Chapter 417: Chapter 349: Rune [2]
However, the people here called them Wild Beasts.
After she had finished her general explanation, Lu Shan, perhaps sensing that Hu Qi was easy to talk to, seemed to think of something. She hesitated before asking tentatively.
"Sir, are you an Evolver?"
Hu Qi’s eyes flickered. He replied casually, "More or less."
The so-called Evolvers were part of an Extraordinary Path unique to this world, possessing strength far beyond that of ordinary people.
He had already known this since taking over this body. However, because the body he’d possessed belonged to an ordinary person—a slave from the Steel City, in fact—Hu Qi’s knowledge about the specifics of Evolvers was vague at best.
The reason humans in this world congregated in gathering places wasn’t just that they were social creatures. There was another reason: this world was also home to creatures known as Wild Beasts.
The Long-eared Wolf was merely one of the lowest-level Wild Beasts.
According to rumor, some powerful Wild Beasts possessed terrifying strength, capable of tearing through steel with ease. Their hides and scales could even withstand artillery fire.
Even more terrifying Wild Beasts were said to be like walking natural disasters.
If an ordinary person were to encounter one, they would have absolutely no chance of survival.
Only gathering places equipped with firearms or protected by Evolvers had any ability to resist them.
This was also why Hu Qi wanted to head to a gathering place.
He needed to gain a deeper understanding of the Evolver’s Extraordinary Path.
After hearing Hu Qi’s words, a conflicted look appeared on Lu Shan’s face. Then, as if she’d made a firm decision, she gritted her teeth and knelt directly in front of him.
"Sir, could I ask you to save my younger brother? I’m willing to pay any price I can afford."
As she said this, she pressed her forehead to the ground, kowtowing three times with audible thuds.
When she looked up, a dark bruise had already formed on her forehead.
Faced with this, Hu Qi simply gave her a long, hard look.
He said coolly, "First, tell me what happened."
According to Lu Shan’s explanation, her younger brother was suffering from a very serious illness.
In their current environment, she had managed to get a traveling doctor from the gathering place to see him. The doctor said her brother needed medicine to be treated, but he was unable to help.
After all, according to Lu Shan, their gathering place had just over three thousand people.
That might sound like a lot, but on this Desolate Star, it was considered one of the smallest types of gathering places.
Medicine was a scarce commodity, and they had no ability to produce it themselves.
Typically, only medium or large-sized gathering places had such factories.
Therefore, if she wanted to save her brother, there were only two options.
One was to travel to a large gathering place to buy medicine for his treatment.
The other was to ask an Evolver for help.
But for Lu Shan, neither of these options was feasible.
For the first option, the nearest large gathering place was, according to Lu Shan, over a hundred kilometers away from the Rotten Leaf Gathering Place. Setting aside the time a round trip would take and whether she could even afford the medicine, just the Wild Beasts she would encounter on the way would be lethal.
The second option was even more impossible.
Although their Rotten Leaf Gathering Place had an Evolver, such a being held a lofty status.
They were the true leader.
She was just an ordinary survivor in the gathering place and possessed almost nothing that could possibly move them to act.
It was only natural that they wouldn’t be willing to save a dying person for nothing.
Faced with Lu Shan’s plea, Hu Qi seemed to be mulling something over. He did not refuse right away, but said,
"Let’s discuss this after we get to your settlement and I’ve seen your brother."
"Yes, yes! Thank you, Sir! Thank you!"
Still kneeling on the ground, Lu Shan was stunned. She had already prepared herself to be rejected.
After all, Evolvers were lofty beings who couldn’t possibly care about the life or death of an ordinary person.
’How could one possibly be willing to save my brother?’
She had only asked because she was out of options.
She never expected that Hu Qi wouldn’t reject her outright.
This couldn’t help but make a glimmer of hope rise in her heart.
Hu Qi paid her no mind.
After glancing at the downpour still raging outside the cave and telling Lu Shan not to disturb him, Hu Qi sat down cross-legged to one side and closed his eyes.
He turned his senses inward, performing Introspection to observe the state of this new body.
’This body has some slight differences from the ones in the previous two worlds.’
’The one thing they have in common, though, is the presence of Qi and Blood and an Essence Element Divine Treasure.’
’Qi and Blood and the Essence Element are the source of all living things.’
’The two are inextricably linked.’
’It’s only normal for them to be present.’
’Perhaps only if I possessed a Metal Life form, a Silicon-Based Life form, or an Information Life form would these things be absent.’
’Of course, this body only possesses the Essence Element Divine Treasure.’
’The Qi Veins and the Celestial Heart Divine Treasure are absent.’
’However, this is enough for me.’
「Soon, more than an hour had passed.」
Outside the cave, the rain still poured, the sound of rushing water incessant, though it had lightened somewhat compared to before.
Lu Shan leaned against one side of the cave, the corpse of the Long-eared Wolf lying beside her. She glanced intermittently out of the cave, then turned to look at Hu Qi.
As time passed, the sky grew a shade darker.
At this rate, night was about to fall.
The wilderness at night was extremely dangerous for humans.
Most Wild Beasts preferred to come out and hunt at night.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, Scavengers from a gathering place had to do everything they could to return before dark.
