Chapter 64: Accepting All Challengers

"Er, well, there's nothing urgent. I was just bored and... wanted to invite you to play?" Chu Xun ventured carefully.

"To play? ?Who do you think I am, a companion of yours? I tolerated your behavior the last few times on account of your brother, but I'm not letting you get away with this anymore, do you hear me? Now, immediately, at once, get out!"

Zhang Lie pointed at the door as he marshalled Chu Xun out of his room.

He felt that drastic measures were necessary on account of the expression that Chu Xun was giving him.If he didn't make matters clear, he might accidentally endorse her attraction to him, and that would be troublesome indeed. The best way to prevent that was to be blunt, so blunt that he couldn't be misunderstood.

"I'm leaving! You don't have to be so mean!" The sudden antipathy in Zhang Lie's actions left Chu Xun quite bewildered, and she, who had been pampered from birth, hardly knew how to react to such a circumstance. With tears in her eyes, she covered her face as she fled from the room.

"How ridiculous!" Zhang Lie clucked, once she had left. Wasn't?he?the victim? "Alright, I don't want to think about it anymore! It's time to check on my armor."

Zhang Lie shook his head fervently as he decided what to do next.

When Zhang Lie returned to the S-ranked robotic forge, the robot who handled Zhang Lie's order immediately recognized him.

"Welcome back, Mr. Zhang Lie. Your order is finished. Would you like to retrieve it now?"

"Yes, retrieve it."

"Please inspect the goods." As the robotic voice spoke, the lid of a box on the countertop slid open to reveal a set of exquisite, elegant armor appeared in front of Zhang Lie.

The dark red of the blood ant had merged perfectly with the deep violet of the venombane scorpion with impeccable design and functionality. The contours of the armor fit him perfectly and reflected the two superior-grade lifeforms from which it had been made. The appearance of the armor was majestic enough that even Zhang Lie was somewhat dazzled by the sight.

The armor consisted of six pieces: helmet, cuirass, tasset, greaves, pauldrons, and vambrace. Each piece was flawless, and fitted perfectly with the other pieces.

Zhang Lie had seen the design for the armor beforehand, but when he saw the finished product in front of him, he was still amazed by its overall quality.

It was totally worth the price he'd paid—materials from two superior-grade lifeforms, along with 800,000 points!

Zhang Lie couldn't resist the temptation to put on the armor immediately. Moments later, the black-cloaked Zhang Lie became a warrior in gleaming red and purple.

With the activation of his genetic energy, a shimmering, pale blue shield appeared before the armor's surface. Zhang Lie tested its durability and was very pleased.

"Mr. Zhang Lie, your order has been completed. We wish you luck in your hunt!" the robotic voice piped up again, seeing Zhang Lie wearing the armor with a satisfied smile.

Zhang Lie nodded at the robot, draped his black cloak over the armor, and then left the forge. With his new armor, Zhang Lie was perfectly confident of being able to harvest the bear's-heart grass. In fact, because of this armor, he would be able to approach a more dangerous harvesting spot, accomplishing two goals in one swoop: harvesting the herbs he needed, as well as obtaining a few more superior gene fragments.

The Bear Spires was a location far past the outskirts of the Blacksteel settlement, with intense, fluctuating magnetic fields that caused the spires—great hunks of rock and steel—to levitate in mid-air.

Because of the fluctuations in the field and the instability of the levitating spires, there were frequent rockslides in the area, which were particularly dangerous for hunters caught unawares.

This was the native habitat of a class of giant bear-type lifeforms that were naturally insensitive to the magnetic field in the region, known as the bimu bears. These lifeforms possessed earth-attuned genetic energy, and had massive, strong bodies.

Most adult bimu bears were superior-grade lifeforms, about seven to eight meters tall at full extension, with a weight of about a few dozen tons, and the ability to toss around boulders the size of small hills: the paradigm of brawny strength.

Most frightening was the fact that these lifeforms lived in packs: they would wander around in groups of two and three, and regular hunters certainly wouldn't dare to try to hunt them down.

Elderly bimu bears, in their dying days, would travel to a certain spot on the spires and peacefully await their death. Under the influence of the magnetic field and geography of the region, crystalline stalks of grass would grow right by the hearts of these bear carcasses.

These special stalks of grass were the last ingredient that Zhang Lie needed for Potion #2, and the spot where these elderly bears would go to die was known as the Bimu Harbor.

It was true that the Bimu Harbor wasn't the only place in the Bear Spires where the bear's-heart grass could grow; after all, some elderly bears would die before they could reach the harbor.

Under these circumstances, it was rare that bear's-heart grass would grow, but there was always a vanishingly small probability of their doing so. Zhang Lie's original intention had been to head to the vicinity of the harbor under stealth, hoping to find these accidental growths, but with his new armor, he felt that he would be able to sneak within the harbor itself and to slaughter the elderly bears that lay dying there.

Naturally, the Bimu Harbor was a sacred place for the bimu bears, and they wouldn't allow any other lifeforms to approach. If Zhang Lie were to carry out his plan, he would inevitably attract the attention of such bears, and would certainly have to fight them off.

As the Bear Spires came within sight, the corners of Zhang Lie's mouth lifted with excitement, and his body slowly faded into nothingness. Wielding Venombane in one hand, Zhang Lie activated the strongest stealth he could sustain, then headed quickly toward the spires.

The moment he stepped forward, he felt his body begin to sink, as though gravity had increased dramatically. Zhang Lie naturally began to adjust his breathing and movement to suit the high-gravity environment, but just as he took a heavy step forward, gravity seemed to vanish entirely.

Caught blindsided, Zhang Lie wobbled into visibility in the next moment.

He smiled again at the spires looming before him. It looked as though navigating the terrain would be his first obstacle. As a hunter, however, Zhang Lie was no stranger to such trials, and even grew excited at the prospect of overcoming such hurdles.

After all, since his rebirth, he had always been in a rather sheltered environment, and it had been quite a long time since he had had to struggle with such obstacles. Now that he was finally experiencing a challenge again, his indomitable will swelled with excitement.

.

Given his years of experience, navigating the terrain quickly became trivial to him.

After traipsing through the surroundings and gaining a sense for the unpredictability of the magnetic field, Zhang Lie was successfully able to step into the spires and begin his hunt for traces of the bimu bears.