Chapter 94 Vague Answer

Chapter 94 -93: Vague Answer

Facing the surging tide of ferocious monsters, his eyes burned with a reckless, desperate madness, as if he were ready to burn himself to ashes.

In the split second he let out a despairing roar, a scorching power erupted from within his body.

Scene Two:

A vaguely humanoid figure sat cross-legged on the Earth. With each breath he took, faint motes of light emerged from the surroundings, gathering onto his body.

The scene abruptly shifted. The figure was surrounded by a swarm of twisted shadows and began an endless slaughter.

Then, the two scenes cycled endlessly.

Scene Three:

Another series of blurry shadows with varying shapes appeared. They seemed to be taking in something radiating bizarre Energy—either by swallowing it or integrating it into their bodies through some unknown means. Their bodies twisted and deformed through agonizing pain, numbness, or pure euphoria, before eventually stabilizing and exuding entirely different auras.

Scene Four:

A towering, majestic silhouette gently tapped a figure countless times smaller than itself. Instantly, the smaller figure’s body began to grow stronger and more robust.

These visions flickered intermittently, fragmented and heavily symbolic. There were no concrete settings or clear figures—only intense bursts of emotion and Energy.

Like shattered glass, they flashed before Han Ning’s eyes before quickly dimming and fading away.

The emerald motes of light enshrouding him slowly dispersed along with them, plunging the room back into darkness.

[Communication with Nature (Basic Level) Skill Level +50, Current: 50/1000]

Han Ning slowly opened his eyes, immediately assaulted by a deep wave of mental exhaustion.

On his status panel, his Mental Power had plummeted directly from 2.5 to 1 (2.5).

“Hiss… This skill doesn’t consume much Spiritual Power, but the Spirit consumption is massive. It looks like I can only cast it once every few days,” Han Ning muttered in surprise.

Mental Power was different from Spiritual Power. Its recovery was excruciatingly slow, and its natural consumption rate was equally sluggish. He estimated that, in his current state, it would take about three days to fully recover from zero—roughly 0.8 points a day.

He lay quietly on his bed, digesting the blurry fragments still lingering in his mind.

“An emotional outburst… autonomous Cultivation… The third one… should be consuming certain items? The final one is highly likely something akin to an empowerment ritual or a Divine Spirit’s blessing. These are probably four different methods to grow stronger,” he analyzed internally. “But actually, these methods can be strung together. When combined, they perfectly align with the current situation of human Awakened.”

Han Ning wore a peculiar expression.

“Aren’t human Awakened exactly like this? They awaken their abilities through intense emotional fluctuations, and then grow stronger by hunting monsters or consuming certain things in this world,” he thought. “Except for the fourth method, which is a bit different, the other three fit them perfectly. This information feels useless—it’s entirely up to guesswork.

“At least it gives me some clues. Perhaps Xu Ming and the others really can get stronger by consuming Extraordinary Crops or hunting monsters… If that’s true, then this skill is pretty damn impressive.”

Putting everything else aside, Han Ning’s first thought was to ask the will of nature where it was safe, allowing them to relocate to a secure area. Alternatively, he could ask for methods to cultivate Extraordinary Crops.

***

The following afternoon, having finished his daily chores, Han Ning led Professor Ye and Xu Ming just outside the Biyun Resort.

“The water level has risen again…” Xu Ming muttered, his brows furrowed as he waded through the water and observed the surrounding surface.

“Let’s go,” Han Ning’s voice came from behind him.

Xu Ming and Professor Ye each carried a rifle on their backs. Their expressions were a mix of nervous tension and faint anticipation.

“Our target is the half-submerged parking lot near the Fog Area,” Han Ning directed. “The terrain there is relatively open, and the water depth is just right. I remember we killed quite a few Crocodile Lizard hatchlings there before.”

“Crocodile Lizard hatchlings?” Professor Ye asked, somewhat puzzled.

The area he had lived in previously was entirely populated by Fishmen, and ever since arriving here, he had stayed indoors. He genuinely hadn’t seen any Crocodile Lizards.

“Yes,” Han Ning nodded. “Adult Crocodile Lizards have high Defense Power, fast speed, and pose a great danger. They aren’t suitable for your first real combat.

“The hatchlings are small, and their skin is relatively weak. They’re perfect for you to practice on.

“However, the size of these hatchlings… is quite a bit larger than before.”

He remembered that when he first crossed over, the juvenile Crocodile Lizards were only about half a meter long. But now, those creatures were nearly a meter in length, and the grayish-white Scale Armor covering them was visibly thicker.

The monsters’ evolutionary speed was terrifying.

Under Han Ning’s protection, the trio soon arrived outside an abandoned parking lot.

This parking lot belonged to the resort, and quite a few luxury cars were submerged nearby.

Han Ning scanned the area, signaling Xu Ming and Professor Ye to climb onto the roof of a security booth.

“Snow Cake, go catch a few small ones. Be careful, and don’t kill them.”

He meant, of course, to be careful of the small Crocodile Lizards’ safety.

“GROWL!” Snow Cake slipped silently into the water.

“ROAR!”

Not long after, Snow Cake’s low growl drifted over from a distance.

It broke the surface of the water, its jaws clamped down on a thrashing grayish-white figure. It was a Crocodile Lizard hatchling, nearly a meter long.

“HISS!”

Its four limbs flailed desperately as it tried to break free from Snow Cake’s massive jaws. But Snow Cake’s strength was far beyond what it could contend with.

Snow Cake tossed the young lizard into a relatively open patch of water about twenty meters away from Han Ning and the others.

“SPLASH!”

The hatchling smashed into the water, sending up a huge spray.

It seemed stunned by the fall. After struggling for a few moments to right itself, it frantically whipped its tail in a panicked attempt to flee.

The next second, to its horror, the ground beneath it began to shake.

A small earthen platform jutted out from the water, thrusting the lizard up and suspending it in midair. A crude circular wall rose around the edge of the platform, completely blocking the Crocodile Lizard’s escape. Whenever it tried to scramble over the wall, Snow Cake would simply shove it right back in.

“Xu Ming, you go first!” Han Ning’s voice called out from the nearby security booth.

This was the perfect opportunity to test whether Energy distribution actually followed the ‘threat theory’.

“Understood!” Xu Ming replied. Since this wasn’t his first time facing a Crocodile Lizard, he appeared relatively calm.

He raised the heavy rifle. Recalling the shooting fundamentals he had practiced with the other Awakened over the past two days, he pressed the butt of the rifle into his shoulder, rested his cheek against the stock, and locked his right eye onto the grayish-white figure through the simple iron sights.

“Steady your breathing…” Xu Ming muttered under his breath, his finger resting against the cold trigger.

Scorching flames erupted from the muzzle.

“BANG!”

The bullet struck the water, sending up a spout a full meter away from the panicked hatchling.

“I missed!”

“Don’t panic. Steady,” Han Ning reassured him.

Xu Ming calmed his nerves and pulled the trigger again.

Whether it was pure luck or Xu Ming possessing an innate Talent, the second shot actually hit the Crocodile Lizard squarely in the head.

“SCREECH!”

The hatchling let out a short, piercing shriek. Its body stiffened for a moment before going completely limp on the mud platform.

“SWISH!”

An Energy Ball emitting a faint blue-and-white halo drifted quietly from the hatchling’s corpse and flew straight toward Xu Ming.

The Energy Ball sank directly into his chest.

“Ugh…”