Xu Xin stood up: "Come down with me." The two of them went down to the treehouse. "Attack me," Xu Xin gestured to Lou Fei’er, wanting to test her current strength. Looking at her, there didn’t seem to be any of the characteristic transformations of a middle-level mutant creature, such as the enlargement of attack parts. The Silver King had wolf teeth, Mimi had cheetah claws, and all the middle-level mutant creatures he had encountered had more or less changes in appearance. He remembered that last time when Lou Fei’er erupted, her attack method was claw-like, similar to Mimi’s. But when he looked at her hands, they were still the same size, without any changes, not even the length of her nails. "Huh?" Lou Fei’er was stunned, then stepped back and shook her head continuously, "No, no, no, I can’t..." "It’s just a spar, what’s impossible about it? Do you think you can harm me now? Attack me," Xu Xin frowned and ordered. "I...I..." Lou Fei’er raised her hand, took two steps towards Xu Xin, then put her hand down and shook her head frantically, "No, I can’t harm you, even in a spar, I can’t unleash my strength, and that defeats the purpose of sparring." "That exaggerated?" Xu Xin frowned. "You can let Mimi Silver King fight with me; I can strike at them," Lou Fei’er suggested. She really couldn’t bring herself to hit Xu Xin, as every part of her body resisted it fiercely. Xu Xin thought for a moment and went up to bring Mimi down. In terms of combat strength, Mimi was stronger. Moreover, just like Lou Fei’er, it was also an agility type. "Do you need a weapon?" Xu Xin asked Lou Fei’er. She didn’t have the natural weapons of a middle-level mutant creature, which would put her at a disadvantage against Mimi. "Hmm..." Lou Fei’er pulled out two blue-grade stone daggers from her waist, "These will do!" "Alright, you two, just spar lightly." "Three, two, one, start!" As soon as Xu Xin finished speaking, Mimi shot forward, leaping right in front of Lou Fei’er, and swiped its claws down. "So fast!" Xu Xin’s pupils contracted; at this speed, he absolutely couldn’t react. Lou Fei’er, however, didn’t panic. She twisted her body at an odd angle just enough to dodge Mimi’s claw, then swiftly swung her dagger! Mimi’s claw wasn’t just a one-time move; it clashed again with the dagger, and with a "crack!", they immediately separated, watching each other with caution. Lou Fei’er’s dagger already had a noticeable notch and a faint crack. The blue-grade stone daggers were no match for Mimi’s sharp claws. "You’ll give me a new weapon, won’t you, my master?" Lou Fei’er, body tense, lowered slightly, her crimson eyes locked on the equally poised Mimi ahead. "If you perform well, I can give you a purple-grade weapon." Lou Fei’er was a very strong combatant, completely obeying Xu Xin’s commands, so weapons were essential for her. Even if Xu Xin didn’t have a weapon, he would make sure she did. Moreover, now that she had consumed the heart, she might retain her consciousness during outbursts. That would absolutely be an extraordinary power! Originally, in her outburst mode, she was already a brighter entity than most middle-level mutant creatures. Now that she’s upgraded to a middle-level mutant creature... Does she have the strength of a high-level mutant creature? "...Then pay attention!" This time Lou Fei’er took the initiative, pushing off the ground and charging towards Mimi with incredible speed. Her figure moved swiftly from side to side, leaving afterimages in Xu Xin’s vision, confusing him. The two clashed again, exchanging blows in seconds, the light and clashing sounds of their short weapons filling the air. It was too fast; without enhanced vision, Xu Xin couldn’t see clearly, relying only on his enhanced hearing to catch the absurdly fast frequency of the daggers and claws clashing. Seconds later, after an intense exchange, they quickly parted. "Crack!" Both daggers in Lou Fei’er’s hands shattered, scattering debris everywhere. Both she and Mimi were panting slightly. Neither of them had sustained any injuries. But that was because of Xu Xin’s order to spar lightly; their attacks were mainly directed at each other’s weapons or claws. This resulted in Lou Fei’er’s blue-grade stone daggers shattering into pieces. Even Mimi lifted a paw slightly, its paw numb from the impact. "Alright, let’s stop here," Xu Xin called off the spar. Lou Fei’er plopped onto the ground, rubbing her arm, "Wow, Mimi is really strong. Its speed is definitely faster than mine, and it’s stronger too. If we continued, I’d definitely lose." Mimi walked over, patting Lou Fei’er’s shoulder with its paw, seemingly acknowledging her strength. "It’s normal that you’re slower than it," Xu Xin was quite satisfied, "Mimi is a cheetah, the fastest land runner on Earth; the reflexes of a feline aren’t something humans can match." "Sigh..." Lou Fei’er was a bit disheartened, "So, does that mean I’m naturally much weaker than Mimi?" "A human’s greatest advantage is the ability to use tools; it’s an unparalleled edge over beasts," Xu Xin was already quite pleased with Lou Fei’er’s strength. He even felt a bit relieved that Lou Fei’er couldn’t spar with him, thankful he didn’t choose to test her against himself. Although his current battle abilities are already strong, allowing him to utilize his strength to the fullest, when facing someone as swift as Lou Fei’Er, he might not even touch her, while she could attack him repeatedly. Of course, first, she must breach his defense of purple-grade steel armor, and with the blue-grade stone dagger in Lou Fei’Er’s hand, it is completely impossible to break through his defense. But if she had a purple-grade dagger, her combat power would certainly increase exponentially! "Master, can I have a purple-grade dagger?" Lou Fei’Er looked up at him, her eyes filled with anticipation, much like a little girl waiting for a gift. "Alright, stop acting. Get up, I’ll take you up." Xu Xin shook his head. "Okay, Master!" Lou Fei’Er quickly got up and obediently followed behind Xu Xin. She had completely regained control over her awareness and returned to the Ghost Spirit personality she had when she first met Xu Xin. Of course, now she is especially obedient and her heart is filled with gratitude towards Xu Xin. Xu Xin looked up at the sky. It’s the middle of winter, with short days and long nights, so even though it is not yet six o’clock, the sky is already completely dark, with a crescent moon hanging in the sky. Seeing this crescent moon, he breathed a sigh of relief. Generally, special situations happen on moonless nights. With the moon out tonight, it indicates that it is basically safe and risk-free. Xu Xin took Lou Fei’Er and Mimi back into the treehouse. He took out the purple-grade leopard claw he had just cut and made a leopard claw dagger for Lou Fei’Er on the spot. Lou Fei’Er took the dagger and lightly sliced her own skin, immediately leaving a noticeable bloody cut. "Hiss—so sharp!" Lou Fei’Er gasped softly, her eyes glowing. Xu Xin looked at her somewhat speechlessly: "Are you using yourself to test the knife? Didn’t you see the effect of this dagger?" [Leopard Claw Dagger (Purple): An extremely sharp and keen dagger. The damage it causes to enemies will not heal. Be careful not to hurt yourself!] A dagger that can cause unhealable wounds! Just one stab could make the opponent bleed to death! "This little wound... really can’t heal! So powerful! Purple-grade is really strong!" Lou Fei’Er was so excited. It was her first time using a purple-grade weapon, and before this, she didn’t even know purple-grade weapons had special effects. To test the dagger’s ability, Xu Xin first used green-grade hemostatic grass on her, but it was useless, the bleeding didn’t stop. Then he used blue-grade hemostatic grass, which finally stopped the bleeding, and the wound slowly began to scab, although the healing was much slower. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝※𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖※𝕟𝕖𝕥 It seems this dagger’s ability greatly slows down healing, and in battle, if there’s no chance to apply medicine immediately, even a small wound could be fatal. Not to mention a stab wound; severe injuries may not be recoverable even with suppressed hemostatic herbs! "Follow me." Xu Xin led the still-joyous Lou Fei’Er to the third floor. After a day of healing, the Snow Wolf had mostly recovered and was playing with the Silver King and Mimi. Xu Xin called over the Snow Wolf, petted its head, then pointed to Lou Fei’Er and said to it, "From now on, she is your second master. Wherever she tells you to go, you go, understood?" The Snow Wolf King looked at Lou Fei’Er and found she was an intermediate mutant creature even stronger than itself, so without any resistance, it walked over to her and bowed down in submission. "This..." Lou Fei’Er was stunned. She couldn’t believe that the Snow Wolf, which Xu Xin had brought back this morning, was actually given to her! The treatment was too good for her, and she couldn’t accept it immediately. "Lou Fei’Er, I’m assigning you a task," Xu Xin said, looking at Lou Fei’Er. Lou Fei’Er looked up, dumbfounded, at Xu Xin. "From now on, you’ll be responsible for exploring and locating treehouses of other survivors around, whether in area 188 or other areas. You will bring them to our territory, just like you brought back Le Youfang. I’m giving you the Snow Wolf to make this task easier. Do you understand what I’m asking you to do?" Lou Fei’Er immediately regained her composure, her eyes sparkling. She stood up straight and gave Xu Xin a not-so-standard salute: "Yes, Master!" Xu Xin waved her off: "It’s already late today, don’t go out. Get some rest." Lou Fei’Er didn’t leave; instead, she holstered the dagger at her waist and bowed her head to Xu Xin. "Master, thank you. I... what I did when we first met, I’m really sorry!" She understood the importance of this task, and for the first time felt valued. Adding that Xu Xin had given her so much, she was deeply moved and must express her gratitude. Although the apology was long overdue, she felt she had to voice it. "Alright," Xu Xin waved his hand somewhat helplessly, "you don’t need to be , it feels awkward. Just listen and obey in the future." "I will obey, I will obey!" Lou Fei’Er nodded vigorously, then ran towards the kitchen, "I’ll go make food for the master, hehe, and let’s call Wenxi to eat together later!" Watching Lou Fei’Er run into the kitchen, Xu Xin smiled. Now, both sides could truly let go of the little bit of wariness they had. Speaking of Wenxi, he wondered how she was doing and what she had discovered. He was just about to go down to the first floor to dismantle the corpses of other low-grade mutant creatures when suddenly, a familiar voice echoed in his ears. [The beast tide attack has ended. Congratulations to all survivors who endured the beast tide, your treehouse communication function has been restored!] This voice made Xu Xin tense up immediately! That mysterious voice! It’s back! This is the first time it appeared in the four days since the second phase began! Is this world about to enter a new phase again?!