Chapter 698 - 427: Objective Reality Can’t Be 100% Effective

Chapter 698: Chapter 427: Objective Reality Can’t Be 100% Effective

"Lately, a significant number of Flame Rats have appeared in the wilderness of the North District Suburbs.

Researchers from the Spiritual Energy Research Institute have surveyed the area and discovered that the Flame Rat population is approaching a critical threshold. If they aren’t culled, it could lead to a full-blown infestation in less than a month.

Yesterday evening, the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild issued a notice regarding the culling of these Flame Rats. Many Exotic Beast Hunters have already headed to the areas where the Flame Rats frequently appear to begin the cull..."

Lin Li sat on the living room sofa, eating breakfast and watching a beautiful news anchor report on the day’s top stories.

’Flame Rats? I remember the news ran stories about them for several days straight around this same time last year.

Afterward, the Exotic Beast Hunters began a cull and wiped out over half the Flame Rat population, preventing an infestation.

A year has passed, they’ve had time to rebuild their numbers, and now they’re making a comeback. Rats really do breed fast!’

Lin Li watched the news, a thoughtful sigh escaping him. He tossed the eggshell in his hand into the trash and finished the peeled tea egg in two bites.

"GLUG, GLUG, GLUG..."

After downing the last of his soy milk, Lin Li picked up the remote and switched off the TV.

He lifted his shirt and looked down at his chest.

The scratch he’d gotten yesterday had already healed completely overnight, thanks to the healing ointment he’d applied.

Lin Li had expected to spend the day at home recovering, so he was surprised to wake up and find the wound completely gone.

’That’s strange. The healing ointment has never worked this fast for me before. This is way quicker than I expected.’

’Was it just not a very deep scratch, so it healed faster?’ Lin Li wondered, pulling his shirt back down.

After a moment’s thought, another possibility occurred to him: his own power had grown significantly, enhancing his body’s natural regenerative abilities.

That would explain why the healing ointment seemed so much more effective this time around.

Healing ahead of schedule was a good thing, and there was no sense in overthinking it. Lin Li decided to move his planned wilderness hunt up to today.

Of course, before heading out to the wilderness, he needed to stop by a pharmacy to buy some antidotes, just in case.

The memory of being ambushed, poisoned, and forced to retreat from Dongwu City in the Spirit Realm just yesterday was still painfully fresh in his mind.

He got up, left the living room, and walked to the front door. The door opened, then shut with a thud, leaving the house in silence.

... ℯℯ𝑙.

It was morning rush hour. Traffic was heavy, and pedestrians hurried along the sidewalks on both sides of the street, most of them scrambling to get to work on time.

"Haaaah..."

Inside the pharmacy, a saleswoman in a white coat let out a yawn.

It was still early, and with her as the only person in the store, she was starting to feel bored.

Just as the saleswoman was about to pull out her phone and scroll through some short videos to pass the time, a familiar figure walked into the pharmacy.

’Oh, it’s him!’

The saleswoman in the white coat was a little surprised to see Lin Li walk in.

She remembered the young Exotic Beast Hunter well; he had already been in twice to buy supplies.

She especially remembered his second visit, when he’d bought a full twenty tubes of healing ointment. It was rare for someone to buy so much at once.

"Hello," Lin Li said as he approached the counter, greeting the saleswoman who was looking at him.

"Oh, it’s you!" the saleswoman said, surprised. "Back again so soon?"

’What does she mean, "back again so soon?"’ Lin Li grumbled inwardly. ’I’m here to buy something. Isn’t she happy to have the business? This woman is weird...’ He then stated his reason for coming.

"I’d like to buy some antidotes. Could you recommend something?"

Hearing that Lin Li was there to buy medicine—and antidotes, specifically—the saleswoman immediately adopted a professional demeanor and began recommending an antidote she considered highly effective.

"This injectable antidote came on the market about six months ago.

If you’re out hunting Mutant Beasts and get bitten by a snake-like one, this will counteract the venom.

As long as you use it within thirty minutes of being bitten, there’s at least a ninety-nine percent chance it will completely neutralize the poison. If you use it after the thirty-minute mark, there’s the same chance it will keep you from dying for up to eight hours."

Lin Li looked at the small, syringe-style antidote the saleswoman had placed on the counter. After a moment of thought, he asked a question.

"So, if there’s at least a ninety-nine percent chance of it working, does that mean there’s a one percent chance it’ll have no effect at all?"

The saleswoman nodded.

Lin Li asked again, "Don’t you have anything that’s one-hundred-percent effective?"

The saleswoman shook her head. "No such thing," she explained. "There are too many kinds of venomous, snake-like Mutant Beasts in the wilderness. Plus, the venom can even vary within the same species.

For an antidote developed by the Spiritual Energy Research Institute to have this level of effectiveness is already considered exceptional..."

After hearing the saleswoman’s explanation, Lin Li thought for a moment and had to admit she was right.