Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 507 The Reason for the Ferocity
"The White Wind Squad?"

Lin Lin paused slightly, then thought of something.

Whether it's a coincidence or not, in the game, the flag of the fifth Gu Long Investigation Team is white, and the emblem is the White Wind.

(As shown in the picture, by the way, according to the setting book, the first generation has about 30 members, the second generation has 90 members, the third generation has 110 members, the fourth generation has 200 members, and the fifth generation has 500 members. The fifth generation alone has more members than the first four generations combined.)

In Monster Hunter: World, two quest names have become deeply ingrained in players' minds. One is "The Azure Star That Guides the Way," which players use to refer to the protagonist of the game. The other is "The White Wind of the New World," so the Azure Star also has another nickname: "The White Wind."

It can't be such a coincidence...

Lin Lin instinctively wanted to deny it, but when he recalled that he had taken over the role of the Phantom Troupe hunter, he suddenly felt uncertain.

It doesn't seem impossible, does it?

Will I really have to elbow those three forbidden things myself when the time comes?

Will it win?
Despite having already defeated an ancient dragon, the Heavenly Returning Dragon, Lin Lin still didn't believe that his small frame could defeat those forbidden creatures simply by using his ultimate form.

Forget it, there's no use thinking about it so much. It's not like we just found out we were going to encounter something forbidden. Back at Lingfeng, the Ancestral Dragon was practically jumping out, but nothing happened to us!
Even if that's the case, we'll see when the time comes! I believe in my future self!

"Yes, it's pretty good, I have no objections."

After Lin Lin expressed his opinion, "White Wind" was unanimously approved and officially became the name of their team.

So the group took out their water pouches and clinked them together as a toast, and then Brave suddenly spoke up:
"By the way, there's one more thing."

Sensing everyone's gaze, Brave paused:

"Don't you think it's strange?"

"Boss, I'm back, meow!"

Nia Lu had just finished her investigation and entered the cave where the camp was located when she heard Bref's question and instinctively asked him.

"What strange meow?"

Bref and Shion glanced at Nial with a hint of curiosity. Although they had met before, it had just been brought back by Lin Lin from Xiu Redsen Hill and was a skinny little Melal. They never expected that after so long, it would become Yoko's companion cat, not only growing bigger but also with glossy fur.

However, after glancing at it twice, Brave returned to the main topic:
"That White Gale, we had already gained the upper hand, but then it suddenly turned ferocious halfway through. If it weren't for Shion using paralysis bullets to control it, who knows what the outcome would have been!"

Shion nodded in agreement.

“Indeed, the ferocious monsters we’ve dealt with before were all already in their ferocious state when we met them, but this White Gale suddenly went into ferocious form halfway through.”

After saying that, she suddenly slapped her forehead:
"Perhaps through that White Gale, we can uncover some clues that will help us resolve the issue of the Frenzied Transformation?!"

Ye Zi remained silent, only chuckling to himself.

Lin Lin leaned over and gently poked her waist, causing Ye Zi to tremble.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Stop it, it itches!"

Ye Zi slapped away Lin Lin's restless hand, rolled her eyes at him, and then turned to look at Nia Lu:

"So what do you think Niaru went to do just now?"

Before anyone could answer, Nia Lu stepped forward first, arms crossed, looking smug and self-satisfied.

"I was just following the boss's orders to investigate Bai Jifeng's activities, meow!"

"And what's more, I actually discovered something unusual, meow! Maybe it's related to that strange phenomenon you guys were talking about, meow!"

Lin Lin's eyes lit up. Wow, there really was a discovery?

"Let's go, let's go see what's going on!"

He had been extremely curious about what the ferocious transformation was all about, and now that he could finally find out, he was naturally very eager.

Chacha stared blankly at the hunters who hurriedly got up, lost in thought.

Didn't we just rescue the eldest brother? We clearly agreed that we'd go back to the village after eating and resting, right? What's going on now?

……

The "unusual" thing that Nialu found was not far from the camp and the place where they fought White Gale. It was on the edge of a jungle near the mouth of the sea, so the group did not bother with the Sky again and walked there.

It was the carcass of a dromedary, with most of its flesh and internal organs gone, leaving only bare white bones.

The dragon's corpse showed some signs of decay, but considering the dampness of the Waterless Forest, which would greatly accelerate the decomposition of the remains, it can be inferred that it had been dead for no more than three days.

Of course, if it were just a corpse like this, it wouldn't be anything special for hunters who are used to seeing carcasses in the wild. It has something even more special about it.

"So what's so special about this thing?"

Ziyuan held her chin up, looking left and right, but found nothing except for the unpleasant smell of rotting flesh.

"This guy must have been hunted down by White Gale!"

Nia didn't directly answer Ziyuan's question. Instead, she first disappeared into a nearby thicket, emerging a moment later with a thorn in her hand. The hunters were quite familiar with these thorns, as they had encountered White Gale several times recently when they fought it, and the slightly whitish color of the thorn undoubtedly confirmed that its owner was White Gale and not some other velociraptor.

Brave scratched his head. "So? White Gale ate this droopy dragon before the battle, and then went into ferocious form?"

Isn't it a bit too presumptuous to draw such a hasty conclusion?

"That's right, meow!"

To everyone's surprise, Nial nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but her arguments clearly went beyond that:
"But it's not just because White Gale hunted it, meow! I smelled a scent on this corpse that is extremely similar to White Gale's, meow!"

As Nia Lu spoke, she took out a small bottle, opened it, and shook it at them.

Lin Lin and Ye Zi might feel a little unfamiliar with the liquid in the bottle, but Zi Yuan and Bref were extremely familiar with it:
"Is this the Ferocious Extract?"

Nia nodded. "And it was extracted from White Gale, meow!"

Bref took the bottle of ferocious extract, sniffed it carefully, and then held it up to the sun for a moment. Perhaps because White Gale had only recently become ferocious before being killed by them, the concentration of this ferocious extract was obviously much lower than the ones extracted from ferocious monsters in the previous times, and the taste was much weaker.

Bref glanced at the carcass of the dromedary again, a question popping into his head. The smell of the ferocious extract was faint enough, so how did he manage to distinguish the similar smell to the ferocious extract amidst the strong stench of the carcass?
Nia sniffed and gave a slightly smug smile:
"I told you, meow, my senses are very sharp, meow!"

In its former tribe, Nialu was the one with the most sensitive senses, and was known by the tribe members as a natural "master thief." After all, if one didn't have sufficiently keen senses, given Melalu's habit of stealing dates whenever she felt like it, she would be in big trouble if she got caught...

However, there's absolutely no need to mention this.

Yoko pondered for a moment:
"The Savage Extract was found inside the Savage Monster. Although we cannot yet determine whether the Savage transformation caused the extract to appear in the body, or whether the presence of the extract in the body led to the Savage transformation, if we assume the second possibility, does that mean that White Gale became Savage because the Dracodon it ate contained a similar substance?"

Listening to Yoko's analysis, Lin Lin seemed to remember something and quickly asked Niaru:
"Did you see the dromedary that we hunted back from the Sky Hunt? Is that smell only on the carcass of that dromedary, or on both of them? We've hunted quite a few dromedaries in the primeval forest and underground volcano before. Did they have this smell on them then?"

Nia was stunned for a moment, then carefully recalled the smell of roasted meat she had smelled when she returned to the camp. After a long while, she nodded vigorously:
"That's right, meow. The dromedary that Da Kong hunted had a similar scent, meow, but the previous dromedaries definitely didn't have this scent, meow!"

Now Shion understood:

"So, the root cause of the ferocity transformation is actually the drooping skin dragons of the Flooded Forest region? But why?"

Yoko corrected her:

"It's not necessarily because of the drooping skin dragon. If the ferocity is caused by ingesting a similar substance, then the drooping skin dragon should have ingested this substance from somewhere in the Waterless Forest. If this substance is eaten by other monsters, it will also cause the appearance of ferocious monsters."

Brave slammed his fist down:
"I understand. The root of the problem lies in the Submerged Forest... No, the ferocity phenomenon doesn't only occur in the Submerged Forest. Similar situations have occurred in the Isolated Island and the Ancient Forest. So, it's because of some unknown change in these areas that the ferocity phenomenon has occurred!"

"The key issue now is to find out what caused these changes in these areas!"

For some reason, the ecology of several regions has undergone drastic changes? Doesn't that sound familiar?

Lin Lin and Ye Zi exchanged a glance, simultaneously contemplating a certain possibility, and said in unison:
"Another Gu Long is stirring things up?!"

There's no mistake. In the Monster Hunter world, once a stable ecosystem undergoes a sudden change, you can directly blame it on the Elder Dragons. While blaming them all ten times might be unfair, there will definitely be some that slip through the net eight or ten times!
—Yes, this injustice refers to powerful creatures like the Mantis of the Dragon King's Pavilion, which are not ancient dragons.

Lin Lin rubbed his temples and sighed softly.

Damn it! I thought there was only one giant sea dragon causing the earthquake in Moga Village, and I could just help it smooth out its horns. But now a new ancient dragon has popped up. What's worse, I no longer have the advantage of knowing the game's storyline!

Ziyuan looked around at her companions and cautiously asked:
"So...should we go back to the village first, or stay in Shuimolin to investigate the cause of the anomaly?"

Lin Lin looked at Zi Yuan and Brave, and thought for a moment:
"Let's split up. You and Bref have been working hard lately and are exhausted. Go back and rest first. Yoko and I have been idle for too long, so we'll stay in Mizuki Forest to investigate."

Brave turned to look at Yoko, who naturally had no objections. Considering that she had just finished two hunts before fighting White Gale and indeed needed a rest, she nodded.

"Okay, let's take the boat back."

Lin Lin twitched the corner of his mouth:
"Why bother with a boat? Let Da Kong take you back."

Just as Nia Lu mentioned that the drooping dragon that Da Kong was preying on also had a similar smell to the ferocious extract, Lin Lin had already gripped the Bond Stone tightly and asked Da Kong if he felt anything unusual or uncomfortable.

After fighting Bai Jifeng and experiencing how the opponent became insane and only knew how to attack, he realized that becoming insane, like becoming a berserk dragon, was not a good thing. He didn't want Da Kong to also become insane and go crazy.

The good news is that Osora did not show any abnormalities, perhaps because the amount of the substance he ingested was not large enough.

In this way, we can't let Ooku stay in the Submerged Forest. According to what Brev mentioned when he talked to him about the ferocity situation on the way, there are no ferocious monsters in the Moga Forest yet. So we can probably assume that the Moga Forest has not been affected yet, and it is a good place for Ooku to stay.

After finalizing the next action plan, Da Kong quickly came over at Lin Lin's summons and took Bref and Shion on his back.

After learning of Lin Lin's arrangements, Da Kong was initially reluctant to leave, but after Lin Lin explained the reasons, it could only let out a helpless growl, flap its wings, and take off again.

Lin Lin waved to them:

"Don't worry, it won't be long before we find a clue and go back."

Well, it would be best to resolve the issue of the Great Sea Dragon first when we get back. It's just a matter of grinding down the horn; it's not that difficult and it can also alleviate the villagers' concerns.

In comparison, this unknown ancient dragon that can affect multiple regions is obviously much more difficult to deal with. They might even have to seek support from the guild. Their small team alone can't handle it. As for asking Jump for help, Lin Lin had considered it, but firstly, Jump was busy, and secondly, if a major battle really broke out between the ancient dragons, unless it was fought in some forbidden zone, Jump would have to fight with restraint in order not to cause too much damage to the ecosystem. If he were seriously injured as a result, it would be no joke.

So, the White Wind Squad, which had only recently reunited, split up again and began to act separately.

Da Kong returned to Moga Village with Bref, Shion, and Chacha, while Lin Lin stayed in the Submerged Forest with Yoko, Niaru, Shiro, Afu, and the still seriously injured Guga to investigate the source of the ferocity.

(End of this chapter)