is quite amazing. If it were me, I wouldn’t even have half the confidence.”

Ji Xinghuo felt the same.

The strength of the Giant Scythe Demon lay in close combat, and he had the exact counter to it, also having an excellent geographic advantage at the time.

“Do you want this Basaltic Rock Body?” he asked, “If you want, I can sell it to you cheaply.”

“No thanks.”

Chi Zhonglin clearly wasn’t interested. “I’ve got Tungsten Dragon Scales, its defense isn’t inferior to Basaltic Rock Body, and it doesn’t affect agility and speed either.”

He handed the Basaltic Rock Body extrahuman type back to Ji Xinghuo.

“Sister Ren,” Ji Xinghuo looked at Ren Mian, “I want to sell all these extrahuman types. Do you think I could buy a Symbiosis of the Different with the money?”