Chapter 177: Chapter 177: The Bizarre Forest

Lin Shen had been in a foul mood lately. Previously, he would hunt venomous bugs in the grassy slopes at night and then occasionally go out during the day to relax; he could dine wherever he wished and play wherever he wanted.

But now, fearing that the strange figure would find out that he was still alive, he had to stay cooped up at home day and night, going nowhere except for hunting poisonous bugs on the grassy slopes.

However, consuming the Base Mutation Fluid from those poisonous bugs was no longer improving his mutation rate, and that was the most irritating thing for him.

After all, he was already at the Alloy Level, and the effects of the Mutant Steel venomous bugs were minimal. He must find a new place to hunt higher-grade mutant creatures.

“Where to go?” Lin Shen fiddled with his wristwatch, sinking into deep thought.

There were two coordinates stored in the watch, one for the grassy slopes and the other for that Ring Mountain Planet.

When he returned from the Ring Mountain Planet, the watch hadn’t prompted him to record the coordinates, so he knew that the other coordinate stored was indeed that planet’s.

The strange figure had tampered with something to transport him to that particular coordinate—it wasn’t a random displacement to that planet.

The problem now was that the planet seemed to be populated by Ascended Creatures, and Lin Shen found little benefit in killing them at the moment.

Difficult to kill, and he couldn’t even use the Ascension Liquid he obtained from them.

Wei Wufu said the energy contained in the Ascension Liquid was too intense, and using it at the Base Mutation level could cause harm to the body, so it was unusable.

Lin Shen had also considered that with his own Evolution Theory, he might be able to digest the Ascension Liquid, but he didn’t dare take the risk of trying it.

If the energy explosion that Wei Wufu mentioned was literal, and the Ascension Liquid detonated inside his body, who could withstand that?

Lin Shen felt it was best to be cautious, yet after dealing with the strange figure’s trouble, he still wanted to visit that planet.

The strength provided by the Sacrificial Halo should be enough for him to kill a high-level Ascended Creature. He was looking for an opportunity to see if he could find a Mutated Ascension Creature to kill.

Of course, it would be best if it were one with a Mutated Ascension Egg.

But before resolving the trouble with the strange figure, Lin Shen couldn’t carelessly use the power of the Sacrificial Halo.

After much consideration, he decided it was better to find a place to hunt mutant creatures on Realm King Planet first.

Entering the grassy slopes once more, Lin Shen, clad in the red Ultraburn Battle Suit and helmet, rode atop the Big Red Bull, no longer bothering with the venomous bugs, and continued moving forward in one direction.

He had explored this direction before while searching for venomous bugs, coming to the end of the grassy slopes where a large river flowed. Beyond the river was the endless Steel Forest.

The river was wide, and Lin Shen, unable to swim, had not dared to cross it.

Now, with his Stairway to Heaven and Stepping on the Immortal Court skills polished, a mere river was no obstacle—especially since he had the Hell Rock Crystal Evil Dragon with him, so he planned to cross the river to check out the forest on the other side.

When Lin Shen arrived near the river, he initially intended to cross directly, but after surveying the area, he noticed a human figure not too far upstream.

“Huh… why would there be someone here…?” Lin Shen looked carefully and indeed, it was a person.

The person was sitting on an outcropping rock on the riverbank, dressed in something like a coat, holding a fishing rod, with a small table beside them, on which there was a thermos, clearly fishing.

They had no horns on their head, obviously not from the Ultra-Burn Tribe, nor wings or the like; they seemed to be human.

“Why would there be a human fishing in a place like this?” Puzzled, Lin Shen pondered before deciding to go over and see who exactly it was.

As he got closer, he noticed that the man fishing didn’t seem old, around thirty years old, maybe even younger. Because of his square face and beard, he might have looked older than he was.

“Friend, can you catch fish here?” Lin Shen asked curiously.

“Yeah,” the man turned his head to look at Lin Shen and smiled kindly.

“How’s the catch?” Lin Shen moved next to him, glanced at his fish basket beside him. Something was moving inside, but since the basket was mostly underwater, he couldn’t see what kind of fish were inside.

“Not bad,” the man said as he reached for the teapot and a new cup next to him, poured Lin Shen a cup of tea, and offered it, saying, “What’s your name, friend? Are you here to fish as well?”

“I don’t fish. I want to go look in the forest across the way.” Lin Shen took the tea and took a small sip, but didn’t give his name.

He wasn’t afraid that the man had poisoned the tea, as during this time he didn’t know how much poison or Base Mutation Fluid he had consumed. Now his body was practically impervious to poison; it was the least of his fears.

Hearing Lin Shen say this, the man looked at him with a hint of surprise: “You want to go into the forest across the way?”

“Yes. Is there a problem with the forest on the other side?” Lin Shen keenly sensed that there was more to the man’s words.

“There are ghosts in that forest,” the man said seriously.

“Ghosts?” Lin Shen was slightly taken aback. He hadn’t expected the man to come out with such a statement. What era were they living in? Who still believed in ghosts and gods? Even if there was an anomaly, it should be due to Base Variant Creatures.

“Yes, ghosts. If you go into those woods, you’ll encounter many weird things, and it’s like hitting a ghost wall; no matter what, you can’t find your way out,” the man said as if he were talking about something serious.

However, Lin Shen couldn’t help but feel like he was listening to a tall tale. It was just a forest; if he couldn’t walk out, couldn’t he just fly out? As for hitting a ghost wall, he didn’t believe it anyway.

Originally, Lin Shen wanted to inquire about this man’s background, but seeing his superstitious demeanor, he dismissed the thought. After finishing his tea and putting down the cup, he thanked the man and decided to leave for the forest.

The man seemed to want to say something more, but just then his fishing rod suddenly moved. He quickly gripped the fishing rod and stood up.

The taut rod bent into an arc, and the fishing line was pulled deep into the river, as if something was swimming beneath.

Lin Shen was also curious about what kind of fish could be caught on Realm King Planet, so he stopped and began to watch by the side.

The fish below seemed large, and the man couldn’t pull it up directly. A struggle ensued with releasing and retrieving the line.

As he watched, Lin Shen realized something was off. The splashing on the water’s surface grew larger, and within moments, the water within a hundred meters was churning.

“Damn, how big can this fish be?” Lin Shen’s curiosity grew, wondering what kind of fish the man had hooked.

The man’s expression grew more tense as well, locked in a battle of wits and strength with the big fish below. He assumed various stances for better leverage, and at times nearly got pulled into the river.

Seeing this, Lin Shen quickly walked over to help the man with the rod.

“Don’t touch it, you don’t know how to fish, don’t mess around,” the man stopped Lin Shen.

Lin Shen had no choice but to stand still and watch the man busy at work.

After a while, the man suddenly began to reel in the fishing rod while quickly stepping backwards, continually taking in line as he went.

Lin Shen knew the fish must be close to surfacing, and he watched the river attentively.

Suddenly, a black shape broke the surface of the water. When Lin Shen got a clear look at it, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes.