IMC Chapter 31

Although Lan Qing’s approach to comforting people has always been rather unconventional, there’s no denying his strength. After deciding to help, he immediately swept his tail over. Of course, as a vegetarian snake, Lan Qing didn’t use much force.

Even so, when his giant green tail struck Duan Zhuo’s back, he was sent flying. The white cat, which was about to be put into his travel bag, seized the opportunity to escape. The other cats around took advantage of the moment Duan Zhuo fell and swarmed him. Although the damage was limited, the sheer number of them was overwhelming.

Just as Lan Qing and Shu Bao thought the battle would come to an end, Duan Zhuo, who had been surrounded by the cats, suddenly vanished. He reappeared on the trunk of a tree outside the tribe, which was the very tree covered with giant brown pythons, known as the snake tree!

Shu Bao and Lan Qing were both extremely surprised because they hadn’t seen what exactly had happened. Even more shocking was that Duan Zhuo, who had landed on the snake tree, wasn’t attacked by the giant pythons! The tree remained in its disguised state.

However, when the group of cats approached, the pythons entered hunting mode.

The cats on the ground were already physically impaired, making it difficult for them to climb the tree. The only cat with strong attack power, the white cat, had shrunk to a tiny size. Combined with the pythons’ attacks, they couldn’t reach Duan Zhuo at all.

Duan Zhuo, who had escaped from the predicament, was covered in claw marks and had tattered clothes, looking very disheveled. But his gaze toward Shu Bao and Lan Qing was extremely sinister.

Lan Qing, seeing this, immediately curled his tail apologetically, “Sorry, I accidentally slipped my tail.”

Duan Zhuo responded with a cold laugh and kicked a cat that had barely climbed up the tree back down. “I’ve almost forgotten what the last person who dared to mess with me looked like. The losses today will be repaid double in the future. And you, be prepared for the apothecary’s revenge.”

After these harsh words, Duan Zhuo’s figure gradually became translucent and finally disappeared completely. However, he hadn’t really vanished; at least Shu Bao could still sense his presence, though he couldn’t pinpoint his exact location. Seeing this, Shu Bao roughly understood how the other party had sneaked into the tribe and hidden.

The cats under the tree were the same; despite their keen sense of smell, they couldn’t track Duan Zhuo’s whereabouts.

“Did I cause trouble again?” Although he didn’t know what an apothecary was, Duan Zhuo’s words indicated he was a powerful figure.

“It’s bound to happen sooner or later, don’t worry about it. If he were really that powerful, he’d have taken revenge on the spot, rather than waiting for later.” Having already inexplicably offended many people, this one didn’t matter, Shu Bao looked outside and sighed, “What a pity, he had so many good things on him!”

With no target to attack, the cats gradually dispersed, except for the white one, which began to grow to an enormous size after Duan Zhuo disappeared.

The big white cat didn’t leave like the other cats to find shelter from the rain. Instead, it walked gracefully toward the tribe. In an instant, everyone in the tribe became alert; their fence couldn’t withstand another attack.

Under the wary gazes of the people, the big white cat arrived at the entrance and started meowing at Shu Bao and Lan Qing. This time, the meowing sounded much gentler, without the terrifying and eerie quality it had before.

However, neither mice nor snakes could understand the language of cats.

After meowing for a while without getting a response, the big white cat didn’t leave. Instead, it found a soft patch of grass outside the tribe and lay down, seemingly intending to stay there for a long time.

Shu Bao, watching the big white cat lying at the entrance, said to Lan Qing, “Is it trying to offer itself as a gift?”

Lan Qing replied, “…No, it can’t be!”

No one knew what the big white cat wanted. Since it hadn’t attacked the tribe, it at least showed no hostility. Lan Qing and Shu Bao wouldn’t attack it without reason either.

After all, Duan Zhuo was gone. This white cat probably wouldn’t stay long. It might disappear by nightfall tomorrow.

The rain outside varied in intensity but never stopped, which was actually good news for the Xia Wang tribe, as their fence couldn’t hold out much longer. The chaotic world might yield many strange catches, but it was hard on the fences.

Leaving guards on duty, most of the Xia Wang tribe members returned to their tents to rest. As for the place where Duan Zhuo had rested earlier, the high priest went to check and found nothing left behind.

Shu Bao and Lan Qing also returned to the mission hall to rest. After transforming back into his furry form, the mouse curled up into a ball, yawned, and quickly fell asleep. Before drifting off, Shu Bao drowsily thought that in the chaos that followed, the snake teammate seemed to have forgotten about the hair, which was great!

Lan Qing coiled himself up and, before falling asleep, thought about how he had caused trouble for his furry teammate again. Even though the furry teammate had a great attitude and didn’t blame the snake, it wasn’t a good time to bring up the hair again today. Maybe next time, and next time he would ask for double—yes, that’s the plan! Snakes are really considerate.

Both creatures, each with their own thoughts, slowly drifted into sleep. Due to the warm rain outside, everyone slept well, even the big white cat lying outside the tribe was snoring.

The next day, as soon as Shu Bao opened his eyes, he jumped onto the windowsill without even stretching and looked out through the wooden window. Seeing that there was no sign of the big white cat at the tribe’s entrance, he felt relieved. It seemed that as long as the creatures didn’t enter the tribe, they couldn’t remain in the real world after dawn.

The mouse happily hummed a tune while freshening up. When he went outside, he cheerfully greeted Lan Qing, “Good morning!”

“Good morning!” Lan Qing grinned, showing two small fangs.

Compared to yesterday, the Xia Wang tribe’s harvest today was quite limited, with only thirty-five prey caught. Shu Bao and Lan Qing scanned the unfamiliar creatures to select the edible ones, leaving the rest for the others to handle.

With the experience gained from yesterday’s practice, they were more efficient in handling the prey today, resulting in a higher yield. After counting the spoils, the hunting team prepared to head out again.

There was no choice; with the large population of the tribe, they needed a lot of food. Previously, the Xia Wang tribe had just over fifty people. However, with nearly thirty slaves added suddenly, the pressure on the hunting team was considerable.

While the hunting team went out, others were busy collecting materials. The furnace, which required few materials, was expected to be ready by noon. As for the wood processing factory, at the current pace, it would be finished by the day after tomorrow at the latest.

Before then, Shu Bao wanted to explore the chaotic world again, hoping to find traces of the black stone. Since it wasn’t available in the real world nearby, it might be found in the chaotic world.

According to speculation and what Duan Zhuo said, the black stone was the foundation of the chaotic world’s creation. Moreover, Shu Bao was quite interested in Duan Zhuo’s identity as an apothecary. It wasn’t out of fear, but because the role of an apothecary seemed crucial for the development of magic.

Shu Bao shared his thoughts with Lan Qing, who agreed, saying, “And since there’s an apothecary, it means there are humans in the chaotic world with social classes and possibly even cities.”

“Exactly. That’s what I think too. We know too little about the chaotic world and we can’t fully trust what Duan Zhuo said. Since you agree, could you guard the tribe tonight?” Shu Bao reached out and patted Lan Qing’s small head.

“What? We’re not going together?” Lan Qing was a bit disappointed but more worried.

“Someone has to defend the base. If another lord-level monster shows up, the base might not hold.”

“I understand. Be careful when you’re out there,” Lan Qing said, curling his tail to pat Shu Bao’s small head, flattening the fluffy fur into a flat head.

After lunch, twenty-four hours had passed since they last submitted a task, so the two went to the mission hall to receive a new one. The technology task was straightforward: 【Task One: Build 50 comfortable tents, base population reaches 100, task reward: Blueprint for Military Training Ground X1】

“Wow, we’re really lucky! With the training ground, everyone in the tribe can undergo systematic training!” Lan Qing exclaimed. The task rewards were random. It seemed that his furry teammate always got just the right ones!

“Not a big deal. When it comes to luck, this mouse has never lost,” Shu Bao said in a calm tone as if stating something completely ordinary.

However, this tone came across as a bit cocky to the live stream viewers, especially those who believed in luck, who were quite displeased with such a brazen statement.

“What do you mean ‘never lost’?”

“Isn’t that a bit too arrogant?”

“But they have the right to be arrogant! They were the first to build a mission hall, and it’s the only one with magic. Plus, they’re one of only two groups to enter the chaotic world so far.”

“Luck is just temporary. If they encounter something like a three-headed dog, they might not be able to defeat it like the other team.”

“Don’t forget, they also offended some apothecary, which sounds quite troublesome.”

…

As the viewers in the live stream were discussing, Shu Bao opened the second magic task: 【Task Two: Collect 10 Omniscient Fruits from the Chaotic Swamp, kill 10 Black Marsh Crocodiles, task reward: Apothecary Talent Book X1】

Shu Bao, who was just worried about the apothecary: “…”

Lan Qing, who had just praised their furry teammate’s luck: !!! Should he repeat what he just said? This luck was incredible—whatever he thought of seemed to come true!

The viewers in the live stream: “…” They couldn’t believe how quickly their previous doubts were proven wrong!

“It seems we’ll have to visit the Chaotic Swamp,” Shu Bao said, quickly regaining his composure. He remembered that one of the materials needed for building the magical plant plantation included reeds from the Chaotic Swamp. Duan Zhuo’s escape last night made Shu Bao realize the importance of magical plants.

Abilities like concealing one’s presence, teleportation, and invisibility all made Shu Bao envious. If he had a plantation, he could transplant commonly used and precious magical plants back home.

Lan Qing, however, became even more worried upon hearing this. The Chaotic Swamp sounded like a dangerous place, not to mention the Black Marsh Crocodiles. But he didn’t want to restrict his furry teammate’s actions under the guise of protection. Yet, he also needed to stay and guard the base. Lan Qing was so conflicted he almost tied himself into knots.

Shu Bao looked at his snake teammate, “Is that some new gesture?”

Lan Qing: “…Nothing.” The snake quickly straightened himself out, thinking of a good idea. He couldn’t accompany Shu Bao, but there was still that big white cat outside the tribe! He could talk to it tonight. Maybe it could accompany his furry teammate.

Unaware of the surprise his snake teammate was planning, Shu Bao heard the high priest announce that the furnace was finished and immediately ran off to check it out.

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Moonlit: I don’t think that’s a good idea, Lan Qing HAHAHAHAHAHA Your furry teammate will be scared to death hahahahaha