"Xiao Ruan, after they finish eating, have them go and subdue the other Slimes."
The Grass Slime, marked with the Subject Mark, could imprint the same mark on other Slimes.
In the early hours of the morning, a fierce wind howled, causing the tent to flap noisily.
Li Cunxu was awakened by the commotion. After a while, a torrential downpour began.
The sound of the rain was soothing, but Li Cunxu had no intention of going back to sleep.
Tonight's rain would cause a large number of Slimes to spawn on the Pastoral Plains, presenting a perfect opportunity for taming.
The more Slimes Xiao Ruan subdued, the more Attribute Tax they could collect by the end of the month. This tax could directly enhance Xiao Ruan, making him stronger.
Therefore, no matter what, they couldn't miss this opportunity tonight.
Li Cunxu put on his raincoat and set out.
He hadn't taken more than a few steps outside the tent when the Home Guard Dog emerged. The light in the wooden cabin on the other side also turned on, and the Mech Hunter quickly climbed out through the window.
"Boss, are you still in your right mind?"
"In my right mind? What do you mean?"
Li Cunxu was momentarily stunned. Seeing the Mech Hunter holding a double-barreled shotgun and cautiously scanning the surroundings, he finally understood what the Mech Hunter meant.
"Are you suspecting that I was lured out of the tent by something like the Mermaid Soul-Stealing Song?" Li Cunxu asked, both amused and exasperated.
The Mech Hunter nodded.
Li Cunxu laughed. "I wasn't lured out of the tent. I left on my own."
The Mech Hunter was skeptical. It was late at night, and it was raining. Why would Li Cunxu leave the tent instead of sleeping?
Li Cunxu held up Xiao Ruan in his arms and explained, "This is related to Xiao Ruan's talent. He needs to subdue a large number of Slimes, and it just so happens that the rain will cause many Slimes to spawn."
Li Cunxu didn't hide the fact that Xiao Ruan could subdue Slimes. Anyone who wasn't blind could see it.
So, there was no need to keep it a secret.
Moreover, hiding it would slow down the process of subduing Slimes, indirectly delaying Xiao Ruan's growth.
Besides, being secretive would only raise more suspicions. It was better to be open about it.
No matter how talented or powerful Xiao Ruan was, he was still a Slime. He wouldn't provoke envy or jealousy from others.
The general perception of Slimes was that they were useless, trash-like Pet Beasts—perhaps not even worthy of being called Pet Beasts. Some people were even discussing removing Slimes from the Pet Beast registry.
No matter how good a talent was, if it appeared in a Slime, it was considered a waste.
The Mech Hunter half-believed him but wasn't entirely convinced. "I'll come with you! After all, I'm a Mechanical Pet and don't need sleep."
Seeing the Mech Hunter's vigilant expression, as if he wouldn't let Li Cunxu go unless he agreed, Li Cunxu realized that the Mech Hunter suffered from severe post-war trauma syndrome.
Li Cunxu had seen too many Pet Beasts with post-war trauma syndrome in the game, so he immediately recognized the overly cautious Mech Hunter's condition.
Most Pet Beasts developed post-war trauma syndrome because their Beast Tamers treated them as mere tools for battle, neglecting the fact that Pet Beasts had emotions.
Pet Beasts could laugh, cry, and even suffer from depression, just like humans.
The Mech Hunter was a Mechanical Pet. Shouldn't Mechanical Pets be like cold, emotionless machines? How could they also suffer from post-war trauma syndrome?
This was because, when humans created Mechanical Pets, they infused emotions into their souls, giving them the ability to think for themselves. At the same time, they also inherited the troubles of sentient beings.
In the grassy field drenched by heavy rain, many Grass Slimes were born.
Li Cunxu, wielding a straight wooden stick, knocked them out one by one.
The stick was effective, more so than using his fists and feet, but Li Cunxu had underestimated the fragility of the newborn Slimes.
Out of ten he struck, five were knocked unconscious, while the other five were killed.
Silently, Li Cunxu tossed the stick aside.
Mech Hunter watched for a while and then said, "Boss, are you trying to knock out these Slimes?"
"Yes."
"Leave it to me. Hunter's Intimidation."
Mech Hunter activated the skill Hunter's Intimidation, and an invisible pressure enveloped the entire area, causing all the Slimes present to faint in fear.
Li Cunxu was overjoyed. "This is much faster than using my fists and feet.
But...
Mech, I remember this skill can mark both allies and enemies. Next time, don't scare our own Slimes unconscious."
Li Cunxu had no choice but to summon Xiao Ruan to imprint the Subject Mark.
Halfway through the imprinting process, some of the Slimes that had already been marked woke up and joined in imprinting the others, significantly speeding up the process.
After finishing the imprinting of this batch of Slimes, Li Cunxu gave Xiao Ruan an order to follow Mech Hunter and continue subduing other Slimes, then returned Xiao Ruan to the Beast Taming Space.
Xiao Ruan was quite unhappy about this. The Beast Taming Space was bare, with nothing to do, and it could only sleep inside.
Moreover, it really wanted to stay close to Li Cunxu.
Li Cunxu knew this wasn't ideal. Xiao Ruan was young, and this could easily lead to a future aversion to entering the Beast Taming Space. But Li Cunxu still returned Xiao Ruan to the space.
In the pitch-dark night and heavy rain, sudden incidents like attacks could occur, and Xiao Ruan's soft body wouldn't withstand a single blow.
So safety was paramount, and it was better for Xiao Ruan to stay quietly in the Beast Taming Space.
Mech Hunter was responsible for intimidating and knocking out the Slimes, while the marked Slimes followed closely behind to imprint the Subject Mark, creating an efficient assembly line.
Li Cunxu said to Mech Hunter, "Head towards the river. The most Slimes are born along the riverbank."
Basically, there wasn't much for Li Cunxu to do now.
Mech Hunter handled the knocking out, and the marked Slimes handled the imprinting.
"What should I do? Go back to sleep?"
But he was wide awake.
"Never mind."
Li Cunxu thought for a moment and remembered something.
Next month would be the game's launch time.
He knew a certain plot was about to unfold.
It was the 'Pupil City Garbage Accumulation Incident.'
The incident began when a Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion, tainted by the power of the Uncrowned Evil God, escaped into the sewers of Pupil City and killed a large number of Sludge Monsters that lived in the sewers and handled the garbage, causing a sharp decline in their numbers.
Pupil City was a metropolis with a population of millions, also home to a vast number of Pet Beasts. The daily amount of garbage produced was enormous. Without the Sludge Monsters to clean the sewers and process the waste, the city's few garbage treatment plants couldn't handle the load.
In just a few days, the once clean and tidy Pupil City turned into a 'Dirty City' and 'Stinky City.'
"I can capture a batch of Slimes with the Digestion Talent, ready for the opportunity."
Ordinary Slimes couldn't handle garbage, but those with the Digestion Talent could.
Li Cunxu selected Slimes with the Digestion Talent from those he had already subdued.
Slimes with the Digestion Talent were rare. After a whole night, Li Cunxu had only found five.
The vast majority of Slimes had the Kindred Division talent.
[Kindred Division, White Common: Consumes half of one's power to split a new individual of the same kind from the body.]
For Slimes, the Kindred Division ability is essentially a reproductive ability. Only Slimes with the Kindred Division ability can give birth to little Slimes.
Apart from the Kindred Division ability, the most common ability is Kindred Fusion.
Out of a hundred Slimes, ninety-nine possess the Kindred Division ability, and only one has the Kindred Fusion ability.
In a Slime community, the Slime with the Kindred Fusion ability is often the leader.
This type of Slime can fuse other Slimes into its body, forming a powerful and large Slime.
[Kindred Fusion, Green Elite: Fuses with others of the same kind, concentrating power into one entity.]
Kindred Fusion is a beneficial ability for Slimes, but for other supernatural creatures, it is not a good ability—in fact, it is the worst possible ability.
(End of Chapter)