He did not expect the chase to last for 24 days.
If it were not for Mu and Shang, Han Jia's holographic scanning system would have been able to detect the red-tailed beast by now. On the ninth day, he had thought of canceling the chase and returning to base. The Calamitous Asteroid Belt was filled with rocks and celestial bodies of various sizes. It was easy to get lost. Even Mu could not guarantee that.
However, there was another reason why Ye Chong decided to continue the chase.
Once he entered the Calamitous Asteroid Belt, Ye Chong summoned Mu. This proved that the red-tailed beast was immune to energy attacks. Perhaps not all energy beams could do damage to it, but at least Mu's Alpha sniper rifle was ineffective.
Of course, this was only one of the reasons. Another incident that prompted Ye Chong to make this decision happened on the ninth day, when he was about to call off the pursuit.
He remembered what happened that day very clearly. At that time, he was already very tired. If it weren't for his strong will and Mu's help, he would have lost his life in the Calamitous Asteroid Belt, which was also known as the "Death Zone".
The red-tailed beast was alert and cunning, and had incredible stamina. It did not show any signs of fatigue even after nine days of continuous flight. It seemed to understand Han Jia's weakness, and went into the complicated and chaotic terrain.
This made Ye Chong suffer. In order to avoid the floating rocks, he had to be on full alert. Because of this, he soon felt the fatigue both physically and mentally.
He had another concern, and that was food. Han Jia was always full of food. This was Ye Chong's habit. Besides, he had a lot of food pills with him. However, he still had to calculate the cost of the return journey. Besides, the chances of getting lost in the Calamitous Asteroid Belt were very high. After deducting the cost of accidents, there was not much left. After all, long-distance flight had always been the job of starships, not mechs.
With Han Jia flying at full speed, the distance covered by nine days was an astonishing number. This meant that they were already deep into the Calamitous Asteroid Belt. Mu had reminded Ye Chong more than once that the deeper they went, the higher the chances of getting lost would be. Even now, with Mu's help, the probability of getting lost was as high as 41%.
But just as he was about to return, the image on the holographic screen stopped him in his tracks.
The red-tailed beast looked rather haggard after running for its life. The metallic sheen of its black shell was much dimmer than when Ye Chong first saw it. Its scarlet eyes were still filled with tenacity and vigilance, but the dense bloodshot veins also revealed that its condition wasn't that great. The muscles all over his body had even begun to wither and wither to a certain extent. No matter how one looked at it, he looked like an arrow at the end of its flight. Only the red tail was still bright and glistening, and the sharp edge of the blade occasionally flashed with a cold light.
It suddenly sped up a little. This detail immediately caught Ye Chong's attention. After days of chasing, Ye Chong had become familiar with its flying speed and even its rhythm.
In front of it was a seemingly ordinary rock. The rock was not large, only about three meters in diameter. It was shaped like an irregular sphere, and its dark brown appearance did not seem to be anything special.
This was the first time the red-tailed beast had behaved so strangely in the past few days. Ye Chong stopped what he was doing and observed it carefully.
The red-tailed beast had just gotten close to the rock when its sharp arrowhead tail pierced into the rock. The rock was as hard as tofu, and the seemingly soft tail did not seem to be affected at all. It pierced straight into the rock. Ye Chong gasped at the sight.
What was it doing? He was amazed by the power of the red-tailed beast's arrowhead tail, but at the same time, he could not figure out what it was trying to do.
The red-tailed beast shook its tail. Boom! The boulder shattered into dozens of pieces that scattered in all directions. The broken pieces were as smooth as a mirror, sending chills down the spines of the onlookers.
The red arrowhead tail was now wrapped around a fist-sized yellow rock that glowed faintly.
A mutated energy ore! Ye Chong recognized what the red-tailed beast's arrowhead tail was wrapped around, and was surprised. These mutated ores usually contained a considerable amount of energy. He had obtained a large amount of such mutated ores in the underground cave last time. It was also at that time that he not only obtained a few Teardrop Mineralite, but also encountered the strange black sphere, the eight-fingered hand, and the soul-stirring shriek.
"Ye, it's an energy ore!" Mu's voice was also filled with surprise.
Ye Chong nodded. He did not speak, but his expression turned grim. He felt a sense of unease.
The red-tailed beast seemed excited, and swallowed the mutated energy ore without hesitation.
Ye Chong's eyes twitched!
Then, the red-tailed beast's transformation shocked him. The withered muscles were visibly growing back, and the rotting tissues around the wound Ye Chong left behind were also growing back at the same speed. The dull outer shell began to glow with life again, glowing faintly.
In just a few moments, the red-tailed beast seemed to have recovered. If it were not for the faint red flesh growth, Ye Chong would have thought that he was hallucinating.
After the red-tailed beast was done, it suddenly turned around and glanced at Han Jia, which was approaching it.
Its dark red eyes that were filled with fatigue were now full of vigor, and its gaze was strangely sharp, with a strong sense of hatred.
It seemed to want to pounce on Han Jia, but hesitated for a moment, and turned around and flew away.
"Mu, it just swallowed the mutated energy ore," Ye Chong's voice was still filled with disbelief.
"Yes." Mu's voice was still flat, "Looks like Fei Si's report is very reliable. It is very likely evolving."
"Evolving …" Ye Chong looked thoughtful, "It seems like it can detect the location of mutated energy ores."
"Although the mechanism is still unknown, from the looks of it, that seems to be the case. The probability is between 60 to 90 percent, "Mu gave his answer.
"Mu, if it can find enough energy ores, can it complete its evolution?" Ye Chong could not help but ask.
"According to Fei Si's theory, evolution requires two conditions, energy and metal. Besides, we don't know the exact values of the two. However, with the Calamitous Asteroid Belt as its habitat, and with no natural predators, the probability of evolution is not to be underestimated. The probability is above 67 percent, "Mu gave his analysis calmly.
Ye Chong understood what Mu meant. The Calamitous Asteroid Belt may be known as a place of death, but it was also a true treasure trove. In this ocean filled with countless rocks, there were countless rare ores. If it were not for the unknown dangers, countless mining fleets would have entered this place by now. However, to the red-tailed beast, this place was like heaven. Ye Chong believed that as long as there were no calamities like the asteroid whirlpool, nothing could pose a threat to the strong red-tailed beast. If they could detect energy ores, they should be able to detect metal ores as well. All they needed to do was to swim around and search for energy ores and metal ores, and one day, it would complete its evolution.
Ye Chong was still traumatized by the eight-fingered red-tailed beast he encountered in the underground cave. It was just a shriek, and even Mu could not resist it. Even though the red-tailed beast had improved a lot compared to before, it was still almost on par with Mu. Ye Chong did not want to fight against such a terrifying creature.
While the red-tailed beast before him was still far from the eight-fingered red-tailed beast, it had the potential to do so. Besides, the red-tailed beast had a good memory, and was not the forgetful type. The deep hatred in his scarlet eyes kept reminding him that this was a growth time bomb!
His past experience told him that the best way to deal with this kind of danger was to nip it in the bud. Ye Chong decided to kill the red-tailed beast before it completed its evolution.
It was the 24th day since Ye Chong started his pursuit. It was like a game of cat and mouse with the red-tailed beast.
For the next 15 days, he did not give the red-tailed beast any chance to feed. Mu's powerful scanning system could also detect which energy ores and metals were contained within the rubble. Coupled with Mu's super long range sniping, every time the red-tailed beast found an ore it needed, a laser beam would hit the rock and shatter it! Whenever the rocks hit its face, the red-tailed beast would always show a pained expression, perhaps because it was hurt by the rocks, or because it was worried about its food.
For the next 15 days, the red-tailed beast did not consume a single energy ore. The glow on its body dimmed again, and even its flying speed decreased. Ye Chong was like a good hunter, patient enough. With Mu's help, he slowly weakened the red-tailed beast's strength, not giving it a chance to retaliate.
It even turned back several times, wanting to have a good fight with that strange and scary guy. But every time this happened, it couldn't find that strange guy, which made it very discouraged.
Worst of all, the red-tailed beast was now facing a new problem! (To be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW .CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support legal reading!)
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