Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 379 The Dates of Genius

Steak? What a strange name...

Lin Lin muttered to himself, but didn't pay it any mind. He simply pointed behind him to the thin, small black cat:
"By the way, there's something I'd like to ask you for a favor."

"Hmm? Please say 'meow'!"

"Can it follow you while we fight?"

Upon hearing this, the Ellu named Steak glanced at Nial. It had felt something was off earlier. The hunter and the feline were equipped with such fine gear, clearly indicating they were very skilled hunters. But the other follower was only dressed in tattered linen clothes and looked so thin and small, not like someone who could wield a weapon...

Now that Lin Lin explained, it understood that this was probably just a wild Meraru, and the hunter had taken it in out of pity or for some other reason, fearing that he wouldn't be able to protect it during a fight, so he wanted to ask them for help.

After a moment's thought, the steak nodded. "No problem, meow!"

As a wild-living Elru tribe, in addition to various collaborations with humans, they maintain good relations with other Elru tribes and even the Meralu tribe. Even without Lin Lin, if Niu Niu encountered a Meralu in distress, he would choose to lend a hand.

"I'll go back and gather my people right away, meow. Please wait a moment, meow!"

After finishing his sentence, Steak turned to leave.

"Well, there's no need to rush like this..."

Lin Lin was a little embarrassed. He had originally planned to call the people over only when the hunt was actually about to begin.

"That's not how it is, meow!"

The steak turned around, looking very serious.

"Our cooperation agreement with the guild stipulates that once we accept a rescue team mission, we must ensure that we stay close to the hunter at all times and remain 100% vigilant, meow!"

Is this really how much we uphold the spirit of contracts...?

Lin Lin nodded. "Alright then, I'll set off as soon as you get back."

……

Amidst a thick thicket of shrubs on rolling green hills.

Lin Lin quietly parted a crack and, through the obstruction of the branches and leaves, could see a group of herbivorous dragons leisurely munching on grass not far ahead.

Through repeated observation of several individuals, Lin Lin was able to confirm that the herbivorous dragons in front were the same unlucky ones he had scared away yesterday.

Although they lost the oldest member of their group yesterday, the herbivorous dragons have returned to their leisurely lives overnight, as if yesterday's attack was just a trivial incident.

Lin Lin wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but it seemed like in just one night, these herbivorous dragons had grown a little bigger. This growth rate was really outrageous.

According to some tidbits of knowledge gleaned from casual conversations while traveling with caravans, it seems that unlike most monsters that mate once a year or even once every few years, herbivorous dragons can mate twice a year. Newborn cubs can grow into adults in just one year, making them comparable to rabbits in Australia.

If it weren't for their extremely weak combat abilities and slow running speed, which made them the prey of almost all carnivorous monsters and thus created a delicate balance in their population, the entire continent would probably have become the domain of herbivorous dragons before long...

"Hunter, what are we doing squatting here, meow?"

The black cat Nia squeezed its head through the gap and peered out, not understanding what was so interesting about that group of herbivorous dragons.

"Shh, don't disturb the boss, Meow..."

Date gently pressed Nia's head down, and to ensure the effectiveness of its camouflage, it lowered its voice and whispered in her ear:

"This place is teeming with herbivorous dragons, so it's bound to become a feeding ground for large monsters in the area. And for monsters like Rathalos, flying is very energy-consuming, so they need to eat at least three or four times a day."

"Our view is relatively open here. If we're just a little patient, we'll definitely spot the fire dragon cat coming to hunt for food..."

The breath from Date's mouth brushed against Nia's furry ears, causing her ears to twitch involuntarily. It was too close; the breath tickled her...

However, since Yezao had said so, Niaru didn't do anything else and just quietly lay low.

After all, it was really curious how the hunter, whose body wasn't much taller than itself, could fight against such a terrifying creature whose size was like blotting out the sky.

Its wait didn't last long; about half an hour later, a fiery red figure appeared on the horizon.

"coming."

Lin Lin was the first to notice the other party, his eyes narrowed slightly as he carefully observed the fiery red creature circling in the air.

Although they were quite far apart, making it impossible to see every single scale on the other's body clearly, their general shape was still discernible.

This is a disabled fire dragon. The end of its tail looks like it has been cut off, making its body proportions look very disproportionate. There is no blood dripping from the wound, and no exposed flesh can be seen. It looks like an old wound.

"Are you going to have sex, meow?"

Nia was somewhat excited, but fearing it might affect Lin Lin, she could only lower her voice.

Lin Lin shook his head. "There's no need to hunt it. It's a fire dragon with a broken tail... well, let's just call it Little Cripple."

"So what if I'm disabled, meow?"

Lin Lin fell silent for a moment, because this reminded him of Da Kong's blind left eye. Leaving someone with the same disability to compete would reduce the chances of Da Kong being rejected when looking for a wife in the future. But was this something he could say?

It was Yezao who thoughtfully provided an explanation for Lin Lin:
"Because our goal is to control the population of fire dragons in the forest next year in advance, meow. It's very difficult for a disabled fire dragon like this to find a mate, meow. If we hunt it, we're just hunting a fire dragon, which doesn't achieve our goal at all, meow."

So, after circling for a while, the fire dragon, whose flight posture wasn't exactly elegant, finally selected its target. With a swift descent, it caught a herbivorous dragon with its bare foot, then vigorously flapped its wings and flew back into the sky, wobbling away into the distance. It seemed its nest must be over there.

Having witnessed the entire hunting process of the disabled little guy, Lin Lin smacked his lips and changed his posture: "Luckily, I didn't decide to hunt that guy just now."

Dates looked puzzled. "Boss, what did you find, meow?"

Lin Lin nodded:

"Although the little cripple's tail is broken, which will affect its flight balance, its tail has obviously been broken for a long time. It has fully adapted to the change in body weight and has honed new flying skills." "Although it looks a bit ugly when it flies, its flight trajectory is also more unpredictable and difficult to control. If we try to deal with it based on our experience of observing the open sky, we are likely to suffer a great loss."

Date nodded knowingly, glancing at the little disabled boy who had already flown far away, and sighed inwardly.

'As expected of the boss, Meow! She deduced so much from just one hunting scene. Looks like I still have a lot to learn, Meow…'

Time passed quietly while we waited. With the special insect repellent powder, we didn't have to worry about mosquito bites even when hiding in the bushes.

However, Nia looked left and right. Lin Lin's full-body heavy armor and the silver-white fur covering his entire body meant that he wouldn't be afraid of being bitten even without the medicine powder.

Date noticed that this guy was fidgeting and looking around restlessly, as if he wanted to say something but was too embarrassed to. So Date took the initiative and asked in a low voice:
"What's wrong, meow? Are you feeling unwell, meow? Or do you need to go to the toilet, meow?"

Niaru: ?!
What do you mean, "go to the toilet"? You're the one who needs to go to the toilet!

Hmm... Now that I've said that, it seems like I'm actually getting a little into it, meow...

"No, no, I mean, why did we use that insect repellent powder before, even though you're heavily armored and covered in fur and don't need to be afraid of bites?"

"Oh, so it's this cat..."

Dates nodded knowingly, "We're not trying to drive away those mosquitoes, kitty!"

"Not mosquitoes?"

"It's a beetle species, meow! Like flying beetles, beetles, giant bees, shield beetles, and other insects that are classified as small monsters, meow! Based on the previous experimental results, as long as we use these powders, they will actively stay away from us, reducing the risk of exposure, meow!"

Nia's eyes lit up. Although she only vaguely understood the term uttered by the date palm, the mere mention of small monster insects gave her a target in mind. In the desert where they originally lived, their tribe was often troubled by these large insects.

"Senior Date Palm, could you teach me the recipe for the medicine powder, meow? If we can go back and our clansmen are still around, we might really need this recipe, meow..."

After Nia finished speaking, she turned her head and saw that Dates looked hesitant. She paused for a moment, then quickly added:
"I'm not a freeloader, meow! I'll give you a paw print as payment, meow! Of course, if you don't want to teach me, that's fine too, meow..."

"No, it's not that I'm unwilling to teach..."

The date palm tugged at its beard in frustration:
"The main problem is that the raw materials aren't easy for you to obtain. The main ingredient for this thing is extracted from Guga's pheromones, meow..."

"What is Kuga, meow?"

"It's the name of a scythe beetle, meow. A scythe beetle is a giant beetle with forked horns on its head, meow. If you used to live in a desert region, you might have seen one, meow."

Lin Lin listened quietly to the two cats' conversation without interrupting.

It must be said that the date palm is indeed a genius. Perhaps in a direct battle, apart from throwing some props and acting as a crowd controller, its actual combat ability is not very strong, but its inventions have undoubtedly made up for this.

Whether it's the cat-style ballista mounted on Jumpy's back for mobile shooting, Jumpy's armor made from Zinogre materials, or the gliding suit modified from the wing membrane of Pteranodon, they are all quite powerful inventions that can be used in hunting.

The deworming powder that the two cats were just talking about is the latest creation from Yezao.

Ever since bringing Guga to her side, Date Palm has been very interested in this newly added member of the beetle species. After accidentally noticing that there were almost no mosquitoes around Guga, she began to study the pheromones it secreted.

In scientific research, the most important things are two things: inspiration and materials. With a large, living insect like Guga, the core pheromone raw material is naturally not lacking. Therefore, the research progress of the date is incredibly fast. In just two days from Lokrak to Dongdoruma, the first generation of insect repellent dust was successfully developed on the airship.

Of course, this is just a trial version, and its actual effectiveness has not been tested in actual combat. Date palm naturally brought a certain amount of dust with her when she came to Kokot Village to hunt. There are quite a few insects in the forest. In Date palm's words, this is the best opportunity for practical application.

Lin Lin glanced at a giant bee that had approached briefly in the distance before immediately moving away again, and smiled slightly.

What a genius! Dates, the effect is really good.

Lin Lin caught a glimpse of fiery red again out of the corner of his eye, and immediately suppressed his smile, interrupting the two cats who were still nibbling at each other's ears:
"Watch out, another fire dragon has appeared!"

Yezao's expression turned serious, and Niaru obediently huddled into a ball, but her eyes were full of anticipation.

Are we going to go?

"Tsk, this won't work either, let's wait a bit longer..."

"Huh? Why are you meowing..."

Nia Lu parted the bushes in front of her and peered at the male fire dragon that was rapidly swooping down.

This time, before Lin Lin could explain, Yezao spoke first:

"Because this guy is an old cat! Let's call him Old Deng Cat. Look at its coat color, it's not as vibrant as it was before when it was little crippled. Its scales are covered with a faint grayish-white hue. I guess it doesn't have many years left to live, meow!"

Nia was quite quick-witted and realized what was happening immediately:

"Since it's an elderly individual, it's highly likely it won't reproduce anymore, so there's no need to attack it, meow?"

Lin Lin's eyes showed appreciation. The little black cat was teachable. He hadn't noticed before, but now it seemed like it could be a good hunting cat... Well, it was just too thin and weak. Its physical fitness was a major drawback.

"Let's keep waiting. Two fire dragons have appeared in less than an hour. Although we haven't had a suitable target yet, we'll have one soon if we keep waiting."

Another forty minutes passed, and a fiery red figure reappeared in the sky. This time, the creature's scales were very conspicuous, like a raging flame, indicating that it was a very energetic individual, no longer the old geezer like Old Deng from the previous game.

"this time……"

Before Nia could finish speaking, Lin Lin pointed his finger at the fiery red figure in the distant sky, then shook his head.

"Or not."

"for……"

"Because this guy is still a sub-adult, only about thirteen or fourteen meters long, and he's far from sexual maturity. Not only is there no need to hunt him, but the guild also doesn't recommend hunting such young individuals."

"Tsk, what's going on with Senqiu? Three fire dragons have arrived in such a short time, and three of them are old, weak, sick, or disabled. Will the next one be a sick person?"

(End of this chapter)