Chapter 141: Taking Stock of the Gains

While the others were still chatting, Lin Xiao finally arrived at the scene. He thought to himself that if he did not show initiative at a time like this, he would be doing himself a disservice.

"I have arrived!"

Seeing Lin Xiao arrive in a flurry of activity, everyone’s faces lit up, and their gazes toward him were filled with gratitude.

"Listen, everyone. It is fine if the four beauties look at me like that, but you big guys, stop staring at me so lustfully. I don’t swing that way!"

Zi Shu and the others were amused by Lin Xiao, knowing he was just trying to lighten the mood.

"Alright, enough clowning around. We were just waiting for you. I wonder how much we have actually harvested this time?"

Lin Xiao did not reply immediately; instead, he went straight to Wu Ma and Shen Hou. Thanks to Mao Tu’s treatment, their spirits had improved significantly, and at the very least, they had stopped coughing up blood.

"Are you two brothers alright?"

"We're fine. Not dead yet."

Seeing them in better condition, Lin Xiao felt truly relieved. Without waiting for their objections, he took out a bottle of Rejuvenation Pills, shook out two, and fed them to the men. Under the effect of the pills, their injuries began to heal rapidly, and they were soon full of life again.

Mao Tu thought to herself, "Am I redundant here?"

"Sigh, Brother Hai Zhu, why waste such precious medicine? Mao Tu’s treatment was enough, even if it might have been a bit slower!"

"Exactly, that is too wasteful."

Lin Xiao looked puzzled. "Is it really that wasteful? I have plenty of pills like these!"

Everyone else stared at him in disbelief. Was that even something a person would say? Lin Xiao’s remark effectively choked back the words of gratitude Zi Shu had intended to express, leaving him feeling rather stifled. He became even more curious about Lin Xiao’s background. He had not wanted to use his own Rejuvenation Pills earlier because he had so few, and now, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of resentment toward Lin Xiao’s wealth.

"Anyway, let’s not dwell on that. You were the main force in this battle, so it was only right to prioritize your recovery."

Since Lin Xiao had put it that way, the others had nothing more to say.

"Now that everyone is here, let’s not stand around. Let’s get to work and see what our total haul is."

Zi Shu gave the signal, and everyone immediately began to move. Lin Xiao was no exception; there were too many spirit beasts to just stand by and watch. This time, he did not use his X-ray vision. He had used it before to avoid unnecessary effort, but things were different now—the carcasses were all right there, and they couldn't run away. Using his ability to check for spirit beads would take away the thrill of opening a blind box.

Spirit beasts were valuable in their entirety—their fur, teeth, and meat—but the spirit beads were undoubtedly the most precious. Thus, everyone checked for them first. As they worked, they chatted away.

"Hai Zhu, I’m a bit curious: how did you manage to take down the Stone Beast leader? Of course, I’m just asking—if you don’t want to answer, I won’t push you."

"I can tell you. It was because I used a Spirit-Infused Bullet. It’s a special type of ammunition given to me by an elder. I don’t have many myself, but it was worth using one to save you all."

"A Spirit-Infused Bullet? What kind of bullet is that?"

Hearing this, others were curious, but Zi Shu narrowed his eyes. Others might not know what such a bullet was, but he had, by sheer coincidence, learned a little about them. They were the signature ammunition of the legendary military sniper Sha Nuo. Why would Lin Xiao have them? Could it be...? Zi Shu kept his thoughts to himself, though his curiosity about Lin Xiao’s identity only deepened.

"It’s just a bullet that can imbue spirit energy."

Was this the legendary "tautological literature"? That explanation was as empty as it gets!

"Wow! Brothers, I found a spirit bead! A level-five fire-element spirit bead!"

Chen Long’s exclamation drew everyone’s attention. It was the first spirit bead found, a promising start. With the first one found, everyone’s pace quickened. Even though the rewards would be split equally, there was a completely different feeling between finding one yourself versus someone else finding it.

"I found one too!"

The sounds of discovery echoed one after another. Within a short time, the hundred-plus spirit beasts had been processed. In total, they found seven spirit beads—six level-fives and one level-six. Everyone was overjoyed.

Lin Xiao, however, felt a bit disgruntled. His speed in processing the beasts was not slow at all, yet after handling ten of them, he hadn't found a single bead. It seemed that without his X-ray vision, his luck had run out. At this point, everything had been cleared except for the Stone Beast leader. Zi Shu noticed Lin Xiao’s sulking and couldn't help but smile.

That was the kind of emotion someone of Lin Xiao’s age should be showing.

"Hai Zhu, the Stone Beast leader hasn't been checked yet. You were the one who killed it, so you should be the one to process it."

"No, forget it. I feel like my luck isn't great today!"

"Haha, if there’s a spirit bead, anyone can find it; it has nothing to do with luck. Go on!"

Lin Xiao thought it over and decided not to refuse. He walked toward the massive carcass of the Stone Beast leader. Looking at the giant body, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Come on, big guy. The others have provided us with fur and meat; you can’t just leave us with a pile of rocks. At least give us a spirit bead—don't let me down!"

As he muttered, his hands remained busy. The Stone Beast leader had high defense while alive, but now that it was dead, cutting through it wasn't too difficult. When Lin Xiao saw the fist-sized spirit bead before him, he didn't know what to say. It turned out the previous ones were just appetizers—all his luck had been saved for this moment!

The members of the War Wolf Mercenary Group, seeing Lin Xiao go silent, assumed there was no bead. That was, after all, to be expected.

"It’s alright, spirit beads aren't easy to come by."

"Brother Hai Zhu, don't worry about it. We’ve already harvested plenty today!"

"This haul is worth more than a month of our previous—holy crap! You actually found one!"

The group had been trying to console Lin Xiao, but when they saw him pull out the bead, they were at a loss for words. It was a level-seven spirit bead!

Lin Xiao, thinking that since the bead was out, he might as well see what spirit skill it contained. When he checked the skill imbued within, he couldn't remain calm.

Petrifying Eyes!

Lin Xiao had already witnessed the terror of this skill, but he was slightly confused. Strictly speaking, the Stone Beast leader was a mutated earth-element creature. He wondered whether "Petrifying Eyes" was considered an earth-element skill or an ocular-based one.

Naturally, he hoped it was the latter. He had been dying for an offensive spirit skill, even if the level of this bead seemed a bit high.