"Though the number of Level 3 mutated fierce beasts is low, there's likely a good amount of Level 2 ones out there."
Chen Wei's mind raced.
He quickly came upon a critical issue.
"System, can I earn exchange points by hunting mutated humans?" Chen Wei inquired.
In the cities, mutated humans were not uncommon, and it was easier to maneuver and locate targets within the urban environment.
The system responded curtly, "No."
"Mutated humans are still classified as human. You will not receive a system reward for killing your own kind," the system elaborated.
Chen Wei took this in stride.
"If hunting mutated humans is off the table, then it's the mutated fierce beasts we'll go after!"
A sharp glint appeared in Chen Wei's eyes, followed by a surge of blood-red fervor that quickly faded.
Rushing upstairs to the entertainment room, Chen Wei beamed at his sister, calling out, "MeiMei, stay good and safe at home, okay? I've got to step out. If you get tired, head to bed. Got it?"
Chen Mei, puzzled, turned to her brother.
"Brother, you're leaving again?" she asked with a pout.
"Yes, I'm off to battle monsters. What should MeiMei do?" Chen Wei replied with a smile.
At his words, Chen Mei scampered over from her little rocking horse. Chen Wei bent down just in time to receive a peck on the cheek from his little sister, who stood on tiptoes to reach him.
"Go get 'em, big brother! Take down that big monster!"
She pumped her tiny fists, cheering him on.
A smile spread across Chen Wei's face as he tousled her hair, his eyes softening with affection, "Right, I'll take down the big monster. Be good while I'm gone, MeiMei."
"Okay, big brother, I'll wait for you here at home."
"Good."
With a slight nod, Chen Wei turned and strode away with resolve.
"Blood Wave!"
Stepping out into the yard, Chen Wei summoned a blood-red dagger into his hand—the Blood Wave.
"System, is there any way I can offload something onto you?" Chen Wei asked.
Host: "Go ahead, speak."
Chen Wei: "If I can't make it back this time, or if I fail to hunt enough mutated fierce beasts to accumulate 100 million exchange points before the nuclear bomb goes off..."
"Could you look after my sister? Ensure she grows up healthy?"
"I'm aware that if I die, you'll inevitably seek a new host."
"My only wish is for you to devote a fraction of your energy to caring for my sister."
"Is that possible?"
Chen Wei's voice shook as he spoke, his plea laden with desperation.
He had lived a life detached from worldly concerns, yet the world seemed determined to corner him at every turn.
The system remained silent upon hearing his request.
Then, a voice tinged with a touch of humanity responded.
[Affirmative.]
A smile graced Chen Wei's lips as he heard the reply. He spoke with heartfelt gratitude, "Thank you, system. I must be the least competent host you've ever been bound to."
[Incorrect!]
Chen Wei chuckled at the system's response, a hint of self-mockery in his laughter. He ceased his conversation with the system and instead lifted his gaze to the dense forest ahead. Clutching the blood-stained dagger in his right hand, he transformed into a blur and vanished.
Chen Wei: "System, display the territorial map with all the mutated fierce beasts marked."
[Acknowledged.]
[Constructing the map of mutated fierce beasts for the current region...]
[Construction of the mutated fierce beasts map for the current region is complete.]
A map resembling a radar scan materialized before Chen Wei, dotted with countless red points of varying sizes.
Each red dot was clearly numbered: 1 for a level 1 mutated fierce beast, 2 for level 2, 3 for level 3, and so on.
Chen Wei scanned the map, noting the abundance of smaller red dots, indicating the presence of level 1 mutated fierce beasts.
In the top right corner of the map, a tally displayed the count of level 1 mutated fierce beasts—87,654—indicating a population exceeding eighty thousand.
Next up were the Level 2 mutated fierce beasts, numbering 564 in total.
Following those, there were 86 Level 3 mutated fierce beasts.
And to Chen Wei's surprise, the map even showed a few markers with the number 4 pulsating on it.
There were actually three Level 4 mutated fierce beasts!
As for Level 5 and above, Chen Wei found none.
"Today's targets are those Level 2 and Level 3 mutated fierce beasts!" Chen Wei declared, eyeing the map of the fierce beast territories. In an instant, his body transformed into a streak of human-shaped lightning, and he set off in pursuit.
At the moment, he had 3.6 million exchange points.
If all went well tonight, he could gather another 6 million exchange points from the farm.
That would bring his total to 9.6 million.
He was still a staggering 90.4 million exchange points shy of the 100 million goal.
This was the bare minimum he needed to hunt mutated fierce beasts, even after counting on the 6 million exchange points from the farm.
In other words, tonight, he had to slay mutated fierce beasts worth at least 90.4 million exchange points.
"Kill!"
With incredible speed and the system map to guide him, Chen Wei quickly located several Level 2 mutated fierce beasts.
They were five mutated wild bears, varying in size, seemingly a family unit.
But Chen Wei had no time for sentimentality.
If he didn't slay these mutated fierce beasts, it would be his and his sister's lives on the line.
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
The five mutated wild bears, upon spotting a human, unleashed ferocious roars, their eyes flashing with savage violence as they lunged at Chen Wei.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
A flash of blood-red cold light from his hands, and the heads and bodies of the five mutated wild bears were severed.
[Congratulations, Host: You have killed five Level 2 mutated fierce beasts, wild bears, and are rewarded with 500,000 exchange points.]
[Congratulations, Host: You have collected the corpses of five Level 2 mutated fierce beasts, wild bears, and are rewarded with 500,000 exchange points.]
[Congratulations, Host: You have recovered five Level 2 crystal nuclei, and are rewarded with 500,000 exchange points.]
After dispatching the five mutated wild bears, Chen Wei's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Could the crystal nuclei be recycled as well?
Following this hunting expedition, he had directly racked up 1.5 million exchange points.
Taking down a level two mutated fierce beast, factoring in the kill, retrieval of the corpse, and the crystal nucleus, amounted to a reward of 500,000 exchange points.
Chen Wei sensed that this time, he might just have a shot at earning enough exchange points to trade for an energy shield.
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