Chapter 114: 113 Bat Puji

【Seven Sins: Greed Triggered】

【Plunder Skill: Blood Manipulation Lv2】

【Plunder Skill: Demon Common Tongue Lv1】

【Plunder Skill: Nightmare Incarnation Lv1】

【Plunder Skill: Bite Lv6→Lv7】

……

……

……

On the mycelium ground lay a stone-skin wild boar, its gray-brown belly slashed with several wounds; it was clearly Norris's handiwork—had Seeing Xiao Hei struck, it would have been a lump of rotting flesh.

After lying there for two days, this kid threw himself back into fighting the monsters.

This time, Lin Jun happened to ask him for a hunted beast, and now he was watching from the side.

The boar's skin clung tight to its skeleton, revealing a gaunt outline; every rib's hollow was clearly visible, and even the eye sockets had collapsed into two deep pits.

A Puji stood before the wild boar, a crimson sphere hovering above its head seeping a faint fishy stench.

Lin Jun controlled the Puji to manipulate the blood sphere, attempting to reshape it as a half-vampire would, but after several tries, it wouldn't work.

In the end, he could only hurl the entire blood sphere like a bomb; it exploded on the ground with power comparable to a single Mushroom Cannon shot.

Lin Jun's assessment was: the level is too low; for now, it only has entertainment value.

To be fair, it does look quite intimidating.

"Do you want this skill?" Lin Jun asked Norris, who was staring dumbfounded at the mushroom playing with blood.

Norris hurriedly shook his head; being treated as a monster and being treated as a vampire are quite different!

Lin Jun didn't force it; his second round of enhancement content wasn't finalized yet, and taking the person's own opinion into account to some extent was acceptable.

"By the way, here, take this."

A cow-horse Puji pulled something from its belly and tossed it over.

Norris caught it, looked at the small iron piece in his hand, and asked, "What is this?"

Lin Jun explained, "It's for filing nails. After filing, your nails won't regrow for a few days. Since your claws are too long and you're not used to them, it's perfect for you!"

Norris treasured it as if it were a precious gem!

To be honest, this thing can only be used by Norris; Seeing Xiao Hei would never consider filing down his own weapons.

After testing 【Blood Manipulation】, it was time for 【Nightmare Incarnation】.

The skill name looks formidable, but it actually just means turning into a bat; still, it's quite something to look forward to, as Lin Jun was short on flight capabilities.

Under the skill's effect, the Puji... turned into a Bat Puji—a Puji with bat wings.

Wait... isn't this the wrong art style?

Lin Jun recalled how a half-vampire transforms into a bat; amidst swirling blood, the form shifts and condenses into a real bat.

Why does it look like this with the Puji?

What's the difference between this and the gliding wings I crafted myself?

In a moment, Lin Jun discovered there actually was a damn difference!

Without Lin Jun's control, this Puji actually managed to fly using its bat wings!

It could even use those two round feet to clamp onto a rock and hang upside down!?

Is this the power of a skill!

The "wings" I painstakingly crafted were merely a clumsy imitation of the skill, not even one ten-thousandth as good as the real thing!

The only drawback: whether it's because the skill level is low or because the Puji is too large relative to bat wings, it flies very slowly and with great effort.

The little wings flap desperately just to lift off slowly; stop for a moment and it plummets in free fall, and natural energy is consumed at an alarming rate.

Lin Jun tried equipping it with a Mushroom Cannon; sure enough, it couldn't withstand the recoil, lacking accuracy and spinning wildly after a single shot.

Judging by this flight capability, melee types won't work either; luckily, there's still the universal self-destruct!

Seeing the boss start to immerse himself in the "game" of making Puji self-destruct, Norris very conscientiously backed away.

He was genuinely a bit afraid that if the boss got in the mood, he'd give him a self-destruct too...

Back in the Mushroom Forest, he took out the newly acquired iron piece and carefully tried filing down his claws—ten centimeters was indeed too inconvenient.

He couldn't make a fist, holding things was difficult, and there were many other inconveniences. Although they were very useful in combat, he decided to at least restore one hand to normal.

The claws were very long; by the time he finally focused and finished filing one, he looked up and found a big black mushroom squatting beside him for who knows how long...

"Se... Senior?"

Having stayed here for so many days, he knew this big black mushroom was actually a Dragonkin.

He had also seen the power of her fists and dared not be negligent; however, since they hadn't interacted much before, Norris didn't know how to get along with this senior.

Seeing Xiao Hei didn't react to Norris's words; to be precise, she didn't know what "Senior" meant.

She just stared silently at Norris... at the shiny silver scales on his body.

Seeing Xiao Hei was very envious of Norris; shiny scales are so beautiful, but unfortunately, her own scales are black and ugly.

Unconsciously, Seeing Xiao Hei moved closer, and the chubby Puji hand pressed against Norris's body.

This touch made Norris feel a bit embarrassed; although he didn't know this senior's gender, regardless of gender, he couldn't stand being touched around like this!

"Senior, what are you doing?"

Norris shuffled his bottom backward, but Seeing Xiao Hei moved closer again, looking relentless.

The Puji hand touched Norris faster and faster, more and more roughly!

"Senior, Senior! What are you doing to... Ah!!!!"

Following a scream, a silver scale still clinging to some skin appeared between Seeing Xiao Hei's two hands, while Norris clutched his shoulder, curled up on the spot, groaning in pain.

As if finally realizing his mistake, Xiao Hei frantically gathered some mycelium and slapped it onto Norris's wound before fleeing…

Norris:???

Norris's scream even startled Lin Jun, who was still enjoying flight.

Quickly understanding the situation, a Pujī dropped a bottle of Basic Healing Potion onto Norris's shoulder and also cleared away the soil and mycelium from his wound.

The wound had never been very serious; the potion quickly took effect, sealing it shut—though regrowing his scales would take time.

He felt deep sympathy for Norris's plight, and thoughtfully added "Camouflage" and "Regeneration" to Norris's next upgrade list.

Lin Jun decided to scold Xiao Hei—how could you just snatch shiny things like that?

Even if you must steal from outsiders, Norris is at least family; there must be some rules.

Not long after, Norris, still inspecting his wound, saw Da Heigu slowly trudging over, clutching a pile of objects unwillingly.

He scrambled to his feet, ready to run—he was truly terrified; that feeling of being suppressed, of helplessness, stirred up many unpleasant memories.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid—Xiao Hei came to apologize to you," the boss's voice halted Norris's steps.

Apologize?

Watching Da Heigu approach, Norris barely restrained himself from turning and fleeing.

Da Heigu extended both hands, shoving a heap of glass shards into Norris's arms, then turned away, unable to bear looking at the treasures she'd given up, and sprinted back to the mushroom house.

Lin Jun stepped out at the right moment to explain: "There, there—Xiao Hei gave you her third… fourth-favorite things. Forgive her this time."

Norris looked down at the glass shards, which had already torn his clothes.

Huh?

Lin Jun added kindly: "By the way, next time you go hunting and your scales get knocked off, collect them—Xiao Hei will thank you!"

Norris nodded, slightly dazed.

Maybe he really should collect his shed scales.

At least next time the senior wants to peel him alive, he could trade them for his life…

(End of Chapter)