Li Cunxu said to the Mechanical Annihilation Hunter, "The house is painted with Lightning Protection Paint. It's not fit for people to live in. Why don't you come home with me?"
The Mechanical Annihilation Hunter lifted his hood, revealing a mechanical head. "Master, I am a mechanical pet and harmful gases aren't a problem for me.
Let the guard dog accompany you home. It can ensure your safety."
Li Cunxu suddenly remembered the mysterious figure lurking in the shadows and felt less inclined to head back.
"Forget it, I'm not going back. I'll just stay here."
Li Cunxu rode his bike back home to retrieve the tent and some living essentials, bringing them to the ranch.
The tent was both new and old. New because it had never been used, but old because it was bought a long time ago.
The previous owner, fearing the league would discover his sister, Li Anle's, secret and arrest her, thought that with a tent, he could escape with his sister, living as nomads.
Back then, the previous owner was very young, naive to the terrifying power of the league. If discovered, there would be no chance to use the tent.
Setting up a tent was a laborious task; half a day passed without success. The Mechanical Annihilation Hunter, unable to bear watching, helped out, setting up two tents in two minutes.
As a professional hunter, the Mechanical Annihilation Hunter excelled in pitching tents.
One tent was for Li Cunxu; the other was for the guard dog.
By the time the tents were set up, it was already dusk.
The dusk on the plains was exceptionally beautiful.
As for the overcast sky? The weather on the Muye Plain was unpredictable, and the clouds had cleared away.
Li Cunxu gazed at where the sun was setting, and the direction was the same as where his sister was buried.
"Mechanical Annihilation Hunter, I forgot to ask you what your name is. Really sorry, there's just been so much going on, my head's a bit foggy."
The Mechanical Annihilation Hunter replied with remorse, "I didn't protect my master well, and don't deserve a name. Just call me the Mechanical Annihilation Hunter."
The master he mentioned was evidently not Li Cunxu, but his Beast Master.
Li Cunxu, not knowing the reason and unsure how to comfort it, changed the subject:
"How strong are you?"
The Mechanical Annihilation Hunter petted the licking guard dog beside it with its cold mechanical hand and said, "I was once a Silver Peak, now I've dropped to early Silver. Ah Huang was once mid-Silver, now dropped to high Bronze."
Their level drop was evidently the backlash from the Beast Master's death.
Beast Masters and pet beasts are one and the same—one's success is the other's.
The Mechanical Annihilation Hunter said, "Master, don't worry. Although Ah Huang and I have dropped in level, our strength remains at the original standard."
Li Cunxu wasn't concerned about their drop in level. Having someone to protect him was already good enough, needing nothing more.
Gurgle, gurgle~
The water in the iron pot boiled. Li Cunxu tossed instant noodles into the pot, tore open two sausages, putting one in the pot and throwing the other to the guard dog.
Li Cunxu asked the Mechanical Annihilation Hunter, "What do you eat, Annihilation?"
In the game, Li Cunxu never played with mechanical pets, so only had a superficial understanding. Mechanical pets were very powerful and incredibly cool, especially when piloting a mech—it was impressive.
Why didn't Li Cunxu play? Mechanical pets were too costly, and in the later stages, even a single screw or gear repair could cost a fortune.
Only wealthy players could afford to play with mechanical pets.
"Oil, metal ore, or something else?"
Li Cunxu vaguely remembered that the mechanical pets had a varied diet—eating all sorts from wind to water to soil...
The Mechanical Annihilation Hunter said, "I feed on fuel; no need for Master to worry about our meals; Miss Chen Xi said she would take care of it."
What could Li Cunxu say? He could only remark that the meal was too soft.
After eating the instant noodles, Li Cunxu strolled in the pasture, taking the opportunity to let Xiaoruan tame the Grass Slime.
He had noticed the Grass Slime in the grass long ago.
"Come out, Xiaoruan."
Li Cunxu pointed at a solitary, sleeping Grass Slime in the grass and said, "Go, subdue your subjects!"
Xiaoruan hopped joyfully over.
When Xiaoruan displayed its king's aura, the Grass Slime bowed its head in reverence; however, this imagined scenario didn't happen.
Not only did Xiaoruan fail to subdue the Grass Slime, it was knocked over by the grumpy Grass Slime when awoken.
Seeing this, Li Cunxu sighed helplessly, abandoned fair play, and kicked the Grass Slime, sending it flying over ten meters and rolling for dozens of rounds before stopping.
The Grass Slime's eyes swirled like mosquito coils; it was dizzy from the tumble.
Xiaoruan bounced over, branding the Grass Slime with a vassal imprint.
The branding condition for a vassal imprint: either genuine submission to Xiaoruan or directly defeating the other, leaving them unable to resist being branded.
A group of Grass Slimes gathered together, snoring.
Slimes are semi-elemental creatures; they do not need to sleep. If they do, it's usually out of boredom, exhaustion from play, or mimicking companions.
This time, Li Cunxu didn't send Xiaoruan alone to tame them; Xiaoruan was too weak, so he stepped in himself.
Li Cunxu kicked away another Grass Slime, awakening the surrounding ones, who launched an attack on him.
The Grass Slimes collectively charged, but Li Cunxu ignored them entirely.
With their strength, even if they tried massaging his back, he'd find it too light.
Suddenly, a Grass Slime shot out a blade of grass from behind, slicing at Li Cunxu's head.
Yet... it didn't even cut a strand of hair.
Li Cunxu caught an oncoming Grass Slime, spun around, and threw it like a bowling ball at the Grass Slime that had launched the blade skill.
After a bit of effort, he managed to tame the group of Grass Slimes before the sun completely set.
There were about dozens of Grass Slimes.
Li Cunxu felt a bit tired; fighting Slimes wasn't hard, but controlling his strength was the challenge. If he didn't control it well, the Slimes could die.
"Sigh! Slimes are too fragile, not satisfying to fight."
Li Cunxu addressed the Grass Slimes branded with the vassal imprint, "Come, follow me."
The Grass Slimes looked at each other, not moving.
"As your king's Beast Master, I can't even command you? I give up."
Li Cunxu helplessly told Xiaoruan, "Instruct them to follow me back."
Xiaoruan "bloop bloop" at the Grass Slimes.
The Grass Slimes followed behind Li Cunxu.
The Slimes branded with the vassal imprint seemed to sense Xiaoruan's kingly aura, obediently following its commands.
The Mechanical Annihilation Hunter, after patrolling the ranch, returned to the cabin and saw many Grass Slimes surrounding Li Cunxu, who guarded a big pot, seemingly brewing something.
The Mechanical Annihilation Hunter looked at the green mush in the pot and curiously asked, "What is this?"
"Slime nutrient liquid."
Li Cunxu stirred the green mush with a wooden stick, casually grabbing a handful of dirt and sprinkling it in the pot.
"In simple terms, it's a mixture of grass, dirt, and water."
The vast majority of Slime's diet is simple; drinking some water, eating some grass and soil, satisfies their daily needs.
Li Cunxu distributed the brewed Slime nutrient liquid to the recently tamed Grass Slimes, whose spirits improved greatly after consumption.