This little wolf cub must have been drawn here, just like Jiang Le, by the energy fluctuations emitted by the blood vines. Yet despite being a Level 2, it was still far too young. Surrounded by the vines, its originally gray-black fur was now stained with streaks of blood, both deep and shallow. The blood vines closest to it had turned from deep green to blood red, having absorbed their fill.

Countless blood vines slowly rose from the ground, growing ever straighter as they strained to capture the scent molecules Jiang Le emitted, pinpointing his location. With every whiff of Jiang Le’s scent, the vines would tremble and writhe excitedly; the scene looked incredibly eerie in this small, damp, and gloomy clearing.

One vine silently slithered up the tree trunk toward the branch where Jiang Le stood, apparently intending to capture him as well while it fought the young wolf cub.

This blood vine’s appetite was a bit too voracious.

Jiang Le could have simply walked away, but the little wolf cub made him change his mind.

Very few mutant beasts reach Level 2 while still cubs; once fully grown, they become ferocious beasts—one in ten thousand. Even a hunt involving a dozen high-level superpower users couldn’t guarantee that every participant would walk away unscathed.

If he missed this opportunity, who knew when the next one would come along?

But now, the little wolf cub was completely surrounded by the blood vines, and rescuing it would be no easy task. The sap of the blood vines had a paralyzing effect; if Jiang Le recklessly jumped down, he would be easily trapped, despite the difference in their levels.

The only way to render the blood vines immobile was to destroy their hidden core.

With a whoosh, a vine that had slithered to Jiang Le’s feet thought it had seized a chance for a killing blow. As it struck, it sliced through the air with a piercing whistle, aiming to pierce Jiang Le’s ankle. But thanks to his timely dodge, it missed its mark, instead plunging deep into the tree trunk with such force that the wood trembled.

Amidst the shifting shadows of the trees, Jiang Le’s figure moved nimbly through the branches. Beneath his feet, waves of dark green vines surged ceaselessly, and more blood vines charged at him with full force, attempting to block his path.

While dodging, Jiang Le slashed at the vines with his mountain-cleaving knife. The blade clashed with them, producing a continuous series of sharp, metallic clangs. Dark green, putrid sap spurted from the ends of the vines, after which they quickly withered and fell to the ground, retreating back into the earth. But within seconds, new vines would burst through the soil, continuing the cycle.

This was the blood vine’s attrition tactic. Even though Jiang Le was currently handling the situation with ease, he would eventually run out of strength. As long as the blood vine’s core remained intact, these vines were nothing more than expendable replacements.

Moreover, the trapped wolf cub’s vital signs were steadily weakening. If he couldn’t deal with the blood vine soon, all Jiang Le would be left with in the end would be the cub’s corpse.

Where exactly is the vine’s core hidden…

Jiang Le’s mind was laser-focused. While dodging the blood vine’s increasingly rapid attacks, he scanned every detail of his surroundings. No living thing is without a weakness, and a blood vine in the early stages of mutation hasn’t yet reached the bizarre, intractable state of its later forms.

The hilt of the Kaisen Blade was damp with sweat, and Jiang Le’s gaze grew even colder until he caught a crucial detail.

Although the severed vines seemed to be burrowing into the ground in a seemingly haphazard manner, no matter how Jiang Le jumped or changed direction—from east to west—the vines’ escape route remained largely the same. Their retreating trajectory faintly pointed toward an inconspicuous depression diagonally behind him, covered in a thick layer of decaying leaves.

Found it.

Jiang Le stopped passively dodging and began to take the offensive. Leaving the other vines behind, he charged straight toward the hollow like an arrow leaving the bow.

Caught off guard, the blood vine’s defensive instincts made it even more frenzied. Even the vines that had been devouring the little wolf cub swiftly shifted their target, all lunging toward Jiang Le at once. To block his path, they spontaneously wove themselves into a massive net before him, sweeping toward him like a canopy.

The blood vine’s reaction only confirmed Jiang Le’s suspicion: its core was indeed located beneath that depression.

With his target confirmed, Jiang Le hesitated no longer. He braced for the side-sweeping strike, feeling a numbing jolt in his knuckles as a dull thud echoed through his bones. He poured all his strength into the Mountain-Splitting Blade, ruthlessly piercing through layer after layer of vine shields to carve a massive gash downward. His body shot through like a blade of light, the blade’s edge piercing straight through the surface layer of decaying soil to strike the very center.

The blood vine’s viscous, putrid, dark-green sap spattered in all directions, and a silent, agonized wail echoed through the mountains and forests as every vine twisted, convulsed, and withered.

With a gouge and a flick of the blade in Jiang Le’s hand, a pulsating, heart-like dark green nucleus crystal broke through the soil. The sea of vines lost its vitality and slowly withered into lifeless matter.

Exposed to the air, the dark green nucleus crystal visibly began to shrink and harden until it was no larger than a broad bean.

Jiang Le held it in the palm of his hand, gave it a light toss, and temporarily stowed it in the system’s warehouse. He turned to look at the little wolf cub not far away.

The little pup was no bigger than a puppy, just over a month old; though still babyish, it was fiercely aggressive. Even now, despite being severely wounded and covered in blood, it bared its teeth as Jiang Le approached.

If it weren’t for the blood vine toxin paralyzing its movements and slowing it down, it would likely have bitten Jiang Le the moment he reached out.

But now, Jiang Le grabbed the little wolf cub by the scruff of its neck and hoisted it high into the air; the cub was powerless to fight back.

Unexpectedly, the moment he loosened his grip, the fur beneath his palm bristled violently, feeling as sharp as steel wire. It instantly pierced through Jiang Le’s fingertips, and a few drops of blood rolled down.

Far from getting angry, Jiang Le smiled; he didn’t mind that the little wolf cub possessed such a fierce trait. He simply brought up the system’s pet page and had the system scan the little wolf cub.

Moments later, a system prompt popped up: “Level 2 Mutant Wolf Cub detected. Can be tamed. Do you wish to adopt it as a pet?”

Jiang Le confirmed the action. A flash of blue light momentarily stunned the wolf cub, and the previously empty pet page immediately displayed the cub’s silhouette along with its current level, status, attack power, and affinity.

“Congratulations, Host. You have successfully tamed a Level 2 Mutant Wolf Cub. The Host-Pet Mental Bond has been activated. Note: The Mental Bond is directly proportional to Affinity. If Affinity is too low, there is a risk of the bond being severed.”

Amidst all the positive values, the -99 displayed for Affinity stood out starkly.

Although he had saved the wolf cub, the natural wariness wild animals have toward humans, coupled with the intensified beastly instincts brought on by its mutation, still stood as a barrier between them. However, Jiang Le hadn’t expected it to be completely obedient to him right away, so he didn’t pay it much mind.

The wolf cub, however, was thoroughly confused in its little mind, not understanding why it had felt a faint pull between itself and this person after the flash of light just now.

Pets that have been verified by the farm system can enter the farm space. Jiang Le brought the little wolf cub inside and set it down on the ground.

The little wolf cub must not have eaten in quite some time; its hunger meter was maxed out. But Jiang Le was at a loss as to what to feed it. He hadn’t expected his first tamed pet to be a cub; he had stockpiled almost everything, but he didn’t have any dairy.

After scrolling through the inventory list at the warehouse entrance several times, Jiang Le finally pulled out a fresh, bone-in leg of lamb and placed it in front of the cub.

The leg was almost as big as the wolf cub itself.

The wolf cub had been whimpering and growling at Jiang Le the whole time, but upon seeing the fresh leg of lamb, it sniffed the air. Although it still distrusted Jiang Le, driven by hunger, it couldn’t resist tilting its head and biting into the meat before it.

The meat, which had been stored in the system’s warehouse immediately after slaughter, was still in its freshest state—it must have been quite delicious for a beast.

The little wolf cub devoured more than half of the leg of lamb in just a few bites. When it bit into the bone, it didn’t hesitate for a moment, chewing it down as if it were a piece of candy.

Jiang Le crouched nearby, watching the scene, and thought to himself that he really couldn’t treat this little wolf cub like an ordinary animal.

Midway through, worried the little rascal might overeat, Jiang Le tried to take the remaining half of the leg away, but the little wolf cub was quick on its feet—it rolled on the ground while still clenching the leg in its mouth, stubbornly guarding the meat.

Jiang Le simply let it be. It wasn’t until the little wolf cub had devoured the entire leg of lamb and was lying on the ground with a round belly that it looked somewhat cute—if one ignored the hostility in its eyes toward Jiang Le.

Even after being fed, its affinity had only gone from -99 to -98. Jiang Le pursed his lips; it seemed he’d have to put in quite a bit of effort to get this little brat to truly regard him as its master.

Leaving the little wolf cub alone in the farm space, Jiang Le made his way out of the woods.