Winter was long, and his stomach was empty.

Patrolling on a snowy day, Lie Hai was lost in his thoughts.

The Hunter tribe naturally had a balanced physique, boasting reasonable strength along with an excellent skill mechanism; their body strength was also commendable. Among creatures of the same class, they were highly competitive.

But balanced development brought an unavoidable problem.

Their energy consumption was exceptionally high.

Hunters needed to consume a large amount of Light Seed and seek quality bones as supplements. They needed to not only train their bodies to enhance their resistance and speed but also to increase their energy storage limit, and improve their proficiency with the "Light Prism Outer Bone" to ensure that they could switch between attack and defense poses quickly and accurately.

Besides, intellectual training was essential... Many Hunters had mastered multiple languages and body language.

Even the lazy Lie Hai was forced to learn Human Common Language, Panda Language and a few others.

Just like his mother used to say.

"Because we continuously strengthen and train ourselves, we become strong; strength is not innate."

At that time, Lie Hai couldn't help but retort, "But we are naturally stronger than low-level life forms, hunting them should be enough, why do we need more training?"

Then his mother had beaten him terribly.

"Idiot!"

"Fool!"

"Ambitionless!"

"How could I have given birth to such a child!!"

His mother scolded him for his complacent attitude and told him, "The reason why the Hunter tribe stands out today, possessing an excellent physique, is because our ancestors strived generation after generation, continuously improving and transforming from the weakest Bone Fish, and that's why you can enjoy what you have today!"

"If you do not strive to improve, you will inevitably grow weaker and become prey to other strong beings!"

Lie Hai meekly agreed, quickly ackowledging his mistake and promising to practice diligently.

In reality, he didn't really believe it.

Hadn't the Hunter tribe's ancestors endured enough in their time so that he could enjoy life now?

After all, the weak Guangna Species were plentiful in this world.

As long as he did not provoke those powerful beings and fed on lower organisms, life should be quite easy.

After his mother's death, he started feeding on lower-ranked Guangna Species according to his own ideas, including Grade D Bubble Fish, Grade D Light Absorption Monster, setting his highest hunting prey to a Grade C long-necked crocodile.

But reality was somewhat different from what Lie Hai had expected.

The Bubble Fish could create many bubbles encapsulating Dead Light, which were reflective and thus made it hard to discern the situation inside.

These bubbles floated rapidly in all directions, making the locations of the Bubble Fish enormously elusive and hard to decide which bubble they were hiding in. Touching the bubbles would cause them to burst, leading to certain injuries and an uncomfortable paralyzing sensation.

Although Bubble Fish were low-level life forms, they caused Lie Hai much hardship.

The Light Absorption Monster was easier to capture.

Lie Hai could suck it in with one gulp, yet eighty to ninety percent of its energy dissipated, and catching a whole bunch might not even yield one Light Seed. Since this life form itself was an energy body, it would quickly return to Dead Light upon external force application and then be reborn.

Lie Hai even tried diving to the sea floor to hunt Grade E samurai crabs and Bone Fish.

Only then did he realize why middle and high-rank Guangna Species rarely entered the seabed.

The seabed had too many impurities, and filtering poor quality Dead Light from there affected his own body, making him feel dull and sluggish, as if his body was injected with iron and stones. Not only did it slow his thinking, it also made Lie Hai feel oppressed and irritable.

The lower life forms thrived on the seabed, as their thoughts were minimal and their physiological structures simple, inherently adapting to this murky and inefficient harsh environment.

Normally, he could get by, but winter was a time of hunger and danger.

He had no choice but to hunt potentially dangerous long-necked crocodiles—who cunningly hid in the seabed and deliberately entered the territories of other high-ranking creatures, making Lie Hai's hunting journey arduous.

Moreover, there were higher ranked Hunters, their relentless vigilance an omnipresent pressure.

The various pressures of survival made Lie Hai regret not listening to his mother's words.

The hunger now, the beatings he endured, the injuries he suffered, were all due to his past laziness.

His mother had anticipated this scenario.

So she had early on secured this piece of land, where Guangna Species were few, the terrain barren and desolate, far from cities. Although unclaimed by any sea lord, it sufficed as an emergency hunting ground for winters.

However, due to a twist of fate, Lie Hai had joined a mysterious organization known as the Wasteland Development Company.

Just like mom said,

"If you can, go fend for yourself and carve out your own territory; if you can't, find a lord who favors you and seek refuge. At least that would put my mind at ease more than you being on your own."

Mom had foreseen this day.

Sigh.

Sorry, mom.

I'm a waste.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind.

But the man on his back couldn't help but shout, "We've passed it, we've passed it, Brother Lie Hai, we need to go to Mao Valley Town, you've flown past it, we need to turn around."

"Is it that cave that looks like a backside?"

"Yes, right there."

The young human on its back was called Ajin, also an employee of Wasteland Development Company, here called a colleague.

Lie Hai had no experience with seeking protection.

But luckily, his mother had taught him some tricks.

Like building good relationships with those of the same power and tier, knowing when to give gifts, avoiding unnecessary conflicts.

It was crucial to appear diligent in front of the Lord, which was even more important than working behind the scenes.

There were several humans in the company.

They all seemed ordinary, but who knows?

Being noticed by the chairman and having a ranking even before his own, these people either had special abilities or strong backgrounds.

Human colleagues kept their distance from Lie Hai, maintaining a tacit defense and cold violence, barely interacting with him after responding.

But Ajin was the first to take the initiative to greet him.

"You're bigger than me, so I'll call you Brother Lie Hai. I'm Ajin, and you can call on me whenever you need."

This guy was unusual.

Reportedly, he was the first employee chosen by the chairman, currently tasked with surveying various geographies for the company and treasure hunting.

To help Lie Hai familiarize himself quickly with the work and the surroundings, Ajin had obtained permission from the chairman to act together with him for a time.

Lie Hai's body shrank, slowly landing on the snowy ground.

"Wait here for a minute."

Ajin leapt down from its back and then ran into a cave in Mao Valley Town.

It was a while before anyone appeared.

Just as Lie Hai was about to go in and check the situation, Ajin finally reappeared, bringing along a few ragged humans.

Unlike Ajin, these people looked at Lie Hai with fear and terror, instinctively recoiling. Lie Hai was familiar with these expressions of fear.

Ajin introduced him to the people.

"This is Brother Lie Hai, our company's new employee. He will be responsible for patrol and defense duties this winter."

"His past identity was indeed that of a Winter Beast, but as the chairman said, he is now one of us, so there's no need to worry."

"Brother Lie Hai is now our protector! He's very strong!"

The last sentence pleased Lie Hai greatly.

Though he couldn't defeat enemies of the same tier, he still had dominance over isolated C- and D-tier creatures.

The villagers listened, exchanging glances and talking among themselves, seemingly still in disbelief.

Lie Hai then bathed himself in radiant light, dispelling the darkness around, making his human language as standard as possible: "I have been appointed by the chairman to ensure your safety. If any monsters cause trouble, I will end their lives."

"I will protect everything here."

He hovered in the air, adopting a formidable posture.

The locals began whispering to each other again, their faces showing diverse emotions, apparently puzzled and surprised by this development.

Before long.

Ajin took Lie Hai to Mushroom Forest, introducing him to two photonic life forms working in the fields—also employees of the company in non-combat roles, specializing in farming. However, they just gave a perfunctory greeting and resumed their busy work.

The manager of Mushroom Forest, a Bone Man named Sun Chonglai, was very polite to Lie Hai, taking him directly to visit the mushroom fields.

"This is Monster Attraction Mushroom, one of our company's important resources, though we've also produced several new strains recently. Here, try some of the older ones."

After tasting the mushrooms, Lie Hai's body relaxed completely, and an unprecedented sense of calm and peace filled his mind, making him exceptionally clear-headed... this made him think of "Black Fragrant Reed."

Black Fragrant Reed was a costly medicine, highly sought-after, enabling the Guangna Species to suppress the periodic chaos of Dead Light Energy within their bodies, reducing physical damage and stabilizing emotions.

Only certain areas could produce Black Fragrant Reed.

This also led to its continuously high prices, almost indispensable for pregnant Guangna Species.

Uncle had been secretly growing this stuff! He could make a fortune from Light Seeds anytime!

Lie Hai felt a surge of excitement.

The stronger his uncle was, the safer he would be in following him.

Mother was absolutely right.

It's better to rely on a hardworking boss than to try hard oneself!

At that moment, Ajin said, "Brother Lie Hai, there's something buried under Death Dune, possibly a valuable treasure. Could you help take care of the Antlion there?"

"What's an Antlion?"

Ajin described it.

It turned out to be a large-sized E-tier subterranean creature, covered in hard armor, with lots of tough keratin layers and bones.

Lie Hai's appetite soared.

Hunters like him loved gnawing on hard bones; if it wasn't hard, he wouldn't chew!

"Leave it to me!"