The lead Wood-toothed Rat had already recovered from the slowing effect. It suddenly spat a glowing nut from its cheek pouch and hurled it at Ziyue with its front paws.
“Intercept with Ice Blade!”
Liu Yi commanded immediately. A nut bomb would deal explosive damage and couldn't be allowed to get close.
Hearing the order, Ziyue controlled the remaining three ice blades and sent them shooting toward the incoming nut.
With a loud bang, the nut and the ice blades collided violently in mid-air. A burst of blinding green light instantly erupted, causing the surrounding fern leaves to shake violently.
Liu Yi narrowed her eyes, noticing a brief opening in the cooperation between the three Wood-toothed Rats.
“Now! Focus your attack on the one on the left.” Liu Yi made a split-second decision and issued a new command.
Ziyue charged rapidly toward the injured Wood-toothed Rat on the left. A close-range Ice Blade hit it directly; the rat didn't even have time to let out a cry before it collapsed to the ground.
“Mu chi!”
Seeing this, the lead Wood-toothed Rat grew desperate. It let out a sharp cry and lunged toward Ziyue in an attempt to save its companion.
However, its attack slammed directly into the Ice Armor that Ziyue had been maintaining.
With a crisp crack, the lead Wood-toothed Rat was bounced back by the counter-force, and a layer of ice actually formed over its incisors.
The last Wood-toothed Rat suddenly jumped down from a tree, attempting a sneak attack from above.
Liu Yi had long since noticed its movements: “Above you, Ice Blade.”
Ziyue quickly fired five ice blades upward simultaneously, all of them hitting the Wood-toothed Rat while it was unable to dodge in mid-air.
The rat fell heavily to the ground, unable to get back up for the moment.
“Mu... Mu chi!”
Seeing another companion defeated in the blink of an eye, the lead Wood-toothed Rat—already heavily injured by Frost Breath and the recoil from the Ice Armor—let out a strained cry, signaling its surrender.
Once the Wood-toothed Rat surrendered, the Points Detector emitted two “beeps” and began broadcasting:
【Successfully defeated Wood-toothed Rat pack, points obtained: 35】
【Current total points: 60】
【Current ranking: 43】
Liu Yi glanced at the three Wood-toothed Rats slumped on the ground, then quickly walked over to Ziyue, taking recovery liquid and energy liquid from her backpack to replenish her pet.
“Feng feng!”
Directly above Liu Yi, Ziyue, and the Wood-toothed Rat pack, a small Wind Eagle circled twice, let out a cry, and then flew away.
Liu Yi looked up and noticed a blue band tied around one of the Wind Eagle’s talons.
A Wind Eagle was the Junior stage of a Storm Eagle. It seemed it was likely arranged by the Qinglan Advanced Beast Taming Academy to patrol the Secret Realm.
Just then, the lead Wood-toothed Rat suddenly moved. It struggled to its feet and shook its head, shaking off the ice shards on its incisors.
It made no move to attack. Instead, it used its paws to rummage through its fluffy tail, seemingly looking for something inside.
Soon, the Wood-toothed Rat pulled out a small seed that emitted a faint green glow and carefully pushed it toward Liu Yi.
“Is this...?” Liu Yi crouched down and cautiously picked up the seed.
The moment Liu Yi touched the seed, the Points Detector emitted a “beep” prompt:
【Received gift from Wood-toothed Rat: Energy Seed x1, extra points obtained: 10】
【Current total points: 70】
【Current ranking: 37】
“So there’s a chance to get extra rewards after defeating wild pets?”
Liu Yi looked at the Wood-toothed Rat thoughtfully.
“Mu chi, mu chi.”
Seeing her accept the seed, the lead Wood-toothed Rat seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as if it had fulfilled its mission. It let out two cries, and the other two Wood-toothed Rats managed to scramble up as well.
The three Wood-toothed Rats supported each other, limping away into the bushes.
Liu Yi smiled and put the Energy Seed into her backpack.
“Bing bing!”
Having fully replenished her state, Ziyue jumped onto Liu Yi’s shoulder and lifted her head proudly with a cry. She was asking if she was impressive for defeating three Wood-toothed Rats!
“Yes, our Ziyue is truly amazing!” Liu Yi rubbed her head and continued:
“Let’s keep going. We shouldn’t be far from the supply station now.”
She had another idea regarding how to earn points, but she might need to reach the supply station before she could verify it.
...
Liu Yi led Ziyue along the stream. The surrounding vegetation gradually thinned out, and the terrain began to level off.
Before long, a wooden building appeared in their line of sight—they had reached the supply station.
A wooden sign stood at the entrance, which read: 【Northeast Zone No. 3 Supply Station】.
Two volunteers wearing Qinglan Academy uniforms stood nearby, seemingly preparing to head out.
“We just got word that the Wood-toothed Rat pack near here needs medical attention,” one of the volunteers said.
“Those three were actually defeated?” the other volunteer asked in surprise. “Did some participants team up? But points can't be split.”
“Who knows,” the first volunteer shook her head. “Isn’t that person at the top of the leaderboard also quite ridiculous?”
As they spoke, the two walked in the direction Liu Yi had come from, quickly disappearing from view.
Liu Yi pushed open the door to the supply station and found that several other participants were already inside.
The supply station was well-equipped. On the left was a supply counter with various potions and food neatly arranged on it.
On the right was a row of comfortable lounge chairs and dining tables for participants to rest and eat.
In the center of the space stood several points exchange terminals.
A few participants were standing in front of these terminals, carefully reviewing the information on the screens.
Liu Yi walked to an empty points exchange terminal. The screen displayed an exchange list:
【Accommodation: 10 points/night】
【Treatment: 10 points/time】
【C-rank recovery liquid: 1 point/bottle】
【C-rank energy liquid: 1 point/bottle】
【Resource point annotated map: 30 points/copy】
【Food combo: 5 points/set (Includes one meal for person and pet)】
Liu Yi quickly scanned the list, her gaze lingering on the ‘resource point annotated map’ for a moment.
A price of 30 points wasn't cheap for this map.
Furthermore, the value of this map would decrease the later it was used, and it might even become completely useless eventually.
Moreover, even now, many participants were already discovering resource points on their way to the supply stations.
She would wait until after she had verified her theory before considering whether to exchange for this map.
Liu Yi first spent 5 points to exchange for a food combo. She didn't need to exchange for recovery or energy liquids, as she could just take those directly from her Beast Taming Space.
After the exchange was successful, the Points Detector emitted a prompt:
【Exchanged for 1 food combo, points deducted: 5】
【Current total points: 65】
【Current ranking: 40】
Rate on N.U.
