Fu Rui was not very confident when they entered the forest again.
Previously, he had to defeat the three-man porcupine scout team one by one to win against them. If he encountered more porcupine scouts, he would definitely not be their match.
Furthermore, even if he could fight against them, he would not be able to protect Yuan and the two dog-eared girls in the chaotic battle.
He had to be stronger.
After some consideration, Fu Rui decided to check out the Mall.
“We’ve been walking for so long. Let’s take a break.” He suggested.
The two dog-eared females had no objections and immediately started to guard the surroundings.
Meanwhile, Yuan sat beside Fu Rui, rubbing her slightly sore calves.
Fu Rui carried her feet and placed them on his legs before massaging her legs with his hands. He smiled. “Are you tired?”
“That’s right, meow.” With one hand behind her back to maintain her balance, Yuan adjusted the position of her tail with the other hand and pouted slightly. “And my legs hurt from walking!”
“Let me take a look.”
Fu Rui’s heart ached so much that he picked up her long, snow-white legs and placed them on his lap. Then, he looked at her muddy little feet and asked in confusion, “Could it be that you were scratched?”
“It hurts, meow…” Yuan threw herself into his arms and whined.
Fu Rui couldn’t clean the wound for the time being, so he could only say, “I’ll carry you on my back when we go on the road later, alright?”
“Can I, meow?”
“Of course.”
“But… but…” Yuan looked hesitant. How could the Village Chief stoop to such a thing?
Fu Rui raised his eyebrows. “You don’t think I can’t carry you, do you, Fat Yuan?”
“No, meow! I’m not fat, meow!”
Indeed, all women hated being called fat.
“Then I’ll take that as a yes.”
Fu Rui smiled. Then, he opened up the Mall. After searching for it, he found two items that suited him very well.
[Constitution Potion] (Medium): It can permanently increase one’s constitution to a certain extent. Consumes 15 Civilization Points.
[Javelin Throwing Skill]: It allows you to have the throwing ability of a javelin thrower. Consumes 8 Civilization Points.
…
The items were a little expensive, but Fu Rui gritted his teeth and bought both items.
After all, it was too dangerous to go out. Thus, these investments were necessary.
A familiar feeling spread through his mind. Then, Fu Rui successfully mastered the knowledge of throwing javelins.
Correspondingly, a small bottle containing blue liquid appeared in his hand.
However, its color was much darker than the one he bought previously.
Fu Rui drank the entire bottle in one gulp.
The effects of the potion spread throughout and began to transform his body a second time.
His muscles tensed up uncontrollably.
Then, he felt as if there were hammers continuously hammering his body and continuously stimulating the potential within his body.
However, this state did not last long. In just a few breaths, the indescribable pain had mostly subsided.
“Hu…”
Fu Rui heaved a sigh of relief and grinned. “As expected of the Constitution-Enhancing Potion produced by the system, its quality is really good. I only felt so little pain, not to mention that there are no side effects.”
“Meow?” Yuan looked at him in confusion. “Rui, what are you talking about, meow?”
“It’s nothing.”
Fu Rui took off the spear and handed it to Yuan. Then, he stood up and squatted in front of her. “Come up, my little princess.”
“What does the princess mean?”
“It doesn’t matter what it means. Anyway, I’ll say this only to you in the future.”
“Meow, meow!” Yuan pounced on him with a face full of happiness and kept giggling foolishly. “Rui’s body is so warm and sturdy. It seems to have become much stronger.”
As she spoke, she even carefully stroked his body.
“Little greedy cat, sit tight. Let’s go!”
Fu Rui shouted and only set off after seeing that the dog-eared girls had also left their hiding spot.
After walking for a long time, they finally found the lake in Fu Rui’s memories.
“Rui, is this the place that you mentioned?”
Yuan hugged Fu Rui’s neck tightly. It seemed like she was not planning to come down.
Fu Rui didn’t mind either. After carrying her for so long, he didn’t feel tired at all, so he simply brought her along.
“I’m not sure either. I have to do an experiment first.”
Fu Rui carried her on his back and walked into the lake. He dipped his hands in the water and waited for the lake water to dry up.
Before long, Fu Rui saw many white crystals on his hands.
“It looks like it is a high concentration salt lake.” He was overjoyed.
In that case, there was no need to dig up the salt fields and dry the salt. After all, there would usually be a large amount of crystallized salt sediment at the bottom of such lakes. As long as they were fished up and crystallized, they could be eaten directly.
Compared to the salt field that would take months to dry, this could save him a lot of time.
Furthermore, he would avoid the risk of encountering the scouts from the porcupine tribe at any time.
Fu Rui immediately placed Yuan on a large rock and started to work.
It was getting late, and they had to hurry back to the tribe after collecting the salt.
As they currently didn’t have a boat, Fu Rui could only use the shovels he carried to knock out the crystal salt at the bottom of the lake. Then, he put the salt into the leather bag that he had made.
Yuan might not be able to help with her injury, while the dog-eared girls had to be on guard. Thus, Fu Rui had to do it himself.
However, not long after he started to gather the salt crystals, a cry sounded from the forest.
It was someone from the porcupine tribe!
The voice came from the other side. When Li Li and Wei Wei emerged from the forest, they also saw a dozen scouts from the porcupine tribe on the opposite shore.
“Roar!”
It was obvious that the porcupine scouts had also seen them.
What was worse was that following the porcupines’s howl, several porcupine scouts appeared from the forest on both sides of Fu Rui. All of them were tall and strong, and it was obvious that they were not creatures to be trifled with.
“Rui, what should we do…” Yuan’s voice trembled. When faced with so many enemies, no matter how much she trusted Fu Rui, it was hard for her to hold back the instinctive fear of the powerful opponents in her heart.
Fu Rui took the bone spear from her hand and handed over the coarse salt crystal in his hands. Then, he said in a deep voice, “Bring this back. I’ll cover your retreat.”
“No!”
The dog-eared girls stood beside him. “If we want to live, we will live together. If we are going to die, then we will die together!”
“Why are you still offending me at a time like this!” Fu Rui’s expression was solemn as he said sternly, “Bring Yuan back!”
“Listen to the Village Chief. Li Li, bring Yuan back to the village to inform Li.”
Wei Wei held a bone knife in each hand and displayed a fighting stance. “I’ll stay.”
“Sister!” Li Li stomped her feet anxiously. How could she go back now?
“Roar!”
How could the porcupine scouts give them time to decide? They waved weapons that looked like maces while roaring and charged forward.
Fu Rui narrowed his eyes. The porcupine tribe was clearly much stronger than the beast-eared tribe in terms of their weapons and equipment. It was no wonder they were the kings of this forest.
Wei Wei definitely would not be able to block this attack, but she still stood firmly in front of Fu Rui!
A vicious look appeared in Fu Rui’s eyes.
Since these porcupine scouts wanted to kill him, there was no need for him to show mercy.
He took a step forward.
Then, he raised his spear.
He pierced it through the porcupine scout’s throat!