My Apocalypse System Arrives 10 Years Early

Chapter 34: Chapter 33: This Shameless Chicken

The Coral Mushroom is a precious, wild edible fungus also known by names like broom fungus or brush mushroom. It’s highly nutritious, with a fresh, sweet, and delicious taste.

In traditional Chinese medicine, Coral Mushrooms are considered a dietary supplement that replenishes calcium, prevents its loss, strengthens bones, and has calming effects that nourish the blood and soothe the spirit.

The *Yunnan Materia Medica* records: ”Broom fungus, sweet in flavor and neutral in nature. Non-toxic. It is used to settle the stomach, dispel wind, improve circulation, and ease digestion. Eating too much can cause one’s qi to stagnate, while a small amount helps it flow smoothly.”

And the effects of the Tier One Mutated Spirit Grass, the Purple Coral Mushroom, were even more extraordinary, proving especially beneficial for the middle-aged and elderly.

’I’ll pick some more ordinary mushrooms and mix these six Mutated Spirit Fungi in with them. It’s time to give Grandpa and Grandma a great gift!’ A charming smile spread across Li Xiang’s face.

With a flick of his knife, Li Xiang tossed the two massive segments of the Red Dragon Centipede’s body into his back basket. He planned to take them home to steep in alcohol. A centipede this large, once processed and added to the Snake Wine he’d made before, would definitely boost the Medicinal Wine’s potency.

His phone was almost dead and his basket was full, bringing his Solomon hunt for the day to an end.

Li Xiang was preparing to head down the mountain via another path and had only walked a few yards when the system suddenly displayed a prompt: ”Discovered one Tier Two Mutated Creature: Red Dragon Centipede. Discovered nine Tier One Mutated Creatures: Red Dragon Centipede.”

’Did I stumble upon a Red Dragon Centipede nest?’ Li Xiang quickly realized what was happening and began searching the area within a ten-meter radius.

It wasn’t long before he found it.

Not far away, a millstone-sized rock had been moved aside, revealing the Red Dragon Centipede den underneath.

Typically, when the weather turns cold in autumn, centipodes find a warm, sunny slope sheltered from the wind and burrow into the soil to hibernate. They remain dormant through the cold winter, not emerging to forage again until early March of the following year.

Although the weather was still fairly warm, these centipedes had already chosen a prime spot to overwinter and were preparing to hibernate. But now, Li Xiang was about to wipe out the whole lot.

A dense swarm of centipedes crawled out. One in particular was a full size larger than the one he had killed before. He guessed it was the male Red Centipede King, which would make the previous one the female. The rest were most likely their descendants.

’So many potential Mutated Creatures in one nest. The power of genetics is truly formidable.’

Li Xiang was lightning fast. With a precise stab, he pinned the largest one to the ground. The rest fell one by one in a flurry of flashing steel.

Nine of them were about ten centimeters long and as thick as a chopstick. He figured these were the nine Tier One creatures.

A series of system prompts appeared: ”Congratulations, Host, for slaying a Tier Two Mutated Creature, Red Dragon Centipede. You have received a surprise reward: three Tier One Mutated Spirit Grass, Purple Coral Mushroom.”

”Congratulations, Host, for slaying a Tier One Mutated Creature, Red Dragon Centipede. You have gained 10 Achievement Points.”

”Congratulations, Host, for slaying a Tier One Mutated Creature, Red Dragon Centipede. You have gained 10 Achievement Points.”

...

”Achievement Points Balance: 460.”

Li Xiang gathered all the Red Dragon Centipede corpses and tossed them into his bamboo basket.

As he reached his front door, he saw the big, red-crested, rainbow-feathered rooster fly onto a branch and crow. Its call was clear and spirited. Delighted, Li Xiang waved it over, clucking, ”Here, chicky-chicky, here boy!” wanting the bird to come to him.

But the proud rooster merely shot him a look, flapped its wings, and flew even farther away from Li Xiang.

Li Xiang was speechless.

’Why do I get the feeling this chicken is looking at me with total disdain? Is it really that Spiritual?’

’Well, I suppose that makes sense. It is, after all, a future Tier Two Sun-calling Golden Chicken. If it were just a dumb bird, it probably wouldn’t have such a great destiny.’

’Is it because I was always eyeing it for the cooking pot? Is that why it’s keeping a wary distance and won’t come when I call?’

Just as he was about to try calling it again, two large yellow dogs came tearing out of the backyard. They surrounded Li Xiang, barking and jumping to welcome their master home.

”Go on, get! Get away from me, you two! You scared off my Star Lord of the Pleiades!”

With the dogs on the scene, of course the big rooster moved even farther away.

Li Xiang led the two yellow dogs into the house and sorted out the eleven Red Dragon Centipedes. His grandmother came over to look and jumped in fright. ”Xiang’Er, where did you find so many of these giant Thunder God Worms? Don’t catch them anymore! What if you get bitten?”

Her face was etched with worry. He was her only grandson, and she doted on him.

Li Xiang quickly smiled to reassure her. ”It’s fine, Grandma. To me, they’re just ingredients for medicinal wine.”

Though still worried, his grandmother knew she couldn’t change Li Xiang’s mind. She just fussed over him with a thousand warnings, then brought a chair over to the large green rock downstream from the Overlapping Waterfall to help him wash the Solomon.

She was still spry enough to help with chores whenever she could. She couldn’t bear to sit idle all day.

Li Xiang, meanwhile, went to deal with the Red Dragon Centipedes.

Li Xiang set the two largest centipedes aside. He took the nine smaller ones and headed to the front yard to find the big, red-crested, rainbow-feathered rooster.

’This spirited, proud rooster will one day be one of my Spirit Pets,’ he thought. ’It’s worth feeding it a few potential Tier One Mutated Creatures.’

A bond had to be nurtured from an early age. And chickens love centipedes.

”Cluck cluck, cluck cluck~”

The big rooster was pecking for bugs in the grass under a tree. When it heard Li Xiang’s call, it shuddered in fright and immediately took off running.

’This damn bird is so petty,’ Li Xiang grumbled to himself. ’So I eyed you a few times, thinking about how tasty you’d be. Is it really that big of a deal?’ He quickly brought out his secret weapon.

”Cluck cluck, come on over! I’ve got something good for you!” Li Xiang picked out half a Red Dragon Centipede corpse from his palm and tossed it toward the big rooster.

The big rooster was still hesitating when a hen darted out from the side and snatched the piece of centipede with her beak.

The big rooster was instantly enraged and was about to give chase.

”Don’t go! I have more!” Li Xiang called out, tossing another one.

The big rooster excitedly scurried back, gobbled up the delicacy on the ground, then stared at Li Xiang with shining eyes.

After being fed the large centipede, the big rooster was indeed much friendlier to Li Xiang. Truly Spiritual.

”There’s more, plenty more! Eat your fill!” Li Xiang chuckled, continuing to unleash his ultimate move.

After eating several, the big rooster seemed full. It began circling the remaining Red Dragon Centipedes, guarding them while making a soft ”COO COO COO” sound.

’Oh? It knows how to share its food?’

This made Li Xiang see the rooster in a new light, as most animals are selfish and guard their food jealously.

Li Xiang clapped his hands softly, pulled up a chair, and sat down to watch. The more he observed the chicken, the more he liked it. Its body was covered in brilliant feathers, and it carried itself with a valiant, imposing air. It was the grand marshal of chickens, a true warrior among roosters.

Soon, two hens were drawn over, hoping to eat the centipedes on the ground, but the big rooster angrily drove them away.

However, when two other pretty, young hens approached, the big rooster immediately offered them the food, personally standing guard as they ate.

”COO COO, COO COO~”

Faced with such a delicacy, the young hens were also delighted, eating with great excitement.

Just then, the big rooster leaped forward, jumping onto the back of one of the young hens. It grabbed her comb with its beak and firmly pinned her wings with its feet.

The big rooster weighed at least seven or eight pounds, while the little hen was only three or four. She immediately collapsed under the weight...

”Holy crap... what a shameless chicken!”