Chapter 74 - The Gradually Stabilizing Green Sea City

Since Dr. Gu had entrusted Lu Ran with such an important responsibility, he was very attentive to the situation in Green Sea City and determined not to mess it up. The next morning, to win over the wild animal population of the Green Sea, Lu Ran started his day early.

He entered Limitless City #3 and spent a hefty sum of 1,200 crystal coins to purchase several days’ worth of Advanced-grade food for metal, water, fire, earth, ice, and dark attribute creatures.

He then returned to Green Sea and delivered the food to Insect King, Mystic Turtle, Fire Snake, One Ear, Ice Bird, and Dark Crow.

Although they had all evolved to over level 10, they were still in the early stages of awakening and lacked the knowledge and combat power of Captain Doofus, who had been carefully nurtured by a beastmaster.

These Advanced-grade foods were exactly what they needed. At this stage, it was impossible for them to find anything in Green Sea City that suited them as well.

Initially, some of the creatures had complaints. However, after realizing that working for King Lu brought real benefits, they became as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline. Fire Snake was the prime example. It had one attitude before being beaten, another after being beaten, and yet another after receiving rewards.

Combining communication, resource feeding, and overwhelming strength, Lu Ran had no doubt that this first batch of Superior-Transcendent mutated creatures in Green Sea City had been fully tamed.

Other cities were still struggling with how to drive away or eliminate Superior-Transcendent mutated beasts, whereas Green Sea City had already formed a group of Superior-Transcended mutated beasts that called themselves “The Seven Beast Generals Under the King’s Command,” who worked for Lu Ran to help maintain city order without even needing contracts.

Whether or not they were effective was another story, but it was certainly a promising start.

For the next entire week, Lu Ran did nothing else but personally lead Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King, continuing to subdue more underlings.

Although all the Superior-Transcendent mutated beasts over level 10 had been subdued, those below level 10 were still valuable.

With the help of the Seven Beast Generals Under the King’s Command, Lu Ran spent his days conversing with well-evolved wild boars, rats, and even the queen of the bee colonies.

By the end of the week, Lu Ran had personally conversed with most of the wild animal species in Green Sea City. The process went smoothly, especially since many of them were Lu Ran’s old friends to begin with. His team grew larger and larger, snowballing in size.

The title “King of Green Sea” still felt a bit off a week ago for Lu Ran. However, now, with General Doofus, the Seven Beast Generals, and over a hundred wild species in Green Sea City submitting to him, his title was fully deserved.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

“You’re here.”

The next morning, after Lu Ran had woken up, Fang Lan came to visit. When Lu Ran opened the door, he saw her standing there with a slightly resentful expression.

“A week! That’s too long!”

“There wasn’t anything I could do...” Lu Ran replied helplessly. “I’ve been trying to subdue all of them one by one. I only slept four hours a day, running on ice honey tea the whole time. But it’s all good now. I’ll take you with me later and introduce you to the Five Poison Species. After that, they’re yours to manage.”

“Ice honey tea, that tasty drink! Do you have any left?” Fang Lan asked, licking her lips greedily.

“Yes, I’ll get some from the fridge for you.”

Ice honey tea was a fruit tea drink made from the Ice Heart Tea Leaves harvested from the small mountain, combined with honey produced by transcendent bees that gathered it from extraordinary plants.

The Ice Heart Tea Leaves helped relieve mental fatigue, while the transcendent honey—limited by the range of extraordinary plant resources in Green Sea—primarily restored physical strength. Though each ingredient offered a relatively simple benefit on its own, the combination created an excellent drink that both restored energy and eased fatigue.

At this moment, Lu Ran was already enjoying the perks of being the King of Green Sea. The tea leaves and honey were free, after all. Although Ice Bird always cried when Lu Ran picked the tea leaves and the queen bee reluctantly offered the honey, Lu Ran knew deep down they still wanted him to have it!

It was far better than the Wood Scale Fruit—something even Captain Doofus refused to eat anymore. Nowadays, whenever Captain Doofus got tired, a sip of ice honey tea was enough to replenish his energy and stamina.

In short, ice honey tea was the first resource benefit Lu Ran had enjoyed since becoming King of Green Sea. He brewed some for himself, sent some to Fang Lan’s house via express delivery, and kept some as rewards for those who had worked hard to maintain the city’s stability.

Judging by Fang Lan’s reaction, it seemed she had definitely developed a taste for it.

“

Gulp.

”

After another drink of iced honey tea, Fang Lan felt refreshed. She shook her purple ponytail happily and wiped the honey droplets from her lips.

“This is great! If you sold this in Limitless City #3, you’d make a fortune.”

“The Ice Heart Tea Tree doesn’t produce much. I’ve already enlisted some Grass-attribute mutated beasts to help Ice Bird tend to the tree. Once production increases, we’ll see,” Lu Ran said.

“Hmmm...”

Fang Lan felt that Lu Ran was living the good life, like a local tyrant in Green Sea City!

“Alright, let’s go. I’ll call Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King, and then we’ll head over,” Lu Ran said.

“You two, come out now.”

As soon as Lu Ran called out, the door to one of the rooms burst open, and Captain Doofus ran out excitedly, barking in a friendly greeting at Fang Lan.

“

Woof!

”

These days, Captain Doofus was as big as a tiger, looking majestic and imposing. Fang Lan cracked a smile. Who would have thought that the little puppy Lu Ran picked up would now firmly hold the number one spot for potential among familiars across several provinces?

“Whoa.”

What surprised Fang Lan even more, however, was the red-eyed crocodile skink she had given to Lu Ran.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Although Lu Ran had mentioned that the lizard had evolved into a transcendent species, seeing the half-meter-long Sudden Death King in person still shocked her.

Especially its current state! Its robust body looked as though it were carved from stone, with black and brown hues intertwined across its form, while white lightning flickered between its scales.

Covering its entire body—its neck, head, tail, claws, fangs, and four powerful legs—was a thick layer of spiked Lightning Scale Armor. The lizard seemed bathed in lightning, protected by its own shimmering lightning shield.

Combined with its fiery red eyes, Sudden Death King looked incredibly striking. Truly the most handsome lizard around.

“Is that the red-eyed crocodile skink? Energy Formation?”

“Yes.”

Lu Ran glanced at it and smiled at Fang Lan.

“What do you think? I’ve raised your birthday gift well, haven’t I?”

“Croak!”

At that moment, Sudden Death King noticed its second owner and stared eagerly.

Isn’t this armor cool? It had been earned through near-death experiences!

Sudden Death King couldn’t even count how many times Captain Doofus had tormented it. At one point, it truly thought it was going to die.

“Why is it still maintaining Energy Formation inside the house?” Fang Lan was puzzled.

“Uh, probably for a sense of security?” Lu Ran guessed.

After all, Captain Doofus did have a habit of ambushing it. Initially, Lu Ran wondered if he was being too harsh on Sudden Death King, but within just a few days, it had actually mastered Lightning Formation, creating armor for itself. Lu Ran was speechless.

For a moment, he didn’t know whether to praise Sudden Death King for its aptitude, Captain Doofus for its training methods, or himself for the brilliant idea of leaving Captain Doofus in charge of training.

For a timid and pain-fearing creature like Sudden Death King, frequent ambushes clearly brought out its potential. To protect itself, it had no choice but to quickly master its Lightning Scale Armor.

Now, Captain Doofus no longer ambushed Sudden Death King because, without using any skills, his claws and fangs alone couldn’t penetrate the spiked Lightning Scale Armor. On the contrary, the spikes on Sudden Death King’s armor could shock Captain Doofus enough to leave his skin numb.

However, Sudden Death King didn’t dare let its guard down. Afraid that Captain Doofus might sneak attack it with sword qi, it maintained its Lightning Scale Armor at all times. Fortunately, the armor consumed little energy, making it more a test of willpower and focus than stamina.

Over the past week, both Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King had been well-fed. On their journey to dominate Green Sea, Lu Ran and his crew encountered a mix of obedient and rebellious transcendent creatures.

For instance, just a few days ago, they had encountered a swarm of mutated mosquitoes that refused to submit. Without hesitation, Lu Ran summoned his generals and wiped out the entire swarm, feeding them to Sudden Death King.

With a diet of transcendent creatures and the benefits of the spiritual energy revival, Sudden Death King’s malnutrition was finally improving.

“Alright. I guess that makes sense.”

Fang Lan accepted the explanation, but why did Sudden Death King look so pitiful?

Lu Ran chuckled, returned Captain Doofus to his black card, and as soon as he did, Sudden Death King immediately deactivated its Lightning Scale Armor and sighed in relief.

“Let’s go. Today is your birthday. The five poison species of Green Sea City will be my birthday gift to you. We’ll have them celebrate with you later,” Lu Ran said.

Fang Lan paused. “I thought you had forgotten my birthday.”

“How could I?” Lu Ran replied.

“Why else would I wait until today to let you take over?

“Oh, and this is for you too.”

As he spoke, Lu Ran took out the Dragon Scorpion Tail Needle he had acquired earlier and handed it to Fang Lan.

“Another birthday gift. This is a poison-type resource: the Dragon Scorpion Tail Needle. It contains petrifying poison. You should be able to use it.”

“Where did you get this? From the raid boss? You’ve been keeping it from me until now?” Fang Lan exclaimed in surprise.

“At least you’re thoughtful. I’ve been preparing something for you, too.”

“Huh?” Lu Ran was confused.

“What did you prepare for me?”

Fang Lan huffed. “Didn’t you say before that you wanted to challenge the Minotaur Boss in the Abandoned Laboratory Secret Realm? Now that things are settled in Green Sea City, I’m sure you’ll be heading there soon.

“I did some research. That boss has an incredibly strong defense and life force, so it’ll be hard to deal with. And I bet you’ll try to solo it again, you lone wolf.”

She took out a bottle of white potion and continued, “I bought some materials and crafted a poison specifically for Dark-attribute creatures. After you injure the Minotaur Boss, find a way to inject this poison into its wounds. It’ll accelerate its life force drain.

“You can buy a crossbow from the smithy. Don’t put the poison on Captain Doofus’ sword. Although this poison targets Dark-attribute creatures, with Captain Doofus’ intelligence, I’m afraid it might poison itself by accident. Even if the effect would be reduced, it’s still risky!

“Anyway, don’t be reckless. If you don’t think you can beat it, I’ll go with you and support you. Don’t underestimate Poison-attribute familiars’ ability to fight above their rank.”

Lu Ran was stunned. He didn’t expect Fang Lan to be so thorough. He couldn’t help but smile.

“As expected of the Five Poisons Saintess! I was worried about this boss. My plan was to upgrade Captain Doofus’ weapon if he couldn’t handle it. But with this poison, plus the weapon upgrade, I feel like it’s in the bag.”

Fang Lan rolled her eyes.

“Let’s hope so. By the way, doesn’t Limitless City #3 not have the Abandoned Laboratory Secret Realm?”

“Right. I’ll have to visit a nearby Limitless City to challenge that secret realm. With the Heavenly Familiar Rankings coming to a close, it’s Pluto’s lucky day,” Lu Ran said.

Each familiar could only appear on one Heavenly Familiar Ranking. If he went to another Limitless City to challenge the Abandoned Laboratory Secret Realm, Captain Doofus would appear on that city’s ranking instead, meaning he and Captain Doofus would disappear from the Limitless City #3 ranking.

That idiot Pluto would be overjoyed after likely securing first place

.

But the person holding the top spot in the other Limitless City might have reasons to cry. Though, what did that have to do with Lu Ran?