17: Chapter 17 Don't get in my way of making money

After walking for half an hour, a rustling sound came from near his feet.

Wang Lin looked down.

It was a spider.

Its body was a size larger than an ordinary spider, and it had strange markings on its back that looked a bit like a human face.

Wang Lin's eyes lit up, and he raised his foot and stomped down.

"Splat."

The spider was crushed into a puddle of mush, and green liquid seeped out from under his shoe.

He then glanced at his wristband.

[0]

The number didn't move; it hadn't increased.

As expected, not every creature is called a Mist Beast.

Wang Lin continued walking forward.

After walking for about ten minutes, he stopped.

Something was hanging from the trees ahead.

White, oval-shaped things, like huge silkworm cocoons.

They were suspended from the branches by sticky silk threads, swaying slightly in the mist.

At first, Wang Lin didn't pay much attention.

There are all sorts of strange things in the forest; what's a few insect cocoons?

But after walking a few dozen meters, he realized something was wrong.

The number of those white cocoons was increasing.

Some trees had three or four hanging from them, while others had over a dozen.

The large ones were as tall as a person, and the small ones were the size of a watermelon.

They hung densely from the branches like some kind of eerie fruit.

Even more eerily, some of the cocoons were moving—something was wriggling inside.

Wang Lin stopped and stared at the nearest cocoon.

It was about the height of a person, hanging from a branch three meters off the ground.

Suddenly, a bulge appeared on the cocoon.

It looked like something was pushing out from the inside.

Once.

Twice.

On the third time, the silk threads were pushed open, creating a small hole.

A finger reached out from the hole.

A human finger.

Wang Lin's pupils constricted.

The finger twitched, then retracted.

Immediately after, the cocoon tore open from the inside, and a face was revealed.

It was a woman's face.

Her complexion was deathly pale, her eyes half-open, and her gaze unfocused.

Seeing Wang Lin, her lips moved:

"Save… me…"

Wang Lin stood where he was, looking at that face.

It was a living person.

Trapped by spider silk and hung in the tree, waiting to be eaten like emergency rations.

He glanced around at those densely packed cocoons, and cold sweat broke out on his back!

The spider silk was much tougher than he had imagined; it felt strangely elastic in his hand.

He tugged at it hard twice, but it didn't budge.

"Damn it, it looks like I need to buy a knife first."

Five minutes later, he finally tore through all the spider silk trapping the woman.

The woman rolled out of the split cocoon and lay on the ground, gasping for air.

Her exposed skin was covered in welts, some of which had already turned purple and black.

This woman has a nice figure—that was Wang Lin's first reaction.

Then, his gaze landed on the woman's wristband, and he saw her subconsciously hide her wrist behind her back.

Seeing the woman's guarded expression, Wang Lin said nothing.

The woman pushed herself up from the ground, stumbled back two steps to put some distance between them, and said:

"Th… thank you…"

"My name is Su Xiaoxiao, I'm a member of the Wildfire Mercenary Group. Thank you for saving me."

"I still need to find my teammates, so… I'll be going now…"

After saying this, she faced Wang Lin and backed away step by step.

Only after putting a certain distance between herself and Wang Lin did she turn and disappear into the forest.

Wildfire Mercenary Group?

Never heard of it.

But he had discovered a way to make money.

If there are people inside each of the cocoons, doesn't that mean everyone has a wristband?

And the points in those wristbands…

Wang Lin's eyes lit up.

He looked up at the densely packed white cocoons hanging on the trees; they looked like bunches of ripe fruit.

This time, I'm going to strike it rich!

Wang Lin didn't hesitate any longer; he raised his hand toward the nearest cocoon, and blue flames surged from his palm.

The moment the flames touched the spider silk, it melted rapidly.

The cocoon fell from the tree, hit the ground hard, and cracked open.

Wang Lin stepped forward and kicked aside the melted threads, revealing the person inside.

It was a man in his thirties, his eyes tightly shut; it was unclear if he was dead or alive.

Wang Lin didn't care; he grabbed his wrist directly.

The wristband was still there, the screen glowing faintly.

[57]

57 points.

Every little bit counts.

Wang Lin brought his own wristband close, and after two seconds of contact, those 57 points were transferred into his account.

[0] became [57].

Wang Lin grinned.

He looked up at those densely packed cocoons on the trees, the light in his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Assuming one is 57, two is 114, three is 171…

If I open them all, how much would that be?

He didn't delay any longer, aimed at the next cocoon, and flames surged out again.

The second cocoon fell; inside was a young woman. She was still breathing, her eyes half-open.

When she saw Wang Lin, her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something.

Wang Lin ignored her and grabbed her wrist directly.

[132] points.

Transfer.

The third cocoon.

[28]

The fourth.

[0] — "Damn it, a pauper. What a waste of my energy."

The fifth.

[215] — "Turns out to be a boss. Too bad about dying."

The sixth.

[89]

The seventh.

[346] — "Wow, this one is even richer. Don't worry, brother, I'll help you spend your inheritance."

...

Like a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar, Wang Lin opened the cocoons one after another, transferring points one after another.

The numbers on the wristband jumped wildly:

[57] → [189] → [217] → [432] → [521] → [867] → [1213]…

In less than half an hour, he had already opened more than twenty cocoons.

The points on his wristband had risen from 0 to [3740].

3,740 points.

Wang Lin looked at the number, unable to suppress the grin on his face.

This isn't saving people; this is picking up money!

He looked up at the trees; there were at least a hundred more cocoons hanging there, swaying slightly in the mist as if beckoning to him.

At this moment, a voice came from behind: "Stop."

Wang Lin paused and turned his head toward the direction the voice came from.

A person walked out of the mist.

It was a middle-aged man wearing a ragged combat uniform with a hideous scar on his face.

Two people followed behind him, a man and a woman, both very young, looking to be in their early twenties.

The man was thin and tall with a sinister gaze;

The woman had a round face, a ponytail, and was holding a short knife.

The scarred man looked at Wang Lin, swept his gaze over the people scattered on the ground, and finally landed on Wang Lin's face.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Wang Lin didn't answer.

He didn't even raise his head, just continued squatting on the ground, flipping over the person he had just pulled out, finding the wrist, and glancing at the wristband.

[127]

Transfer.

The young woman behind the scarred man couldn't help it and stepped forward: "Hey, our boss is asking you a question!"

Only then did Wang Lin raise his eyelids and glance at her.

Then he retracted his gaze and continued to reach for the next one.

The woman's face turned red with anger, the veins on her hand gripping the knife bulged, and she was just about to attack, but the scarred man reached out to stop her.

He looked at Wang Lin and asked: "Did you do this to these cocoons?"

Wang Lin finished transferring the points, then stood up and brushed the dust off his hands.

"Get lost. Don't get in the way of my fortune."