Lin Shen's heart leaped with joy as he hurried to the incubation chamber and looked through the glass lid. He saw a crack appear on the Steel Tail Scorpion's Base Mutation Egg.
Crack!
Another crisp sound, and several more cracks appeared on the steel-hard Base Mutation Egg, all radiating outwards from a central point.
Crack!
The center of the cracks was suddenly pierced through, and a slightly curved pitch-black stinger emerged, its sharp tip flashing with a frightening chill.
Before Lin Shen could get a clear look at the pitch-black stinger, it suddenly retracted back in the next second.
Crack!
Almost in the instant it retracted, the pitch-black stinger lanced out again, and under the continuous piercing, the eggshell could not withstand and broke apart completely. A palm-sized black metallic scorpion crawled out, its body entirely pitch-black.
"Is this a Steel Tail Scorpion?" Lin Shen stared at the Steel Tail Scorpion that was gnawing on the eggshell, feeling a bit surprised in his heart.
Steel Tail Scorpions, these Base Variant Creatures, were abundant near the Dark Bird Base and bred very quickly. The price of Base Mutation Eggs was not high; in fact, they could be bought for about the price of a meal.
Many Mutators who owned Steel Tail Scorpion pets were common, and even ordinary people without Base Mutation had their share of Steel Tail Scorpion pets.
Lin Shen had seen many wild and pet Steel Tail Scorpions, but he had never seen one like this.
Ordinary Steel Tail Scorpions had steel-colored carapaces, with most displaying some rust-like spots and dots.
Yet this Steel Tail Scorpion was completely pitch-black, as if forged from dark iron, and even slightly larger than the newly hatched ones.
Without the time to ponder, Lin Shen quickly made his move, removing some of the larger pieces of eggshell, which infuriated the Steel Tail Scorpion. It waved its claws and tail violently, trying to attack Lin Shen and take back the eggshell.
After several attempts, finding that it couldn't touch Lin Shen at all, it could only huffily consume the remaining smaller pieces of the eggshell first.
After finishing its meal, the Steel Tail Scorpion turned a few circles and then leaped up, charging towards Lin Shen's face like a cannonball firing out of a barrel.
Lin Shen was prepared, raising a metal shield he had already readied before him.
With a clang, the Steel Tail Scorpion's tail struck the metal shield, actually piercing a small hole in it. If not for the shortness of its stinger, it might have even penetrated the shield entirely.
Lin Shen was both shocked and elated. The shield in his hands was cast from Alloy Creature materials, which usually wasn't penetrable by regular steel creatures.
The strength and hardness of a Steel Tail Scorpion should not be enough to damage such a shield, not even an adult one, let alone one that had just hatched.
This Steel Tail Scorpion could pierce through the alloy shield—this meant its strength and hardness far exceeded those of a typical Steel Tail Scorpion.
"Base Mutation Eggs with a Fire Seed truly are different," Lin Shen thought as he blocked the Steel Tail Scorpion's attacks repeatedly until it gradually became exhausted.
Base Variant Creatures needed to consume their own eggshell just after birth to replenish the energy expended in breaking out, ensuring they had the strength to go on.
This Steel Tail Scorpion had only eaten a little bit of the eggshell—hardly enough to replenish its energy—and before long, it became worn out.
Without the strength to attack Lin Shen any longer, the Steel Tail Scorpion turned a few circles, and suddenly arched its tail forward as much as possible, exposing its underside.
The belly also shone with the cold light of dark iron armor; one area suddenly sprang out, transforming into a tiny dark iron key that flew toward Lin Shen.
Lin Shen caught the key in his hand, let out a sigh of relief, put down the shield, and placed the remaining eggshell pieces in front of the Steel Tail Scorpion.
A Base Variant Creature that had just emerged from the egg was in a confused state and weakened; thus, using the eggshell to lure it presented the easiest opportunity to tame it. Missing this chance would make any future attempts to tame it far more troublesome.
The Steel Tail Scorpion quickly devoured all the eggshells. Its body turned even blacker and colder, and a speck of cold light flickered on its tail.
With the Base Mutation key in hand, the Steel Tail Scorpion seemed to sense Lin Shen's thoughts, crawling in front of him and turning its body to raise its tail, aligning the keyhole underneath it with Lin Shen.
Lin Shen inserted the key and gave it a light twist, and the Steel Tail Scorpion's body began to undergo unbelievable transformations.
The various parts of the Steel Tail Scorpion's body started to rotate and contract, and in a short amount of time, it transformed into a black metal capsule the size of a quail egg.
Lin Shen caught the Pet Capsule, effortlessly pulled out the key, and his gaze fell on the information displayed on the side of the capsule.
Mutant Steel Tail Scorpion: Steel Biological Creature (Evolvable)
Strength: 10.
Speed: 9.9.
Hardness: 10.
Tenacity: 10.
Base Mutation Talent: Strengthened Armor-Piercing Stinger.
Seeing the attributes of the Steel Tail Scorpion, Lin Shen couldn't help but be overjoyed.
The nearly Steel Level maximum values all around, and a Base Mutation talent that could enhance its armor-piercing capability—an enhanced armor-piercing stinger no less. While the Armor-Piercing Stinger talent was common, the powerful variant seemed to be exclusive to some special Base Variant Creatures. This Mutant Steel Tail Scorpion was undoubtedly an exceptional attack-type pet.
These attributes weren't the only things that excited Lin Shen so much; what really surprised him was that the Mutant Steel Tail Scorpion possessed the evolvable attribute.
This meant that the Mutant Steel Tail Scorpion had the potential to advance to Alloy or even Crystal Base Level, making its value incomparable to ordinary Steel pets.
Although the Supersonic Gunman was Alloy Level, its potential had peaked and there was no possibility for further advancement. It was a strong asset to Lin Shen now, but it was destined to be phased out in the future.
If this Mutant Steel Tail Scorpion was cultivated properly, its future role could far exceed that of the Supersonic Gunman.
"The Fire Seed Base Mutation Egg is indeed extraordinary," Lin Shen murmured as he put away the Mutant Steel Tail Scorpion capsule, and his gaze moved to the other two Base Mutation Eggs that had not yet hatched.
"It's just a pity... I don't have the time now," Lin Shen said with a wry smile and a shake of his head.
Base Mutation took time—it wasn't a matter of a day or two. If it weren't for the trip to Gourd Mountain, Lin Shen could definitely choose one from the remaining two Base Mutation Eggs to complete the Base Mutation to Steel Level.
But now it was too late, as the Qi and Wang families wouldn't wait for him to complete his Base Mutation before going to Gourd Mountain.
Up to this point, the intentions of Bai Shenfei were still unclear, as her actions had many contradictions, making it difficult to predict her moves.
The Super-Base Evolutionary Seed on her made her origins even more mysterious, leaving Lin Shen truly unable to judge.
Moreover, there was certainly a spy within the Lin Family, indicating internal and external troubles abound.
Lin Shen found a backpack and placed the remaining two Base Mutation Eggs inside, intending to take them to Gourd Mountain. Perhaps he would have a chance to complete the Base Mutation there.
"These things are not yet a part of my true combat force. The powers bestowed by the Fire Seed are more tangible, but where to find a Fire Seed? Where are there a large number of Base Mutation Eggs that I haven't seen before?" After pondering for a moment, Lin Shen's eyes brightened; he had an idea of where he could find a large number of unfamiliar Base Mutation Eggs.
The Base Mutation Eggs at that location were not normal ones—they were failed hatching, dead eggs.
Those Base Mutation Eggs had neither hatched into Base Variant Creatures nor could they be used to extract Base Mutation Fluid due to complete solidification during the hatching process. The vast majority were melted down and used as industrial materials.
Though they were dead eggs, they were still Base Mutation Eggs, and Lin Shen still intended to try his luck.
The three major families had special warehouses for storing dead eggs. For Lin Shen to access the warehouses of the other two families, he would need to think of some methods, but there was no need to hesitate about visiting his own family's warehouse.
"I hope that the latest batch of dead eggs hasn't been sent to the factory yet." Lin Shen didn't want to wait for even a moment and set off toward the warehouse where his family stored the dead eggs.