Chapter 114: with translation of chapter title

Can your body shrink a little? It's too big for me to bring back, or……

Saying this, Su Hao's tone paused slightly, a hint of eagerness appearing on his face as he smiled and said:

Or I could help you tidy up, trim off the excess parts—what do you think?

No need to trim, no need to trim, my Storage Bag……

No, no, it's your Storage Bag, big boss—it can store living plants; if I compress my size a bit, I can fit inside.

The vine monster hastily waved its hands, showing a pleading expression.

As a plant, as long as its core isn't destroyed, even if the vines are chopped up, it can regrow.

But if it could keep its body intact, why would it be willing to have its vines chopped up?

Besides, this function makes the Storage Bag not bad!

Su Hao smiled slightly; having a Storage Bag that can store fresh plants will provide considerable convenience for future exploration.

In future exploration, besides digging three feet deep, he could also pack up all supernatural plants and take them away.

If I could get another Storage Bag for storing living things, that would be even better!

Su Hao lightly rubbed the surface of the Storage Bag, then without further thought took out all the wood, stone, and iron ore inside and put them into his own Storage Bag.

Alright, adjust your body—don't let length, width, or height exceed 50 meters, or I'll have to cut you.

No problem, no problem—30 meters, 30 meters is enough, big boss, please wait a moment!

The vine monster hastily adjusted its body shape, compressing inward with force.

To avoid being cut, the vine monster, which consisted of a main vine over a hundred meters long and twenty to thirty meters in diameter, plus hundreds of other vines of various sizes, turned into a roughly 30m × 30m × 30m cube.

Then Su Hao, with a slight thought, stored the cube in his Storage Bag and smiled at the Snow Woman beside him: 'Alright, Elimiya, let's go back.'

Hmm.

Xue Nv nodded, took Su Hao's wrist, flew into the sky, turned a circle amidst the falling snow, and her gaze gradually became dazed.

She shrank her head into the blanket, a faint blush appearing on her face, and gave Su Hao an embarrassed smile, saying:

How did I get here……

Su Hao:??? Huh? What's this? We just left the door, didn't we? You forgot how to get back? Are you saying Xue Nv has some direction‑challenged trait? That should be impossible… right……

Fortunately, Su Hao wasn't an idiot with zero EQ; he didn't ask that inappropriate question but instead pretended not to know and pointed toward the direction of the shelter.

Let's fly in that direction; near our shelter there's a dead tree over a hundred meters tall, which should be visible from nearby.

Whoosh——!

Xue Nv secretly let out a breath, her head emerging from the blanket again as she carried Su Hao flying toward the distance.

Home we go!

……

Just as on the way here, Xue Nv took only a minute to return to the shelter.

Su Hao, if there's nothing else, I'm going to sleep?

Go ahead; remember to come out for lunch at noon—I've already told Huayao and the others.

Su Hao, you're really a good person.

Xue Nv's eyes showed a hint of emotion; happily returning to her room, she wrapped herself in the blanket, lay on the bed, smacked her lips twice, and a sweet smile appeared on her face.

Another good‑person card earned—this round's a pure profit!

Until Xue Nv's silhouette disappeared down the hallway, Su Hao then shook his head with a smile and said to the vine monster beside the shelter: 'Sign this contract, and from now on you're mine.'

As he spoke, Su Hao's thoughts stirred; through the shelter he sent a contract invitation to the vine monster.

【Su Hao Lord has sent you a contract invitation; do you accept?】

Ah? Oh… okay……

The vine monster also came to its senses then, its gaze shifting with difficulty away from the shelter's main door.

Back when they were in the Withered Forest, he had thought Xue Nv was a backup Su Hao had hired.

Now he has changed that idea!

From the conversation just now between Su Hao and Xue Nv, he understood two things.

1. Su Hao, a Supernatural Second Rank, and Xue Nv, a Supernatural Fifth Rank, live in the same shelter; he thought it was great luck that Su Hao could join Xue Nv's shelter.

2. The relationship between Su Hao and Xue Nv seems unusual—certainly not a superior‑subordinate one; even this Supernatural Fifth Rank Xue Nv seems, maybe, perhaps, to listen a bit to Su Hao……

However, at that time he still thought it must be an illusion—the gap between a Supernatural Second Rank and a Supernatural Fifth Rank is enormous; how could a Second Rank make a Fifth Rank obey? Isn't that nonsense?

Yet when he received Su Hao's contract invitation, he was completely dumbfounded.

Receiving Su Hao's contract invitation here—doesn't that mean this shelter belongs to Su Hao, a Supernatural Second Rank?

Put that way, it's actually not that Su Hao, a Supernatural Second Rank, luckily got to join a Supernatural Fifth Rank's shelter.

But rather, inside Su Hao's shelter lives a Supernatural Fifth Rank?!

Isn't this a bit too absurd? How could that be?! He even started to suspect whether Su Hao had some special background; otherwise, how could a Supernatural Second Rank possibly accommodate a Supernatural Fifth Rank in his shelter, let alone that their relationship seems anything but ordinary……

How come? Don't want to sign?

Seeing the vine monster delay signing the contract, Su Hao couldn't help but frown slightly.

No, no, it's not like that—how could I not want to sign? Big boss, you've misunderstood!

The vine monster hastily waved its hands and immediately signed the contract.

The next moment, a message popped up before Su Hao's eyes.

【Bloodsucking Demon Vine—Russell has accepted your contract invitation and become a member of the shelter!】

With the contract signed, the vine monster, like the Giant Panda, became a member of the shelter; naturally, Su Hao could also see its information panel.

In his previous life, the Withered Forest was designated a forbidden zone because the vine monster was a Third‑Tier Supernatural Demon Beast; although its rank wasn't high, it was still a place many avoided.

The last time Su Hao went to the Withered Forest to cut wood, the vine monster was several kilometers away, yet even a few casual vine attacks nearly whipped him to death.

As the boss of the withered forest, it must have something extraordinary about it.

Immediately, Su Hao's thoughts stirred slightly, and he opened the information panel of the vine monster.

【Bloodsucking Demon Vine】

Supernatural Grade: Third Tier

Talent: Bloodthirsty Growth Skills: Vine Whip, Ground Spike, Bloodsucking Vine Assimilation

……

"Indeed, it's Supernatural Third Tier."

Su Hao nodded slightly, with the Supernatural Third Tier Bloodsucking Demon Vine guarding the shelter,

In the future, enemies of Supernatural Third Tier won't need to trouble Xue Nv to act; she can wrap herself in a blanket and lie in bed, being a quiet beautiful girl.

Afterwards, Su Hao lightly tapped his finger, opening the talent interface of the Bloodsucking Demon Vine.

【Bloodthirsty Growth】

Proficiency: Perfect Effect: The Bloodsucking Demon Vine can gradually raise its own Supernatural Grade by absorbing uncontaminated blood or the vitality of surrounding plants.

The more blood or vitality it absorbs, the faster the Bloodsucking Demon Vine grows, and its size increases accordingly.

……

"It feeds on blood and plant vitality?"

Su Hao rubbed his chin and glanced toward the direction of that meat mountain in the distance.

Although that meat mountain looks a bit disgusting, in fact all the flesh on it is not contaminated by any ominous curse.

In other words, as long as one can overcome the psychological barrier, the flesh on the meat mountain can be eaten.

Moreover, the infected flesh chunks on the meat mountain have the ability to assimilate everything around them into infected flesh.

Don't look at it as just a single meat mountain now; with enough energy crystals, having five or ten of them poses no problem at all.

According to the description of the Bloodthirsty Growth talent, as long as the blood is uncontaminated, it can be absorbed normally.

Does that mean we can use this meat mountain as a stable food source for the Bloodsucking Demon Vine?

"As for the taste of the blood, do you have any special requirements?" "Taste?"

Hearing that, the Bloodsucking Demon Vine blinked slightly.

Blood doesn't need cooking or seasoning; it's sucked straight in, so could there be a difference in taste? Maybe the boss's words have some other hidden meaning—is he testing me? But I've never noticed any difference in taste when I suck blood……

Or… is the boss asking because he actually intends to prepare food for me?

That can't be right—I just signed the contract and joined the shelter less than a minute ago, with no merits at all; how could he reward me already? No way……

"Huh? Don't keep spacing out, can you be a bit sharper?"

Seeing the Bloodsucking Demon Vine still dazedly standing there, Su Hao sighed helplessly.

Could it be that, being a plant, its intelligence isn't developed enough? The Bloodsucking Demon Vine suddenly came to its senses and hurriedly shook its head.

"No, no, I have no special taste requirements; as long as the blood is uncontaminated, I can absorb it normally."

"Do you see that meat mountain over there? All its flesh is uncontaminated; do you think you can absorb it normally?"

"Huh? A meat mountain?"

The Bloodsucking Demon Vine followed the direction of Su Hao's finger and saw, about a kilometer away, a small hill entirely composed of flesh, roughly thirty to forty meters high.

What the heck? A mountain that big made entirely of flesh? I feel the flesh on it is still wriggling—could the whole mountain's flesh be alive? That's kinda weird; is this flesh really uncontaminated? It looks like it's contaminated……

Could the boss still be holding a grudge from last time and wants to punish me with this contaminated flesh?

"Why are you spacing out again? That meat mountain is just a Supernatural First Rank item, and its flesh is only Supernatural First Rank—what use is it to you, really?"

"Supernatural First Rank? Only?!"

The Bloodsucking Demon Vine stared dumbfounded at the distant meat mountain, showing an expression of utter disbelief.

For him, a Supernatural Third Rank being, Supernatural First Rank items are naturally nothing rare.

But a small hill thirty to forty meters high and about a hundred meters wide, entirely made of Supernatural First Rank flesh, is not common at all.

The Bloodsucking Demon Vine has never even heard of such a thing; ordinary first-rank flesh being as large as 10×10×10 meters is already extremely rare.

Yet compared to this meat mountain, there's simply no comparison!

"If I could absorb all the blood on that meat mountain, my main body should increase by about half, bringing me much closer to Supernatural Fourth Rank!"

Thinking this, the Bloodsucking Demon Vine controlled the small vines on its body and flashed a fawning expression.

"Boss, boss, as long as the blood is uncontaminated, I can absorb it normally—this meat mountain's blood is certainly fine."

"And after absorbing this blood, my strength can increase by about half, bringing me even closer to Supernatural Fourth Rank."

If before, his respect for Su Hao was mainly because of Xue Nv, a Supernatural Fifth Rank being.

But now, faced with the huge benefits of that meat mountain, the Bloodsucking Demon Vine gradually changed that notion.

Perhaps joining the boss's shelter and following him isn't such a bad thing after all.

Just a single meat mountain would let me avoid years of struggle!

However, Su Hao's next words shocked him even more.

"Does a single meat mountain really give that much of a boost? Your upgrade difficulty is truly easy."

Su Hao glanced at the Bloodsucking Demon Vine, a hint of surprise arising in his heart.

Originally he just thought of giving the Bloodsucking Demon Vine a stable food source, but now he sees this is actually stable upgrade material! "With a meat mountain like this, how much more do you need to reach Fourth Rank?"

"Huh? Aren't there more than one meat mountain like this?"

The Bloodsucking Demon Vine turned its head, looking around, but saw no trace of other meat mountains.

This made him a bit puzzled—there's only one meat mountain here; what does the boss mean by that question? Could such a huge meat mountain still have a steady supply source?

Or… could this meat mountain self-replicate? That should be impossible……

Su Hao paid no attention to the Bloodsucking Demon Vine's expression change, giving him a half‑smiling glance.

"You don't need to worry about the quantity and the Supernatural Grade; just tell me two things: how many of such meat mountains do you need to advance, and if the meat mountain's Supernatural Grade increases, is it beneficial to you?"

"If I can absorb five or six of such meat mountains, I should be able to advance to the fourth rank; if the Supernatural Grade can reach second rank, that would naturally be even better."

"Five or six? That's actually simple; at most one or two months and it'll be enough."

Su Hao nodded slightly; for him, expanding the volume of this meat mountain formed from infected flesh by five or six times is merely a matter of consuming time and energy crystals.

Now that the Bloodsucking Demon Vine has signed a contract, and with Xue Nv holding down the shelter, Su Hao doesn't worry about it betraying him.

Therefore, as long as it can be controlled, increasing the Bloodsucking Demon Vine's strength is only beneficial and harmless for Su Hao.

Moreover, the cost of letting the Bloodsucking Demon Vine reach the fourth rank is merely some free energy crystals.

"If we synthesize the infected flesh and the proliferating blood flesh together, the proliferation speed of the blood flesh might also increase."

Su Hao stroked his chin, then stopped thinking about it; just take one synthesis opportunity these two days, combine the infected flesh and the proliferating blood flesh, and we'll know.

Afterward, Su Hao turned his gaze to the Bloodsucking Demon Vine's skill panel.

The whip vine and ground spur are precisely the vines and ground spikes that launched a remote attack on Su Hao from several kilometers away initially.

However, at that time the Bloodsucking Demon Vine did not regard this Supernatural First Rank human Su Hao highly; both attacks were casual strikes.

If the Bloodsucking Demon Vine uses these two skills at full power, the whip vine's diameter can reach several meters, and the number can reach hundreds.

The ground spur's effect is equally terrifying, capable of covering an area of several kilometers, and after hitting, it can also entangle and drain blood, making it hard for enemies to break free.

The Bloodsucking Demon Vine's final skill is a special development skill.

【Bloodsucking Vine Assimilation】

Proficiency: Perfect; Supernatural Grade: Third Rank.

Effect: It can assimilate the surrounding bloodsucking vines into part of the Bloodsucking Demon Vine, increasing its size and strength, and thereby enhancing the ground spur and whip vine effects.

There is no limit to the number of bloodsucking vines that can be assimilated, but each assimilation consumes mental energy.

"If there's no limit, doesn't that mean that as long as there's enough bloodsucking vine, the Bloodsucking Demon Vine's body can grow infinitely?!"

Su Hao's pupils contracted slightly; if it truly can grow infinitely, perhaps one day the Bloodsucking Demon Vine's body could cover the entire dark forest.

Coincidentally, inside that green Storage Bag are plenty of bloodsucking vine seeds.

With Huayao and their plant cultivation speed, it won't be long before we can plant these seeds; once the scale is large enough, we can take a portion to let the Bloodsucking Demon Vine undergo cultivation, strengthening its strength.

Once the Bloodsucking Demon Vine advances to the fourth rank, perhaps its size could increase to a terrifying extent!

After examining its talent and skills, Su Hao gained a deeper understanding of the Bloodsucking Demon Vine's abilities.

In short, as long as there is an unlimited supply of flesh and bloodsucking vines, the Bloodsucking Demon Vine has no growth limit! "Alright, compress your body a bit more; I'll take you to the meat mountain."

Su Hao casually closed the Bloodsucking Demon Vine's information interface and smiled slightly.

"Ah, oh, okay, okay!"

Only then did the Bloodsucking Demon Vine snap out of its shock; a meat mountain that large and still Supernatural First Rank already surprised him greatly.

But Su Hao told him that even five or six such meat mountains would be obtainable in just one or two months.

More importantly, Su Hao's words made it clear that even higher-rank meat mountains are not unobtainable...

This made him find it even harder to believe; all of this surpassed his comprehension.

However, he didn't ask further, and began to shrink his body according to Su Hao's instructions.

If such a meat mountain could truly be supplied without limit, he would follow Su Hao wholeheartedly, impossible to drive away—just as the Bloodsucking Demon Vine had shrunk itself into a block, it suddenly heard Su Hao's command.

"Right, when you suck blood, take it easy; don't drain the entire meat mountain dry—I still need to leave some infected flesh as samples for propagation."

If that's the case, can that meat mountain truly self-replicate? Unlimited supply wouldn't be a dream either!

Thinking this, the Bloodsucking Demon Vine's gaze toward Su Hao became blazingly hot.

I'm not leaving, even if beaten to death; no one who comes can change that—from now on, I am the boss's most loyal vine!

In the Bloodsucking Demon Vine's heart, the title 'boss' is no longer just empty talk; it comes from the heart.

Someone who can provide him with unlimited blood, giving him hope to become a Supernatural Fourth Rank, isn't that his boss? Even if that person appears to be merely a Supernatural Second Rank, he is still his boss! Su Hao never imagined that just a 'picked-up' meat mountain, plus some free energy crystals, would completely subdue a Supernatural Third Rank Bloodsucking Demon Vine.

Afterward, Su Hao sent the Bloodsucking Demon Vine onto the meat mountain, then returned to his room and began today's final synthesis.

(End of chapter)