The three-day outdoor activity was drawing to a close.
Li Fan didn't mind staying longer, but the local ecosystem couldn't sustain it.
Almost all edible species in the vicinity had gone extinct, and the monsters' territories were rapidly expanding outwards.
The reason for this was the concentration of high-star monsters and the complete absence of territorial disputes.
Only during special circumstances like the breeding season could similar effects occur.
Although it was an uncharted area, prolonged abnormal situations would surely attract investigation.
Thus, Li Fan decided to return to Yanhuo Village after tonight.
Under the moonlight, Li Fan climbed a vine to the top of the cliff.
Brother Lei, who was gazing at the moon, sensed his presence and shifted his body, making space for him.
Li Fan sat down beside him.
Insect chirps echoed, and the lush forest swayed gently in the breeze.
Distant mountains formed a continuous line, seemingly without end.
In this quiet and peaceful environment, Li Fan's heart quickly found tranquility.
"The puncture wound on your waist has healed. I can't do anything about the scar, and the shape of the new carapace at the wound site is a bit distorted. I hope you can adapt to it. Also, Brother Lei, have you been missing your cubs all this time?" Li Fan asked.
The long string of negative status effects Brother Lei had in his handheld device back then had been mostly eliminated through continuous mutation and care.
Only the longing for his cubs remained, and it had now become severe.
It had also negatively impacted Brother Lei's leveling speed, appetite, and mental state.
"Roar..."
Brother Lei sighed, confirming his words.
"Then why don't you go back?"
Upon hearing this, Brother Lei sighed again.
"There's nothing to fear. With so many brothers backing you up, tell me where your tribe's habitat is?" Li Fan inquired.
"Roar..."
"Huh? The chief of your tribe has a special mission, so you don't want to threaten them?" Li Fan had initially thought it was a scenario of being cast out of the clan and then facing discrimination, but it turned out Brother Lei himself wasn't very eager to return.
However, the longing for his cubs never faded.
Especially after his mutated combat power increased, the stronger Brother Lei became, the more he wanted to protect his cubs' growth.
"What is that special mission?" Li Fan asked.
Food, reproduction – besides these two, Li Fan couldn't think of anything else that monsters would consider a mission.
"Roar! Roar..."
"You're not sure either, but when the mission descends, you can sense it clearly... recently, there have been signs of the sensation strengthening."
Li Fan became more confused as he listened, but he still expressed his support: "If you truly sense it, remember to tell me. If I can help, I will definitely assist you with all my might."
"Roar!"
Brother Lei responded with a happy roar.
The next day, before dawn, the Yanhuo began its return journey.
At the table in the cabin, Li Fan opened his notebook and began researching the selection of his next captured monster.
Currently, he had six monsters that could be used to unlock the six-star illustration book: Puff, Zhan Zhan, Wan Pi, Xi Xi, Brother Lei, and Hui Hui.
As long as he captured one more five-star or higher monster, he could receive the Golden Crown Ball and two new types of Poké Balls.
As for the definition of a six-star monster, Li Fan speculated it was likely on the level of a Gold Lion or a Furious Rajang.
After Dragon Qi participated in Hui Hui's metabolism, her recovery speed had finally approached normal levels.
The operation to clear the Yiqun Ridge had concluded, and the price of the Hexing Stone ore vein had plummeted. Moreover, as a chief hunter, he enjoyed a fifty percent discount when purchasing from the Dragon Calendar Institute.
If Hui Hui were given sufficient energy, she could theoretically participate in combat.
As Li Fan pondered, his gaze fell upon the sketches of six-star monsters like the Gold Lion and Furious Rajang.
"Forget it, let's take it slow for now."
Li Fan quickly abandoned the idea of capturing a six-star monster and focused his target on five-star monsters.
He felt that the team currently lacked monsters with strong potential, not immediate combat power.
Finally, his gaze settled on the Magnamalo.
According to the information Li Fan had, Magnamalo's potential for growth didn't require targeted mutation; it only needed to be fed.
Most of the monster world remained unexplored, so Li Fan just needed to find a suitable area to make it a hunting ground for Magnamalo.
For the individual selection, he prioritized a young male with significantly damaged head horns.
The reason was that the horns on a Magnamalo's head could not regenerate, and these horns were crucial for attracting female Magnamalo to form a family.
This wasn't to say that male Magnamalo who formed families would stop improving their combat power.
However, compared to a single Magnamalo who pursued only combat power without any attachments, they would ultimately fall short in terms of potential.
Li Fan made up his mind and began writing his capture plan.
Two days later, the Yanhuo returned to Yanhuo Village.
At the airport, many hunters and residents were already skillfully using Wirebugs to swing between airships and skybridges.
Of course, some missed their footing and fell, but this was not a major issue in the Monster Hunter world.
Wirebugs, along with Wirebug cages, were loaded in large quantities into the airship cargo holds and transported to various locations.
During his last visit, Li Fan had been in a hurry to go into the wild and hadn't paid much attention. Now, seeing how widespread Wirebugs had become in such a short time, he was quite astonished.
It seemed that Puxian hadn't lost out, as this had brought such significant economic trade to Yanhuo Village.
Li Fan walked onto the street and, as expected, found that Wirebug specialty stores had already opened.
Flame resistance food, thunder resistance food, silk-spinning agent, insect breeding essence...
Li Fan marveled at Yanhuo Village's research and development capabilities as he looked at the various peripheral products on the display stand.
He had also considered researching Wirebug cultivation at a research institution back then, but now it seemed unnecessary.
After browsing and making some purchases in the store, Li Fan emerged with a large bag of bottles and jars.
He then proceeded to the Daowen armor processing workshop, where a full set of armor and the Zinogre Great Sword appeared before him in a brand-new state.
After trying on the armor and confirming it fit, Li Fan paid the fee and received a receipt.
"Are you the chief hunter who participated in the tower summit operation?" Daowen whispered, asking.
"Yes."
"You're truly young and promising. No wonder you could cause such damage." Daowen exclaimed, his suspicions confirmed.
"Is this kind of damage very uncommon?" Li Fan asked curiously.
"Uncommon? Not even close. Take the Zinogre helmet, for example. Even if you placed it at the bottom of a lava pool in a volcanic cave, its surface wouldn't melt into a liquid state from the heat," Daowen informed him.
Li Fan didn't find it particularly surprising, as Hui Hui's own carapace could soften.
The Zinogre helmet was armor crafted from Zinogre materials after they were detached, so its heat resistance naturally couldn't compare.
"Then, based on your experience, what could withstand such high temperatures?" Li Fan inquired.
"To resist it, armor made from Elder Dragon materials should theoretically be able to withstand it, though no one has actually tested it... Oh, and perhaps holding up a Lance's heavy shield could also resist it," Daowen replied.
Li Fan realized that armor, after all, had to be worn.
For the sake of flexibility and weight, its design had to sacrifice a certain amount of defensive capability.
However, a heavy shield paired with a Lance was different; it was a product that sacrificed mobility for absolute defense.
"Master Daowen, do you have a Lance and Shield combination where the heavy shield has a streamlined shape and the tip of the Lance is sufficiently sharp?" Li Fan asked.
Unlike in the game, in the world of Monster Hunter, Lances could be purchased separately and combined freely.
Of course, for profit reasons, weapon workshops preferred to sell complete Lance and Shield sets.
"There are many Lances that meet the criteria, but considering your hunting needs, to ensure strength, I would still recommend using a Diablos Lance. As for the shape of the heavy shield, it can actually be fine-tuned to your needs, but we need to confirm first whether you want a half-body shield or a full-body shield," Daowen pondered for a moment and gave a professional answer.
"Is the difference between a half-body shield and a full-body shield simply a matter of prioritizing defensive capability versus mobility?" Li Fan asked.
"That's right. Hunters who want more agility will choose a half-body shield, while those who pursue absolute defense and can provide some protection to their teammates will opt for a full-body shield," Daowen confirmed.
"I'll choose the full-body shield."
"Then let's pair it with the Iron Tower Heavy Shield. This is currently the most recognized full-body shield. Its drawback is that even compared to other full-body shields, the Iron Tower Heavy Shield is among the heaviest, but its defensive capability is top-notch," Daowen introduced.
Li Fan surmised that the Iron Tower Heavy Shield was likely a heavy shield that prioritized defensive capabilities regardless of its size.
"I have a spare Diablos horn, I wonder if the Diablos Lance can use it. If not, I'll use it for trade. How much will it all cost?"
"This... you've decided just like that?" Daowen couldn't believe that after just a brief introduction, an order had materialized.
"Yes. The surface of the Iron Tower Heavy Shield needs to have streamlined sharp protrusions. I'll give you a sketch of the specific design," Li Fan confirmed.
"Chief Hunter, while I'd love to make this sale, I still advise you. There's a huge gap between hunting weapons due to different levels of proficiency. If you truly want to use a Lance, why not buy a training weapon first, experience it, and then craft higher-level equipment?" Daowen advised.
As a craftsman, Daowen had seen too many hunters impulsively spend all their savings to craft a non-primary weapon.
The poorer ones had even fallen into despair as a result.
"Don't worry, Master Daowen, I'm well aware of the uses of Lances and heavy shields."
"Alright, the price calculation won't be immediate. I'll calculate it first and let you know later."
Seeing Li Fan's firm resolve, Daowen no longer insisted on persuading him.
Returning to the Yanhuo's cabin, Li Fan hung the newly repaired armor on the humanoid wooden mannequin inside.
He then went to the table, opened his notebook, and wrote a short line:
Combined Skill: Cute Star Sky Pierce.
At dusk, after receiving Daowen's quote of 60,000z, Li Fan felt a pang of regret but still promptly signed the agreement.
Afterward, Li Fan proceeded to the Yanhuo Village Guild branch.
"Ah! It's the hunter who hunted the Snow Shadow! Hello! Welcome to the Yanhuo Village branch!" The female attendant waved enthusiastically upon seeing Li Fan.
At the Dragon Calendar Institute headquarters commendation ceremony, Zuda had personally awarded the team two special five-star hunter badges with dragon patterns on the outer ring.
These badges were only given to hunters who had fought directly with Elder Dragons.
Li Fan placed the badge on the counter. The female attendant gasped briefly, her expression turning from surprise to seriousness.
"Are you here to check five-star quests?"
"No need to check. Could you recommend one for me? Do you have any Magnamalo hunting quests? Preferably an individual with damaged horns." Li Fan was only interested in capturing a Magnamalo and wasn't particularly concerned about other conditions.
"Hmm... there's one that has been lurking in the ruined shrine area for many years. It occasionally emerges to attack caravans and villagers, and even attacks other Magnamalo packs. According to the investigators, that individual's characteristic is damaged horns, so it's called 'Yuan Jiao' (Resentful Horn). Therefore, Village Chief Puxian, in conjunction with the processing workshop, has issued a hunting contract."
Could it be the one I encountered in the ruined shrine back then? However, I was too busy running away at the time and didn't pay attention to the condition of its horns.
"That's the one."
"Wait, there's something I need to inform you about."
"Please, go ahead."
"Yuan Jiao disappeared from the continuous observation of the investigators about two months ago. The ruined shrine did not show any signs of ecological imbalance, which is very unusual." The female attendant warned.
"Are there any general movements?"
"None at all. Observers at various branches have not received any sighting reports of Yuan Jiao."
"In other words, this is a hunting contract where the monster's location is unknown?" Li Fan inquired.
"Yes, that's why even though some teams were interested, they temporarily put aside the idea of accepting the contract for this reason," the female attendant confirmed.
The contract was issued, but the monster had disappeared. This situation was indeed quite bizarre.
"Then I'll take it." Li Fan thought for a moment and confirmed.
"Are you sure?" The female attendant was quite surprised.
"Yes, the team is quite free lately, and we have our own airship. If we fly around the sky above the ruined shrine, we might find its tracks."
"Alright, the contract fee is 9600z, the hunting time limit is 35 days, and the reward is 140,000z," the female attendant stated the specific terms.
After signing, the Yanhuo set out under the moonlight.
On the deck, Li Fan released Yeyue and Kuku.
"Yeyue! Kuku!"
"Goo! Roar! Roar!"
The two monsters responded eagerly.
"Now, you two will form a search party to find traces of Magnamalo." Li Fan issued the command.
"Goo! Roar! Roar!"
"Kuku, don't always think about fighting. Your duty this time is reconnaissance."
"Roar..."
Upon hearing that they couldn't fight, Kuku's head drooped instantly.
"Never mind, my words are useless. Remember not to pick fights with opponents who are too strong, and don't forget you have teammates. Set off."
After Li Fan deployed them, Yeyue and Kuku leaped over the railing and disappeared into the forest with the night breeze.
Li Fan didn't hold much hope of finding Yuan Jiao.
But as he had said at the front desk, they were quite free lately.
Even if they didn't find it in the end, the only loss would be a small amount of contract fee.
"Can't adapt to the sudden relaxation? I feel like something is waiting for me." Li Fan looked up at the starry sky and muttered softly.