Lu Shanhuai thought Long Shiyu was joking, so he continued with a smile and said, “Then how can we change it?”
“Changing the plan for the few dozen minutes prior to the salamander’s self-destruction isn’t enough. You won’t have enough time. Therefore, we should not focus on the second half of the battle. If we use glacial blast bombs in the early stage of containment, delay the self-destruction time, and switch out snipers for ordinary hunters, it will likely be enough time.”
Long Shiyu yawned again, looking as though he could fall asleep at any moment.
Lu Shanhuai was stunned. Glacial blast bombs had come into play a long time ago. They were widespread in all major planets, and, like hunters’ commonly-used strategies, were common knowledge among ordinary people.
In recent years, however, glacial blast bombs had fallen into disuse within the hunting community.
According to Long Shiyu, his strategy needed a complete overhaul.
He patiently explained to Long Shiyu, “The weight and size of the glacial blast bombs are too substantial. Only heavily-armed hunters can carry them. This means sacrificing other equipment. Its freezing effect is not particularly potent, so it’s more practical to equip hunters with heavy blast shields and tactical missiles. This is why the costly glacial blast bombs are virtually obsolete now.”
“Oh,” Long Shiyu remarked, “I thought there was glacial bloom extract in the glacial blast bombs. Salamanders just so happen to fear that.”
After some contemplation, he added, “The salamander behaves differently when it’s afraid. After the tactical missile explodes, the shrapnel would further incentivize it to retreat. We should replace the blast shields with lighter ones or remove other equipment to reduce the standard load carried by at least a quarter. Otherwise, heavily-armed hunters with glacial blast bombs won’t be swift enough and will tire quickly in high-temperature environments. Lightly-armed hunters should encircle the salamander from the start. This way, we will have additional manpower left over, which can be allocated to deal with the Type III flame waves that the salamander will release as a counterattack when it’s on the verge of death.”
He had no intention of arguing with Lu Shanhuai. After sharing this insight, he drifted off to sleep again.
Lu Shanhuai began to ponder. He wasn’t from the scientific research department, and he only retained the main ingredients of glacial blast bombs in his memory. He checked the information and confirmed that there was indeed glacial bloom extract in cold blast bombs.
The content was minuscule and took up less than 0.01% of the total ingredients. It was impressive that Long Shiyu could recall it.
However, he had never heard that scarlet salamanders were afraid of glacial blooms.
Initially, he wanted to dismiss Long Shiyu’s words as jest, given that the latter wasn’t even a hunter. But something deep down gnawed at him. Perhaps it was the natural, composed tone in which Long Shiyu spoke, as if he was a veteran who had experienced countless battles. It made Lu Shanhuai want to believe in his words, despite himself.
There was no harm in trying. Lu Shanhuai wasn’t one to discard possibilities. That was his principle as a commander.
Simulated battles relied on data. To find answers, they had to experiment. Lu Shanhuai promptly made a call.
“Big bro, are you in the lab?”
Lu Shanyao sat in the laboratory, clad in a white lab coat, surrounded by stacks of information.
He still couldn’t comprehend why the dragon whale had been so terrified the previous day. Two similar incidents had occurred before, but the creatures that had made the dragon whales flee were a suspected Kraken and a siren respectively — both of which were legendary creatures, enshrined in the ancient songs of fishermen. Nobody had ever successfully hunted them.
But how could a beast of this caliber appear at the Hunter Association’s main base?
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
He furrowed his brow, watching the real-time data of the dragon whales on the screen.
Ktflg tfjga gjafr gfwjlcfv rieuulrt, jcv atflg vbgrji olcr kfgf ralii jrxfk.
Rba fnfc rlgfcr mbeiv afgglos atfw obg rb ibcu.
Ktfc tlr afgwlcji rlucjifv jc lcmbwlcu mjii — “Pvlba Dgbatfg”.
Oe Vtjcsjb jcrkfgfv, “Qtja lr la atlr alwf? Po sbe jrx wf ab yglcu sbe reqqfg jujlc, P’ii atgbk jkjs sbeg ujwf mbcrbif.”
Lu Shanhuai responded, “Don’t be so irritable; you’ll go bald. Hey, I got a question. Are scarlet salamanders afraid of glacial blooms?”
“Why are you suddenly asking this? I don’t recall there being such a thing, but I can look it up.” Lu Shanyao swiftly navigated the interface, revealing thousands of experimental records.
Lu Shanyao’s senior had been in charge of the salamander experiments back then, and Lu Shanyao had reviewed most of the data. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t manage to find any records of them fearing glacial blooms.
Lu Shanyao replied, “No, they’re not afraid of them. Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?”
“No particular reason; it just crossed my mind. I just wanted to know the effect of glacial blast bombs on them,” Lu Shanhuai said. “I’ll hang up now.”
“Cut down on junk snacks.”
“You’ve been lecturing me all day long… Wait a moment.” Lu Shanhuai suddenly paused.
Lu Shanyao inquired, “What’s wrong?”
“You mentioned that glacial blooms are ineffective, right? Have you ever tested their extract?”
“Let me check… we’ve never tried that.”
“Could it be because the concentration wasn’t high enough?”
“It’s unlikely. If the extract were effective, they shouldn’t be completely unresponsive to glacial blooms.”
“Can you give it a try? I remember we have a live scarlet salamander.”
“Sure, I have some time,” Lu Shanyao agreed. “I’ll provide you with the results tomorrow.”
“Great. For supper, I’ll have a large order of fried onion rings with a Coke. Thanks bro, you’re the best.”
The call ended.
Lu Shanyao: “…”
Meanwhile, Lu Shanhuai received a text message right after he’d hung up.
He stood up and knocked on Shen Zhaomu’s door. “Brother Shen, I’m get going now.”
Shen Zhaomu replied, “No more simulations?”
“I’ll come back tomorrow.” Lu Shanhuai quickly put on his coat. “My girlfriend isn’t feeling well and is at the hospital.” Before he reached the door, he added, “Let’s get together when you and sister-in-law have some free time.”
“We’ll see,” Shen Zhaomu replied.
Lu Shanhuai hesitated. “If Qin Shi doesn’t want to join, forget about him.”
Lu Shanhuai departed, and Long Shiyu slept for a while before opening his eyes, still in a daze.
A soft glow emanated from the partially open door. Shen Zhaomu was still engrossed in his readings.
The entire Hunter Association seemed abuzz with discussions about the upcoming competition. Long Shiyu had been here for only two days, yet he had already heard countless stories. People were even placing bets on who would claim the coveted seat of chief hunter.
Shen Zhaomu was undeniably a prodigy. No one had ever competed for the role of chief hunter at such a young age. It was common knowledge that he would eventually ascend to that position; it was merely a matter of time.
If this was any other time period, he would be enjoying glory right now, but this time was different. His competitors were equally outstanding. There was a genius hailing from an Illusionist clan, an enigmatic lone wolf with an eccentric personality, and the White Doe Princess of the beast clan — everyone possessed extraordinary talents. No one was willing to yield the position of chief hunter. After all, throughout history, only the first place shone the brightest.
They were all proud individuals; none were willing to be second best.
Under different circumstances, each of them could have carved out their own path. But now, their brilliance was unavoidably dimmed in each other’s presence.
These were turbulent times. Exotic beasts worldwide were awakening one after another, and it just so happened that the most exceptional talents had converged.
This was their misfortune, but it was also the alliance’s fortune.
Long Shiyu approached Shen Zhaomu’s door and peeked inside.
Shen Zhaomu was engrossed in writing something. He was born with deep-set eyes. Under the warm light, half of his face was hidden in shadow, while the other side seemed kissed by the sun. He had a high nose and was as handsome as a work of art.
Long Shiyu asked, “Want some coffee?”
“Sure,” Shen Zhaomu glanced up at him.
Long Shiyu went to the living room, prepared a cup of hot coffee, and brought it to Shen Zhaomu.
Shen Zhaomu accepted the cup and resumed his reading without a word.
Long Shiyu grew bored and opened a game on his terminal.
There were many games to choose from, but the one he played time and time again was… Fight the Landlord.
It was an old Earthian game that had fallen out of favor. However, Long Shiyu remained addicted to it.
He flopped down on the soft carpet in Shen Zhaomu’s room, his silver wings spread out, and the tip of his tail swaying back and forth.
Pair of threes.
Pass.
Three plus one.
Pass.
Joker pair.
Pass.
After playing for a while, the swishing tail stilled.
Shen Zhaomu was busy with his work when he noticed a sly little head popping up from the opposite side of his desk.
“…What are you doing?” Shen Zhaomu asked.
Long Shiyu: “Sob.”
He rested his chin on the table and stared at Shen Zhaomu without saying a word. His tail stealthily extended from under the table, wrapped around Shen Zhaomu’s right ankle, and nuzzled against it.
This was the dragons’ way of expressing affection, typically reserved for those stronger than them or those they held dear.
Shen Zhaomu’s tone softened involuntarily. “What’s wrong?”
Long Shiyu handed him the terminal and whispered, “Could you top up some beans for me? I’ve lost it all…”
Lose to the Landlord, pfft! Thanks for the great translation ❤️🤣❤️🤣❤️
🤣
Thank you for the chapter~!
This seems great. Thank you for the translation
😆
He’s so cute
Such a laidback but secretly powerful cutie 🤭
He’s so adorable (ᗒᗩᗕ)
Love their dynamics ! Thank you for translating
Why so cuuuuuteee aaaaaaa 😭😭😭
Cutie patootie i canntt
I do not foresee Shen Zhaomu’s prediction coming to pass. How can this lil muffin ever turn on him? Impossible!