Chapter 228: Abundant Treasure
Translator: Insignia Editor: Svjohn
As the giant creature fell, more and more strange fish drilled into its body. It gradually expanded as tons of those fish filled it. It was still struggling and groaning in pain.
The area around it was empty. No mutated beasts dared come close. All they did was glance in fear from a distance from time to time. As time went by, the beast’s body started to shrink. The strange fish started leaving its body, and soon only its bones were left. The body became lighter until it eventually floated on the water.
The waves slowly let it drift to the middle of the lake. Soon another wave washed over the body, the giant beast’s skin disappearing in the blink of an eye. The only thing left was a wide, giant whirlpool measuring several meters swirling in the middle of the lake. The entire thing only lasted for a few minutes. The ten-meter long, six-meter tall, light green mutated beast had sunk completely, leaving no remains behind.
There was a short uproar among the beasts, but soon they went back to normal. No mutated beasts dared go near the water where the giant beast had died. Luo Yuan was hiding in the bushes, mumbling to himself, "No wonder there’s not a lot of slaughtering going on here. Perhaps the smell of blood attracted those terrifying, strange fish. Maybe it’s an unwritten rule. If that’s true, then as long as we don’t do anything outrageous, this place should be safe."
Meanwhile, Luo Yuan had already discovered pebbles around. If he hadn’t, he would have left that place earlier. The beach a few kilometers away was filled with white pebbles, and most of them were not small either.
Yet...
Luo Yuan glanced at the seven unique mutated beasts from afar, his eyes grim. None of the other mutated beasts dared go close to those creatures. Some of them were lone rangers and loved occupying one place, while some gathered in groups of two or three. Sometimes they stood or lay on the beach, or simply drank water by the creek. Each and every one of them had an elegant, beautiful aura. Every move they made was transcendent. Everyone who laid their eyes on them knew that they were unique.
Perhaps most green-level or higher mutated beasts within a hundred-kilometer radius were there. Luo Yuan hesitated for a while before finally biting the bullet and jumping from the tree, running towards the beasts. He was nervous at first as there was a green-level mutated beast not far away from him. Apparently, he must have been over thinking though, because his presence did not attract any attention.
Only the strongest mutated beasts looked in his direction, but it was plainly out of curiosity. They did not mean him any harm. After all, a human was a rare sight in that virgin forest. Most of the mutated beasts had never seen a human or been harmed by one. Luo Yuan, on the other had, had broken out in cold sweat. He had confidence in himself, but if that light green-level beast had been just at quasi-mythical level, then a green one would be at a mythical level.
It would be the real deal. Although the two were just one level away, the difference in their strength was like that between Heaven and Earth. Luo Yuan might have killed a green mutated beast before, but it had only happened by chance. He had just been at the right place at the right time. Most soldiers attracted hatred, and he had been hibernating underground, so he had not given his all. Even if he’d used his entire strength to kill the giant snake, he would be end up limping and might not be able to move or fight back. Even if Luo Yuan added one point to his Dexterity and countless points to his Strength, he’d still have to worry about the giant snake’s terrifying attacking speed. He guessed that if the two of them were to fight again, he would most certainly end up dead.
Luo Yuan braced himself and looked at those harmless yet superior lifeforms carefully. There was a creature that looked like a bull. It was approximately 12 meters long and six meters tall, and covered in beautiful fur. It was shinning softly under the moonlight. It had tall, thin limbs that looked very powerful, and four claws on each foot, pitch black and sharp like lazurite. It also had a pair of five-meter long, spiral-shaped golden horns on its head, that seemed to have a powerful attacking ability.
What made the most profound impression on Luo Yuan, though, was the creature’s eyes. Its eyes were watery, with an aloof superiority that lacked any aggressiveness. Although he had walked into its territory, the creature did not seem to care at all. Its size was not big compared to the rest. If he were to compare it to sea creatures, it would seem like nothing.
Even so, Luo Yuan dared not underestimate it. Apart from special entities such as the Heaven's Pillar Tree, green-level creatures were usually not big in size. It seemed like creatures of that level did not exhibit their strength through big, clumsy bodies.
Luo Yuan thought for a bit, turning his eyes away. He dared not look anymore. He quickly passed through the creature’s territory, heading towards the location where the pebbles were. In 10 minutes, he had reached his destination. There were pebbles everywhere. Some of them weighed hundreds of tons, while others were only the size of a thumb. Luo Yuan speculated that there used to be a river bank there once, but as time had passed, the river had disappeared. What was left was only those pebbles, serving as evidence for the river bank’s existence.
Most of the pebbles were white or milky wilk, while some of them had a luster of jade to them. Out of curiosity, Luo Yuan picked up a milky white one the size of a fist. He noticed that the pebble turned warm when it touched his hand, and it reflected the water. There was a translucency to it when one held it under the moonlight.
Luo Yuan realized that it was not some kind of limestone, but a natural suet jade. His feelings were mixed about it. The giant birds had been throwing jade ores. He was not sure whether he should be calling the giant birds tall, rich, handsome creatures, or spoilt brats.
Before the apocalypse, suet jade had cost 10,000 yuan per gram. The piece he was holding in his hand would have cost at least 30,000 or 40,000 yuan per gram, while a gigantic suet jade would be worth at least 20,000,000 yuan.
There was suet jade everywhere. At one glance, he could see at least 1,000 pieces of them. Some of them were even bigger than the one he was holding in his hand, while others weighed more than 10 tons. They were too valuable to even place a price-tag on them.
Unfortunately, they were worth as much as any plain white stone’s during the apocalypse. They were worthless. He threw the suet jade in his hand away like a piece of rock.
...
"This is it!"
Luo Yuan was looking through the pebbles when he quickly walked up to a pothole. He seemed to have a lot on his mind. This pothole was obviously the same residue as the rock taken away by the giant bird. There were similar potholes all around the area. Some of them were still damp, while some were completely dry. It made no difference considering the soil in the area. It only took some light digging for him to discover that the soil inside the pothole was even damper. Judging by the different levels of dampness in the potholes, Luo Yuan mentally outlined the giant bird’s preference in choosing rocks, trying to look for an existing pattern.