Swish!
Li Fan, with the motion of throwing a baseball, tossed the Poké Ball in his hand.
The Jinniu Bug, struggling to break free from the Thunder Wolf Dragon's pull, was sucked into the ball before it could even figure out what was happening.
The Thunder Wolf Dragon immediately stopped howling, looked around, and was clearly puzzled by the sudden disappearance of the Jinniu Bug.
Creak! Creak! Creak!
The Poké Ball in the reed bed shook slightly three times and emitted a faint glow.
Jinniu Bug [Female] captured successfully!
For more details, please log in to the [Monster Hunter Encyclopedia] on your handheld device.
A woman's voice sounded in his ear.
"Who's speaking?"
Having learned from his previous experience, Li Fan looked at the ground first.
Confirming that there was nothing to communicate with, he then realized it was a system voice prompt.
Time was of the essence, and he didn't have time to dwell on it.
Li Fan turned and ran a few steps, grabbed the Poké Ball from the ground, and sprinted towards the river.
The confused Thunder Wolf Dragon noticed him and quickly gave chase.
"Go! Jinniu Bug!"
He shouted with great spirit, and the Poké Ball was thrown with force.
A flash of white light, and the Jinniu Bug, emitting a spherical glow, reappeared.
The Thunder Wolf Dragon stopped its pursuit, then howled at the sky again, preparing to absorb it and turn it into electrical energy.
However, this time the Poké Ball was thrown a long distance, and the Jinniu Bug was consciously evading, so it easily broke free from the absorption pull.
At this moment, the Thunder Wolf Dragon looked at Li Fan, who was running away quickly, then turned to look at the flashing Jinniu Bug, and finally charged towards the Jinniu Bug.
The crisis averted, Li Fan, squatting in the small boat, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"I say, Dilu, this boat of yours is a bit too small."
Li Fan felt that if he moved slightly, the small boat would be at risk of capsizing and sinking.
"No choice, meow, this is a boat specially customized for Felynes, completely different from the boats hunters use,"
Dilu explained as she rowed with all her might.
Buzz! Buzz!
A faint buzzing sound was heard, and Dilu turned to see a Jinniu Bug flying towards the small boat.
Just as she frantically searched for a bug net, attempting to capture it, the Jinniu Bug flew onto Li Fan's shoulder.
"Meow?"
Dilu looked confused.
This was because Jinniu Bugs did not easily approach humans, let alone land on their shoulders.
"Attempting to capture monsters and continuously improving the Monster Hunter Encyclopedia will increase the number and types of Poké Balls you can receive daily..."
Li Fan read the introduction in the Monster Hunter Encyclopedia on his handheld device, gaining a preliminary understanding of his abilities.
"Um... meow?"
Dilu looked at the Jinniu Bug emitting a blue glow and hesitated to speak.
Li Fan turned his head and saw the big light bulb on his shoulder, which also surprised him.
Recalling the successful capture just now, he checked the [Captured Monster Overview] on his handheld device, and sure enough, the data for this Jinniu Bug appeared.
[Jinniu Bug] Female (Unnamed)
Level: -4
Strength: 0
Agility: 16
Intelligence: 2
Skills: None
Description: Jinniu Bugs are found everywhere and are used to illuminate the night and process lightning-element equipment.
The level is negative, can it still be played like this?
Although he captured the Jinniu Bug to lure away the Thunder Wolf Dragon, Li Fan had not expected its level to be negative.
"It'll be good as a mobile light bulb to scout the way at night. That Poké Ball can't be recovered, so you can stay outside."
Li Fan tried to communicate, and the Jinniu Bug immediately emitted a strong light, flashed twice, and responded.
"Is this a Hunter's Insect? No, meow! Jinniu Bugs cannot be cultivated as Hunter's Insects."
Dilu was a bit stunned by the scene.
"I'll explain later. Where are we going?"
The river was empty, with only this small boat moving.
"Back to Cala Village, meow. Didn't you prepare to set off from there?"
Dilu asked, puzzled.
Cala Village was the only town that could provide supplies for hunters in the vicinity.
"No, I used to be a lone hunter living in the wild. My personal camp was destroyed by a monster, so I wanted to collect materials to rebuild it. I didn't expect to encounter a Thunder Wolf Dragon."
Li Fan didn't want to reveal himself, so he fabricated an identity that was difficult to verify.
"Lone hunter! You must be very powerful, meow!"
Dilu's eyes lit up.
"I'm alright."
"Are you certified by the Hunter's Guild, meow!"
Dilu put down her oars and leaned closer.
The delicate balance of the small boat was broken, and seeing Li Fan's side begin to sink, Dilu quickly retreated.
"Sorry, I got too excited, meow!"
Li Fan had no understanding of the Hunter's Guild system here and didn't know how to answer.
However, from Dilu's attitude, he inferred that hunters here were not commoners but specialized personnel with an evaluation system.
Two hours later, the boat docked at a small pier.
A Felyne carrying a lantern ran to secure the ropes, and was quite surprised to see a human being transported on the small boat.
Dilu introduced that this small pier was specifically for the Felyne exploration team, and the hunters' water landing point was on the other side of Cala Village.
After a brief observation on the shore, Li Fan saw that Cala Village was a small village.
The only building still lit up late at night was the Hunter's Guild branch.
"Does Cala Village have an inn?"
"No, but with a hunter's badge, you can rent a bed on the second floor of the Guild at a very low price, meow!"
A pair of blue and white striped bear pajamas, a pair of slippers, and a handheld game console were Li Fan's entire belongings.
Even with a hunter's badge, he had no money to pay for a bed.
Deeply feeling the gap between the game and reality, Li Fan pondered for a moment and suggested, "Dilu, how about I squeeze in with you tonight?"
"Ah?"
Dilu's mouth widened in disbelief.
Felynes could live in hunters' homes after signing a contract.
But a hunter living in a Felyne's home was unheard of.
"I live in a Felyne camp tent. If you don't mind... it's okay, meow!"
"Don't worry, I won't live here for free. Once I earn money, I'll buy you a wooden house in the village."
Li Fan said generously.
"Although I'd really like that, I can't accept something so precious. Just tell me about your hunting experiences before bed. The green tent by the fire is my home. We need to pack up quickly, meow!"
After saying that, Dilu ran towards the Felyne settlement.
Li Fan didn't rush to follow. The time displayed on his handheld device was approaching midnight.
He would soon be able to receive the Poké Balls for the new day.
However, due to the limited number of monsters unlocked through capture in the [Monster Hunter Encyclopedia], he could currently only receive one basic, ordinary Poké Ball per day.
As soon as the time arrived, he clicked the option.
Countless colorful light spots condensed into a spherical shape in front of him.
A moment later, the materialized Poké Ball fell into the sand.