Chapter 627: Personable and Charming

The dark-red mantis lowered its head in shame, and the remaining birds were so scared by the presence of this new intruder into their midst that they all tried to fly away.

Zhang Lie killed two and tossed their carcasses at the aliens for them to handle. "Let's have a second round!"

The aliens rubbed their stomachs. "We're still very full."

"Well, I'll eat them all myself, then!"

In the end, the aliens made camp again and roasted the silver birds for Zhang Lie.

.

[For consuming the flesh of a mutated-grade silverwing bird, you received one mutated gene fragment. Current total: 21]

[For consuming the flesh of a mutated-grade silverwing bird, you received one mutated gene fragment. Current total: 22]

[For consuming the flesh of a mutated-grade silverwing bird, you received one mutated gene fragment. Current total: 23]

Perhaps because he had killed too many genetic lifeforms recently, Zhang Lie's body reeked of blood. No more genetic lifeforms bothered them on their journey onwards. These lifeforms weren't fools; the smell of blood would attract genetic lifeforms, but too strong a smell of blood would indicate danger, instead.

Despite how full the aliens claimed to be, they each cut off a slice of meat for themselves—superior-grade flesh was still a rarity for them, after all. The rest was picked clean by the dark-red mantis, who needed the nutrients to support its sudden growth spurt.

By that time, the bats had all died, but Zhang Lie didn't mind. It would be trivial for him to amass another group of lifeforms, at any rate.

He rubbed his jaw. "I suppose I had better name you. How does Red Comet sound?"

Once Red Comet had eaten its fill, Zhang Lie and the aliens set off again. As they headed into a forest, they were once again beset by genetic lifeforms.

As a result, the will of the world's voice continuously chimed in Zhang Lie's head once again.

[You successfully killed a regular-grade darkpack wolf. By consuming the flesh of the regular-grade darkpack wolf, you may receive one to ten regular gene fragments.]

[You successfully killed a regular-grade darkwind spider. By consuming the flesh of the regular-grade darkwind spider, you may receive one to ten regular gene fragments.]

[You successfully killed a mutated-grade inkrune tiger. By consuming the flesh of the mutated-grade inkrune tiger, you may receive one to ten mutated gene fragments.]

[You successfully killed a mutated-grade demonhead pig. By consuming the flesh of the mutated-grade demonhead pig, you may receive one to ten mutated gene fragments.]

Finally, after dealing with what seemed like an interminable number of lifeforms, Zhang Lie arrived at the aliens' village. In order to avoid any suspicion, Zhang Lie had Red Comet remain at the entrance to guard against any foes that might approach.

The village wasn't anything special—the houses were built of clay, and the buildings of wood. By the time they drew near, they had already been spotted by the sentries in the watchtowers.

Aliens rode over on two regular-grade lifeforms, surrounding the crowd and pointing their spears warily at Zhang Lie.

Mu called out to the leader of the guards, "Amu!"

Amu, who seemed like he could be Mu's superior, glanced at the ragtag band in annoyance. "Why have you brought outsiders into the village? Surely you know the danger they possess."

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Mu cried out passionately, "He's our savior, Amu, he saved us all and shared a great deal of food with us! I'm sure he wouldn't hurt the village."

Amu frowned even more tightly. "Just how long have you known him? How are you so certain?"

"How could he?" Mu retorted, as though it were only natural.

"Right, right! Our savior has shown us nothing but kindness all this time."

"We have to thank him for our lives!"

The other aliens all spoke up on Zhang Lie's behalf, but Amu rebuffed them all. He turned to Zhang Lie. "As thanks for saving my kinsmen, I'll overlook the fact that they've brought a stranger like you here—now scram!"

Mu frowned. "Amu, how could you? If not for our savior's help, we would have been eaten by beasts! We brought him here as an honored guest to our village, but now you're trying to cast doubt on him!"

Amu's frown only deepened again. He narrowed his eyes on Zhang Lie. "Just what have you done to my foolish son?"

Mu might be simple-minded, but not to such an extent that he would bring a stranger of unknown origin into his village.

"Do you really want to know?" Zhang Lie's eyes glowed with rainbow light. "Look me in the eye, and I'll tell you."

As the rainbow glow grew stronger, Amu slowly relaxed and began to smile. "Oh, of course! You're Mu's savior—I truly have to thank you. Quick, come inside." He introduced himself in more detail. "I'm the captain of the guards, and I'm responsible for keeping the village safe. I apologize for treating you like a threat before."

Zhang Lie's mistmeld clam soulshard had erased Amu's wariness.

Amu clutched Zhang Lie on the shoulder warmly. "I truly have to thank you for saving my son—come, the occasion calls for a feast!"

Zhang Lie followed him deeper into the village as he asked, "Do you happen to know about a race known as humans?"

Amu cocked his head. "I've never heard of them, but the elder may know more. He's the longest-lived of us all, and he's far more knowledgeable than any of us."

As they headed into the village, the aliens began to point and glance at Zhang Lie with interest, not having seen his like before.

They had just walked up to Amu's house when an elderly, wizened alien, supported by two younger attendants, appeared before them. The elder was garbed in thick clothing, and the wrinkles on his face were so numerous and so deep that a fly could get lost in them. His face was dark.

Amu laughed when he saw the elder. "Ah, speak of the devil!"

The elder's voice was deeper than Zhang Lie would have expected from such a frail body. "Amu, what's the meaning of this? Who's this outsider?"

Amu patted Zhang Lie on the back. "This is my son's savior, as well as my honored guest!"

The elder slammed his walking stick against the ground. "Ridiculous! Have you lost your wits? Don't you remember how your father died?"

Mu countered, "Elder, this man's different! He's my savior and my friend!"

The elder thundered at Mu and his companions, "And you brats—how could you bring an outsider into the village? Don't you know how risky this is?"

An alien beside Zhang Lie turned to him and whispered, "Don't mind the elder too much. In the past, a member of the tribe brought in an outsider. Not long after the outsider left, others of his race came to rob us all. We managed to hold them off after a long fight, but with the location of our village revealed, we had no choice but to retreat."

Zhang Lie nodded and strode forward. "Elder, are you sure you don't recognize me?"

His eyes shone with rainbow light once more, and the elder's lined face quickly turned radiant. "Ah, you've come, you've come!"

He glared at Amu. "How could you not tell me in advance of this man's arrival?!"

Amu scratched his head in confusion, then turned to Zhang Lie. "Just what's going on?"

Zhang Lie shrugged. "Nothing—I'm simply very personable and charming."

Amu's eyes gleamed again. "Indeed, personable and charming, personable and charming!"