Awakening Hall Headquarters.
"Forcefully activate the cameras on Fang Xiu and Ye Fan’s badges!"
Li Mu ordered, staring at the two screens that had gone black.
Two badges shutting down and malfunctioning at the exact same time... Anyone would find that suspicious.
If it weren’t for Li Mu’s previous interactions with Fang Xiu and his understanding of Ye Fan, he would have had them end their expedition for the time being. He knew the chances of those two lying were very low.
They would have to wait until the badges were fixed before going back in.
But even though Li Mu trusted Fang Xiu, he still had to check what needed to be checked.
"It’s no good. We can’t force them on. Should we dispatch someone to investigate?" the person operating the equipment asked.
Li Mu shook his head. "No need."
With that, he left.
Meanwhile, inside the Special Gate World...
Fang Xiu and Ye Fan had already arrived at the location where the beast roar had originated.
The roar had sounded very strange to their ears.
It seemed... almost like a young girl’s voice.
That’s right.
Within that bestial roar, Fang Xiu thought he had heard the cadence of a young girl’s voice.
A beast’s roar that had a human quality to it.
Fang Xiu found this extremely odd.
"Did you notice how strange that roar was?" Fang Xiu asked Ye Fan as they advanced.
"Yeah. It felt like someone was shouting, but it was definitely a beast’s roar!"
Ye Fan nodded.
Even after all his years of hunting Demon Beasts, he had never encountered anything like this.
"A young girl?" Fang Xiu asked again.
He needed to confirm if everyone was hearing the same thing.
Some Demon Beasts used deceptive sounds to lure people.
"Er... Y-Yes!"
Ye Fan hesitated for a moment before answering honestly.
After all, for a man in his forties to mistake a Demon Beast’s roar for a young girl’s cry... it was... a little embarrassing to admit.
At least for someone with Ye Fan’s personality, it was a rather awkward thing to say.
"Then it’s fine. I heard it too," Fang Xiu said calmly.
He knew that whatever was nearby was definitely a Demon Beast.
But why did it have such a tone?
Fang Xiu wasn’t sure.
Among the Demon Beasts he’d read about, he had never seen any mention of something like this.
Fang Xiu didn’t know if he had just missed something in his research.
Of course, it was also possible that this Special Gate World was unique and housed unique Demon Beasts.
There was no way to be certain.
However, there was another possibility: the Demon Beast’s level was higher than Level 70.
That’s right. Fang Xiu had only read about Demon Beasts up to Level 60, while Ye Fan was only familiar with those below Level 50.
Normally, if Ye Fan saw a Demon Beast he didn’t recognize, he knew it had to be over Level 50.
He couldn’t beat it, so he’d just turn tail and run.
It was only because Fang Xiu was here now that Ye Fan dared to follow.
But that was before. Back then, Fang Xiu couldn’t defeat a Level 60 Demon Beast.
Now, if it was just a single target, let alone a Level 60, Fang Xiu could instantly kill even a Level 70 or Level 80.
Of course, a swarm of Demon Beasts was another matter entirely.
Even with two Forbidden Curse Skills, he was still just a Level 26 newbie.
The two cautiously moved forward.
They remained vigilant of their surroundings along the way.
The roar did not sound again.
But Fang Xiu had already determined the general direction. Since they didn’t have a clear objective anyway, they might as well head that way and have a look.
Soon, the two ventured deep into the forest.
"There are footprints here!" Ye Fan said, looking at the ground.
There was a fresh footprint.
Fang Xiu glanced down. The print was larger than three of his own footprints combined.
’Looks like this Demon Beast isn’t enormous.’ After all, considering the Demon Beasts Fang Xiu had encountered so far, plenty of them were much larger.
Their footprints were far, far bigger than his.
Something like this, only three times the size, could only be called a Little Demon Beast.
"Judging by the direction of the tracks, it must have gone this way!" Ye Fan said, examining the ground.
He studied it carefully.
Although there was a footprint here, and a fresh one at that, the ground was a mess, covered in grass, making it difficult to see clearly.
Even this single print was rather faint.
Ye Fan could only rely on his experience to determine a general direction.
"Alright, let’s head that way then."
Fang Xiu nodded slightly.
He wasn’t too concerned about whether it was the right direction or not.
Even if it was wrong, it didn’t matter. The worst that could happen was that they would miss that one Demon Beast.
Fang Xiu’s goal had always been the special item in that special place.
As for what it was, neither Fang Xiu nor Ye Fan knew.
Everything was based on hearsay.
In truth, everyone who entered this Special Gate World had only one goal: to become stronger.
How they did it and what they did along the way was up to each individual Awakened.
Ye Fan’s goal was to follow Fang Xiu.
Fang Xiu’s goal was to find that so-called special location.
As for this Demon Beast, he had only happened upon it by chance, found it interesting, and decided to seek it out.
Whether they found it or not was of little consequence.
"Right!"
Ye Fan nodded slightly.
He followed Fang Xiu in the direction he had analyzed.
Fortunately, after walking a short distance, they spotted another footprint.
This print was similar to the previous one.
It was just the opposite foot.
But this was enough to prove it.
The owner of this footprint, the very Demon Beast Fang Xiu and Ye Fan were searching for, was heading in this direction.
"ROAR!!!"
Just then...
...Fang Xiu and Ye Fan heard the Demon Beast’s roar once again.
This Demon Beast’s roar was very easy to distinguish.
"Just as I thought. It really does sound like it’s mixed with a young girl’s cry!"
At this point, Fang Xiu was certain.
He wasn’t hallucinating the sound.
It was a real roar, but the feeling it gave off was completely different.
This point was particularly strange.
"Brother Fang, I’ve never seen any description of a Demon Beast like this among those below Level 50. It must be... a Demon Beast above Level 50!"
Ye Fan was a little nervous now.
Even though he had leveled up five times and was now Level 45, this Demon Beast was over Level 50.
It would be very difficult to deal with.
"Mm, this Demon Beast might even be Level 70 or higher. Of course, we can’t rule out the possibility that it’s a Mutated Demon Beast!"
Fang Xiu nodded slightly.
In this world, besides normal Demon Beasts, there was another type: Mutated Demon Beasts.
Of course, the chances of encountering one were extremely small.
However, it was said that even the weakest Mutated Demon Beast could drop loot comparable to a boss.
For example, a Level 10 Mutated Demon Beast could very well drop something that only a Level 10 boss could.
Of course, "good stuff" here naturally referred to the guaranteed boss drop rewards.
For instance, a Level 10 boss would always drop a Refining Material called Earth Spirit.
As long as it was a Level 10 boss, regardless of the type of Demon Beast, it was guaranteed to drop this material.
Neither Level 10 Elite Monsters nor Level 10 Ordinary Wild Monsters could drop this Earth Spirit.
It was exclusive to Level 10 bosses.
However, a Level 10 mutated Ordinary Wild Monster could also drop this Earth Spirit material.
This was what made Mutated Demon Beasts special.
Of course, Mutated Demon Beasts had another major advantage.
They could be tamed.
Ordinary Wild Monsters, Elite Monsters, and bosses could not be tamed directly.
Even the pets of a Beast Tamer were contracted through special methods, starting from a purchased Pet Egg.
Or in situations like Fang Xiu’s with Kajimi, where a contract was signed.
But with these Mutated Demon Beasts, both Beast Tamers and ordinary Awakened had a chance to tame them.
Of course, this probability was also extremely low.
And the one that had appeared before them was very likely a Mutated Demon Beast.
"Level 70?"
When he heard "Level 70," Ye Fan was clearly worried.
After all, he was only Level 45, and Fang Xiu was only Level 26.
But on second thought, Fang Xiu could kill a Level 40 boss when he was only Level 15. ’Now that he’s Level 26, dealing with a Level 70 Ordinary Wild Monster shouldn’t be a problem,’ he thought.
"Mm. Want to go check it out together?"
Fang Xiu knew Ye Fan was a bit scared.
It was a Level 70 Demon Beast, after all.
Even if it was just an Ordinary Demon Beast, it wasn’t something a Level 45 Awakened like Ye Fan could handle.
What’s more, it might even be a Mutated Demon Beast.
"Yeah, let’s go!"
Ye Fan nodded.
With Fang Xiu around, he wasn’t nearly as afraid.
"Then let’s go!"
Fang Xiu picked up his pace.
The Demon Beast’s roar was already drifting over.
It must be somewhere nearby.
Following the sound, they searched ahead.
Soon, Fang Xiu saw a Demon Beast about four meters tall not far ahead.
It stood on two legs, its forelimbs held close to its chest.
Its posture was somewhat similar to a kangaroo’s.
But this Demon Beast had no pouch and no long tail.
Its two ears looked more like an elephant’s.
It had fur with a black and white pattern.
It looked like the coloring of a zebra.
"What the hell... is this thing?"
Fang Xiu stared at the Demon Beast before him.
He studied it for a good while but couldn’t recognize what it was.
Beside him, Ye Fan shook his head. "I-I have no idea!"
’System, identify the Demon Beast in front of me. See if it can be Sacrificed!’ Fang Xiu thought, looking at the creature.
Of course, Fang Xiu’s goal wasn’t actually to Sacrifice it.
He just wanted to see what kind of species this Demon Beast was.
[Ding! Mutated Demon Beast detected: Cyan Nether Flame Iron Fox. After Sacrificing it to the Gods, you can obtain one of the Gods’ big pockets!]
Fang Xiu: "..."
’I guessed it was a kangaroo, a zebra, an elephant... I even thought it might be a dinosaur. And you’re telling me this... is a fox?’
Fang Xiu stared at the Demon Beast, finding this a little hard to accept.
’This thing is actually a fox?’
’Mutation... Just how absurd does a Mutation have to be for a fox to turn into... this?’
’I’d have an easier time believing you if you told me this thing was called a "Dinosaur-Carrying-Wolf"!’

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