Lin Ke did not spare the blood-drenched mercenary T-shirt.
The T-shirt of the mercenary—whose heart was pierced—was soaked in blood. No one could tell how it used to look like.
Lin Ke cut the other T-shirt into strips. Except for the arm bandage, he stuffed everything into Forbes' backpack.
"To cross the Gobi from here, I need to travel at least 100 kilometers. All resources must be utilized carefully." Lin Ke counted the food in the backpack. For eating, he had compressed biscuits, energy bars, and a large pile of beef. It was sufficient for them to reach Sand City. However, they only had two liters of clean water. No matter how he planned, it was not enough.
Lin Ke thought about it for a while before pointing to the northwest. "Let's go northwest!"
Forbes was a little puzzled: "Boss, isn't Sand City in the north? Why are we going northwest? Isn't that a detour?"
"The Machinery Holy Cult needs a lot of water to smelt metal. However, water is the most scarce resource in the Gobi. Hence, they dug a canal from the western end of the mainland to Machinery City. Let's head northwest. Although the distance is a little longer, we can replenish our water resources."
"Ah? We have to go to Machinery City? Will we run into the Machinery Holy Cult? I don't want to be captured and become a human battery."
"We are just making a detour to get water. Although mechanical soldiers do patrol the canal, we won't encounter them as long as we are careful. You have to trust our little guide."
Treasure Hunter Rat had its hands on its hips. It held its head high as it puffed its chest. Detecting metals was its forte. How dare this fat, black man have any doubts!
Forbes quickly bowed his head to apologize. After knowing how the two mercenaries died, he was in awe of Treasure Hunter Rat.
The wound was bandaged, the spoils were distributed, the supplies were accounted for, the route was set, and a new player—Forbes—joined the team.
Lin Ke thought about it and decided to make another pet before setting off.
The monster synthesis module was quite easy to use. Treasure Hunter Rat had also played a significant role in the previous battles. If he had more pets, their safety along the way would be greatly increased.
Just as Lin Ke was thinking about what materials to use for the second pet, several system notifications interrupted his thoughts.
[You triggered the C-level mission [Prey hunted by the Wasteland]. Survival missions cannot be rejected]
[Mission Prompt: The vengeful Wastelands Gang has noted down your appearance. As the 'only' survivor who escaped the quicksand in the underground crypt, the Wastelands Gang is eager to learn the truth of the incident and its secrets from you. You are now marked as prey and wanted for bounty. Please be careful at all times!]
[Task Time: April 13, Year 42 of the Wasteland Calendar to December 31, Year 42 of the Wasteland Calendar.]
[Mission Reward: Based on mission performance.]
"C-level mission, survival mission?" Lin Ke was stunned after reading the content. The Wasteland Gang is coming after me!
'Survival mission' was a term used by the 'upper class' in the system. This type of mission had another name among players—hunt-and-kill mission.
There was only one mission requirement—survive for the specified time.
Players usually had other things to do besides missions. However, it was basically very difficult to move around once one triggered a hunt-and-kill mission. As long as you were online, an enemy would appear anytime, anywhere, tiring you out. A little carelessness might get you killed, causing the mission to fail.
The mission rewards were rather bare-bone. One would also be evaluated according to the number of enemies they dealt with within the specified timeframe. Points would be awarded based on the evaluation.
There was something quite hard to comprehend here. If one were strong enough to deal with all the enemies, the rewards would be better if one directly headed to the enemies' base and defeated them all.
If one were not strong enough, they would be exhausted by the enemies' pursuit and be easily killed—not receiving any rewards.
Moreover, the mission could not be rejected. Be it during the beta-test or after the game was launched for a few years, this type of mission continued to give players a headache.
I wanted to throw this problem to the Machinery Holy Cult, but it looks like I have no choice! I am going to pay a heavy price during the eight months when the bounty is active. Originally, Lin Ke thought that he would be safe after escaping to Sand City. He didn't expect the Wastelands Gang to issue a bounty. He was in a difficult situation now.
Lin Ke became more convinced that he needed to prepare a few more helpers. His most urgent task now was to cross the Gobi, and the most common element in the Gobi was sand. Perhaps he could use this as a starting point.
"Forbes, can you help me get some sand?"
Forbes was already carrying his luggage and was ready to go on the road. This sudden request caught him by surprise. "Boss, aren't we going to the canal in the northwest? Why the sudden request for sand?"
Lin Ke patted Forbes on the shoulder and said, "Go get some sand; this can save your life!"
Hearing the words 'save your life,' Forbes stopped questioning Lin Ke. He immediately put down his backpack and ran to get some sand.
Lin Ke patted his belly and said to Treasure Hunter Rat, who was hiding in his ammunition belt's vacant pocket, "Little Treasure, can you help me find another rat that is similar to you?"
As soon as his voice sounded, a squeak traveled from under Lin Ke's flax clothing. Treasure Hunter Rat jumped from the ammunition belt onto the ground and ran towards the ruins.
This time, Lin Ke was going to use sand and a rat to synthesize a new creature. After all, the Gobi was full of sand. It would only be fitting if he had a rat with sand properties.
What's more, Lin Ke didn't have any other chances in an environment like this ruined city.
After a while, Forbes ran back with a fistful of sand, beaming from ear to ear. "Boss, I have managed to get you some sand!"
At the same time, Treasure Hunter Rat brought a rat back from the city ruins.
Treasure Hunter Rat led the way, but the rat behind paused every three steps, hesitating to move forward. Its small eyes flashed with panic.
Lin Ke did not choose to synthesize a second pet on a whim.
After getting deducted 10 HP from being hit by the bullet, 10 health points from the synthesis of Treasure Hunter Rat, and another three from the irregular state of [Bleeding], he only had 17 health points left.
The 800 experience points he gained from killing four Wasteland Gang mercenaries were sufficient for him to rise to Level 2.
In Destiny, one's health points and energy would be completely restored instantly upon leveling up as long as one didn't raise their level during battle or when they possessed an abnormal condition.
In order to maximize the value of his HP, Lin Ke planned to synthesize a pet before raising his level. This was equivalent to saving 10 HP. He had no other choice. A kid with a poor background had to learn how to be street smart early.
Lin Ke already had the habit of making every cent count imprinted into him.
Lin Ke stretched out his hand. Treasure Hunter Rat climbed on Lin Ke's shoulder whilst beckoning at that extremely wary rat.
Lin Ke grabbed the wary rat with his left hand and used his right to motion Forbes to pour the sand onto his hand.
Forbes didn't understand what Lin Ke was going to do, but he did as requested and poured the sand into Lin Ke's hands.
[You obtained 80 grams of gravel]
Lin Ke entered the [Synthesis] interface. To be honest, he did not have much expectation for this synthesis.
Both the gravel and the rat were of White quality. No matter what, the synthesized pet could not be stronger than Treasure Hunter Rat. He just wanted to see this rat's abilities in the Gobi environment.
Also, Lin Ke was new to this game-shattering Zerg's Nest fragment. He hoped to master its tricks by exploring and synthesizing.
Rat (adult) + gravel (80 grams) = ? (65% success rate)
[Synthesis consumes 10 Health Points. Synthesize? Yes/No]
Lin Ke frowned slightly. This time, the success rate is a bit low! However, it still looks like a good deal to me since it has a 65% success rate and a 10 HP cost.
Synthesize!
The gravel was gradually absorbed by his left palm. His right palm produced the sticky blood threads, which gradually engulfed the struggling rat and formed a palm-sized blood cocoon.
[Blood cocoon incubation countdown: 20 seconds.]
Forbes, who was initially indifferent, gasped in shock as his jaw fell. He was the one who poured the sand onto Lin Ke's palm. He now watched the sand disappear in front of him while the lively rat became a strange and sinister-looking blood cocoon.
"Boss, y-you… have supernatural abilities?"
Lin Ke's attention was focused on the blood cocoon. Moreover, it was not easy to explain the game-shattering item to him. Thus, he simply answered, "Well, sort of!"
Forbes was shocked as he had a sudden realization. No wonder Boss could order Treasure Hunter Rat to kill the two mercenaries. He has supernatural abilities! It all makes sense now. Forbes's gaze gradually steadied. I must serve Boss well along the way and follow him closely even after we have left the Gobi.
Live a comfortable life by following superpower holders. This was a common view held by his people!
Twenty seconds passed, and the blood cocoon in Lin Ke's hand was torn apart by a pair of small claws.
Sand flowed through the cracks of the blood cocoon, and a pink rat poked out its head curiously, observing its surroundings.
[Monster synthesis is complete. Obtained Gerbil (White)!]
[Monster Stats]
Name: Gerbil (Young)
Quality: White
Race: Rodent
Stats: Sand Affinity
Level: 1
Initial Skill 1: Desertification Lv1 (A unique ability to the Gerbil. It is able to turn its body into sand and maintain this state for one minute. Limited to two uses a day.)
Initial Skill 2: Desert Affinity—Passive (Movement speed increased by 30% when in the desert.)
Evaluation: The rat king of the desert. It can perfectly blend into the desert, mysteriously appearing and disappearing like a ghost. It possesses good speed and is proficient in hiding. Needs to be careful. Since biological and synthetic material components had a certain level of incompatibility, problems may surface in the future.
After reading the data, Lin Ke's eyes gave off a joyous light. This creature is simply tailor-made for crossing the Gobi. At the same time, he gained a new understanding of the [Synthesis] interface.
Although Gerbil was just a White quality pet, it unexpectedly possessed two initial skills. With these two skills, this little guy could simply move around the Gobi Desert at will. However, the incompatibility between organisms and materials used during synthesis, which was stated in the evaluation, could give birth to some problems.
Although he didn't know what kind of problems would appear, Lin Ke finally understood another contributing factor behind the success rate shown during the synthesis formula preview.
The success rate also took the affinity between biological and synthetic materials into consideration.
Standing on Lin Ke's palm, Gerbil looked around, curious about its surroundings.
Lin Ke couldn't wait to turn around and walk towards the desert so that he could test out Gerbil's skills and speed.
"Forbes, carry our stuff, and keep up!"
Forbes saw a pink rat emerge from the blood cocoon and was so stunned that his jaw dropped. He could only stare at it with wide-open eyes. He picked up his bags and quickly walked alongside Lin Ke. There were many doubts in his head.
"Boss, why are we going back?"
"To try out Gerbil's abilities at the edge of the desert."
"This little thing is called Gerbil?"
Lin Ke nodded. The advantage of having someone around was that he could share his joy with them anytime, anywhere.
"Gerbil can move extremely quickly in the desert; it can also transform into sand. After entering the desert, it is like a fish in water!"
Forbes's eyes widened. It was hard to imagine that this little rodent had such strong abilities. He also understood why Boss asked him to grab a handful of sand just now.
"But Boss, this Gerbil is so tiny. When it is placed in the desert for experiments, won't it run away?"
Lin Ke waved his hand confidently. "Impossible!"
With the special blood bond, how could it run away?
Lin Ke and Forbes walked all the way back to the periphery of the city ruins that had been eroded by the desert.
Lin Ke squatted down and placed his palm on the sand. He then said, "Gerbil, show me your strength!"
Gerbil understood its master's—Lin Ke's command and glanced back at him curiously.
Its pair of innocent, small eyes met an expectant gaze. The Gerbil squeaked a few times and jumped onto the sand warily.
As soon as its little paws touched the desert, Gerbil's eyes suddenly glowed. It looked as if it had discovered a new continent and began walking in the desert excitedly.
Initially, it walked around cautiously. Now, it was just running around wildly.
Lin Ke's and Forbes's eyes could not keep up with Gerbil's movements. Gerbil moved extremely fast, and its fur was the same color as the desert. It eventually became a series of afterimages.
"Boss is amazing. Its speed is too fast! Congratulations, Boss, for obtaining such an amazing pet."
It was with the help of his glib tongue—rather than his skills—that he became a kitchen assistant in the Wastelands Gang's slave camp.
The corners of Lin Ke's mouth curled up. Although a 30% movement speed increase didn't seem much on paper, it was extremely significant in reality! Working with Gerbil in the Gobi would benefit him greatly!
Use Desertification! Lin Ke issued instructions to Gerbil using his mind.
The next instant, Gerbil suddenly turned into a pile of sand and quickly merged with the desert. The only visible was a lump of moving sand, producing a clear trail as it moved.
After that, Lin Ke saw a small hole appear in the sand, and no tracks could be seen afterward.
This skill is a little too powerful; it's almost like stealth! Lin Ke did not expect that Gerbil's body could completely merge with the desert. There were absolutely zero traces after it dove into the sand.
This ability was extremely powerful in certain situations.
Now, Lin Ke was not afraid of encountering Machinery Holy Cult soldiers in the Gobi!
"Gerbil, come back!" yelled Lin Ke and waited for Gerbil to return.
His shout echoed around the empty desert, but Lin Ke couldn't see any traces of movement on the surface of the sand.
"This is amazing! I can't see anything at all, as though it is invisible!" Forbes exclaimed from the side.
Lin Ke was proud of himself. His understanding of synthesis was top-notch! Unmatched in both theory and practice!
However, Lin Ke had waited for more than ten seconds and still didn't see Gerbil return.
"Gerbil! Stop being naughty, come back quick!" yelled Lin Ke again and tried to sense the location of Gerbil. However, he could only sense the location of Treasure Hunter Rat on his shoulder. He couldn't find Gerbil at all.
Thump!
Lin Ke suddenly felt something was wrong. Although he didn't know how far his sensing range was, he couldn't sense anything at all. He was very anxious…
"Gerbil!"
"Gerbil?"
"Gerbil—"
"Gerbil…"
"Ger… bil…"
"…Ger… bil…"