Li Cunxu said to the Mech Hunter, "The house is coated with lightning protection paint, so it's uninhabitable for humans. Why don't you come home with me?"
The Mech Hunter removed its hood, revealing its mechanical head. "Ranch Master, I'm a mechanical pet. Harmful gases don't affect me. Let the Home Guard Dog accompany you back. It can protect your safety."
Suddenly, Li Cunxu remembered the mysterious figure lurking in the shadows and felt less inclined to return home.
"Forget it, I won't go back. I'll stay here."
Li Cunxu rode his bicycle home to fetch a tent and some daily necessities, bringing them back to the ranch.
The tent was both new and old—new because it had never been used, and old because it had been purchased long ago.
The original owner of this body had been terrified that the Alliance would discover his sister Li Anle's secret and arrest her. With the tent, he could take his sister and flee, wandering the world.
Back then, the original owner was still young and naive, unaware of the true, terrifying power of the Alliance. If they were discovered, there would be no chance to use the tent.
Setting up the tent was a struggle. After half a day of effort, it still wasn't erected. The Mech Hunter couldn't stand watching any longer and stepped in to help. In just two minutes, two tents were set up.
As a professional hunter, the Mech Hunter was an expert at pitching tents.
One tent was for Li Cunxu, and the other was for the Home Guard Dog.
By the time the tents were set up, it was already dusk.
The evening scenery on the grassland was exceptionally beautiful.
As for the dark clouds? The weather on the Pastoral Plains was unpredictable, and the clouds had already dispersed.
Li Cunxu gazed in the direction where the sun was setting. Coincidentally, it was the same direction where his sister had been buried.
"Mech Hunter, I forgot to ask you something—what's your name? I'm really sorry; there's been so much going on lately, and my mind's a bit muddled."
The Mech Hunter replied with self-reproach, "I, who failed to protect my master, do not deserve a name. Just call me Mech Hunter."
The master the Mech Hunter referred to was clearly not Li Cunxu but its Beast Tamer.
Li Cunxu didn't know the details and wasn't sure how to comfort it, so he changed the subject.
"How strong are you?"
The Mech Hunter used its cold mechanical hand to pet the Home Guard Dog, which was licking it in comfort. "I was once at the peak of Silver rank, but now I've fallen to the early Silver stage. Ah Huang was once at the mid-Silver rank but has now dropped to high Bronze."
Their rank drops were clearly the backlash from the death of their Beast Tamer.
A Beast Tamer and their Pet Beasts are one—they rise and fall together.
The Mech Hunter added, "Ranch Master, don't worry. Although Ah Huang and I have dropped in rank, our strength remains at our original level."
Li Cunxu wasn't too concerned about their rank drop. Having someone to protect him was already a blessing. Why ask for more?
Gurgle, gurgle~
The water in the iron pot boiled. Li Cunxu added instant noodles to the pot, tore open two sausages, tossed one into the pot, and threw the other to the Home Guard Dog.
Li Cunxu asked the Mech Hunter, "Mech, what do you eat?"
In the game, Li Cunxu had never played with a mechanical pet and only had a vague understanding of them. Mechanical pets were powerful and incredibly cool, especially when piloting a Gundam—they were downright awesome.
So why didn't Li Cunxu play with them?
Mechanical pets were too expensive. In the later stages, even the cost of repairing a single screw or gear could be astronomical.
Only wealthy players could afford mechanical pets.
"Do you consume oil, metal ore, or something else?"
Li Cunxu vaguely remembered that mechanical pets had quite a varied diet—some ate wind, some ate water, some ate soil...
The Mech Hunter said, "We consume fuel. Ranch Master, you don't need to worry about our meals. Miss Chen Xi said she'll take care of it."
What could Li Cunxu say? He could only remark that the meal was too soft.
After finishing his instant noodles, Li Cunxu strolled into the ranch's grassland, letting Xiao Ruan (Little Soft) subdue the Grass Slimes.
He had noticed the Grass Slimes in the grassland for a while now.
"Come out, Xiao Ruan!"
Li Cunxu pointed at a lone Grass Slime sleeping in the grass and said, "Go and subdue your subjects!"
Xiao Ruan hopped over cheerfully.
However, the imagined scene of the Grass Slime bowing down to Xiao Ruan's domineering aura did not happen. Not only did Xiao Ruan fail to subdue the Grass Slime, but it was also knocked over by the slime, which was clearly in a bad mood after being woken up.
Seeing this, Li Cunxu sighed helplessly. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and kicked the Grass Slime, sending it flying over ten meters away. It tumbled several times before finally coming to a stop.
The Grass Slime's eyes spun like mosquito coils—it was completely dazed.
Xiao Ruan hopped over and branded the Grass Slime with the Subject Mark.
The conditions for branding the Subject Mark were either genuine submission to Xiao Ruan or outright defeat, rendering the target unable to resist the mark.
A group of Grass Slimes gathered together, snoring loudly.
Slimes were semi-elemental creatures and didn't actually need to sleep. If they were sleeping, it was mostly out of boredom, exhaustion from playing, or simply mimicking their companions.
This time, Li Cunxu didn't send Xiao Ruan alone to subdue them. Xiao Ruan was too weak, so he decided to step in and handle it himself.
Li Cunxu kicked another Grass Slime, sending it flying. The surrounding slimes were startled and launched an attack on Li Cunxu.
The Grass Slimes collectively charged at him, but Li Cunxu completely ignored their efforts.
Their strength was so weak that even if they were giving him a back massage, he'd find it too light.
Suddenly, a Grass Slime from behind shot out a blade of grass, which flew toward Li Cunxu's head.
The result? It didn't even cut a single strand of his hair.
Li Cunxu grabbed one of the charging Grass Slimes, turned around, and hurled it like a bowling ball, knocking down the slime that had shot the grass blade.
After some effort, and just before the sun completely set, he managed to subdue the group of Grass Slimes, which numbered in the dozens.
Li Cunxu was a bit tired. Fighting Slimes wasn't difficult, but controlling his strength was. If he didn't manage his strength properly, the Slimes would die.
"Sigh, Slimes are too fragile. It's not satisfying to fight them."
Li Cunxu addressed the Grass Slimes branded with the Subject Mark, "Come on, follow me back."
The Grass Slimes looked at each other but didn't move.
"As the Beast Tamer of your king, I can't even command you? Unbelievable."
Li Cunxu turned to Xiao Ruan helplessly and said, "Tell them to follow me back."
Xiao Ruan chirped at the Grass Slimes, "Puji~ Puji~"
The Grass Slimes obediently followed behind Li Cunxu.
The Slimes branded with the Subject Mark seemed to sense Xiao Ruan's domineering aura and followed its commands without question.
The Mech Hunter patrolled the ranch and returned to the wooden cabin, only to find many Grass Slimes gathered around Li Cunxu. Li Cunxu was standing in front of a large pot, seemingly brewing something.
The Mech Hunter looked at the green goo in the pot and asked curiously, "What is this?"
"Slime Nutrient Solution."
Li Cunxu stirred the green paste with a wooden stick, casually grabbing a handful of soil and sprinkling it into the pot.
"Simply put, it's a mixture of grass, soil, and water."
The diet of most Slimes is quite simple; drinking some water and eating grass and soil can fulfill
their daily needs.
Li Cunxu distributed the prepared Slime Nutrient Solution to the Grass Slime he had just tamed. After consuming the solution, the Grass Slime's spirits improved significantly.
(End of Chapter)