"Do you have confidence you can handle it?"
Mai Mai nodded, "Mm-hmm, my psychic powers are meant for times like these."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Upon hearing this, Mai Mai stood up from the sand dune, slung her large backpack over her shoulder, and penguin-ran down it.
She said something to Boggy, who glanced in the direction of the Thousand-Tooth Sand Bream, then put away his mechanical spear and climbed the dune.
Ma Lu noticed that her clothes were almost completely soaked with blood and said offhandedly, "I have a spare set of hunting clothes in my storage box; you should change into it."
Boggy seemed surprised at first, then shook his head, "No need, it's just a bit of blood..."
"It's not just the blood; you've been standing next to that pile of rotten flesh for so long you're nearly marinated in it."
Boggy sniffed his sleeve and indeed noticed a stench, but he still insisted, "I'm not changing."
"Hmm, are you worried about Mai Mai seeing you? Then you can go to the other side of the dune, and I'll keep watch for you."
"Impossible!" Boggy blurted out.
Having said that, he realized his reaction was a bit too intense, and quickly added, "It's none of your business."
"How can it be none of my business, when I'm the one squatting here with you?" Ma Lu said, covering his nose.
"Then just... stay away from me."
"Tsk, you're in such a bad mood today, is it because of Mai Mai? If you really don't like her, you don't have to accept her into the Hunting Group. After all, you still have plenty of other candidates."
"Or is it because she's an acquaintance that you can't bring yourself to reject her? I can play the bad guy for you, exercise my authority as the deputy leader, and fail her assessment."
"Stop joking; do you have any idea how many Hunting Groups will come knocking if they hear she's planning a comeback?" Boggy said with a stern face.
"Is she that formidable? I feel like she's not even as good as me."
As a member of the spectator duo, Ma Lu felt his level was on par with Mai Mai's, and at least he had scored a head in his account. Mai Mai was just a pure cheerleader; no wonder her nickname was "Tagging Along".
"Can she really handle that Thousand-Tooth Sand Bream on her own? Don't get eaten."
"She... might not be as strong as you, but she's quite powerful. I haven't seen her in action, but my father once mentioned that Mai Mai's abilities are terrifying, and that was the first time I heard him use 'terrifying' to describe someone."
Hearing Boggy speak like this, Ma Lu also became interested. This was his third time in this dimension, but most of his time was spent with Boggy. Aside from Chi Qi, who could tear through the sand with his hands, and the Treasure Hunting Group he had encountered, Ma Lu hadn't seen any other Hunters use psychic powers.
It took a grueling half an hour to finally grind the Thousand-Tooth Sand Bream to death.
At the same moment, Ma Lu also received a notification.
[Congratulations, your team has just defeated the formidable Thousand-Tooth Sand Bream. Please choose one of the following three blessings to receive before the 60-second countdown ends.]
Ma Lu's gaze quickly moved downwards, and seeing the three Purple Blessings, he was somewhat disappointed.
But soon, the blessing on the top started to flicker, and he knew it was the effect of triggering the Jackpot from Heartbeat of Wonders.
Ma Lu couldn't help but hold his breath.
Here it came, the biggest gamble of the day. Profit or loss hinged on this one moment!
Ma Lu had never felt half a second to be so prolonged before.
He thought he saw a flash of gold beneath the blessing, but upon closer examination, it seemed a bit blue.
As the flickering stopped, the original Purple Blessings disappeared, replaced by a new blessing.
[Corpse Bomb: When a team member dies, the body explodes after 5 seconds, causing massive one-time damage to all life forms within a radius of 100 meters.]
It was gold, yet not quite. As if it were gold.
This was the first Golden Blessing Ma Lu had obtained in all his hunts, yet the effect was quite abstract.
Was this... a sacrificial tactic?
Ma Lu had never encountered an effect that could only be triggered by turning into a corpse; he glanced around and realized that among the three present, he was the only one who might just be able to use this Golden Blessing.
But even if he could resurrect, he would have to wait for the next time; besides, dying would cause him to drop all the ingredients in his Collection Bag, which would be like working in vain this time.
Moreover, there was another critical point: the effect of [Corpse Bomb] was effective on all living creatures, meaning it didn't distinguish between friend or foe.
One fallen teammate might well lead to the entire Hunting Group being wiped out.
This wasn't a blessing; it was more like an activated nuclear warhead.
The only consolation for Ma Lu was that this hunting trip was nearing its end, and the next time they came, this deadly thing should be refreshed away.
And no matter how frustrating the effect was, its quality was undeniably golden, meaning it should contribute a sizeable number of points in the subsequent settlement.
Looking at it that way, it was quite profitable.