Monster Synthesis Master

Chapter 33: Please, Is There Any End To This?

[You’ve used the Pump-Action Shotgun and struck Jack’s head, dealing a 257-point critical hit.]

[You’ve used the Pump-Action Shotgun and struck Jack’s head, dealing a 203-point critical hit.]

[You’ve killed Jack (Level 10+ Elite) and gained 5,000 EXP.]

Upon seeing the system notifications, Lin Ke finally heaved a sigh of relief. He put down the shotgun in his hand and slumped onto the sand mound.

Going beyond his current level to kill a Level 10 Elite solo really wasn’t something meant to be done by a human!

Treasure Hunter Rat scurried out of Lin Ke’s clothes and climbed onto his shoulder. It stuck out its little tongue and licked Lin Ke’s cheek repeatedly, using its own way to express concern.

Sand Condor circled one round in the sky before swooping down toward Lin Ke, intending to have a huge hug with its master to celebrate a little.

“Oh my god, is there any end to this…” Lin Ke’s arm was still numb, so he could only grit his teeth and tense up his body, working hard to turn over and fall to the side.

As for Sand Condor…

Bam!

It dove headfirst into the sand.

Bullseye!

“Phew! Phew!” Lin Ke let out a pent-up breath. He had survived Jack, but he had almost been jabbed to death by his own pet!

The irregular status effect on Lin Ke was still in effect, so he decided that he might as well take this opportunity to submit the [Full Extermination] mission.

[You’ve completed the D-Level mission, [Full Extermination], and gained 10,000 EXP.]

After adding up the EXP from cutting down the Jack Gang thugs and killing the boss, Lin Ke currently had a total of 26,835 EXP.

Sustaining two punches and an additional energy wave from a punch’s force had directly reduced Lin Ke’s full HP to a pathetically low amount—he was currently left with only 29 HP.

The moment his irregular status effect wore off, Lin Ke immediately chose to level up so that he’d return to a fully-restored condition.

[Leveling up from Lv6 to Lv7 will consume 3,600 EXP. Will you level up? Yes/No]

Yes!

At once, the aches and swelling all over Lin Ke’s body disappeared, and Lin Ke looked brand-new once more, as if he had been revived.

The very first thing Lin Ke did the moment he got up was to remove the boxing gloves from Jack’s hands.

[Spiked Boxing Gloves]

Quality: Green

Parameters: 10-15 Attack Power

Durability: 270/300

Equipment Requirement(s): Lv5 and above

Stat Boost: Agility +2

Special Effect(s): On hit, has a chance of causing [Bleeding] effect

When he was done checking the equipment’s stats, Lin Ke put on the Spiked Boxing Gloves without any hesitation.

At his current level, there were simply too few pieces of equipment that could boost his attributes and provide special effects. Besides, the boxing gloves didn’t get in the way of him shooting, so they were pretty much permanently-worn weapons.

Lin Ke stared at all the corpses in the place. What came next was the body-searching segment, which he was all too happy to see.

How much profit will clearing out the Jack Gang bring me…?

Lin Ke walked over to the mound of sand and plucked Sand Condor out. He then instructed, “Get Forbes here to help with the body-searching.”

Now that the big battle was over, it was time to get Forbes in here.

Sand Condor flapped its wings and took off, crashing into the roof and then into the wall as it struggled. In the end, it simply decided to straight up imitate a duck. It twisted its butt from side to side as it walked in a sexy waddle and ran out to get Forbes.

Lin Ke had already gotten somewhat used to Sand Condor’s performance art by now. If it became proper and serious one day, he might actually find it stranger!

“On account of how it has never messed up during critical moments, I’ll put up with it.”

Before starting the body search, Lin Ke nevertheless erred on the side of caution and reloaded all his guns.

He couldn’t help but feel like something fell a little short.

Fewer than 30 people had been in the Jack Gang’s base despite it being nighttime. On top of that, Lin Ke didn’t know where the remaining 30 to 40 people had gone; they might just come back at any moment.

It was only after he had made all the preparations that would allow him to jump into battle right away that Lin Ke finally started to search the corpses with Treasure Hunter Rat.

Squeak, squeak!

Just as Lin Ke was searching a corpse, Treasure Hunter Rat suddenly began to squeak excitedly. Treasure Hunter Rat stood in front of a door in the Jack Gang’s base and agitatedly straightened its body as it called for Lin Ke to come over.

“Little Treasure, you’re saying that you’ve sensed some good stuff in that room?” Lin Ke was rather curious as to what kind of object could actually make Treasure Hunter Rat that excited.

He had only just taken two steps forward when a foreboding feeling suddenly came over him, and the back of his head started to tingle.

This was an instinct purely trained through six years of game experience; it had nothing to do with his sensory perception.

Lin Ke fished out the pistol and the tactical machine pistol from the gun sling with both hands and turned around at once.

In the dark clearly stood a man.

Moonlight vaguely outlined his silhouette. Regardless of that, Lin Ke was unable to get a clear view of the man’s looks or details of his appearance.

A chill ran up Lin Ke’s spine and rushed straight into his head.

Where did that man come from? Why hadn’t even Treasure Hunter Rat—who is usually very sensitive to smell—discovered him approaching?

The reason why Lin Ke had felt like something wasn’t right was mainly because everything was too quiet, so much so that it felt rather bizarre. It was as if the Jack Gang’s base had been isolated from the rest of the world—as if all the sounds had been blocked inside.

Lin Ke tossed a round of Scout over at the silhouette in the shadows.

The information that Scout gave Lin Ke instantly made him feel as if he’d fallen into an ice cave.

[In view of the target’s and your levels, the following information has been obtained.]

Name: Unknown

Race: Human

Level: Lv40+ (Legend)

Status: Unknown

Special Abilities: Midnight Phantom—The user can conceal his aura once night falls. Their actions will not produce any sound. Movement Speed at night +50%, Agility +20%.

Appraisal: Do not struggle. Think about your last words instead!

Lin Ke was dismayed after reading the information. He had only just killed a Level 10+ Elite a moment ago. Not even ten minutes had gone by, yet a Level 40+ Legendary had now shown up.

Were Legends mass-manufactured these days? Why was it that he could even bump into one when he was just wiping out a small gang…

Everything about the man was unknown. The only piece of information that had appeared—his Special Ability—was enough to shock Lin Ke’s eyeballs out of his sockets.

The man was ridiculously strong. Lin Ke didn’t dare to act rashly.

Should the other party really intend to attack, just his finger alone was more than enough to jab open and break apart Lin Ke’s head.

Nevertheless, Lin Ke didn’t give up on saving himself. He continuously summoned Sand Condor in his mind.

Lin Ke could clearly detect Sand Condor’s current position—it was near the Jack-O’-Lantern V8. But no matter how he tried to contact it, Sand Condor simply didn’t respond.

It wasn’t dead yet—he could still sense its presence. Either it was currently under someone else’s control or it had been knocked out.

Lin Ke’s mind was totally blank. A foreboding feeling surged within him.

The Jack-O’-Lantern V8… Sand Condor under someone else’s control… Forbes… Surely he hasn’t met with danger?

“What did you do to my friend?”

“Friend? Isn’t he your servant?” The shadow in the dark spoke, his throaty voice carrying the vicissitudinous quality that was exclusive to a middle-aged man. The sound of his voice immediately gave off a feeling as though the owner was someone with a long, rich story behind him.

Lin Ke’s brows locked into a tight frown, and a foreboding feeling coming over him at once—that man seemed to know him very well.

Legend NPCs were usually nowhere to be found.

In his past life, even all the way until he had reached Version 6.0—Heart of the Swarm—Lin Ke had only met a few Legend NPCs.

What puzzled him even more was that even Legend NPCs from the Wastelands Planet could only successfully advance to such a status after the game had officially launched and after the story had gone through various big, main scenario incidents.

He hadn’t heard of players encountering Legend NPCs at all during the beginning of the game’s launch.

“If you want that thing inside, then feel free to take it.” The other party was deep and unfathomable. On top of that, his speech was airtight and revealed nothing. One couldn’t see through his intentions at all.

The only thing Lin Ke could do now was to try and pry for a bit of useful information from the other party’s mouth by talking to him constantly.

And also… to buy time along the way while waiting for the Silver Army Ants to recover.

“Compared to what’s inside, I’m still more interested in you.”

Lin Ke’s frown deepened even further. If he had been interested in the Jack Gang’s things, Lin Ke might’ve been able to make use of the opportunity to escape. However, not only were that man’s words unpredictable and didn’t go according to expectations, but they also puzzled Lin Ke.

“So, what kind of questions do you have? I’ll definitely tell you everything I know and answer them without reservations.”

“Hurhur, really? Then, I’ll go ahead and ask?”

The man’s reply made Lin Ke tense up instead, and he couldn’t help but grumble inwardly. Just how much does he know? When did he start following me…

It was just a momentary pause, but Lin Ke felt as if every passing second was as long as a year.

Although the other party was hidden in the shadows, Lin Ke could nevertheless sense a pair of sharp, shrewd eyes in the dark that could see through him.

“What’s your objective in coming to Sand City?”

Lin Ke’s heart skipped a beat. He had a bad feeling about this. “I escaped from the Wastelands Gang. My purpose in coming to Sand City is for survival and to flee from those monsters’ control, of course.”

“That’s it?”

The other party’s two simple words were enough to make Lin Ke’s heart skip a beat.

“I discovered a pocket watch with the words ‘For my dear friend, Moros’ written on it in Howling Ancient Castle when I passed by it during my escape. Since Howling Ancient Castle used to be occupied by royalty in the past, I thought that, if I came to Sand City and try my luck here, I might be able to find that Moros guy. This thing is likely very important to him, so it should be able to get my servant and I a place in the city.”

After careful consideration, Lin Ke decided to use Moros’s pocket watch as a ‘scapegoat.’

Firstly, that thing was indeed a hidden mission, so it would be convincing.

Secondly, not only was that mysterious Legend’s aura simply too strong, but his objective was also unknown. In contrast, Moros was one of the three ’emperors’ of Sand City. No matter how one looked at it, sacrificing a C-Level mission in exchange for his life was a winning deal that didn’t bring him any loss at all.

Lin Ke had an abundance of C-Level missions in his mind. One fewer didn’t hurt.

The mysterious man in the shadows didn’t reply. His silence caused Lin Ke to be awfully nervous. It seems… like the other party… has something to say about the matter?

“A friendly tip for you—if you wish to look for Moros, just grab any three-year-old kid on the streets of Sand City. Even they would be able to tell you Moros’s address.”

Lin Ke’s heart sank to the very bottom.

The underlying meaning of the mysterious man’s words was that he wasn’t interested in the pocket watch, nor Moros.

The mysterious man bent over slightly and placed his briefcase aside. He then said, “A slave that escaped from the Wastelands Gang and passed through the Machinery Holy Cult’s territory. He then discovered a secret at Howling Ancient Castle… He can control living organisms and even has a servant…

“Looking at the combination of all these things, I’d never believe it if you claim that there are no secrets behind it. Since you’re not willing to say it… Then, I can only look for it myself.”

His words sentenced Lin Ke to death directly.

Lin Ke instantly gave up his fantasies and prepared to fight a last-ditch battle.

Whistle!

As a whistle rang out, Lin Ke simultaneously raised both pistols, dousing the enemy madly in bullets.

At the same time, the army ants also suddenly appeared behind the mysterious man.

As it turned out, Lin Ke had already mentally controlled the now-recovered army ants during his exchange of words with the mysterious man and soundlessly gathered them behind the mysterious man. The moment Lin Ke gave the order, they would move out in unison.

Killing a Level 40 Legend NPC was just a fool’s dream.

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What Lin Ke wanted was for the army ants to buy him a few seconds so that he could escape.

He was very familiar with all of Sand City’s streets and alleys. At this point, he could only play hide-and-seek if he wanted to survive. However, Lin Ke pretty much had a mental breakdown the very next second.

The mysterious man stood where he was and successfully dodged all the bullets without even moving a step.

Right on the heels of it, the Silver Army Ants—which Lin Ke was exceedingly proud of—went toward him like an all-encompassing net that covered the sky and the ground.

Yet, the mysterious man had knocked back all the Silver Army Ants with just a casual wave of his hand… with no exception whatsoever!