23: Chapter 23 Night Raid by Lizard Hounds

"It seems that the Parasitic Fungus Vine is in the same tier as the Scarecrow when it comes to collection criteria."

Wang Ting merely glanced at the monster points required for each exchangeable item and compared them to the Scarecrow. He quickly made a judgment, feeling secretly delighted.

The more monster points an exchangeable item required, the stronger its potential abilities likely were. Similarly, this monster would also grant him more monster points during the daily settlement.

"Collecting the Parasitic Fungus Vine gave 100 monster points, and with the 56 points accumulated over the past few days, I have a total of 156 monster points. The sand scorpion armor is enough, but if I want to explore the Infinite Building, this creation might not be very suitable. Instead, the ability of Vibration Perception might be more appropriate."

At this moment, Wang Ting had already carefully reviewed the abilities of the exchangeable items from the Parasitic Fungus Vine. The more he looked, the more his heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat, itching to exchange all of them out.

"They are all good things, but my monster points are not enough..."

Parasitic Seed (Trait): Can continuously extract vitality from the parasitized target.

Vine Muscle (Trait): Enhances muscle strength, possessing muscles as robust and tough as a vine monster.

Toxic Vines (Skill): Summons two toxin-infused vines to strike and bind the target.

Vine Capture Gun (Creation): A supernatural weapon that automatically replenishes a vine capture net daily; the strength of the net's vines is comparable to the tentacles of the Parasitic Fungus Vine.

The Parasitic Fungus Vine had two traits, one skill, one creation, as well as the mandatory option of "Servant Beast".

Compared to the exchangeable items of the Rot Soil Hound and zombies, which included some obviously useless ones, every single one of its exchangeable items had a useful function.

"I wonder if vitality absorption enhances recovery or strengthens the body. I already have the trait of Photosynthetic Straw, so my recovery ability has naturally improved to a certain extent. If I add this trait, my recovery might be further enhanced."

Wang Ting silently put the Parasitic Seed into his 'shopping cart'; this thing was also a must-exchange.

Aside from that, whether it was the Vine Muscle that enhanced muscle strength, or the Toxic Vines and Vine Capture Gun which possessed control and attack capabilities, their functions were all extremely powerful.

Yet he still suppressed his impulse, cast his focus onto the Sand Scorpion, and opened its exchange panel.

"Exchange for Vibration Perception."

Along with the exchange for Vibration Perception, the power of the trait merged into Wang Ting's body.

At this moment, all the sensory cells in his body seemed to be awakening. From his facial features to every inch of his skin, it was as if his entire person had merged with the environment, using his own body as a radar to probe everything around him with himself at the center. He could clearly sense all vibrations coming from the surrounding environment.

The night wind blew across the earth, carrying slight vibrations; the subtle sounds of sand and pebbles rolling, and the faint vibrations of Xiang Nan's footsteps brushing against the ground were all clearly perceived by Wang Ting at this moment.

The source of the vibrations, the size of the objects producing them, the intensity of their movements... A special sensation welled up spontaneously. It was as if, apart from hearing and vision, he had magically gained an extra sense, allowing him to instinctively perceive vibrations just like hearing or seeing them.

Wang Ting found it difficult to describe this feeling. Under the Vibration Perception trait, every inch of his skin and every organ had now formed a special vibration receiver.

He was like someone standing right in the middle of a spiderweb, able to clearly perceive any slight disturbance from all directions.

"Such strong Vibration Perception! If it were during the day, I'm afraid those Parasitic Fungus Vines wouldn't have even launched their attacks before I clearly captured their positions."

[Successfully survived for a day, starting today's monster points settlement.]

...

[Low-level anomaly Parasitic Fungus Vine + 3 monster points]

[Total settled monster points: 10 points]

After Xiang Nan and the others finished their first shift of sentry duty, it was already midnight, and today's monster points settlement appeared before Wang Ting's eyes.

"As expected, a Parasitic Fungus Vine's monster points are similar to the Scarecrow's. Calculated this way, I can now obtain 10 monster points every day."

10 monster points a day meant that Wang Ting's progress in collecting monster points would be greatly enhanced. If he wanted to exchange for traits or items, it would take no more than half a month at most.

"This is a good thing," Wang Ting thought silently to himself.

Along with the accumulation of his monster points, the traits, skills, and items he could exchange for would also become more and more numerous. As long as he consolidated his strength for a period of time, he could continuously grow stronger. By then, he would naturally be able to encounter more monsters and collect all of them.

'If I am strong enough, I might just be able to build a Shelter myself.'

The cool night wind blew onto Wang Ting, yet it failed to make him calmer; instead, a fire ignited in his heart, and his ambition quietly underwent changes as his strength increased.

In the apocalypse, strength was everything.

And he possessed the capital to grow stronger, possessing the qualification to acquire more resources.

The night grew deeper. On the wilderness draped like a black curtain, the daytime heat quickly dissipated, replaced by the endless chill of the night.

Wang Ting and Feng Bo were on the second sentry shift.

At this time, they had taken over the duty tasks of Xiang Nan and the other two, getting up and sitting next to the bonfire.

Keeping watch at night was an extremely energy-consuming matter, requiring constant attention to any slight disturbances around.

Neither Wang Ting nor Feng Bo spoke, only watching the bonfire crackle and occasionally closing their eyes slightly to conserve their energy as much as possible.

Although the spot they chose was not at the location of the Infinite Building, it happened to be right near the return route. If there was a monster riot or people from other factions came over, they could react very quickly.

The night grew deeper, and the cold night wind whipped the bonfire into a chaotic dance.

After about half an hour, Wang Ting, whose eyes had been slightly closed, twitched his ears slightly, and his expression immediately turned vigilant.

Within his perception, roughly three hundred meters to the east, several faint vibration sounds kept coming over, as if something was slowly approaching their temporary camp.

Wang Ting opened his eyes, and Feng Bo noticed his movement: "What's wrong?"

"Old Feng, bring that crossbow to me."

"Something's up?" Feng Bo's expression changed slightly as he tightened his grip on the rifle in his hand.

Wang Ting nodded, and Feng Bo immediately stood up, preparing to wake everyone up. However, before he could speak, his shoulder was pressed down by Wang Ting.

"I'll handle it."

"Wang Ting!" Feng Bo's expression instantly turned solemn. "I know you're skilled, but out here in pitch darkness, in case you're ambushed by monsters..."

Wang Ting shook his head, took the hand crossbow from beside Feng Bo, and said: "The commotion isn't big, and the number of monsters is small. I can handle it."

He wasn't being arrogant; rather, under Vibration Perception, the monsters in the dark clearly appeared within his sensory perspective. Their size, quantity, and movements could all be clearly perceived.

The powerful sense of smell brought by the Corrupted Olfaction trait also caught a familiar scent at this moment—it was a Lizard Hound.

After speaking, Wang Ting carried the hand crossbow and darted quickly toward the east. His pace was powerful and steady, and the night seemed to blend together with his receding figure.

Holding a torch in one hand and a short crossbow in the other, he walked about 100 meters to the east. The dim candlelight illuminated the surrounding four to five meters of darkness.

Watching the night shroud Wang Ting's figure, Feng Bo looked worriedly in the direction he left. He immediately grabbed his rifle, woke up the sleeping Dong Hu, and then quickened his pace to follow.

By this time, Wang Ting had walked about 200 meters, and the monsters were already very close to his position.

In this dark night, the torchlight looked like a target, appearing so glaring that the monsters quickly locked onto his position and surrounded him tightly.

Low roars surrounded Wang Ting. Under the illumination of the torch's light, the figures of the Lizard Hounds were faintly visible.

Their bodies were slender, resembling Shaanxi hounds, with sharp snouts, slender waists, and long claws. Their entire bodies were covered in a layer of fine, lizard-like scales, and their tails were slender, resembling rattlesnakes by seven parts, moving like arms when they swayed.

A solitary Wang Ting was the ultimate prey in this dark night.

Sounds of craving for prey issued from the throats of the Lizard Hound pack, and they immediately bared their sharp, bloody maws, charging straight toward Wang Ting.

Without panicking, Wang Ting raised his hand crossbow and aimed at the Lizard Hounds charging from the darkness.

The Lizard Hounds charged rapidly, their claws landing on the sandy ground to produce bursts of vibration sounds; every action was completely within Wang Ting's perception.

When the Lizard Hounds rushed close to him, they were like prey rushing into a spiderweb.

Every approach they made, every landing of their paws, was like target points radiating signals on a radar, completely falling within Wang Ting's perception range.

50 meters, 30 meters, 20 meters—in the dark night, a crossbow bolt pierced through the night curtain, and with a soft thud, it instantly penetrated the body of a Lizard Hound.

[Lizard Hound collection progress 100%]

After one Lizard Hound was shot and killed, the remaining two were not scared off by their companion's death; instead, it provoked their hunting ferocity, and they charged straight at Wang Ting for the kill.

They were already not far from Wang Ting to begin with, and under the cover of the night, they rushed right in front of Wang Ting in the blink of an eye.

Before he even had time to load the second crossbow bolt, they had already opened their bloody maws to bite over, their grim, sharp teeth stained with mucus.

Yet despite such a ferocious attack, everything was under Wang Ting's perception.

His perception power at this moment far exceeded that of an ordinary person. Not only their body shapes and positions, but even the air vibrations caused by the monsters' charges could now be clearly felt by him.

"This feeling is as if the monsters have slowed down."

A thought rose in Wang Ting's mind, and the machete at his waist had already been drawn by him.

He stepped to the left, dodging the pounce of the Lizard Hound on the right, and then raised his hand high with the machete, chopping down toward the left like a guillotine. The leading Lizard Hound didn't even have time to launch an attack before Wang Ting sliced it in half with a single blade stroke, its body severed into two sections falling to the ground.

Having solved one Lizard Hound, Wang Ting swiftly turned around.

The other Lizard Hound that missed its pounce had just landed on the ground. As it turned its head to initiate a second round of attacks, Wang Ting rushed ahead of it to its front and directly slashed down at that slender canine head. This blade strike was stunning and fierce, directly slicing off its head.

In just a few breaths, all three Lizard Hounds were slaughtered by Wang Ting.

Feng Bo, who was not far away, had just arrived. Seeing the scene before him, he could finally only slowly lower the rifle in his hand.

Under the illumination of the torchlight, the astonishment on Feng Bo's face lingered for a long time, and only after a while did he low-key mutter a sentence: "What a monster."