The logging cabin outside the forest has become the base of operations for the ecological investigation agency.
As the two were cleaning, several young men pushed a cart, delivering the supplies prepared by Eudora to the base.
Among them was a construction worker, who came to inspect the surrounding conditions and prepare for the expansion of the wooden cabin.
Li Fan did not expect Eudora to have planned her preparations rather than making a hasty decision.
In the evening, a gentle breeze swept across the lake in front of the forest, bringing a hint of coolness.
Li Fan, having woken from a nap, climbed out of bed.
Although he was still penniless, having secured a stable residence was a step in the right direction, and it was time to make proper plans for the future.
First, of course, was to catch more monsters to receive more Poké Balls daily.
Currently, according to the handheld device's prompts, catching five different species and registering them in the "Monster Compendium" would earn two intermediate Poké Balls per day.
Next was to record the changes brought about by excessive food intake.
Eudora had brought many books to establish the investigation agency, and information could be found here.
Preparation for the hunter assessment in half a month was also necessary.
Finally, there was the somewhat distant plan to establish an arena.
*Ding! Ding!*
"Coming, meow!"
Li Fan opened the door, and Dilu, carrying all her belongings on her back, appeared at the entrance.
Although the wooden cabin was not large, it could accommodate three to five people without issue.
After inspecting the interior, Dilu ultimately chose to stay in the attic.
While the Felyne settlement in the village was certainly safer and more convenient, this semi-wild area was more akin to a true campsite. Dilu wanted to experience it in advance to adapt to future hunting life as soon as possible.
As night deepened, the sky sparkled with stars.
Eudora, having finished organizing and categorizing two large cabinets of books, stretched and, after bidding farewell to Li Fan and Dilu, headed to her residence in the village to rest.
With two more hours until he could collect Poké Balls, Li Fan decided to do some monster training.
He looked out at the dark forest and quickly came up with an idea.
Soon after, he mounted Taimai and galloped into the forest.
Passing through a clearing, Li Fan immediately called a halt.
Bear-da, released from a Poké Ball, slumped listlessly on the grass, seemingly uninterested in anything.
Li Fan didn't even need to check his handheld device to know it was hungry, so he let Bear-da hunt for itself.
Watching the cheerfully circling Bulbap and the slow-witted Taimai, Li Fan cleared his throat and began to assign training tasks.
"Bulbap, you need to quickly strengthen two abilities. One is to control your light emission at night, reducing its brightness. This is mainly because you are too conspicuous at night, and some monsters sensitive to light sources can easily pinpoint your location. You can fly away to escape, but we can't."
As Li Fan finished speaking, the blue light emitted by Bulbap suddenly dimmed.
"Very good. From now on, when you need to be stealthy, maintain this brightness. The other is your early warning ability for Zinogre. I don't know why, but even though you have a symbiotic relationship with Zinogre, you strongly resist its attachment. However, do not slacken in your ability to sense Zinogre's warnings. The farther the detection range, the better. In the ecosystem around Cala Village, Zinogre is currently the biggest threat."
Upon hearing this, Bulbap's brightness surged, and it shot straight into the sky.
It circled for about half a minute before slowly descending.
As there were no signs of agitation, it indicated that no Zinogre had appeared within its detection range.
"Next is you, Taimai."
Taimai, who had been pecking at grass with its head down, looked up sharply when Li Fan called its name.
"Can you please stop defecating everywhere, especially around the base?"
As Li Fan spoke, he lifted his right foot, displaying the sole of his shoe.
"Goo goo..."
Taimai let out a pitiful chirp and then moved over a patch of Luoyang grass, turning its body sideways.
*Splash!* A pile of droppings fell.
"You... you mean you're helping to fertilize?"
"Goo goo..."
"Alright, I wrongly accused you. But you can't defecate near the base anymore. Eudora is planning to open a small planting area. Once it's built, you can go all out there."
"Goo goo!"
Seeing that Li Fan understood, Taimai was very happy.
"There's also a personal issue that needs to be resolved quickly. The local Felynes, whether wild or domesticated, are always in pairs. Aren't you lonely being the only one?"
Taimai tilted its head and pondered for a long time, then nodded.
Seeing that his guidance was effective, Li Fan's lips curved slightly.
From a young age, he had enjoyed watching agricultural programs and various success stories of animal husbandry.
He had also played many simulation games like Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon, and Rune Factory.
Leveraging the unique natural conditions, the Monster Hunter world was incredibly suitable for large-scale animal husbandry.
The main reason it was difficult to achieve scale was the threat posed by wild monsters.
A single Felyne was enough to attract the attention of carnivorous monsters.
A herd of a hundred would be like a buffet.
Modern ranches struggled with wolf packs, let alone monsters that could flip houses.
A single attack could render long-term investment and effort futile.
Before reaching a certain scale, the cost was insufficient to hire hunters to guard day and night.
The only threat to monsters was probably eating too much and bursting.
But Li Fan felt this was not a problem.
As long as enough monsters were captured to form a defense team, few creatures in the ecosystem around Cala Village could threaten the safety of the ranch.
After instructing Bulbap and Taimai, Li Fan did not slacken himself.
He took out a logging axe found in the cabin and began practicing chopping down trees.
This would, first, improve his arm strength through swinging.
Second, it would verify the effects of excessive food intake.
Third, a large amount of timber would be needed for the expansion of the investigation agency and the construction of the ranch.
"Hick! Hick! Hick!..."
After four swings, a tree as thick as his waist was felled.
"I've really become stronger."
Li Fan looked at his hands, filled with surprise.
His conjecture was correct: the source of the formidable strength of humans and monsters here was excessive food intake.
Of course, this concept did not exist in the eyes of the locals, as this characteristic was inherent in the world.
Combining this with some fitness books he had read in the evening, Li Fan pondered for a moment and deduced a power system model unique to the Monster Hunter world.
Excessive food intake and storage capacity allowed the body to mobilize and release more power.
Simultaneously, long-term, overloaded power mobilization and release expanded the body's strength and adaptability limits, which in turn further increased food intake and storage capacity.
This created a mechanism for gradual strength enhancement.
With consistent targeted training, one's strength would become increasingly formidable.
The most noteworthy aspect was that bodily strength and adaptability were the fundamental guarantees for mobilizing and releasing more power.
In simpler terms, in the Monster Hunter world, the power humans could wield was too great, and bodies of the same level could hardly withstand it.
Only through continuous training, tempering, and improving bodily strength limits, as well as enhancing adaptability and mastering the methods of power usage, could one achieve the safest and most balanced way to increase strength.