"Little White!" Lin Feng ordered. "Use Absolute Froststorm!"
"Squeak?"
Little White licked its paw and gave Lin Feng a look that clearly said, what are you even talking about? — Lin Feng was about 800 meters away.
Lin Feng: "."
By now he'd accepted Little White's limited IQ, so he didn't feel especially disappointed.
He crawled out from hiding, rushed over, sighed, and hoisted the weasel onto his shoulder.
Fine — being invincible in the flesh wasn't the worst alternative.
After comforting himself, Lin Feng abandoned the idea of creating a small, suspicious disturbance to lure out patrols and then sneak behind them.
He continued following the stream with Little White on his shoulder.
If there was a human camp nearby, their drinking water wouldn't come from wild fruit like his had — they'd use the river. Following the water would make finding them much likelier.
He kept as quiet as possible.
Even so, his presence drew the attention of some local creatures: jungle tree frogs hopping away at his feet, a dusk-hued bird curiously eyeing him from a branch, crystal butterflies fluttering off in alarm, and even a bouncing Slime on the opposite bank.
These weak creatures didn't hamper his progress — they just reacted instinctively to an unfamiliar arrival.
Lin Feng, however, was fascinated.
—This was genuine, otherworldly ecology. Something the game had never let him experience.
If he weren't trying so hard to stay hidden, he would have rushed forward to study them properly. He'd been itching to touch a Slime ever since he arrived.
After some distance, Lin Feng noticed trash floating down the river.
Relaxation snapped into alertness. He first sent Little White to scout for enemies; the answer was negative.
Suppressing his excitement, Lin Feng backed up a short distance and concealed himself better before letting Little White do a closer check.
Peeking through the undergrowth, he saw three Treasure Hoarders sharing mushrooms around a campfire. A caged figure inside a nearby wooden prison made his heart ache.
Falbert felt like his heart was bleeding.
Today had been his unlucky day.
He'd been saving to buy a house in Sumeru City, and had woken extremely early to harvest the most valuable mushrooms — the best mushrooms were only found at dawn. The rarest were the "Tree-King" fungal species. If you found them and sent them to the city, you could make a small fortune.
Armed with dreams of riches, Falbert had ventured into an unfamiliar patch of woods.
Now, staring at his brimming basket, he felt brilliant.
Normally he didn't even eat starshrooms. Today, he decided to indulge: he would cook his precious haul into a feast.
Glub glub.
Watching the mushrooms boil, scent filling the air, Falbert couldn't help himself — before the pot was fully cooked, he ladled himself a heaping bowl of mushroom soup.
Pleasure filled his mouth and his heart. The little colorful forest folk dancing across his vision seemed so merry… and then he fainted from bliss.
"Boss, are these mushrooms safe to eat?"
"Look at that idiot over there — maybe he fainted from eating them?"
A rookie in a gray mask eyed their leader suspiciously.
"You don't trust me?" the leader snapped, slapping the kid's shoulder. Big and scarred, he puffed up with pride.
"I used to work with Sumeru's biggest Black Crow crew. There's an old pro in our ranks — he said mushrooms don't cause problems, only people who don't cook them well get sick. Just simmer them longer and it's fine!"
"Come on, boys — drink up!"
"To a successful start!"
Hidden in the night and disguised carefully, Lin Feng watched the three mediocre Treasure Hoarders with a mixture of annoyance and disbelief. He'd been on edge all morning like they were a major threat; it turned out they were nothing special.
After spotting signs of human activity at noon, he had tracked his own footprints back and sent Little White to scout their numbers and direction. He'd camouflaged himself and planned to strike by night when they slept.
He'd also warned Little White to act decisively if anything went wrong — even to kill them all if necessary to ensure his safety.
Imagine his surprise when the fearsome "opponents" turned out to be three level-twenty-or-lower noobs. The captive in the cage looked equally brainless — no plunder to be had here; he might even lose money on this job after paying travel and food.
Already silently mocking their amateurishness, Lin Feng burst out laughing when, after sharing a pot of mysterious stew by the fire, all three promptly collapsed in a heap.
Out of respect for what little dignity they had left, Lin Feng scanned the leader:
[Individual Information: Human — Hu San]
Level: 18 (A reasonably trained fighter)
Element: None
Traits: Brawling 2, Sturdy 1, Food Poisoning
Emotion: Happy
Friendliness: 0 (You do not know each other)
Seeing "Food Poisoning" in big letters made Lin Feng want to crawl under the earth. He felt ridiculous for having been so tense earlier.
With no other threats around, Lin Feng stepped out of hiding, tied up the three happily unconscious Treasure Hoarders with rope he found in their camp, and went to the conspicuous wooden cage in the center.
"Hero! Help me! Hero, save me!"
The captive in the cage cried out as Lin Feng approached. Falbert, seeing someone come, burst into sobs.
To Lin Feng's surprise, though Falbert's speech sounded odd, he could understand it perfectly. No language barrier — thank heavens.
After ensuring there was no hidden danger with a quick probe, Lin Feng used the key he'd found to open the cage.
Falbert crawled out with tears streaming down his face, looking at Lin Feng like the very heavens had sent him.
"Tree King above!"
"Waaah — I'm saved!"
"I thought I was going to disappear into the rainforest with my mushrooms!"
"Young sir, you are my savior. I've never been so grateful to anyone — I promise if you come to visit Sumeru City, I'll treat you with my finest mushrooms!"
Falbert's sincerity was overwhelming. Lin Feng, mildly disgusted by his snotty face and fawning gratitude, gently pushed him away.
"Brother, you must come visit Huacheng! I swear by the merciful Tree King, I'll serve you the best mushrooms I own!"
Falbert looked utterly earnest.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/FicHaven786