Chapter 19: I Won't Let You Have It Easy Even If It Kills Me

With only thirty yuan left to his entire net worth, the thought of today being the day to pay the electricity bill filled Lin Li with dread. The bill was nearly two hundred yuan, an amount he simply could not afford in his current situation.

If he didn't make any money today, he might face a power outage when he returned home tonight.

Suddenly, a rabbit mutant beast appeared before his eyes, and his eyes instantly lit up.

In Lin Li's eyes, this rabbit mutant beast had transformed into a stack of self-moving banknotes.

The rabbit mutant beast, feeling Lin Li's intense stare, couldn't help but shudder; it had never felt such a greedy gaze before.

Instinctively, it turned around and bolted, not even stopping for a drink of water.

"Don't run! I won't hurt you..."

Seeing the rabbit flee, Lin Li grew anxious. He hurriedly grabbed his spiritual longsword, which was leaning against a large tree, and chased after the fleeing creature while shouting.

…………

*Rustle, rustle, rustle...*

The lush vegetation swayed as the rabbit mutant beast, terrified by Lin Li's greedy gaze, fled in a frantic, aimless manner.

"Don't run, I mean you no harm!"

The "kind" shouts coming from behind made the rabbit's heart tremble uncontrollably. As a faint golden spiritual light bloomed in its eyes, its running speed suddenly surged slightly.

"Damn it, why is this rabbit so fast?" Having chased it for two or three minutes, Lin Li was shocked to find he still hadn't caught up.

He knew that the six rabbit mutant beasts he had killed earlier had speeds less than half of this one.

What Lin Li didn't know was that the rabbit he was pursuing had awakened a speed ability; bolstered by this power, its running speed was significantly higher than its peers.

"My electricity bill! I won't let you escape..." Lin Li, already a pauper, screamed in his heart.

Although he had not awakened a speed ability, his running potential had been pushed to its limits by the sheer force of poverty, causing his pursuit speed to increase sharply.

Despite the rabbit's speed ability, it was only at the mid-stage of Tier 1, whereas it was facing an opponent with peak Tier 1 strength who was driven by the desperation of poverty.

The distance between them closed rapidly, leaving the fleeing rabbit in utter despair.

In this situation, the rabbit knew it could not escape death. Since the human behind it intended to kill it, it decided that it wouldn't let the human have it easy either.

Having decided to take revenge on the hateful human before it died, the rabbit's running motion suddenly faltered, and it changed its direction.

Seeing the rabbit slow down due to the change in direction, Lin Li felt a surge of joy.

…………

*Splash...*

A large, stout wild boar mutant beast was rolling in a muddy pond. With every roll, muddy water splashed onto the banks.

"Hmph..."

After a few comfortable grunts, the hungry wild boar stopped rolling and climbed out of the mud.

*Rustle, rustle, rustle...*

A sudden movement in the nearby grass caused the boar, which was preparing to forage, to stop in its tracks.

A second later, two figures—one small and one large—leaped out from the tangled grass one after another.

*Puchi.*

Having finally caught up to the rabbit, Lin Li decisively thrust his spiritual longsword forward, just as he had done with the previous rabbits.

The spiritual sword, glowing with a faint golden light, pierced accurately and ruthlessly into the rabbit's small head.

*Thud.*

The rabbit, killed by Lin Li's single strike, fell heavily by the edge of the muddy pond. Its not-so-small body hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Haha... now my electricity and food expenses are covered!" Looking at the rabbit's body, which was still twitching occasionally, Lin Li's face was filled with a joyful smile.

"Hmph..."

A familiar grunt sounded near Lin Li's ear. Still smiling, Lin Li turned to look toward the front right.

The moment he saw the creature making that sound, the joyful smile on his face froze and then rapidly vanished.

It was a ferocious wild boar, one meter eight in length and one meter two in height, with hard, sparse bristles on its back, dark brown fur, and two sharp tusks protruding from its mouth.

"Holy crap... such a huge wild boar mutant beast. If it charges at me, my puny limbs won't stand a chance."

The joy of killing the rabbit vanished instantly. Lin Li, who had enjoyed a smooth run since morning, felt tension creeping back into his heart.

Wild boar mutant beasts are omnivores. It glanced at the dead rabbit and then at the tender-skinned human before it, thinking that its lunch and dinner were sorted for the day.

"Hmph..."

The joyful grunt reached Lin Li's ears. At this moment, he finally understood the mindset of the rabbit he had just killed.

"Damn it, the way this boar is looking at me... it's planning to make me its food!"

His palms were sweating from nervousness. A terrified Lin Li gripped his spiritual longsword tightly and began to step backward slowly.

Although the dead rabbit was not far away and he desperately wanted to take the carcass with him—after all, it was his electricity and food money—the strength of this massive, formidable wild boar was unknown. If he rushed to grab the rabbit, he might find himself in extreme danger.

"Hmph..."

Seeing the tender-skinned human, the Tier 1 peak wild boar let out a triumphant grunt, emboldened by its own imposing presence, and began to step toward him.

The dead rabbit wouldn't be enough to satisfy its hunger; it couldn't let this human escape.

"This guy... he's not planning to let me leave."

With his heart pounding, Lin Li noticed that for every step he took backward, the boar took one step forward. This behavior made the creature's intention clear.

*If I turn and run now, with my speed, I should be able to shake off this ferocious boar.*

*But when encountering mutant beasts in the wild, you can't easily expose your back to them. Doing so is a quick way to lose your life.*

Just as Lin Li was about to turn and flee, the warning from Hao Zhuang, the examiner from the Beast Hunter Guild, echoed in his mind, instantly killing the thought of running.

…………

PS: Thanks to "08a" for the 200-point tip.

(End of Chapter)