Inside the noodle shop.
Yang Fan observed the entire process of hunting the mutant stray dog through the perspective of the crow.
After the stray dog rushed out from the forest, it seemed affected by the shock grenade and was in a dazed state, running in a zigzag line.
However, its physique seemed to have been strengthened, with an astonishing recovery ability, returning to normal in merely two seconds.
Two UAVs circled around and approached the stray dog again.
The stray dog looked up and gave a threatening snarl, changing direction to another side, trying to evade the UAVs' attack.
Yang Fan shook his head slightly: "After all, a beast is still a beast. Even if it gains superpowers, its intelligence is still a bit lacking."
The two UAVs had already dropped their bombs and were in an empty state, posing no threat to the stray dog.
The stray dog, however, was startled into changing direction, crashing right into the human encirclement.
From a bird's-eye view.
More than ten soldiers holding firearms were waiting for the stray dog to fall into their trap.
A few seconds later.
The stray dog leaped up, soared nearly twenty meters, and easily jumped over a wall more than two meters high.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two explosive sounds.
Two capture nets unfolded in mid-air, targeting the falling stray dog.
Yang Fan couldn't help but shake his head.
He saw very clearly that the stray dog's claws were black.
This was evidently one of the results of mutation.
He didn't think the mutation of the beast's claws was just for manicures.
As expected.
The stray dog suddenly swung its right forepaw, tearing a big gap in one of the capture nets.
Then, it exhibited extraordinary agility, slipping through the gap.
Yang Fan sighed inwardly: "A great opportunity lost!"
If the soldiers fired collectively, they could definitely shoot the stray dog dead.
He felt in his heart that this was probably because the mutant creature had just appeared, and the soldiers lacked experience in handling it.
He also had a bad premonition that there might be casualties in this operation.
At this moment.
After landing, the stray dog leaped up with even greater speed, accurately pouncing on one of the soldiers.
At that instant.
The stray dog swung its forepaw again, precisely slicing across the soldier's neck, leaving a shocking large wound.
A large spray of fresh blood instantly gushed out like a fountain.
The soldier fell backward silently.
His carotid artery had been severed.
And this strike fully illustrated how dangerous the mutant creature was.
"Da Long!"
"Beast!"
These were the shouts from the soldiers.
Yang Fan sighed, "Alas."
The noodle shop owner next to him felt tense in his heart upon hearing this and hurriedly advised: "Brother, there's no hurdle you can't overcome in life."
Yang Fan's mouth twitched.
He wasn't in a good mood and was too lazy to bother with the shop owner, picking up another noodle for himself.
In the crow's view.
The mutant stray dog raced its four legs desperately, swiftly running towards another patch of forest to the right front, with its speed slightly increasing.
"Bang! Bang!"
A few soldiers repeatedly fired their triggers.
But the wild beast's speed was too fast, causing all the bullets to miss.
After half a second.
The stray dog neared the forest, seemingly about to dart into it.
At this crucial moment.
A black shadow dashed down from the treetop of a tree.
The stray dog was startled and instinctively braked to a sudden halt, its speed abruptly dropping.
"Caw!"
A crow's call echoed.
The black shadow flapped its wings vigorously, pulling up successfully at a height of one meter from the stray dog, avoiding ending up in the stray dog's mouth.
It was Da Hei.
Yang Fan had made arrangements in advance, placing three crows in the nearby forest.
Originally, he had just arranged them as a precaution and to double as living "cameras," unexpectedly yielding remarkable effects.
More than ten meters away.
A soldier slightly squinted his eyes, calmly pulling the trigger.
Previously, this person had aimed for quite some time, but due to the stray dog's fast movements, he had no chance to shoot.
Now that the stray dog suddenly slowed down, the soldier finally seized the opportunity.
"Bang!"
A flame spurted from the gun muzzle.
The bullet instantly traversed more than ten meters, pierced the stray dog's neck, collided with its cervical spine, and underwent a flip that tore half of the stray dog's neck.
"Howl~"
The stray dog let out a wail.
It summoned its last bit of strength, barely running a few more meters before collapsing on its side.
Despite being a mutant creature, the mutation duration was not long, and it wasn't a defensive type superpower, naturally unable to withstand large caliber rifle bullets.
Yang Fan watched this scene and breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally, it's settled!"
Then his heart tightened as he prompted through mind link, "Er Hei, hurry up!"
"Caw!"
Er Hei responded positively.
In the bird's-eye view.
A crow dove down from the sky, flapping its wings as it landed in the forest, approximately six meters away from the stray dog.
The next moment.
A phantom unseen by ordinary people, resembling a cicada, shot out from its crow companion's body, and drilled into the stray dog's body.
The stray dog was barely breathing, on the verge of death.
It seemed to sense something, but was too weak to resist, only able to let out a feeble "woof woof".
Then.
The stray dog's pupils became fixed.
It died.
Yang Fan sensed the Soul Stealing Wisp's aura growing stronger, filled with joy in his heart: "Success!"
Earlier, he had a sudden idea whether he could use the crow companion as a vehicle to transport the Soul Stealing Wisp near the target and extract the target's energy.
Now he tried it and successfully absorbed the stray dog's superpower.
From now on, he would never have to risk approaching monsters, greatly enhancing safety.
Yang Fan put down his chopsticks and stood up: "Boss, the noodles at your place are good."
The boss squeezed out a smile: "Brother, this bowl of noodles is on me, no charge!"
Yang Fan glanced at the boss, always feeling this guy was strange, inexplicably offering cigarettes and free meals.
After thinking for a moment, he asked: "Do you have kids?"
The boss was a bit puzzled but still replied: "Two kids, the older one is 8, the younger one is 4."
Yang Fan nodded and strode towards the door.
The boss took a step after him: "Brother, you forgot your cigarettes."
Yang Fan didn't turn back: "I don't smoke."
The boss watched him go out, with a look of relief: "Finally got rid of this plague, luckily my attitude was good enough."
Back inside the noodle shop, the boss suddenly found a small pack of candy mysteriously appeared on the table.
Given the current market, the price of this pack of candy could match that of two or three bowls of noodles.
The boss exclaimed: "I think I misunderstood that brother."
He ran out the door but found the person had already disappeared.
The boss mutter to himself: "This brother might be involved in some kind of underground deal? I should help keep it a secret."
He secretly decided to keep the matter to himself, as if Yang Fan had never been there.
Missing a bowl of noodles?
Can't I just eat it myself?
*
In the park.
The soldiers solemnly collected their fallen comrade's body and then packed the stray dog's corpse.
Da Hei stood on a tree branch and cawed: "Caw!"
A soldier wearing a lieutenant's insignia, the commander of the team, walked briskly to the crow.
The lieutenant introduced himself: "Sir, we are Liren Special Team under Jiuzhou Legion. Thank you very much for your help."
"Caw!"
The crow responded.
The lieutenant continued: "Sir, without your timely action, our casualties would have been greater. Liren is willing to offer you some compensation."
"Caw!"
The crow shook its head.
Yang Fan understood that the other party's purpose in offering compensation was actually to figure out his identity.
But he didn't want to reveal himself, so he controlled the crow to decisively refuse.
The lieutenant looked disappointed but didn't persist: "Sir, our mission is complete, hope we meet again in the future."
He saluted the crow and waved to his subordinates: "Retreat!"
As soon as he finished speaking.
The crow flapped its wings, descended to the snow, and scratched around with its claws.
The lieutenant's steps stopped immediately.
The rest of the soldiers also turned their gaze.
Before long.
Some scrawled words appeared in the snow: "If you need help in the future, you can find the crow at Dongling Park."
The lieutenant nodded and asked: "Sir, how should we address you?"
Another line of text appeared: "Call me Mr. Spirit Crows."
Yang Fan needed to acquire energy, and the soldiers required the help of a superpower user; it was a win-win situation.
As for Dongling Park, it was just a small trick to divert their attention.
The lieutenant nodded: "I understand, Mr. Spirit Crows."
He saluted again and left with his subordinates.
*
An hour later.
Yang Fan exited the subway station, trudging through the snow towards Yue Bay District.
"Caw!"
A crow's cry drifted.
A crow swiftly swooped overhead.
Yang Fan looked up and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
The Soul Stealing Wisp descended from the sky, bringing back a full harvest into his body.
With a thought, he saw the attributes panel again.
————
[Attributes]
Physical Value: 6.3
Spirit Value: 7.9
[Superpower]
Spiritual Language: Activated, Low Grade Mental Superpower, current evolution level at 1%.
Light Spirit: Not activated, Low Grade Physical Superpower, requires consuming 1 Spiritual Source Value to activate.
[Energy]
Spiritual Source Value: 1.8
————
Yang Fan smiled slightly: "So this superpower is called 'Light Spirit'."
He glanced at the Spiritual Source Value, a bit surprised: "Didn't expect the energy provided by the stray dog to be much stronger than Huangmao!"
With a previous surplus of 0.2 Spiritual Source Value and now accumulating 1.8 Spiritual Source Value, it was calculated that the Soul Stealing Wisp absorbed 1.6 Spiritual Source Value from the stray dog.
In comparison, Huangmao only provided 1.2 Spiritual Source Value.
Yang Fan clicked his tongue and muttered: "Huangmao is not even as good as a dog!"