Chapter 20: Displeasure

Snowball smelled the meat and nudged closer, whimpering, "Squeak, squeak."

"Here, here, here~"

Han Ning smiled and tossed it a few small cubes of beef. The little creature wagged its tail vigorously as it ate.

Once fed and satisfied, Han Ning leaned back against the sofa, watching Snowball gnaw on a small piece of compressed biscuit by his feet, and fell into deep thought.

"Snowball is growing fast and its combat power is decent. Taking it with me tomorrow would certainly be a help, but..."

He looked out the window at the torrential rain, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Zhou Wan’s observation skills are too sharp. I told them I was dissecting a cub; I can't just expose Snowball right in front of them."

"I can't take the risk."

He finally made up his mind.

"For the hunts over the next few days, I won't bring Snowball along. I'll let it stay home and eat more. When it grows a bit larger and its strength increases, or... when I’ve built a closer relationship with the others, we'll see."

Truth be told, he had only met those people once or twice. He had no idea what their true thoughts were or what kind of characters they possessed. Exposing his trump card rashly would be unwise.

...

The next morning.

The rain had let up slightly, though the sky remained overcast. The five-person squad carefully navigated through the submerged greenbelt of the apartment complex.

"Target spotted at the corner to the front left. A lone alligator lizard, medium-sized, looks like it’s feeding on some remains," Zhou Wan reported to the rest of the team via a security guard’s walkie-talkie while standing at a second-floor window.

"Same as before," Liu Feng commanded. "Han Ning, pin it down. Chen Yan, take the front. Lu Minghu, flank it. Zhou Wan and I will provide ranged support."

The four of them stood in the sewage below the building, locking onto their target based on Zhou Wan’s information.

It was an alligator lizard nearly two meters long, its greyish-white scales caked in filthy blood as it buried its head in a human corpse, tearing away at the flesh.

Han Ning signaled his teammates, and they quietly closed the distance to within twenty meters.

As they reached this range, the feeding lizard sensed something. It snapped its head up, locking its cold, ruthless gaze onto the four of them.

"Hiss-roar!"

Without a hint of fear, it let out an excited growl, abandoned its prey, and charged straight at the humans.

Han Ning’s mind stirred, and ten vines covered in sharp wooden thorns shot out instantly.

*Shhh-shhh-shhh!*

The vines precisely coiled around the lizard's limbs, neck, and long tail, pinning it to the spot.

"Roar! Roar!"

The alligator lizard let out an angry hiss, struggling frantically. The toughness of the intermediate Vine Bind was far beyond what it used to be, and the lizard couldn't break free in such a short time.

If it could bind a three-meter-long alligator lizard for a moment, let alone this "little" guy under two meters.

"Ha!"

Chen Yan roared, charging forward like a human tank, his skin taking on a greyish-white luster like stone. He raised his heavy fire axe and hacked down hard at the relatively vulnerable joint on the side of the lizard’s neck.

*Splutch!*

The axe blade embedded deep into the gap between the scales, spraying foul blood.

Almost simultaneously, Lu Minghu’s figure appeared like a ghost behind the lizard’s flank, the chainsaw in his hands emitting a harsh whine. He aimed for the wound Chen Yan had created, and the high-speed rotating teeth cut in without hesitation.

*Skree-ah.*

Amidst the teeth-grinding sound of cutting, flesh and blood flew everywhere.

Then, a silver nail and a black compound bow arrow flew in from two different directions, burying themselves precisely into the lizard’s eyes.

"Awoo!"

The alligator lizard wailed in agony before finally falling silent.

A pure blue ball of light drifted out from the lizard's corpse and quickly split. The largest portion, the size of a marble, sank into Han Ning’s chest. Two smaller portions flew toward Chen Yan and Lu Minghu, and the smallest portion drifted toward Liu Feng and Zhou Wan in the distance.

[Vine Bind proficiency +5, currently 102/200]
[Druid growth progress +14, currently 85/300]

A familiar warm current dissolved within Han Ning’s body, restoring some of his stamina, spiritual energy, and mental focus.

Han Ning keenly noticed that a small part of the warmth entering his body was being transmitted to Snowball back home through some mysterious link.

[Swamp Alligator Lizard growth progress +5, currently 10/100]

This meant that as he hunted monsters here, Snowball also received a bit of energy nourishment.

Just as Han Ning was enjoying the wash of energy, he suddenly sensed that the atmosphere around him had turned strange.

Chen Yan, standing beside him, was exceptionally silent.

Han Ning turned his head.

Chen Yan shook the foul blood off his axe, his gaze locking with Han Ning’s, and his Adam's apple bobbed imperceptibly. He opened his mouth, and finally, he spoke:

"Why is it that you always get the most energy every time? You only controlled the lizard; you didn't cause it any significant damage."

He had swung those axes and nearly severed half of the lizard’s neck, consuming a massive amount of strength. Yet, the energy he received was clearly less than what Han Ning got after just casting a few vines.

"What are you trying to say?" Han Ning stared straight back at Chen Yan, unafraid.

This guy had been trying to stop him since he wanted to take Snowball yesterday, and now he was dissatisfied with the energy distribution. Han Ning certainly wasn't going to give him a pleasant look.

"Nothing, it just feels a bit unfair," Chen Yan snorted coldly.

Lu Minghu turned off his chainsaw and silently wiped the flesh and blood off the blade, not saying a word.

At this moment, Liu Feng and Zhou Wan walked over. The former patted Chen Yan on the shoulder and encouraged, "Old Chen, good job. Our coordination is getting better and better."

He seemed not to have heard the exchange between the two. After noticing the tension, he frowned slightly: "What's wrong with you two?"

"Old Chen feels like he did the most work and that Han Ning is getting too much energy," Lu Minghu explained.

Liu Feng heard this and gave Han Ning and Chen Yan a calm look, then chuckled: "Han Ning is strong. Without his vines, how could we hunt these monsters so easily? It’s only reasonable that he gets the most."

Chen Yan’s tone was filled with dissatisfaction: "I admit, his vines are indeed very useful, but our abilities haven't even been fully showcased..."

"We still don't know exactly how this energy is distributed. Since it was Minghu and I who killed the lizard, that means we dealt the most damage to it."

"Yet, most of the energy went into Han Ning’s body. This means... either he possesses some method we don't know about to control the energy."

"Or, his strength is far beyond ours, and he’s using us as tools to share the risk while he absorbs more energy."

"So, what do you want?" Han Ning narrowed his eyes.

He hadn't expected someone to be upset over this. If they got less, couldn't they just kill more monsters? Without him, could the team even kill monsters this easily?

Chen Yan said coldly, "I mean, next time, when we're about to kill the lizard, you should stand further back and see what happens."

"Why should I?" Han Ning was so annoyed by the other man's words that he laughed.

"You can't just take the most every time while we do the grunt work and only get a sip of the soup, right?" Chen Yan retorted immediately.

"That..."

Han Ning was about to speak, but Liu Feng quickly stopped him.

He stood between the two and tried to mediate: "Alright, alright. Even if we get a little less, the efficiency of the whole team is high. Everything considered, it doesn't really make a difference. This is a mutually beneficial partnership."