Chapter Three: The Mountain of Myriad Beasts

Wu You lay on his bed, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg. What was this—alien technology or some artifact crafted by the gods?

The system interface hovered between two options: First, the Beginner’s Guide Task (mandatory), and second, a lottery draw.

Wu You’s astonishment quickly gave way to excitement. If this wasn’t a dream, then it must be a chance granted by heaven itself.

Thinking of the lottery, he didn’t rush to take the guide task, but instead selected the second option: the draw.

The screen instantly shifted, a string of question marks streaming past in a cascade of shimmering light. After just a second, a large question mark appeared on the display, then flashed and transformed into a card.

Congratulations! You have obtained a one-time-use item: Lucky Alchemy Card. Rarity: Silver. Description: Increases the success rate of alchemizing a designated creature by 30%.

With that, only the Beginner’s Guide remained selectable. Where the drawn item had gone, Wu You had no idea.

After much hesitation, still lying in bed, Wu You finally chose to accept the Beginner’s Guide Task.

System prompt: Based on the user’s current circumstances, the Beginner’s Guide Task has been automatically generated. This mission will include basic functions such as beast capture and creature synthesis. You will shortly be transported to the system’s internal beast capture zone—Mountain of Ten Thousand Beasts.

Mountain of Ten Thousand Beasts: Though named for its myriad beasts, the mountain is home to countless rare and ferocious creatures. Despite the name, it encompasses mountains, rivers, grasslands, marshes, and every conceivable terrain.

A gentle reminder: You must touch the target while it has no sense of resistance in order to capture it.

Beginner’s Task: Seek out and capture two wild beasts. Successfully synthesize your first alchemical creature. Upon completion, you may choose to leave the Mountain of Ten Thousand Beasts.

Task rewards: 3 points of alchemy energy, two storage slots for alchemical creatures.

Teleportation commencing.

Wu You barely managed to comprehend all this before he vanished from his bedroom in the next instant.

...

When Wu You regained his senses, he found himself standing in a vast expanse of withered yellow grassland. Rising to his feet and gazing into the distance, he saw the grasslands stretched endlessly to one side. Turning around, he noted a forest not far behind him.

A gust of hot wind swept by, causing the grass to ripple in waves. It was midday here.

Am I really not dreaming?

Unable to help himself, Wu You rubbed his eyes. A stray blade of dry grass, carried by the breeze, brushed against his cheek. Every sensation confirmed this was real.

Steadying his nerves, he wandered aimlessly across the grassland, pondering how to complete his first task—target must have no resistance or awareness? Did that mean he had to subdue or knock them out? Scenes from old cartoons about pocket monsters flashed through his mind.

Scanning the horizon again, he saw mostly herds of antelope within view, nothing else. Perhaps other animals, predators maybe, lurked in the tall grasses.

A sudden chill ran down his spine. It occurred to him that he himself might be classified as a capture target here!

His first priority should be self-preservation—getting up a tree might be the safest option, and the only trees in sight were in that distant forest.

For the sake of survival, Wu You immediately broke into an awkward jog.

...

Behind a patch of dry grass far away, a pair of cloudy amber eyes watched Wu You’s movements. Compared to the nimble antelopes, Wu You—slow and off-balance—was clearly the easier prey.

The predator’s massive body lay motionless in the grass, its regal mane swaying in the breeze. Its tawny pelt was marred with scars; a vicious, suppurating wound split the muscle of its left forelimb, oozing pus and blood.

It was an aged male lion, driven from the pride it had ruled for six years, exiled after a younger male claimed the throne.

Wu You pressed on with difficulty—the grass reached above his knees, and progress was much harder than anything he’d seen on wildlife documentaries.

As he passed the herd of antelope, those closest sprang away at his approach, their agility so impressive it killed any thought of capturing one.

The wind shifted, now blowing from the forest toward deeper grassland.

The entire herd grew restless.

Though he’d never hunted himself, Wu You had watched plenty of wildlife shows growing up. The antelopes’ alarm clearly wasn’t caused by him; they were more curious than afraid of his presence. That could only mean one thing—a predator was near, perhaps directly behind him.

Run! The forest was now within sight.

There was no time for stealth; if the antelopes could smell the predator, it couldn’t be far away. Wu You accelerated, running as fast as he could.

A thunderous roar erupted behind him. The sudden change in wind had exposed the predator, which now burst from the grass, charging straight for Wu You.

Hearing the lion’s roar, Wu You knew he was in grave danger. He glanced back as he ran.

Oh, God—it was a male lion, and it was coming straight for him!

Now Wu You ran for his life. The final stretch of grassland before the forest was much shorter, the grass dropping from knee-high to just grazing his calves.

Every few strides, Wu You risked a glance behind, terrified that the lion might leap upon him at any moment. But after sprinting into the shorter grass, he realized something was off.

He didn’t know a lion’s exact speed, but it was certainly many times faster than a human. He’d been running from the deep grass to the short grass for quite a while and was almost to the forest. Though gasping for breath, he still had stamina left.

By all rights, he should have been caught by now. Strange as it was, that’s how things should have played out—unless...

This time, Wu You looked back carefully as he ran. Sure enough, on the lion’s left forelimb, he spotted a patch of dark red—a horrific wound impossible to ignore. The lion was limping badly, barely able to run.

In the tall grass, the injury had been hidden, but now in the open, it was obvious. Wu You’s heart blazed with excitement. A severely wounded lion—what better opportunity could there be? Under normal circumstances, capturing a lion would be impossible.

He began to alternate between fleeing and observing, the prospect of capturing the lion making him forget all other dangers.

Daringly, Wu You made a sharp turn as he ran. The lion, crippled by its injury, found it hard to change direction and nearly tumbled.

Soon, Wu You saw the lion’s entire body was covered in wounds, at least three of them festering. Its fur was patchy, its body emaciated—it hadn’t eaten in a long time.

Even to Wu You’s untrained eye, this was a lion at the end of its life. Yet, if he got too close, he’d still become its final meal.

The lion’s scant remaining strength was nearly spent. Though Wu You was exhausted and desperate to rest, he could still force himself to act.

From a distance, he tossed stones at the lion, provoking only weak roars in response.

Wu You could finally confirm: for now, the lion couldn’t catch him. But he couldn’t simply wait—if the lion recovered even a little, it might attack or escape.

As he pondered, Wu You rummaged through his pockets, turning up only half a pack of cigarettes, a piece of chocolate, and a lighter.

The wind shifted again, now blowing from the forest out into the grasslands.

This was the Mountain of Ten Thousand Beasts, not any country’s territory—setting a fire shouldn’t get him arrested. But time was short; if the wind changed again, he’d be burning himself.

Wu You crept to what he judged a safe distance from the lion, then bent down and flicked his lighter.

The dry grass caught instantly, flames swelling rapidly and the air heating to a blistering intensity.

Watching the fire spread, Wu You silently wished the grassland animals could escape, and hoped the old lion wouldn’t be burned alive.

The lion, seeing the flames racing toward it, tried instinctively to flee. But its injuries and exhaustion were too much—it stumbled and fell, the fire overtaking it. Agonized roars echoed across the plain.

Five minutes later, a wall of fire swept deeper into the grasslands, thick smoke billowing sky-high and the flames painting the heavens red. All the animals were fleeing for their lives.

With his left hand covering his mouth and nose against the searing air, Wu You crept toward the lion’s last position. Only a charred outline in the shape of a lion remained.

Moving closer, Wu You saw it was completely motionless, apparently burned to death. Unwilling to give up, he placed his hand on the remains, ignoring the burning heat, and selected “Confirm” from the system’s capture prompt.

A scattering of light enveloped the lion’s charred body. Moments later, the entire carcass dissolved into motes of light and vanished. The system chimed: Capture successful. Material acquired: Male Lion.