366: Chapter 381 Sensing the Core Again?

To the Foreigners, Three Hairs' words seemed like pure arrogance.

The Lighthouse team, led by John, had entered the Giant Forest on the first day.

After several consecutive days, they had only managed to find one [core].

It was a [Lifespan Core], which could increase the lifespan of all Lighthouse citizens by 5 years.

As for India, they had also only found one [core] so far.

That was Player No. 2 Sharu's [Mother Body].

As for countries like South Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam, they hadn't found a single [core] yet, and had even suffered casualties.

This showed just how difficult it was to find a [core].

Furthermore, everyone had discovered one thing: most of the [cores] that had appeared so far were inside the bodies of animals.

If they wanted to find more in the future, they might need to cut open more animal bellies to check.

However, the animals in the Giant Forest were generally massive; killing them and then cutting them open was far too difficult.

For Three Hairs to want to find three more [cores] in a single day—if that wasn't arrogance, what was?

As for Three Hairs saying it could feel something good nearby earlier, everyone just took it as Three Hairs boasting.

Don't be fooled by how silly and cute Three Hairs looked; it didn't hesitate at all when it came to lying.

Didn't it just have Oufu add some extra 'flavor' when writing the message on the bamboo plank earlier?

Claiming how thrilling it was to kill the Anthracite Salamander—it was practically a joke.

“I'm staying in the White Goose live broadcast room today and I'm not leaving.”

“Me too, I'm waiting to see the joke.”

“Haha! I remember an old saying from Dragon Country: 'He who touches vermilion becomes red, and he who touches ink becomes black.'

The reason Three Hairs frequently makes such grand boasts must be because of An Ke's influence.”

“As expected, nothing from Dragon Country is any good.”

“...”

Most of the Foreigners in the White Goose live broadcast room stayed put.

Just as they said, they wanted to see Three Hairs get slapped in the face in the end.

That way, they could mock Dragon Country without restraint, and mock White Goose along with it.

Even though Three Hairs was just a mouse, it was the mouse by An Ke's side.

If it belonged to An Ke, then it was related to Dragon Country!

Inside the broadcast.

Oufu naturally didn't believe Three Hairs' words either.

However, that didn't stop him from humoring Three Hairs to keep it happy.

“Alright! I'll use the [core] right away.

That way, I'll be able to help out in the search for [cores] next.”

Just then, Three Hairs seemed to sense something, and its whole body gave a start.

Immediately, it snapped its head up, looking at a plant at the top.

The leaves of this plant were flat and long like strips.

Three Hairs didn't know what kind of plant it was, but that didn't matter.

What mattered was that the plant was covered in a dense swarm of insects.

These insects looked a bit like crickets, but were different.

These insects had no obvious distinction in body outline; they were teardrop-shaped, emerald green, and their surfaces were covered in a white powdery substance.

Outside, in the White Goose live broadcast room.

“God! This is a nightmare for people with trypophobia!”

“What kind of insects are these? They're everywhere, so densely packed.”

“I know! They're Aphids! One of the agricultural pests of the old era.”

“Their characteristic is an incredibly exaggerated reproductive ability; they can produce offspring without mating.

The most crucial part is that they have no larval stage; they are already pregnant when they are born.”

“Huh?”

“Wait! Is this really a creature that once appeared on our Blue Star?”

“What did I just hear? Pregnant as soon as they're born? That's too... perverted, right?”

“Using 'perverted' to describe a biological organism?”

“The characteristics of many organisms can't be measured by human moral standards, okay?”

“That's true.”

“By the way, why is Three Hairs looking at those Aphids?”

“Could it be that it's hungry?”

“...”

Inside the broadcast.

Following Three Hairs' gaze, Oufu also saw the densely packed Aphids.

With just one look, the hair on his entire body stood on end.

The dense swarm of insects made Oufu feel suffocated; he instinctively wanted to turn and run.

Even though these insects weren't large—only about the size of a palm—

He couldn't stand the sheer number of them.

Once these insects discovered him, wouldn't he be finished?

Imagine how terrifying and hopeless a scene it would be to be devoured by this swarm of insects.

“Little, Little Mouse...”

Oufu kept his voice extremely low, fearing he would startle the Aphids on the giant plant.

“Let's get out of here quickly, okay?”

Three Hairs tilted its head and asked in confusion, “Why leave?”

Its voice wasn't lowered at all, which directly made Oufu's heart tremble with fear.

He raised a finger, repeatedly making the 'shhh' motion: “Shhh—!”

“Are you afraid of these bugs?” Three Hairs' tone carried a hint of disdain.

“Didn't you notice that these bugs are sucking the plant's sap?

They clearly don't eat meat.”

Hearing this, Oufu observed closely and finally noticed this detail he had overlooked.

It really was so, but what if...

“What if they are omnivorous insects?”

Three Hairs put on the air of a mystic: “This Little Mouse isn't afraid, but as for you, you're doomed~”

Oufu: “...”

Suddenly, he felt this Hamster wasn't so cute anymore.

In fact, Three Hairs was just joking; it said irritably:

“Don't you have some kind of core?”

“Use it quickly, then you can command these bugs.”

Oufu realized belatedly, oh right!

“Little Mouse, you're really smart, why didn't I think of that?”

Three Hairs looked disgusted: “When I'm by Master's side,

I can empty my little head and not think of anything.

Teaming up with you, I've actually had to start using my brain.”

Oufu scratched his head and gave an embarrassed smile.

Was An Ke someone an ordinary person could compare to?

If he were as smart as An Ke, would he still need to be walking on thin ice now?

“Hurry up, this Little Mouse sensed something good on those Aphids.”

“Later, tell that swarm of Aphids to come down one by one.”

Oufu was stunned; there was a [core] among these Aphids?!

...

Outside, the viewers in the live broadcast room were beyond surprised.

“Sensed another one so soon?”

“Is it for real? Can the Little Mouse really sense cores?”

“I don't know, we'll find out in a bit.”

“Haha! You guys are cracking me up, do you actually believe it?”

“Two cores in one place?”

“I won't believe it even if you kill me.”

“I bet this little thing just loves its dignity and is talking nonsense to show off its spirit.”

“I think so too.

When it doesn't find anything in the end, it'll just say to the White Goose player: 'I sensed wrong.'”

“Oh my! The acting is too clumsy, it needs improvement.”

“Only the stupid players from your White Goose family would be fooled so easily.”

“If there's really a core this time, I'll eat ten pounds of shit.”

“...”

The Foreigners were all waiting to see the show.

Above the Moon, inside the Control Room.

Monitor No. 1379 also didn't believe it, thinking it was just a coincidence earlier.

Even for a monitor like itself, without the help of the Control Room, it was impossible to detect the existence of a [core] in advance.

Three Hairs was just a Hamster; how could it possibly sense a [core]?

Inside the broadcast.

Oufu assimilated the [Insect Master]...

...

Inside the broadcast, Oufu merged with the [Insect Master].

The method of merging was very simple: just crush the [core].

From the outside, Oufu didn't show any obvious changes.

However, through the [National Fortune Game] panel, he could see that he had gained an [Insect Master] ability.

“Great!”

Oufu could hardly hide his inner excitement, acting as happy as a child.

This was the first ability he had obtained, and he was the first person in White Goose to obtain a transcendent ability.

As long as White Goose continued to exist, his name would be remembered by future generations.

The weight of being the first person to possess a transcendent ability was very high.

“Is it really that exciting?” Three Hairs completely couldn't understand.

Compared to An Ke's abilities, the one Oufu got was practically a drop in the ocean.

Oufu laughed and shook his head, “Little Mouse, you don't understand!”

He wouldn't be so overconfident as to compare himself with An Ke.

Was that something a human could compare to?

Back when the first stage island map just started, An Ke had already obtained transcendent abilities.

[Immunity to All Poisons] was actually a type of transcendent ability.

Yet for their White Goose, it was only now that they obtained their first transcendent ability.

The gap between the two was simply incomparable.

However, Oufu wasn't jealous at all; he even hoped An Ke could become as strong as possible.

As the saying goes, when Dragon Country is strong, White Goose is strong.

“Little Mouse, can you let me use the bamboo plank one more time?”

Three Hairs originally wanted Oufu to hurry up and call the Aphids down, but hearing this, it tilted its head.

“For what?”

“I plan to properly express my gratitude to your master.”

“If it weren't for him, we in White Goose wouldn't know when we could have obtained a transcendent ability.”

Outside, in the White Goose live broadcast room.

Hearing Oufu's words, the Foreigners couldn't help but sneer.

“White Goose, your player is really here for the laughs.”

“The Dragon Country kid just gave him something he didn't want, and he treats the guy like his father.”

“Haha! He really has the awareness of a dog.”

“If this were an A-rank [transcendent gene core], do you think the Dragon Country kid would give it to you?”

“Exactly! Give him a little sweetness, and his tail wags to the sky; it's hilarious.”

“Actually, the most pitiful one is Dog Tycoon.”

“He's been following the Dragon Country kid's ass for so long, yet when he obtained a [transcendent gene core], he never thought of giving it to him to use.”

“Pitiful, so pitiful!”

An Indian Netizen: “Haha! Dog Tycoon, why don't you guys just come and be our dogs instead? We'll give you a fixed amount of sweetness.”

Lighthouse Netizen: “Indian brother, I think we can actually cooperate.”

“...”

Faced with the attempts to sow discord by India and the Lighthouse, the high-level officials of White Goose finally couldn't take it anymore and stepped in.

The main reason was to prevent a portion of the White Goose public from being swayed by the narrative like before.

President of White Goose: “If it were you, Lighthouse or India, would you give us a [transcendent gene core] if you got one?”

“I'm afraid you wouldn't even give us a [core] that you don't want, right?”

Hitting the nail on the head!

The [Insect Master] gene was indeed something An Ke didn't want; he had clearly said so on the main board.

But so what?

If it were countries like India or the Lighthouse, would they give White Goose a [core] even if they didn't need it?

Definitely not!

Because giving it would be equivalent to strengthening an enemy; they would never enhance the strength of players from other countries.

On the other hand, look at An Ke.

The moment he didn't need it, he gave it directly to White Goose without hesitation.

Firstly, it was out of trust for White Goose, and secondly, it was out of absolute confidence in his own strength.

Which is good and which is bad—one comparison makes it clear.

Not only did the President of White Goose step in, but even the Dog Tycoon royalty arrived upon hearing the news.

Second Prince: “We aren't even in the White Goose live broadcast room, yet how can we hear dogs barking?”

“Kata doesn't have a [transcendent gene core]?”

“Why don't you guys go and see what Kata is doing right now?”

Upon hearing this, many Foreigners actually entered the Dog Tycoon live broadcast room.

Inside the Dog Tycoon broadcast.

Kata was sitting on a Golden Silk Spider, scolding a group of Giant Centipedes:

“I told you to be careful when digging the tunnels, yet you still made the tunnel collapse?”

The group of Giant Centipedes lowered their heads, obediently taking the scolding.

There was no other way! They were bound, and there were several spiders and savages nearby.

If they fought back, they'd be turned into sieves.

Furthermore, the Giant Centipedes actually felt that 'working' for An Ke here was quite good.

They didn't have to worry about their livelihood; as long as they finished their work, they would get food.

And the work content was something they were good at—just digging the earth.

When they caught prey themselves, didn't they also have to dig the earth?

The logic was the same.

Conversely, if they hunted on their own, they might fail, but 'working' here basically never resulted in failure, and they got food at the end.

It was quite nice.

The representative of the Giant Centipedes quickly lowered its head to admit its mistake: “Foreman, we will pay attention in the future.”

Kata was actually quite easy-going, “I'll give you one more chance.”

“Lord An Ke said we're having Dinosaur meat for dinner.”

“If you make another mistake, tonight's food will be downgraded, and you'll only get to eat beef.”

The Giant Centipedes' expressions all changed instantly; they all perked up, guaranteeing that they wouldn't make any mistakes in the next part of the work.

Dinosaur meat was a hundred times tastier than beef.

Outside, in the live broadcast room.

The Foreigners all looked at each other, with a 'WTF' in their hearts, not knowing whether to say it or not.

A food downgrade still includes beef?

What kind of downgrade is that?

If it were the players from their countries, they would probably be cheering for joy.

After entering the Giant Forest, normal food was very scarce.

They were basically either chewing on insects or on the way to roasting them.

Sometimes they even had to go hungry.

Although India's Sharu had the A-rank transcendent ability [Mother Body],

He hadn't had it for long, and the offspring produced were limited.

So he couldn't capture much food.

The Indian Players were basically unable to get full.

And while the Indian public seemed full of confidence, they were actually a bit worried in their hearts.

Because Player No. 2 Sharu was showing faint signs of becoming a dictator.

Once he truly became a dictator, would he still consider the life and death of the Indian citizens?

Second Prince: “You guys are so interesting; we told you to come to our broadcast to look, and you actually came.”

“So obedient!”

“Open your dog eyes and look clearly: does Kata from our country need transcendent abilities right now?”

As the Foreman personally appointed by An Ke, his power was not small.

If he really encountered danger, the spiders, savages, and Wolf Pack would all protect him.

Did he still need transcendent abilities?

Besides, Kata is in the safe rear; what kind of transcendent ability would he need?

These Foreigners are just talking nonsense.

The Dog Tycoon citizens didn't care at all that [Insect Master] was given to White Goose.

They believed An Ke would fulfill his promise.

This was trust in An Ke, and also trust in Dragon Country's culture.

Therefore, the Dog Tycoon citizens basically all loved and respected An Ke now.

As for the First Prince, who represented the faction opposing An Ke, his power had been completely abolished by the Old King.

...