Chapter 22: The Upright Walking Goat
While the few of them were chatting, a man in a baseball cap and low-key attire suddenly approached them, acting mysteriously.
“Want an ability catalyst?”
“Guaranteed successful awakening, only 100 star coins.”
He took out a bottle of purplish-black liquid from his pocket.
“No, thanks.” Jiang Ning slanted a look at him, her attitude suddenly turning cold. She pulled Ke Lai and Li Xiang away from the man.
As expected, there was no shortage of drug peddlers in any world.
The man in the baseball cap didn’t give up. He quickly said, “It can also change your ability.”
Jiang Ning’s eyes narrowed. She stopped and frowned at him.
The man said, “I’ve been watching you since your test. I know you’re an F-rank, plant-based, a universally acknowledged useless ability. But I have a way to change your ability and make you powerful.”
He shook the liquid in his hand.
“I’ve never heard of anything on the market that can change an ability,” Jiang Ning said, not buying his words. “These days, even spirit tools can be fake. A bottle of potion can help someone awaken?”
Jiang Ning’s words dampened the desire to buy that had risen in Li Xiang. He began to look at the liquid in the man’s hand with suspicion.
“Of course, this is divine water. How can those spirit tools compare?” the man said with extreme confidence.
“Everyone says their product can enhance psychic energy,” Ke Lai shrugged. She was well-versed in these routines.
The three of them had no desire to get entangled with him any longer.
“If you think it’s expensive, the price can be lowered!” the man gritted his teeth. “Eighty, how about eighty star coins?”
The three of them turned to leave. A price drop of that much, and it even guaranteed awakening an ability. What kind of good medicine could it be?
The few of them expressed deep suspicion about the divine water the man was talking about.
“Fifty, that’s the lowest,” he was still shouting prices from behind.
Jiang Ning suddenly stopped.
The man thought he had a chance and came forward with a smile. “You can’t go wrong, you can’t be fooled. It’s absolutely worth the price!”
The next second, Jiang Ning looked up and said to a man in uniform next to her, “Uncle, that person is suspected of selling fake medicine.”
She pointed in the direction behind her.
The police officer on duty, responsible for the security outside the testing center, heard this and walked over with a baton.
Seeing this, the man turned and ran, no longer bothering with Jiang Ning and the others.
The few of them watched the show for a while and then left. Before leaving, Li Xiang suddenly asked with hindsight, “Do you think the kind of medicine he was talking about really exists?”
“How can there be so many good things in the world,” Jiang Ning smiled.
Another month passed since the ability test that day. Soon, it was time for the monthly ability test again. Li Xiang, not believing in fate, went to get tested again.
The result was still the same: no psychic energy, no ability.
On the other hand, Jiang Ning, ever since that day, had been staying in her small garden planting flowers. Occasionally, she would spend the whole day in the nearby physical bookstore.
Except for Auntie Li, she had barely spoken a word to any of the neighbors in the slums.
The surrounding neighbors were all spreading rumors that Jiang Ning had gone mad because the ability she had awakened was too useless.
And Jiang Ning, the subject of the rumors, simply disliked complex interpersonal relationships.
Compared to the complexity of human society, plants were much simpler.
Auntie Li was not influenced by the people outside. Moreover, this child, Jiang Ning, had a grateful heart and often sent things to her family. After getting along for so many days, Auntie Li had long treated Jiang Ning as half a daughter, occasionally inviting her to their home for meals.
Compared to half a year ago, Jiang Ning had gained a lot of weight. Her face gradually filled out, and her features showed a hint of delicacy.
At the dinner table, Uncle Li suddenly brought up a matter. “I heard that there was an unexplained mutated beast tide in the central area of the western suburbs recently. Many high-level mutated beasts have run to the outer areas.”
“A while ago, your Uncle Wang had his leg bitten off by a mutated beast. He’s still lying in the hospital,” Uncle Li said.
Auntie Li’s hand, which was serving rice, paused. She asked hesitantly, “Then are we still going later?”
“Of course, why not!” Li Xiang shoveled two mouthfuls of rice. “We can’t be that unlucky.”
“You child, what nonsense are you talking about!” Uncle Li gave Li Xiang a big slap on the back of his head.
In the end, the four of them still went to the western suburbs. The reason was simple: Li Xiang had consumed too much in his quest to awaken an ability, and Uncle Li and Auntie Li’s family no longer had enough money to support their household expenses.
As soon as Jiang Ning stepped into the uninhabited zone, the solemn atmosphere around her made her feel that something was unusual.
Today, there were half as many guards in the outer perimeter of the uninhabited zone.
“Stop!” The few of them were stopped as they walked to the desert area.
The guard scanned the few of them up and down and said, “You can’t go any further in. You can only move around here at most.”
The guard knew that for these bottom-tier citizens, the uninhabited zone was their entire livelihood. They couldn’t completely cut off these people’s source of income and could only demarcate a safe zone as much as possible for them to move around in.
“This…” Uncle Li looked around and sighed helplessly.
This was near the city suburbs. How could they possibly catch any mutated beasts?
The guard naturally understood what he meant, but his duty was his duty. He could only pretend not to understand. “Sorry, there have been several accidents in the uninhabited zone. For everyone’s safety, please understand.”
“Let’s go.” Uncle Li led his reluctant family towards the protective fence around the suburbs.
Jiang Ning looked back at the uninhabited zone behind the guard, pursed her lips, and also left.
The four of them wandered around the protective fence for an hour and a half, during which they did not encounter a single trace of a mutated beast.
“How can there be any mutated beasts around here!” Li Xiang sat on the ground in frustration.
Jiang Ning took a deep breath. Even she was starting to have second thoughts.
In the recent situation, it was indeed not very suitable to come out.
Jiang Ning lifted her eyelids.
“Wait…”
A broken hole suddenly appeared on the protective fence in front of them.
The few of them followed her gaze. Li Xiang was the first to say excitedly, “There’s a mutated beast, great!”
Jiang Ning’s brow furrowed. Compared to Li Xiang’s excitement, she felt a faint sense of unease.
To protect the city’s safety, the protective fence in the suburbs was electrified with high voltage. Ordinary mutated beasts would be electrocuted upon contact. Now, a large hole had suddenly appeared in the protective fence. What kind of powerful creature could ignore the damage from the high voltage?
“Don’t go over there. Let’s go back and tell those guards quickly.” Jiang Ning stopped the eager Li Xiang and told the others what she was thinking.
Since it involved their safety, Uncle Li and Auntie Li naturally agreed with Jiang Ning’s view. Although Li Xiang was a bit reluctant, he could only leave with the three of them.
The few of them did not dare to linger and left quickly.
The sun was high in the sky, yet a hazy white fog had unexpectedly formed in the suburbs.
“Everyone, hold on tight. Don’t get separated,” Jiang Ning said, grabbing the hand of the person next to her.
The four of them held hands, using the protective fence as a landmark. After walking in the fog for about half an hour, they finally saw a blurry figure in front of them.
“There’s someone ahead.” Li Xiang naturally assumed that person was a guard. After saying that, he was about to quicken his pace and walk towards it.
“Wait.” Jiang Ning stopped him.
She remembered that there shouldn’t be a guard at this location.
The three of them had clearly come to regard Jiang Ning as their backbone.
Jiang Ning signaled for everyone to stop. She quietly observed the front.
The dark figure was motionless, always in their line of sight.
Jiang Ning tried her Star Brain. The signal in the suburbs was already poor, and especially after the fog appeared, her Star Brain’s signal was completely cut off.
“Uncle Li, Auntie Li, your Star Brains are better than mine. See if there’s a signal. If there is, call the police immediately,” Jiang Ning said with a serious expression.
“Okay,” the two of them nodded.
Li Xiang’s gaze was fixed on the front. Seeing that the thing was moving, he turned his head and said, “Jiang Ning, that dark figure is coming over.”
Jiang Ning swallowed hard and secretly took out a weapon from behind her back, holding it in front of her.
The next second.
A creature, completely black, with two sharp horns on its head, cracked teeth, and constantly secreting mucus from its mouth, an upright walking… um, goat? appeared in everyone’s vision.
Its horizontal pupils stared at the four of them, its gaze extremely eerie.
Everyone was startled by it.
Among all the creatures Jiang Ning currently knew, none could match the thing in front of them.
“What on earth is this?” Li Xiang stared at the creature in front of him, feeling weak.
“I don’t know,” Jiang Ning shook her head honestly.
“What do we do now?” Auntie Li’s voice trembled, her Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as she swallowed repeatedly.
“Act according to the situation. Run if we can. Try to contact the guards,” Jiang Ning forced herself to calm down. There was no use in panicking in this situation.
The upright walking goat was constantly chewing, the nails on its forehooves thick and sharp.
Its figure was strangely fast. Before everyone could see how it moved, it had appeared behind them in an instant.
“Run!” Jiang Ning shouted.
The goat located Jiang Ning’s voice and charged towards her first.
Jiang Ning dodged while raising her sword to block the goat’s attack.
The samurai sword scraped against the goat’s hoof, emitting a sparking ‘sizzle’ sound.
Fortunately, she had specially ordered a thickened and reinforced one from the weapon shop before. Otherwise, it would have been directly cut in half by the goat’s hoof.
But her strength was limited. The samurai sword was sent flying by the goat, and Jiang Ning was also thrown heavily to the ground.
“Jiang Ning!”
“Hello, hello, is this the guard team? We are outside the protective fence to the left of the monument. We are under attack by an unknown mutated beast. Requesting rescue! Requesting rescue!”
Li Xiang looked at the Star Brain in his hand, which finally had a trace of a signal, and immediately dialed the emergency number.
“Hello…”
Unfortunately, the signal only lasted for a dozen seconds before the call was disconnected.
Li Xiang tried several more times, but to no avail.
He didn’t know if they had received their call for help.
Over here, under the goat’s fierce attack, Jiang Ning was quickly defeated, with severe injuries in many places.
She gently wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, climbed up from the ground, and stared at the goat in front of her.
Compared to the mutated beasts she had seen before, this goat clearly had its own consciousness and was also very intelligent.
No matter how Uncle Li and Auntie Li provoked it from not far away, the goat remained unmoved. It always concentrated its full strength, its goal to kill Jiang Ning first.