Chapter 11: Brother Crow
The night was dark and the wind was high. The village lay in silence.
Zhang Yuan once again got out of bed and quietly left his room, stepping into the small courtyard outside.
He took a deep breath and activated the black giant ant—the parasitic creature from the Divine Nest.
Fourfold Strength Boost!
Tear!
In the next instant, the coarse cloth robe Zhang Yuan wore was ripped apart by his suddenly bulging muscles.
His body grew taller, and all 206 of his bones vibrated together.
Zhang Yuan's expression changed drastically.
He felt like a shrimp thrown into boiling water—his skin burned red-hot, his blood surged uncontrollably.
The feeling was horrible—his internal organs felt like they were on fire, and his bones cried out under unbearable pressure. The situation was completely out of control.
Pfft!
He coughed out a mouthful of blood mist.
At the same time, Zhang Yuan forcefully terminated the giant ant's power infusion.
Cough, cough!
He dropped to one knee, coughing up more blood and sweating profusely—his sweat was mixed with blood!
After a while, Zhang Yuan finally caught his breath.
The fact was clear: with his current physique, he couldn't handle a fourfold strength boost.
Had he not stopped in time, he might have exploded and died.
Dying by his own hand would've been a ridiculous joke!
This painful lesson reminded Zhang Yuan that reality is not like a game. He couldn't rely on his previous gaming experience, or he'd suffer greatly.
He opened the Divine Nest panel for a look.
His blood energy had dropped to a single digit.
Only 5 points remained!
He broke out in another cold sweat.
"Yuan Wa'er?"
His mother's voice called out from the thatched house, startled, "Is that you outside?"
Clearly, his commotion had woken her up.
Zhang Yuan quickly responded, "It's me, nothing's wrong. Go back to sleep."
His mother didn't question further.
Once she fell back asleep, Zhang Yuan quietly removed his tattered clothes, rinsed off with cold water, and returned to rest.
Due to the extreme depletion of his body, he spent the next two days recuperating at home.
Only after fully recovering his blood energy did he set out again.
Despite the self-inflicted suffering, Zhang Yuan gained crucial experience:
First, the power boost from the Divine Nest parasite is limited by his own body.
He could handle a twofold boost.
But fourfold? Absolutely not.
Second, blood energy must be kept above 10.
Once it drops to single digits, recovery takes much longer!
Fortunately, this failure didn't cause any permanent damage. Two days later, Zhang Yuan was full of vitality once more.
At dawn, he slung his bow and blade over his back and headed for Qianfeng Mountain again.
At the mountain trail entrance, he ran into two villagers heading into the forest to gather herbs.
One of them greeted him, "Yuan Wa'er, heading out to hunt again?"
"Yes," Zhang Yuan replied bitterly, "If I don't bring home some game, we won't have food on the table."
The villager sighed, "Times are hard for everyone."
Though there had been some strange deaths recently, the villagers of Chenjia Village were too poor to stop working and stay home.
Otherwise, their whole families would starve!
The village hadn't been peaceful lately.
Rumor had it that Chen Yuanwai (Squire Chen) was still in the county town, but his family had moved back to the ancestral Chen estate.
The cunning steward still strutted through the village with armed thugs, forcing poor families to sell land to pay taxes.
Now the Chen family planned to rebuild the ancestral shrine.
If things continued this way, it wouldn't be long before all villagers became Chen Yuanwai's tenants—or slaves.
What could anyone do?
When the guard and a thug from the Chen family died recently, many villagers secretly cheered.
But how much did that really hurt the Chen family?
Facing their power, everyone could only suffer in silence.
The villager kindly warned, "Be careful in the mountains. Don't go too deep."
"Got it. You take care too."
After parting ways, Zhang Yuan picked up his pace and moved deeper into the mountains.
He reached the small stream he was familiar with.
Just as he was about to call for the Crow Wraith, he heard a sudden flapping sound.
The black crow appeared on a tree branch.
Its indifferent gaze locked onto him.
But strangely, Zhang Yuan felt like there was a hint of displeasure in its eyes.
He quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, Brother Crow, for saving my life."
He referred to the black feather the crow had sent a few days ago, which startled Chen San at the mountain path.
If it hadn't been for that warning, he might've been ambushed.
And even if he had fought Chen San to the death, he wouldn't have survived the hidden ambush from Sun the bodyguard!
So his gratitude toward the crow was heartfelt.
The Crow Wraith nodded without speaking, then spread its wings and flew toward the right.
Zhang Yuan followed closely behind.
They passed through the forest maze once again and returned to the small valley.
There, Zhang Yuan saw a large wild boar and several piglets foraging nearby.
Damn!
He seriously suspected this valley was the crow's private pig farm.
The large boar was a sow.
Once it had lived happily with a boar mate, but now it was a widow.
Surprisingly, instead of fleeing with the piglets, it stayed in the valley and lived peacefully.
Zhang Yuan didn't care—he charged in with his machete.
This time, he activated the black giant ant again, but only boosted himself with double strength.
As the Divine Nest host, he had complete control over the parasite's power.
Without suspense, and after a brief struggle, he brought down the mother boar.
Its size and strength couldn't compare to the male.
Even without the crow's help, Zhang Yuan easily won.
As for the piglets, he let them go.
Hunters don't kill babies or pregnant animals—that's how you keep game populations sustainable.
After killing the mother boar, Zhang Yuan used his machete to open its belly and remove the internal organs.
He cupped his hands toward the crow watching from the tree and said, "Brother Crow, the guts and meat are yours today!"
The crow responded with a disdainful look: "You eat the meat, I'll take the guts!"
Apparently, it only liked innards and had no interest in the meat.
Fine then...
Zhang Yuan didn't insist. He asked tentatively, "Brother Crow, since it's still early, can I look around nearby?"
His Level 1 Divine Nest had three chambers, but only one parasite was currently housed.
Two were still vacant.
Zhang Yuan wanted to explore and find a second genetic host.
Previously, he hadn't gone far due to safety concerns.
Now that he understood the system better, he had to seize every opportunity!
The Crow Wraith landed on the boar's innards and flapped its wings.
A black feather shot toward Zhang Yuan.
(End of Chapter)
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