Chichi. Stripey, who had eaten its fill, agreed and burped.
Gao Peng glared at the spider.
"Let's have barbecued spider tonight, shall we?"
Da Zi nodded in agreement.
Stripey got up with a start and looked warily at its master as it slowly crept away.
...
"This teenager seems to be really Zen," the TV host said with a laugh. "Not competing, not fighting, just focusing on a relaxed attitude toward life. Such a personality is very much like those of teenagers before the Cataclysm."
"This is just laziness," said Duan Wu, who was not known for mincing his words.
The host almost choked in surprise and forced a smile. If this is how you always talk, we probably won't be seeing you next episode...
...
In front of the television, Uncle Liu was trying to urge Flamy to go outside and exercise. "You're becoming as lazy as a pig. If you keep this up, Little Peng will blame me again for getting his familiars fat."
Flamy rolled its eyes and feigned ignorance.
"Get out and exercise!" Black lines were showing all over Uncle Liu's face. He ordered Softy to chase the fat crane out of the house.
But then an image of Gao Peng popped up on the television screen.
Flamy stopped just as it was about to leave the house. It stared transfixed at its master on the screen, and then, with a long chirp, it flew straight at Gao Peng's image and wrapped its wings around the television.
It stretched out its long beak for a kiss…
Puchi.
Sssss. A surge of electricity shocked Flamy until it went numb. Its body shook for a moment before falling to the ground.
The television set had a huge gaping hole in the screen where it had been pierced by the peck from Flamy's long, sharp beak.
Softy strolled in from the living room and gave the silly, fat crane a despicable look.
Heh, fat crane.
Uncle Liu felt for Flamy. It obviously missed its master, which was why it was displaying such pathetic behavior.
He hoped Little Peng would be back soon.
...
"The outer areas of the forest shouldn't be too dangerous." Gao Peng said, rubbing his empty belly as he spoke. "Let's go in there."
Dayang Mountain Forest had been a national park before the Cataclysm. The vegetation was dense, and the deeper they went, the denser it became. Thick roots, vines, weeds, and grass covered the ground, making the forest almost impenetrable. Unless a person had giant strides, his foot could easily get stuck in the roots and vines.
Initially, Da Zi used its forcipules as giant scissors to cut open a path for itself, but after a while its mouth got too sore to continue forward. It tried to climb over the obstacles, but such a densely covered mountain terrain was just too difficult for Da Zi's short, little legs.
Dumby couldn't stand to see Da Zi trip and fall, so it bent down and picked it up. Da Zi was so happy that it spun around in the air.
Stripey also came forward, looking at Dumby with expectation in its eyes, but Dumby simply walked on ahead with large strides, ignoring it.
Stripey was such a lazy rascal. The terrain didn't pose much of an issue to its long legs, but riding on Dumby looked like fun and it always wanted to try new experiences.
Deeper into the forest, they came to a white stone pillar that was easily twenty-five feet tall.
"So, is this one of those fabled point pillars?" Gao Peng asked, standing next to it.
[Material Name]: White Earth Sandstone
[Material Uses]: Can be used on Earth-type and Sand-type monsters. Can be used in small amounts to improve stomach health.
[Other Uses]: Has the ability to attract monsters.
On the pillar were two large words written in black ink: POINT PILLAR.
But what troubled Gao Peng was that the pillar was covered with vines.
[Monster Name]: Ghost-Wood Vine
[Monster Level]: 22 (Commander tier)
[Monster Grade]: Normal
[Monster Attribute]: Poison/Wood-type
[Monster Weakness]: Fire-type
Just like small snakes, the vines draped down from the trees. They looked pretty much like all the other vines that could be seen around the forest.
Is this fella putting on an act in front of me?
Gao Peng thought it was interesting. This Ghost-Wood Vine hadn't moved an inch since he had approached the pillar. It looked exactly like a normal vine that couldn't move or speak. It would even sway gently along with the wind.
Gao Peng's lips curved into a smile.
You like acting, don't you? I'll give you a chance to earn a Golden Horse Award then!
Gao Peng turned around and gathered a large pile of dried leaves and twigs.
"Da Zi, come here," he said.
Da Zi obediently crawled over. Then, under Gao Peng's instructions, sparks began to run all across Da Zi's body. Although Da Zi could now release electricity, this amount of voltage was still rather insufficient if they wanted to electrocute a monster to death. After all, Da Zi's main attribute was poison; electricity was its secondary attribute. But to light a fire, it was more than sufficient.
Balls of electric sparks crackled and exploded, and, in no time at all, Gao Peng set fire to the dried leaves he had gathered. He added a few twigs and the flames grew larger.
Gao Peng paid close attention to the Ghost-Wood Vine as the fire grew and noticed that a few vines seemed to twitch for a moment and then calm down.
Although he could not hear the voice of the Ghost-Wood Vine, Gao Peng could imagine the Ghost-Wood Vine was saying to itself, "He hasn't noticed me, he hasn't noticed me, he definitely hasn't notice me…"
Like an arsonist, Gao Peng continued to add fuel to the fire.
As the flames grew and licked the surrounding trees, the trees diminished in size. After the Cataclysm, trees seemed to have built up a much greater resistance to normal flames. At the very least, flames of this intensity would not be able to cause a forest fire.
The Ghost-Wood Vine was beginning to notice that something was wrong. Why does the fire keep coming this way?
But it forcefully bottled up its unease in its heart. Based on its many years of hunting experience, there was still hope. It had to remain patient! The Ghost-Wood Vine continued to stay in its place as it watched the flames slowly drift toward it.
This feels… rather hot.
The furthest ends of its vines were already burnt and turning brown.
The Ghost-Wood Vine's tentacles twitched momentarily, and then it forced itself to be still! An elite hunter must remain calm.
The flames grew larger and larger. Under Gao Peng's direction, the flames completely surrounded the Ghost-Wood Vine.
The leaves of the vine were being lifted upward by the hot air rising.
Crack!
The flames licked some of the vine's dried leaves, giving of a crackling sound. Then, just like flaming snakes coming from all directions, flames covered the vines.
The Ghost-Wood Vine could hide no longer. No matter how much it had mutated, it was still a vine creature, and such a burning environment made it extremely uncomfortable. If it continued to stay still, it would be burned alive.
As it frantically tried to escape, a thick root broke out from the earth, taking up a large patch of soil with it.
Without a word, Dumby, who had been waiting quietly on the side, took a great leap. As it descended, it reached out with its right arm, grabbed one of the roots of the Ghost-Wood Vine, and yanked it.
With brute force, it pulled the escaping Ghost-Wood Vine back and followed with a vicious swing overhead!
Crash!!!
Multiple sections of vines crashed to the ground, kicking leaves up into the air.