Aberration Object, Boss Grade Feral Beast, Cat-Girl

Of the six people standing in the room, one was Franming.

A short-haired, capable-looking woman spoke up. "My Lord, I joined the Black Flag Unit in the slum district and gathered intelligence on recent events there. I've drawn up a preliminary list of individuals who may be in possession of an Aberration object."

"Oh? Go on."

Li Qinghe exhaled a slow breath of smoke and began:

"The first is Jing Kang, the Local Governor of the slum district. He's a member of the Jing family of Xili City — not well-regarded within the family — and was ultimately sent here to govern this area as a comfortable form of exile. That said, his connections are undoubtedly the widest of anyone in the slum district. If an Aberration object exists somewhere in the area, he has the highest probability of having encountered it."

"The second is Lone Dragon Lucius — a well-known wilderness Hunter who keeps his base of operations in the slum district. Given his strength and reputation, Lucius could set himself up anywhere else in the city, yet he chose here. There may be a reason for that. His power has grown rapidly in recent years, which could be connected to this Aberration object."

"The third is Xue Ren, the head of the Wild Dog Gang. He came up from the very bottom of the slum district — his father forced his mother into prostitution and made him beg on the streets. At twelve years old, he killed his own father with his bare hands and has been running with gangs ever since. He's ruthless and stops at nothing to get what he wants. The gang he built has grown into the largest criminal organization in the slum district, with a hand in every illegal operation imaginable. He's also a Gene Warrior himself, though not exceptionally powerful. Still, the possibility can't be dismissed."

"The fourth is law enforcement officer Shui Hu. He's highly capable, but he's colluded with the criminal underworld — providing cover for multiple gangs' activities, and reportedly the shadow boss of one of the larger organizations, the Qingzhu Gang…"

"The fifth…"

Another person stepped in: "My Lord, based on our investigation, the Shadow that has been appearing is most likely the work of some kind of Aberration object. Over the past decade, Xili City has recorded three Aberration Events and one major Aberration Event. The residual matter from those incidents should have all been recovered by now, so we cannot determine where this particular Aberration object originated. What we can confirm is that it is currently located somewhere in the slum district — and it keeps growing stronger. Extremely dangerous."

"Can we confirm whose hands it's in right now?"

"Not yet, My Lord."

Li Qinghe listened until they were finished, took a drag of her cigarette, and was quiet for a moment.

"Keep close watch on all of these individuals. I want this resolved within a month. Can you manage it?"

The group exchanged glances, visibly unsettled. Franming bowed his head and spoke carefully:

"My Lord… a month — isn't that a bit rushed? These are all wily veterans. Getting any of them to slip up won't come easily."

Li Qinghe glanced at him. Franming immediately dropped his gaze.

Someone else ventured: "With your standing, My Lord, who would dare press you for speed?"

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't."

Li Qinghe smiled faintly. "I just want to get this wrapped up before someone starts pestering me about it."

She waved a hand. "Everyone go. I'm heading to the Land of Origin."

"Yes, My Lord!"

"Good — then I'll go hunting as well."

At the market outside the Sandy Rock Underground Palace.

Bertha Wimi's face was tight with impatience as she looked around at her people:

"It's been this many days and you still haven't seen that human show up again?!"

"He wouldn't have gone somewhere else entirely, would he?!"

"Probably not, My Lord. For Lu Yuan, the Sandy Rock Underground Palace is the territory he knows best. If he'd moved to an unfamiliar area, he'd likely run into serious danger just getting oriented. No normal Gene Warrior would switch hunting grounds this quickly."

Bertha's brow stayed creased. "Then why hasn't he appeared for so long?"

"Perhaps… he came away with a significant haul last time and wants to fully consolidate those gains before heading out again."

Bertha turned this over in her mind. It made sense.

"Hmph. Then we wait a little longer." She turned and entered the underground palace.

At the market outside the Sandy Rock Underground Palace.

Third Miss fixed Jingba with an impatient stare:

"It's been this many days — you're telling me you still haven't spotted that human?!"

"Yes, Third Miss," Jingba said. "We haven't seen him since he followed Liu Xi back to Sandy Rock City. We lost his trail after that."

Third Miss's brow furrowed. "He wouldn't have gone off somewhere else, would he?!"

Jingba hesitated, then offered: "For Lu Yuan, the Sandy Rock Underground Palace is the territory he knows best. If he moved to a new area, he'd face considerable danger just getting the lay of the land. A normal Gene Warrior wouldn't switch regions this fast."

"Then why hasn't he come back out for so long?"

"Maybe… he came away with a big haul last time and wants to absorb those gains before heading back in?"

Third Miss considered this. It was a reasonable point.

"Hmph. Then we wait."

Jingba nodded. "Don't worry, Third Miss. I'll keep eyes on this place at all times. The moment there's any movement from Lu Yuan, I'll report to you immediately."

Lu Yuan thought it over and ultimately decided against returning to the Sandy Rock Underground Palace.

His reputation there had grown too prominent — going back would draw attention. The outer zones were no longer suitable for his current strength; working the inner zones would only invite suspicion. And while the Hunters probably wouldn't be watching former ruin-runners too closely anymore, there was always the chance of stumbling into someone single-minded. He had no interest in unnecessary trouble.

Better to go somewhere where fewer people knew his face.

He reviewed the maps of Sandy Rock City and its surrounding region, and settled on his destination: a place called the Ancient Sea Oasis.

Sandy Rock City was ringed entirely by desert and gobi. But oases did exist amid that barren expanse, and the Ancient Sea Oasis was the largest of them all. It lay in exactly the opposite direction from the Sandy Rock Underground Palace, hundreds of kilometers beyond the city gates — even at a Gene Warrior's pace, reaching it would take several days.

The Feral Beasts of the oasis were unlike those of other regions, resembling forest creatures more than desert dwellers. Their strength ran high across the board; the weakest among them had Gene Chain tempering of at least 50%. And deep within the oasis, there were reportedly Boss Grade Feral Beasts that hovered at the edge of First-rank power.

That was genuinely frightening.

For Lu Yuan's current level, the outer fringe of the oasis was ideal. His power had grown too fast — but as long as he kept to himself, the oasis was vast enough that no one would notice him. And thankfully, as his cultivation advanced, his Battle-mark Space kept expanding — there was room to carry his full haul without having to leave anything behind.

He left through a different city gate than usual and set off toward the Ancient Sea Oasis.

*Land of Origin. Outside Sandy Rock City.*

He traveled without hurrying, hunting as he went — the desert had no shortage of Feral Beasts. Along the way he killed several hundred Sand Scorpions, Sand Ants, and Sand Wolves, and accumulated a solid cache of materials.

Two days later, he had covered roughly one hundred kilometers.

He found shade at the base of a stone pillar in a stretch of rocky gobi and sat down to rest. He took out his water flask, drank a few mouthfuls, and exhaled slowly.

"Still about a hundred kilometers to go… I really need to get a mount someday. Running the whole way on foot is brutal."

He sighed, fished out a chocolate bar, tore the wrapper open, and started chewing.

Then a rumbling rolled in from somewhere deep in the desert.

Lu Yuan snapped to his feet, alert, scanning the dunes.

A wave of sand surged and swelled, advancing directly toward where he stood.

He stared — and then his eyes went wide.

Rising from within the churning sand was a massive Feral Beast. An enormous crocodile, its body the pale yellow of packed earth, encased in layers of thick natural armor plating, standing over two meters tall. Its pupils were a dark, murky yellow — cold, brutal, and empty.

Lu Yuan's pupils contracted. His scalp crawled.

*A Sand Crocodile — that massive?! Oh hell, don't tell me it's a Boss Grade. How is my luck this terrible?!*

A Boss Grade Feral Beast.

*That's terrifying.*

He didn't think twice. He ran — straight in the opposite direction from the crocodile's path.

The sand crocodile hadn't noticed him. It pressed forward, course unchanged, swimming through the desert floor as its sheer power churned the sand into waves around it.

As it passed the spot where Lu Yuan had been resting, its enormous tail swept out and struck the stone pillar he'd been leaning against — a pillar over a meter across.

**BOOM!!**

The stone pillar cracked and collapsed.

*That destructive force…*

That pillar had been worn down by years of wind and sand and wasn't at its hardest, but it was still something Lu Yuan couldn't break even at full strength. The crocodile had demolished it with a casual tail swipe.

He ran several hundred meters before dropping face-first into the sand, watching the distant surge of dunes, his forehead soaked with sweat.

All the strength drained out of him at once. He slumped against the earth, gasping.

*Boss Grade. An actual Boss Grade Feral Beast.*

A dark shape flashed past — streaking in pursuit of the sand crocodile ahead.

Lu Yuan jolted and spun around.

A girl. A cat-kin girl: black cat ears, a long black tail, and a cascade of long pitch-black hair. Her face was breathtakingly beautiful and utterly expressionless, those dark eyes holding not a single ripple of emotion.

She seemed to sense something. She turned her head and glanced once in Lu Yuan's direction.

The chill hit him instantaneously. His entire body went cold, as though some apex predator had fixed its gaze on him — a predator from which there was no escape.

*She just… looked at me. One glance. And I already feel like I'm going to die.*

She was terrifyingly powerful.

The cat-kin girl looked away in the next instant and resumed her pursuit of the massive sand crocodile.

*That Boss Grade Sand Crocodile — she's hunting it?!*

He stared after her, disbelief written plainly across his face.