Chapter 60: A Call from Fatty

Over the next two days, Lin Huang devoted himself entirely to preparing for the hunt of the Six-Armed Enchantress. He even spent one hundred thousand credits to expand his storage space to a capacity of one hundred cubic meters for this endeavor.

After several hours riding the Wind Eagle, he arrived at Base 7C87 and checked into a hotel. This base, known locally as Dominance City—a name derived from the phonetic similarity to “87”—was the superior base to Wulin Town, his home in Base 7D101. The name wasn’t official, but over time, everyone became accustomed to it, forgetting its original designation.

Dominance City was a legitimate C-level base, medium in size and much larger than the smaller bases. If a small base could be considered a town on Earth, a medium base would compare to a third-tier city, boasting a population of over a million. The city was far livelier than Wulin Town or Snow Mountain Town. Wulin Town had almost no nightlife, while Snow Mountain Town was somewhat busier due to its tourists, but neither could match the vibrancy of Dominance City.

Arriving in Dominance City, Lin Huang felt as if he had returned to a modern metropolis. There were towering buildings everywhere, their architecture even more unique than those of Earth. His hotel itself was a thirty-nine-story skyscraper, with Lin Huang’s room on the twenty-first floor.

Entering the hotel, Lin Huang wondered how people managed the stairs in a world without elevators. To his surprise, the hotel was equipped with a floating lift, functioning much like an elevator—though he couldn’t discern how it worked, nor did he ask, simply finding it fascinating.

After completing the check-in, Lin Huang returned to his room and sent a message to Lin Xin, letting her know he was safe. Only then did he resume studying the combat videos of the Six-Armed Enchantress that Yi Zheng had sent him.

Yi Zheng had tried to dissuade Lin Huang from choosing the Six-Armed Enchantress as his target, but Lin Huang persisted. Given the creature’s extreme danger, Lin Huang dared not take any chances. He watched the videos repeatedly, scrutinizing her attack patterns in hopes of finding a weakness he could exploit. Unfortunately, his efforts yielded little progress.

The Six-Armed Enchantress’s attacks could be summarized in a few words: uncanny, swift, and ruthless. She had no fixed moves; her six arms struck unpredictably, every blow lethal. This lack of pattern troubled Lin Huang deeply.

Normally, the best way to deal with a melee monster like her would be ranged attacks. But Lin Huang couldn’t use weapons, and his Gray Eagle 17 was ineffective against her. She seemed to have no vulnerable spots, and even explosive rounds could barely hurt her. Thus, Lin Huang was forced to fight in close quarters.

When humans kill monsters for the baptism of Fate Light and to obtain a Fate Seed, advancing their realm, two conditions must be met. First, the kill must be made personally by the one receiving the baptism; if someone else kills the monster, it doesn’t count. Second, the hunter may have companions, but their combat level must be lower than the monster’s. Otherwise, upon the monster’s death, the Fate Light dissipates and the Fate Seed is lost.

This second condition worried Lin Huang at first. If he had to complete the hunt without the help of summoned monsters, his chances of success were slim, and he might even be killed by the Six-Armed Enchantress. However, after watching videos online of tamers undergoing the baptism, he was relieved. Summoned beasts don’t count as humans and their combat levels don’t affect the Fate Light or Fate Seed. Thus, Lin Huang could summon Bai or Shatu to assist in battle.

Still, the first condition remained: Lin Huang had to deliver the killing blow himself—his summoned beasts couldn’t do it for him. Otherwise, he would not receive the baptism.

“After so many times watching these videos, I still can’t find any weakness in this monster. For now, the only option is to have Bai use blood energy to restrain her, then I’ll finish her off myself.” With no better plan, Lin Huang resigned himself to this rather clumsy approach.

Closing his files, Lin Huang was about to head out for dinner and stroll around the base to relax his tense nerves when his Imperial Heart Ring suddenly vibrated. He opened the communication interface to find the caller was Fatty Yin Hangyi.

Raising an eyebrow, Lin Huang answered.

“Lin Huang, you’re actually still alive!” Fatty’s shiny, round face appeared on the video projection.

“That’s my line—I told you to wait in place, but when I got back, you had vanished,” Lin Huang replied helplessly.

“I was trying to catch up with you to help! You really don’t appreciate a good friend,” Fatty laughed and cursed. “If that demoness hadn’t just told me you were alive, I’d still be in the dark. She said you took my contact info—why haven’t you reached out?”

“Two reasons: I was busy, and I forgot…” Lin Huang admitted honestly. He’d meant to contact Fatty after the assessment to let him know he was safe, but the beast tide broke out and he completely forgot.

“That’s cold, man. I think about you every day. I even set up a monument for you—whenever I miss you, I burn some incense…”

“Get lost!” Lin Huang cut him off before he could finish.

“Alright, alright, enough joking—let’s get to business,” Fatty remembered his real purpose. “So… I heard from the demoness you chose the Six-Armed Enchantress as your Fate Seed target, and you’re heading to the Forest of Forgetfulness soon?”

“That’s right. Why?” Lin Huang asked.

“Are you sure about hunting her? She’s one of the strongest monsters among the Black Iron ranks. Even Bronze Hunters wouldn’t mess with her lightly.” Clearly, Fatty had heard of this monster.

“I know—I’ve watched plenty of battle videos. She’s tough, but I have a plan,” Lin Huang replied, confident in his strategy.

“Oh, if you’re confident, then it’s fine.”

“Fatty, you’re acting weird. What’s really going on?” Lin Huang pressed.

“Nothing. The demoness just asked me to persuade you not to go. Since you’re sure, it’s fine,” Fatty admitted.

“She has my number—why didn’t she call herself?” Lin Huang wondered.

“She said her brother tried to persuade you, but you didn’t listen; she figured she wouldn’t have any luck either, so she had me do it. By the way, you two seem to be moving fast—already met the family?”

“Met your sister. Goodbye.”

“Wait, don’t hang up yet—tell me, who’s her brother anyway…”

Lin Huang lost patience with Fatty’s pointless banter and ended the call.