Chapter 281: Chapter 245: Tier 5 Extract (Part 2)

When he activated his Liquid Life skill, the volume of the resulting liquid was proportional to his body size. The larger his body, the greater the volume of liquid after the transformation.

At his current size, if he split into ten Liquid Clones, each one would already be the size of a dwarf. If he split into even more parts in the future, each might only be a few centimeters or even millimeters tall, and being too small would be a huge disadvantage in a fight.

But if he had a size-increasing skill like the River Fish Monster’s, it would be a different story. He could split into ten clones, and each one could still be a three-meter-tall giant.

Of course, Su Ze wouldn’t be tempted if the skill only increased one’s size. After all, if a Tier-5 skill only made you bigger, that would be a bit lame. But from the looks of it, the River Fish Monster had clearly received multiple buffs after enlarging itself, even strengthening its various skills.

This solidified Su Ze’s determination to choose the River Fish Monster’s extract!

At this point, Su Ze’s biggest headache was how to obtain a vial of Tier-5 extract. So, presented with this opportunity, he was determined to seize it.

In contrast, he wasn’t too worried about the Tier-4 extract he needed to absorb next. If worst came to worst, he could team up with Mrs. Yun and Mr. Ya to hunt one himself. Or he could sell everything he owned and hire people from Evolutionary Technology to hunt for him. He could also save up enough contribution points to have one of the overlords in Dongli do the job.

He had just obtained Bai Guishou’s Storage Ring. Su Ze estimated that selling its contents would probably be enough to buy a Tier-4 S-grade extract.

But as for a Tier-5 extract, without a heavyweight like Chen Suifeng to help with the hunt, Su Ze truly had no idea where he’d get one.

Chen Suifeng’s advice came from a good place, so Su Ze could only explain, "This River Fish Monster’s poison spike skill is a higher-tier version of one of my own skills. I want the River Fish Monster’s extract to upgrade that skill later on, not to absorb as the primary extract for my evolution."

Hearing Su Ze’s explanation, Chen Suifeng relented a bit.

Just then, Feng Bqing lost his senses again and began fighting the River Fish Monster with his life on the line to protect "Qiangzi." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Su Ze tried to persuade him, "I know you originally only planned to help me hunt a Tier-4 monster, but we’ve happened to run into this Tier-5 one, and we even have a free helper. An opportunity like this is rare..."

"Fine, I’m in!" Chen Suifeng cut him off. "I owe you one."

He still felt a bit guilty for putting Su Ze through several life-or-death situations.

Chen Suifeng leaped into the air and joined the fray, ganging up on the River Fish Monster with Feng Bqing.

The River Fish Monster realized it had overplayed its hand. Ganged up on by two experts of the same tier, it was already too late to flee.

...

Just over ten minutes later, the River Fish Monster was ensnared by countless vines sprouting from Feng Bqing’s body. Then, Chen Suifeng’s two giant hands of mist crushed its head.

Like a deflating ball, the River Fish Monster rapidly shrank and shriveled, becoming a small fish barely larger than a person’s palm.

Chen Suifeng snatched up the River Fish Monster’s corpse, while Feng Bqing paid it no mind, his only thought to find "Qiangzi."

But Su Ze had already transformed into his liquid state and hidden himself in the river.

Chen Suifeng immediately took the River Fish Monster’s corpse and flew downstream, leaving Feng Bqing to search all over for his target.

...

Downstream, Su Ze and Chen Suifeng regrouped.

Using an extractor, Chen Suifeng drew out the River Fish Monster’s extract. He handed the cyan-colored substance to Su Ze, then tossed him the remaining dead fish.

"Be careful with this stuff, it’s poisonous," Chen Suifeng warned. "It’s a Tier-5 toxin. At your level of evolution, if you get poisoned, there’s basically no saving you."

Su Ze took the River Fish Monster’s corpse and carefully placed it, along with the extract, into his storage device.

Getting a vial of Tier-5 extract on this trip was a truly pleasant surprise.

Furthermore, the dead fish was the corpse of a Tier-5 monster and was incredibly valuable. Combined with the treasures in Bai Guishou’s Storage Ring, it was more than enough to trade for a vial of Tier-4 S-grade extract.

In other words, this single trip had solved his problem of acquiring the two remaining extracts he needed for the Butterfly Stage!

"Mr. Fen, you insisted on bringing me on this hunting trip. Where exactly were you planning on taking me?"

The hunting trip was already a resounding success, so Su Ze couldn’t help but wonder why Chen Suifeng had insisted on bringing him along.

At the mention of this, Chen Suifeng sighed with resignation. "I had originally planned to take you on a tour around Lin Hua Country. I wanted you to see the hardships our soldiers face guarding the front lines and how human evolvers risk their lives fighting monsters in the wild. I just didn’t expect so many things to go wrong."

"You’ve always lived inside the Lin Hua Continent, so all you’ve seen is an era of peace and prosperity. You probably haven’t witnessed the other side of this world or understood humanity’s true place on this planet.

"Humanity’s situation is more dire than you can imagine!"

Chen Suifeng waved his hand. "I just didn’t expect you, kid, to have provoked so many powerful enemies. I don’t have the ability, nor do I dare, to parade you around any longer. In the future, once you become Saint-level yourself, you’ll naturally come to see many things."

Su Ze froze. ’Is Chen Suifeng trying to instill some sense of ’greater good’ in me?’

He recalled the conversation he’d had with Chen Suifeng when they first met.

Chen Suifeng wanted to turn the tide and change humanity’s circumstances, but he lacked the power to do so. That’s why he retired from the military and dedicated himself to education.

He wanted to cultivate more talent for the Lin Hua Continent, more outstanding warriors to fight for humanity.

However, his sweeping educational reforms were met with resistance at every turn and had not been successful.

Su Ze began to understand. "I’m sorry," he said apologetically, "but I don’t have your kind of grand perspective. I can’t carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. I’m just single-mindedly pursuing power. I want to get stronger, take out a few of my enemies, and live a more comfortable life. That’s all."

"Who the hell is born with some bullshit ’grand perspective’? When I was young, I couldn’t be bothered with this crap. Before I joined the army, I was just a horndog in human form. All I thought about every day was sleeping with more women."

Chen Suifeng lit a Tier-4 Spirit Plant Cigarette and continued, "And don’t think I’m being meddlesome. I wanted to reform the education system, but they wouldn’t let me. So, I had to settle for the next best thing: cultivating a few top-notch elites myself. You’ve met Wan Qizhi. That kid’s not bad, a real talent. He’ll definitely go further than me in the future. But he’s still a long way from being on your level.

"What’s the point of education if not to cultivate talent? You’re the young person with the most potential I’ve seen in years. Even without my help, I have no doubt about what you’ll achieve in the future. My concern is your lack of a sense of belonging—to the nations of the Lin Hua Continent, to the continent as a whole, and even to the entire human race.

"After all, you’re different from everyone else. You’re a clone, aren’t you?"

Su Ze’s body trembled. He looked up, meeting Chen Suifeng’s gaze directly. His eyes remained calm, but inside, a storm was raging.

Chen Suifeng smiled. "Your identity may be a secret to others, but for someone at my level, finding out isn’t difficult. Don’t worry, though. Clones are people, too. As long as you don’t betray humanity, there will always be a place for you among us.

"Besides, with me around, I still have a bit of sway among the higher-ups in the Lin Hua Continent."