Chapter 69: Dimensional Stomach

“You want to tame a battle pet?”

As Ji Xinghuo spoke, Ren Mian guessed his thoughts. Her eyes searched him but found nothing.

Seeing her response, Ji Xinghuo felt a bit strange.

Normally, when you talk about battle pets, you don’t look for them on your person, right?

“Could it be…” Ji Xinghuo couldn’t help wondering if Sister Ren, like himself, also hid a very small battle pet on her body? But her magnetic field was normal, showing no signs of other creature’s magnetic fields. Or perhaps she didn’t have her battle pet with her at the moment.

These thoughts flashed through his mind as he nodded, “Yes, I have that intention.”

“It’s worth using exotic symbiotic battle pets only if they have great potential. Otherwise, it’s a waste of a species.” Ren Mian asked, “Have you picked your target?”

Ji Xinghuo smiled and patted the pocket on his chest.

The existence of the little green snake couldn’t be hidden from his teammates forever. It was better to just bring it out openly.

A tiny head peeked out, saw the two people up close, and quickly retracted.

“Come on out.”

Ji Xinghuo pulled the little green snake from his pocket and placed it on his palm to show his teammate.

Chi Zhonglin expressed surprise, “A snake? What kind of fighting power can something so small have?”

As if understanding his words, the little green snake coiled itself in Ji Xinghuo’s palm, stood its head upright, and hissed at Chi Zhonglin.

Ren Mian observed the little green snake closely and her eyes lit up seeing its response.

“This snake is actually a spirit creature!”

“What?”

Chi Zhonglin widened his eyes and leaned in to look closer. He knew the rarity of spirit creatures; having seen a few, he understood each one possessed abilities far beyond ordinary monsters, making them invaluable aides to their owners. He didn’t keep battle pets because ordinary monsters didn’t impress him, but spirit creatures were rare treasures indeed.

“Is this an Iron Arrow Green?” guessed Chi Zhonglin, “Can such an ordinary snake species also produce a spirit creature?”

“Any creature from the Star Realm can potentially evolve into a spirit creature,” said Ren Mian.

She seemed very interested and appeared to have some expertise in taming such small battle pets. She stood up, went to the kitchen, and brought back a piece of cake, offering it to the little green snake.

The little green snake sniffed it cautiously, then delicately licked it with its tongue, its eyes gleaming as it began nibbling.

“Interesting!”

Ren Mian laughed, “Xinghuo, this isn’t its original form, is it? Let me guess, shrunk?”

This time, Ji Xinghuo was the one surprised, “Sister Ren really has a sharp eye!”

“How big is its true form?” Ren Mian asked.

Ji Xinghuo gently tapped the little green snake, and it immediately got the message, expanding a hundred times in size into a two-and-a-half-meter-long Iron Arrow Green. It coiled itself on the dining table, swallowed the cake in one gulp, and then looked expectantly at Ren Mian.

Chi Zhonglin was initially startled, then exclaimed, “It really is an Iron Arrow Green!”

He shook his head.

“Iron Arrow Greens, even if they return to their true form, don’t seem very impressive. I’ve killed hundreds of them on my outings.”

The large snake turned its head to stare at him, its golden eyes flickering with a cool menace, and its tongue flicking continuously.

“This snake can understand human speech!”

Chi Zhonglin took a couple of steps back, unsettled by the snake’s near-human gaze and close inspection.

Ji Xinghuo laughed, “It only understands a bit. But enough to guess you were speaking ill of it.”

“Spirit creatures naturally have intelligence,” Ren Mian admired the Iron Arrow Green, which looked distinct from the ordinary ones with its more vibrant and smooth scales. She tentatively reached out to touch the snake and was surprised by the hardness of its scales. The belly’s color shifted from green to gold.

The Iron Arrow Green that evolved into a monster has an “Iron Scale” ability, making its scales as hard as steel.

She turned and asked, “What else can it do?”

“Its sense of smell is very strong; it should have ‘Spirit Sniff,'” replied Ji Xinghuo. “It also has another ability, but I’m not sure what to call it.”

He nodded at the large snake, “Spit something out for us.”

The little green snake opened its mouth and spat out a tactical backpack, which belonged to Ji Xinghuo himself. It was filled with spare arrows, supplies, and tools.

“Damn!”

Chi Zhonglin nearly jumped.

Ren Mian’s expression also froze; she frowned and pondered. Her gaze at the little green snake was no longer as relaxed as before.

“Sister Ren, do you know what this ability is?” Ji Xinghuo asked.

“If I’m not mistaken, it should be ‘Dimensional Stomach,'” Ren Mian said quietly, then added solemnly, “Dimensional Stomach is a starfall ability, extremely rare. Even among starfall abilities, it is one of the most top-tier. You’re quite lucky.”

“Incredible!” Chi Zhonglin’s face was full of envy. “With this Iron Arrow Green, you can carry a lot of stuff. It’s really convenient.”

However, Ren Mian shook her head slightly, “The Dimensional Stomach is not just for storing items. In battle, it’s extremely powerful.”

“The Dimensional Stomach involves a space ability. Its stomach is an independent dimensional space, where time is stopped. Anything that enters the stomach remains in the same state when it comes out; there’s no change at all,”

Hearing this, Ji Xinghuo understood.

He had also guessed as much when he first encountered the little green snake. It had swallowed his arrow and then spat it back out.

The arrow’s kinetic energy and speed were completely unchanged, and its lethality hadn’t decreased at all.

This characteristic could develop into many tactics.

For instance, he could prepare several capacitor arrows in advance, have the little green snake swallow them as they’re close to overload, and keep them hidden on his person.

During a fight, the little green snake could suddenly open its mouth and release the capacitor arrows, catching almost anyone off guard.

If one isn’t enough, then spit out several more, or even a few hundred!

Open your mouth and it’s a rain of arrows!

Besides swallowing arrows, could it also swallow bullets? How about the metal bullets from an electromagnetic rifle? If the Dimensional Stomach’s space is large enough, could it even swallow a missile about to explode?

Explosives from Earth are ineffective in the Star Realm, so replace them with pure kinetic weapons.

For example, tungsten rods falling from space, or meteorites!

Of course, swallowing these objects presupposes that the Dimensional Stomach is large enough, which the little green snake isn’t yet capable of. Plus, swallowing more powerful items is riskier; one mishap and the little green snake could be killed.

These are all things to try out slowly in the future.

Whatever Ji Xinghuo can think of, Ren Mian and Chi Zhonglin can also guess.

“The potential of starfall abilities is terrifying. It all depends on how you unleash it,” Ren Mian sighed. “However, the Dimensional Stomach can only be opened in the Star Realm. Once back on Earth, or anywhere in the Milky Way, it becomes ineffective. The items inside won’t disappear, but you can’t put anything in or take anything out.”

Ji Xinghuo was taken aback, “Why is that?”

“According to scientists’ research, the space in the Star Realm is more flexible than that of the Milky Way; it’s not as ‘solid’, so it’s relatively easier to manipulate space, jumping and shuttling within the Star Realm,” Ren Mian thought for a moment, then continued, “Let’s say.”

“The space of the Star Realm is like water. With a little swimming skill, we can move in water.”

“Whereas the space of the Milky Way is more like solid rock or even steel. Everything located within it is trapped, forever confined.”

“This is just a rough analogy.”

“In reality, the difference between the spaces of the Star Realm and the Milky Way is not just like that between water and rock or steel. The actual gap could be as high as nine orders of magnitude!”

“Not just the Dimensional Stomach, any space-related ability is ineffective in the Milky Way.”

This was the first Ji Xinghuo heard of this aspect.

Nine orders of magnitude!

Isn’t that a billion times?

Chi Zhonglin also looked stunned, his face showing sudden realization.

He suddenly shook his head, “No wonder! I had heard before about people in the Star Realm who obtained storage items that could carry storage spaces, worth a fortune. I was thinking, if such storage items fell into the hands of enemy countries, and they hid nuclear weapons in them, brought them to Chang’an, and released them, wouldn’t that be the end?”

Ji Xinghuo also felt a chill.

In fact, after he got the little green snake, he had this idea.

If the little green snake’s Dimensional Stomach was big enough, then load a nuclear bomb with a yield of tens of millions of tons, then sneak into the capital of the American Federation, Saint Louis, and drop it from the sky…

Boom!

The world would be flattened by nuclear force.

“People have tried it before,” Ren Mian’s words startled the two men. She smiled softly, “Don’t think wildly. It’s impossible.”

“That’s a relief!” Chi Zhonglin breathed a sigh of relief.

Ji Xinghuo, however, thought Ren Mian’s expression seemed a bit strange, as if there was more to it.

As the little green snake transformed back into its miniature form, Ren Mian continued feeding it cake. The miniaturized Iron Arrow Green, now harmless and cute, displayed none of the fierceness typical of snakes. It looked like a harmless little pet.

As she played with the little green snake, she said, “This Iron Arrow Green is full of spirit and has great potential. Merging exotic symbiotic sharing an ability with it is indeed a good choice.”

“However, exotic symbiosis is rare and not easy to come by.”

Looking at Ji Xinghuo’s hopeful expression, Ren Mian smiled, “Tonight you come out with me. Try our luck; we might find something.”

“Thanks, Sister Ren.” Ji Xinghuo was overjoyed.

Ren Mian nodded and left the living room to continue tending to the garden.

“Xinghuo, Zhonglin, noodles are ready!” Jiangnan Caiyi came up with two bowls of beef noodles. She had been listening to everyone talk in the kitchen. Seeing the little green snake on the table, she also tried feeding it some cake, but it seemed a bit tired of it after Ren Mian had already fed it several pieces.

Ji Xinghuo ate his noodles heartily and hinted, “Caiyi, it prefers grilled meat, chicken is the best.”

“I’ll make it grilled chicken tonight.”

Understanding Jiangnan Caiyi’s words, the little green snake immediately grew fond of her.

Ji Xinghuo asked, “Brother Chi, didn’t you say you were going back to Earth to participate in the Master Qualification Tournament? Did you succeed?”

“Don’t mention it,” Chi Zhonglin appeared gloomy. Even mentioning it seemed to make the noodles tasteless, “There were 16 spots in this year’s domestic master tournament, and I finished in 17th place. Just missed it by one spot; nearly killed me.”

The Master Qualification Tournament is held annually, decided by the Global Martial Arts Association, which determines the promotion quotas for the year, distributed among various countries on Earth.

“Try again next year,” Ji Xinghuo could only offer consolation.

“I don’t have time to participate in the martial arts competitions. It’s just like this now,” Chi Zhonglin shook his head, stirring his noodles.

Ji Xinghuo chuckled silently.

Winning a national martial arts championship or placing 2nd to 4th in a global martial arts competition can directly promote one to master.

But this is harder than the Master Qualification Tournament, as many masters and even grandmasters participate in martial arts competitions.

With Chi Zhonglin’s skills, it’s almost impossible for him to place.

“Oh, by the way.”

Chi Zhonglin remembered something, “I met your elder brother in Chang’an and conveyed your message. He told me to tell you that everything is fine at home, and to take care of yourself.”

“Thanks,” Ji Xinghuo felt relieved.

The two men casually chatted while eating noodles.

“Nothing much has happened on Earth lately, just the usual fighting and killing,” Chi Zhonglin knew Ji Xinghuo might not be able to return to Earth easily, so he intentionally shared some news from Earth.

“Speaking of hot news, the hottest would be Zhao Manying. She led the Emperor Star team to win the domestic super league championship, and just a few days ago, they swept through opponents at Avalon and won the global international invitational tournament!”

With envy in his eyes, Chi Zhonglin said, “The Sword Fairy is really my life idol! Damn, I wish I could have such a moment of glory just once.”

Ji Xinghuo also sighed.

Zhao Manying’s promotion to super extrahuman half a year ago and winning the domestic super league championship wasn’t very surprising.

Unexpectedly, she also won the international invitational tournament!

The international invitational tournament is held twice a year, each time in a different global city. The organizers invite the top teams from various countries to participate. The championship prize money exceeds two billion Asia Yuan, and the competition is extremely fierce, worth more than the championship in each country’s league and only slightly less prestigious than the super world cup held every four years.

Athletic leagues speak through results.

With Zhao Manying taking two championships, it’s foreseeable that she will win many more in the coming years. Her popularity is set to skyrocket again, making her a true global idol.

Not just Chi Zhonglin is envious; Ji Xinghuo also longs for such a globally acclaimed life!