"The elf ran away!"
Early the next morning, this news spread throughout Sin Town.
The Slave Merchant's roar also echoed throughout Sin Town.
Everyone said that the elf's companions had rescued her.
After all, many people knew how severely injured that elf was; she definitely couldn't have escaped alone.
Therefore, although the Slave Merchant was unwilling, he had no choice, and even out of fear of retaliation from the elf's companions, he dared not leave Sin Town.
Naturally, no one suspected Li Fan.
…
As for Li Fan himself, after his dream of instant success was shattered, he had no choice but to continue striving for survival.
He went back to his old trade—chopping firewood.
Only this time, with the bonus of Natural Affinity, he immediately felt different.
Not only was his strength enhanced, but Li Fan could also feel the changes brought by Natural Affinity in terms of speed, endurance, recovery, and other aspects.
Since entering the Sinful Forest, he felt power surging throughout his body.
Therefore, this time, he only took half a day to successfully chop a full load of firewood.
It was a large, full load, and he even sold it for 6 copper coins.
Life was finally moving in a good direction.
…
"If I were stronger, perhaps I could hunt some low-level magical beasts. The profits from hunting magical beasts are incomparable to chopping firewood."
Feeling himself getting stronger, Li Fan immediately had a small idea.
In Sin Town, the two most profitable activities were selling slaves and hunting magical beasts.
The hides and meat of magical beasts were excellent commodities, and the magic cores contained within their bodies had a value that surpassed gold.
It's no exaggeration to say that if Li Fan could hunt even the lowest-level first-tier magical beast, he could live comfortably in Sin Town for a month.
Unfortunately, even the weakest first-tier magical beast could only be dealt with by a first-tier Dou Qi Apprentice.
And a first-tier Dou Qi Apprentice's four attributes—strength, physique, agility, and spirit—all exceeded 10.
With Li Fan's current basic stats, most of which were only 1, he probably couldn't even withstand a single slap from a magical beast.
Thinking this, Li Fan gave up the idea, bought a piece of black bread harder than a brick, slowly softened it with water, and ate it in small, unenthusiastic bites.
"I really want to eat meat!"
After gnawing on black bread for several days in a row, not only was his tongue bored, but his body's nutrition couldn't keep up either.
Li Fan gritted his teeth and immediately decided that tomorrow he would at least hunt some wild game for himself to satisfy his craving.
…
He slept soundly that night, and early the next morning, Li Fan took his woodcutting axe and walked into the Sinful Forest.
The Sinful Forest is divided into four zones from the outside in.
They are the Edge Zone, Outer Zone, Inner Zone, and Central Zone.
The closer one gets to the Central Zone, the greater the chance of encountering magical beasts.
Normally, Li Fan only dared to look for dry firewood in the Edge Zone.
However, too many people frequented the Edge Zone, making it difficult to find wild animals.
Li Fan hesitated for a moment, then decided to approach the Outer Zone today to take a look.
The probability of encountering magical beasts in the Outer Zone was not high; as long as he was careful, there wasn't too much danger.
…
As soon as he approached the Outer Zone, Li Fan noticed the difference in his surroundings.
The trees here were ancient, with huge trees that required several people to encircle them found everywhere, and the surrounding vegetation was extremely dense, making it difficult to find a foothold to move forward.
Li Fan could only slowly cut a path with his woodcutting axe.
After walking for about ten minutes.
Li Fan suddenly stopped. He stared at the vegetation ahead for a moment, a smile appearing on his face.
He found an animal trail.
Moreover, this animal trail was not large, indicating it belonged to a small animal.
Small animals are good, he could only deal with small animals right now; if he encountered a large beast, it was uncertain who would eat whom.
Li Fan was overjoyed; if he made a trap, he might have an extra meal today.
He immediately set to work.
Fortunately, Li Fan had watched many wilderness survival videos before and could make some of the simplest traps.
After some effort, a simple stone slab trap was completed.
Li Fan didn't hold out much hope. After making the trap, he returned to the Edge Zone to continue chopping firewood, only planning to check it in the evening.
As for the trap, he just considered it a whim.
Clearly, Li Fan was not a professional; not only was the trap crude, but to ensure a catch, he should have set up more traps.
Moreover, Li Fan had left his scent when setting the trap, a scent humans couldn't detect but animals could distinguish.
It could be said that unless he was incredibly lucky, Li Fan wouldn't have any catch today.
…
However, something strange happened.
In the evening, after Li Fan finished chopping a load of firewood, he couldn't help but check the stone slab trap. When he saw it, he was stunned—the trap had been triggered.
He saw that the stone slab of the trap had been triggered, and not far away, a rabbit with a broken hind leg was standing still, dazed.
From the looks of it, it seemed the rabbit accidentally triggered the stone slab trap and had a leg crushed.
But for some reason, this plump rabbit didn't run away immediately.
Even Li Fan himself found it unbelievable, but at this moment, his mind was filled with thoughts of oily roasted rabbit, so he couldn't think about why.
"Very good, this is an extremely plump rabbit, looking absolutely adorable. It's just a pity, a pity it seems to be suffering from heatstroke, so I must save it."
Li Fan muttered to himself while staring intently at the rabbit.
An ordinary person cannot catch a rabbit with bare hands; you cannot imagine how agile these four-legged little creatures are.
However, this unlucky rabbit had a broken leg.
Li Fan caught it with little effort.
He lifted it by its rabbit ears.
"Conservatively, it must be seven or eight catties. It can make enough jerky to eat for several days, though eating too much might cause internal heat!"
Li Fan licked his lips while preparing to take the rabbit to the river to 'cool it down.'
However, Li Fan had only taken one step.
With a "whoosh," Li Fan froze on the spot.
On the tree trunk to his left, an arrow shot almost past the tip of his nose and embedded itself in the tree trunk, its fletching still shaking and 'whipping' his nose.
Li Fan's face stiffened as he slowly turned his gaze towards the direction from which the arrow had come.
He saw a small figure holding a bow and arrow, aiming at him from a large tree trunk about a dozen meters high not far away.