8: Chapter 8 That was the first time!

[Target "Survive for one hour" completed, calculating rewards...]

[Congratulations Host, you have obtained: Universal Barrier-Free Communication (Introductory)]

Before he knew it, an hour had passed.

"Barrier-Free Communication... Does this allow me to communicate with other intelligent life forms?"

"It counts as practical, at least."

Lin Wan immediately manifested it.

His mind instantly felt a sense of clarity, as if he had gained some profound and mysterious insight.

It was quite marvelous. Did "barrier-free" mean he could also communicate with non-living things?

Thus, Lin Wan began to test it. He crouched down, patted a small stone on the ground, and said, "Amaterasu!"

Stone: "?"

"Looks like it doesn't work on non-living things. That's no good!"

"Could it be because it's just the introductory level? Whatever... I can't be bothered!"

"I'll find a little monster to test it out!"

He glanced at the targets he had set.

[Permanent Target: Encounter a Chaotic Beast within one kilometer to the north (Difficulty: Unknown)]

[Permanent Target: Encounter a Chaotic Beast within one kilometer to the south (Difficulty: One Star)]

[...]

Lin Wan had set permanent tasks for the four cardinal directions, and even for specific clock positions.

Now that the south, as well as the six and seven o'clock directions showed difficulty levels, he ran toward the south without stopping.

He didn't intend to manifest a Ferrari; after all, on this uneven terrain, a Ferrari wouldn't be faster than his own pace, and with Stamina Potions on hand, he didn't fear exhaustion.

In less than a minute, he had reached his destination.

Lin Wan finally saw a type of Chaotic Beast other than the Iron-Armored Rhino.

Before him, dozens of beastly figures were engaged in battle. On one side were the Iron-Armored Rhinos he was familiar with, and on the other...

[Chaotic Beast: Desolate Lion]

[Combat Power: 7]

[Assessment: Unranked. A minor leader commanding over a dozen Desolate Lions. Its father is the king of the Desolate Lions in this area. It has frequently engaged in illicit affairs with its father's concubines, and today it was its turn to patrol.]

[Introduction: A pack-dwelling Chaotic Beast. Extremely fast, highly aggressive, and skilled at coordinated hunting. One of the natural predators of the Iron-Armored Rhino, they enjoy eating their brains.]

Lin Wan crouched behind a bush, his eyes gleaming slightly.

More than twenty Desolate Lions, each a size larger than the Iron-Armored Rhinos, were besieging over a dozen Iron-Armored Rhinos with extremely tacit cooperation.

The Desolate Lions were the size of full-grown bulls, their bodies covered in short, dense brown manes. Their limbs were long and powerful, and their sharp claws glinted coldly under the purple moonlight.

Their attack method was extremely efficient: three Desolate Lions would feign a frontal assault to distract the Iron-Armored Rhino herd, while others would ambush from the flanks and rear, specifically targeting the Iron-Armored Rhinos' weakly defended bellies and hind legs.

The highest combat power in the Iron-Armored Rhino herd was only 6; while they were quite tanky, their weaknesses were also obvious.

An Iron-Armored Rhino had its hind leg bitten off, collapsed with a scream, and was immediately pounced upon by two Desolate Lions, whose sharp teeth pierced its neck, causing blood to spurt out.

A strong scent of blood wafted over.

Lin Wan felt he couldn't wait any longer; he had to break up the fight.

These were all naked target rewards!

He loosened his wrists and strode toward the battlefield.

He didn't hide his footsteps, even intentionally stepping on and breaking a few dry branches.

Crack—!

The crisp snapping sound was exceptionally piercing in the empty wilderness.

The fighting Desolate Lions and Iron-Armored Rhinos simultaneously stopped and turned their heads in unison to look at this sudden uninvited guest.

Lin Wan recognized it; that Desolate Lion leader that had been having illicit affairs with its father's concubines actually opened its bloody maw and let out a threatening low growl at him.

Lin Wan was stunned for a moment.

He understood it—was it calling him a two-legged beast?

How great, Universal Barrier-Free Communication (Introductory) actually had an effect!

The Desolate Lion growled at him a few more times.

Alright, he had praised it too soon.

This time, Lin Wan didn't quite understand, but he felt it must be a swear word.

He would just assume it was swearing. Lin Wan was furious, "Baka Yarou!!"

"Bang—!"

One punch. Just one punch.

Lin Wan slammed his fist directly into the head of the nearest Iron-Armored Rhino. The Iron-Armored Rhino was stunned, as if it had hit an invisible wall.

Immediately after... "Puff—!"

The Iron-Armored Rhino's entire head, along with the front half of its body, exploded under this punch.

Iron-Armored Rhino herd: "??"

They were all very confused.

Hey buddy, we weren't the ones growling, why are you hitting us! Hit the Desolate Lions!!

Lin Wan ignored the Iron-Armored Rhinos' gazes, because he had just conveniently checked the information of the leader within the Iron-Armored Rhino herd.

He happened to get some news from it; the first monster he encountered, that young Iron-Armored Rhino, had been driven out by this minor leader.

Even the young Iron-Armored Rhino's parents had been indirectly killed because it had attracted Desolate Lions due to its playfulness.

Lin Wan decided to avenge his first pot of gold.

Not for anything else, just because... that young Iron-Armored Rhino was his first time!!

He only sought clarity of mind.

He shook the blood off his hands and continued walking forward.

The Desolate Lion pack was the first to react.

The Desolate Lion leader let out a sharp roar, the signal to retreat.

But it was already too late.

Lin Wan's figure vanished from where he stood.

"Bang—!" Another punch.

The second Iron-Armored Rhino turned into a mist of blood.

"Bang—!" The first Desolate Lion was blasted apart.

Just like that, punch after punch, he spared neither the Iron-Armored Rhinos nor the Desolate Lions.

"Bang—Bang—Bang—!" Pure strength, pure brute force!

Every punch landed precisely on the target.

Within a mere ten seconds, eight Iron-Armored Rhinos were blasted to death by Lin Wan.

The remaining Iron-Armored Rhinos finally broke down; they no longer attempted to attack, but fled in all directions.

But Lin Wan did not give them a chance to escape.

His speed was much faster than the Iron-Armored Rhinos, and his movement on the battlefield was like a phantom.

"Bang—Bang—Bang—Bang—Bang—!" An incessant sound of bombardment.

Every time a punch landed, a mist of blood would explode.

[Killed Chaotic Beast · Iron-Armored Rhino, obtained Decoding Points × 1] * 15

The Iron-Armored Rhino herd, completely wiped out.

Over a dozen Iron-Armored Rhinos, none survived.

The Desolate Lion pack couldn't escape either.

The Desolate Lions were faster than the Iron-Armored Rhinos, but Lin Wan was even faster.

He set his sights on that Desolate Lion leader.

"Roar—!"

The Desolate Lion leader realized it couldn't escape, so it instead unleashed its ferocity, turning around to pounce on Lin Wan.

Its pounce was very skillful, attempting to bypass Lin Wan's front and attack his flank.

But Lin Wan chose to ignore it; he didn't even look, slamming his right fist into the empty air to his side.

"Bang—!"

This punch landed perfectly on the head of the Desolate Lion leader after it changed direction.

"Puff—!"

The Desolate Lion leader's head exploded like a watermelon, splashing blood and brains all over Lin Wan.

The subsequent battle was also one-sided; in just a few dozen seconds, over twenty Desolate Lions were all blasted apart.

[Killed Chaotic Beast · Desolate Lion, obtained Decoding Points × 1] * 23

Soon, waves of Target Settlement notification sounds arrived, forming a long sequence on his talent bar.

Lin Wan couldn't be bothered to look at the notifications above and scrolled directly to the bottom to see the rewards.

[Congratulations Host, you have obtained: Boxing Technique Mastery * 1, Primary Mental Enhancement Potion * 1, Desert Eagle * 1, Combat Mastery * 1, taie sword * 1...]