Chapter 39: Encounter with the Elite Rotwolf

Hearing Kenneth’s blessing, Zhang Ran grinned and thanked him, then made his way alone to the trading area of Forward Base. After selling the materials he had obtained through hunting, he now had nearly two thousand Black Hawk coins in hand. He spent fifteen hundred of them to buy himself a new combat suit of much higher quality.

Previously, Zhang Ran had always worn the standard combat suit issued by the Black Hawk Training Camp. While its fabric was not ordinary cotton, it could hardly be called high-grade material. It was abrasion-resistant and non-absorbent, but its defensive capabilities were mediocre at best. Against the attacks of a Level 0 mutant beast, it was almost useless.

Now, the suit Zhang Ran purchased was crafted entirely from Level 1 materials, far superior to what the training camp distributed. This new suit provided decent protection against Level 0 mutant beasts and could also effectively absorb impacts.

After buying his new suit, Zhang Ran rented a room, took a quick shower, and changed into his fresh gear. He then set up an early warning device at the door, sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and activated the chip’s simulated combat space.

Upon entering the preparation space, Zhang Ran focused his thoughts, and immediately, the Level 1 combat suit he had just bought materialized on his body. At his command, the environment around him shifted from the preparation area to the actual combat simulation. Before him appeared four familiar rotting wolves.

“Begin the trial!”

At his low command, the four wolves sprang into action, leaping at him with their razor-sharp claws. Zhang Ran brandished his military dagger, weaving between the attacking wolves, searching for an opportunity to strike back.

...

Ten minutes later.

After a fierce battle, Zhang Ran managed to kill two of the wolves. The remaining two were badly wounded—one severely, one lightly—but by this point, Zhang Ran himself was gravely injured. The Level 1 combat suit over his chest had already been shredded by the wolves’ claws, leaving several gruesome wounds so deep that his internal organs were visible.

“So close! Just a little more!”

Rendered immobile by his injuries, Zhang Ran sighed in frustration. Before the rotting wolves could crush his skull with their claws, he exited the simulation, returning to the preparation space.

Though the Level 1 suit offered some defense against Level 0 mutant beasts, it was just that—a measure of defense. After two direct hits from the wolves’ claws, the suit was torn apart and lost its protective function. Yet, its presence was not meaningless; with its protection, Zhang Ran’s performance against the wolves had improved significantly.

“Again!”

Back in the preparation space, Zhang Ran carefully analyzed his mistakes, read the combat analysis report provided by the chip, and reentered the simulation.

A second time. A third. All the way to a seventh attempt.

After the first fight, Zhang Ran engaged in six more simulated battles before mental exhaustion forced him to stop. These trainings further honed his combat abilities, and in the last two attempts, he successfully killed all the rotting wolves.

The night passed without incident. At 5:30 the next morning, Zhang Ran rose on schedule, ate breakfast, and left the base for the wilderness. There, he hunted rotting wolves, accumulating evolutionary energy, and gradually condensed his first evolution point.

...

Several days later.

“Rotting wolf slain. Body absorbs evolutionary energy. Evolution point condensation increased by 0.25%. Current progress: 53.24%.”

With a swing of his dagger, Zhang Ran slit the throat of the last rotting wolf before him. Evolution energy surged into the budding evolution point within his spine, and the chip’s prompt sounded in his mind, reporting the new degree of condensation.

Compared to when he had just reached the threshold of a proto-evolver, his evolution point was now more than halfway condensed. Even when he wasn’t actively gaining new evolutionary energy, he could sense the embryonic evolution point warming his spine, pumping mysterious power into his limbs and organs, slowly reshaping his body.

“Continue.”

Without expression, Zhang Ran harvested the materials from the wolf’s carcass, then pressed onward in search of new prey.

...

“Alert! Detected: Elite Rotting Wolf at three hundred meters to your right. This mutant beast poses extreme danger. Probability of survival if engaged: less than 33.6%. Recommended: retreat!”

As Zhang Ran was exploring the Rotting Wolf Plains, the chip’s warning sounded in his ear. A red marker appeared on the right side of his vision, showing the location of the elite wolf.

“Elite Rotting Wolf! Damn it!”

Frowning at the chip’s alert, Zhang Ran looked in the indicated direction just as a pack of about fifteen rotting wolves came charging toward him. Leading the pack was one particularly enormous wolf.

Ordinary rotting wolves measured around one and a half meters in length, but this elite specimen was fully two meters long. Its hide looked tougher than the others, gleaming with an unusual sheen. Its claws were longer and sharper, exuding a fierce, menacing aura.

This was an elite rotting wolf. In packs exceeding ten, such a leader could emerge. That was why Zhang Ran, even with an AM41 automatic rifle, always sought to avoid large groups.

Compared to ordinary rotting wolves, elite ones were far stronger. Even the weakest of their kind had a hunting level of 1, equivalent to a human Level 1 evolver. Their pelts were so tough they could withstand pistol shots at medium range, and even automatic rifle rounds rarely inflicted fatal wounds.

Facing such a large pack, especially with an elite among them, Zhang Ran felt a chill run through him. He quickly pulled wolf-repellent powder and two extra magazines for his AM41 from his pack, tossing the backpack aside.

Hurriedly, he uncapped the glass bottle of repellent and scattered it in the wolves’ path. At the same time, he activated the chip to analyze data on the lead elite wolf.