Chapter 159: Hidden Spirit Beast Differentiation

It seemed Qin Chuan's clean and efficient move had stimulated Ji Huai, and his attack speed grew ever more fierce.

One minute later, all three third-tier monsters were slain.

Watching the Special Affairs Group's extraordinary combatants clean up the aftermath with ease, he turned his head and looked at Qin Chuan beside him, "Shadowflame Cat?"

He might not be able to identify a normal Spirit Beast from a single strike by an extraordinary being, but the Shadowflame Cat is different.

The black flame feature and its unique ignore-defense trait are as conspicuous as a blinding lamp.

"Yes." Qin Chuan nodded, not denying it.

After all, his every move in the Dream World had already been exposed via the Spirit Beast Ranking, and his newly contracted Spirit Beast likewise attracted considerable attention.

By now, the Dream World Forum likely already had discussions on this matter.

This is the consequence of being ahead in strength; fortunately, his lead has gradually become enough to ignore the negative effects of this consequence.

"Not bad luck; this kind of Spirit Beast is very rare." Ji Huai said flatly.

Qin Chuan smiled beneath his mask.

"Let's first head to the nearest Dragon Gate Camp." Qin Chuan smiled, saying, "I exchanged five Starlight Gear materials for Silver Horn using Special Affairs Points and will pick them up."

On one hand, Shadowflame Cats normally hide in shadows, and only a few Spirit Beast skills can detect their trail.

Slaying a level‑28 monster would earn him a handsome amount of Special Affairs Points.

——

Dream World.

After observation and research by the Special Affairs Group, there actually exists a gap between Spirit Beasts.

However, the actual situation is not so simple.

Yet achieving this is difficult.

Thus Qin Chuan also took his leave proactively.

Indeed, being able to contract the Shadowflame Cat as his third pet made him truly fortunate.

Thus, even to this day, the Special Affairs Group has only found and contracted a second one before abandoning this approach.

Within the Special Affairs Group, the player who contracted the Shadowflame Cat had already raised it to Growth Tier Lv20, and in battles against monsters he achieved inspiring results—ignoring defense made him practically a nemesis to the beasts.

"What?" Yue Li, not understanding, turned her head blankly.

Soon, the battle ended as the monster horde was completely wiped out.

On the other hand, and most importantly, the Shadowflame Cat itself is extremely scarce in number.

Therefore, the Special Affairs Group naturally turned its attention to the Shadowflame Cat Spirit Beast species, hoping to let more players contract it to play a greater role against monsters.

This is a phenomenon that the Dream World never explicitly pointed out, yet it truly exists.

Take the Shadowflame Cat as an example.

"Huh? What kind of operation is this?" Yue Li, hearing this, became very interested.

This gap does not show up in basic data like racial values, but rather in skill strength and rarity.

Having come to his senses, Qin Chuan listened to Yue Li's chatty recount of the forum discussion sparked by their joint defeat of the Great Sudden Freeze Bird, then suddenly said, "If all goes well, you'll soon see plenty of fans online."

Silver Horn was discovered by Yue Li; perhaps it came thanks to her luck, yet he contracted it.

"Let's talk as we go." Qin Chuan and Yue Li set off, and along the way he briefly introduced the service Yue Li was unaware of.

"I have plenty of Special Affairs Points now; tell me what resources you need later, and I'll help you exchange them so you don't have to bring items one by one from reality."

"All right." Yue Li replied with a smile, "From now on, any resources you find besides what I need will go to you."

"Come to think of it, has the Special Affairs Group never contacted you?" Qin Chuan glanced curiously at Yue Li.

Yue Li and he are both elite players; could it be that the Special Affairs Group still doesn't know her real‑world identity?

Come on! That would make the one who was locked up first look a bit foolish!

"No." Seeing Qin Chuan's thought, Yue Li's lips curled into a faint smile.

Actually, Yue Li's identity is easier to discover than Qin Chuan's, because her player avatar hasn't been altered much.

But the Dream World and reality can only transmit specific items; there's no accurate photo for facial recognition, so trying to pick one person out of billions in an identity database with the naked eye is extremely hard.

She is currently staying in a sanatorium, with basically no chance to use extraordinary powers, and certainly won't show herself in public.

Not using powers is naturally the best way to keep her identity secret.

Thus, even the Special Affairs Group has temporarily failed to pin down Yue Li's identity.

"All right." Qin Chuan shook his head helplessly.

While speaking, the two had already reached their destination; in a valley they saw the flag marking the Dragon Gate Camp and rows of wooden cabins.

Before this, Qin Chuan and Yue Li would also interact with the Dragon Gate Camps along the way, even conducting some trades.

In the camp, aside from lacking strength, the players possess talents in every trade; the picnic blankets and handkerchiefs the two used earlier were handmade by players skilled in weaving and sewing, exchangeable for only a few experience gems.

If they happened to have resources taking up space but useless, Qin Chuan would also choose to trade them with the camp's players for basic supplies like experience gems.

Thus, they are not strangers to the Dragon Gate Camp.

The appearance of the top‑ranked players Luo and Yue Li naturally stirred the enthusiasm of all players in the camp; the person in charge who arrived first understood Luo's purpose and immediately took him away from the crowd, bringing the two to a secluded spot.

"Mr. Luo, these are the five materials you need." The handler handed the five Starlight Gear materials to Qin Chuan, then smiled and added, "If Mr. Luo needs to bring multiple items back to reality at once, he can also rely on the Dragon Gate Camp's power."

"Still the same: the carrying fee is 20 Special Affairs Points per item."

"If the resources being carried are themselves meant to be exchanged for Special Affairs Points, then this carriage is free."

"All right." Qin Chuan kept this in mind and took from the other's hand five materials surging with dark‑system energy.

Silver Horn, hidden in Qin Chuan's shadow, couldn't help but poke its head out upon sensing this energy, its hollow eyes fixed on the Starlight Gear materials.

"Don't worry, I'll forge it for you once we have nine pieces." Qin Chuan said dumbfounded, after inserting the materials into their matching slots he walked toward the nearby crowd.

Yue Li is cheerful, but dealing with so many players' enthusiasm is still taxing; he needed to help her out of the surround.

"Yue Li, let's go."

As Qin Chuan's voice rang out, many players gazed at the two reluctantly; after all, these two forum legends had appeared before them alive—such an opportunity was rare.

"Good."

Yue Li secretly let out a breath of relief and quickly walked out of the crowd.

She really couldn't handle such an overly enthusiastic scene.

"Won't you stay for a meal before leaving?" the person in charge tried to retain them with a chuckle.

"No." Qin Chuan shook his head slightly, "We're rushing to defeat the next zone's Spirit Beast."

As soon as he said that, the place fell silent.

This guy… is putting on an act!

(End of chapter)