Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 86: Chapter 78: Mutant Beast Contract

Tang Mo simply couldn’t stand lazing around at home and sleeping all day. Even though she had food, drink, warmth, and comfort, it made her feel like she was sinking into a swamp.

The only place left in the training camp that Tang Mo hadn’t visited was the Alliance Beast Fighting Arena.

The next day, she woke up early and headed to the training camp.

People seem to have boundless energy in the morning. Now that Tang Mo had money, her first stop was the melee weapons training ground to hire an instructor for specialized guidance.

Renting the training ground cost ten Basic Crystal Cores an hour, while an instructor cost one hundred Basic Crystal Cores an hour.

The instructor’s combat strength wasn’t necessarily greater than Tang Mo’s, but he was an absolute professional when it came to Sword Skill.

Professional guidance was what Tang Mo needed most right now. Her current blade work was good enough for her fight against the Empress, but her lack of professional technique often left her feeling like she couldn’t bring her full power to bear.

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye. Tang Mo had been practicing her Sword Skill for the entire time in a large, private room.

Yet she didn’t feel the least bit tired. She was like a person dying of thirst who had finally found water. She had no time for any other thought besides drinking her fill.

Her Sword Skill had been tempered by many real battles. It was a world apart from the flowery, impractical display she had shown Qin Ling back in the cave.

And now, with the instructor’s guidance, every gap in her technique was being rapidly filled. The entire web of her Sword Skill was becoming complete and seamless.

After leaving the training ground, Tang Mo took almost no rest and headed straight for the Alliance Beast Fighting Arena.

The overall layout and size of the Alliance Beast Fighting Arena were similar to the 1v1 Battle Arena.

The only difference was that the combatants on the stage were mutant beasts instead of humans.

The stage was also surrounded by stations where spectators could place their bets.

The way mutant beasts fought was different from humans. They lacked thought processes, logical judgment, and facial expressions.

Because of this, even Tang Mo, with her sensitive spiritual power, found it almost impossible to accurately predict the outcome of a fight between two mutant beasts.

So she had no intention of betting any Crystal Cores at the Beast Fighting Arena.

If watching fights in the Battle Arena was a way to learn skills for fighting other people...

...then watching fights in the Beast Fighting Arena was preparation for future combat against mutant beasts. It was a great way for Hunters to passively accumulate experience.

”Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.” That saying held true in any era.

At that moment, two mutant beasts were dueling on the stage. One was a Little Fox with perked-up ears; the other was a groundhog, standing on its hind legs and roaring in fury with its mouth wide open.

The Beast Fighting Arena for mutant beasts was different from the human arenas. The stage was enclosed by a large cage, preventing the two combatants from escaping and threatening the audience’s safety.

Both mutant beasts were smeared with fresh blood. This was done to trigger their feral instincts, making them attack each other inside the cage with maximum aggression.

Tang Mo leaned against the wall, watching the silver-eared Little Fox on the stage. ’This Little Fox is pretty interesting.’

It was clearly a fox cub. Its fur was still fluffy, a sign it hadn’t fully matured.

The fox seemed to have a mind of its own. It appeared unwilling to attack the groundhog, choosing instead to dodge frantically. It had already suffered several gashes from the groundhog’s attacks, and blood was trickling from its wounds.

”What a dumb fox,” Tang Mo muttered.

”Stupid? I don’t know about that.” A male voice suddenly interjected from beside her.

Tang Mo turned to look. He was a tall young man, dressed in clean clothes. His whole bearing told her at a glance that he came from an influential family.

Yet, the scars on his exposed arms revealed that he had been through countless battles—he wasn’t some pampered rich kid.

”The fox may be dodging, but every time it does, it ’unintentionally’ leaves a scratch on the groundhog.

A fox cub’s claws are supposed to be milky white, but that one’s are black. If I’m not mistaken, they’re coated in poison.”

Tang Mo hadn’t been as observant as the man. Now that she looked closer, she saw that the fox’s front claws were indeed black, while its hind claws were still the normal milky white.

’If even mutant beasts have evolved to the point where they can consciously use poison, this world is truly terrifying.’

”This is just a Basic-level Mutant Beast fight. If you want to see something more exciting, come on Sunday. That’s when they have Intermediate-level and higher-level bouts.

Mutant beasts these days are far more complex than people imagine. You probably don’t know that humans have already reached the point where they can tame them, have you?”

The man spoke with an easy familiarity, leaning against the wall beside her without waiting for a reply.

”Tamed?” ’If you could get a mutant beast to fight for you, your combat power would probably double.’

”In theory, yes, as long as your spiritual power is high enough. But so far, no one has succeeded. No one’s spiritual power is sufficient to form a contract with a mutant beast. Perhaps someone will manage it in the future.”

Tang Mo listened to the man, then lowered her head, lost in thought.

”Qin what?” Tang Mo asked.

”How did you know my surname is Qin? I don’t recall telling you,” the young man said, surprised. ”Have we met before?”

An unreadable light flickered in his eyes. He had always thought there was only one Qin everyone knew of in his family, and that he would forever live in that person’s shadow.

”Just a lucky guess,” Tang Mo said casually.

’He looks only a year or two older than me. Someone from an ordinary wealthy family wouldn’t have this kind of presence.’

’I know the Wen Family, and there’s no one like him there.’

’And Song Qing from the Li Family mentioned last time that his older brother is the only boy their age in his family.’

’That only leaves the Qin Family. He might be one of Qin Ling’s cousins or something.’

Tang Mo normally wouldn’t have paid any mind to a stranger starting a conversation so abruptly, but the thought that he could be related to Qin Ling—a brother, perhaps—made her soften her tone.

”Qin Fen. My name is Qin Fen.”

The young man added, seeing that the girl beside him didn’t react.

”Oh,” Tang Mo grunted, turning to leave.

’The Alliance Beast Fighting Arena isn’t as interesting as I thought. I’d be better off spending this time practicing my Sword Skill.’

’I haven’t had a real fight in a while. If I don’t get some exercise, I’ll be rusty and slow next time.’

”Aren’t you going to tell me your name?” the young man called after her as she started to walk away.

He was used to girls fawning over him. While he wasn’t as popular as Qin Ling, he’d never received such a cold shoulder before.

”You’ll find out eventually,” Tang Mo said, waving a hand behind her without looking back.

’Sooner or later, Qin Ling and I will go public. When that happens, I’ll probably have to meet everyone in the Qin Family anyway.’