Wilderness: I Tame Beasts to Survive-Chapter 55 - 54: Magical Scales

Yin Yi descended, extending the vines on her sides.

The slender vines split into a dozen thinner ones mid-flight, plunging into the Silver-Scaled Python’s mangled head and churning within.

Then, they pulled out a polygonal Crystal Stone the size of a ping-pong ball, glowing with a faint grayish-white light.

As soon as the Crystal Stone was extracted, the Silver-Scaled Python, which had been twitching and convulsing, fell completely still.

Seeing this, Han Ning and the others peeked out and slowly approached.

A ten-meter-long serpentine body, nearly three stories high. Standing next to this giant python, the visual impact was undeniable.

A human before it was like a small child.

"I can’t believe we actually managed to kill a python this big. If you’d told me this right after we first crossed over, I would’ve never believed it..." Lü Xiuning kicked the Silver-Scaled Python’s solid body, which produced a series of crisp THUDS.

"It’s all thanks to Yin Yi... As expected, prioritizing the development of our Soul Beasts is the best way for us to survive here." Liu Yueming couldn’t help but sigh as he watched Yin Yi return to Han Ning’s side and lean against his thigh like a little girl.

"We and our Silver Lotus Wood played a big part too. I believe it won’t be long before everyone’s Silver Lotus Wood can evolve successfully, just like Yin Yi." Han Ning smiled faintly, stroking Yin Yi’s cheek.

After absorbing all the Iron-toothed Giant Snake corpses here, he estimated a few more Silver Lotus Wood would reach their Fourth Mutation.

Based on Han Ning’s observations, going from the first mutation to the Fourth Mutation was equivalent to advancing from Entry Level I to Entry Level IV. The others didn’t have a system, so there would be some loss when absorbing Energy. Their evolution would likely be much slower than Yin Yi’s.

But as long as they kept absorbing Energy from various Soul Beasts, he believed it wouldn’t take too long.

Besides, these Silver Lotus Wood were absorbing Crystal Stones with the Gold Attribute. Han Ning was very curious what forms they would take after they evolved.

"Exactly. With our current resources, nurturing Soul Beasts is the optimal solution. A single powerful Soul Beast is like a small armory," Lü Xiuning agreed.

"Hey, come look! Are the scales of this Silver-Scaled Python some kind of special Metal?"

Just then, Liu Zhiran picked up a silver-white Snake Scale that had fallen on the ground and walked over.

He held up the scale, which was about half the size of his palm. It reflected a faint luster under the light.

"The strength of these Snake Scales seems very high. Look, even after that intense battle and being attacked by Yin Yi so many times, these scales didn’t shatter. At most, they just got bent out of shape." Seeing this, Liu Yueming picked up a few more scales and compared them, speaking in amazement.

"That’s true... Earlier, Yin Yi’s Flower Thorns either targeted the Silver-Scaled Python’s relatively fragile eyes or used the concussive force from explosions to pry open the gaps between the scales."

Han Ning bent down and casually examined the Silver-Scaled Python’s bloody corpse. He was surprised to discover a layer of fine, black scales just beneath the large, silver ones on the surface.

Moreover, the gaps between the silver scales were quite large, as if the Silver-Scaled Python could have launched them at will.

’They’re less like scales and more like a layer of armor.’

Lü Xiuning carefully put the scales away as if they were treasure, saying, "These must be valuable. We should collect them all and not let them go to waste."

Although he didn’t know their specific use, their shimmering appearance suggested they weren’t worthless.

As they were talking, a series of heavy footsteps echoed from the south.

Dozens of familiar faces appeared at the end of the asphalt road.

It was the thirty-plus people who had left earlier, along with the ten fresh troops they’d brought—Silver Lotus Wood that had reached their third mutation.

It was just... they had arrived a little too late.

"Are you guys all right?"

"The Silver-Scaled Python... is dead?"

"Didn’t you say the situation here was critical and you needed immediate backup?"

When the crowd drew near Han Ning’s group and got a clear view of the scene, they couldn’t help but look astonished.

The ten-meter-long python, its body shimmering with a faint metallic sheen, was simply too overwhelming.

"Ahem, we’ve already taken care of it." Lü Xiuning went up to greet them and explained to the lead teacher, then casually asked,

"Teacher Chen, how are things on your end? Is the mission to dismantle the diesel tanks going smoothly?"

Teacher Chen smiled. "Teacher Zhao and the others were still figuring out how to dismantle the tanks when Dean Wu called us back to support you."

Lü Xiuning nodded. "Thanks for your trouble. We’re fine here for now, so you can head back and continue with the tanks. The thirty-odd people who just left can stay and continue clearing the Soul Beasts along the way to the processing center."

The lead teacher, Teacher Chen, grunted in acknowledgment. "As long as you’re all right. We’ll head back then."

Dismantling the fuel tanks was just as important. There were tens of thousands of liters of diesel, a precious source of Energy.

Since it had just been a false alarm, Teacher Chen exchanged a few more words with Lü Xiuning before leading the other nine people back to the dormitory area.

The thirty-plus people who had originally left remained behind.

"There are a total of seventeen Iron-toothed Giant Snake corpses here. We’ve just dug out the Crystal Stones from the heads of fifteen of them, leaving two untouched."

The Iron-toothed Giant Snake corpses without their Crystal Stones didn’t store much Energy, but the total amount was still considerable.

Lü Xiuning looked up at the crowd. "We’ll rest here for half an hour and discuss how to divide the spoils."

...

「Half an hour later.」

After the spoils were divided, Han Ning received two-thirds of the Silver-Scaled Python’s Crystal Stone.

This was the result of a group discussion.

How did they manage to split it into two-thirds? First, they had the other Silver Lotus Wood absorb one-third of its Energy, roughly judging the consumption based on the fading luster of the crystal’s surface.

Advancing from the third to the Fourth Mutation required a significant amount of Energy. Even after absorbing some from the Silver-Scaled Python’s Crystal Stone, none of the Silver Lotus Wood on site managed to mutate successfully.

It seemed a certain amount of accumulation was still necessary.

Aside from the largest Crystal Stone, there wasn’t much else to take. Most of the Crystal Stones had been completely absorbed by the Silver Lotus Wood. Yin Yi, in particular, had already absorbed the Energy from five Crystal Stones, so Han Ning just left the remaining low-energy corpses for the others.

Once they finished resting, a few of the relatively weaker students were assigned to use their Silver Lotus Wood to drag the Silver-Scaled Python’s corpse back to the dormitory area.

The Silver-Scaled Python still had a large number of silver scales on its body, which were excellent research materials and couldn’t be wasted.

The rest of the group, meanwhile, continued toward the processing center.

Having killed over a dozen relatively large Iron-toothed Giant Snakes and the ten-meter-long Silver-Scaled Python, the group only encountered a few swarms of small Iron-toothed Snakes along the way.

Forget Yin Yi; these small snakes were no match even for the other Silver Lotus Wood.

They steamrolled their way forward until the white outer walls of the processing center’s factory building came into view.