119: Chapter 119 D-Rank Anteater

"Why are there so many!"

Chen Ze truly didn't expect Fatty to be able to pick so many mutated apples.

"Hehe, you have no idea. That branch I snatched at the end had a full 100 apples on it!"

"That's just it! There were still quite a few unripe fruits that I didn't even pick!"

Prompted by Fatty, Chen Ze finally saw that those tree trunks were still lying quietly inside the f-grade backpack.

Perhaps because this thing was too long, it took up a full 5 slots!

"Brother Ze, do you think if we bring this thing back and plant it, those unripe ones will still be able to continue growing?"

Fatty's question really stumped Chen Ze.

Back on Earth, let alone planting fruit trees, he hadn't even properly raised a potted flower, so how could he know about these things.

"I certainly don't know about this. Let's wait until we go back and ask Duan Linhai."

"Now that you mention it, I remember. Those e-grade red jujubes we ate before—those jujube pits might just be plantable too."

Fatty nodded upon hearing this, but his mind clearly wasn't on this matter.

"Brother Ze, take out two apples for us to taste. My mouth is watering like crazy."

Chen Ze chuckled and directly took out more than a dozen fruits.

"Eat as much as you want!"

[Item Information: E-grade Mutated Apple.]

[Item Description: Consumption can increase all attributes by 4 points, up to a limit of two!]

[Gosh, this apple packs a punch! Eating just one can increase all attributes by 4 points. No wonder so many mutated birds fought tooth and nail to grab them!]

Fatty grabbed one and brought it straight to his mouth.

"Crunch!"

With one fierce bite, the crisp and tender flesh instantly burst open, clear, sweet, and juicy liquid trickled down the corners of his mouth, and a rich fruity aroma exploded in his mouth.

Fatty's eyes widened abruptly, and he hummed comfortably while chewing.

"Mmm~ So delicious! In all my life, I've never eaten such delicious fruit!"

"Is an apple really worth such an exaggeration?"

Seeing Fatty's expression of enjoyment, Chen Ze first tossed one to Xingzhe Sun, and then picked up one himself to take a large bite.

The sweet juice instantly flooded his mouth, the fruity aroma was mellow, without a shred of sourness or astringency, yet it wasn't the kind of cloying sweetness.

"The taste is indeed not bad!"

Chen Ze's total attributes had already reached 46 points at this moment. After eating just one apple, he completely reached the limit of Level 2.

If he wanted to continue improving his attributes, he could only wait until he obtained a d-grade beast core and broke through to Level 3.

As for Fatty, he didn't have this worry. His total attributes were currently 41 points. With two mutated apples in his belly, he was right at 49 points, just a little shy of the limit.

"Brother Ze, I'm about to catch up to you!"

Fatty put on a cocky expression and grinned.

"Catching up to me is nothing. If you can catch up to Xingzhe Sun, that's when you can truly be considered awesome!"

As Chen Ze spoke, he directly shared Xingzhe Sun's panel with Fatty.

[Name: Xingzhe Sun]

[Level: D-grade]

[Three-dimensional Attributes: Strength 57, Agility 68, Constitution 51]

"What the heck! When did Xingzhe Sun break through to D-grade? Could it level up without a beast core?"

Fatty never expected that Xingzhe Sun had grown to this extent.

After thinking carefully, he realized that back then, he and Big Male Monkey had followed Chen Ze almost back-to-back.

At that time, the other party's total attributes had already reached over 30 points, which was indeed not something he could compare with.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

(We are noble Mutated Beasts; why would we need a beast core to level up like you?)

Xingzhe Sun leaped onto Chen Ze's shoulder, tilted its head, and crossed its arms in front of its chest, revealing a punchable, wretched expression.

"Holy crap! You monkey, you're really asking for a beating!"

Fatty felt despised by a monkey and lost face, so he rolled his eyes and went straight up to Chen Ze.

"Brother Ze, look, you happen to be lacking a D-grade beast core right now. How about we give Xingzhe Sun..."

Speaking of this, he directly reached out and made a throat-slitting gesture.

Before Chen Ze could speak, Xingzhe Sun jumped straight onto Fatty's shoulder, grabbing his ears with both paws.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak! Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

(You big-eared Fatty, I knew you had bad intentions and still wanted my beast core! See if I don't scratch you to death!)

"Ow! I was wrong, I was wrong! I was just bullshitting, stop it, stop it!"

The man and the monkey bantered and scuffled for a while, which finally ended with Fatty shouting "Monkey Bro" several times.

"Right, can you Mutated Beasts learn abilities or martial arts?"

Chen Ze asked.

Big Male Monkey scratched its monkey head, thought for a long time before answering.

"Probably not, but I heard from the old fellows before that as long as our level reaches a certain degree, we can automatically awaken bloodline inheritance, and naturally we will have divine abilities by then!"

"Good grief, isn't this a bit too heaven-defying!"

This time it was Chen Ze's turn to be jealous.

Automatic awakening? And divine abilities? This damn thing really makes humans inferior to beasts!

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

(But our clan hasn't seen such a powerhouse for a very, very long time. It is said that not even the Four Great Beast Kings have reached that level!)

Hearing this, Chen Ze's heart finally felt a bit more balanced.

Compared to Mutated Beasts, humans can learn abilities and martial arts regardless of their level.

Otherwise, Chen Ze truly wouldn't know how to obtain higher-grade beast cores in the future.

Just at this moment, Chen Ze suddenly felt the ground shake slightly.

He turned his head to look at Fatty and Xingzhe Sun, only to find that they were also staring at him with blank expressions.

"You guys felt it too?"

"Yeah! The ground seemed to shake!"

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

(There's a large animal coming this way! Quick, hide!)

Xingzhe Sun was originally a Mutated Beast in this forest, so it naturally understood this kind of commotion best and immediately spoke up to remind them.

Chen Ze didn't dare to delay. Looking around, he immediately spotted a truck-sized boulder not far away.

"Let's go! Hide over there!"

He lowered his voice and raised his hand to signal the two of them to crouch down.

The three of them dashed behind the boulder in a flash, pressing tightly against the rough stone surface, quietly parting just a small gap to observe outside.

"Thud! ~ Thud! ~"

The heavy footsteps drew closer and closer, the earth shuddered with each step, and the branches and leaves of the surrounding low shrubs rustled and shook along with it.

A gigantic figure gradually became clear.

That was a Mutant Anteater, its body covered in thick, messy brownish-long hair stained with mud and fallen leaf fragments, standing nearly three meters tall.

Its long, tubular snout extended forward, and its huge, curved sharp claws plowed away the shrubs along the path.

Its small eyes were extremely ferocious, firmly locking onto the area where the Mutant Ant had stayed, clearly coming for the other party.

This anteater was ridiculously buff, its body comparable to an elephant's. Beneath its fluffy, heavy long fur, its muscle lines were tense and knotted, obviously not someone to be trifled with.

The system voice rang in Chen Ze's mind.

[System Prompt: D-grade Mutant Anteater detected!]

[Three-dimensional Attributes: Strength 99, Agility 56, Constitution 97.]