Chapter 77: Chapter 64: Dangerous Dissection
"How could someone with such potential have been overlooked by the big city ahead?"
"Those bastards have been living off others for so long, it’s not surprising they’d neglect their duties and let this slip through."
Inside the Duncan Squad’s electric car, a few team members chatted sporadically about the next squad captain’s superpower.
As long as human civilization hasn’t completely collapsed, powers related to firearms will always be the most desirable. Being able to deliver firepower from a distance to destroy enemies is much safer than close combat and allows a greater margin for error.
When a rare superpower like Lin Feng’s emerges, all major forces will compete to recruit him and then carefully nurture his talents.
At this point, Lisa voiced her thoughts:
"If we can recruit Lin Feng, he would definitely be a great asset. He fits Lord Bai’s mission criteria, but we must confirm his relationship with the Church. If it’s too deep, it might expose us instead..."
Old Duncan was polishing the gun in his hand, an old companion whose age exceeded his own. Now, in this wasteland overrun with strange and wicked entities, it was left with only a deterrent effect.
He did not comment on the discussions among his subordinates.
Potential recruits need to be strictly screened, not just selected based on their superpowers, or as Lisa said, we could end up getting burned.
"Boss, you have to see this. That guy intends to directly dissect the Tier One Rock-Horned Horse Corpse. Didn’t expect him to be such a rookie."
A team member leaning against the car door spoke up with a hint of mockery in his expression.
Lisa quickly stood up, confirming through the window’s wire mesh that not far away, Lin Feng was preparing to cut the horse corpse with his bare hands.
She turned back to Old Duncan, a flash of worry and urgency in her eyes.
Old Duncan holstered his pistol and sighed:
"Alright, go and check it out. Also, probe a bit. If he’s willing to learn more, and there’s no deep connection with the Church, give it a try."
With the captain’s approval, Lisa smiled and quickly exited the car, jogging to the neighboring camp.
Lin Feng’s squad was celebrating their harvest.
For everyone, the primary goal was to advance to a Tier One Evolver, and only then consider the bounty order.
After all, the more Evolvers in the team and the stronger they were, whether it be pressure from Nongzhuang Village or potential threats from other veteran Evolvers...
Every problem would be easily resolved!
As for the bounty order to capture a live horse, it was just icing on the cake in the face of absolute power, paving the way for Lin Feng’s next Upper-Class plan.
However, just as Lin Feng was preparing to dissect and cut this one-ton, gigantic female Tier One Rock-Horned Horse Corpse...
The familiar figure from Duncan Squad’s camp approached again.
The jovial atmosphere in the team gradually cooled, and everyone placed their hands on their weapons, their eyes full of vigilance and defensive readiness.
This was a critical period for Lin Feng’s advancement, and any mistake was unacceptable.
Lin Feng was somewhat perplexed by Lisa’s second visit, as this should be their rest time with no reason to disturb or investigate.
Unless there’s another motive.
Lin Feng put down his work of dismantling and skinning, slowly stood up, and looked at the approaching Lisa.
After catching her breath, she pointed at the Rock-Horned Horse Corpse on the ground, asking somewhat puzzledly:
"Is this your first time killing a Tier One Desolate Beast?"
"Didn’t you look into it beforehand?"
Lin Feng was slightly taken aback:
"Why? Is there a problem with the Tier One Desolate Beast’s body? Does it need to be handed over to the Four Major Villages for special handling?"
Lisa’s face was a mixture of surprise and delight.
She had already ascertained that the other party was a newbie to the wasteland, particularly new, with a wake-up time definitely no longer than six months.
She then explained:
"It’s not a big issue, just don’t touch it directly!"
"Skin contact with evolutionary cells can cause infection, especially since you all are just Late-stage Enhanced People. Your immune systems can’t withstand the invasion of evolutionary cells."
"At worst, you’ll itch all over, and your skin will ulcerate... At worst, you could have a constant high fever and even fall unconscious!"
"The evolutionary cells have high vitality; even after several days, they won’t die or rot. You can take it back and sell it to the guilds, the Four Major Villages will reward you with an Evolution Potion in exchange for the Tier One Desolate Beast’s body. There’s no need to dissect it yourself in the wild."
Lin Feng frowned slightly, knowing what she said was true, but he wanted to achieve evolution on his own to avoid control by Nongzhuang Village or the Holy Spring Sect.
Nearby, Liu Qian narrowed her eyes slightly. In the Hunter’s Notes, there was little record on how to handle a Tier One Desolate Beast’s body. After all, most Level 9 Enhanced People might never get a chance to successfully hunt a Tier One Desolate Beast in their lifetime.
If they did, most handling methods were to sell it to the guilds of Oasis Town or the Four Major Villages in exchange for already-extracted, finished Evolution Potion.
There were few introductions on independent dissection because consuming wild evolutionary meat directly was akin to suicide.
Lin Feng’s attempt was indeed somewhat risky.
If it weren’t for the portable Purification Extraction Filter bought from Holy Spring Village, Liu Qian and Chen Shanshan would have stopped him from dissecting directly.
Lisa’s well-meaning reminder, however, made Liu Qian notice something amiss.
The other party was overly enthusiastic, too diligent.
Could it be they’ve set their eyes on Lin Feng’s superpower?
As for Lin Feng himself, he didn’t think that much; he just wanted to complete the Tier One evolution quickly, gain the strength of an Evolver, and increase the upper limit of the Item Upgrade System.
Completing the evolution would not only enhance Lin Feng and the squad’s strength, but also include a comprehensive upgrade of their equipment.
"I want to evolve now. Doing so will strengthen the chance of capturing a Tier One Male Rock-Horned Horse alive."
Lin Feng replied, adding:
"I bought Holy Spring Village’s Purification Filter Device, which can filter out impurities from evolutionary meat."
Lisa shook her head, hesitating inwardly:
"The filter doesn’t purify 100%, there’s always a risk, and it’s a church-related item; only by joining their faith can it be safely used."
Lin Feng’s pupils contracted, realizing there was more to her words, he spoke in a serious tone:
"You seem to know a lot about this..."
"But taking the Tier One Desolate Beast body back to exchange for an Evolution Potion means having to evolve under the Four Major Villages’ control, inevitably being restricted."
"Do you have safe evolution techniques that don’t require returning to Oasis Town?"
Almost all Evolvers in Oasis Town have their affiliations and backgrounds, which is actually an implicit form of control.
To become an Evolver, one must join one of the factions and become a subordinate to the upper class in Oasis.
This can be seen from post-evolution cooperation agreements, where the identity and status of an Evolver are granted by them, and naturally, they expect obedience, to work for the Four Major Villages, fulfilling various dangerous wilderness missions.
Faced with Lin Feng’s counter-question, Lisa, realizing he was testing her, took out two sets of professional tools:
Plastic gloves and a mask.
After putting them on, she handed the other set to Lin Feng:
"Since you want to dissect in the wild and use evolutionary meat to directly achieve evolution, let me teach you how to handle it."
"We’ll work and talk, and I’ll tell you the truth about evolution. After you’ve listened, decide whether you still want to take the risk..."
Saying this, Lisa put on a combat suit hood, drew a sharp knife, showing only her eyes, and approached the horse corpse.
Nearby, Liu Qian and the others frowned, their weapons at the ready.
Lin Feng donned the plastic gloves and mask, gesturing to his teammates not to be nervous.
Compared to Lisa’s proactive "kind persuasion," he was now more intrigued by this mysterious foreign squad.
Seeing Lin Feng nod in agreement, Lisa inserted the knife into the neck of the Rock-Horned Horse Corpse, skillfully removing the connective tissue glued to the rock armor.
The actions flowed seamlessly.
The surrounding onlookers were fascinated.
Like a skilled butcher, each cut precisely targeted the crucial junctures of the Rock-Horned Horse’s full-body armor.
Lin Feng took a deep breath, growing more curious about Lisa and the Duncan Squad behind her.
They were certainly not ordinary people, at least not a typical squad of Deserters, as their peculiarities indicated their strength, definitely having the capability to hunt a Tier One Rock-Horned Horse here and achieve qualitative evolution.
Their team had the strength of Old Duncan, members with rich combat experience, a vehicle, and equipment, yet curiously, no Evolvers...
This anomaly didn’t require a reminder from Liu Qian; Lin Feng could sense it himself.
Reflecting on Lisa’s cautionary words, Lin Feng suddenly had a bad premonition.
At this moment, Lisa multitasked, instructing Lin Feng to move to the horse corpse’s tail to remove the outer rock armor, while asking:
"How much do you understand about so-called evolution?"