Chapter 11: The Hunt Begins

The meat of the Komodo Beast was indeed high in energy. Lin Lei fought down his nausea and gnawed on more than half a leg. After holding his stomach and digesting for a long while, the System sent a stream of information.

“Level 2 Reinforcement reserve progress is at 1%. It is recommended that the Host continue to consume this type of high-energy food to accelerate the reinforcement progress.”

Lin Lei felt a surge of excitement, but when he thought of the terrifying Komodo Beast, his heart trembled. That beast was simply too frightening, especially that pounce and tail swipe earlier; it was lightning fast. If the System hadn’t warned him last time, he would have been eaten long ago, probably having already turned into nutrients for this planet.

Lin Lei didn’t think he would have such good luck every time. Moreover, the Komodo Beast might not even be the most terrifying creature on Blue Rain Star. If something even more power ful came along, he feared that using Emergency Mode would be useless.

Emergency Mode was something to use when fighting for one’s life; after activating it, he would be weak for a long time, which was incredibly deadly on this planet.

But all of this was not an excuse. Lin Lei had to go out and hunt, and he had to become stronger. However, before that, he needed to understand the situation.

“System, please introduce the various powerful creatures of Blue Rain Star.”

“Unable to provide an introduction for the Host. The System database uses a trigger-based query method, requiring contact with a real creature and the acquisition of its biological data.”

“Damn it! System, didn’t you say your database possesses all the information in the known Universe? How can you not satisfy even this small request!”

“The database is too vast; the retrieval method only uses the trigger method. Another purpose is to improve the Host’s crisis combat capability!”

Fine, Lin Lei wilted. Compared to the System, he was completely the weaker party and had no choice at all. Since he couldn’t know the enemy in advance, he could only strengthen himself!

His physical fitness was right here, very good and very powerful. His Physical Energy Level was not much different from the powerful Komodo Beast. What he lacked was combat technique and combat experience. The System should be able to look this up, right? He decided to try asking first.

“System, are there any combat skills suitable for my current physical condition?”

“Querying…”

“Scheme One: Earth Comprehensive Fighting Technique. Advantages: Strong body control ability, rapid and concentrated power burst. Disadvantages: It is suitable for fighting between Earthlings, and the advantage in fighting beasts on Blue Rain Star is not prominent.”

“Scheme Two: Layite Primitive Hunting Technique. Advantages: Specializes in fighting beasts, simple trap making. Primitive beasts on Layite Star are similar to those on Blue Rain Star. Disadvantages: Cannot effectively utilize the advantages of high-intensity flesh.”

“Scheme Three…”

…

Lin Lei hurriedly stopped the System from continuing. Looking at this situation, the System was preparing to go through the combat skills of all intelligent races; that would take until who knows when.

Technique was not about quantity but about quality; Lin Lei still knew this. He couldn’t learn so many skills anyway, nor did he have that much energy and time to learn them. He should just pick two at random.

The intelligent races Lin Lei was most familiar with now, besides humans, were the Layite People, so he might as well combine the techniques of both.

“System! Perform a comprehensive optimization of the Earth Comprehensive Fighting Technique and the Layite Primitive Hunting Technique.” Regardless of whether the System could do it, he would give the command first!

“Integrating skills, please wait.”

“Integration complete. The new skill is named Lin Lei Combat Technique.”

“Lin Lei Combat Technique”! Why did that name sound so cheesy? Lin Lei felt a sense of having stolen someone else’s achievements for himself. Never mind, this counts as innovation on my part. Although the System handled the process, the idea came from me, hehe.

“Whether to start skill infusion! Infusion requires consuming 0.5% of the Reinforcement reserve.”

Shocking! There was such a good thing, direct skill infusion! Without even having to learn? Lin Lei had been prepared for arduous study, so hearing this now made his head spin. He didn’t even know when he had said “confirm.”

As for that 0.5% consumption of the Reinforcement reserve, Lin Lei cared even less. You have to give to get; early investment was necessary.

“Starting skill infusion. Host, please prepare to withstand immense pain.”

Not this again! Lin Lei was going crazy. The thing was good, but please don’t include such terrifying side effects. However, his complaints were soon drowned out by the pain that swept through his entire body.

This time was even more severe than the Level 1 Reinforcement. Last time, Lin Lei couldn’t control his body and felt a bit like an outsider. Now, he was completely immersed in it. If it were an ordinary person, their spirit would definitely have collapsed.

However, Lin Lei, with his tough and resilient character, gritted his teeth and endured it. He only felt images flashing through his mind, and in every image, he was the one striking various poses.

Gradually, the pain throughout his body subsided slightly. Lin Lei felt an impulse to imitate the movements in the images. This feeling grew stronger and stronger, until finally, Lin Lei began to move his hands and feet.

At first, the movements were messy, but as time passed, these movements became more and more standardized, getting closer and closer to the movements in the images, until they matched perfectly, with no error even in the coordination of every small muscle.

Throughout the entire process, the System was constantly doing correction work. It wasn’t until two hours later that the System spoke again.

“Host Lin Lei has acquired the combat skill Lin Lei Combat Technique. Combat proficiency is low. It is recommended to participate in multiple battles to improve combat experience.”

Lin Lei quietly sensed his body. His strength was still the same; it hadn’t increased, but had actually decreased slightly due to the continuous consumption. However, between a raise of his hand and a stomp of his foot, a sense of power flowed through him, giving Lin Lei a feeling that he could destroy everything.

This should be the effect of his whole body muscles being incredibly coordinated and all his strength integrated together. It was indeed very good and very powerful!

Lin Lei also discovered that a lot of knowledge had appeared in his mind, detailed explanations about setting traps and beast instincts. With this, Lin Lei finally found a sense of control over the situation on Blue Rain Star.

It seemed the suffering of these two hours was not in vain; it was worth it! You know, others didn’t even have the chance to suffer like this. Deep down, Lin Lei was still very grateful to the System. Because many times, time really was life!

Mastering skills quickly meant getting ahead of others. One step ahead meant steps ahead, establishing an advantage from the start. This skill infusion was truly heaven-defying.

As for combat proficiency, Lin Lei understood this. Having the skill was one thing, but being able to use it was another. In battle, life and death happened in an instant. To perfectly use what one learned usually required rich experience and a tough psychological quality.

It was just like the college entrance exam. Some people usually had good grades, but as soon as the exam started, they got nervous, their minds went blank, and they were completely lost. That was a failure of psychological quality. No matter how good you were usually, it was completely useless.

So this combat proficiency was very necessary, even a matter of life and death. Lin Lei placed it as his top priority.

Now, the food in the Tree House was down to just one Komodo hind leg. Although it looked like a lot, the current Lin Lei could finish it in two meals and still only be seventy percent full. Besides, he now had a small pet called Bulin.

This Bulin Beast seemed to have recognized the truth that following Lin Lei meant having meat to eat. Wherever Lin Lei went, it followed. When Lin Lei was undergoing the skill infusion just now, it watched with a blank face, occasionally waving its hands and feet a few times, making Lin Lei want to laugh. This little guy was just too funny.

Lin Lei’s sharpest and most handy weapons now were the two fangs of the Komodo Beast, each up to 20 centimeters long. The texture of these teeth was tough. When struck against each other, the sound actually carried a metallic tone, giving a very solid feeling.

These were completely two deadly weapons. If it were a fight with a human, one stab would mean death, no struggling involved. Didn’t he see that these teeth were hollow? Grinding a small hole in the tip made it a natural blood groove; it let blood very quickly.

Sweat, how did the topic drift to fighting? Too barbaric, too barbaric. I am a civilized person. Civilized people fighting isn’t called fighting, it’s called a conflict. Only fighting with beasts is called fighting, hehe.

Lin Lei held the two tooth blades and prepared to go out hunting now. He wouldn’t prepare traps for the moment. Hmm, he would also bring that tail with the sharp teeth on it; that counted as a medium-range attack weapon. If he encountered an opponent with sharp close-combat skills, he could at least block them.

This tail was also a bit peculiar. There were no bones inside, unlike vertebrates on Earth where it was an extension of the spine. It was entirely made of tendons and ligaments. Presumably, the Komodo Beast just used it purely as a whip to lash out.

Lin Lei recalled the battle scene with the Komodo Beast and couldn’t help but admire the beast’s whipping technique. How could it launch so many attacks in an instant in that situation? Four claws, one leg, one lash, one bite—every single one was a fatal blow. If Lin Lei hadn’t had the force field protection, he would have been torn to pieces on the spot. Thinking about it now really made one shudder.

Before having absolute confidence, one would have to activate Emergency Mode when facing a Komodo Beast. He couldn’t joke with his own life. Compared to that combat master, the combat technique he had just infused would definitely not display its full power.

Lin Lei carried a piece of meat on his body and climbed down the Mushroom Tree using both hands and feet. Seeing this, Bulin swished onto Lin Lei’s shoulder and followed him down.

Good heavens, this was going to scare him to death! Although he always called Bulin a little guy, it was nearly 60 centimeters tall. Although its body was relatively thin and only weighed about 20 catties, Lin Lei was still almost knocked straight off the tree by it.

It was ten meters high, and the gravitational acceleration here was a bit greater than on Earth. Lin Lei wasn’t entirely sure he could guarantee he wouldn’t get hurt. He would have to pay attention to this little guy in the future.

Once they were under the tree, the little guy Bulin shot off Lin Lei’s shoulder and darted straight into the distant bushes without looking back. It actually ran away, without even pausing its steps.

Lin Lei was stunned. So he had been used by it! Its previous obedience was all an act. Fine, Lin Lei’s attempt to seek a companion was snuffed out by this little Bulin Beast.

It made sense, though. They were beasts, after all. Before their wild nature was shed, how many were willing to follow a human? He had been completely wishful thinking just now. Being deceived served him right; he would just treat it as a lesson.

Bulin ran away, and Lin Lei didn’t take it too much to heart. Its existence was just for amusement and passing time. Having it was better, but not having it didn’t matter.

Lin Lei continued to walk toward the unknown blue jungle. He wasn’t worried about encountering a powerful Komodo Beast again. These beasts were like tigers on Earth, solitary kings that claimed a mountain as their territory. They all had certain territories.

Anyway, for a period of time in the future, as long as he didn’t go too far, he wouldn’t have to fear encountering this ultimate killer!

Now, Lin Lei used the newly acquired tracking knowledge in his mind to search for traces of beasts. This knowledge was borrowed from Layite Star by the System. Although the situation on primitive Layite Star and Blue Rain Star was similar, trusting books blindly was worse than having no books. If he followed blindly without any doubt, he probably wouldn’t be far from death.

A single detail mistake was enough to cost a person their life. Many drivers, didn’t they cause tragedies because they mistook the accelerator for the brake?

Therefore, Lin Lei was extremely cautious in this regard. He identified the footprints, smells, and even excrement of the beasts on the ground step by step to judge the size, diet, and whether they lived in groups.

Soon, Lin Lei found a fresh footprint. Looking at the shape, the beast had three toes on its foot, and the toes had sharp claws. Moreover, it walked on two legs.

Looking at the size and depth of the footprint, the beast’s body shouldn’t be particularly large, but it wasn’t small either. And it was a solitary ranger, which was exactly the type Lin Lei wanted.

Looking at the distance between the strides, this walking biped was very strong, and the beast’s movement style was a semi-leaping forward motion.

Even, with his widened Event Horizon, Lin Lei could see a red light path in the air that went from faint to deep. This was a trace of slight infrared radiation. This showed that the prey he was tracking was a warm-blooded animal.

Warm-blooded animals were generally more efficient in movement than cold-blooded animals and had higher combat complexity. But their body temperature pointed out a clear tracking direction for Lin Lei, making them much easier to ambush.

For some reason, Lin Lei imagined the image of a Velociraptor from Earth. This should be a ferocious carnivorous creature. He had to be careful!