The quartet from unit 109 cast their gaze on Hawkins. His steps were languid, his legs wobbly from exhaustion.

Mike kept his face expressionless, "Why didn't you enter the Cataclysm? Did you chicken out?"

Hawkins looked aggrieved, "I was busy dealing with matters on big brother's farm at that time. I was so busy that I only just got back."

He pointed to the wilted blue flower on his head as he spoke, "See, this is due to exhaustion."

"..."

A moment of silence ensued.

Ming, the mediator of the group, interjected, "Let's give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Even though I was tired, I was thinking of you guys."

Hawkins pulled out a string of somewhat incomplete grapes, "You should know how difficult it is to get this now. I haven't had a bite, waiting for you to come back and eat it. Try it, it's really sweet."

"..."

The three were momentarily stunned, each clenching their fists.

Mike laughed and accepted it, "Seeing how considerate you are, I forgive you."

...

Fire Woman and Snake Woman laid out a table full of dishes, and everyone sat down to eat.

Holding his wine glass, Hawkins said, "In my impression, according to the legend of the Yamanano Orochi, it could swallow nine mountains at once. It seems there's still a bit of a gap between these monsters bestowed with godly titles and their mythological counterparts."

Mike threw his head back, downing a large cup of wine, "It was still damn strong, okay? If it weren't for the big brother, even if we managed to kill the Yamanano Orochi, there wouldn't have been many of us left alive in the end."

David, sipping his wine lightly, proposed, "I have a promising business plan..."

Ming looked at Snake Woman, "This dish is good, it's delicious."

Alan nodded, "Sis-in-law, I'll bring you more ingredients in the future."

Hawkins held his wine glass and looked elsewhere.

Mike patted David's shoulder, his face serious, "Are you sure there's profit in it this time?"

After a moment, Ming was the first to leave the dining table. He wanted to go home and rest early, but mostly, he was worried about the little animals at home.

Once home, he checked on each pet, all doing well, much to his relief. Freshened up, he settled onto his rooftop sofa, the little bear beside him toying with the wilted blue flower, a trio of mice squabbling over a walnut, and Kubo clutching a fruit tray to his right.

[Your da Vinci is clinging to a shimmering butterfly, they quietly lounge in the radiant flower field, basking in the fragrance and tranquility~][Your Foodie is floating on the water, blowing bubbles with the little koi carp, looking up at the starry sky. Foodie thinks this little pond is getting too small for the koi.~]

[Your Merlin contemplates, instructing the chef to prep poison, simultaneously commending the chef's culinary skills... If the chef could infuse the poison into the meals... It'd be a convenient solution, and everyone else would relish it too... it decides to give it a shot~]

"~~"

Receiving Merlin's message, Ming paused, pondering it. After deliberation, he felt it was a worthwhile suggestion. He leaned back on the sofa, sifting through the loot from their recent adventure.

[Yamanano Orochi Encyclopedia *Gold Quality]

[Introduction: Feature not enabled]

"..."

Ming stored it in the warehouse and pulled out a red card:

[Yamanano Orochi Soul Mark:]

[All attributes +268]

[Mark Attribute: Intimidation from the Serpent King＞As the strongest entity among the nine-headed serpents, after the mark is embedded, snakes, mutated snakes, etc. facing you will be intimidated. There's a 10% chance to make them lose the will to fight for 30 seconds, and a 25% chance to reduce all their attributes by 20% for 10 seconds.]

[Needs to be embedded in equipment]

"This is good~"

Ming smiled and stuffed it into Kubo's pocket. He had thought about it a long time ago, all the potential means of enhancing combat power will be put into the puppets, ready for contingency.

With this mark, he will no longer be afraid of snakes in the future... Seems like, he had never been afraid before.

Next:

[Divine Skill: Toxic Swamp]

[Once acquired, you can discharge venom from your mouth to form a swamp. Everything within its range will corrode. The corrosion damage and venom quantity are related to mental strength. No cooldown period. Learning is advised.]I think you should take a look at pandasnovel.com

"Heh~"

Ming chuckled at the words "recommended to learn".

He would never use his mouth to spray poison, it was disgusting. However, this divine skill consumes mental strength instead of resources and money, which is great.

But he wouldn't learn it just for this minor advantage. As a normal person, spraying poison from his mouth constantly was a bit too disgusting.

At this point, Ming caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of Medusa, her three heads raised and staring at a snail by the pond. He looked back at the warehouse, at the talent card named "I have six heads".

Ming decided to create his own Yamanano Orochi. He got up, grabbed Medusa, and fused the talent card with her.

A convulsion ran through Medusa. Then, two petite bumps emerged on each of her three necks. The lumps burst, and six heads sprouted.

With a chuckle, Ming declared, "Now, you possess nine heads. Delighted?"

Next, he threw the "Toxic Swamp" divine skill to Medusa to learn, and at the same time commanded: "Spit one out to show me."Puff~

[Your Merlin, who was strolling by with the chef, admonishes Medusa. Spitting arbitrarily is ill-mannered~]

[Your Merlin gazes at Medusa, looks at the chef, and takes her away, for get poison~]

"~"

Watching the chef snatch Medusa, toss her onto a skillet, cover it, and tail Merlin off the rooftop towards the poison lab, Ming shook his head.

"~~"

Ming leaned back on the sofa and took out the last card checking:

[Divine Talent, Unbridgeable]

"Learn."

Ming learned it himself. He was very clear that all biological entities could be bridged, even an ant. Therefore, to prevent accidents, he had to protect himself as well.

The remaining cards:

[Fusion Scroll X2]

[Identification Scroll X3]

[Epic Blood Testament X1]

ƥandasnovel.com [Emperor Blood Testament X8]

There are even more King-level and Lord-level ones.

"Yawn~~"

Ming stretched lazily and snuggled into the sofa, tired and ready to sleep.

Ding~ Triggered the "Money Makes Money" title and obtained 30,811 gold coins.

Ding~ Triggered "Broken Pot Gathering Treasure", and obtained random items.

Checking the random item:

[A damaged notebook]

"A notebook?"

Ming took out the notebook and casually opened it. Seeing the handwriting on it, his mind buzzed~

"Janic!"

"It's your handwriting again!"

"Why is it you again?"

Ming sat up and flipped the notebook to the first page, which read:

[Little A's Growth Diary]

[Page 1: Today I installed a new pair of cameras for Little A and did some testing and adjustment. I want it to be able to recognize things on its own after seeing them, but this requires a lot of material items and a very powerful storage unit...]

[Page 5: The storage unit I was looking for a while ago has arrived. When I was delivering food, I happened to see a company going bankrupt. The boss had already transferred his assets abroad, and the employees didn't have their salaries, so they started secretly selling some company items. I got the storage unit I needed for 3 dollars, very cheap~]