Minecraft: I'm Really Not a Monster

"If I had to force an explanation, I'd say anyone who survived and didn't turn into a monster is now a Transcendent," Zhang Xin said with a straight face. Yang Bo looked at him suspiciously and said, "Why are you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, cracking jokes?"

If you guys were Awakened, would you still be driving a truck around picking up scraps?

Zhang Xin shrugged, as if to say, 'Believe it or not.' After their conversation, he understood that they genuinely wanted to learn about the outside world from him, and weren't some kind of perverted murderers.

He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered it to Yang Bo.

"Want one?"

Yang Bo shook his head and said, "No, thanks. I finally quit. I won't smoke."

He paused and added, "Go ahead and smoke if you want. Don't mind me."

Before the transmigration, he was a smoker, but after, his nicotine addiction disappeared. He figured that killing monsters was more satisfying than nicotine.

Zhang Xin didn't stand on ceremony. He took one out and offered it to Zhang Jun, who was standing beside him, then extended a finger.

Poof…

A wisp of flame appeared on his finger, the yellow flame flickering, illuminating Yang Bo's surprised expression.

"You're really an Awakened?"

Zhang Xin nodded helplessly and said, "Yeah, according to the official explanation, I'm a Fire-type Awakened, with a Growth Value of 4."

At that moment, Yang Bo believed Zhang Xin's words. After all, the bright flame on his finger couldn't be faked.

"What's Growth Value? What's the maximum score?"

Yang Bo's question may have touched on Zhang Xin's sore spot. Zhang Xin extinguished the flame, took a deep drag on his cigarette, and said in an unusually calm tone:

"Growth Value is an important basis for determining whether an Awakened is worth cultivating."

"The higher the Growth Value of an Awakened, the faster they absorb energy, and the shorter the digestion time."

Yang Bo immediately understood what this so-called Growth Value was.

However, he asked curiously, "Is your Growth Value of 4 very low? Don't tell me the military's Transcendents all have Growth Values of eight or nine?"

Hearing Yang Bo's words, the other party's face became even more unsightly, and finally, he squeezed out a sentence between his teeth.

"The maximum score… is one hundred and fifty!"

"Pfft…"

Although Yang Bo had undergone professional training, he really couldn't hold back this time, and he shook his head quickly with a flushed face, saying, "Um… sorry, I suddenly remembered something funny."

"Which genius came up with this scoring method of one hundred and fifty points?"

Zhang Xin took a deep breath and said frankly, "I heard it was proposed by a professor. It's better this way. If it were based on a scale of ten, I wouldn't even have one point."

"A Growth Value of over fifty means you have some offensive power. Over eighty, you can join some exploration teams. Over one hundred, you'll be conscripted into the army."

"Unfortunately, 80% of people are below fifty points, and only one in ten thousand can reach over one hundred."

Yang Bo nodded slightly, considering that he understood the composition of Transcendent power in this world.

The military forces possessed absolute power, whether it was Transcendent or technological. Although there were some Transcendent individuals among the civilians, their strength could only be described as small fry.

The sun had already set.

The originally deserted streets gradually became lively, and various strange sounds came from all directions in the darkness.

Wang Cai and the Rat King, who had been lying on the ground, were now on alert, their eyes fixed on the darkness outside the door, unmoving.

"Oh, right, let me ask, what do you call this thing? Is it worth anything?"

As he spoke, Yang Bo took out a [Level 1 Energy Stone] from his backpack. The Energy Stone emitted a faint blue light in the darkness.

Zhang Xin glanced at it and then took out a few of the same Energy Stones from his pocket.

"It's very filling…"

Yang Bo immediately understood the value of this thing and put it back in his backpack without saying much.

"This thing is more valuable to some Transcendents and mutated creatures with higher Growth Values. They can use it to improve their strength."

"But you can't eat too much, or you'll easily burst."

Yang Bo had already seen this point. After Wang Cai ate some Energy Stones, he reached a state of saturation. Now it seemed he was just stuffed.

"Higher-level Energy Stones are more valuable. The research institute in the gathering place has already developed new weapons that use Energy Stones as energy."

"Woof, woof…"

The originally vigilant Wang Cai suddenly made a warning sound. Yang Bo looked towards the door and saw pairs of scarlet eyes had appeared outside at some point.

"It's a Mad Rat swarm!"

The young Zhang Jun picked up the fire axe placed aside and instinctively moved closer to Zhang Xin, watching the outside warily.

The Rat King seemed very excited and made a squeaking sound.

A squeaking sound also came from outside.

A rat about the same size as Jerry emerged from the rat swarm. Unlike Jerry's dark and shiny fur, it had gray fur, and it was stained with many dirty marks.

Those were some dried bloodstains.

"Squeak, squeak…"

"Squeak, squeak…"

"Is it preparing to compete for the position of Rat King?"

Yang Bo already had the following plot in his mind: Jerry would challenge the Rat King of this group of mutated rats, and then, after a difficult battle, win and become the new king of this rat swarm.

But the next moment, reality slapped Yang Bo hard.

The Rat King's body suddenly swelled up a circle and made a piercing squeaking sound. The surrounding rats immediately launched an attack.

Dozens of large rats charging forward also had a terrifying momentum.

Seeing this, Yang Bo threw a stone axe out of his hand, accurately hitting the rat running at the front.

One axe… one axe…

A series of six stone axes being thrown made the Zhang Xin and Zhang Jun brothers behind him dumbfounded, but they quickly recovered.

The stronger Yang Bo was, the better their chances of survival. They raised the fire axes in their hands and prepared to rush up to help.

Obviously, Wang Cai and Jerry were faster than them.

Especially Wang Cai, who dashed into the rat swarm like a gust of wind, his sharp teeth aimed at the spines of those rats, biting down hard.

With a series of scalp-numbing cracking sounds, the rat whose spine was bitten off directly collapsed to the ground, making a miserable squeaking sound.

The original black rat was brushed with a layer of faint green, which was obviously Wang Cai's [Poisonous Fangs] taking effect.

Jerry also followed closely, but its goal was clear. Its eyes were fixed on the Rat King, which was a circle bigger than it, and it rushed up with its short legs.

In Yang Bo's surprised gaze, Jerry quickly rushed over and, just as it was about to touch the other party, a metallic texture appeared on its body.

Caught off guard, the Rat King was dazed by the impact, but it quickly recovered, squeaked angrily twice, and opened its mouth to bite Jerry's body hard.

The scene of teeth being chipped off did not appear. This Rat King didn't grow so big by being a vegetarian.

The injured Jerry felt even more frenzied, and regardless of its injuries, it opened its mouth and bit the other party's forelimb.

It also wanted to learn from Wang Cai, but unfortunately, it really couldn't open its mouth that wide.