Leo looked at Menchi.
"You appearing here... it must be to collect ingredients, right?"
"Mm, that's right."
Menchi nodded, her gaze drifting unconsciously toward the bear carcass.
"I'm looking for a Giant Horned Bear. This rare creature only occasionally appears deep within Biscayne Forest Park. I've been wandering here for three days and haven't even seen a shadow—"
Her voice suddenly cut off.
Her eyes were locked onto the bear carcass, then she looked at the meat roasting over the fire, and finally slowly turned to Leo, her expression shifting gradually from relaxed to shocked.
"Wait... that wouldn't happen to be..."
"A Giant Horned Bear."
Leo admitted frankly.
"I just killed it. The meat is very fresh, want to try some?"
Menchi's expression completed the transformation from shock to heartbreak in an instant.
"Oh my god!!!"
Her voice rose sharply, and she almost jumped up.
"You actually killed a Giant Horned Bear?! This is a rare species! It's an A-Rank protected endangered beast!"
She practically threw herself next to the bear carcass, her fingers stroking the massive, lifeless body.
"You... you are simply wasting a heavenly treasure! Creatures of this level are all miracles of nature, treasures of the gourmet world! How could you—!"
Leo was caught off guard by her sudden, intense reaction.
He looked blankly at this gourmet Hunter who was so excited she was nearly jumping up and down.
But Menchi had no time to pay attention to his reaction.
She quickly crouched down and carefully examined the Giant Horned Bear's head, her movements cautious, as if treating a fragile object.
When her fingers touched the base of the two giant horns, her movements froze abruptly.
She held her breath, extremely gently parted the thick fur at the base of the horns, and carefully examined the scales covering the area underneath.
A moment later, she let out a long, very audible sigh of relief. Her whole body relaxed, and she patted her chest, feeling a bit of lingering fear.
"Phew... thank goodness! Thank goodness!"
"The 'Horn Scale' is still there! Not a single one is missing! And the freshness is perfect!"
Her face glowed with a fanatical brilliance again, like a treasure Hunter who had discovered a gold mine.
"Great! This is the top-tier A-Rank dream ingredient! The unique flavor it contains is incomparable to farmed ingredients!"
While muttering at a very fast pace, she looked up at Leo, her eyes full of anticipation.
"Can you let me process this Giant Horned Bear? Especially these horn scales—"
"Go ahead." Leo shrugged.
Menchi immediately pulled out two knives from behind her—her movements became extremely focused, her eyes sharp as an eagle's.
Aiming at the scale area at the base of the bear horns, she worked with precision and gentleness.
The blade danced at the junction of the scales and the skin, and within a few strokes, the entire horn scale was peeled off intact, without a single bit of damage.
She carefully placed the scales into a specially made small sealed bottle, her movements filled with the utmost respect for the ingredient.
The entire process was smooth and fluid, taking no more than three minutes.
"Great!"
Menchi put the small bottle away, her face showing undisguised satisfaction.
"This trip is a Perfection!"
Leo looked at her and suddenly asked.
"How long have you been in this forest?"
"Mm, just three days."
Menchi sat down by the fire, naturally picked up a piece of roasted bear meat, took a bite, and her eyes immediately squinted.
"Mm... the heat control is good, the meat isn't overcooked. The species and ingredients in this forest are indeed rich, I've collected quite a few good things. It's just—"
She frowned.
"—there are far fewer large creatures, I don't know what's going on."
Leo continued eating meat without changing his expression.
The more Menchi talked, the more excited she became, and she slapped her thigh hard.
"Decided! For next year's Hunter Exam, if it's my turn to be an examiner, the venue will be set in Biscayne Forest Park!"
"The place is vast, with diverse ingredients; it will definitely make those Examinees remember it for a lifetime!"
Hearing this, Leo's chewing movement paused slightly.
A meaningful, almost imperceptible arc curled at the corners of his mouth.
Next year... Hunter Exam... Menchi as examiner...
If he remembered correctly, in the original work, Menchi served as an examiner, and because of her high standards for gourmet food, she lost objectivity and caused all the Examinees to return in failure, almost creating a "zero pass" achievement.
Of course, he naturally wouldn't speak out about this "spoiler" concerning the future.
The two chatted for a while longer by the campfire.
Menchi had a straightforward personality and talked endlessly when discussing food and ingredients, while Leo mostly listened quietly, occasionally interjecting a few words.
Half an hour later, Menchi stood up and clapped her hands.
"Mm, nice to meet you, Leo. I should get going."
She waved her hand generously.
"Bye!"
"Goodbye." Leo nodded.
Menchi's figure soon disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.
After she left, Leo completely extinguished the campfire and cleaned up all traces.
He took one last look at the remaining carcass of the Giant Horned Bear—Menchi had only taken the horn scales; he would leave the rest to the other creatures of this forest.
Then, he turned around and officially stepped into the Shimeile Wetland.
The air was filled with the smell of damp earth and rotting plants.
The white mist in the distance was slowly spreading, draping this wetland in a mysterious and dangerous veil.
Leo took a deep breath, feeling the rich breath of nature in the air.
The density of creatures here far exceeded that of Biscayne Forest Park.
In the following month, this Shimeile Wetland, regarded by ordinary people as a dead zone, became Leo's best training ground.
He left early and returned late, going deep into the wetland every day to hunt various strange creatures.
There were "Human-Faced Apes" that disguised themselves as stranded travelers with twisted, terrifying faces—they would mimic human crying to lure prey closer, then suddenly attack violently.
When Leo first encountered them, he was indeed deceived by that realistic acting for a moment, but immediately smashed that ape's skull with a punch.
There were "Cheeky Strawberry Turtles" that grew bright strawberry-shaped tumors on their backs and only moved in thick fog.
They lurked on the edge of the swamp, using the "strawberries" on their backs to lure curious creatures closer, then suddenly extended their necks to launch a fatal bite.
The shell hardness of this turtle was astonishing, and ordinary attacks could hardly break its defense, but this didn't work on Leo, as a simple punch killed it.
There were "Lazy Frogs" hidden underground, revealing only their lure-like tongues.
They remained motionless, waiting for prey to step on their tongue, which was disguised as a plant, and then their entire head would eject from the ground, swallowing the prey whole.
Leo once saw with his own eyes a wild deer being swallowed this way; the whole process took less than two seconds.
There were even more strange creatures: giant leeches that could glide on the water surface and spray corrosive venom, and "Iron-Eating Ants" that moved in groups, each only the size of a palm but numbering in the hundreds or thousands...
Every creature had unique survival strategies and attack methods.
Leo continued to grow during the hunt, and of course, the biggest gain was Life Energy.
The creatures in the Shimeile Wetland were generally stronger and had more vigorous vitality than those outside.
Every time he killed one, the warmth transmitted from the tattoo on the back of his hand was more obvious than when hunting in the forest.
Days passed by.
Leo's Rank was steadily increasing.
[Rank: Level 50 (12%)]
When he reached the Breakthrough of Level 50, he felt an obvious qualitative change—a comprehensive improvement of his entire body's functions once again.
His muscle fibers were tighter, bone density increased, his height grew by five centimeters to 1.9 meters, his nerve reaction speed reached a new height, he could even clearly hear the sound of insects flapping their wings a hundred meters away, and he could see objects clearly in a completely dark environment with faint light.
His self-healing ability was also greatly enhanced; small wounds on his body surface would stop bleeding and scab over in less than thirty seconds, and he could recover to his original state in three minutes. He believed that as long as he kept increasing his Rank, one day he would be able to achieve limb regeneration.
Feeling the surging vitality and power within his body, Leo showed a satisfied smile; he was now 30% stronger than when he was Level 49.
[Rank: Level 51 (15%)]
When the month was up and Leo walked out from the depths of the wetland, his Rank was already stabilized at Level 51.
He received a phone notification from Niko, there was a lead on the Genei Ryodan intelligence.