Chapter Sixty: Tribes and Third-Level Lifeforms

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Xu Hui and Li Dong sat on the ground, dazed and despondent, unable to recover for a long time. Yet at this moment, Zhang Shuping, who had vanished ahead of them, suddenly let out a sigh and, looking somewhat forlorn, sat down beside them just as the two hung their heads in despair.

It wasn’t that Zhang Shuping had had a change of heart and returned of his own accord—it was the group of people who had appeared behind him that had driven him back.

“Well, you sure can run,” Liu Yu remarked with a faint smirk as he looked at the dispirited trio, shaking his head. Then, turning to the soldier examining the other two, he asked, “How about these two? What are their readings?”

“Reporting, Captain. Their contamination levels are the same as the last one—zero,” replied the soldier.

“Interesting,” Liu Yu snorted softly, a hint of amusement in his voice. He removed his face shield, which resembled a gas mask, and gestured for the other soldiers to take off their heavy masks as well.

Li Dong lifted his head slightly, looking at the officers and soldiers who had suddenly appeared, as well as Zhang Shuping. His face was calm and lifeless. Compared to the terror brought by the giant deer, being captured by soldiers didn’t faze him much. So, when the soldiers appeared, Li Dong’s expression hardly changed.

Seeing the look of utter despair on Li Dong’s face, as if he were mourning a lost loved one, Liu Yu frowned. “You don’t know how lucky you are—blessed with such fortune, yet you act like you’ve lost everything.”

“All right, I won’t bother explaining. Just come with us now.”

With that, Liu Yu had no intention of saying another word. He cast a long, searching look into the depths of the forest before turning to put his mask back on and marching away.

Li Dong, Xu Hui, and Zhang Shuping were all taken away together, without the slightest thought of resistance. Yet compared to Zhang Shuping, a touch of life returned to the ashen faces of Li Dong and Xu Hui—because they had caught the meaning in Liu Yu’s words. It was precisely those words that rekindled a faint hope in their hearts.

Full of questions and confusion, the three soon left the mysterious and terrifying forest with the soldiers. The squad did not venture deeper—they were only tasked with retrieving three “stowaways.”

——————

[Sika Deer Status Unfolded]

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[Condition: Good]
[Life Level: 2]
[Vitality: 99.99 (max 5)] (×20)
[Body Length: 49.99 (max 10 meters)] (×5)
[Shoulder Height: 29.99 (max 6 meters)] (×5)
[Age: 3 years (max 50 years)] (×5)
[Trait ①: ******* (damaged)]
[Trait ②: Visual Contamination (medium)]
[Trait ③: Life Grafting (high)]
[Trait ④: Racial Seer (medium)]

When Ji Yu once again descended into the form of the sika deer, it was already midday. By this time, all of the deer’s attributes had reached their maximum limits. Every stat had hit its threshold.

Naturally, a new guidance quest appeared in Ji Yu’s game interface, but before the quest, there was a notification—and it was a reward.

[Congratulations, player, on completing Phase One of the Sika Deer Incarnation. As a special reward, one random trait of the Sika Deer Incarnation will be raised by one level.]
[Congratulations, player. Your Sika Deer Incarnation’s Racial Seer trait has increased by one level.]
[Racial Seer (high): 1. Under this trait, lower-ranked kin are shielded from your negative traits; 2. The perception strength of lower-ranked kin sensing the Seer is enhanced; 3. The speed and probability of lower-ranked kin near the Seer breaking through to new life levels is slightly increased.]

Upon seeing that the upgraded trait was Racial Seer, Ji Yu couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed. After all, Life Grafting was also among the deer’s traits. Ji Yu had been eager to see the effects of another breakthrough in Life Grafting, hoping his own version of the trait would be further strengthened. But such hopes were just wishful thinking.

Still, it wasn’t bad—an improvement to Racial Seer was worthwhile. If it allowed ordinary sika deer to break through their life limits, even with a slim probability, it was better than Ji Yu groping around in the dark.

After all, just look at the grass and trees nearby. They had all been strengthened by Life Grafting, but every one of them was stuck, unable to break through their current life level. This had temporarily shelved Ji Yu’s ambitions of creating an army of creatures. What could a legion of level-one peak lifeforms accomplish? They were nothing more than slightly stronger ordinary creatures—one bullet for each, with no need for further enhancement.

But now, with the Racial Seer trait upgraded, there was a chance for kin to break through and become level-two extraordinary beings.

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Now things were starting to look interesting.

But speaking of probability, Ji Yu had new questions. Was there a pattern to how these creatures broke through to level two? Was it purely chance, or did it depend on accumulating enough changes for a sudden leap?

He had tried it with the grass and trees before, pouring vast amounts of vitality into them, but once they reached their limits, they could no longer absorb even a trace more life energy. Without being able to absorb life energy, how could they accumulate enough for a breakthrough? Would they have to rely on nutrients from soil, sunlight, and water to achieve it on their own?

If so, then for ordinary life to break through to level two was exceedingly difficult, since there was no shortcut.

So at this moment, Ji Yu’s mind was full of questions. After all, his own breakthroughs, as well as those of the oak and the sika deer, were all achieved through game-guided missions—guidance that could not be replicated by other lifeforms.

Let’s not forget, Ji Yu was playing with a so-called enhanced version of the Buff. How could that be the same?

Unable to figure it out, Ji Yu decided not to dwell on it. For now, he was only interested in experimenting with the sika deer kin—whatever the outcome, he would see in time.

[Guidance Mission Two: Guide individuals in the sika deer herd to break through to Life Level Two. When there are one hundred level-two sika deer near the Incarnation, you will receive a special reward to upgrade to a level-three lifeform.]

As Ji Yu focused on Guidance Mission Two, a thoughtful expression crossed his face.

“Vitality upgrades for the oak are difficult, so the quest provides guidance to create more nature spirits among its kind. The sika deer’s breakthrough to level three is similar—it also focuses on empowering the kin. Is there something the game is trying to reveal through these missions?”

“A tribe, level three—perhaps there’s an inevitable connection here. If the oak manages to reach level-two peak, does that mean it must also help a hundred oaks reach level two, or maybe even more? And now, the oak’s mission to foster nature spirits among its kin is just the preparation for the next step?”

“Oaks have no souls, so help them create souls first; with souls, they can meditate and break through to higher levels of life more effectively.”

With these thoughts, Ji Yu became more convinced. There must be a connection between kin groups and level-three lifeforms—or perhaps this was simply the template for breakthroughs in the game system.

Ji Yu was intensely curious, and a little bit excited.

But excitement aside, he hadn’t forgotten the threat from the official authorities of Lyon regarding his sika deer incarnation. So, after reading all the game prompts, Ji Yu began to review everything that had happened to the sika deer that day.