"Um, I'll take this Spiritual Longsword," Lin Li said, pointing to a special offer item in the display case in front of him, priced at 499,999 yuan.
The beautiful saleswoman in the qipao couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. After she'd chattered on for more than ten minutes, the customer had chosen the cheapest special offer in the store.
However, she was a seasoned employee and didn't let her disappointment show on her face. Instead, she maintained a brilliant smile and nodded at Lin Li.
"Of course, sir. Please wait a moment while I ring this up for you."
As Lin Li watched the beautiful saleswoman turn to ring him up, he let out a long sigh of relief.
If it weren't for this one special offer, he wouldn't have been able to afford a single Spiritual Weapon in the shop with his budget of only 500,000 yuan.
「A moment later.」
After paying, Lin Li left the weapon shop carrying a long wooden box. The beautiful saleswoman saw him to the door, saying, "Welcome back anytime."
...
"Damn, the weapons Cultivators use are so expensive! Great. After buying this Spiritual Longsword, I'm pretty much broke now."
After leaving the weapon shop, Lin Li's face was a mask of bitterness. His entire net worth was now just 3,070 yuan in his WeChat account, and his errands for the day weren't even over yet.
Over half an hour later, Lin Li emerged from a pharmacy with a stoic expression.
Hunting Mutant Beasts in the wild required not only a Spiritual Weapon but also medicine for treating injuries.
'It seems like nothing related to Cultivators is cheap...' In the pharmacy, Lin Li had bought a tube of hemostatic ointment, a favorite among Cultivators for its ability to quickly stop bleeding.
The tiny tube of ointment, only about thirty grams, had cost him three thousand yuan—equivalent to one hundred yuan per gram.
After buying the hemostatic ointment, Lin Li's entire net worth had dwindled to just seventy yuan.
He'd had over a million yuan just a few days ago, but now he'd been reduced to this. His heart sank.
WHOOSH...
RUSTLE... RUSTLE...
A gust of wind swept by, causing the branches and leaves of the roadside trees to sway gently, making rustling sounds.
A sudden gust of wind scattered the falling raindrops in every direction.
The cool sensation of the rain spattering against his face lifted Lin Li's somewhat dejected spirits.
"This is all just a necessary initial investment. In the future, I'll earn back the million I spent, and then some."
Lin Li gave himself a mental pep talk, opened his umbrella, and started walking, planning to hail a cab home.
But after taking just a few steps, he suddenly turned and changed direction, heading toward a distant bus stop instead.
'With only seventy yuan left, what am I doing taking a taxi? I'll just wait for the bus!'
...
CLICK.
BANG.
Back home, Lin Li laid his dripping umbrella on the balcony to dry.
He then returned to the living room and opened the wooden box containing the Spiritual Longsword.
"Four hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine yuan. You'd better perform well for me tomorrow!"
Lin Li lifted the 80-centimeter-long Spiritual Longsword from the box and, striking a pose, began to slowly swing it around the living room.
After playing around for a bit, he began to mobilize the Spiritual Energy in his body, channeling it into the Spiritual Longsword in his hand.
Infused with Spiritual Energy, the Spiritual Longsword began to glow with a faint golden Spiritual Light. He could vaguely feel that its sharpness had risen to another level.
"A fine sword! A truly fine sword!" Looking at the sword in his hand, now glowing with a faint golden Spiritual Light, Lin Li nodded in satisfaction. His confidence in tomorrow's Mutant Beast hunt soared.
However, in less than a minute, Lin Li stopped infusing the Spiritual Longsword with Spiritual Energy. Continuing to do so would consume too much of it.
When in the field, Exotic Beast Hunters only infused their Spiritual Artifacts with Spiritual Energy during combat; no one was foolish enough to waste most of their power before a fight even started.
Placing the sword back in its wooden box, Lin Li leaned back and collapsed onto the soft sofa.
He pulled his phone from his pocket, downloaded an app, and after creating an account, logged into the app, which was only accessible to certified Exotic Beast Hunters.
The app's interface was very simple, with just two sections: an Intelligence Section and a Forum Section.
The content in the Intelligence Section was posted by the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild, while the content in the Forum Section could be posted by anyone.
"Rongcheng East District Suburbs, near Liu Family Village, a First Rank High Stage Wild Dog Beast has been spotted."
"Rongcheng South District Suburbs, near Zhao Family Village, a Tier One Peak Wild Boar Beast has been spotted."
"Rongcheng West District Suburbs, 5 kilometers from Erxian Bridge, witnesses have seen an unknown number of Forest Wolf Beasts."
"Rongcheng North District Suburbs, a Second Rank Initial Stage Black Bear Beast appeared yesterday at 3 PM, 7 kilometers from the abandoned parking lot."
Lin Li scrolled through the reports in the Intelligence Section, discovering that the wilderness in the city's suburbs was teeming with Mutant Beasts.
The more he read, the more alarmed he became. He realized the wilderness was far more dangerous than he had ever imagined.
No wonder the authorities repeatedly warned citizens to stay out of the suburban wilderness unless absolutely necessary.
Each and every report about Mutant Beast sightings in the Intelligence Section proved that the authorities' daily warnings were absolutely correct.
"Why do all the Mutant Beast reports in this Intelligence Section start at First Rank High Stage? Isn't there any intel on weaker ones?"
Lin Li had been browsing the Intelligence Section for over ten minutes when he noticed this strange situation.
He thought for a moment and guessed the reason might be that Exotic Beast Hunters were at least Tier One Peak in strength.
Therefore, intelligence on Mutant Beasts below First Rank Middle Stage was not included in the Intelligence Section.
After finishing with the Intelligence Section, Lin Li clicked on the Forum Section. This section had tens of times more posts than the Intelligence Section.
"Sharp Sword Squad recruiting. Brothers with awakened Superpowers preferred..."
"Dawn Squad recruiting. Handsome guys and beautiful women get priority..."
"Titan Squad recruiting. Strong, beefy guys preferred..."
"Hotpot Squad recruiting. Brothers who like to eat hotpot preferred..."
"Thunderbolt Squad recruiting. Brothers who like foot massages preferred..."
'What the hell is all this?'
Lin Li scrolled through dozens of posts and found they were all for recruitment. It gave him the distinct feeling he was browsing a video game forum.
...