Chapter Forty-Two: Yuèyuè

"Yueyue, sit!" Fang Tang held a piece of roasted meat between two fingers and waved it at a little dog whose fur was pure white, smiling warmly.

The puppy slowly walked up to Fang Tang, sniffed the meat, found it quite fragrant, and snapped at it, almost biting Fang Tang’s fingers.

"Little Yueyue has quite the appetite."

Watching the puppy chew voraciously, Fang Tang smiled slightly, blinked, and muttered to himself, "Is it really as miraculous as you say?"

When Fang Tang first entered Cave 86, he had spotted an egg.

The eye had instructed him to feed the egg with his blood, which brought the puppy into being.

As for a wolf hatching from an egg, Fang Tang was only briefly surprised, but then was utterly shocked by the creature’s attributes.

According to the eye:

[The cave world exists by virtue of rules; these rules have given rise to many wondrous species. Compared to the mindless cave creatures, a select few possess remarkable intelligence and potential. The Moonlight Wolf, king of speed, will, upon reaching full maturity, possess a velocity surpassing that of light. Innate abilities: Extreme Speed, Life Link.]

Extreme Speed was easy enough to grasp, but Life Link required an explanation.

It meant that the wolf could share its entire strength with another, including vitality and speed!

However, this sharing depended on the wolf’s abilities, and at its current stage, it could not last long. Only upon adulthood could the link be sustained for half an hour, with a twelve-hour cooldown.

In other words, once Fang Tang raised the creature and fostered a good relationship, he could enjoy its ultimate speed twice a day.

The concept of light speed—within these caves, it would be akin to instant teleportation.

Perhaps even more powerful than teleportation.

Whatever the power, when taken to its extreme, it becomes terrifying.

Extreme speed, paired with his Great Xia Dragon Sparrow...

Atomic slash, anyone?

The eye's claim of a helpful companion was not unfounded.

This little one could truly save his life!

Therefore, Fang Tang happily named the creature Yueyue.

Though Yueyue was a male wolf, Fang Tang imposed the name with domineering insistence, ignoring Yueyue’s protests.

[How many times have I told you, don’t question Lord Eye. The esteemed Eye is always honest—has it ever tricked you?]

Fang Tang thought carefully and nodded decisively.

"It has!"

That shameless Eye nearly got him killed last time, all for a woman—how was that not a trick?

Though the Eye had apologized for the incident, Fang Tang shamelessly brought up old grievances.

The Eye remained silent, likely annoyed by Fang Tang.

Fang Tang chuckled, fed two more pieces of roasted meat to Yueyue, and then turned his attention to the remaining caves.

Four more to go, and he could finally rest.

[To the right.]

The Eye gave the direction curtly, offering no hint as to what lay within.

Fang Tang smiled unconcernedly, packed his things, picked up Yueyue, and walked toward the right wall.

"Come, Yueyue, Daddy will take you monster hunting."

"Woof?"

Yueyue lay in Fang Tang’s arms, tilting his little head in confusion, adorably silly—like a husky.

"Maybe I should give you a husky’s name, you really resemble one."

Fang Tang muttered as he and his wolf stepped into Cave 87.

Cave 87 posed no danger, and in the corner sat a silver chest.

He scavenged everything, dismantled the chest, and moved onward.

[Downward. Crocodile.]

With the little one in tow, he jumped into Cave 88.

He landed right atop a resting giant crocodile.

The impact startled the beast, who flung Fang Tang aside and charged at him with a roar.

Yueyue observed the crocodile’s ferocity and, almost imperceptibly, frowned, then howled at it.

"Woof!"

Fang Tang immediately sensed his speed surge.

Delighted, he drew the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, his body leaving a phantom as he rushed at the crocodile.

Swish!

Two flashes of cold light, and the crocodile’s massive head soared skyward.

The extreme speed faded, and Fang Tang looked at Yueyue in his arms, finding the little wolf exhausted, its bright eyes dimmed.

Rubbing Yueyue’s head, Fang Tang smiled, "You don’t need to help for now; wait till you grow up, then it won’t be too late."

"Whimper?"

Yueyue tilted his head, eyelids heavy, and soon fell asleep in Fang Tang’s arms.

Fang Tang took out some cloth, fashioned a sling for the little wolf, and began gathering the spoils of victory.

Cave 88 also held a silver chest.

Inside, Fang Tang found a barrel of oil, which delighted him.

"Egg fried rice, ah!"

With delicious food within reach, Fang Tang felt invigorated.

"Don’t be angry anymore. Fine, I’ll let you have a look at the big waves."

[Hm! I won’t forgive you... unless there are two big waves.]

For the Eye, nothing in this world could not be solved by gazing at big waves; if there was, just look again.

Fang Tang: "...I’ll find two big waves if I can."

He replied to the Eye, speechless, as the subtitles before him changed.

[Ahead lies a Night Owl, with a silver chest.]

"Night Owl, huh..." Fang Tang smacked his lips, saying nothing more.

Among all the cave creatures he’d encountered, only a few were truly troublesome, and the Night Owl was one of them.

Its invisibility was a nuisance.

Not only could it turn invisible, its speed was astounding, and crucially, it could fly.

Thankfully, he had the AKM. He wondered if its bullets could pierce the creature’s skin.

...

Cave 89.

A cave creature, resembling a small demon over a meter tall, was enjoying its freedom in the air.

Previously, the cave had been cramped; it couldn’t fly joyfully.

Now, with the space doubled, it felt no more suppression.

The sound of wall-breaking echoed, drawing the demon’s attention—it saw a human emerge, holding a black iron lump.

Though it had no idea what the iron lump was, the human had invaded its territory, and it must eliminate the intruder.

Its wings flapped, and it shot toward the human.

Mid-flight, it saw the human raise the iron lump.

Fire erupted from the lump.

Hmph! Foolish human, did he think flames could harm the noble Night Owl?

Before it could react, the demon felt an unprecedented impact, followed by intense pain.

Damn human! To harm the noble Night Owl, unable to win in open combat, he resorted to sneak attacks.

The demon vanished, its iron trident also invisible.

Hmph, the noble Night Owl is a king walking in darkness—should it fear a mere human?

Just as the demon boasted inwardly, it saw the human aim the iron lump at it again.

The demon panicked!

How did it seem like he could see it?

Familiar fiery serpents spewed from the lump.

Pain struck; it looked down to find a hole in its chest.

Thud!

The Night Owl was dead.

Fang Tang stowed the AKM, patted Yueyue, who had been awakened by the gunfire, took out his dismantling hammer, and walked toward the Night Owl.

"Only heavy firepower can harm a Night Owl. The skin’s fine, but the heart’s defense is weak. Still, its heart is so tiny, the weak spot hardly matters."

He acquired a blood-red pearl and a silver chest, feeling immensely pleased.

His waist pouch bulged, giving him a sense of security.

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