Chapter 9

The mechanical city on the horizon looked like a giant tortoise, slowly moving across Link's field of vision.

Link's expression was extremely serious.

No matter how many calculations he made, he never expected the mechanical city to pass through the upstream at this time.

Although it was twenty kilometers away and he could only see the massive mechanical city, Link could already imagine the patrol soldiers following behind as it moved.

However, no matter how hard Link searched his memory, he couldn't recall any record of this movement of the mechanical city in the chronicles of the wasteland.

Moving all the way from downstream to upstream, it seemed to be heading for the estuary!

"Boss, how about... how about we take a detour?" Afu asked, his voice trembling.

With the mechanical city right in front of them, going to the Grand Canal now would be courting death.

Link shook his head and said, "We can only continue forward. We'll cross the river after the mechanical city is gone. Our water supply isn't enough to support a detour."

The mechanical city passing through the Goria Canal would undoubtedly increase the difficulty of crossing.

To be on the safe side, Link decided to synthesize another pet.

Link looked around, trying to find something to synthesize in the surroundings, but the Gobi Desert was barren, with only him, Afu, and the treasure rat as living things.

"We'll move forward first. As long as we don't enter the five-kilometer warning zone of the mechanical city, we'll be safe."

"Boss, how do you know so much?" Afu sighed, amazed that the boss always had information about both the Wasteland Gang and the Mechanical God Cult at his fingertips.

"The more you know, the more danger you invite!"

"Do you still want to listen?"

Afu immediately covered his ears and said, "Boss, please don't say it. I don't want to hear it, I don't want to know!"

Link and Afu continued on their way.

Although the mechanical city seemed to move slowly from a distance of twenty kilometers, in reality, it moved very fast. A steel city with a diameter of five kilometers could travel at 120 km/h in the Gobi Desert, showing the Mechanical God Cult's extraordinary expertise in machinery and metal.

Link walked and observed, still wanting to synthesize a pet to minimize the risk of crossing the Grand Canal.

But all he saw was a barren Gobi Desert, and finding a living creature was difficult, let alone one suitable as a pet.

The only things in abundance were the white bones of animals half-buried in the sand.

"Boss, look up!" Afu pointed to the sky.

Link looked up and, squinting against the sun, saw three moving black dots circling above them.

Link narrowed his eyes to identify them and then his whole body trembled with excitement.

Vultures!

"No wonder there are so many bones near the Grand Canal..." Link thought quickly.

Vultures were exactly level 2 creatures, meeting the conditions for synthesis.

Link looked up again and saw the vultures circling above them, clearly having identified them as prey.

The only problem now was how to get the vultures to come down.

Link thought for a moment and said, "Afu, I want to trick the vultures into coming down. Will you help me act it out?"

"Huh? How do we act? I've never done it before."

"It's simple. Give me an energy bar, and when I fall, you can leave. Go two or three kilometers ahead, find a shady spot, and wait for me."

Link scanned the area and pointed to a small rock ahead. "Stay there. No matter what happens here, don't come back. If you can do that, our chances of safely crossing the Grand Canal will be much higher."

Hearing that he could help Link, Afu nodded eagerly.

Link opened the energy bar and, with a muffled voice, said to Afu, "Li Kuo yi zou liao!"

As soon as Afu left, Link fell to the ground with a thud.

Afu looked back, instinctively wanting to run back, but Link stopped him, "What did you just promise? Go ahead and wait for me."

Seeing that the boss was fine, Afu reluctantly left.

Link's plan was simple—play dead.

Playing dead sounds easy, but it's not so simple when facing cautious vultures.

Vultures usually don't attack unless they think you are about to die, then they will fly down and wait like undertakers until you are dead before eating.

Link lay on the Gobi Desert, basking lazily in the sun.

The hard part wasn't playing dead, but staying still for a long time.

The reason for the energy bar was that Link was prepared to "tire out the vultures."

"I'll take a short nap. If anything happens, let me know." Link communicated with the treasure rat telepathically.

Afu walked for a while and reached the designated spot, sitting down to wait as instructed.

In the sky, the vultures continued to circle, showing no signs of coming down.

Afu sat cross-legged for a long time, until the mechanical city had disappeared from the horizon. The three vultures had lowered their circling height but were still far from landing.

The sun rose higher and became more scorching.

Afu yawned, his eyelids drooping.

Link lay on the ground, holding a Glock pistol, his body starting to feel stiff and numb.

In theory, with the mechanical city gone, Link and Afu could now try to cross the Goria Grand Canal.

However, after crossing into the game world, Link's personality had become more cautious.

In the past, he could respawn after dying in the game, but now he was an NPC, and if he died, there would be no second chance.

Everything had to be done with utmost caution!

Even with his eyes closed, Link could still access the system interface.

He had lain down at 11 AM, and it was now 2 PM.

Link had been playing dead for three hours, his face scorched by the sun.

During these three hours, Link had taken a nap; upon waking, he carefully considered the synthesis of the vultures, reading the synthesis instructions word by word; and finally, he simulated all possible scenarios in his mind.

Everything was ready, except for the final push.

Link could already hear the sound of the vultures' wings flapping, and he just needed to wait patiently.

An hour later, the vultures finally lowered their guard, landing near Link and slowly approaching him.

Link's "tire out the vultures" plan was about to succeed.

All three vultures had landed and were approaching Link from different directions.

When the vultures were within a meter, Link held his breath and communicated telepathically with the treasure rat.

"Xiaobao, start the ambush in ten seconds!"

The treasure rat's heart rate dropped to its lowest, crouching under the linen shirt, ready to attack the vultures at the boss's command.

Link counted down silently in his mind.

When the last number ended, the treasure rat shot out like an arrow, pouncing on the nearest vulture.

At the same time, Link rolled over, overcoming the "stiffness" with sheer willpower.

The vultures, startled, tried to take off, but the treasure rat had already pounced on one, biting the muscle connecting the wings, disrupting its flight.

The other two vultures squawked in surprise and flew away, while the third struggled in the air.

Link quickly rushed over, grabbing the vulture and pinning its wings to the ground with his knees.

In the next second, Link put away his pistol, pulled out a sharp dagger, and stabbed through the vulture's wings, nailing it to the ground like a nail.

Afu, hiding behind a rock, saw the boss get up and immediately ran over with his backpack.

Link didn't waste time. The vulture, half a meter long with a wingspan of about 1.2 meters, was temporarily subdued, and he immediately started the synthesis.

Vulture lv2 (adult) + sand (100 grams) = ? (success rate 90%)

[The synthesis will consume 20 HP. Do you want to synthesize? Yes/No]

Link's eyes lit up. The success rate was high, but the HP cost had doubled.

Since the creature and materials were compatible, Link didn't have a backup plan and chose to synthesize!

20 HP for 20 HP, after all, it was a large, powerful bird of prey, and the extra HP cost was understandable.

The sand in his left hand was gradually absorbed, and the vulture's wings were wrapped in a sticky, bloody cocoon. This time, the blood cocoon was large, about the size of a person's arms.

The incubation time also increased, to five minutes.

Link lay on the side, panting heavily. This "tire out the vultures" was not a task for humans.

His cheeks felt like they were being pricked by a thousand needles, and his body, due to inactivity, felt like it was being electrocuted.

The two vultures in the sky squawked in protest and eventually flew away.

Afu ran over, panting, and seeing the boss's face red from the sun and his lips cracked, he immediately opened his backpack and took out a water bottle. "Boss, drink some water!"

Link took the water bottle and slowly sipped, moistening his dry lips.

The sweet, cool water trickled down his throat, like a long-awaited rain, reviving him.

As the water entered his stomach, a mysterious force spread through his body.

Link felt like he had come back to life, and he began to breathe heavily.

Afu used his fat body to block the sun, creating a shady spot for Link.

Looking at the large blood cocoon, Afu couldn't help but ask, "Boss, will it work this time?"

Link nodded. With a 90% success rate and being exposed to the sun for four to five hours, if it didn't work, he would lose his mind!

Link slowly turned his head to the north; the mechanical city was long gone.

In four to five hours, the mechanical soldiers near the Grand Canal should have dispersed.

Five minutes passed quickly.

The blood cocoon began to react, and a sharp, yellow beak pierced through it, slicing it open like a knife.

Then, a proud head emerged from the cocoon, looking around at the new world.

[Monster synthesis complete. Obtained white-quality—Sand Vulture!]

[Monster Attributes]

Name: Sand Vulture (adult)

Quality: White

Race: Eagle family

Attribute: Sand element affinity

Level: 2

Initial Skill: Sandstorm lv1 (The Sand Vulture's unique sand element affinity allows its wings to create a 5-meter diameter sandstorm, blurring enemies' vision and slowing their movements for 15 seconds.)

Initial Skill 2: Eagle Eye lv1 (The Sand Vulture has superior dynamic vision, capable of tracking all moving creatures within a 5-kilometer radius. However...)

Evaluation: As everyone knows, vultures are eagles!

——

Link grinned, his cheeks feeling even more painful, but he was inwardly elated, feeling both pain and joy.

The name of this pet was quite unexpected.

Link had thought it would be called something like "Desert Vulture," but when the system prompt appeared, he couldn't help but laugh.

He laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face.

Indeed, when it came to naming, the system was profound.

Originally, Link thought all synthesized pets would start as juveniles and be level 1. But the Sand Vulture's appearance broke his assumption, as it was born as an adult and retained its original level.

This made Link realize just how powerful his [Synthesis] ability was.

If he could catch a high-level creature in the future, not only would it be strengthened, but it would also retain its level, allowing it to be used in high-intensity battles without the need for training.

"This thing is a godsend! As long as I have enough HP, I can synthesize a pet of the same level. A single strengthened pet of the same level is already formidable, and if I could form a team of such pets, the scene would be..."

Link's eyes sparkled, already imagining himself in the grand battles of Emperor Paul.

This time, Link looked very carefully.

Regarding the Sand Vulture's skills, the first one, [Sandstorm], was a supportive skill with a wide range and clear effects, essential for escape and ambush.

The second one, [Eagle Eye], was a passive skill. The first part was clear to Link, acting like a large radar in the sky. Any living, moving object could be clearly recorded by the Sand Vulture.

However!

The "However..." at the end made Link uneasy.

Remembering the last sand rat, which had a note saying "may trigger unknown issues," causing Link to experience the pain of "raising someone else's child," the ellipsis in the Sand Vulture's skill made him even more anxious.

Although he didn't know what it was, it definitely wasn't a good setting!

Link read the monster's attributes several times and finally muttered, "Although there are some hidden pitfalls, at least it won't abandon me this time, right?"

Link exited the system and saw the Sand Vulture standing still, looking like a real sand sculpture.

Afu, on the other hand, was laughing foolishly.

"Afu, what are you laughing at?"

"Hehe, I saw the boss laughing, so I knew we would definitely make it across the Grand Canal! So I'm happy too!"

Link chuckled, "You're smart."

Link raised his arm, and the next second, the Sand Vulture flew onto it.

It was surprisingly heavy!

"Sand Vulture, scout along the Goria Grand Canal. I want to know the situation along the riverbank!"

Link raised his arm, and the Sand Vulture took off into the sky.

This time, to prevent any accidents while crossing the river, Link wanted to test the Sand Vulture's [Eagle Eye] ability and also scout the area around the Grand Canal.

Once he had detailed information about the enemy, he would take action.

Five minutes later...

"Damn!"

Link was shocked.