Chapter 26

Wang Ge felt that his body seemed unchanged, but the intense hunger drove him to temporarily put the matter aside. He gathered some dry branches nearby, lit a fire, and skewered the insect dog's meat on a stick to roast it.

He couldn't even wait for it to be fully cooked. The hungry Wang Ge, seeing the steaming, bloody meat, stuffed it into his mouth.

But just as he took a bite of the half-cooked meat, Wang Ge suddenly felt... full.

What's going on? Wang Ge was stunned. He was so hungry before roasting the meat that he felt he could eat a whole cow, yet he was full after just one bite?

After feeling full, he noticed the strong bloody taste in his mouth and quickly found the water bottle in his backpack. After rinsing his mouth, he felt better.

He checked his injuries and found that the bloody, mangled flesh on his chest had miraculously healed, with only a faint scar and bloodstain remaining. His broken arm had also recovered completely. Wang Ge tried moving his body and found himself healthier than before.

Since he was already full and his injuries had healed, there was no need to continue roasting the meat. Wang Ge extinguished the fire by covering it with sand, which wouldn't produce thick smoke.

The insect dog's meat wasn't tasty, and Wang Ge wouldn't have considered it if he hadn't been so hungry. He threw it away and picked up the concentrated fire gun, then shouldered his backpack and went down the mountain.

It was getting late, and Wang Ge decided to temporarily give up on the task of hunting moon rabbits.

A thousand solar coins were indeed not easy to earn. He had been busy for half a day, encountering mutated beasts three or four times and insect beasts once, but only saw a pair of moon rabbits, which was due to his good luck and keen observation.

Actually, this was also because he wasn't a professional hunter. Those who made a living by hunting were well-versed in the habits of mutated beasts and insect beasts, and were native mountain dwellers with life levels far above Wang Ge, so they wouldn't be as dangerous as him.

The only gain today was the slippery, egg-like object inside the insect beast.

Wang Ge didn't know what it was, and it wasn't recorded in "The Book of Insects." He decided to look it up when he got home to see what it was.

Although he didn't know what it was, it seemed to be beneficial to his body without any harm. At least Wang Ge didn't get poisoned, and his body had recovered completely.

Wang Ge couldn't help but think that this was a good way to go. In the future, if he was seriously injured, he could rely on eating this egg-like object to repair his body.

Hmm, perhaps he could prepare well next time and specifically go to the South Mountain to hunt insect beasts to obtain the egg-like objects, store them, and use them when needed.

There was no boxing match scheduled today, and Wang Ge finally returned home before dinner. With his increased income, he bought some seasonal vegetables, pork, and eggs to prepare a good meal for his sister.

Ordinary people usually ate genetically modified ingredients, which were cheap. In the current world, pure natural things were exorbitantly expensive, and only the elite could afford them. Even white-collar workers with decent incomes could only occasionally indulge themselves once a month.

So today, Wang Ge was being quite extravagant. He entered the house and happily called out to his sister, "Feifei, look what your brother bought today!"

Holding up the heavy net bag, Wang Ge smiled, showing no signs of the life-and-death struggle he had experienced today.

"Wow!" Wang Feifei saw the pure natural vegetables, pork, and eggs and exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, did you hit the jackpot?"

"Hehe, not really. I've been working overtime recently and got some bonuses," Wang Ge said with a smile. "I'm not working overtime today, so I'll make you a good meal!"

"Thank you, brother!" Wang Feife sat in front of the optical computer, her small hands supporting her pointed chin, her big, watery eyes following Wang Ge around the room. She seemed to want to say something but held back.

"What's wrong?" As the saying goes, no one knows their child better than their mother. Wang Ge and Wang Feife grew up together, relying on each other, so he knew her well. Noticing her actions, Wang Ge smiled and asked, "Feifei, is there something you want to tell your brother?"

"No..." Wang Feife pursed her lips but couldn't resist, blinking her big eyes and asking, "Brother, didn't you receive any messages today?"

"Ah?" Wang Ge was slightly stunned. He had turned off the active notification for messages as soon as he left home, then focused on finding moon rabbits on the mountain, and later engaged in a battle. On the way back, he was thinking about the egg-like object and hadn't checked his messages.

Looking at Wang Feife suspiciously, Wang Ge opened his communication watch and indeed saw unread messages.

Worried that the content might not be suitable for Wang Feife to hear, Wang Ge chose to read the text. The message was from the bank, notifying him that 200 solar coins had been transferred to his savings card.

Where did this money come from? Wang Ge first ruled out the black market income, as no one would be willing to leak too much information in such a place, so they usually paid in cash, even for large amounts.

If it wasn't from the black market, there was only one answer—Wang Ge narrowed his eyes and stared at Wang Feife, "Feifei, aren't you going to explain to your brother?"

"Hehe!" Wang Feife shook her head proudly, "Brother, this is what I earned from posting paid threads on the Battle Network over the past two days!"

The Federation stipulates that one must be at least 16 years old to open an independent account, so Wang Feife's earnings from the Battle Network were directly transferred to Wang Ge's savings card, giving him a small surprise.

"Brother, I'll earn more money! We will work hard together!" Wang Feife shook her small fists, as if making a solemn pledge.

"Naughty girl..." Wang Ge's eyes welled up with tears as he rushed forward and tightly hugged Wang Feife.

Today, on the South Mountain, he had fought to the death with the insect dog, and even with his arm broken, he hadn't shed a single tear. But now, he couldn't stop the tears from flowing.

Living with his sister, although he had lost a lot, what he gained was invaluable.

The next day, Wang Ge was not scheduled for a boxing match. However, he still rushed to Meteor Street early in the morning to buy some weapons and armor, then go to the South Mountain to hunt insect beasts and see if he could catch a pair of moon rabbits.

Of course, hunting insect beasts not only allowed him to obtain the white egg-like objects but also allowed him to take on related tasks and earn bounties.

In Black City, there were "Killing Shops," which were black stores that sold lethal weapons. Since they were part of the underground boxing ring's ancillary industry, Wang Ge, as a boxer, could get internal discount prices.

Although Wang Ge had been in Black City for five years, this was his first time visiting a Killing Shop. As soon as he entered, he was captivated by the various lethal weapons displayed on the walls and in the showcases.

No man dislikes weapons, from primitive bows and arrows, swords, to modern laser guns and Gauss guns, all of which attracted Wang Ge's attention.

However, Wang Ge knew exactly what he needed. His concentrated fire gun had too little lethality, but its only advantage was its low noise, which wouldn't alarm nearby insect beasts.

The Federation did not allow the use of modern weapons to attack the insect race and insect beasts, as failing to kill them could lead to their mutation and evolution, which would be even more troublesome.

Therefore, the Federation used primitive weapons made with modern technology and engaged in hand-to-hand combat to kill the insect race and insect beasts.

Of course, using mechs would be the best, but the Killing Shop did not sell mechs, which were explicitly prohibited by the Federation and considered taboo.

Wang Ge was interested in the "Vajra Dagger." Researchers had taken inspiration from glass-cutting knives and cast the dagger's blade from synthetic diamond in one piece, allowing it to easily penetrate the insect beasts' shells. Although the cost of synthetic diamond had decreased due to advanced technology, it was still expensive.

15,000 solar coins.

Seeing this number, Wang Ge felt dizzy.

The Killing Shop owner, who believed in making money through friendliness, patted Wang Ge on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Young man, you like the Vajra Dagger?"

Wang Ge nodded but then shook his head, regretfully saying, "It's too expensive."

"You're buying the Vajra Dagger to hunt insect beasts, right?" The Killing Shop owner wasn't worried that Wang Ge didn't have money. If he could walk into the Killing Shop, he must have some means.

The Killing Shop owner, who had practical knowledge of sales psychology, opened his communication watch, which was much more advanced than Wang Ge's, and a virtual screen popped out. After a series of taps and searches, he displayed a list of insect beast hunting tasks.

"Look at this, a Level 1 insect beast, the 'Insect Rat.' A research lab needs the mutated bacteria carried by the Insect Rat for experiments. A live Insect Rat can be exchanged for 1,000 solar coins.

"Then look at this, a Level 4 insect beast, the 'Insect Dog.' A rich young master who has more money than he knows what to do with wants to keep it as a pet. A young Insect Dog can earn you 3,000 solar coins.

"Don't look at me like that, you don't understand the rich. Not only do they keep Insect Dogs, but some even keep 'Insect People.' Do you believe it?

"Know that if you kill two adult Insect Dogs, you can get at least three young Insect Dogs, which is 9,000 solar coins!

"Moreover, some people collect the teeth of adult Insect Dogs. Let me check, yes, a jewelry store wants to collect the teeth to make personalized wolf tooth necklaces. Ha, using dog teeth to pass off as wolf teeth, that's an industry secret.

"Besides, a complete Insect Dog corpse can be used to make craft specimens. Although the meat of Insect Dogs is hard to eat, there are still some adventurous eaters who will buy it.

"These are all sources of income. Let me help you calculate. If you kill two adult Insect Dogs, you can earn at least 3,000 solar coins for three young Insect Dogs, plus 20 solar coins per tooth, and two Insect Dogs have at least a hundred teeth, which is another 2,000 solar coins.

"If you sell the complete Insect Dog corpses, you can get at least 10,000 solar coins each, but then you can't sell the teeth separately. So I suggest you sell the meat, starting at 1,000 solar coins per pound. Two Insect Dogs together have at least ten pounds of edible meat, which can earn you 20,000 solar coins, not less than selling the complete corpses.

"But no matter which combination you choose, you can earn at least 30,000 solar coins in one go." The Killing Shop owner patted Wang Ge on the shoulder with a smile, "And all you need to do is buy a Vajra Dagger!"