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  • The Scavengers

    Chapter 29: Giant Winged Mosquito

    19 June, After 18:00

    “Shhh, don’t move.” The person whispered softly.

    Xiao Mo felt that the voice was unfamiliar, but the breath was someone he knew.

    “Don’t go heading towards your death.?

    Xiao Mo turned around slowly and saw a familiar, but not-so-familiar face. “Little… Er… Xue Li Hong?”

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    “Yes.” The youth which was taller than him by half a head answered softly.

    He was wearing Xiao Mo’s brother’s t-shirt and shorts. Xiao Mo’s brother, Xiao Wen, was stronger and larger in size than Xiao Mo, so when they went out to buy clothes, he would always get the XL ones. The youth also had a large frame, so his brother’s shirt suited him just right, except for the slippers which were not the right size.

    “I have to chase away the beast, I can’t let it feed here!” Xiao Mo didn’t have the time to looks t the youth before hurriedly grabbing hold of the shovel.

    The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

    “Zsw yal ds xyvnb qsa vbyv clypv.”

    “R byhl vs vau! Ohld kq R yx sq ds xyvnb vs kv.” Xa lzpl bl oswze byhl vs zkhl okvb voknl vbl twkzv qsa vbl alpv sq bkp zkql. Ebs jdlo kq vbl clypv oswze ts kdvs vbl cwkzekdt sa bkp bswpl vs zssj qsa qsse? Tkp qyxkzu olal yzz kd vbl vbkae zlhlz sq vbyv tasnlau pvsal! Tl eke dsv oydv vs vyjl ydu akpj.

    Pkpyrrashyz qzypble ynaspp vbl uswvb’p qynl. Tl oyp ekppyvkpqkle okvb vbl oyu Dkys Ys clbyhle. Dkys Ys oyp akpjkdt bkp sod zkql, yde kv oyp schkswp vbyv bl oyp tskdt vs cl kxrzknyvle.

    “El yal lhld.”

    “Ebyv?”

    Mbl uswvb tayccle vbl pbshlz qasx Dkys Ys. Mbl bllz sq bkp qssv zktbvzu zkqvle sqq qasx vbl taswde yde bl zlyrle qsaoyae. Ekvb y pkdtzl fwxr, bl oyp ycswv voldvu xlvalp kd yka.

    Dkys Ys’p lulp okeldle. Mbl uswvb oyp zkjl y Iwdt Ww xypvla, bszekdt vbl pbshlz yde yvvynjkdt vbl clypv qasx vbl yka.

    Uzydt! Mbl pbshlz rzwdtle kdvs vbl clypv vbyv oyp ycswv vs qlypv.

    Screeech! The beast produced a sharp scream.

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    Xiao Mo could not bear the sound and rushed to cover his ears with his hands.

    There were sounds of wing flapping, and then the beast was flying high into the sky.

    The youth was on the back of the beast. He swiftly pulled out the shovel and pierced it onto its back yet again.

    The beast screamed in pain. It started flipping backwards in the sky, and black blood rained down from it.

    The youth held onto the beast’s wings tightly with a hand while he gripped onto the shovel on the other hand.

    The beast was rolling its body and banged onto a wall and lamp pole on the way, desperately trying to shake off its enemy from its body.

    The youth stood on the beast. It was unknown what he did, but the beast suddenly shot up to a very high level before plunging straight down.

    It had happened too fast!

    By the time Xiao Mo had thought of helping the youth, both the youth and the beast was already far out of sight.

    What was left was only a pool of smelly black liquid in front of the grocery store that told him that everything was real, and not an illusion.

    Xiao Mo felt restless. He kept pacing up and down in front of the restaurant.

    The kid, or youth to be exact, Xue Li Hong, had way too many mysteries. Perhaps he was abnormal, but that creature was a Level Two mission target! Could he really handle it?

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    Would he get him into trouble?

    When on earth had he turned into someone that was blocking other people’s road? He felt that he had done nothing wrong. He was calm when handling things, but his ‘correct way of doing things’ seemed to be creating more trouble and every step he took lead to even more mistakes.

    “System, what is the direction of my evolution? I remembered the recycler that was before me, Liu Yu, he mentioned in his diary that his mission reward was to increase his strength by 3%, so why is my reward different from his?”

    “Because Recycler Liu Yu does not have any special abilities. His genes were also no optimized, so his reward was to refine his gene step by step. As for you, your genes have mutated due to coincidence and I have not analysed it thoroughly yet, so I was unable to optimize your genes. Hence, for your reward, I have focused mainly on the development and enhancement of your supernatural power.”

    “The creature just now, are there a lot of them?”

    “Non-mission related-“

    “Please!!” Xiao Mo shouted.

    The system remained silent.

    Xiao Mo scratched his hair in frustration. “Then, what is my ability?”

    The system replied, “According to the data analysed, there are three areas for human being evolution. They are physical, mental and the combination of these two. As for you, there is a possibility that your evolution direction is towards the third ty”the pe: the complete evolution.”

    “Does that mean that my body will also become stronger?”

    “There is a possibility, but the complete evolution also has two types. One is the attacking type, while the other is the assisting type. Your ability should be the assisting type.”

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    “Then what exactly is my ability? Helping people recover from their injuries?”

    “No, it is healing.”

    “Can you elaborate a bit more?”

    “The data is currently still under analysis. If you want, I can develop a database for you.”

    “What will I get from it?” Xiao Mo did not want to be polite to the system. He did not feel a need to, so he was direct in his attitude.

    “I can help you to simulate a set of training programs, and you can train according to them. This can make sure that you are executing each step correctly and according to your ability and stage. You can strengthen your ability progressively through these programs. According to this system of training program and the training results, I will then progressively create a complete database about your ability.”

    Xiao Mo hesitated. He felt that it was unwise to let the system get hold of his detailed database.

    But if he didn’t agree, the system would still be inside his body. And if there were any changes with him, wouldn’t the system still collect the information?

    The system was developing the set of training programs, so it was obvious that this will enable the system to collect his information much conveniently and faster. But he would also benefit from the set of programs, as he would have a directions to work towards to, instead of wasting time and using the trial-and-error method.

    “When can I get the basic training program?”

    “One hour later.”

    Exactly one hour later, Xiao Mo received the very first training program developed by the system in his mind. At the same time, he also saw the youth walking toward him from afar.

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    As the youth got closer, Xiao Mo could not hold it in and asked, “Are you alright?”

    Xiao Mo felt that the youth had a poor complexion.

    He was already thin, but now he looked like he had been ridden of a very long term illness.

    The youth replied, “Still surviving.”

    “That Giant Winged Mosquito…”

    “So that creature is called a Giant Winged Mosquito? Is this information from the system?”

    “Yes.”

    “Not delicious.”

    “What?” Xiao Mo couldn’t hear properly.

    “I killed it.”

    “You are so powerful! Have you mastered Kung Fu? How did you manage to jump so high up? They system said that the beast was a Level Two Mission Target. You could kill it, you…”

    “Yeah, when I was little, I fell down of a steep cliff and came across a cave of the ancient people. There was a Martial Arts Manual inside and a pill that could improve my inner power. There was also a pill that could recover my youth. After I took the pill and recovered my youth, my inner power got blocked and I transformed into a child. I was lucky to meet you. You helped my to unlock my inner power and dissolve the pill’s medical effect, and I could finally recover my Kung Fu! Brother Xiao, thank you.”

    Xiao Mo: “…”

    It seemed that the youth didn’t want to speak about the fight. After spewing that long paragraph of bull story with a serious expression, he walked towards the door of the shophouse and started acting like an injured person. He held his hand and glanced back, changing the subject, “Looks like this black rain have the effect of inhibiting germs, stopping bleeding and recovering wounds. Look at this person here, there is a bone protruding out of his skin, but there isn’t much blood and his wound is healing. There is already a thin membrane forming.”

    Xiao Mo looked at the youth with his large but thin frame, he was so thin that it was as if the skin was wrapping around only the bones. He felt speechless. Just like when he was a kid, Xiao Mo was still unable to understand him. Now that he had all grown up, he was even more unpredictable.

    Even though the youth looked feeble and weak, he was much more lively compared to the kid.

    “That is good, at least there will be lesser deaths. That… are you tired? Want to rest for a while?”

    Xiao Mo decided not to ask the youth about how the fight with the beast. He was suspicious, but if he continued asking the youth, he would only upgrade his Kung Fu master story into him attaining immortality.

    The youth checked on the few injured people before he stood up. He looked at Xiao Mo, “Your ability is interesting.”

    “Oh, is it?” Xiao Mo was clueless about what he meant. Also, how did he realize his ability? Was it himself that helped the kid grow up?

    The youth ambled next to him, and like a sack of lazy bones, he leaned entirely onto Xiao Mo and stretched out his hands to cling to his neck. “I am a little tired, so let me lean onto you. Don’t worry, they won’t die. They will wake up sooner or later.”

    “I hope that will be so.” Xiao Mo smiled while carefully supporting the youth’s body.

    He closed the door of the restaurant and slowly dragged the youth to the third level. The youth had arbitrarily entrusted half of his whole weight onto Xiao Mo.

    “Are you alright?”

    The youth replied lazily, “Still alive and kicking.”

    “Don’t you feel weirded out as to how you became like this?” Xiao Mo had a stomach full of questions for him, but he found that Xue Li Hong was unsurprised as to how he had suddenly grown up. He even seemed to be very happy.

    The youth stretched his hand and pressed the switch of the lights for the staircase, the dark eyes of his hid all emotions, “I was supposed to look like this.”

    “You aren’t a kid?” Xiao Mo didn’t wait for the youth to answer before he nodded his head in agreement, “True, there’s nowhere we can find such a smart and sensible four, five-year-old kid anyways.”

    “Then how did you turn into the way you were?” Xiao Mo asked.

    “You can think of that as a curse, and you were the one that helped me unlock it.”

    “So, from Kung Fu stories to Fairy tales?” Xiao Mo laughed out, “Are you the brother of the Frog Prince? Then should I kiss you once to transform you?”

    “I don’t mind.”

    “No thank you. I mind.”

    The two of them looked at each other, but no one laughed.

    Xiao Mo felt a little awkward, being stared at by the youth, so he touched his nose and changed the topic. “You don’t seem very excited?”

    “The excitement is already over.”

    “Oh.” Xiao Mo scratched his forehead, looking up the dark staircase, “If everything wasn’t too realistic, I would even have thought that I was dreaming. The moment I woke up, the world changed, and even a kid could also transform instantly into an adult.”

    “There are things that are constantly happening around you, it’s just that you have no clue about it. Can you describe to me the process of how I transformed? I need to find the key to unlock the curse. If I ever turn back to a kid, then according to the correct way, I should be able to recover once again.”

    “Sure.”

    “Also, about the system, I need to know everything about it.”

    “Okay.” Xiao Mo also needed someone with a sharp and clear mind to help him to analyse.

    The fact was that when the both of them headed up to the third level and saw the bed, they could not be bothered with anything else anymore.

    Xiao Mo had already been extremely tired before and was stubbornly sustaining through pure willpower. Now that he was relaxed, both of his eyes fought to stay open. When he was sitting on the bed, he had not even finished two sentences and he was already knocked out.

    Xue Li Hong was not any better. His body had just recovered to peak fighting condition, so he needed some time to acclimatize and recharge, but because of a certain holy father with heart of goo, plus he wanted to pay back the debt he owed, and to protect the man, he had no choice but to confront the beast. Right now, it was as if he had barely balanced the balance sheet.

    He saw that Xiao Mo was deeply asleep. The youth kicked him, and seeing that there wasn’t a response, he simply used his leg to roll him to the other side of the bed before climbing up and occupying the large area to sleep too.


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