Chapter 299: Solo Wolf Mode, Hunter Form (Requesting Monthly Passes)

The lid of the old-style game pod slowly pressed down.

The soft tubes retracted within the pod's walls automatically connected to various parts of Ning Shu's body as the nutrient fluid gradually submerged his head.

The gene-repair medicinal fluid tank lit up with a green light upon connecting to the game pod.

When Ning Shu's vision jumped to the virtual desktop, a burning scarlet flame icon appeared, with the text below reading: Monster World.

Ning Shu, who only wanted to earn Shou Shou Jili by the second, decisively clicked to enter.

After a brief darkness, the game's realistic scene emerged.

The first to appear was the Di Ku Shi Jie mountain range scene.

The camera pierced through the clouds, diving toward the earth like a golden eagle.

Peaks carved by billions of years of wind and frost rose and fell; exposed rock veins twisted like the spines of giant beasts. As the scene rushed forward, the mountain range flowed like a dark tide, carrying an oppressive aura that swept toward the viewer.

Finally, the camera plummeted toward an bottomless abyss on the ground at the speed of light.

A pitch-black Gao Ta rose from the dark abyss, piercing the clouds; black mist swirled around the tower, and countless ferocious evil spirits roared and howled within the mist.

The scene finally froze on the platform atop the Gao Ta.

A domineering figure standing in mid-air suddenly opened his eyes and looked back, bloodlight bursting from his dark red eyes.

Immediately, four blurry figures slowly emerged from the darkness, standing on either side of the domineering figure.

At that moment, a blood-red waning moon rose behind these five figures, and the four large characters "Di Ku Shi Jie" materialized from the void.

The scene suddenly tore apart.

It jumped from the gloomy and terrifying Di Ku Shi Jie to the Colorful Mist Coast.

Beneath the shimmering waves, the blue sea supported a continuous stretch of silver sand as the view followed the camera pushing toward the ocean.

The islands of the Ascension Clan appeared and disappeared within the seven-colored mist; the Shu Yan Domain floated above the waves; the brutal battle scenes of the Ancient God Arena... the scene finally focused before a destructive torrent composed of twelve elements, where the champion fighter's right arm muscles coiled like ancient tree roots, clenched his fist in preparation, stepped on empty air with one foot, and threw a punch toward the surging elemental torrent, the power exploding instantly like a prairie fire, shattering the elemental torrent.

Following that were the Winter Snow Plains (the two great legions of the Lord of Bliss), the Adventurer World (the former Di Ku Shi Jie, dungeon showcase), Sen Luo Lin Realm (the scene finally focused on the Precognition Mushroom), Land of Chasing the Sun... each scene jumped quickly from a bird's-eye view, and the final image descended upon the southern part of the Earth-Resonance Continent, onto a frozen lake.

The view sank; the cold wind, like the breath of an ancient giant beast, swept up fine ice crystals, weaving a pale mist in the low sky.

Binghu was like a mirror, reflecting the golden wheel of the sky.

Beneath the ice, many huge shadows lurked in the deep dark blue, their outlines blurred yet filled with oppression.

At the edge of Binghu, rugged black rock peaks pierced the sky like fangs.

This was obviously the seventh newbie village about to launch.

Just then, the four large characters "Eternal Silence Binghu" appeared in the scene, then vanished into nothingness as the image dimmed.

The entire opening scene lasted 8 minutes.

Although not particularly long, Ning Shu felt a sense of urgency enveloping his heart, eager to skip this sequence and enter the game.

To seize every second to earn Shou Shou Jili.

【Welcome to Monster World. Begin selecting your initial Painful Painful Minghun.】

A blue crystal wall containing Meng Yuan Chu monsters materialized from the void, rapidly drawing closer in Ning Shu's eyes.

Without the slightest hesitation, his vision decisively focused on the Scattered Arrow Painful Painful Minghun, completing the selection.

For powerful initial Painful Painful Minghun at the start, forum players generally recommend the Three Phantom Gods.

Especially for players with teams, the Three Phantom Gods, when combined, possess three powerful traits: damage output, damage absorption, and perception, leaving no weaknesses in the early game.

But when it comes to killing efficiency, it must be Painful Painful Minghun with traits like Critical Strike, Forceful Axe, Thunder Run, or Scattered Arrow, those following the path of extreme damage output.

Among these, the Scattered Arrow Painful Painful Minghun possesses both powerful single-target damage and area-of-effect damage capabilities.

Most importantly, the Scattered Arrow Painful Painful Minghun is a ranged damage dealer.

For early-game development, Scattered Arrow is one of the strongest choices for solo wolf players.

The only drawback lies in shooting accuracy; for the vast majority of players who have never handled a bow, the Scattered Arrow Painful Painful Minghun's flaws overshadow its strengths.

Before Monster World launched, Ning Shu played as an archer in other games.

So this time, he decisively locked onto the Scattered Arrow Bow, preparing to follow the path of extreme ranged burst damage to improve hunting efficiency.

Several minutes later.

Amidst curses, Ning Shu pushed through the crowd and entered the newly launched newbie scene: Eternal Silence Binghu.

The cold wind howled toward him, making him shiver involuntarily.

He then decisively switched to Painful Painful Minghun form; his body twisted and transformed into a floating longbow burning with flames.

Few players were outside; monsters resembling snails were everywhere nearby.

They possessed semi-transparent blood-red shells; on the ice surface where they crawled, fine ice thorns condensed, looking from afar like a cluster of moving blood-red crystals.

As the analysis swept over them, the monster information floated into his mind.

【Frost-Eroding Snail Spirit (Monster):】

Hunting Level: 2

Target Introduction: One of the unique monster types in the Eternal Silence Binghu region, feeding on ice-attribute spiritual energy in the air; a creature at the very bottom of the food chain, not skilled in combat.

The bowstring tightened; his vision locked onto the Frost-Eroding Snail Spirit.

Vitality released, gathering toward the center of the bowstring, pulling out a burning arrow composed of condensed vitality.

Bang.

The burning blood arrow tore through the cold air, trailing a crimson tail flame in the sky.

The Frost-Eroding Snail Spirit's ice-crystal head burst upon impact, the remaining part suddenly retracting into its shell.

No kill notification appeared; only the snail spirit's remaining flesh tissue frantically proliferated, with spiderweb-like ice threads spraying from the severed neck, weaving a new head outline.

Ning Shu decisively retreated to create distance; a second arrow already hummed on the string.

Boom.

This arrow changed its angle, striking the Frost-Eroded Snail Spirit's forehead and piercing into its shell.

The blood qi fire coiled on the arrow clashed with the extreme cold power inside the Snail Spirit's shell, sending up plumes of steam.

This process lasted several seconds before the Challenger prompt sounded in his mind.

An invisible force suddenly surged into his body; his Painful Painful Minghun level rose to 2, and his attributes improved across the board.

In this initial clash, Ning Shu analyzed the characteristics of this monster.

Strong regeneration, but weak defense.

This starting situation isn't difficult.

In the current novice village start, the hardest part early on is undoubtedly the mechanical lifeforms of the Di Ku Shi Jie (sweeping robots) and the plant-based lifeforms in the Sen Luo Lin Realm area.

Both possess super defense, making it quite difficult for newbies to deal with them.

Only novice monsters with high regeneration belong to a relatively friendly start.

Realizing he hadn't chosen the wrong Painful Painful Minghun for his start, Ning Shu felt excitement while decisively changing his target to shoot.

After killing another Frost-Eroded Snail Spirit, he decisively drifted further away.

The number of nearby players is growing rapidly; if he doesn't leave soon, he will be swamped by the newbie tide.

Along the way, for every monster he killed, Ning Shu explored a bit further.

Soon, his level reached 4.

The kill efficiency brought by the Scattered Arrow Painful Painful Minghun is very high; this is the core reason he chose this Painful Painful Minghun.

Only when the Painful Painful Minghun level goes up can one hunt higher-level monsters to produce more Shou Shou Jili income.

The only drawback is that releasing it each time consumes blood qi.

With no Body Tempering level and no Breath-Consuming Painful Painful Minghun to assist, he could only continuously restore his status by drinking potions from the Shangcheng during the hunt.

Potion expenses account for roughly two-tenths of the income.

Hunting forward along the way, under the white environment, aside from the ice spikes piercing the lake surface, the scenery around was very monotonous.

Occasionally, huge shadows swimming beneath his feet would make Ning Shu tremble with fear.

A one-hour death cooldown is too long for him, who is racing against the Grim Reaper.

Arriving in a new area where many Snail Spirit shells lay scattered on the lake surface, he decisively moved forward to pick them up, preparing to download the "Coin Trend Plugin" during a rest to compare prices before selling.

Time passed in a race against every second.

On the seventh day, dawn had not yet arrived.

The ice mist churned in the silence, suddenly torn open by a crimson beam.

Accompanied by a piercing whistle cutting through the air, the arrowhead dragged two spiraling streams of blood-colored qi, precisely biting onto the Ice Moth fluttering its wings in the air.

Pfft!

The Ice Moth's glassy body froze instantly upon contact with the arrow; its ice wings twisted and exploded in the high heat, finally turning into countless burning crystal fragments that scattered in all directions.

The nearby moth swarm was immediately alarmed.

In an instant, the entire ice mist boiled; dozens of translucent wings vibrated simultaneously, and fine frost needles condensed in the air.

Selling materials in bulk, plus hunting income, the Body Tempering level 1 Ning Shu faced the incoming swarm of Ice Moths without panic; he drew the bow, stepped forward, and spun around.

His gaze pointed far away, the bowstring taut like a full moon, blood qi coiling around the arrow shaft into spiral fire patterns.

Boom!

The blood-colored qi stream pierced through.

Another Ice Moth exploded in mid-air; before the burning remains hit the ground, Ning Shu had already side-leaped into the air, and the third arrow left the string.

This time, the arrow pierced through two Ice Moths flying in an overlapping formation.

The Challenger prompt kept sounding in his mind, but Ning Shu ignored it, calmly running backward.

After creating distance from the Ice Moth swarm, he drew the bow again, leaped backward, and released the string.

Boom!

The arrow broke the wind, precisely pinning into the head of an Ice Moth attempting to dive and pounce.

At the moment the ice crystal core shattered, one of the fragments, while flipping through the air, briefly refracted Ning Shu's cold pupils.

Rhythm, control, hunt.

Seven days of uninterrupted hunting significantly improved Ning Shu's hunting ability.

Including the accuracy of his archery, the higher control brought by improved physical fitness caused his hunting efficiency to skyrocket.

But the sense of urgency always lingered in his heart.

He dared not rest for even a moment.

When the health bar dropped, he drank recovery potions; when stamina was consumed too much, he drank stamina potions; there was no rest time in his eyes.

Continuing the entanglement, Ning Shu's movements had no redundancy; every time he drew the bow, an Ice Moth fell.

Blood qi arrows carved red trails through the ice mist, and the number of moths in the swarm rapidly dwindled.

He had thoroughly browsed a skill improvement guide posted by the competitive faction leader "Phase Kill" on the forum; one sentence inside left a deep impression on him.

"Combat is not a performance, but subtraction."

Redundant movements expose intent; flashy combos waste stamina.

To improve skills, one must constantly eliminate redundant movements to shape a highly condensed combat logic.

Once accustomed to an efficient combat rhythm, the body will make this logic instinctive.

This is the combat rhythm Ning Shu has been learning these past seven days.

Following the method given by Phase Kill, with observation, locking, and killing as the three core points, he does not play high-frequency shooting, but only pursues the most efficient killing method.

By today, he discovered that training according to this technique, his growth was rapid.

In movement, he adjusted only with small steps and sprints, never wasting stamina on rolls.

In output, he could fire during the intervals between the Ice Moth's wingbeats, drastically reducing the chance of being dodged.

The tactic of fighting while moving seemed mundane, but once mastered, it became like precisely interlocked gears.

Boom!

The last Ice Moth collapsed into a fireball, and upon impact, a blood qi cluster rose and flew toward him, seeping into his skin.

The challenger's prompt followed immediately.

After scanning his surroundings and confirming no nearby danger, Ning Shu decisively summoned the Star Vein interface.

In his mind, his spine was surrounded by starlight, and the first Star Vein slot at the very top held the Painful Painful Minghun.

At this moment, he consumed Shou Shou Jili to open a second Star Vein slot.

For his second Painful Minghun, he purchased the highly cost-effective Li Man Fu Painful Minghun.

The most effective way to boost output efficiency was actually the Critical Strike Painful Minghun.

But Critical Strike was a fifth-generation Painful Minghun, priced at thirty thousand Shou Shou Jili—far beyond what he could afford now.

Meanwhile, the first-generation Meng Yuan Chu Li Man Fu cost only five hundred Shou Shou Jili.

For a new player like him, mindlessly choosing Li Man Fu was the optimal solution.

After completing the embedding, the passive effects auto-equipped, and knowledge related to Li Man Fu flooded his mind.

With his Body Strengthening level at only 1, he could inherit none of the Li Man Fu's attributes beyond its passive effects.

But with the extra 50% damage bonus from Li Man Fu alone, he could hunt stronger monsters—this was the charm of the Star Vein system.

Every new Painful Minghun embedded, even without attribute bonuses, brought a terrifying boost to combat power.

Actually, before entering the game, he had considered pursuing the Beast Path.

This playstyle was strong early on and required no Star Vein slots, allowing one to commit fully without deviation.

That would save vast amounts of Shou Shou Jili otherwise spent on upgrading Star Veins and Body Strengthening.

But upon closer thought, this path carried risks.

At level 10 and above, the Beast Path's body size surged rapidly, making it easy to be targeted and killed in monster-dense areas.

One death meant a one-hour cooldown.

He simply couldn't afford that.

At this stage, the Beast Path suited only players with friend groups—not solo players.

He had considered joining a player team to hunt together.

But his combat rhythm was too fast; his high-intensity hunting style was unsuitable for unreliable pick-up teams that might collapse at any moment.

Moreover, he considered the wasted energy from conflicts over loot distribution.

After a brief adjustment of his Star Veins, Ning Shu pressed deeper into the map's mist-covered region.

Unknown regions carried unknown risks—but also meant possible chance events.

Along the way, he summoned his functional panel and checked the latest Newcomer Rush leaderboard.

After seven days of nonstop hunting, his total Painful Minghun level ranked only 112th—still far from the top 100.

Especially the top-ranked "Emperor," who had pulled ahead by three full levels in total Painful Minghun level—he couldn't imagine how it was done.

He had to push harder; six hours remained until the event ended.

Just a 5% increase in total Painful Minghun level would get him into the top 100, earning him thirty thousand Shou Shou Jili as a reward.

While sprinting, his vision caught two monsters.

A scan revealed them as Level 18 hunting monsters named: Zang Bing Xue.

They resembled foxes, covered in snowy white fur, moving with swift agility as they ran.

Fighting one against two carried considerable risk.

As Ning Shu hesitated, the two Zang Bing Xue foxes simultaneously sensed his presence—their ear tips twitched slightly, their white fur rippling like mercury in the wind, refracting cold, sharp light.

It was too late to retreat now.

Without hesitation, Ning Shu raised his right hand, and the San Shi Bow coalesced in his palm, crimson blood qi fire coiling around the string.

Bing!

The arrow pierced the air, leaving a scorching trail, aimed straight at the left Zang Bing Xue's throat.

But the left Zang Bing Xue reacted instantly, shifting sideways like a phantom—the arrow grazed its ear tip and struck the ice.

At the same moment, the right Zang Bing Xue fox moved.

It slammed its paw into the ground—the ice shattered explosively, and countless sharp ice spikes erupted upward, lashing toward Ning Shu's feet.

Magic-type monster!

Ning Shu's pupils contracted; he tapped his toe and instantly retreated three meters—the ice spikes pierced the air just beneath his boots.

Before he could steady himself, the left Zang Bing Xue fox blurred forward, claws tipped with freezing ice crystals slashing for his throat.

At the last instant, Ning Shu twisted his waist and flipped backward, one hand bracing the ground to narrowly evade.

The fox's claw scraped his neck, leaving a thin cut.

He pushed with his right hand, adjusted his landing, and snapped the bowstring sideways like a blade—the blood qi fire erupted at close range, blasting the Zang Bing Xue back momentarily, while his right hand already gripped the string. Bing!

The arrow pierced the Zang Bing Xue's shoulder at near-zero distance; the explosive blood qi fire detonated on its shoulder, turning its white fur instantly crimson.

It let out a piercing shriek, staggering backward, while the other Zang Bing Xue fox closed in immediately.

Ning Shu had no time to draw his bow—he swung the San Shi Bow backward in a reverse elbow strike, blood qi wrapping the longbow as he met the Zang Bing Xue's charge head-on.

Bam!

The shockwave exploded—Ning Shu was thrown backward in a series of steps, and the Zang Bing Xue was flipped over—but the moment it hit the ground, it readjusted, all four paws pushing off, lunging again.

The previously wounded Zang Bing Xue had also stabilized, its eyes gleaming with savage fury, circling in from the other side.

Discovering he was being flanked, Ning Shu decisively retreated to create distance.

This elongated the pursuit paths of the two Burial Snow Foxes, causing them to gradually converge while charging.

However, in terms of movement speed, he was clearly at a disadvantage.

Just as one of the Burial Snows leaped into the air.

Ning Shu jumped backward into the air at that moment, holding his bow horizontally with both hands, fingers tightly gripping the string; two burning Blood Qi arrows rapidly formed, and his health bar dropped to 15%.

For this strike, he chose to go all out.

Without the "Mark" Painful Painful Minghun buff, whether the two arrows would hit simultaneously relied entirely on his instinct.

After taking a sharp breath, his eyes became resolute, and then he suddenly released the string.

"Hit!"

The arrows left the string like a long rainbow piercing the sun, precisely piercing through the bodies of the two Burial Snow Foxes.

The exploding Blood Qi fire completely engulfed their bodies; their snow-white fur turned to ash in the flames, leaving only two ice-blue cores falling to the ground, emitting a faint cold light.

Ning Shu fell heavily onto the ice, his face covered in sweat beads, yet a smile he could not hide spread across his face.

He succeeded.

He reached out to wipe the blood beads sliding down his neck.

The battle ended quickly, yet it was incredibly perilous; had he been half a second slower, the one lying on the ground now might have been him.

He bent down to pick up the ice core dropped by the Burial Snow Fox; a bone-chilling coldness came through his fingertips, so he decisively stored it in his spatial bag and continued on his way.

On the snowfield, the cold wind still howled.

And Ning Shu's figure was quickly covered by the wind and snow, leaving only two pools of Blood Qi fire on the ice that had not yet extinguished, gradually withering in the cold wind.

Six hours later.

While Ning Shu was drinking a stamina restoration potion, a game notification sounded in his mind:

【Challenger Notification: Congratulations on obtaining the 98th place on the "Level-Up Carnival" special event leaderboard, receiving Shou Shou Jili reward: 30,000 points.】

30,000 Shou Shou Jili is already in hand.

But it is far from enough.

The expenses for reserving a channel to the Moon Eclipse Clan start at ten million credit points, and additional fees are charged after selecting medical service items.

He checked the medical items his mother needed; including the discount for Shou Shou Jili payment, it would cost 90,000 Shou Shou Jili.

Only 12 days remain; he must hurry up.

The only thing making him hesitate is whether to use this 30,000-point Shou Shou Jili income to improve his strength.

The stronger the strength, the higher the hunting efficiency.

But the time left for him is only 12 days; earning 90,000 Shou Shou Jili within 12 days means needing 7,500 Shou Shou Jili income every single day; the pressure is too great.

He even feels it is simply impossible to achieve.

So he decided to temporarily store this portion of Shou Shou Jili and make a decision based on subsequent hunting efficiency.

Three hours later.

On the ice field, the cold wind roared; Ning Shu's boot soles crushed the frost layer, and Blood Qi fire was already wrapped around the arrowheads on his Scatter Arrow Bow.

Thirty paces away, a group of Ice Crystal Scorpions with hunting levels between 19 and 25 had their tail stingers trembling slightly, and ice spikes suddenly broke the air to attack.

At the same moment the arrow was shot, dense ice spikes already covered his line of sight.

Pfft!

His calf was pierced through; in the intense pain, he groaned and knelt, then used the momentum to roll; the place where he had just knelt was instantly filled with ice spikes.

Before he could raise his bow, a second wave of attacks came.

With no way to dodge, he let out a low roar, infused Blood Qi into the bowstring, and suddenly shot an arrow.

The Scatter Arrow Bow exploded with a roar, and the arrow instantly pierced the Ice Crystal Scorpion locked by his gaze.

But Ning Shu could not escape the dense covering attack of ice spikes either; he was instantly pinned to the ground and dissipated into mist.

This was the first death in eight days; Ning Shu's mood instantly plummeted to the bottom.

With a one-hour resurrection cooldown plus travel time, he wasted several hours of hunting time.

"There is still time."

After encouraging himself, he entered the forum to start reviewing his combat footage, playing it back at multiple speeds.

In the footage, the monster density in the Eternal Silence Binghu area was very high; throughout the journey, he had been routing around dense monster groups to travel.

But occasionally, he still could not escape the predicament of being surrounded by a group of monsters.

This time he could not escape, so he could only return via death.

The open terrain of the Binghu area has both advantages and disadvantages.

Playing as a ranged archer, he had no blind spots in the Eternal Silence Binghu area, unlike the Senluo Forest Realm where the terrain was complex and green vegetation was everywhere.

But this environment also has a shortcoming.

Without cover, he easily fell into a situation of being focused fire.

For those monsters possessing ranged attack capabilities, the attacks they release are difficult to dodge without cover protection, especially area-of-effect attacks.

Teams and squad players have Blood Shields released by damage-absorbing tanks and Light Shields released by support players to deal with this; lone wolf players like him have no way to handle such situations.

The margin for error during hunting significantly decreased.

To solve this problem, the best solution seems to be finding a damage-absorbing player to form a team.

To compensate for his shortcoming in damage output.

But there is an unwritten rule in the Monster World gaming circle: when teaming up with a damage-absorbing player, the rewards must be mostly for the damage-absorbing player.

Secondly, medicine costs must also be shared.

Only squads of five or more people can afford to support a damage-absorbing player.

Cooperating with the Stone Statue Flow would reduce the error rate but also significantly lower one's own gains.

Yet his skills were not yet strong enough to move freely among monster groups; the problem of acting alone persisted.

How to ensure his own safety in open terrain left Ning Shu deep in thought.

This seemed like an unsolvable problem.

Flipping through forum data, the resurrection cooldown had ten minutes remaining.

Just as Ning Shu flipped to the Painful Painful Minghun database on the forum, one Painful Painful Minghun suddenly sparked inspiration in him.

【Control (Second-Generation Painful Painful Minghun)】:

Trait Introduction: Control creatures with weaker spiritual power than oneself through mental shock; the number controlled is affected by one's own spiritual power strength, the target's spiritual power strength, and the Painful Painful Minghun level.

……

After reading the introduction to the Control Painful Painful Minghun, Ning Shu suddenly thought of a possibly viable playstyle.

Raising a growth-type pet requires huge Shou Shou Jili investment in the early stages.

But the Control Painful Painful Minghun has no such trouble; he could completely embed a Control Painful Painful Minghun, then use the Control Painful Painful Minghun to capture Zhua Bu Wai Jie monsters with strong defense, employing them as damage-absorbing tanks.

If the captured monster suffered issues like limb loss during combat, there would be no need to spend potions for treatment; simply discard it and replace it with another.

There was also no need to worry about profit distribution.

Owning a companion pet could greatly improve one's error tolerance when exploring outside.

He glanced at the detailed stats of the Control Painful Painful Minghun.

The ratio of blood and spiritual power gained from raising the Painful Painful Minghun level was 3:7, within an acceptable range, so no adjustment was needed.

After all, controlling a target with the Control trait is affected by one's own spiritual power strength.

If spiritual power strength is too low, one simply cannot capture the target.

Ning Shu, feeling this method might be viable, decided to begin practical testing once the resurrection ended.

Ten minutes later, Ning Shu resurrected in the Eternal Silence Binghu space.

The moment he logged on, he was startled by the scene before him.

The newbie space was filled with player figures; the resurrection teleportation points beneath his feet constantly spawned new figures like popcorn, pushing him out in the blink of an eye.

The vast majority inside were players who had died while exploring outside and then resurrected.

Blocking the noisy regional chat channel, Ning Shu followed the crowd forward.

Along the way, he summoned the Star Vein interface; first, he spent 2000 points of Shou Shou Jili to open the third Star Vein slot, then spent another 3000 points of Shou Shou Jili to purchase and embed the Second-Generation Control Painful Painful Minghun.

Everything was ready; now only the test remained.

……

Two hours later.

Cold wind swept ice crystals across the Eternal Silence Binghu.

Boom!

Accompanied by a deafening crash, a massive figure fell heavily, smashing onto the thick ice surface.

This was a monster named "Frost-Shell Giant," with a hunting level of 22; its three-meter-tall body was covered in interlocking ice-prism keratin layers, with blue-purple frost congealed at the tip of every bone spike.

Ning Shu, looking weary, stood still, then raised his head to look at the fallen Frost-Shell Giant; the Scatter Arrow Bow in his hand vanished.

He did not linger; he took a stamina potion from his spatial bag, swallowed it, approached the monster, and crouched down; at that moment, the Control trait activated.

Spiritual power transformed into invisible threads shooting from his brow, penetrating into the monster's body.

After drinking two bottles of spiritual power recovery potions, he finally traced the Cao Kong Lao Yin within the Frost-Shell Giant's spiritual sea.

How to control the Frost-Shell Giant's movements required no learning; it was imprinted in his mind as naturally as breathing.

He took potions from his spatial bag to help the Frost-Shell Giant recover its condition.

From now on, this monster would become his damage-absorbing tank, providing defensive protection for his exploration of the Binghu region.

After feeding three bottles of basic potions, the Frost-Shell Giant's injuries healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Rise!"

Upon the command, the Frost-Shell Giant staggered to its feet.

After trying other commands to control the Frost-Shell Giant's movements and confirming they were feasible, Ning Shu decided to immediately engage in practical hunting.

Ten-plus minutes later.

Ning Shu stood behind the Frost-Shell Giant, watching as three "Ice-Tooth Predators" leaped from the shattered ice layer ahead.

They resembled giant lizards, with blade-like ice-crystal fangs, a hunting level of 19, were pack predators, and primarily fed on Wo Ling.

Eyes met; combat was imminent.

"Block!" Ning Shu shifted his will.

The Frost-Shell Giant immediately took heavy steps, its three-meter-tall body standing like an ice wall across the front.

The three Ice-Tooth Predators' pounces slammed hard against its body; sharp ice teeth scraped against the Frost-Shell Giant's keratin layers, producing a grating sound, yet left only a few shallow marks.

The recoil made the predators stumble backward; the Frost-Shell Giant did not budge, and the blue-purple frost on its back armor spread backward from the contact points, freezing the claws of one of them.

Now!

Ning Shu shifted sideways, darting out from the Frost-Shell Giant's leg side; the Scatter Arrow Bow instantly drew full.

An arrow wrapped in blood qi force broke through the air, precisely pinning into the eye socket of the predator whose forelimb was frozen.

The blood light on the arrowhead exploded; the predator's head instantly burst like a watermelon, with ice-blue brain matter splattering onto the snow.

The other two predators immediately changed tactics, circling around the Frost-Shell Giant from left and right, rushing straight toward Ning Shu.

"Shake."

The Frost-Shell Giant suddenly raised its forelimbs and stomped heavily onto the ice surface.

Boom!

Centered on it, a ring of ice waves exploded outward, instantly knocking the two predators off balance and causing them to slip.

One of them happened to roll to Ning Shu's feet; without hesitation, he loosed an arrow that pierced its open throat, the shaft exiting from behind the cervical vertebrae and pinning it dead to the ice.

Seeing the situation turn dire, the last predator turned and fled.

"Stop it!"

The Frost-Shell Giant suddenly curled into a ball, bone spikes protruding outward, and rolled forth with a boom like a giant ice meteor, catching the prey in the blink of an eye.

Its crushing weight pinned the predator beneath it, and Ning Shu's arrow followed immediately, piercing the exposed head.

The fight ended in a very easy manner, skipping the extensive maneuvering and tugging steps.

The Frost-Shell Giant walked slowly back to his side, bearing a few new claw marks on its body, but nothing serious.

Ning Shu patted its cold carapace, very satisfied with its performance.

This giant beast perfectly fulfilled the role of a damage-absorbing tank, allowing him to output safely, with efficiency several times higher than hunting alone.

He gazed into the depths of the Binghu, where more shadows lurked vaguely within the howling white ice mist.

"Go."

The Frost-Shell Giant let out a low roar and followed behind him with heavy steps; the figures of one man and one beast gradually vanished into the sky-filling ice crystals.

In the following days.

With the assistance of the Frost-Shell Giant, Ning Shu's hunting method became more aggressive.

During this period, he broke three Frost-Shell Giants, but he quickly captured new ones to serve as his damage-absorbing tanks.

Shou Shou Jili income grew steadily during this time.

But with only eight days remaining, the Shou Shou Jili on his person totaled only 46,000, still 44,000 Shou Shou Jili short of the goal.

At the current hunting speed, it was utterly insufficient to fill the gap; he had to attempt challenging monsters of higher levels.

Before that, he needed to replace his pet with one possessing stronger damage-absorption capabilities.

Only if the pet could stand its ground would he have space for continuous output.

While hunting along the way, Ning Shu actively scouted for new damage-absorbing monsters, using Analysis to scan every new monster he encountered.

All other indicators were disregarded; damage-absorption strength was the sole standard.

Output was his own responsibility.

The next day.

After dispelling a patch of map fog, Ning Shu brought his four-meter-tall new partner to an area where the ground was covered in cracks.

From the Frost-Shell Giant's perspective, Ning Shu sensed an invisible oppressive pressure in this region.

As a player, he himself could not feel this oppressive pressure at all.

Feeling danger ahead, he originally intended to follow the Frost-Shell Giant's instinctual perception and take a detour.

But recalling the comments of exploration-focused players on the forum, crises were sometimes opportunities.

Thinking of how much Shou Shou Jili he still lacked, he gritted his teeth and chose to continue forward, but would withdraw decisively at the first sign of danger.

Not long after walking, he spotted an ice crystal statue halfway submerged in the ice surface not far away.

The statue's form resembled a giant ape, with three pairs of eyes on its head, six arms on its back, and its chest pierced by some kind of sharp weapon, the wound congealed with black-purple ice crystals.

Despite being ice-sealed, Ning Shu, through the Frost-Shell Giant's perspective, felt a faint, elusive pressure emanating from the statue.

Driven by curiosity, he activated Analysis and scanned the statue.

Immediately, the statue's information appeared in his mind.

【Six-Armed Profound Ice】:

Hunting Level: 42 (Original Life Level: 382)

Status: Severely wounded and near death, ice-sealed dormancy, severe vitality loss...)

Target Introduction: One of the guardians of the Six-Armed Clan, a descending faction. It fought a war against the mechanical legion to protect the Binghu clan, ultimately failed, had its clan resources plundered, and after this battle fell into the Eternal Silence Binghu, entering a near-death dormant state.

Seeing the Analysis information, especially the original level data, Ning Shu was stunned.

He knew that even a Champion Warrior's hunting level was only 358.

He never expected that this unremarkable statue, which one might lazily glance past without a second look, had once possessed a hunting level as high as 382.

"Hiss~."

Ning Shu's heart pounded; suddenly, a bold idea occurred to him.

(End of this chapter)