Following behind the white behemoth, Yuan Ye tracked it through the border between the Ancient Forest and the Wildspire Waste, gradually heading deeper into the desolate, sandy terrain.
Even now, her excitement hadn't cooled. Her heart hammered against her ribs as if it were trying to leap out of her chest. She had heard people say that when you meet someone you love, your heart flutters like a startled deer—was what she was feeling right now similar to that?
That white giant might truly be the offspring of a Zinogre and a Nargacuga. Not only did it combine the physical strengths of both species, but more importantly, it was traveling with a Zinogre pup.
Judging by their sizes, the two weren't mates, nor did they look like parent and child; the most likely possibility was that they were littermates. After all, it was rare for different species of monsters to establish friendships—especially the powerful ones. Without a blood relation, those two behemoths would never have shown such intimacy.
This was an epoch-making discovery. The interbreeding of different monster species was a mystery worthy of a lifetime of exploration.
With a racing heart, she crossed numerous hills and mounds until she finally reached the white beast's lair. It was a massive cavern extending downward, a dark recess beneath a colossal cluster of stone slabs.
As a place where a giant beast lived, there were bound to be plenty of traces left behind. If she could investigate inside, the harvest would be immense.
Yuan Ye did not rush in. Having observed the battle between this creature and a Rathian earlier, she knew that its strength likely required an entire team of elite hunters to subjugate. Since her goal wasn't to kill it, she had to avoid conflict at all costs.
Every living thing needs to eat and drink; this beast was no exception. There would eventually be a time when it left its nest. That would be her chance. For now, all she needed was patience.
Thinking this, she carefully surveyed the surroundings and eventually selected a crevice on a cliff-like ridge not far away. The size was perfect—too small for large monsters to enter, but just enough for her to fit.
Survival in the wild was all about minimizing weight. Using her arm strength to climb inside, Yuan Ye scanned the small space, picked a level spot, and rolled out a piece of hide from her portable satchel. Her camp was set.
As for food and water, she could source them from cacti or various herbivores; insects were also an excellent source of protein. She was confident she could survive here long-term.
She had prepared herself for a grueling wait, but she didn't expect the opportunity to come so soon.
When he woke up, the sun was already dipping toward the west. The shifting climate meant the Wildspire Waste wasn't quite as scorching as it had been when Logan first arrived. A gentle evening breeze blew into the cave, circulating through the lair before drifting out through a crack in the ceiling via an updraft.
Logan rolled over and scrambled up, stretching his limbs. After shaking the sand and dirt from his fur, he curled his tail around his homemade wooden bucket and began heading out.
He didn't know where Zhu Peiniang had run off to. As the little Zinogre grew, its energy levels were becoming increasingly hyperactive. It was like a seven or eight-year-old child, curious about everything and running off whenever it had a spare moment. Logan didn't bother controlling it too much; the pup was clever enough and generally stayed away from truly dangerous areas. If things looked south, it knew how to bolt.
Not particularly worried about the pup's safety, Logan trotted toward the wetlands, facing the cool evening wind as his paws crunched against the coarse yellow sand.
Watching the white behemoth's silhouette vanish into the distance, Yuan Ye immediately lowered her monocular. She hadn't expected the chance to come so quickly, but she decisively climbed down from the ridge.
To save time, she took nothing but her portable satchel—she didn't even bring her Light Bowgun for self-defense. The broken scale she had found earlier gave her a preliminary understanding of the beast's hide; a bolt from a light bowgun would only provoke it, failing to cause any real damage.
Rather than hoping to fight it off with a crossbow, she was better off being light on her feet to increase her chances of escape.
She ran to the mouth of the dark cavern and dove in without hesitation. The tunnel was longer than she imagined. Even at a full sprint, it took dozens of seconds before the view ahead suddenly brightened.
Dusk's orange-red rays filtered through the cracks in the ceiling, casting a hazy glow over the wide cavern so it wasn't completely dark.
To Yuan Ye's surprise, she didn't smell the typical stench of a carnivore, nor did she see any leftover scraps or bones. In a level corner of the cave, a bed of long, thin shrub branches had been laid out, showing obvious signs of being matted down—clearly where the beast slept.
In another dark corner, a large pit had been dug, filled with damp, shredded wood chips. It had already begun to ferment, with a layer of white mycelium growing on the surface and a few toadstools sprouting out.
Beside the left stone wall were two troughs carved from wood. Next to them stood a massive wooden vat, its surface wrapped in a white, silk-like material and sealed with a wooden plug.
The cave was surprisingly clean and organized. If not for the scattered broken scales on the ground, one might have thought a human lived here. Furthermore, the vat and troughs showed clear signs of artificial crafting, obviously monster-made.
Could a monster have such high intelligence? Do they know how to use tools?
The answer was yes. Generally, large monsters weren't dim-witted, and Elder Dragons possessed intelligence comparable to humans—some were even rumored to be sapient beyond human understanding.
However, being born powerful usually made them disdain the use of tools, preferring to rely on their own strength. A monster species that explicitly used tools was rare indeed.
Though surprised, Yuan Ye wasn't shocked. She first collected some of the scales from the floor, then pulled out several finger-sized vials made of nut shells from her satchel, collecting samples of the nutrient fluid from the trough and the mycelium from the wood chips.
Having done this, she circled the large vat, leaped onto it, and grabbed the plug with both hands, pulling with all her might.
Her superior physical conditioning paid off. After a great deal of effort, the tightly wedged wooden plug finally popped out. Compared to the vat's massive exterior, the internal space was actually quite small. At a glance, it contained only some scattered, small crystals.
Hanging upside down, Yuan Ye reached her upper body inside and pinched a fist-sized chunk between two fingers. Holding it up to the sunlight from above, she saw the crystal had a transparent texture like rock candy, with a faint hint of yellow.
Intuition told her this was something special. She stuffed it into a specialized sealed jar and hid it carefully against her body.
This was a bountiful harvest. Although she wanted to conduct a more thorough search, her cautious nature and experience told her to leave enough time for a retreat.
After restoring everything to its original state, she sprinted out of the cave. Returning to her previous hiding spot, she packed up quickly, took out a fist-sized ball, and slammed it onto the ground. A pungent odor filled the air, quickly masking her own scent.
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