Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 383 I Have the Mad Dragon Disease

"Phew—finally dead..."

Lin Lin swung his shield axe and slashed repeatedly at the throat, finally confirming that the Rathalos was indeed dead. He then collapsed to the ground, tossing aside the shield axe, which was covered in purplish-black blood, and began to breathe heavily.

Just now, in order to overcome the Mad Dragon Disease, he used all his strength to frantically fight against the Mad Dragon transformed into a male fire dragon. As his blood and qi boiled, he became more adept at fighting. However, such enhancement was not without its price. When the heat subsided and his whole body relaxed, Lin Lin found himself extremely tired. His hands and feet were so weak that he could hardly lift them, and even his stomach was rumbling.

Feeling the hunger rising in his stomach, Lin Lin tried to reach into his bag for some food, but he couldn't even muster the strength to lift a finger. With a sigh, Lin Lin simply lay down on the ground, staring blankly at the sky.

I'm so tired, I don't want to move at all... The floor feels so soft and comfortable... Ugh, my eyelids are so heavy...

In a daze, Lin Lin vaguely heard a series of chaotic sounds, but they were as indistinct as if they were coming through a layer of cotton. His body seemed to be being moved, but his eyelids, which felt like they were filled with lead, could not be lifted. Lin Lin felt like a small boat on the sea, rocking back and forth. The sun and moon turned in the sky, and the brilliant starry sky turned into a dazzling sun.

"Great, boss, you're finally awake, meow!"

Suddenly, a large, furry face appeared before him, almost filling his entire field of vision. At the same time, he heard its joyful cry, and Lin Lin's chaotic mind finally began to work.

"Dates?"

Lin Lin's pupils contracted slightly as he focused on the large face in front of him, and he recognized the identity of this Ailu.

He tried to sit up straight, but as soon as his elbows touched the ground, his body went limp. If Yezao hadn't caught Lin Lin in time, he probably would have collapsed.

Shaking his groggy head, Lin Lin looked around and found himself in a forest. The tree trunks and rocks around him were covered with crooked and messy cat paw-shaped graffiti. A campfire was burning quietly in the distance, and the firelight reflected off the graffiti, giving it a fiery red hue.

"here it is……"

"This is where the steak family lives, meow."

Lin Lin glanced at the graffiti that had no clear meaning and nodded slightly. Indeed, the style of these graffiti clearly indicated that they were created by the orcs. Since this was the territory of the Beef Steak and his tribe, it was not surprising.

"But... why am I here?"

Dates didn't answer directly, but looked at him with a gaze that hinted at worry:

"Boss, how are you feeling, meow?"

"How about it?"

Lin Lin wanted to stretch his arms and say, "It's fine," but when he actually raised his arms, he realized that something seemed a little off.

Why have I become so weak?
I can't muster any strength at all...

Seeing Lin Lin's reaction, Yezao's worry deepened. After hesitating for a moment, she said in a deep voice:
"A Lu who knows some medical skills examined you, and she said you're like this because you're infected with some kind of special virus, and... it can't cure you either, meow..."

Date looked at Lin Lin with a complicated expression, "The pathogen should be that male Rathalos that came back to life, Boss. You told me not to get close back then, did you already realize the problem, meow..."

Lin Lin turned his head, avoiding Yezao's gaze:

"Well... I guess so, but it was a decision made out of caution at the time."

He lowered his head, stared at his palm, and made a grasping motion.

"Although I guessed I would get infected, I didn't expect to be this weak... Come to think of it, I felt like I should have already overcome the virus..."

That said, does weakness and fatigue occur as a symptom of mad dragon disease?

"Gululu..."

Their stomachs rumbled again, and Lin Lin and Yezao both looked down at the source of the sound.

Lin Lin was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked:

"Do you think it's possible that I'm so weak and powerless right now because I'm hungry?"

The date palm was stunned, and after a moment, it jumped three feet high:

"I'll go get you something to eat, boss!"

……

Felynes are not strong in combat, and wild populations have almost no strong hunting ability, so meat is always a luxury for wild populations.

However, the steak tribe is not limited to this. Thanks to their deep cooperation with the Hunter's Guild, they have earned a considerable amount of money. With this money, they are able to obtain a wide variety of resources from humans. Normal raw meat may be scarce, but meat products such as sausages are indispensable.

After wolfing down a large piece of steak, Lin Lin patted his stomach, feeling his regained strength. He turned to look at the steak beside him and said sincerely:

"Thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I would have starved to death... In my weak state just now, I probably wouldn't have been able to hunt raw meat on my own."

"That's only right, meow, after all, Mr. Lin Lin, you hired our cat cart, meow!"

The steak patted its chest forcefully:
"I thought I'd only make a meager living this time, but Mr. Lin Lin, you suddenly collapsed, giving us a chance to rescue you!"

"Alright, Mr. Lin Lin, you should rest well first. I still need to lead my people to transport the corpse of that male Rathalos to Kokot Village. I'll have to take my leave now!"

Goodness, does this count as the number of times the cat cart is used?
Watching Steak greet a large group of Ellu and leave in a grand procession, Lin Lin gritted his teeth, feeling somewhat helpless. This was his first time hiring a cat cart, and he ended up riding in one, not even because he encountered a crisis in battle, but because he was so hungry he fainted!
A third of the reward is gone just like that...

Forget it, without them, I really might not be able to get up again...

Lin Lin shook his head and turned to think about something else.

Logically, he ate a piece of food before the hunt began, and then ate another piece to recover his strength when the Rathalos feigned death due to its berserk state. It's impossible for him to be so hungry that he fainted in such a short time, causing such a drastic depletion of his strength. The only possibility is the effect of the berserk disease.

Lin Lin clenched his fist again, his eyes showing contemplation.

Based on my own experience, while mobilizing life energy to enhance immunity to overcome rotavirus disease does resolve the virus, the large amount of energy consumed in the process cannot be recovered, which is why I was in such a weak state at that time.

"Ok?"

Lin Lin frowned, clenched his fist tightly again, closed his eyes, and carefully felt the sensation for a moment.

"What's wrong, boss, meow?"

When Lin Lin opened his eyes again, his complexion had visibly deteriorated.

"Date, you were right before. I did get infected with the virus, which is why I am like this now."

Dates were somewhat puzzled:

"But boss, didn't you say you'd already overcome the virus, meow?" Lin Lin took a deep breath:

"That was just how I felt at the time, but now it seems things are far more complicated than that..."

He felt nothing when he was weak, but after he regained his strength by eating like crazy, a feeling that was hard to describe spread through his body again.

This feeling wasn't unfamiliar. When the Mad Dragon transformed into a male fire dragon and got up to fight him, he would also have this subtle sensation when those fine purplish-black dust particles entered his body with each breath.

This can only mean one thing.

Although I have overcome the Mad Dragon Disease, I have not overcome the Mad Dragon Virus. As long as there are still a small amount of virus remaining in my body, once I have regained my strength and replenished my energy, these viruses will once again devour my energy to fuel their own proliferation!
This thing looks just like cancer cells!
The reason why I don't react when I'm unconscious is because there's not much energy left in my body for them to devour and multiply. To curb their multiplication, I need to control my diet and keep my energy intake at a very low level.

But that would mean saying goodbye to a hunter's career for good. A hunter who can't eat and has no strength can't possibly fight those monsters.

Therefore, to suppress the Mad Dragon Disease, we probably need to do something like we did when fighting the Mad Dragon that transformed into a male fire dragon before it broke out. We need to activate life energy through a frenzied attack, enhance metabolism and immunity, overcome the disease, and then enter a weakened state, like we are now, to engage in a new round of battle against the remaining Mad Dragon virus. We hope that one day we will be lucky enough to completely eliminate all the Mad Dragon virus.

Aside from that, we'll probably just have to wait for the Hunter's Guild to develop a cure for the Mad Dragon Virus...

Lin Lin was silent for a moment, then suddenly turned to look at the dates:

"Did you bring any Cancel Fruits? Give me one."

Dates was taken aback. How could the boss's thinking jump so quickly? Just now he was talking about the virus, and now he wants to dismiss the fruit...

Wait, does this mean that the fruit can cure the virus?

"I don't know, but I want to give it a try. Since the Elimination Fruit can clear away various negative abnormal states, maybe it will be useful against this virus?"

The date quickly rummaged through the prop bag, but after a few moments, its movements froze.

"There's none?"

"Sorry, boss, meow..."

Lin Lin sighed softly, "It's not your fault. I didn't think it through enough. I felt that hunting Rathalos didn't require canceling the fruit."

"that……"

Just as the atmosphere became somber, a somewhat timid voice rang out. Lin Lin and Yezao looked in the direction of the voice and saw a dark-skinned Melaluru cautiously raising its paw in a dark corner, holding a fruit with a rough, light blue skin.

"The 'dispelling fruit' you're talking about, is it this cat?"

Date palm looked delighted and took the fruit from the tree. "This is it, meow! How did you get it, meow?"

Nia shrank back, glancing at a pile of junk not far away, and muttered to herself:
"I found it over there. I saw it lying there and nobody wanted it, so I picked it up to take a look."

"Back in the day, if someone in the tribe accidentally got covered in mud from those monsters that wallow in mud pits, crushing one of these fruits would make it easy to break free, meow. It feels a lot like the 'dispelling fruit' you guys were talking about, meow..."

After a pause, as if remembering something, it added:
"I was just curious about how this fruit in the forest differed from that in the desert, so I picked it up to take a look, meow. I was just about to return it, meow..."

Dates: ...

Lin Lin: ...

Melaleu, she really is hard to change her nature...

However, at the moment they didn't pay much attention to the fact that the little black cat's hands weren't very clean. After handing the fruit to Lin Lin, Yezao watched with anticipation as he swallowed the fruit in one gulp.

"Boss...how is it, meow..."

Lin Lin closed his eyes, carefully sensed it for a moment, and nodded slightly.

"efficient."

Date palm breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness! If its boss had really contracted an incurable virus while protecting it, it would have felt so guilty...

"Buy more when you go back to Kokot Village."

Date palm suddenly looked up, "W-what do you mean, meow..."

Lin Lin took a deep breath, "It can effectively curb the virus's proliferation, but it can't eradicate it..."

To eradicate it completely, we'll have to wait for the guild to develop a targeted medicine to treat the Mad Dragon Disease. Until then, we'll probably have to rely on the Elimination Fruit to tide us over...

After moving his body again, Lin Lin found that apart from the lingering presence of the Mad Dragon virus within him, he was basically fine and stood up.

"The steaks and the others shouldn't have gone too far. Let's hurry and catch up with them."

Why are you chasing after it, meow?

"I must hurry back to East Doruma to report this to the guild. The corpse is key evidence and research material, so I must bring it back with me. I can't just send it to the workshop to be completely broken down into materials."

"I got it, meow! Let's go, meow!"

The little black cat, Nia, fell silent as she watched the two of them decide on their next plans in just a few words.

Date took two steps, turned her head slightly, and looked at Niaru:
"What are you still standing there for, meow? We need to hurry up and get going, meow!"

Nia was stunned:

"But aren't you going to that 'Dundorma' place, meow?"

Lin Lin nodded slightly and corrected him:
“It is Dongdoruma, but it’s not like you can’t come along.”

"I promised to help you get home, and I definitely won't go back on my word. It's just that there's something more urgent right now."

"Furthermore, as a hub city across the continent, Dongdoruma makes it very convenient to travel to various parts of the continent. By following us, it will also be easier for you to find your way back home."

Nia Lu was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously.

"Okay, thank you!"

"Alright, meow, stop wasting time, meow! What if we can't catch up with Steak and the others if we waste too much time, meow!"

"The boss said that the fire dragon's corpse is a very important material, meow, it absolutely cannot be lost, meow!"

(End of this chapter)