Free Web NovelChapter 144: Chapter 144: You Have News of King Zhen Ao?
"You’re actually a Beast King?" A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Qi Suian’s face as he spoke.
He had run out of the experimental materials he needed, so he had no choice but to go out and capture more.
Then, while hunting for Cold Energy Monsters, he spotted one that was different from the rest.
Ordinary Cold Energy Monsters hadn’t changed much, at most growing a bit larger in size.
However, a Beast King, due to its power and unique nature, underwent mutations that made it resemble a creature of myth.
The Beast King Qi Suian had encountered was a white snake, but it had horn-like bumps on its head, similar to a deer’s antlers.
It could even control ice and snow to fly. Judging by its demeanor and intelligence, it was already on par with the old-guard Cold Energy Monsters that had reawakened from the previous cold energy era.
It possessed strength on par with a human’s.
"Human?" The white snake spoke, but it seemed unpracticed. Unlike the giant clam, it wasn’t fluent, and its pronunciation sounded strange.
Fortunately, Qi Suian could understand it, so he nodded. "That’s right. I’m human."
"Leave... territory... or die!" the white snake warned haltingly, its sentence incomplete.
However, Qi Suian ignored its warning and asked his own question, "Have you seen King Zhen Ao around here? He’s a very large lobster."
"As for what he looks like..."
Cold Energy Monsters from the previous cold energy era had indeed awakened, but they were hard to find.
It was rare for Qi Suian to encounter a Cold Energy Monster that could talk.
At this stage, ordinary Cold Energy Monsters couldn’t speak. Their intellectual development was limited, and they were still dominated by their primal instincts.
Only Beast King-level Cold Energy Monsters currently possessed human-level intelligence and the ability to speak.
The white snake didn’t answer Qi Suian’s question. Instead, a murderous glint appeared in its serpentine eyes.
In its view, Qi Suian’s refusal to leave after being warned was a direct provocation.
The next moment, it attacked. It was incredibly fast, streaking toward Qi Suian through the snowstorm like a bolt of white lightning.
"A little slow."
Qi Suian reached out and effortlessly grabbed the white snake by the head.
Both of his stats had reached 5 points. As for this white snake, its physique stat was probably hovering around 2.5 points.
Its Spirit stat was likely even lower, around 2 points.
This was normal; it hadn’t fully matured yet.
Even so, it was already stronger than those in the Polar Day World’s Extraordinary system.
If this white snake Beast King were allowed to continue growing, it would likely reach about 6 points in both stats.
But now, it had no future.
"Let me go, human!" The white snake struggled frantically in Qi Suian’s grasp, trying to break free.
Qi Suian, however, said nothing. Instead, he silently summoned a Floating Cannon, which began to power up as it aimed at the white snake.
The white snake’s body stiffened. Its instincts clearly sensed the danger from the Floating Cannon.
"I have some things I need your cooperation with. I hope you know what’s good for you," Qi Suian said coldly.
Under the threat of the Floating Cannon, the white snake immediately became docile and stopped struggling.
"Now, answer my question. Have you seen the Lobster Beast King I asked you about, the one named King Zhen Ao?" Qi Suian asked again patiently.
"I... I have some impression of him," the white snake said haltingly.
This brought a flicker of joy to Qi Suian’s heart. ’Sure enough, this white snake delivering itself to my doorstep was no accident. It must be my protagonist halo helping me out.’
After all, the protagonist halo could understand human language, so Qi Suian could direct it to some extent. However, due to uncertainties like luck and coincidence, the halo’s performance could be unstable.
Fortunately, that didn’t matter. As long as the results satisfied Qi Suian, it was fine.
"Speak," Qi Suian said, setting the white snake down. He wasn’t worried it would run.
Not only was it slower than him, but the charged Floating Cannon alone was enough to ensure the white snake had no place to be buried.
"Back then, I..." The white snake began its story.
The gist of it was that when it had just been awakened by cold energy and become a Cold Energy Monster, it had stumbled upon a massive creature in hibernation. freeweɓnovel.cøm
Although it hadn’t seen the creature’s full form, parts of it matched Qi Suian’s description perfectly.
"Where is the exact location?" Qi Suian was certain that the creature the white snake had met was definitely King Zhen Ao.
This entire area was under King Zhen Ao’s dominion; no other Beast Kings existed here.
"I... don’t know..." the white snake continued.
"You met him, so how could you not know?" Qi Suian’s tone was laced with displeasure. If the white snake didn’t give him an explanation, it shouldn’t blame him for being ruthless.
"I stumbled in there by accident! When I tried to go back later, I couldn’t find the way." Frightened by Qi Suian, the white snake’s speech suddenly became more fluent.
"What do you mean? It just disappeared?" Hearing this, Qi Suian didn’t doubt it. He could tell the white snake wasn’t lying.
"Yes, it was as if it had never been there," the white snake said truthfully.
As a new-era Beast King, the white snake was still a far cry from the old-guard Beast Kings of the previous era.
The most basic difference was that it couldn’t compare in terms of strength or abilities.
Those old-guard Beast Kings were a crafty bunch. They had dealt with plenty of humans and knew all about scheming and intrigue.
But the new-era Beast Kings had only just emerged from their primal state, so they still retained a naive yet ferocious nature.
At the same time, they would instinctively fear stronger beings, a sign that their wildness hadn’t completely faded.
"Take me to the location you saw it before," Qi Suian said.
Just because the white snake couldn’t find it didn’t mean Qi Suian couldn’t.
Qi Suian had his own theories about this phenomenon.
’King Zhen Ao must have left some kind of contingency measure at his hibernation spot.’
The white snake was able to get in back then because the concentration of cold energy had just begun to rise, and King Zhen Ao’s measures hadn’t fully activated yet.
That was how it managed to see King Zhen Ao. By the time its intelligence had grown and it thought of going back to get a piece of the action, the concentration of cold energy in the environment had already increased.
This caused King Zhen Ao’s measures to fully activate, which was why the white snake could no longer find the place.
As for the time before the cold energy appeared, the measures naturally couldn’t be activated.
To King Zhen Ao, humans without cold energy were no threat at all.
The only real threats to it would emerge after the cold energy returned. These included humans who began practicing the Qi Cultivation Method, the new-era Beast Kings, and its own subordinates, concubines, and offspring who woke up before it did.
Neither the Cold Energy Monsters nor the humans who practiced the Qi Cultivation Method and might have hibernated from the last era could have imagined how quickly this new age would develop.
If King Zhen Ao had been captured by humans before the cold energy arrived, the only outcome would have been ending up on a dinner table. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Resistance would have been impossible. Various modern cutting tools would have ensured King Zhen Ao was portioned out into all sorts of flavors.
Even if it woke up after being captured and managed to escape, it would have had to kill people in the process. At that point, it wouldn’t be facing mere fishermen.
Instead, as the situation escalated, it would have to face various armed authorities.
King Zhen Ao’s shell couldn’t possibly withstand a sniper rifle bullet, let alone other firearms.
So, it could only be thankful for the low temperatures and blizzards of this winter apocalypse, which greatly reduced the effectiveness of human firearms. Otherwise, what were Beast Kings or Ancestral Courts? They would be nothing more than a bunch of rare animals destined for a zoo.
"I’ll lead the way, but you have to let me go," the white snake said, its speech becoming more and more fluent.
"Fine," Qi Suian agreed immediately.
As for actually letting it go? That was impossible. He wasn’t some good guy; there was absolutely no need to keep his promise.
He had already classified himself as being on the side of evil, so going back on his word was a trivial matter.
This was the apocalypse. Why would he honor an agreement with a Beast King-level Cold Energy Monster?
Even if he broke his promise, no one would know. Besides, Qi Suian didn’t care about his reputation or credibility.
A Beast King-level Cold Energy Monster was valuable enough to Qi Suian to more than compensate for the small cost of being untrustworthy.
The white snake was also wary. It was naturally worried that Qi Suian would be dishonorable.
But it had no choice. Trusting Qi Suian was its only option.
"I don’t need your guarantee. I need you to..." The white snake tried to propose a more favorable condition for itself.
However, before it could finish, Qi Suian cut it off.
"You’re in no position to make demands. You can choose to take me there, and then I’ll let you go."
"Or, you can refuse, and I’ll kill you right now." Qi Suian had no intention of listening to its demands.
’You’re already my prisoner, how dare you try to make demands?’
The Geneva Conventions on prisoners of war only apply to things that have human rights.
Qi Suian didn’t even give special treatment to other human survivors, let alone a snake.
Interrupted by Qi Suian, the white snake didn’t dare say anything more.
It could tell that Qi Suian wasn’t bluffing.
"You have value, so I can spare your life. But that doesn’t give you the right to push your luck with me."
"Lead the way," Qi Suian said coldly.
In the end, the white snake could only obediently lead Qi Suian.
Of course, Qi Suian didn’t fully trust it. The Floating Cannon remained locked on, and he maintained a safe distance from the white snake.
If it made any sudden moves, he could instantly grab its vital spot and use his Dragon and Tiger Primordial Force to pulp it on the spot.
’That white bear from before must have also been a Beast King-level Cold Energy Monster, but it had probably just qualified as a Beast King and hadn’t developed yet.’
’And since it was on the Ice Continent, its potential and growth rate were definitely much greater than this white snake’s.’
’This white snake’s level, once fully grown, should be mid-tier, similar to King Zhen Ao.’
’As for a top-tier Beast King, that would probably be the whale-like creature I saw swimming under the ice when I was on the Ice Continent.’
’I wonder if it can come ashore. If not, then I don’t have to worry about it as a threat.’
Qi Suian wasn’t planning on messing around in the sea, so naturally, he didn’t need to worry about Beast King-level Cold Energy Monsters that could only survive in the ocean.
But with things like this, it’s not the certainty you fear, but the one-in-a-million chance.
Especially since cold energy had the ability to accelerate the evolution of life.
