Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

Chapter 172: Chapter 165: Giant Beast Bloodline

Xu Xin crouched down and looked at the two small pangolins.

The two small pangolins were about the size of little kittens, with fully grown scales and very sharp claws. Their four bright eyes stared wide open at Xu Xin who was squatting down.

Seeing the two little fellows smaller than herself, Keke curiously walked forward and gently patted the head of the small pangolins with her little paw, just like how Xu Xin would pet her head.

The small pangolin being patted didn’t seem frightened; instead, it struggled out of the grass nest and stared back at Keke with its big eyes. The other one stayed in the nest, making tiny sounds.

What puzzled him was that these two small pangolins didn’t have any blood patterns on them, looking like ordinary small pangolins.

Were the offspring of mutant beasts just normal beasts?

Just now, he glanced over the entire area filled with pangolins covered in blood patterns everywhere, except for that giant one, none were without blood patterns.

He suddenly understood why this pangolin wanted him to take its children away.

These two small pangolins were possibly abandoned by their group because they were not mutant pangolins.

Perhaps, in this pangolin group, only mutant pangolins were accepted. Any non-mutant pangolins born were abandoned or killed.

Although this pangolin was certainly no match for that giant pangolin, it was still quite big. With its long tail, it was three meters in total length, while an adult pangolin usually with its tail reaches just over a meter.

When Xu Xin looked at the pangolin group earlier, he didn’t see any bigger than this one, most were around a meter. It was clearly the strongest apart from that giant pangolin.

From this perspective, the broken scale armor on this large pangolin was probably shattered to protect its children.

It had been ostracized by the pangolin group.

So, it took the risk of being killed by Mimi Silver King to come before Xu Xin and guide him, hoping he would take its children away to ensure their survival.

Xu Xin felt his guess was probably correct, and he asked, ”Do you want me to take your children away?”

It looked at the two small pangolins playing with Keke in the grass nest and nodded, then cast a faint glance toward Xu Xin.

”If I don’t take them away, will they die?”

The large pangolin nodded again.

”Alright, I agree.” Xu Xin naturally agreed, keeping two small pangolins wasn’t much trouble, but he added, ”However, you have to come with us.”

In the short term, the two small pangolins would not bring much benefit other than being somewhat cute as pets.

But this large pangolin was different; it looked strong. Even though it wasn’t a mid-level mutant beast, since its claws had already mutated, it must be on the verge of upgrading to a mid-level mutant creature, just like Silver King Mimi before it evolved.

This state was the best option for him, even better than a mid-level mutant beast, because his mutant beast contract could only bind low-level mutant beasts.

With the Chang Yin Family missing, he had no way to craft contracts himself, so he had to be sparing with the ones he had to make the most of them. Naturally, forming contracts with mutant beasts like this pangolin was ideal.

The pangolin hesitated and didn’t respond immediately.

Seizing the moment, Xu Xin pointed at Silver King Mimi, who was no longer so wary, and Afu, who was already hanging upside down above the cave, and said, ”Look at them, they’re all mutant creatures. I suppose you asked me to take your children away because you were ostracized here. Come with us.”

”Yip!” Keke ran to the large pangolin’s side and patted its thick, short leg with her little paw.

Silver King and Mimi were not as aggressive as before.

Mimi had always been kept in the underground city and, being a feline, didn’t have communal living, so it lacked empathy, just lying on the ground without attacking.

However, Silver King, once the leader of a wolf pack, had experienced betrayal and abandonment by its pack after being severely injured. It walked over to the large pangolin, patted its scale armor comfortingly with its paw.

Xu Xin picked up the two small pangolins and teased them. These little guys were not afraid of people; they even lay in his arms, looking up at him with watery eyes.

”Come with me, and I’ll make you stronger. Look at those two, they were once at the same level as you, perhaps even lower.” Xu Xin pointed at Silver King and Mimi; Silver King had started as a common beast, certainly not better than this pangolin. ”But now, they’re each stronger than you.”

Silver King made a soft howl, indicating it was true.

The large pangolin was convinced, walked over to Xu Xin, and lay down, signifying that it would go with them.

Xu Xin smiled. Excellent, with this pangolin, he could possibly start exploring the underground near the treehouse!

In the future, not only would he have his treehouse in the air and a yard on the ground protected by a plant heart, but he would also have an underground space to utilize!

With one hand holding the two small pangolins, he took out a mutant beast contract and said to the pangolin, ”I’m going to make a contract with you now, so we can become true partners.”

After saying that, Xu Xin crushed the contract.

The contract was successful, perhaps because he was holding the small pangolins, and with the two little ones being completely accepting, the large pangolin didn’t resist at all, letting the remnants absorb into its body.

[Contracted with the mutant pangolin, gained 90 points.]

The point value made Xu Xin raise an eyebrow. Back when he contracted with Mimi, it was 90 points too. Clearly, this large pangolin, just like Mimi back then, was about to become a mid-level mutant beast.

On the map, the pangolin’s position lit up with a green dot. The map might not show underground enemies, but companions would display irrespective of location.

He hadn’t expected it to be so easy to contract with a pangolin about to upgrade to mid-level, and this pangolin was probably the largest individual anomaly within its tribe.

The two small ones wriggled in his arms, climbing up over his scale armor and snuggling against Xu Xin’s face. He seemed to have a fondness from these little ones.

Xu Xin suddenly recalled the ornamental fish attracted to him during the rainy season, seeing him they didn’t flee but circled around him instead.

Could he have some innate trait that attracts animals? When he first encountered Keke, she didn’t resist after he picked her up, despite being usually cautious of danger.

In any case, this pangolin has now become one of them.

The third burrow also proved to be quite fruitful.

”Alright, let’s head out,” Xu Xin said, holding two small pangolins. ”Since you’re coming with us, these little ones will be yours to raise. I’ll provide you with a place to stay. Don’t worry, it’s very safe over there.”

The pangolin nodded and moved to lead Xu Xin out.

As they passed the cave again, Xu Xin looked inside carefully. Apart from that giant creature, all the other pangolins were mutated with blood markings on their bodies.

They all seemed to be sleeping, not a single one moving. However, even so, Xu Xin dared not act recklessly. If it were only these mutated pangolins, it would be manageable, but that giant one was truly intimidating.

A pure giant beast, why is it mixed with a group of mutated beasts?

Wait... In the entire pangolin group, only that giant pangolin doesn’t have blood markings...

And yet, a mutated pangolin with blood markings gave birth to small pangolins without blood markings... Could it be, these two little ones are the offspring of that giant pangolin?!

Xu Xin glanced at the large pangolin leading the way in front, then turned back for a final look at the pangolin-filled cave, slowly widening his eyes.

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. In the entire cave, the pangolin he had contracted was the largest, and its status was probably second only to that giant pangolin.

The leading large pangolin, seeing Xu Xin lagging behind and sneaking a look at the pangolin group, hurriedly retreated and tugged at him with its big paw, afraid to make any noise lest it alarm the group inside.

Xu Xin walked a little further along with it, unable to resist asking, ”Who is the father of these two little ones?”

He knew this large pangolin was female.

The large pangolin paused slightly ahead, let out a soft cry, and continued moving forward.

”Eep.” Keke, who had been perched on Xu Xin’s shoulder teasing the two small pangolins in his arms, made a sound, gesturing a large circle with its hands.

Xu Xin took a deep breath, ”It really is that big guy.”

”Eep.” Keke nodded in agreement.

Does this mean he has eloped with the giant pangolin’s mate? My gosh, what if it emerges from the ground to come after me for its spouse?

Xu Xin looked again at the two small pangolins in his arms, his eyes nearly shining.

No wonder these two small pangolins have such hard scales at such a young age, turns out they are exceptionally gifted!

They are indeed his greatest find in this burrow!

These are the offspring of a mutated beast and a giant beast! They possess the bloodline of a giant beast!

Will these little ones become very large when they grow up?

Based on his analysis, giant beasts and mutated beasts are two different evolutionary paths. Now, he had both, and a red panda that, for some unknown reason, could ignore the world’s rules.

He felt like he was about to become a Beast Tamer. It would have been even more so if Mimi and Afu were willing to enter the bracelet; releasing them when needed would truly be like a Summoner.

As for this pangolin, Xu Xin didn’t plan to put it in the bracelet because it needed to raise the two little ones, and pangolins have no teeth and eat insects. Keeping it in the bracelet would mean he’d have to feed it and catch insects for it, which was too much trouble.

Better to let it roam freely. Anyway, with the plant heart, his treehouse’s vicinity is very safe, allowing it to dig and nest as it pleases.

A few minutes later, Xu Xin and his party exited through the original entrance, returning to the space below the burrow, and then followed the passage back to the ground.

”Let’s go back... Wait a minute, let’s first check out the burrow with the mutated plant heart.”

Quickly, they were beneath the second cave, surrounded by soil blackened by smoke, with an unpleasant smell.

The one-meter or so hole was still there.

”Do you know about this hole?” Xu Xin pointed at it, asking the large pangolin.

The large pangolin emitted a fine, bird-like cry.

With Keke gesturing beside him, Xu Xin understood its meaning.

This hole was indeed made by a certain mutated pangolin, probably a scout from their group drilling around and accidentally ending up here.

Really? Could that be true?

However, Xu Xin didn’t want to delve into it any further, as he still had to go back and allocate the fragments of the mutated plant heart, so he led his beasts back to the treehouse.

Xu Xin wanted to take the pangolin up, but like Afu, it wasn’t too keen on entering the treehouse.

At this moment, a prompt sound appeared in Xu Xin’s mind.

[Plant heart growth completed, symbiotic with the treehouse, will protect an area within a hundred meters of the treehouse]

A hundred meters in radius?

That’s over thirty thousand square meters! This yard is quite large!

Xu Xin smiled, patting the back of the large pangolin, ”You don’t need to go inside the treehouse. You can settle anywhere within this hundred-meter range; rest assured, it’s very safe!”

Just then, his watch vibrated. He raised his hand to check; it was a private message from Li Wenxi.

”Xu Xin, Ji Chaoyang is back! He also killed that big heart!”