The Flame-Scaled Tiger licked blood from its claws as Lin Hao examined the cage. Inside, a snow-white primate with a spiraled silver horn trembled, its obsidian eyes wide with primal fear.

  "System—can I claim this?" Lin Hao’s fingers brushed the cage bars.

  Ding. Error. Mutation tax: 100 million taels. Insufficient funds.

  "Fucking highway robbery," Lin Hao muttered. He sliced the lock open. "Scram, little freeloader."

  The creature—no larger than a housecat—leaped gracefully to the forest floor. It clasped paws in a human-like bow before vanishing into the undergrowth.

  ———

  Campfire embers glowed crimson as Lin Hao skewered two Spineback Rabbits. The Flame-Scaled Tiger drooled puddles into the dirt.

  "Patience, you overgrown kitten."

  A white blur materialized at the fire’s edge. The horned primate sniffed hungrily, belly growling loud enough to startle Kung Fu Fly mid-air.

  "Back for seconds?" Lin Hao tossed a charred haunch. The creature caught it mid-leap, fangs shredding meat with feral precision.

  The tiger growled, magma veins pulsing beneath its scales.

  "Play nice," Lin Hao warned. "This one’s got potential."

  The primate finished its meal, curled into a ball by the flames, and began purring—a sound like grinding tectonic plates.

  ———

  Moonlight filtered through the canopy as Lin Hao studied his unlikely entourage: a magma-spewing tiger, a shadow-weaving fly, and now a horned furball destined to challenge dragons.

  "Master." The Dragon Spirit’s voice resonated from the Broken Dragon Sword. "That creature’s lineage traces to the Primordial Wars. Tread carefully."

  Lin Hao smirked. "Careful’s for monks and accountants."

  He tossed another log onto the fire. Somewhere in the dark, Wolf Spider spun poison silk between ancient oaks. Ant-Man dismantled a pebble atom by atom.

  The forest held its breath.

  ———

  Dawn arrived with the shriek of a Direfeather condor. The horned primate bolted upright, claws unsheathing as the shadow of wings engulfed their camp.

  "Brunch delivery!" Lin Hao leapt onto the Flame-Scaled Tiger’s back. "Kung Fu—light the way!"

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  The fly’s wings hummed, carving spectral arrows through the mist. The primate screeched, horn flaring with stored moonlight.

  Chaos erupted.

  Trees shattered. Fire rained.

  When the dust settled, the condor lay impaled on a stalagmite of frozen earth—the primate’s horn dimming like a dying star.

  "Not bad for a freeloader." Lin Hao tossed the beast a condor heart. "Stick around. I’ll make you a god."

  The creature devoured the offering, blood staining its snow-white fur. Some bonds, it seemed, required no system prompts.

  The road to divinity grew stranger—and hungrier—by the mile.

  The Deluge

  The horned primate perched on Lin Hao’s shoulder, its silver horn glinting as it repeated the words: “Xiao Bai… Lao Da.”

  “Smart little mutant,” Lin Hao chuckled, scratching the creature’s snow-white fur. The Flame-Scaled Tiger snorted, magma veins pulsing beneath its scales in disapproval.

  Rain began as a whisper—soft taps on the waterproof tent’s fabric. By midnight, it escalated into a cacophony of pounding fists.

  “Wake! Wake!” Xiao Bai’s high-pitched shriek pierced the storm.

  Lin Hao staggered from the tent, Kung Fu Fly’s thermal vision revealing the horror—a tsunami of mud and shattered pines devouring the valley.

  “Move!” He vaulted onto the tiger’s back. Ant-Man clung desperately to the beast’s tailhole, mandibles chittering in terror.

  The river swallowed them whole.

  Lin Hao’s lungs burned as the flood’s chaos churned—boulders became battering rams, uprooted trees speared past like javelins. The Flame-Scaled Tiger’s claws ripped through the current, its volcanic core boiling the surrounding waters.

  Crack.

  A petrified log smashed Lin Hao’s temple. Darkness swallowed him.

  ———

  Dawn revealed carnage.

  Lin Hao awoke sprawled across the tiger’s steaming back, Xiao Bai licking congealed blood from his forehead. Kung Fu Fly hovered nearby, wings dimmed by exhaustion. Wolf Spider crouched on a half-submerged boulder, spinnerets still oozing emergency webbing.

  “Status report,” Lin Hao croaked.

  Ding. Pet 003: Ant-Man. Status: Deceased.

  He stared at the holographic interface. The thumbnail image of the insectoid companion grayed out. “Drowned in a puddle, huh?”

  Xiao Bai tilted its head. “Sad?”

  “Expendable.” Lin Hao swiped the notification away. His fingers lingered.

  The flood had spit them onto a mudflat stretching toward distant spires—the imperial capital’s silhouette clawing at the horizon.

  “Silver linings.” Lin Hao changed into dry robes from his spatial ring. “Saved us a week’s travel.”

  The tiger shook itself, steaming water droplets sizzling against its scales. Kung Fu Fly performed aerial surveillance—no hostiles detected.

  As they trudged north, Xiao Bai’s horn began to hum.

  “Hungry?” Lin Hao tossed it a dried meat strip.

  The primate ignored the offering, claws digging into his shoulder. “Bad… smell.”

  Lin Hao froze. The mud beneath his boots bubbled.

  ———

  A geyser of black sludge erupted.

  The tiger recoiled as skeletal hands breached the muck—hundreds of them, flesh sloughing off in necrotic ribbons.

  “Corpse Puppets!” Lin Hao drew the Broken Dragon Sword. “Underground necromancers!”

  Xiao Bai’s horn flared. Moonlight sliced through the rising horde, bisecting reanimated warriors in rusted armor.

  “Leave none standing!”

  Chaos unfolded.

  Wolf Spider wove poison nets. Kung Fu Fly’s wing-blades decapitated shambling corpses. The Flame-Scaled Tiger bathed the battlefield in hellfire.

  Lin Hao carved through the tide, Nine Rune Swordplay reducing zombies to kindling.

  A puppet wearing a general’s insignia lunged, rotting fingers clutching a cursed dagger.

  Clang.

  Xiao Bai intercepted the blow, horn shearing through ancient steel. The primate’s eyes burned with alien intelligence as it tore the general’s head from its shoulders.

  “Since when…” Lin Hao stared at the blood-drenched furball, “…did you learn combat stances?”

  Xiao Bai grinned, revealing needle-sharp fangs. “Watch… humans.”

  The mudflat stilled.

  Lin Hao wiped gore from his blade. “Mutate faster.”

  The capital’s gates loomed ahead.

  Somewhere beneath their feet, a lich priest cursed, crumbling another soulgem.

  The hunt was far from over.