Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

Any figure passing by the vehicle was identified by its human shape. This was thanks to an embedded AI algorithm that could perform this function without a communication network.

Soon, Su Chen spotted a furtive figure peeking through the window. After being scratched by the cat and yelled at by the little girl, the person fled in a huff.

However, the person returned half an hour later with two strangers. This time, they were after the cat.

The little calico cat, panicked, enveloped itself in a gust of wind and shot away, never to return.

’They must have been after the Rune on the cat.’

A cold glint flashed in Su Chen’s clear eyes. He had no idea what had become of the guard cat.

He didn’t dwell on it.

First, he took stock of the supplies he had unloaded from his hiking bag. The most significant items were, of course, the two Plant and Mineral Crystals. One large crystal was shaped like a piece of coral reef, while the smaller one resembled a flattened watermelon.

Before being absorbed by the Jade Pendant, they would have made for excellent Jade Ornaments.

Su Chen placed them on the floor for now, covering them with a thick cloth.

He hadn’t forgotten about the two important Runes.

He set a delicate camping lantern on the table. After opening the glass cover, Su Chen attached a Lv1 Healing Rune directly to the metal base at the center of the wick.

The Rune’s patterns quickly merged with the wick’s core.

’Done.’

After successfully completing the Enchantment, he tried turning on the lantern. A pale green, healing light instantly shone out. Bathing in it, he could feel a warm sense of comfort.

’I’ll call it the Healing Lamp.’

And just like that, a rather ingeniously Enchanted Item was born.

As for the other Lv3 Healing Rune, Su Chen found an exquisite box in his storage cabinet. He gently lifted the lid, revealing a heavy Platinum Ring resting quietly on a dark red cloth lining.

Engraved on the inside of the band was a line of tiny, ornate script: ’May luck always be with you.’

It was a personal gift from the young miss on his twentieth birthday. It wasn’t a wedding ring, and he hadn’t touched it since they broke up.

Opening the box again now, Su Chen felt a strange sense of distraction. A refined and beautiful face appeared in his mind, her slightly upturned lips conveying a proud confidence.

’Might as well put it to good use.’

He reined in his emotions.

Complex patterns, like interwoven vines, wound around the inside and outside of the band. With that, a healing ring was created. Su Chen slipped it onto his left index finger.

When his consciousness created a Resonance with it, the face of the ring glowed with a brilliant light of life, enveloping him in an instant.

’This is really nice.’

After a quick test, Su Chen continued to take stock of the supplies in his hiking bag.

He only had 17 of his throwing Small Straight Knives left.

If it weren’t for Xiaoye’s help, he would have used far more.

While he was ’fishing’ with explosives in the river, he had also picked up a good number of smooth, hard pebbles. There weren’t many; after careful selection, he was left with just six stones.

In addition, this trip had unlocked two fully-equipped enchanted weapons, both balanced for offense and defense.

One was the Wind Blade War Axe, an excellent tool for clearing paths and chopping wood, which could also cover him in a layer of Wind Gauze to increase his mobility.

The other was the Thunder Staff. Its lightning shield and Thunder Strike Skill were both impeccable, and his personal experience using it was a perfect ten.

Furthermore, his bag was filled with a pile of small bottles containing 13 Water Element Essences and 3 Gold Element Essences. He had also fed the 8 water beads from his explosive fishing to the Water Mirror Rune. The rest could be traded at any time for things he needed.

There were also the items he’d bought from the hidden shop: an Empowerment Potion, a speed Potion, an Earth Spike scroll, and so on.

As Su Chen was taking inventory, there was a knock on the RV door. The little girl from before had returned, holding an apple and a flyer.

"My mom wanted you to have this. It’s only polite to return a favor," Yang XueXian said with a smile.

Su Chen didn’t refuse. Seeing that the sky outside had grown dim and a drizzle had started, with the temperature even beginning to drop, he quickly urged her to go back.

After watching her return to her vehicle, he took a serious look at the flyer. It contained a detailed announcement about the items for sale at a new Rune building.

’So another building has appeared in the city.’

Su Chen was a little surprised. Unlike the temporary hidden shops he had encountered, this Rune Store was permanent. Its location was a bit awkward, though; he’d have to cross half the city to reach it.

’This Elemental Essence really is another form of currency.’

The Potions and items currently for sale were somewhat appealing, but not enough to make him waste the effort to go buy them.

Objectively speaking, they weren’t very suitable for him, but that might not be the case for others.

Life Potions and agility Potions were definitely good things to have.

More than that, he was curious why it had appeared on the outskirts. The elemental glow of a Rune building itself was a powerful lure. If not properly guarded, it could be severely damaged, or even collapse entirely.

This was undoubtedly a test for Dongfu City.

’The temperature is dropping fast.’

Su Chen looked at the figures strolling in the rain outside the RV. Most had put on an extra layer of clothing.

Thanks to the increase in his Physique attribute, his tolerance for heat and cold had long surpassed that of an ordinary person.

He glanced at the thermometer inside the vehicle. It was already at 16°C. To put it bluntly, the temperature had plummeted 10°C in a short time, abruptly ending the summer season.

If it kept dropping, it wouldn’t be good news.

At that moment.

Deep in the forest, a growing flock of birds took flight in alarm. Puffs of dust rose from the woods, as if something was stampeding across the ground.

’The monsters are migrating.’

After a glance, Su Chen decided to put aside what he was doing and go reinforce his defenses.

...

「Dongfu City, The Observatory.」

An hour ago, a weather balloon had begun to rise from the ground.

In the airspace above it, besides the drones on guard, more than sixty Thunderhawks and Shadow Crows had cordoned off the area.

In addition to these flying summons, to ensure the weather balloon wouldn’t be disturbed during its ascent, figures holding sniper rifles had appeared on the rooftops of various skyscrapers throughout the city.

Although the bustling city center wasn’t equipped with heavy weapons like missiles, the public security departments still had sniper rifles.

Moreover, they had discovered that single-shot, bolt-action sniper rifles were particularly useful.

The special ammunition was better at carrying an infusion of Elemental Power. The single-shot, bolt-action mechanism was also perfect for manually applying Attached Damage. However, they had to be sure to pull the trigger quickly, or there was a small chance the chamber would detonate.

All these layers of air defense were, of course, to confirm a matter of great importance.

According to an urgent report from the assault team leader, by sharing vision with a Lv4 Thunderhawk while advancing deep into the southern forest, they had successfully observed a city settlement on the horizon.

This discovery immediately caused a sensation.

The matter was of grave importance.

After receiving the news, the Security Council, wanting to avoid public panic, chose not to release the information immediately. After careful deliberation, they decided to launch the observatory’s weather balloon for observation.

This was because the device could theoretically fly to an altitude of 25,000 meters, which was far more impressive than the flight ceilings of the Thunderhawks and Shadow Crows.

But the heavens were not cooperating.

Via wireless image transmission, as the weather balloon’s camera ascended past 7,000 meters, the deteriorating weather caused the sky to darken abruptly, making it impossible to see the scene at the horizon.

The area was shrouded in darkness.

However, it wasn’t a total loss.

In the forest’s Earth Realm, clouds of dust were rising, and the sea of trees swayed like waves. It was a massive wave of monsters undertaking a large-scale migration.

"What’s happening?"

The sudden deterioration of the weather had even triggered a panic among the forest monsters.

"Bring it back."

To ensure the precious weather balloon wasn’t destroyed, they had to initiate an emergency descent and recovery.

"Broadcast an immediate notification! A massive wave of migrating monsters is approaching the city. All citizens inside and outside the city are to cease all activities immediately and return to their homes or public shelters."

「Ten minutes later.」

Large birds flying from the forest began to rapidly pass over the city, and the piercing wail of air raid sirens followed.

Dark clouds pressed down on the city, and the raindrops grew larger.

Unfortunately, the vast city lay directly in the path of the migrating monster tide, destined to suffer an unprecedented impact.