Chapter 11: Chef's Knife

Boggy finally grasped that hand.

Because even if it meant selling his soul to the devil, it was better than being torn to shreds by a pack of hyenas.

Moreover, the devil's palm felt quite comfortable, its skin smooth like a peeled gray elephant shrew.

But this also made Boggy inevitably wonder, could the owner of this hand really bring hope to the squad in the upcoming battle?

However, he didn't have time to think any further, as the hyenas were already close at hand.

A Two-Headed Hyena was the first to leap forward, and then a second, and a third...

So Boggy moved as well, his gaze locked onto the nearest Two-Headed Hyena, his Mechanical Spear stabbing straight out.

With a thud, it pierced the target's neck!

After landing the blow, Boggy was stunned, because he had clearly aimed for the hyena's belly, but for some reason, it had veered off by a few inches.

Before Boggy could figure out what was going on, another head of the hyena had already bitten at him again.

Unlike most beasts, a Two-Headed Hyena wouldn't die immediately after losing one head, as it had a spare one.

Boggy pressed the switch on his Mechanical Spear, and the high-voltage current instantly stiffened the Two-Headed Hyena.

But before he could catch his breath, the second wave of attacks came.

This time, three Two-Headed Hyenas charged at him all at once, attacking from different directions, tightening Boggy's heart.

However, whether those three hyenas had been injured or not, their movements seemed somewhat slow.

Boggy waited for one to leap into the air and, like hitting a baseball, he smacked it flying away, then bent his right knee and thrust it upward fiercely, slamming it into the belly of another.

At this moment, the fangs of the third Two-Headed Hyena were just a fist away from Boggy's left calf, seemingly certain to connect, but just at this critical moment, Boggy had already pulled back his Mechanical Spear, stabbing backwards!

As a result, that Two-Headed Hyena was firmly nailed to the ground!

This sequence of moves clearly intimidated the following hyenas, causing them to slow down, rather than rushing up in a swarm, but the most astonished was Boggy himself.

Because he trained every day, Boggy knew his body's condition very well; with his current strength, he could handle at most two Two-Headed Hyenas simultaneously, and he had to be very cautious.

But if you include the one that was at the forefront at the start, he had just defeated four Two-Headed Hyenas in one go and hadn't been hurt at all.

Did I really... become stronger?

Boggy stared blankly at his own hands.

The reason his first thrust had gone astray wasn't because his aim had been off, but because his speed had increased, Boggy's experience caused him to act too soon, turning what should have been a stab at the belly into a jab in the neck.

Similarly, the subsequent three hyenas hadn't been injured; their movements hadn't slowed down, it was just that Boggy's own reactions had gotten faster.

As for strength, the Two-Headed Hyena that Boggy had pinned to the ground with his Mechanical Spear probably had the most right to speak, though at the moment it was too busy howling in pain.

Ma Lu moved forward, pulled out a small knife, and ended the suffering of this poor creature, also snagging another chance to pick one out of three options.

1. [Aerobic Expert: Increase the team's stamina by 10%]

2. [Localized Bleeding: A 15% chance for the team's attacks to trigger a bleeding status, doubling the bleeding amount on the target]

3. [Too Trappy: There is a 15% chance for an Earth-Series Psychic Power User in the team to create a quicksand trap nearby when releasing their ability]

The luck this time was rather average; all three Blessings were blue, it seems two-star ingredients only have a chance to burst out Purple Blessings.

Ma Lu felt a twinge of regret and casually chose [Localized Bleeding], then, with renewed vigor, he slashed at the other Two-Headed Hyena that was impaled on the Mechanical Spear.

The Traveler's Bracelet immediately popped up with three options.

1. [Father-Son Duo: If there is a father-son relationship within the team and they are not more than 3 meters apart, all attributes of the father and son increase by 20%]

2. [Too Trappy: There is a 15% chance that an Earth-Series Psychic Power User in the team will create a quicksand trap nearby when using their abilities]

3. [You're a Real Eye-Catcher: Designate a teammate within a 20 meters radius, and the hostility of hostile creatures towards them increases by 100%]

Again, all three options were blue, and [Too Trappy] was indeed too trappy, even coming up twice in a row. The other two blessings seemed useless, so Ma Lu simply decided to skip choosing and wait for the 60 seconds to pass.

But just then, he glimpsed a new change among the hyena pack. The tragedy that had just befallen their companions made them realize that these two seemingly easy prey were not so easy to deal with after all. The remaining Two-Headed Hyenas started looking around hesitantly, clearly contemplating retreat.

Boggy also noticed the pack's movements. However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, those Two-Headed Hyenas, as if agitated by something, suddenly tensed their bodies, their blood-red eyes locked onto him, emitting low whines.

Boggy knew this was a signal that the hyena pack was about to launch an attack.

Although he didn't understand why, in that brief moment, the Two-Headed Hyenas had undergone a change of heart, with hostility escalating sharply, Boggy still managed to pull his Mechanical Spear from the ground in anticipation. The hyena pack charged at them once more.

This time, there were nine of them, including the two that had been watching over the motorcycle, joining the hunt. But Boggy's heart was less tense than before.

Because now, he was stronger than he had ever been.

Boggy cautioned Ma Lu standing behind him, "Be careful, don't leave my side."

Ma Lu muttered an acknowledgment, appearing somewhat embarrassed. He had just chosen [You're a Real Eye-Catcher] and designated Boggy.

There was no helping it; letting a group of two-star ingredients get away seemed too wasteful.

Moreover, since Boggy had joined the team, Ma Lu could check his status in the character status bar, and now Boggy's name was followed by a long list of blessings.

Among them, a 45% increase in strength, 47% in speed, 41% in stamina, and a whopping 50% in reflexes.

Apart from that, there were various enhancements related to attack effects and Psychic Power abilities. It seemed they should be capable of handling the present Two-Headed Hyenas.

This time, Ma Lu wouldn't just stand by and watch. His body had also been enhanced by the blessings, but as a normal person with no combat skills, rushing in swinging haymakers was still dangerous.

But now, under the effect of [You're a Real Eye-Catcher], Boggy had successfully grabbed the attention, creating an excellent environment for output damage; Ma Lu could also seize the opportunity to land sneak attacks.

In the blink of an eye, the hyena pack had already rushed up to them.

Boggy struck first, plunging his Mechanical Spear into the mouth of one of the Two-Headed Hyenas. Unable to master the precise timing of his strikes, Boggy simply aimed for the fleshier parts, hitting wherever he could.

Then he swung around with the Two-Headed Hyena still on his spear tip, sending other approaching hyenas flying.

However, due to the large number of hyenas, two still dodged the sweeping attack and darted to Boggy's side. Boggy immediately lashed out with his leg, kicking one of the Two-Headed Hyenas in the neck and breaking its spine.

He then attempted to repeat the maneuver, retracting his Mechanical Spear to strike the other, but three more Two-Headed Hyenas closed to less than a step away from him.

Boggy could only deal with these three first, taking a half-step back to avoid vital points, but his lower leg inevitably got scratched.

The Two-Headed Hyena that scratched him tried to bite down, but was abruptly stabbed in the eye socket by a Chef's Knife wielded at an angle.

The intense pain elicited a scream from the creature, and it failed to clamp down its jaws. Meanwhile, Ma Lu had already pulled the Chef's Knife out, blood spurting with the withdrawal, and thrust it back into the hyena's body.

This time, however, his aim was slightly off, hitting the shoulder blade. But the knife, undiminished in force, cruelly sliced open the bone.

An Old Wang product always guarantees quality!

This seemingly unremarkable Chef's Knife had a simple yet brutal effect—slicing through all ingredients without damage.