Chapter 177: The Sea Cow Nest

Su Li nodded slightly. He looked outside and saw that the sky was almost completely dark. Nighttime meant all kinds of monsters would appear, making it ten times more dangerous than the day. Hunting the Sea Cow Beast today was clearly impractical.

“In that case, we’ll organize manpower first thing tomorrow morning, head out to find the Sea Cow Beast’s nest, and try to hunt as many as possible.”

Soon, Xu Haishui came over, holding a compiled list, which he handed to Su Li.

The paper was filled with names and their current level noted beside them—the entire roster of the “Golden Eagle Alliance.”

“We now have four Wielders who have reached Level 7, including you, Brother Su, Sister Gong, Brother Ling Yi, and Brother Wu Feng,” Xu Haishui explained, pointing at the list. “We have 47 people at Level 6, 53 at Level 5, and 17 at Level 4.”

Su Li examined the list. He noted that 25 people were still Level 3 or below, with several being ordinary people.

He was not surprised. When he managed the Purple Wind Building alone, they hunted as a unified group, which is why the weakest members had reached Level 5. However, that was only possible with a small group. Now that the numbers were large and the alliance had grown, collective hunting was difficult.

Furthermore, he had already noticed the inherent problem with mandatory universal leveling: an organization needed people for different roles.

For instance, some were responsible for hygiene, others for cooking and kitchen management, and many more for various logistics.

If everyone achieved uniform strength, problems would arise.

For example, when some people were ordinary or weak, assigning them menial chores like cleaning or cooking was fine. They did the work without complaint. But once everyone reached Level 5 or Level 6 and gained immense power, who would be willing to do these menial chores? Who would still willingly serve others?

However, an alliance needed people for combat, hunting, and collecting supplies, and it also needed people for logistics and all the countless necessary chores. Just the bridge-building project Su Li planned required considerable manpower.

Looking at the list, Su Li realized he needed to change his strategy.

“It seems assigning roles according to capabilities is the most rational approach.” Su Li pondered, deciding he would no longer force everyone to participate in the nightly hunt. Instead, he would implement a voluntary system.

Those unwilling to risk fighting monsters would be assigned to various logistical and support tasks.

Those willing to fight and grow stronger would have combat as their primary responsibility. They would handle supply runs, hunting, and defense against monsters and external enemies. They would face greater risks but would also enjoy better treatment.

The 42 people who hadn’t reached Level 5 would be assigned to the logistics support list in Su Li’s mind. Those at Level 5 would be classified as general combat personnel.

Those at Level 6 would be considered elite fighters and administrative staff.

After dinner, Su Li still led a group to the floating island, about 300 meters from the Gold Eagle One B-Building, for hunting.

This time, he didn’t enforce mandatory attendance but adopted the voluntary principle. Out of the 65 people in the B-Building, most actively participated. Many were from the Purple Wind Building and had already developed a habit of hunting after dinner.

Gold Eagle One A-Building and the Shimao Center also mobilized forces, led by Jiang Shuijue and Wu Feng, respectively. They hunted at the two nearer 30-story buildings, luring monsters to the rooftops.

Just as Su Li had guessed, not only were they getting stronger every day, but the Spiritual Source Beasts were also improving daily.

Among the massive swarm of Spiritual Source Beasts that appeared tonight, the number of Level 6 monsters had noticeably increased, almost matching the number of Level 5 monsters. These two levels combined accounted for over 80% of all monsters. Furthermore, the number of Level 7 monsters had also increased, now making up about 10% of the total. Monsters of these three levels accounted for over 90% of all creatures. The number of monsters below Level 5 was becoming increasingly scarce.

The surge in the Level 6 monster population meant that there would be an explosion in the number of Level 7 Spiritual Source Wielders tonight.

Su Li estimated that the number of Level 7 Wielders in the Golden Eagle Alliance, currently four, would increase to at least ten or even over twenty tonight.

The only thing that disappointed him was that while the Level 7 monster count had increased, it was still a small fraction compared to the Level 5 and 6 monsters. As both he and Gong Xiao were already Level 7, they both needed to hunt Level 7 monsters.

After over an hour of hunting, Su Li had accumulated 48 effective Spiritual Sources. His total Spiritual Source count was now 71, meaning he still needed 39 more to reach the 110 required for his breakthrough.

“Although it’s a bit disappointing, I should be able to reach Level 8 tomorrow, and then I can unlock the Blood Crystal. I wonder what treasure it holds.”

Su Li was quite satisfied with his haul of 48 effective Spiritual Sources tonight.

The next morning, after Su Li finished washing up, Xu Haishui presented him with a new statistical roster.

The paper showed the updated strength levels of the entire Golden Eagle Alliance.

Su Li was surprised to see that there were zero people at Level 8. The number of Level 7 Wielders had increased from four yesterday to 19 people. The largest group was Level 6, reaching an astonishing 62 people. Level 5 Wielders dropped to 24, and Level 4 Wielders dropped to 16 (one less than yesterday). The group below Level 4 remained at 25 people.

Su Li scanned the list. He saw that the familiar names—Ding Longyun, Xu Haishui, Luo Jun, Jiang Shuijue, and Gu Mingfeng—had all advanced to Level 7.

This was within his expectation. With so many Level 6 monsters last night, the number of people advancing to Level 7 was bound to surge.

He praised Xu Haishui and then asked him to summon Jiang Shuijue from the A-Building and Wu Feng from the Shimao Center.

The Golden Eagle Alliance was facing a severe food shortage. The most urgent task was to find food. Su Li had planned to visit Huating Residential Area today to look for Wang Lan, but that had to be postponed.

Soon, Jiang Shuijue and Wu Feng arrived.

Su Li informed them of the food shortage, as Jiang Shuijue had reported, and the plan regarding the Sea Cow Beast.

Wu Feng’s eyes shone. “A monster that is edible—a Sea Cow Beast? We should leave immediately to find its nest and capture as many as possible.”

Su Li instructed, “I called you here to discuss this. Here’s the plan: each of your buildings will contribute ten people, and I will contribute twenty. Go back and quickly build several large rafts. We’ll assemble and depart in an hour.”

According to Jiang Shuijue’s description, a single Sea Cow Beast weighed over a thousand jin. They needed large rafts to transport them back.

“Alright, understood.” Jiang Shuijue and Wu Feng immediately left to make preparations.

Su Li also gave the order, and Xu Haishui led the people to rapidly build large rafts.

Over the past few days, the Golden Eagle Alliance had built many rafts of various sizes. Some were reinforced with tires, some with water barrels, all to increase buoyancy. Building large rafts was simple now; they just needed to join the existing smaller ones together.

An hour later, the group assembled at the floating island on their gigantic rafts.

Gold Eagle One A-Building’s contingent of ten people, led by Jiang Shuijue, Gu Mingfeng, and Ling Yi, rode two large rafts. The Shimao Center contingent of ten people, led by Wu Feng and his girlfriend Lin Meimei, also rode two large rafts.

Gold Eagle One B-Building contributed the most, twenty people, led by Su Li, Ding Longyun, Gong Xiao, Xu Xuehui, Luo Jun, Bai Wenwei, Jin Sixing, Ling Tian, and Wang Xiaofei. They rode three large rafts.

Su Li left Xu Haishui behind to manage the base. He took Xu Xuehui because of her eyes, which might be useful at a crucial moment.

The forty people were all elite Wielders, Level 6 or 7. No one below Level 6 was brought along. This showed the importance they placed on the Sea Cow Beast hunt.

Seven large rafts, carrying 40 elite “Golden Eagle Alliance” Wielders, left the floating island and headed east.

Navigation was difficult in the boundless water. Jiang Shuijue needed to first locate the Golden Convergence Center Building and use it as a reference point to determine the area where she had previously spotted the Sea Cow Beast.

The distance to the Golden Convergence Center Building was about six or seven kilometers. The weather was good, and everyone was in high spirits, talking and laughing along the way.

The forty people were the true elite of the Golden Eagle Alliance. Their combined strength gave them immense confidence in the Sea Cow Beast hunt.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the Golden Convergence Center Building.

The building was empty. Jiang Shuijue used it as a center point. She instructed the group to head southwest for about one kilometer.

“That’s the direction of the Purple Wind Building,” Su Li immediately noted. The southwest direction from the Golden Convergence Center Building was where the Purple Wind Building was located.

“That’s right,” Jiang Shuijue nodded. “I was in that direction last time, about a kilometer from the Golden Convergence Center, when I saw a Sea Cow Beast. Based on the information I have, the Sea Cow Beast never ventures far from its nest, so the nest must be somewhere in this area. It shouldn’t be far, but we’ll need to search for the exact location.”

(End of Chapter)