Versatile Mage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What do you mean? I’m already an Advanced Mage. Can’t you just let me tag along? Aren’t you the leader of the Pancheng Hunter Group? You can easily decide everything. I’m going to join your Hunter Group in the future, too! How can you not bring me along? If you don’t, I won’t let you touch me again. Humph, take your hand off me. You are not allowed to touch me!” Li Yumei said angrily.

“Alright, but only if you don’t stir up any trouble,” Lu Zhuo sighed.

“That’s more like it. By the way, a Level A Quest should have a huge payout, right? Is it more than fifty million?” Li Yumei asked.

“There’s no money,” Lu Zhuo replied.

“No money? Why did you accept it then!?” Li Yumei blurted out.

“Contribution Points! Our employer is a Seven Star Hunter Master too! She’s looking for a group of Advanced Mages, and offering an insane amount of Contribution Points. It’s enough to promote me to Four Stars if I claim them all!” Lu Zhuo informed her.

“That many? If…if I join the team, wouldn’t it be enough for me to become a Hunter Master too?” Li Yumei’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, it’s enough for you, even if the Contribution Points are distributed equally,” Lu Zhuo nodded.

“That’s great, HAHAHA!” Li Yumei burst out laughing.

“How do you feel now? Much better?” Lu Zhuo smiled. He slid his hand back into Li Yumei’s clothes.

“That b**ch Gu Ying is still proud of herself for securing a quest with twenty-four million as the reward, but I will soon be promoted to a Hunter Master! I can’t wait to see her turning mad after hearing about it!” Li Yumei burst out laughing.

“You shouldn’t worry too much about her. She will soon be less worthy to even pick up your shoes for you…” Lu Zhuo said.

“I enjoy watching her face covered in dirt as I trample her under my feet!” Li Yumei declared.

“So does that mean I can do whatever I want tonight? Wherever I want?” Lu Zhuo asked with a malicious grin.

“Pervert!” Li Yumei rolled her eyes.

—

—

Fresh air blew into the room through the window and lifted the curtains. Mo Fan woke up, feeling refreshed after having a comfortable sleep last night.

The quality of his sleep had indeed improved because of the verdant hills and waters about. He felt energized after opening his eyes and stretching a little!

“Lingling, why are you awake so early?” Mo Fan saw Lingling busy with her experiment on the tall stool.

“She hasn’t slept yet,” Apas said.

“A little girl like you shouldn’t stay up all night, or else you will never grow up. Go get some sleep, now!” Mo Fan lifted Lingling up from the stool. He did not care about the progress she was making. He would not allow her to stay up all night and mess up her body.

Lingling was dedicated to the things she was doing. She often stayed up all night to do her experiments, but now that Mo Fan was around, he would not give her the chance to do so. She did not have to be so serious with many things. It was not the end of the world if she could not find a way to deal with the Salamander Demons!

“Let go, let go of me!” Lingling swung her claws wildly, dealing zero damage to Mo Fan. She ended up hurting her hands instead.

“Be a good girl, and stop being so stubborn. Do you really want to become a ‘Pacific Princess’ when you grow up? You will only grow with plenty of sleep. Those girls with a young face and huge bust like to sleep just like pigs!” Mo Fan placed Lingling on his bed and dragged the blanket over her.

Lingling continued to throw a tantrum, but Mo Fan simply stood beside the bed. He would not leave until she was asleep. She angrily pulled the blanket over her head.

“It’s better to take your time instead of rushing everything like you always do. Get some sleep, or I’ll forfeit the quest and send you back to school!” Mo Fan ordered her.

Lingling was afraid of going back to school. She had already memorized everything the school taught when she was eight, not to mention the dumb childish boys that kept showing off in front of her!

Lingling flipped up the blanket and told Mo Fan seriously, “I’ve learned more about the Salamander Demons!”

“Go to bed, we’ll talk again tomorrow, be good!” Mo Fan declared.

“I’ll sleep after I explain it to you!” Lingling insisted.

“Fine, go ahead,” Mo Fan sighed and nodded.

“I asked people to get me infants of the Salamander Demons and the Lizard Demons, respectively. I discovered that the Salamander Demons are similar to mules. They aren’t really a new species,” Lingling said.

“Mules? What do you mean?” Mo Fan was not familiar with the concept.

“Many species that are similar in builds and lineage can hybridize. For example, the scorpion demons and the snake demons can breed into a new species…” Lingling purposely glanced at Apas before she added, “The Lamias are a new species because they can mate with one another to produce offspring. I can give you a simpler example. The offspring of a donkey and a horse is a mule, but a mule isn’t a new species because it can’t mate with another mule to produce offspring. Even if it can, its offspring won’t live for long.”

“Should I write down some notes, teacher?” Mo Fan asked archly.

Lingling rolled her eyes and said, “The Salamander Demons are the offspring of the Lizard Demons and the Spiral Shelled Monsters. I’ve conducted some tests with their younglings’ blood. I discovered that the lineage of the Salamander Demons is incompatible with the Lizard Demons. If the Salamander Demons were a new species, they would inherit the lineage of the Lizard Demons and be considered part of their kin.”

“Mm, mm…” Mo Fan nodded, pretending to understand it all.

Lingling knew Mo Fan was hopeless when it came to theoretical knowledge. She cut straight to the conclusion, “The Salamander Demons are a crossbreed with a short life span. They can’t produce offspring by mating with one another!”

“That doesn’t sound right. If they can’t reproduce, why is the whole Thousand Islands Lake crawling with them? I’ve already looked around there. The numbers of Salamander Demons in the Thousand Islands Lake are enough to form a horde. I feel like they are mating non-stop, just to produce little Salamander Demons!” Mo Fan said.

“I initially thought they could mate with one another too, and their reproductive ability was insane, but it’s unlikely that I’m wrong after I experimented. These Salamander Demons are like mules, they can’t reproduce by mating with one another. The only reason that their numbers are so insane is that there is one unique mated pair that are producing eggs like a factory somewhere in the Thousand Islands Lake!” Lingling declared.

Mo Fan’s eyes glittered after hearing her words. He said, “You’re telling me, if we can find those two creatures and take care of them, we can stop these Salamander Demons from multiplying?”

The Salamander Demons were a threat because of their reproductive ability. Imagine if it would take them a month just to kill a third of their population, yet they were able to replace more than the number of Salamander Demons that were killed. However, if the Hunters could stop them from reproducing, it was only a matter of time until they eliminated every single one of the Salamander Demons!

“Mm, those creatures are very cunning. They have the adult Salamander Demons move the eggs to somewhere else to make it look like the Salamander Demons are reproducing everywhere rapidly. That way, the Hunters won’t be able to track them down by observing the population density of their younglings,” Lingling said.

“How did you figure it out?” Mo Fan was curious. Lingling had not set a single foot out the door!

“I dissected a Salamander Demon’s youngling that I asked someone to catch for me!” Lingling said.

“Ugh… alright,” Mo Fan decided not to ask any questions again.

He shouldn’t have bothered asking about the process. He was satisfied just knowing the answers!

“Things are a lot simpler now that we know what we are looking for, instead of roaming around aimlessly like a headless fly. Get some sleep, the things you’ve learned are very important. I might even track down the progenitors and kill them by the time you wake up,” Mo Fan said.

“Let me finish my experiments. I might be able to find their weaknesses!” Lingling grumbled.

“Not a chance, time to sleep. Apas, stay here. If she doesn’t go to sleep, hypnotize her!” Mo Fan was worried about Lingling. He could not afford to let such a capable little loli fall sick after pulling an all-nighter. He had to rely on her to make a fortune and to get his revenge on his enemies in the future!

“Got it!” Apas gladly agreed.

“One last thing,” Lingling reached her finger out and pouted when she saw Mo Fan about to scold her. She looked extremely adorable.

“Say it!” Mo Fan sighed his permission.

“It will be tricky to track down the creatures on your own. You aren’t familiar with the Thousand Islands Lake, and you’re a landlubber. I’ve already hired a squad of Hunter Masters and seven squads of Advanced Hunters. They have all been active around the Thousand Islands Lake. You can send them to search for the mated pair. You should be able to find them in no time,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan was stunned for a moment before he finally said, “Lingling, you’re really the perfect wife among the Hunters. You’ve organized everything for me!”

He did not even need to use his brain with Lingling as his partner. He just needed to do the dirty work when it mattered.

Lingling was about to say something when Mo Fan frowned and said, “No more talking. Another word and I’ll be sleeping with you on the same bed. That way, you won’t be able to marry anyone when you grow up.”

“Three years minimum, and death sentence maximum, you better think twice!” Lingling harrumphed coldly. She hid under the blanket and tried to go to sleep.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless. To his relief, Lingling obediently fell asleep.

She stopped making noises after some time. She was obviously asleep, judging from her steady breathing, and had lost her mature look and bearing. She was just like an adorable little kid. Mo Fan patted her on the head and left the room.

Lingling was born to be a Hunter. She was in high spirits whenever she was figuring out a way to solve mysteries and resolve dangers. She was quite happy when Mo Fan was back in the country, as if she finally had someone to play with her properly!

“A problem child,” Apas said.

“You’re more or less the same. Take care of her… I’m heading out!” Mo Fan said.

“I’m not a nanny!” Apas grumbled.

“I’ll reward you, a meal of salted crayfish!”

“Mm, got it!” Apas was overjoyed.

Seeing Apas’ reaction, Mo Fan could not help but wonder if he could easily convince the successor of Queen Medusa to willingly sign a Contract by offering her half a kilogram of crayfish…