Ling Cage: I am a spiritual master, devouring source matter to become a god.

Jing Yuan then realized that the Devouring Beast in front of him was dead.

Shortly thereafter, the corpse of the Devouring Beast also turned into Breath Soil.

"I was careless!" Mark exclaimed. "Luckily you were here, otherwise it would have been another serious injury."

Jing Yuan also said, "The vital organs of this Devouring Beast are in different locations!"

Upon hearing this, Mark finally understood why his attack had failed to kill the Devouring Beast.

It was only at this moment that Jing Yuan understood why the hunters hadn't discovered the Spirit Seed.

If the location of the Spirit Seed varies depending on the type of Devouring Beast, it will be difficult to discover that the Spirit Seed is the key to killing the Devouring Beast unless a large number of kill samples are accumulated.

Jing Yuan also discovered the difference by scanning with his mental power.

There was an element of coincidence involved.

However, Jing Yuan was certain that if his mental strength and psychic power continued to increase, he should be able to penetrate the Devouring Beast's body and accurately locate the Spirit Seed.

Having dealt with the Devouring Beast, Mark immediately ordered a swift departure.

Devouring Beasts always move in groups, so it's highly likely that there's more than one Devouring Beast nearby.

The Hunters' convoy fled to a distance of ten kilometers, and neither Mark nor Jingyuan removed their Gravity Bodies in case the Devouring Beasts attacked again.

After getting away from the city ruins, the team stopped to rest for a while.

Jingyuan emerged from the gravity body and handed it over to the Dust People for maintenance.

"You've worked hard!" Jingyuan patted Chenmin on the shoulder.

"It should."

Mark, who was resting nearby, took the tablet computer from Ran Bing and asked in confusion, "A Poison Beast?"

Ran Bing explained to him, "The larger one is the mother beast, and the smaller one is the cub. Although that's how they're named, it's speculated that they have a symbiotic relationship, rather than a mother-child relationship. However..."

"But what?"

"The Brute we encountered is different from the ones we've encountered before. They didn't have tails with human arms like before."

“This shows that they are also evolving, and they are evolving in imitation of humans!” Mark also made his judgment.

Mark saw Jingyuan and beckoned him over.

"Jingyuan, you'll lead a team when we're searching for supplies later!"

"Sure!" Jing Yuan nodded in agreement, then asked, "Can I invite some people I know to come with me?"

"No problem. But we can't just select all veterans; we need to mix newcomers into the team so they can gain experience."

"no problem."

“There’s an old-world energy reserve center nearby. Our mission is to acquire these reserves,” Mark told everyone. “Everyone, get ready! Synchronize our information with the Lighthouse, and retreat immediately after obtaining the supplies!”

"Yes!" everyone responded and began their preparations.

Jingyuan walked over to Erica and said, "Erica, we said before that we would form a team!"

“No problem!” Erica readily agreed.

Jing Yuan looked around. It would be best to team up with people he knew, but as a newcomer, he only knew a few people.

He looked at Penny beside him, hesitated for a moment, then walked over and asked, "Penny, can you team up with us?"

Penny was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting Jingyuan to invite her to team up.

After a moment of silence, Penny nodded and said, "Okay!"

Jing Yuan's combat strength is outstanding, so he can be regarded as a veteran member. Together with Erica and Penny, they are three veteran members. Adding Mo Dong, three new teammates, and three Dust People, they form a search team.

After resting, the hunter team headed to the energy storage center.

In the desolate desert where yellow sand stretches as far as the eye can see, a large building is buried in the sand.

As the hunters approached the building's entrance, they could still vaguely discern some written markings.

Mark divided into four teams and entered the building from four different directions to conduct the search.

The building was very dark inside, abandoned for many years, and could not possibly have an electrical system; only sunlight shone through the broken walls.

Jingyuan and Erica, dressed in gravity suits, stood at the front and back of the group.

Penny, Mo Dong, Chu Feng, and Neil were in the middle.

The remaining three dust people carried some weapons and ammunition behind them.

Jingyuan had the mental power to scan the surrounding environment, so he showed no fear and just charged forward.

Erica didn't care, but Penny couldn't stand it anymore and quickly said, "Jingyuan, the environment here is complicated, it's better to be careful!"

Jingyuan did not refute it; in terms of experience, Penny was indeed more experienced than him.

Penny walked ahead, slowing down Jingyuan's pace, and also led the search of each room in the building.

Penny opened an equipment room, and what she saw inside stunned them.

Chapter 33 Encounter with the Spine Worm

The equipment room was filled with various pieces of equipment, and apart from a thick layer of dust on the surface, there were no obvious signs of damage.

In general, encountering this situation means you've struck gold.

Penny went over to examine the equipment, and Mo Dong also helped with the inspection.

“It’s some energy maintenance equipment,” Penny said, turning to the others.

"Here are some repair tools!" Mo Dong picked up a toolbox and laughed, "Looks like we'll earn a lot of contribution points this time."

“That’s great!” Erica stepped forward and said, “Mo Dong, you direct those three Dust People to move these devices out first.”

"Great!" Mo Dong was very happy. They had found supplies before even encountering the Devouring Beast.

According to the hunters' rules, the person who finds supplies will receive a higher contribution point.

Jing Yuan scanned the area again with his mental power and found no danger, so he said, "You guys transfer the supplies here, I'll go check ahead again."

Erica asked doubtfully, "Are you going alone?"

"Yes, I'll go alone."

“Hunters can’t act alone, I’ll go with you!” Penny stood up and walked towards Jingyuan.

Erica nodded and said, "Alright, I'll wait for them here. Contact me anytime if there's any news up ahead."

Jingyuan nodded, and then walked deeper into the area with Penny.

After passing through a narrow corridor, Jingyuan and his companion entered an open area.

Jingyuan felt awkward as they remained silent the whole way.

He tried to break the silence and asked, "This place is so big, where might the energy source we're looking for be located?"

Penny answered seriously, "Based on our past experience, the energy storage area and the office area are separate. We were in the office area just now, and the space gets bigger as we go further in. Further ahead should be the warehouse for storing supplies."

Seeing Penny so serious, Jingyuan didn't know how to respond for a moment.

“We must have talked about this in school!” Penny said again, this time in a more relaxed tone.

Jingyuan smiled and said, "I have talked about it, but specific problems need to be analyzed specifically, and theory must be combined with practice. So I still need your guidance, senior."

Penny laughed too, and said, "Why are you being so modest now?"

"Actually, I've always been very humble."

Humility? Everyone knows that a newcomer has joined the Hunters, and he's incredibly arrogant.

Penny didn't argue, but instead said, "Thank you for saving me!"

"You're welcome!" Jing Yuan turned around and said, "Thank you for being willing to team up with me too."

Penny laughed and said, "With your strength, everyone would be willing to team up with you."

Jing Yuan smiled; he knew it was the truth, and also a polite remark.

After chatting for a while, the atmosphere became much more harmonious.

The two continued walking forward when suddenly a sound came through their earpieces.

Mark's voice came through: "Attention all teams, we have located the energy supplies, but we have also found traces of the Mana ecosystem. Team Two, come and rendezvous with me. Teams Three and Four, retreat and prepare to provide support."

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Jingyuan responded as well.

"what!"

"Bang bang bang!"

Suddenly, screams and gunshots came through the earpieces, and everyone immediately realized that something had happened.

"It's a spinal worm!"

"Captain, we've encountered a swarm of spinal worms!"