A hole suddenly appeared in the largest battle beast’s head. It swayed before collapsing with a heavy thud.
The sudden turn stunned both the woman and Veterinarian Meng, who let out a howl of anguish.
This battle beast had taken him years to nurture—already at six stars, on the verge of seven. Now, it was a corpse.
After a few seconds of grief, Veterinarian Meng forced himself to calm down.
Whatever had killed his six-star battle beast so effortlessly could likely do the same to him.
His remaining wolf growled low, its gray fur bristling as it faced a particular direction.
“Who’s there?”
Ye Zhongming stepped out from behind a tree, his left hand raised, index finger pointed at Veterinarian Meng.
“You?!”
His gaze dropped to Ye Zhongming’s raised hand, where a plain black glove covered his fingers.
A purple glow was fading at the tip of his index finger.
Purple equipment!
Veterinarian Meng’s heart pounded.
Though his evolution level was high and his battle beasts were well-trained, most of his resources had gone into them. His best gear came from wheel spins.
He’d never even seen gold equipment, let alone purple.
Everything made sense now!
This man wasn’t strong himself—he relied on that purple gear, something powerful enough to one-shot a six-star mutated lifeform!
Veterinarian Meng’s despair turned to greed.
Even if he lost his remaining battle beasts, obtaining that purple equipment would be worth it.
The gloves on Ye Zhongming’s hands were indeed a formidable purple-grade weapon—this was their first real combat test.
Why would he neglect himself if he could craft three purple items for others?
He’d forged seven purple and twelve gold pieces using materials from the Nine-Winged Crow and Armor King.
With four additional purple items, most of his gear was at that level.
“Misty Dread Gauntlets.”
That was the name of this equipment, boasting six abilities. The one he’d just used was “Tranquil Finger.”
It converted a percentage of his mental energy, stamina, and endurance into a single long-range attack (up to 50 meters), with a 20% damage boost from the gear itself.
Earlier, just 1% of his reserves had been enough to obliterate a six-star lifeform.
Ye Zhongming’s stats in those areas were monstrous—even 1% was terrifying.
Best of all, the ability had no cooldown. He could spam it indefinitely if he was willing to keep paying the cost.
Regaining his composure, Veterinarian Meng attacked immediately. His two remaining battle beasts charged while he hung back—clearly wary of the purple gear.
But he was confident. If he could just close the distance, victory would be his.
Ye Zhongming still hadn’t drawn any weapons. As the battle beasts closed in, he raised both hands, making grasping motions.
The charging creatures suddenly halted, lifted into the air by unseen forces.
Their paws flailed uselessly at their necks, unable to reach whatever held them.
Veterinarian Meng yelped, whipping out a long whip to pull his battle beasts down.
But before he could act, two soft cracks sounded. The mental links to his battle beasts snapped.
Their bodies dropped, necks twisted at unnatural angles.
Ye Zhongming flicked his wrists, satisfied.
Another ability of the Misty Dread Gauntlets: “Invisible Arms.”
It extended his reach by five meters, completely formless and immune to attacks. The only counters were the user voluntarily releasing or moving their arms.
Though lacking direct offensive power, this skill was just as deadly. Even restricted from wielding weapons, it let Ye Zhongming seize enemies by their vitals without warning.
Against foes two levels weaker, a slight squeeze was all it took.
“You… you!”
Veterinarian Meng finally realized the truth. Even purple equipment shouldn’t be this overpowered.
“Did you really think I would let you walk away alive after you said ‘get lost’ to me?”
The lone wolf of the apocalypse knew he’d messed with the wrong person. Veterinarian Meng suddenly dropped to his knees, begging pitifully:
“I was blind! I didn’t recognize your greatness! Please, spare me! I know the rules—take everything I have, just let me live!”
Pride meant nothing when survival was at stake.
“Then tell me what you know,” Ye Zhongming said coldly.
The man spilled everything immediately. By the end, Ye Zhongming fully understood tonight’s events.
Nodding, he met Veterinarian Meng’s pleading eyes and repeated:
“Did you really think I would let you walk away alive after you said ‘get lost’ to me?”
As he spoke, his right palm swung down.
At the same moment, Veterinarian Meng moved, rolling several black orbs outward while leaping back.
BOOM!
His body had barely left the ground when an enormous spectral hand materialized, slamming him back down. Through the translucent palm, his crushed form was clearly visible.
Pop! Pop! Pop! The black orbs burst under the giant hand’s pressure, releasing thick smoke.
Ye Zhongming had used the gauntlets’ third ability: “Mountain-Crushing Palm.”
Three skills. Four lives taken. Less than a minute.
He blurred forward, effortlessly cutting off the woman’s attempted escape.
“Leaving without saying goodbye? That’s not very polite.”
Ye Zhongming smiled.