Chapter 351: Squirrel and Treasure

Hmm.

Not really wanting to respond to that.

But elves are hard to soothe when angry.

Luo De quickly changed the subject: "Why are you free so early today? How's the ritual progressing?"

"The ritual setup is nearly complete."

The delicate elf before him, as if stepped out of a painting, glared at him.

Then she sighed, brushing her cascading golden hair behind her tall, pointed ears.

"It should be within these two weeks—I'll come find you then."

Finally.

Though he hadn't helped much, Luo De still felt an inexplicable sense of relief, like sunshine after rain.

One could only say that elves, being long-lived, had a poor sense of time.

Half a month ago, the ghoul Pan Ni and the zombie Selina both reached seventh tier.

Selina, of course, had already been on the brink of seventh tier.

Due to insufficient conditions in the monster cave, she'd sustained hidden injuries that blocked further advancement—until Luo De gifted her a spirit seed, giving her the chance to ascend to seventh tier.

When Pan Ni first met him, she was only mid-sixth tier; now, she'd climbed all the way to seventh tier.

When Luo De first met Kalist, she was already at peak sixth tier—elf advancement speed was clearly slow.

Ahead.

The tree-branch ritual of the giant squirrel Cui Qian was complete.

She raised her arms and began chattering a flood of incomprehensible words.

Kalist, seeing Luo De's puzzled expression, said:

"This is a psychic ability unique to the Lottask gray squirrels of the Tree Realm. By the way, lend me your female orc for a few days—Thirteen has recently become spiritually unstable; she might ascend to mid-seventh tier, and needs combat to stir her inner spirit."

"Mid-seventh tier already? That's fast."

This kind of borrowing meant round-the-clock use.

Fortunately, Pan Ni and Chris had just returned to guard the Claw Valley Mountains; according to Dimia, the beast-tainted patients had grown restless again, and the section they were advancing through was complex—Fungus Bin couldn't handle it alone and needed two frontline pioneers to help clear the way.

In any case, the "Euphoria Party" team was temporarily disbanded.

Besides, Luo De had been thinking the same thing.

Chris, Pan Ni, Vivian, and Tally had all had enough.

For the past month, they'd consumed massive quantities of 【Alluring Fluid】, leaving them drowsy and foggy even during the day.

Amy had the strongest constitution and excellent digestion.

It was surprising that Tally couldn't take it either.

But she was the type who slept as soon as she ate; as the head of the "Euphoria Party," she naturally couldn't rest—no doubt that's why she'd become even sleepier lately.

Thinking this,

Luo De saw Cui Qian begin a comical dance, her fat jiggling with every movement, and he laughed out loud.

"And you, human, still stuck at peak sixth tier—how can you even laugh?"

"I'm about the same—this week or next."

The construction of the psychic war-soul was nearly complete; after minor adjustments, the formal solidification ritual could begin.

The dazed, silent squirrel girl Thirteen walked up to him.

She slowly crouched down, curiously watching Cui Qian dance.

Her rear end landed squarely on Luo De's instep.

Her metallic-glossed, bluish-hard tail, soft and supple, curled upward along his calf, affectionately winding several times around his thigh.

Due to 【Daphne's Spirit Seed】,

Thirteen couldn't speak and seemed to lack a soul or personality, yet she was deeply attached to him.

She always approached to nuzzle him, especially fond of wrapping her steel tail around him.

Luo De stroked the steel tail on his thigh.

Oh—

Not only did it look metallic, its hardness was also quite impressive,

the tip fully formed into a metallic spearhead, alternating shades of bluish steel and red.

Utterly cold.

Tally's succubus tail was far inferior—soft, slender, and utterly harmless.

Thirteen began poking Cui Qian with her fingers.

But she pushed too hard, toppling the giant squirrel to the ground.

Cui Qian erupted in angry squawks, panting as she restarted the ritual.

An hour later.

The tree-branch pattern on the ground glowed.

Interwove, merged, expanded.

Finally forming a white passage.

Then, a dozen excited Lottask gray squirrels burst forth from it.

Colorful giant squirrels surrounded the equally excited Cui Qian, hopping and bouncing.

They chattered in high-pitched, chaotic squeaks—Luo De, even holding 【Tremor Blade】, couldn't make out a word.

As they chattered, Cui Qian pointed at Luo De and babbled rapidly.

The other squirrels all turned to look at him.

"Mr. Luo De, they'd like to give you a greeting gift—do you have any preferences?"

Cui Qian explained.

Luo De smiled: "I like women of other races."

"Hm?"

Kalist emitted a cold, threatening growl beside him, then shot Cui Qian a glare.

"Don't translate that."

Why are you meddling in everything?

If you didn't know better, you'd think you were my wife.

Stop being so overbearing—we've got a reputation to uphold.

But Luo De couldn't seriously let this group of Tree Realm squirrels gift him women.

He joked, naming rare spells, artifacts with fire-toxin resistance, spirit-energy-infused treasures, etc.

Cui Qian stared, dumbfounded.

"Mr. Luo De, not all gray squirrels are as smart as me—they can't recognize valuable things."

"Hahaha—I was just joking! Come on, no need for gifts."

Even so,

the giant squirrels still took turns offering their greeting gifts.

Most were pinecone gems; the squirrels looked so reluctant, he thought they must be precious.

Turns out they were ordinary pinecones coated in fluorescent powder, hollowed out for storage—probably some cruel mage fooling them.

Luo De didn't mind.

He accepted them cheerfully, handing each squirrel a small gift pack in return.

Inside: a large amount of snacks, tiny crystal jewelry, and a magic ring.

Of course, these were prepared by his personal secretary, the arachnid elf Yuna—he, a coarse man, had no such refined thoughts.

Originally, the gift packs didn't include magic rings.

But Luo De? A man of dignity—he had to look good.

Watching the giant squirrels chatter excitedly, he felt happy too.

"You're generous—just handing out a dozen magic rings like that."

Kalist frowned.

"They're just external things—I prepared plenty for you, and you refused them all."

Luo De laughed heartily.

Sales of counterfeit magic rings remained steady; with Selina's ascent to seventh tier and Yuna joining production, output was guaranteed.

Jin Along's income would only keep growing—he had no worries over such small items.

The elf turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.

"I don't need external things."

"Fine, fine—you elves are the best, huh?"

Luo De suddenly made a surprised sound.

Among the pile of greeting gifts offered by the giant squirrels, a thread of condensed spirit energy flickered.

It was the guiding thread of 【Treasure Obsession】!

And there were two of them!

(End of Chapter)