In Beast Tamer battles, Pet Beasts are allowed to carry one weapon and one item into the arena.
Items have a wide range of uses and can effectively enhance a Pet Beast's combat power.
Items are categorized into three levels: Regular Items, Treasure Tools, and Emperor Tools.
Emperor Tools not only significantly boost a Pet Beast's strength, but some can even alter a Pet Beast's destiny.
Emperor Tools are extremely rare and their numbers are fixed, with only forty-nine in existence worldwide.
Why did the Yellow Seed Gourd cause such a stir in the city? Because the Yellow Seed Gourd is not an ordinary Treasure Tool, but a fragment of the Emperor Tool known as the Seven Seed Gourd. It is far more powerful than regular Treasure Tools.
There are rumors that if one can gather all seven Seed Gourds, they can recreate the original Seven Seed Gourd.
Whether this is true or not, Li Cunxu didn't know.
In his previous life, no one had managed to collect all seven Seed Gourds.
When Li Cunxu arrived in the city, his first priority wasn't to head into the sewers, but to buy a gas mask.
If he could avoid suffering through the stench, why not?
However, Li Cunxu miscalculated one thing—he wasn't the only one who thought of buying a gas mask.
A long line had formed outside the store.
Li Cunxu didn't join the queue because he knew it would be pointless.
With so many people buying, he doubted the store had enough gas masks in stock.
It was likely that the masks would run out halfway through the line.
So, standing in line would only waste time without any benefit.
Why didn't Li Cunxu buy a gas mask earlier?
The game had only been live for a short while, and most players weren't paying attention to this matter. They had no idea that the reward for killing the Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion was the Yellow Seed Gourd.
Even if they had known, it wouldn't have mattered, as players at this stage couldn't defeat the Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion. Players only became aware of it because the Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion incident spawned the game's first dungeon.
Even if Li Cunxu had known the reward was the Yellow Seed Gourd, he wouldn't have bought a gas mask in advance.
Think about it—if you killed the Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion, and others found out you had already bought a gas mask, and that your family had acquired a Garbage Slime capable of cleaning up trash a month ago, and in large quantities, what would they think?
They would suspect that you knew about this in advance, and they might even think you orchestrated the whole thing.
Creating a problem and then stepping in to clean it up, all to gain favor with the higher-ups.
You, with ulterior motives.
A coincidence?
Smart people never believe in coincidences, unless it's a genuine one.
Li Cunxu put on five layers of masks, feeling a bit suffocated, so he removed two.
Even three layers of masks couldn't block the accumulated stench of the sewers.
He pulled out a flashlight and began searching the sewers.
Along the way, he encountered many other Beast Tamers, also equipped with flashlights.
Li Cunxu wasn't particularly worried about others finding the Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion before him, as he had two pieces of information that others didn't.
First: The Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion was most active in the sewers of the Sacred Lotus District.
Second: The Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion possessed a rare skill called [Mimicry], which allowed it to transform into other Pet Beasts.
The Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion had likely transformed into a Sludge Monster and was hiding somewhere.
However, the Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion had a tell—while other Sludge Monsters were black or dark purple, the one it transformed into had a reddish-black hue.
This wasn't because its mimicry skills were lacking, but rather due to its corrupted state. To achieve perfect mimicry, its mimicry skill would need to undergo several more Limit Breaks.
Li Cunxu searched for three days without success, enduring the foul stench all the while. Over those three days, the number of people searching gradually dwindled.
Firstly, the sewer environment was too harsh, with an overwhelming stench.
Secondly, Pupil City was vast, and so were its sewers, leaving too many places to search.
Thirdly, after such an extensive search by so many people, there was still not a single trace of the Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion, leading some to suspect it might have escaped the city.
Fourthly, rumors spread online claiming that obtaining the Yellow Seed Gourd would be useless.
"Do you really think the Mayor is so kind as to just give you a Treasure Tool for free? Don't dream. Even if you get it, you won't be able to use it. The Yellow Seed Gourd you obtain is in seed form. You need to plant it to use it, but what you use to plant it varies from person to person. Some might succeed with ordinary soil, while others might need Nine Heavens Heavy Water.
The reason the Mayor used it as a reward is that even he couldn't grow it. Moreover, the Yellow Seed Gourd in seed form cannot be held for long. You can only keep it for a year. After that, you either throw it away or give it to someone else, or it will devour your fortune."
Hearing these rumors, many people's desire to obtain the Yellow Seed Gourd greatly diminished.
On the fourth day, Li Cunxu's flashlight illuminated a Sludge Monster, black and red in color. In the dim sewer environment, it was hard to distinguish it from other Sludge Monsters at first glance. Even if one noticed the color difference, they would likely assume it was a Variant Sludge Monster.
Mutated Pet Beasts are very valuable, but it depends on the type of beast. For example, Slimes and Sludge Monsters, even if mutated, are not worth much.
Moreover, Sludge Monsters are prohibited from being bought or sold. Pet Beasts that are prohibited from trade are either worthless or extremely valuable, and Sludge Monsters clearly fall into the former category.
Li Cunxu pretended to continue walking, then suddenly activated the powerful launcher he had commissioned from the Mech Hunter. A Spirit Restriction Nail shot out from his sleeve and pierced into the Sludge Monster that the Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion was mimicking.
Mimicry can disguise a beast as another, but it has a flaw: it also mimics the weaknesses of the beast it's imitating. The Sludge Monster's weakness is its low defense, which allowed the Spirit Restriction Nail to easily pierce the Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion.
The Spirit Restriction Nail limits Spirit Energy, and with its Spirit Energy restricted, the Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion's strength was greatly reduced.
The moment he activated the launcher, Li Cunxu summoned Xiao Ruan (Little Soft). Xiao Ruan immediately spat out several Water Orbs, directly dispelling the Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion's Sludge Monster mimicry and revealing its true form.
The Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion wasn't idle either. It immediately released its Poison Scorpion Needles.
"Mud Throw."
Xiao Ruan hurled mud, blocking most of the incoming Poison Scorpion Needles, but some still flew through.
The Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion was cunning. It didn't target the Pet Beast but instead focused on the Beast Tamer, understanding the principle of "capture the leader first."
Li Cunxu tried to block with Water Orbs, but they were too weak against the pinpoint attack of the Poison Scorpion Needles. The needles pierced into his arm.
Li Cunxu quickly bit down on the Detoxification Pill and Scorpion Venom Treatment Pill he had been holding in his mouth, then ran backward, enduring the pain as he pulled the long, thin red Poison Scorpion Needles from his arm bone.
The Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion charged relentlessly towards Li Cunxu, who feigned a desperate escape. Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Ruan continuously attacked the scorpion with Mud Throw.
The Corrupted Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion was incredibly fast, closing the distance to Li Cunxu in just a few breaths. Just as it was about to catch him, Li Cunxu suddenly turned and hurled a Flashbang he had prepared at hi
s waist.
In reality, Flashbangs aren't particularly effective, especially in open, daylight areas. But this was different—this was a narrow, pitch-dark sewer.
(End of Chapter)