Screech! Screech!
In the standoff over the cooking pot, the bird's claws quickly began to smoke.
The scorching hot pot caused it to release its grip.
The bird, while fleeing, searched for something suitable to use as a weapon, wanting to grab it again.
Kuku and Li Fan gave it no chance.
Humans roared and birds shrieked, pursuing relentlessly, incredibly fierce.
Eudora, watching from the side, saw them chase in circles for several rounds and gradually discerned their movement patterns.
She then ran ahead to where they would pass, crouched, and gripped her greatsword, waiting for an opportunity.
As the bird's leg passed by her, Eudora thrust her bone greatsword forward.
"Goo? Goo!!"
Tripped by its hind leg, the bird lost its balance and fell face-first onto the muddy ground.
"Brake! Brake! Backflip fireball! Backflip fireball!"
Li Fan wanted to tell Kuku to stop, but felt it was too late, so he changed his command.
Although Kuku's feet were tripped by the fallen bird, its wings had already flapped powerfully in advance, averting disaster before it hit the ground.
"Land! Land!"
Li Fan quickly gave the command.
Kuku's backward fall was due to being unable to control its ultra-low hovering flight posture.
Now that Li Fan was on its back, another fall would mean he'd be the cushion.
"Giant Beak Peck!"
Li Fan shouted and jumped off its back.
Kuku raised its neck high, took two steps forward in an upright posture, and then its giant beak slammed down like a pendulum.
Bang! Boom! Bang!
Each time the giant beak struck, the bird's body trembled.
Li Fan and Eudora, one on each side, Li Fan drew his sword and took a stance to slash, while Eudora swung her greatsword behind her to charge.
Dilu, seeing no one attacking from the front, picked up the short club at her waist and bravely rushed forward, imitating Li Fan's earlier actions and pounding on its head.
However, after only a few blows, Dilu noticed the bird's two front claws digging deep into the muddy soil, as if searching for something.
"The bird is digging for rocks, meow!"
"Still trying tricks!"
Li Fan shouted, aiming at the bird's constantly struggling thigh roots and unleashing two consecutive Air Slashes.
Two severed wounds and gushing blood immediately appeared.
Eudora's charged slash landed, and the bird's arched back immediately caved in.
"Goo!!!"
Under the barrage of blows, the bird let out a fierce cry and then, with all its might, forced itself to stand.
At this point, the small rock it held in its front claws was revealed.
Swinging its tail along with the rock, the bird performed a spinning jump in place.
It forced Li Fan, Eudora, and Kuku all to retreat, then began to flee in a limping, half-hopping, half-running state.
Li Fan, riding Tai Mei, threw a Great Ball when the distance was about right.
The bird turned into a streak of white light and flew into it, while the small rock it held rolled onto the ground.
Tsk! Tsk!
The Great Ball trembled slightly, indicating stability.
Just as Li Fan thought he could capture it easily, the crucial third shake of the ball suddenly leaped into the air.
It rolled down the slope and off the cliff.
Li Fan rushed over to observe. Countless colorful particles filled the air, and the limping bird was escaping below.
So cunning, were the first two shakes just a feint to be captured?
Li Fan was a little frustrated.
Eudora, who had arrived, didn't seem to care, stating that it was normal for monsters to try their best to escape when they felt a mortal threat or were near death.
"Oh no, meow! The direction the bird is escaping to has been designated a dangerous area by the Guild!"
Dilu exclaimed, looking at the map.
"This complicates things... Should we try to intercept?"
Eudora seemed hesitant.
The bird was severely injured, and with the scent of the marking ball on it, it would be difficult for it to escape the team's pursuit.
However, the area it was fleeing towards was a temporarily designated high-risk zone.
The Guild, of course, would not, and could not, prevent hunters from entering.
But if they encountered danger within, even if they used a red flare for help, most nearby hunter teams would not come to their rescue.
"You... why are you all looking at me?"
Unknowingly, Li Wei found Eudora, Dilu, and Kuku all staring at him.
"Because you are resourceful and have hunted a Tigrex, Li Fan, meow!"
Dilu shouted, raising her paw.
"That's right, I trust your decision."
Eudora nodded in agreement.
Li Fan looked at the light bulb on his waist.
He thought that the Guild had temporarily designated the high-risk area to prevent hunter teams from encountering Zinogre.
He had the warning ability of the light bulb, the bird couldn't fly, and it was severely injured. At most, it could only reach the edge of the dangerous area.
"Try to intercept before dark. The bird should also fear Zinogre and only dare to linger on the periphery."
After giving his deployment, the team began their pursuit.
Although Eudora's movement speed was not fast, with the scent tracking of the marking ball, she didn't have to worry about falling too far behind.
After all, everyone's ultimate goal was the bird.
Li Fan put Kuku into a Poké Ball and rode Tai Mei ahead.
It was still raining, and the scent of the marking ball seemed to be weakening.
However, Li Fan was currently preparing for the Hunter's Exam, and the increased tracking difficulty could be applied to his olfactory sense training.
Li Fan felt that his sense of smell had become particularly acute, perhaps due to changes in his diet.
Taking a deep sniff, the smells in this jungle were truly rich.
"Ugh..."
A foul odor of feces entered Li Fan's nostrils, and he suddenly gagged.
Forget it, having too good a sense of smell wasn't entirely a good thing.
Li Fan adjusted his breathing and focused his attention on the scent of the marking ball.
After two full hours of pursuit, the bird, as Li Fan had predicted, did not dare to venture deep into the core area where Zinogre might appear. Instead, it used its familiarity with the terrain to constantly circle and evade within the jungle.
Monster region changes in the early days of Monster Hunter had always been Li Fan's pain point.
So he would do his best to stack up skills like "Mastery" and "Far Sight." He hadn't expected that even though he could track by smell in the Monster Hunter world, the monsters had also leveled up, using their familiarity with the terrain to play hide-and-seek.
"Why don't we set up a trap, meow?"
Dilu suggested from behind.
"No, we have to withdraw before dark. Without bait, setting up a trap would take too long."
Li Fan shook his head.
"I wish we had brought the cooking pot, meow."
Dilu said regretfully.
"Why?"
"Because the bird really likes that cooking pot, meow! It not only sneaked into the camp to steal it, but it was also scalded in the end, forcing it to release its claws. If it could be used as bait..."
Li Fan remembered the bird's characteristics and quickly thought of a solution.
"The bird's speed is getting slower and slower, it must be due to constantly running with its severe injuries. At this point, it must be very insecure. If it sees an object it can hold with its front claws as a weapon, it will likely have no resistance."
Creak! Tai Mei skidded to a halt.
"Uh... we can't find anything like that here, can we? Meow."
Dilu pondered.
"On the slope we just passed, I remember there was an exposed mineral vein?"
"That's right, meow!"
"Let's go try!"
Tai Mei turned around and galloped.
"I remember Dragonite is green, and Earth Crystals are white. What is this gray one?"
Li Fan circled the pillar-shaped mineral vein for a long time but couldn't identify the mineral type.
"I don't know either, meow. But since no miners are collecting it, its value should not be high."
Dilu had already given her judgment.
First, this place was not far from Calamity Village. Second, this mineral vein was exposed on the surface. If it were a precious mineral, it would have been dug up long ago.
"Forget it, get the pickaxe."
Li Fan said, holding Dilu's small mining pick in one hand and began to strike the mineral vein.
Clang! Clang! Clang!....
Since the ore's strength was not very high, it was relatively easy to mine and shape.
"Li Fan, your hunting strategy is unlike any hunter I've ever seen, meow."
Dilu, who was helping to clear away debris, said with emotion.
"Perhaps it's due to different experiences."
Li Fan replied while diligently shaping the ore.
Half an hour later, a jar-shaped object carved from an unknown crystal was unearthed from the mineral vein.
"The bird likes human-made jar-shaped vessels. I've also designed grooves that can be embedded for its front claws."
Li Fan showed it off.
"So amazing, meow!"
Dilu's eyes sparkled.
"The drawback is that it's too light. As soon as the bird grips it, it will know from its weight that although the jar-shaped object looks good, its strength is not guaranteed. However, it doesn't matter if it's lost. As long as we can lure it to the designated location, our plan will succeed."
After smelling the scent to confirm the direction, Li Fan moved quickly through the surrounding jungle, searching.
He finally chose a narrow area with cliffs on both sides that the bird would pass through.
After confirming the location, Dilu ran over with a mine-like object.
"The paralysis trap cannot be buried too deep. At least one-third of the main body must be exposed above ground. When backfilling and covering, only a small amount of soil can be used. If it's covered too thickly, the paralysis effect will be greatly weakened..."
Li Fan recalled the questions about paralysis traps from the Hunter Exam as he dug a hole.
He gently placed the disk-shaped paralysis trap into the pit. Looking at the handle knob, Li Fan's extended hand paused.
"Is it to the left to turn on, or to the right to turn on..."
"To the left, meow! To the right is used for recovery when it's already on."
Dilu reminded him.
"Thanks."
Li Fan said, turning the handle knob.
Sizzle! A fine yellow electric light extended outwards from the outer ring of the trap.
Snap! Snap!
He covered it with two clumps of mud.
Li Fan gently placed the jar-shaped crystal block on top, then he and Dilu ran off, hid in the nearby bushes, and lay on the ground to observe.
"Heh heh, this feeling of waiting for the monster to take the bait is really great."
Li Fan's excitement grew as he smelled the scent of the marking ball approaching.
"Me too, meow."
Thump! Thump! Thump!....
"Here it comes!"
The man and the cat immediately fell silent.
In the rain, the bird was moving its legs at a slow frequency, running through the muddy forest floor.
If it hadn't sensed that it was being pursued, it would have found a place to rest and not let its injuries worsen.
But its repeated encounters with hunters reminded it that as long as that smell didn't disappear, the human hunters would not stop pursuing.
"Goo.... Goo...."
When it reached the vicinity, the bird actually stopped on its own.
Its head drooped to the ground, its tongue extended, and it was panting heavily, looking exhausted.
Li Fan did not rush to act.
He knew very well that as soon as he appeared and the bird felt threatened, it would immediately flee again.
The panting lasted for about twenty seconds, then the bird lifted its head and, despite its injuries, ran again.
"Hmm, good..... Huh! Big brother, can't you see that huge jar-shaped crystal!"
Li Fan did not expect that, perhaps due to extreme fatigue, the bird's perception of its surroundings had weakened to such an extent.
Picking up a small stone, Li Fan threw it with great force and quickly ducked down.
The bird, attacked on its tail, turned its head alertly, scanned its surroundings, and finally fixed its gaze on the jar-shaped crystal!
The bird lowered its head and looked at its black, three-toed claws. It measured them against the crystal from a distance and found that the round shape of the jar-shaped crystal fit its claws so perfectly.
It walked over dazedly, its eyes filled with longing.
In the bushes, Li Fan and Dilu stared wide-eyed at the bird.
Thud!
The bird extended its front claw and embraced the jar-shaped crystal.
Crack!
The paralysis trap, triggered by monitoring the pressure of the surrounding soil, shot out countless long, snake-like yellow arcs of electricity.
The bird seemed to be electrocuted, its neck arching high, its stiff body entering a paralyzed state.
The Poké Ball containing Kuku was thrown out, and Li Fan himself also drew his sword.
After a brief flurry of blows, Li Fan saw that the bird was rolling its eyes and immediately called a halt to the attack.
"Now you know how the client you beat up feels. I won't make it difficult for you. We've been going back and forth for most of the day, and my patience is running out. If you waste another Great Ball, our fate will end here."
Under Li Fan's friendly communication, the bird, realizing something, pushed off with its legs and offered no further resistance.
The Great Ball remained still and immediately completed the capture.
Li Fan didn't even bother to check the bird's attributes. He put Kuku back into its ball and rode Tai Mei to gallop away.
Seeing the white signal flare representing retreat explode in the air.
Eudora, who was still pursuing, immediately chose to withdraw.
An hour later, at the assembly point outside the dangerous area.
Seeing that Li Fan and Dilu were unharmed and the bird had been captured.
The team had not risked their lives in vain. Eudora also breathed a sigh of relief.
The sky cleared, and the sunset dyed the clouds red, emitting a faint purple glow.
After the rain, a fresh scent permeated the forest.
A rainbow appeared in the sky. Li Fan and Eudora, on their way to the camp, stopped to admire it.
"So beautiful."
Li Fan exclaimed.
"Yes... Where's Dilu?"
Eudora looked around.
"She said she found a very interesting unknown substance and went to collect samples."
Li Fan informed her.
"Then let's wait for a bit."
The mission was complete, and Eudora felt there was no need to rush.
Two minutes later, Dilu ran out of the bushes with a cheerful gait.
"Wow! What a big rainbow, meow!"
Dilu exclaimed, looking up at the sky in surprise.
"Yes, what did you collect this time?"
Li Fan asked curiously.
"I wish to name it 'Extremely Magical Bubble Slime, meow!'"
Dilu said, holding up a glass bottle. She bit off the cork and poured the transparent solution inside onto the ground.
"What's the difference between this and water?"
Eudora couldn't see anything special about the transparent substance.
"Watch me, meow."
Dilu said, rubbing fiercely with her cat paws. Crystal-clear bubbles floated out of the slime.
"Isn't this just like soap bubbles... Dilu! Where did you find this slime?"
Li Fan, who had been distracted, suddenly asked very seriously.
"In the forest behind us, there's still a lot, meow. But the ground stained with the slime is very slippery, so be careful not to fall when collecting it."
Dilu raised her cat paw and pointed in a direction.
Li Fan turned his head and saw a giant head, resembling a white fox, peeking out from the bushes.