Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

At 7:45 AM, Su Chen finally opened the RV door, having been delayed by the broadcast.

Conveniently, the surrounding morning mist had mostly dissipated, considerably improving visibility.

The environment when he’d first woken up had truly been like something out of Silent Hill.

’Hmm...’

What caught Su Chen’s attention, however, were two small mouse corpses of a common Earth species lying outside the RV door.

At first, he thought it was some childish prank. But when he discovered a small leopard cat sleeping soundly, curled up in the grass under the RV’s chassis, he instantly realized it was the kitten’s handiwork.

’Is this the kitten’s way of showing gratitude?’

Su Chen didn’t disturb it, quietly retrieving a fish bucket from the RV’s side storage compartment.

Three grass carp were still faintly swimming inside the bucket.

Once that was done, he shouldered his heavy hiking backpack and turned to leave. His eyes swept the street corner, and he quickly spotted a usable tour cart.

After skillfully starting the cart, Su Chen drove toward the commercial district.

Along the way, he saw plenty of corpses of large birds that had fallen to the ground.

Most of the unbroken arrows had been recovered.

The simple fortifications built last evening had proven remarkably effective. After using thermal night vision to crack the problem of invisibility, practically no monsters had managed to break into the public campground from ground level.

Quite a few people must have stayed up all night on watch, or perhaps they simply couldn’t sleep. In any case, there was hardly anyone to be seen this early in the morning.

「A few minutes later.」

The tour cart pulled up in front of the camping supply store in the commercial district. Not a single spark remained in the embers of the barbecue grill set up to the side.

At the barricade by the ramp, two unfamiliar figures stood guard, sitting in camping chairs while eating instant noodles and shooting the breeze.

"Dude, you’re heading out this early? You’re intense. Going down the slope to hunt some monsters?"

They froze for a second when they saw a tall, fully-equipped figure get out of the cart and walk toward them.

"That’s right," Su Chen replied.

That was one of his goals. The other was to explore deeper into the forest.

"Well, alright. You’re the first one heading out this morning. You probably have no idea how quiet it is on this east side. Ah Liang, who was on watch last night, said he barely saw a single monster. Apparently, some ruthless badass killed them all by the bridge," the man shared.

"I see."

Su Chen’s expression remained impassive. He nonchalantly vaulted over the vehicle barricade, clearly in no mood for small talk, and headed straight for the gray SUV.

He was the one who had driven that car up here last night.

The door was ajar, and the keys were sitting right on the center console.

Now, it was his ride once again.

"Huh..."

Watching the man walk over to the SUV as if he owned it and start the ignition without a hitch, the two guards exchanged a look. The answer was practically screaming at them.

’The lone wolf who went on a killing spree by the bridge last night... couldn’t be him, could it?’

Just then, a young man burst out of the camping supply store and shouted excitedly to Su Chen, "Sir! Before my dad went to sleep, he told me again and again to wait for you and ask if there’s anything else you need!"

Su Chen understood the subtext. It was only natural for people to want to align themselves with him during an apocalyptic crisis.

The shop owner could certainly handle some of his logistical needs. As a local at the campground with some connections, he could indeed be helpful.

"I’ll find him when I get back."

After Su Chen’s brief reply, the SUV quickly turned around and headed down the slope.

...

The further down the slope he drove, the thicker the morning mist became.

By the time the SUV reached the North Bridge, a layer of hazy vapor covered the surrounding ground.

「A night had passed.」

The corpse of the giant bear on the bridge was a gruesome sight.

Large patches of stark white bone were exposed on its massive body. Its cranium, which had been blasted open, was now almost completely hollowed out. All its fur and flesh were gone, leaving behind only an empty eye socket.

As for the other corpse, the Night Tiger, only a long, slender skeleton remained, lying in a pool of blackened blood.

This was likely the work of carrion rats.

WHOOM!!

A dark summoning circle suddenly unfurled across the ground. A gateway opened from reality, summoning Xiaoye from the Netherworld.

"Good morning."

Su Chen mused that the Netherworld probably didn’t have a concept of "day."

Xiaoye slowly trotted over. It appeared nonchalant on the surface, but its slowly wagging tail betrayed a hint of excitement.

In the next instant, its nose caught a scent drifting on the wind. Its deep, dark eyes fixed on the jacaranda trees across the river.

"Go."

Su Chen could tell it had pinpointed a monster’s location.

At his command, the Shadow War Dog shot forward like an arrow from a bow.

As it charged forward at high speed, its form flickered between solid and ethereal before vanishing completely into the thin morning mist.

In the distance, a Demon Dog had just reached the jacaranda bushes. Its nostrils twitched. Instinct warned it of a vague threat, but it couldn’t detect any approaching presence.

Just as a sense of dread washed over it and it turned to flee...

It was too late.

The Shadow War Dog burst through the veil of reality like a reaper, pouncing precisely onto the Demon Dog. Its black, armored claws glinted with dark light as they cleanly severed the monster’s neck.

The cut was incredibly smooth, meeting no resistance whatsoever.

The power of Shadow Claw in this newly evolved form was truly extraordinary. Paired with the reality-defying Shadow Shifting ability, it was unstoppable, allowing Xiaoye to kill its prey in an instant.

By the time Su Chen arrived, the Demon Dog’s corpse had already dropped two Fire Element Essences.

Xiaoye, crouching nearby on alert, flared its nostrils. It had caught another scent. After a nod of approval from its master, it shot off toward the distant warehouse like a black wind skimming across the ground.

He had to admit, this half-demolished warehouse was a real treasure trove, and the rewards kept piling up.

A Demon Dog inside had just begun to lick the festering, rotten flesh on the ground when instinct warned it of danger, and it immediately turned to flee back into the forest.

But in a contest of pure speed, there was no comparison between the two.

Within seconds, the wretched Demon Dog was slammed to the ground by an immense force, its neck snapped at the spine with a single bite.

From detection to escape to death, it was all over in a flash.

For Xiaoye in its current evolved form, hunting creatures at the bottom of the food chain like this was completely effortless.

"They’re all out foraging early this morning."

Su Chen was quite relaxed. Having a summon really did save time and effort.

He absorbed the Fire Element Essence that Xiaoye brought him. Counting the two from before, the upgrade progress for his Flame Burst Rune ticked up.

Upgrade Requirements: Flame Burst Rune (1/8), Spiritual Dust Sand (0/3)

By now, the sky was bright, and the last remnants of thick fog in the woods were being torn into wisps of sheer gauze.

"Time to go."

Su Chen pulled the Wind Blade War Axe from his hiking pack and, following his previous path, officially re-entered the Mysterious Forest.

He had two goals for this trip.

First, to mine and acquire as many Plant and Mineral Crystals as possible.

Second, to explore the forest all the way to the river, killing monsters and collecting essences along the way.

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