5: Chapter 5 Little Cutie, Does My Hand Taste Good?
Dong— Dong— Dong—
The heavy sound of war drums echoed through the camp.
The half-meter-thick reinforced steel city gates let out a piercing sound of mechanical friction as they slowly pulled open to both sides.
A cold, mechanical voice came over the hall's broadcast:
"The City Siege Hunt has officially begun."
"Everyone, enter the Buffer Zone."
The real hunt had started.
Zhao Tai, who had lost the shouting match, yelled indignantly,
"What kind of hero only knows how to wag their tongue?"
"If you have the guts, let's see some real action on the field!"
"Right, right! Let's see some real action on the field!"
His group of lackey teammates chimed in together.
Lin Mo was truly speechless.
What a bunch of idiots.
He picked up an iron sword distributed by the camp and chose a direction to walk in alone.
As he walked, he rested the iron sword on his shoulder, constantly pulling it back and forth as if sawing his own neck.
[Blocking Talent EXP +10,000]
[Blocking Talent EXP +10,000]
...
Experience notifications popped up incessantly; Lin Mo was used to it and stopped paying attention.
As for why he was sawing his neck, it was naturally because walking this way was the most comfortable.
It wasn't in the way, and it made farming experience convenient.
At this moment, Qin Lan was riding a gryphon high in the sky, following him from a distance.
After walking for about an hour.
The scenery before Lin Mo's eyes began to change.
The bluestone road beneath his feet disappeared completely, replaced by cracked, blackened scorched earth.
A faint stench of decay permeated the air; the vegetation was withered and yellow, pointing claw-like toward the gloomy sky.
A rusty iron sign stood ahead:
[Unregulated Zone: Activity range for Level 1-5 monsters. Danger level: Low.]
Lin Mo stopped and casually lowered the iron sword he had been sawing against his neck.
He shook his aching arm and glanced at the panel on his retina.
[Block (Level 591): Each time damage is taken, any damage received is reduced by 5,910 points.]
"Phew, the higher the level, the more experience needed. I only farmed nearly 28 levels in an hour; it's time to increase efficiency."
Lin Mo stretched his limbs and swept his gaze toward the undulating barren hills ahead.
Leaving the Buffer Zone meant he could encounter wild monsters at any time.
By killing just one wild monster, his level would immediately skyrocket!
The experience gain multiplier would also rise at an alarming speed!
Meanwhile, high in the sky.
Qin Lan sat on the back of the Shadow Griffin, the gale blowing against her ice-blue mage robes.
She held a high-magnification tactical telescope, the lens clearly reflecting Lin Mo's movements.
"Captain, Su Xiaoli has safely arrived at the Core City's Tianfu Base."
Chen Rui's raspy voice came through the communicator in her ear.
"Good. Tell her I'm personally watching Lin Mo, and everything is fine."
"Captain is truly brilliant! How did you know Su Xiaoli kept asking about Lin Mo?"
Qin Lan replied speechlessly,
"Because I'm not a pig."
"Sorry, it is I who was pig-headed."
"Since leaving the camp, he's been holding that broken iron sword issued by the system and sawing at his own neck the whole way."
Qin Lan couldn't help but complain,
"He's been sawing for an hour. He hasn't even broken the skin."
The other end of the communicator was silent for a full five seconds.
"He... couldn't be farming talent experience, could he?"
Chen Rui's tone was strange.
"What kind of experience can you get doing that?"
Qin Lan lowered the telescope and scoffed,
"Even if he saws for a month, could he even get 1 point of talent experience?"
"Captain, when do you plan to bring him back? That girl isn't easy to appease over here; she must see a living Lin Mo."
"What's the rush?"
Qin Lan looked down at the thin figure below.
"I'll leave him with a bit of psychological trauma; only then will he give up the idea of testing his luck on the edge of life and death in the future."
"What's so bad about being logistics? I want to do it, but they won't even let me."
"Fine, Captain, take it easy. Don't actually let him lose an arm or a leg."
The communication cut off.
Qin Lan raised the telescope again.
In her line of sight, Lin Mo had already crossed that iron sign.
Rustle—
The half-human-high withered grass on the right suddenly shook violently.
Lin Mo stopped abruptly and turned to look.
A low growl came from deep within the grass.
Immediately after, a vicious wolf over one and a half meters long, covered in hard black fur, paced out slowly.
Its eyes glowed with a crimson light, and foul-smelling saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth.
[Demonized Wasteland Wolf]
Level: 3
Strength: 45
Constitution: 20
Agility: 20
Spirit: 5
HP: 200/200
It had locked onto Lin Mo.
In its instinct, this human's power level was lower than its own; although there wasn't much meat, it would do for a couple of bites.
Lin Mo didn't retreat; he didn't even change his sword-holding posture.
"Come."
Lin Mo beckoned the Wasteland Wolf with a finger.
"Awoo!"
The Wasteland Wolf's hind legs suddenly exerted force, its black afterimage trailing a foul wind through the air as its sharp fangs went straight for Lin Mo's throat!
Above, Qin Lan's face darkened on the gryphon's back.
"What is this idiot doing? Why isn't he using his sword to Block? Why isn't he dodging?"
Facing the pounce of a Level 3 demonic creature, a Level 1 Blank Slate Warrior was actually standing there stiffly!
This was suicide!
Qin Lan held an item in her hand, which was paired with the teleportation item she had left on Lin Mo.
As long as she activated the item in her hand, Lin Mo would instantly appear by her side.
Although she wanted Lin Mo to suffer, if something really happened, she wouldn't be able to answer to Su Xiaoli.
Just the instant before she made her move.
Lin Mo directly shoved his hand into the demonic wolf's gaping maw!
"Awoo~"
The demonic wolf let out a pained whimper.
There was no gushing blood, no crisp sound of bone shattering.
Instead, there was an extremely dull "crack" of something breaking!
It was as if it had bitten into a solid steel ingot!
Above Lin Mo's head, a grayish-white number slowly drifted up.
"-0"
[Received 40 points of damage, 5,910 points of damage blocked!]
The Wasteland Wolf painfully released its grip and retreated repeatedly.
A very human-like flash of confusion crossed its eyes; most of its sharp teeth were shattered, as if it had bitten the toe of a high-level boss.
Its attack power was 45 points.
Lin Mo's blocked damage was 5,910 points.
This was like using a piece of tofu to smash a mountain; it was no longer a question of whether the defense was breached.
"I felt absolutely nothing?"
Lin Mo cracked his neck and looked down at the Wasteland Wolf.
"Little cutie, is my hand tasty?"