"Good job."
Taking the mantis shrimp from the little bee, Ruan Mei praised it before standing up.
"You two, I'll leave you to it."
With that, she turned and walked away.
The bee was still too small.
If she sent it into the deep sea to hunt an octopus now, it would only become food for something else.
The biggest problem—attack power—had now been solved.
Next came size.
And where could she find the largest land animals?
Naturally… the grasslands.
As Ruan Mei made her way onto the plains…
The local wildlife immediately fell into disaster.
Over the next three days…
The constantly evolving little bee swept across the grasslands without encountering a single worthy opponent.
By now, it had grown to the size of an elephant.
Anything it encountered…
Was sent flying more than ten meters away with a single strike.
Keqing: "This… it's invincible!"
Dehya: "I've figured it out."
"Winning this game was never possible."
Ningguang: "You only realized that now?"
Ningguang couldn't help smiling.
The moment this game had been announced, she'd already known victory would be nearly impossible.
That was why she'd sent out their ultimate trump card…
Qiqi.
After all, the little zombie didn't seem like someone who played games anyway.
She was perfect for taking the slot.
Besides…
Qiqi had spent all ten points on her starting creature.
Who knew?
If she could at least eliminate one of the enemy's strongest competitors…
There might still be hope.
Seele: "You still think you can win?!"
Dehya: "Not necessarily."
"Didn't you see what Tighnari's creature has been spraying?"
Candace: "Correction…"
"It's Tighnari's tiger."
Xiangling: "That's a tiger?"
"Don't lie to me."
Everyone had seen it earlier.
The creature had turned around, raised its rear…
And sprayed out a stream of liquid that instantly caused massive burns.
And now they were calling that a tiger?
Who would believe it?
Lisa: "Hehe."
"Our Sucrose is still the best."
"Her creature can even use tools now."
Valerius: "Why do I have the feeling Sucrose's creature is evolving into an ape?"
Thankfully, the game only lasted a month.
If Sucrose had more time…
She'd probably have it crafting swords, spears, clubs, and bows before long.
Guinaifen: "Hehe…"
"As long as you're all happy."
Jing Yuan: "..."
Fu Xuan: "What exactly is Sushang doing?"
"How did she end up creating… that thing?"
Yanqing: "No…"
"I'm about to succumb to Mara."
Yunli: "Don't make me look at that thing."
"It's horrifying."
Feixiao: "I've got goosebumps just looking at it."
If everyone else's creatures still vaguely resembled living organisms…
Sushang's was on an entirely different level.
Twisted.
Grotesque.
Almost entirely covered in tentacles and suction cups.
At first glance…
It didn't even look like something a human could have created.
Valerius: "Is that… some kind of Cthulhu?"
He genuinely admired Sushang.
How on earth did she manage to evolve an eagle into… that?
Ling: "So what if it has a few extra tentacles?"
"Look at Cangjiao's."
Hoshimi Miyabi: "...."
Tsukishiro Yanagi: "...."
Harumasa: "...…"
The entire Section Six buried their faces in their hands.
There was simply no saving this.
Inside the game world…
Cangjiao stood beside a giant wolf completely covered in wings.
"Come on!"
"Let's give you another pair of wings!"
"Awooooo!"
The giant wolf howled toward the sky.
"See?"
"You think it's awesome too, don't you?"
The wolf glanced back at the countless wings covering its body.
It wanted to cry.
Awesome?
I'm protesting!
What good are wings growing all over my body in every possible size?!
Bronya: "Look!"
"Something's happening on Kujou Sara's side."
With Bronya's reminder…
Everyone immediately switched to Kujou Sara's livestream.
On the vast grassland…
Her lion had changed somewhat…
But it was currently being chased around by a tiny animal.
Valerius: "Pfft…"
"A honey badger!"
Valerius burst into laughter.
It truly lived up to its legendary reputation.
Only a honey badger would dare pick a fight with something that much bigger.
"…"
Kujou Sara stared at the creature relentlessly pursuing her lion.
Her eyes shone with admiration.
"What a fearless warrior."
She'd made up her mind.
She had to obtain this creature's genes.
This…
This was true courage.
Exactly what suited a warrior.
To face powerful enemies head-on.
Never retreat.
Fight with no regard for death.
Without another moment's hesitation…
She rushed forward, grabbed the honey badger…
And tossed it into the cultivation chamber.
Several genetic fragments emerged.
"Come."
"Let's give you some real fighting spirit."
Sara had never been satisfied with how her lion had wet itself the moment it saw the Azure Rathalos.
Now that she'd witnessed the honey badger's fearless nature…
She immediately fused that gene into the lion.
The instant the fusion completed…
The lion trembled.
Then threw back its head and roared.
Its entire attitude seemed to say:
"Where's that big blue bastard from before?"
"Bring him out!"
"Let's see if I don't beat him to death!"
"Oh?"
"Big Sister Sara!"
Just then…
Hook arrived nearby with her Azure Rathalos.
Perfect timing.
Enemies met once again.
The lion charged without hesitation.
Leaping straight at the monster…
It bit down hard on the Azure Rathalos's foreleg.
Crunch!
Unfortunately…
The Azure Rathalos was a Monster Hunter creature.
Its hide was unbelievably tough.
The lion couldn't even break the skin.
"Huh?"
"Why are you biting my Honorary Member?"
Hook looked completely confused.
"What happened to your lion?"
"It just started biting out of nowhere."
"But…"
"Did you even look at the size difference?"
"You're barely over two meters tall."
"Mine's over ten meters."
"How did you even think this was a good idea?"
Luka: "...."
Stelle: "...…"
Valerius: "...."
Hook's phrase 'Honorary Member' instantly left everyone speechless.
So…
They'd officially been seated at the same table as the monsters now.
Natasha: "That child…"
The Azure Rathalos looked down at the lion still refusing to let go.
With a casual swipe of its foreleg…
The lion was sent flying four or five meters.
Unwilling.
Utterly unwilling.
The lion scrambled back to its feet…
And immediately charged again.
"Enough!"
Kujou Sara hurriedly tried to stop it.
"You're not its opponent yet!"
But the lion ignored her completely.
Its only goal…
Was to fight.
Whoosh!
Another slap.
It flew several meters away.
Then got up again.
Another slap.
Sara felt like punching something.
"I only wanted to make you a little braver!"
"How did you turn into this?!"
Unfortunately…
She was nothing more than an ordinary human now.
She couldn't restrain it at all.
All she could do…
Was stand there in stunned silence.
Raiden Ei: "This…"
"Isn't that… a little too much fighting spirit?"
Raiden Makoto: "There's really an animal like this?"
Yae Miko: "Isn't this just suicide?"
Valerius: "As expected of the honey badger."
"It's fearless."
Sparkle: "If you don't kill me…"
"Don't even think about leaving."
Sampo: "Makes perfect sense."
Arataki Itto: "Whoa…"
"Even I'm impressed by how reckless that is."
After swatting the lion away again and again…
Only for it to keep charging back…
The Azure Rathalos finally lost its patience.
It stood upright…
Then brought one massive paw crashing down.
Splat!
The fearless lion instantly became lion paste.
[Attention: Player Kujou Sara has been eliminated.]
Raiden Ei: "...This…"
Raiden Makoto: "Players can be eliminated early?!"
Herta: "No…"
"I'm dying of laughter."
"How did it even think that was a good idea?"
A pillar of white light descended…
Enveloping the still-dumbfounded Kujou Sara.
"I…"
"I've been eliminated already?"
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