Chapter 33: Alienated Larval Egg
Attack Methods: [Blade Waltz], which involves rapidly swinging its sharp forelimbs with enough force to sever steel; [Blade Impact], where it utilizes its wings to rise into the air before diving down; [High-Concentration Acid Cannon], triggered by opening the fissures on its waist and abdomen to spray corrosive acid capable of melting refined steel; and the mutated ability acquired through berserk evolution, [Scythe Pulse], which releases accumulated alien energy from within its body.
Traits: [Slaughter Harvest], a hunter’s instinct that makes it grow stronger and more courageous the longer it fights; and [Soul of the Death-Battle], which allows it to continue fighting for days even if it loses its head, provided it has not truly perished.
Weakness: [Heart]. After the larval core evolves, it becomes the Scythe Owl’s heart. Destroying this heart tissue results in a kill. However, unlike the larva, the Scythe Owl’s chest is protected by the toughest carapace on its body and is located nearest to its lethal scythe-blades, which it can use to parry and defend at any moment. Hitting it is by no means easy; one must strike the chest exactly while it is in the middle of an attack.
...
Scanning through this remarkably powerful information panel, Lu Ming looked back up at the air.
The mutated Scythe Owl was still slowly breaking out of its cocoon, seemingly disregarding him, a mere Junior Hunter, as a threat.
Seeing this, Lu Ming’s expression turned cold. He activated his Awakening Power and Strength Multiplier without a moment’s hesitation!
BOOM!
Blue energy surged from between his brows, flowing through his meridians to every limb and bone.
Red energy erupted from his heart, merging into his internal organs and radiating throughout his entire body.
As his explosive power surged exponentially, Lu Ming raised his blade and leaped, delivering a powerful strike with the force of a falling mountain!
SHING—!
The sharp, heavy broadsword, reinforced with immense power, crashed onto the Scythe Owl’s blade.
What was previously as solid as refined steel turned to paper; the blade shattered in a single stroke, which then cleaved through the creature’s tough body!
CLATTER!
Green body fluids, internal organs, and half a torso fell to the ground, the heavy mass splashing up a cloud of dust.
The half-body still inside the pupa tried to launch a final, desperate counterattack with its last bit of willpower.
But Lu Ming grabbed its blade with one hand and, with a second swing of his white blade, severed the entire head, shoulder, and forelimb.
The startled insectoid eyes slowly dimmed as its life force rapidly faded.
Perhaps even in death, it could not understand why, as an Elite-tier mutated alien, it had been killed by a human in two strikes before it even had a chance to look at the world. Moreover, it likely felt this human lacked the "warrior spirit," launching a sneak attack while it was still emerging from its cocoon, leaving it no room to even dodge.
With a thud, Lu Ming landed from the air. He showed no emotion toward the resentment-filled, severed head.
Lacking martial virtue? Not squaring off and shouting out skill names before clashing?
Please, this is war—a life-or-death struggle between survivors and alien creatures.
What is the point of improving skills and combat power?
For show?
No, it is for killing the opponent.
The faster and more effective the method, the lower the cost, and that is the best method.
Once he realized the mutated Scythe Owl’s trait was to pursue its prey relentlessly until death, he knew there was no path of retreat.
In a situation where he had to risk everything, he naturally had to use all his power and seize the best opportunity to kill it in one blow.
Who would be foolish enough to stand there and wait for you to crawl out of your cocoon and strike a pose? Do you think this is a tournament match?
THUMP!
He tossed the Scythe Owl’s carcass to the ground. The creature’s full appearance was now clear.
Its limb structure was quite similar to the mantises of Blue Star, yet with significant differences.
It was nearly two and a half meters long, ink-green in color with dark red patterns etched across its body. Sharp barbs were distributed along its joints, and its scythe-like forelimbs still shimmered with a sharp luster even after death. It looked like a monster born for slaughter.
However, one must admit, the combination of Awakening Power and the Strength Multiplier was terrifying.
In terms of raw strength alone, it was an instant eight-fold increase.
Forget facing an Elite+; he felt he could hold the advantage even against a higher-tier alien.
The key was that both Awakening Power and the Strength Multiplier were "prototypes" capable of ultimate sublimation.
Even better, he had an abundance of sublimation crystals for the Strength Multiplier and the cost required for the Awakening Power’s sublimation.
He could trigger a qualitative change in these two skills right now if he wanted to.
But he didn't do it immediately. Experience had taught him that actions taken impulsively while in a state of high excitement often lead to regret shortly after.
Therefore, he decided to let things cool down for a while. It wouldn't be too late to make a decision after he had considered every detail. Besides, night was falling, and he had plenty of time.
With a sharp glint in his eyes, Lu Ming raised his hand toward the Scythe Owl’s corpse and whispered, "Greed."
[Successfully dismantled the mutated Scythe Owl carcass. Obtained: Specialized Crystal *30, Scythe Blade *4, Scythe Carapace *10, Mutated Alien Blood *200ml.]
[Successfully dismantled 12 Scythe Owl larva carcasses. Obtained: Specialized Crystal *24, High-Purity Alien Protein *24.]
[Alert: Space Bag is full. Cannot continue collecting items. Upgrading the Space Bag will increase capacity.]
Oh, well. He hadn't paid attention when it warned him he only had three slots left, but now he had reached the point where he had to upgrade his storage.
Fortunately, he now possessed significant capital.
Thanks to the larvae contributions from the second and third floors of the factory, he had an astonishing 3,750 Specialized Crystals, and there were still four cocoons on the ceiling waiting to be dismantled.
He opened the Space Bag and tapped on "Level Up."
[Alert: Upgrading the Space Bag requires 80 "Specialized Crystals." After upgrading, the space will double. Do you wish to proceed?]
"Yes."
The Space Bag expanded instantly, and its capacity doubled.
[Alert: Space Bag successfully upgraded. Current capacity: 40/80. Next upgrade will cost 160 Specialized Crystals.]
You get what you pay for; the cost in Specialized Crystals doubled as well.
But just as you might buy a skin for a hundred bucks without blinking but agonize over whether to add a chicken drumstick to your lunch, he could spend thousands of crystals on levels, weapons, and skills, but he really felt a bit reluctant to spend 160 on a simple storage tool. *Emmm*, as long as it’s enough.
With the capacity issue resolved, the next thing to handle was the Level 3 Supply Crate he had been longing for.
And, by the way, he couldn't leave those four cocoons on the ceiling.
"Greed."
[Successfully dismantled withered Scythe Owl pupa. Obtained: Specialized Crystal *10, High-Concentration Alien Body Fat Essence *2.]
[Successfully dismantled withered Scythe Owl pupa. Obtained: Specialized Crystal *10, High-Concentration Alien Body Fat Essence *2.]
[Successfully dismantled withered Scythe Owl pupa...]
After dismantling the cocoons surrounding the supply crate, a purple crate with surging energy was revealed on the ceiling.
Lu Ming leaped up and grabbed the crate. Feeling its heavy weight, he activated the Eye of Truth!
[Level 3 Supply Crate] (Special Item)
Category: Container.
Description: Contains a B-grade, bondable alien larva egg.
...
An alien larva egg? B-grade? Bondable?!
Isn't this a pet?
Holy crap! Open it, quickly!
Lu Ming reached out to press the purple button.
But as his finger pressed halfway down, a wild thought occurred to him.
Wait, the supply crate is also an item, and it is included among "things." Is there a possibility that it, too, can be evolved through ultimate sublimation?