382: Chapter 409 Did King Kong Cry?

An Ke was genuinely bewildered, not understanding why, after sleeping, his [Natural Affinity] and [Share] functions were nearing an upgrade.

From the moment he obtained his golden finger until now, An Ke's understanding of it was not extensive.

He only knew that its upgrades were related to nature.

For example, back when he was on Blue Star, the upgrade progress bar for [Natural Affinity] did increase.

But it never actually upgraded.

Not long after arriving in the [National Fortune Game], it advanced to level 2.

From this, one could deduce that the more one was immersed in nature, the faster the upgrade speed for [Natural Affinity].

Could it be because he entered the Giant Forest today?

An Ke speculated in his heart.

Among the things he did yesterday, the only one that could possibly accelerate the upgrade speed of [Natural Affinity] was that event.

If that were truly the case, then things would become very interesting.

An Ke's eyes flashed brilliantly.

He had only spent an hour or two inside the Giant Forest yesterday, yet the improvement was unexpectedly fast.

Did this mean that if he went to the Giant Forest again tomorrow, [Natural Affinity] would upgrade?

He must verify this tomorrow!

An Ke licked his lips, feeling excited inside.

If the accelerated upgrade speed was truly related to entering the Giant Forest, then he would recall Three Hairs and personally explore the Giant Forest.

To accelerate the upgrade speed of [Natural Affinity].

An Ke was already eager to verify this, but for now, he would wait until daybreak.

Just as An Ke was thinking about what to do to pass the time, he noticed a bullet comment from the real world.

Sent by Elder Li?

Whether Elder Li personally edited it or not, An Ke wasn't sure, but he was certain it was sent by the Dragon Country High Command.

Counting carefully, the bullet comments had refreshed today.

Did they send me a bullet comment as soon as it refreshed?

Was there something urgent?

Generally, they wouldn't use up this bullet comment for trivial matters.

An Ke stopped overthinking and opened the bullet comment.

The text used in the bullet comment was still very concise, with a hundred-character limit. Elder Li, or rather the Dragon Country High Command, wished a few words could convey the meaning of thousands.

An Ke's expression was originally quite normal, but when he reached the middle part, his eyes involuntarily narrowed.

Was India actually looking for Three Hairs, planning to hunt Three Hairs?

"[Mother Body]..."

An Ke couldn't help but sneer.

Its ability to fuse with any creature except its own kind was indeed powerful.

But no matter how powerful, so what?

Even the offspring it gave birth to fell within the category of living creatures.

In that case, [Natural Affinity] could influence them.

For example, the offspring currently birthed by the Indian player were toads.

An Ke could completely make that Indian Player's offspring serve him, then stage a scene of 'loving father, filial son'.

That would definitely be very interesting.

An Ke placed India on his death blacklist, the second country to enter the 'must-die' blacklist after Japan.

"Cell? Then I'm Gohan..." An Ke amused himself.

However, although An Ke wasn't afraid of Cell, he still planned to recall Three Hairs.

Nip the danger in the bud!

Thinking this, An Ke decisively took out the bamboo plank from his [Portable Space] and wrote a message.

He shared the information about the Indian Player Cell possessing the [Mother Body] ability with Three Hairs.

Simultaneously, he ordered Three Hairs and Oufu to stop exploring and return towards the island...

After writing, An Ke placed the bamboo plank back into his [Portable Space]. After waiting for a while, he didn't feel Three Hairs taking it out.

An Ke figured at this hour, Three Hairs was probably still resting. He decided to leave it for now and continued reading the bullet comment.

Besides the news about India, there was also information about players from other countries.

However, because there was simply too much information, they couldn't inform him of everything, only selecting some of the more important points.

For example: The Sun Never Sets player obtained a [Level 2 Camp core].

The Russian player Pu Yin obtained a [Level 1 Robodog core].

The Diamond Country player obtained a [Barrett core].

The Kimchi Country player obtained a [transcendent gene core · Air Bullet].

...

"There's a [Construction Core]?" An Ke's eyes lit up.

Previously, he was wondering if [cores] could provide facilities useful for building the Camp.

He didn't expect there really was one!

So awesome!

With a bit of luck, he wouldn't need to worry about the Camp's basic infrastructure anymore.

An Ke possessed a lot of top-tier knowledge, but it didn't cover every aspect. There were many things he didn't understand and couldn't create.

Now he didn't need to worry about these problems; he just needed to find [cores].

Coincidentally, he planned to personally enter the Giant Forest. He could take Three Hairs, the walking "Core Detector", to search for [cores].

After reading the bullet comment and making relevant arrangements,

An Ke continued cultivating [Telekinesis], improving his [Mental Strength Proficiency].

As the light of dawn spilled onto the earth, the next day arrived.

Above the Moon, in the Control Room.

Monitor No. 1379, the Chief Steward, and several Nobles had been watching An Ke from last night until now.

But they hadn't discovered any abnormal operations from An Ke. He hadn't even interacted much with Old Crocodile after returning to Camp.

The Old Crocodile Couple usually didn't stay on land at night; they stayed in the water.

"Strange! Could it be that kid plans to just have the crocodile walk straight into the Nightmare Flowers?"

The Noble on the far left, codenamed 'Fude', spoke in a deep voice.

"Impossible. Old Crocodile, without special abilities, stepping into the Nightmare Flowers would mean certain death," the Noble Fama spoke.

He was now somewhat confused by An Ke's actions.

If he planned to have Old Crocodile retrieve the [powered armor core], why not unlock its transcendent gene?

What exactly was An Ke doing?

Could he really be planning to send Old Crocodile to its death?

"No need to be so anxious. It hasn't started yet, has it?" Dainike spoke in a soft, gentle voice.

"Indeed, no need to rush. Perhaps An Ke plans to help it unlock its Gene Lock just as the crocodile is about to enter?"

Tike at the head position was also very calm: "Anyway, as long as he makes any move, it won't escape our eyes."

They had absolute confidence that if An Ke acted, they would inevitably notice.

However, what they didn't know was that Old Crocodile had already obtained transcendent attributes. An Ke didn't need to do anything.

Soon, An Ke's group arrived at the Far East again, entered the Giant Forest, and came to the location of the Nightmare Flowers.

Trump was already waiting here early. Seeing An Ke, he immediately greeted him respectfully.

An Ke's expression shifted slightly. "Trump, aren't you afraid I'll cut you down?"

"I don't have much goodwill towards you or the country behind you."

Trump gave a dry laugh, bowing respectfully. "Mr. An Ke, just pretend I don't exist."

"I absolutely will not disturb you in your work."

The reason Trump came again today was to see how An Ke planned to obtain the [core].

...

One could say the whole world was curious now.

Almost every country had crowded into Dragon Country's live broadcast room.

"Do you think Old Crocodile will turn into Godzilla or not?"

"To be honest, I really hope Old Crocodile turns into a giant beast similar to Godzilla."

"I think it should be unrelated to Godzilla. Remember before, Boss An said to let Old Crocodile practice its eloquence more?"

"Boss An did say something like that, but what does practicing eloquence have to do with combat?"

"Could it be relying on 'Talk no Jutsu' to talk the enemy to death? Hahaha!"

"I think Boss An's intention is to make Old Crocodile a Cultured Crocodile."

"Thinking back to when we first saw Old Crocodile, it was quite scholarly. But after being with Muscle Bro and the others for so long, it's been influenced."

"..."

Although An Ke's earlier abnormal (abnormal) request for Old Crocodile to practice eloquence was strange, most people didn't think the transcendent ability Old Crocodile obtained would be related to eloquence.

It couldn't be like Naruto next door, relying on Talk no Jutsu to convert enemies, right?

That would be so lame.

Inside the live broadcast,

An Ke ignored Trump.

This old man couldn't stir up any waves, and of course, he wouldn't dare.

As for exposing Old Crocodile's transcendent ability?

With the whole world watching the live broadcast anytime, anywhere, why worry about that?

Basically, within the [National Fortune Game], there were no secrets to speak of.

Fortunately, his golden fingers were all "fully automatic," requiring no extra operations, which was why he could keep them hidden.

An Ke raised his eyes to scan the patch of Nightmare Flowers before him.

They were no different from yesterday. Their gorgeous flower buds hung low, as if having bloomed and then fallen into decline.

Withdrawing his gaze, An Ke smiled at Old Crocodile. "Old Crocodile, it's your turn to perform."

"Don't worry, young friend! Leave it to me!" Old Crocodile grinned, stepping forward.

It felt a certain power within itself. Although it didn't understand why it felt this way,

this power that suddenly emerged last night boosted Old Crocodile's confidence immensely.

From behind,

Sister-in-law Crocodile was somewhat worried. "Old Crocodile, if you feel it's not possible, just tell the young friend."

"He definitely won't make things difficult for you."

"Old Crocodile, just go with peace of mind. This Muscle Man will take good care of Sister-in-law," Muscle Bro said, flapping its wings.

It actually really wanted to show off, but An Ke wouldn't allow it.

Saying it would die if it went in.

Old Crocodile glared fiercely at Muscle Bro. What did it mean by 'helping him take care of his wife'?

Those words were truly unpleasant.

Old Crocodile felt like teaching Muscle Bro a lesson. Ever since this guy inexplicably became immensely strong, it hadn't shown Old Crocodile any respect.

Suddenly, Old Crocodile had an epiphany. "You are short and weak!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Muscle Bro, flying in the air, suddenly faltered in its wingbeats.

The next second, Muscle Bro let out a loud cry as if struck by something: "Ah!!"

Around them, the other animals all looked bewildered, not understanding why Muscle Bro suddenly screamed.

And screamed so miserably, as if its wife had been taken by someone.

Under the confused gazes, Muscle Bro seemed to have lost its ability to fly, falling straight to the ground.

Then, as if life had lost all meaning, Muscle Bro cried out with a woeful face:

"Wahhh! This Muscle Man is not short and weak!"

"This Muscle Man is clearly the most sturdy..."

"Old Crocodile, your words are too hurtful. This Muscle Man feels its heart is shattered now. Living has no meaning at all."

"..."

Muscle Bro seemed to have lost all hope in living. It stood up and began repeatedly banging its head against the ground, making loud 'bang bang bang' sounds.

This scene astonished the animals present, as if they had seen a ghost.

"Mu, Muscle Bro?" Flirty Bird was the most astonished. Was this the confident, invincible Parrot it knew?

"Since when did this bird become so fragile?" Leopard Mom was bewildered.

It had spent a long time with Muscle Bro and knew its personality all too well.

Today, Leopard Mom, Tiger Mom, Erha, and other animals had come along.

Firstly, to see what the Giant Forest was like, and secondly, to see the task An Ke had assigned to Old Crocodile.

"Such a flirty, promiscuous, and shameless bird actually cried?" Tiger Mom was also very surprised.

"The sun didn't rise from the west today either," Huahua said, taking a bite of bamboo.

Meanwhile, in the outside world's live broadcast room,

"Huh? What's going on? What happened to Muscle Bro?"

Having watched for so long, the audience understood Muscle Bro's personality very well.

Flirty, promiscuous, shameless—it was simply impossible for it to act all weepy like this.

"Could it be doing some abstract performance art?"

"Impossible. With Muscle Bro's personality, even if it were doing abstract art, it wouldn't cry and whimper."

"Then what's this about?"

"Who knows!"

"..."

The audience was noncommittal, somewhat unable to figure out what was happening.

Muscle Bro was acting so abnormal (abnormal)?

No! To be precise, it became abnormal (abnormal) in an instant.

When it first told Old Crocodile it would help take care of Sister-in-law Crocodile, it was completely normal, just its usual flirty, shameless self.

But after being scolded by Old Crocodile, it started crying.

It was just absurd...

Meanwhile, Above the Moon, in the Control Room.

The Noble Fude on the far left frowned. "Hey! Something feels off!"

"I feel it too," the Noble Qieno on the far right nodded.

"Could this be Old Crocodile's transcendent ability?"

"Impossible!" Fama suddenly spoke loudly.

"Until now, that An Ke hasn't performed any gene-unlocking operation on the crocodile.

How could the crocodile have a superpower?"

"We've been watching the whole time."

The other Nobles remained silent because what Fama said was correct.

They had been watching every moment from last night until now. An Ke hadn't performed any special operations on Old Crocodile.

Logically speaking, the crocodile shouldn't have any superpower yet.

"This bird was already abstract. Now it's probably just doing another form of abstract performance."

Fama stated with conviction.

In front of the central console, Monitor No. 1379's screen showed a "subtle" expression.

It had monitored An Ke the longest and had some understanding of him.

It always felt that An Ke had already helped Old Crocodile obtain a transcendent ability.

Muscle Bro's abnormality was due to Old Crocodile's transcendent ability.

But how was that possible?

The Noble Lords had been watching all along. If An Ke truly bestowed a transcendent ability upon Old Crocodile,

it couldn't have escaped their notice.

Surely An Ke's peculiarity couldn't be something even a God-level Civilization existence couldn't detect, right?

That would be too absurd...

Inside the live broadcast,

"Brother, should we stop this Flirty Bird? Don't let it damage its head."

Golden Snub-nosed Monkey watched Muscle Bro banging its head with loud 'bang bang' sounds, feeling it was a bit alarming.

An Ke simply waved his hand. "No need to pay attention. This level of impact won't kill this bird."

Muscle Bro seemingly only gained 200 points in strength attribute, not attributes related to physical toughness.

In reality, its physical constitution had improved.

Otherwise, with Muscle Bro's normally fragile body, it couldn't withstand 200 points of strength.

So this level of impact was nothing.

An Ke ignored Muscle Bro and turned to look at Old Crocodile. He seemed to understand what [Linguistic Attack] meant now.

...

...