Under the cover of night, Da Fei didn't need to aim at all, as he repeatedly bombarded those sluggish, shining-eyed giant lizards. And these poor creatures had no idea where the attacks were coming from in the darkness.
Meanwhile, in the water, there were also flickering lights—those were the frog-like eyes of crocodiles. Upon the approach of the giant lizards, they finally began to react, slowly drifting and gathering towards the shore.
The tactic was effective, luring the creatures was promising! Da Fei became even more excited. He couldn't remember how many giant lizards he had killed, when a golden light descended from the sky.
——System Prompt: Congratulations! You have leveled up to level 20! You've gained 1 free attribute point, 1 Skill Point, +2 to life, +1 to Command Power, +1 to tactical position, and a bonus of +1 to Basic Damage.
——System Prompt: As a Junior Navigator, you have grown. You are rewarded with 1 free attribute point.
Oh yeah! Leveled up! As a Junior Navigator, you get a reward of 1 point every 5 levels, so at level 20, there should be 4 points. Since 3 points were already rewarded at level 19, this 1 point is a compensation.
But the thought of the Divine-level Scroll falling into her hands makes Da Fei's heart wrench! No way, is she just a female NPC? Can she make this bro explode with frustration without even wanting a car or a house? Bro doesn't believe he can't win her over! Bro is not only going to complete this mission, but he's going to do it spectacularly. What's 1 unit of pearls? Bro is going to completely harvest all the pearls here.
The eastern seas began to blush with the first light of dawn, signaling that daybreak was near.
After a night of shooting, the bodies of the giant lizards had piled up into a meat mountain on the beach. And through a night of shooting, Da Fei was now not far from reaching level 21.
Bro could proudly confirm that, although there might be millions of players around the world using Crossbow Cannons, few could use it as masterfully as bro. Bro doesn't need those Soldier Protection Cannons, doesn't need to take advantage of terrain, doesn't even need to aim, much less maintenance of spare parts. If this isn't mastery, what is?
The realm of an expert is not about fancy tactics, but about facing the most suitable enemy at the most fitting moment. As I've said, I am an expert! How could such an expert stoop to being a pirate? It's a waste of talent and goes against the grain of nature. Being a merchant is the true path, hahaha!
Finally, the crocodiles that had been watching all night made their move. They crawled onto the shore in groups to enjoy this readily available feast. Even the crocodiles, known for their resilience to illnesses, were somewhat wary of the giant lizards' Corrosive Poison, which was why they hesitated last night.
But this was the moment Da Fei had been waiting for. As the crocodiles started coming ashore in groups, Da Fei hurriedly rushed into the beach to salvage the shells.
——System Prompt: You have picked up a pearl shell and obtained a Blood Pearl!
Blood Pearl! Looking at the marble-sized red glass bead in his hand, Da Fei's brows jumped! Is this a pearl? Aren't pearls supposed to be white? Could it be that this is an extremely rare variant? Doesn't that mean it's worth a fortune?
Haha! The more valuable the better, bro had planned to sweep this area clean anyway!
Da Fei began frantically collecting pearls, while the giant crocodiles on the shore started their frenzied feast, with each side getting what they needed. Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was high noon.
Shells in the sea grew fewer and harder to find, while the Corpse Mountain on the shore had almost been eradicated—it was time to wrap up. At this point, Da Fei had collected 345 Blood Pearls, which is to say, 3 units and 45 extra, far exceeding the mission quota. Hmph, just a mere collection task, not something bro cannot handle.
Da Fei felt satisfied as he went ashore to dismantle the Crossbow Cannon, getting ready to pack up and leave. He couldn't help but smugly look toward the direction of the small boat—hmph! Bro wanted to see their faces when they realize how they had underestimated him! And bro wondered what her expression would be when he presents this heap of pearls to the beautiful lady? Will she offer herself in gratitude? Hahaha! Bro knows you're high-class, but bro's not demanding. Just give back the scroll, and let's part on good terms, why make it harder?
Of course, to prevent the crocodiles from getting aggressive, Da Fei dismantled the cannon while occasionally glancing at the giant crocodiles basking in the sun, satiated.
Wait a minute! Da Fei suddenly realized something was amiss! Are these crocodiles too full? Their bellies looked as swollen as a big tent! How amusing and ridiculous is that?
Da Fei immediately took out his telescope and saw that one of the crocodiles still had a bit of a giant lizard's tail sticking out of its mouth, and this crocodile was still lifting its head, trying to swallow the tail whole.
Da Fei's jaw dropped in shock—crap, while he had been busy collecting pearls, he hadn't looked closely. Could these crocodiles have swallowed the giant lizards whole?
Crocodiles are different from other predators; their forelimbs are too short, rendering them incapable of assisting in cutting their prey for consumption. They don't have rows of saw-like teeth like sharks, which can grab onto prey and shake loose bites of flesh with a toss of their heads. Have you ever seen how crocodiles eat in the animal kingdom? They thrash their food! It's when a group of crocodiles catches a zebra or gazelle, then they tug and pull against each other until they tear off a large chunk of flesh, tossing and shaking their heads to swallow it down their throats.
But under the current circumstances, did these giant crocodiles really need to fight and tear at each other when faced with these much smaller, yet far more numerous giant lizards? They could just swallow them up whole like a snake! And normally, if a snake is full, doesn't it become completely defenseless?
Gazing at their swollen bellies, bloated like fully inflated balloons, a crazy, irrepressible thought surged into Da Fei's mind—should he fire a harpoon to try his luck?
That's right! Most people are the same, faced with a massively inflated balloon, don't you subconsciously want to see it burst? Facing a waiter who is balancing many dangerously stacked plates, do you not secretly wish to see them all crash to the ground? What's this phenomenon called again in psychology?
Anyway, at this moment, Da Fei very, very much wanted to fire that harpoon!
However, Da Fei's rationality and desire began an intense struggle. After all, a game is just a game; how could it perfectly resemble reality? If the crocodile were completely unaffected, wouldn't that be looking for trouble? Normally, how much damage would one deal when attacking a crocodile?
Master-level Crossbow Cannon with 30 Attack, Basic Damage of 6-7; Da Fei is now Level 20, having gained 19 attribute points from leveling up, plus 4 attribute points from the Navigator bonus—making it 23 points in total. (Note: The Crossbow Cannon is not affected by skills and equipment bonuses, hence the attributes of the Captain's Sword have no effect on the Crossbow Cannon.)
Total damage = Basic Killing × Hero's Strategic Attribute Points = 138-161. But the giant crocodile Boss has an astonishing 50 Defense; with the Crossbow Cannon having 20 less Attack than the crocodile's Defense, the damage is just 50%, which is 69-80. Against the crocodile's 900 hit points, is it possible?
But then again, since the mission has already been completed, and this Crossbow Cannon has brought down countless Bosses, it has already paid for itself. Looking for trouble? Why not, how can one know without trying?
Finally! Da Fei's speculative nature overcame his rationality—Fire away! Better regret doing something than not doing it at all! It's still like buying a lottery ticket, even though the odds of success are low, as long as you try, you'll have a chance to succeed, if you don't try you'll never succeed!
With his decision made, Da Fei excitedly began to reload the Crossbow Cannon. Every time he checked the lottery numbers, Da Fei felt this same excitement.
The Crossbow Cannon was reassembled once again!
Taking a deep breath, Da Fei loaded two Crossbow Arrows and aimed at one of the distant big balloons! Will this shot witness a miracle or folly?
—Boom pop!!! Two arrows shot out! Bang! Bang! A shower of blood erupted! "-243"! "-251!"
It was a success! Da Fei stood up excitedly! The tables had turned in terms of attack and defense; this damage was surely higher than the crocodile's defense, at least 10 points higher! A gorged crocodile really has no defenses! Meanwhile, a string of system prompts scrolled across the screen.
—System Prompt: You have further perfected the collection of information on the Cannibal Giant Crocodile of the Desolate Island!
—System Prompt: You have obtained information for the sub-skill "Intelligence Analysis" of the Master-level Reconnaissance Skill.
—Intelligence Analysis: After obtaining all the detailed information of an unknown creature, the hero can discover the creature's fatal vulnerability, ignoring 25%~100% of its defense during combat. Learning Requirements: Master-level Reconnaissance Skill.
Da Fei, surprised, raised his eyebrows!
Wasn't the information on the Cannibal Giant Crocodile from the Desolate Island publicly available on the official website? Is it possible to further collect and perfect it? Information on a Grandmaster sub-skill? Da Fei, while reloading, quickly checked his information tab, discovering an additional entry under the crocodile's special skills: ????
A new, unknown special skill of the crocodile had been discovered! Needless to say, it had to be a negative skill or perhaps a newly found weakness of the crocodile? Damn, it's so blatantly vulnerable after gorging itself, do we still need to discover that?
The key question is, what's with this suddenly emerging Grandmaster sub-skill Intelligence Analysis? Isn't this something that just comes straight out of a Skill Book? Once you attain the Grandmaster level, can't you just learn it directly without having to collect more information?
But there was no time to ponder all this, for the attacked giant crocodile was roaring and staggering towards him!
Looking at its zombie-like speed, Da Fei burst into loud laughter: "Everything you've eaten, vomit it all back up to me!"
(A new week has begun, asking for recommendations, favorites, and votes for the Three Realms, thank you, everyone!)