Magic: Reincarnate from high-voltage electricity at the start, level up independently.

Wutong Mountain.

Just as Xiao Pang guessed, since it was still early, Chu Ge took a taxi directly to this future "Monster Ecological Park".

This mountain is only a thousand meters high, but it used to be packed with young people who came to climb and play on weekends.

When Chu Ge was a child, his parents also brought him here.

Standing at the foot of the mountain once again, long-forgotten memories surged back instantly.

She was seven years old that year, single-mindedly rushing to the top of the mountain, leaving her parents far behind, not even their shadows.

result……

She got lost in the mountains.

When the search team found him the next day, two wild boars lay dead beside him, their wounds suggesting they had been beaten to death by a hail of punches.

The past events are still vivid in my mind, yet they are truly unbearable to recall.

Being directionally challenged is truly embarrassing for a dignified time traveler like myself.

Chu Ge reached the entrance to the mountain, only to find it had been sealed off, with a warning sign standing nearby, its words clearly visible:

Monsters are infested inside; entry is prohibited.

In the guard booth next door, an elderly man nearing seventy was leisurely drinking goji berry tea and scrolling through refreshing short videos, without even glancing in their direction.

Also normal.

Monsters are dangerous, and normal people would avoid them at all costs. Who would be so foolish as to venture into them?

Chu Ge made no attempt to conceal himself and openly slipped through the gap in the fence. With light steps, he quickly reached the mountainside.

As soon as I stopped, a huge pile of animal dung came into view, as big as cow dung, and it was clear at a glance that it was not left by an ordinary wild animal.

She crouched down, lightly dipped her index finger in the liquid, rubbed it between her fingertips, and brought it to her lips. After a moment of focused concentration with her eyes closed, she had already reached a conclusion.

"The feces are still warm, and it was expelled no more than five minutes ago. The carnivorous monster is nearby."

Chu Ge stood up and scanned his surroundings. He quickly noticed that the grass nearby was bent and the broken ends were fresh, clearly indicating that it had been crushed by a heavy object.

A knowing glint flashed in her eyes as she lifted her foot and slowly walked into the depths of the dense forest along this hidden "path".

Ten minutes later.

Two figures dressed in the uniforms of Magic No. 1 High School also arrived at this place.

One of them is Xu Wan.

The other person was Tang Xiaoran, the class representative for Chinese language, who was also the other person on the magic core registration form who had condensed two magic cores.

Tang Xiaoran, wearing thick-rimmed black glasses and with bangs almost covering half her face, looked timid as she tugged at Xu Wan's sleeve and whispered, "Xiao Wan, are we... really going to go into the mountains to hunt monsters?"

"No..." Xu Wan looked at her best friend of over ten years, her anger rising, "We're already here, and you're saying this now?"

"We went through a lot of trouble to find out there were demonic beasts here, and we planned to hunt them down. Crystal cores! They're amazing for boosting our strength, we can't miss out!"

"The magic exam is tomorrow. Don't you want to take this opportunity to improve your skills and try for the top ten reward in your grade?"

Xu Wan's father held an important position in the city, and as a result, she obtained crystal cores under certain circumstances, perhaps more than one.

After absorbing the crystal core, her magic core condensation speed increased dramatically, and she condensed three in a short period of time, saving her several days of arduous cultivation.

The feeling of rapidly becoming stronger was completely addictive to her.

She received another gift later.

...and then it was discovered.

Her father was furious, scolding her for ruining his lifelong reputation. He cut off her allowance and forced her to reflect on her actions.

Xu Wan retorted to her father with a righteous indignation:

"Old Deng, times have changed. This is how great conflicts have always been!"

And so, he got another beating on the buttocks.

But Xu Wan had no regrets whatsoever.

A little pocket money and a good beating are nothing compared to nine magic cores now.

She never understood her father's stubbornness.

With the resurgence of magic, the evolution speed of monsters far surpasses that of humans. In just a few months, commander-level monsters capable of withstanding missile attacks have emerged. If it weren't for the fact that human technology still possesses the power to suppress them, the world would have already been overrun by monsters.

In the long run, the world will inevitably change drastically, and may even overturn the nation and its people.

While we still have the resources, the most important thing is to seize the opportunity to improve our capabilities.

"But that's a demonic beast!"

Tang Xiaoran's face turned pale, and she remained hesitant.

"I heard there are mid-level demonic beasts here. The two of us are no match for them."

"What are you afraid of?"

Xu Wan patted her chest confidently, "I have nine magic cores, and you have six."

"The two of us combined possess magic power comparable to one and a half mid-level mages. How could a low-level demonic beast possibly fight us?"

"Even if we encounter a mid-level demonic beast, we might still be able to put up a fight!"

A mid-level mage?

Tang Xiaoran fell silent.

Can strength really be converted like this?

Still unwilling to give up, she whispered, "What if... what if we encounter two mid-level demonic beasts at the same time?"

"There's no such thing as 'what if'!"

Xu Wan glanced around, then grabbed Tang Xiaoran's wrist without saying a word and headed in the opposite direction from Chu Ge.

"I see a huge number of crystal cores beckoning to us over there! Hurry, or they'll all be gone!"

"But……"

"Stop!"

Xu Wan turned around, glared at her, and gave her a warning, feigning ferocity:

"Comrade Tang Xiaoran, I'm informing you as your best friend: if you dare to disrupt morale again, I will..."

"I'll tell your parents that you're a lesbian."

Hearing Xu Wan resort to threats, Tang Xiaoran straightened her back and became defiant:

"Go ahead and say it, I'm not afraid."

"To tell you the truth, my parents already knew. They support me and say that love is a matter of personal freedom."

Seeing Xu Wan's face freeze instantly, she proudly raised her chin.

Hmph, out of ideas now, aren't you?

"Well……"

Xu Wan paused for a moment, then stared into Tang Xiaoran's eyes, her pupils darting around, and tentatively asked:

"So, does Chu Ge know that you like him?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Xiaoran reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristling with anger and turning bright red. She quickly and loudly denied it:

"Ah! What! Don't talk nonsense! I like Chu... Chu Ge? You... you're kidding me!"

"I've never even spoken to her, how could I possibly like her!"

Ha ha ha.

Xu Wan sighed as she looked at her blatant attempt to cover up her embarrassment.

"Sigh, honey, stop pretending."

"The last time I went to your room, the photos of Chu Ge on the wall were stacked up to be thicker than the Yongle Encyclopedia."

"Eating, taking magic classes, walking on the street, meditating with eyes closed... Honestly, even paparazzi aren't as good at taking photos as you."

Ok?

Xu Wan was about to continue speaking when she suddenly noticed that Tang Xiaoran was standing frozen in place, her mouth agape and her eyes wide open.

She waved her hand in front of the other person's eyes:

"Is the teenager suffering from dementia?"

"My dear girl, do you want to keep listening?"

...No response.

She pinched the other person's cheek again.

"No, no need..."

Tang Xiaoran snapped out of her daze and said in a humble tone, "Wanwan, please don't tell Chu Ge!"

"She absolutely mustn't know about this!"

Hey.

A sly glint flashed in Xu Wan's eyes as she laughed, "Ranran, as long as you obediently listen to me, this secret will remain buried in my belly until I die."

Tang Xiaoran resigned herself to her fate, hanging her head and sighing, "I know, I'll listen to you and go with you, okay?"

"Even if I die, I'll die in front of you first, okay?"

"oops!"

Xu Wan grabbed Tang Xiaoran's hand, gently stroking it, her voice tender, "Ranran, what nonsense are you talking about!"

"What do you mean by 'life or death'? We're best friends, cousins, blood relatives!"

She hugged Tang Xiaoran tightly and patted her back gently: "Silly Ranran, if there's any danger, it'll definitely be your cousin who stands in front of you."

A mountain breeze rustled the leaves. Tang Xiaoran was a little dazed by the sudden embrace, unsure of what to do with her hands, but she slowly reached out and hugged him tightly.

Golden light filtered through the leaves and fell softly and warmly on her face.

A gentle breeze blew by, tickling my eyelashes and making them tremble slightly.

My eyes suddenly felt hot, and I inexplicably felt like I needed to urinate.

"cousin……"

She felt both warm and bittersweet inside.

If you do this, I'll cry my eyes out.

However, Xu Wan's face was quite interesting at this moment, as if her wicked scheme had succeeded, and she thought to herself:

"You little brat, I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice."

"If I can't control my own teammate Harden, surely I can handle a lowly sycophant like you?"