Chapter 32: A Bountiful Harvest-The System Arrived Two Years Early, and I Became a God!(Writing a book is truly difficult.)

[Warning! Warning! You have been targeted by a Tier Four mutant beast. Please evacuate immediately. Please evacuate immediately.]
[Warning! Warning! You have been targeted by a Tier Four mutant beast. Please evacuate immediately. Please evacuate immediately.]

Deep within the jungle.

Shen He ignored the scarlet letters flashing before his eyes, his gaze locked unwaveringly on the female mantis not far away.

She stood roughly ten meters from him. Bathed in moonlight, her two razor-sharp forelimbs shimmered with a cold, ghostly glow, attached to a terrifying body nearly as tall as a human. The immense strength contained within, paired with those bladed limbs, easily explained how she could cleave a person in two with a single strike.

Yet at this moment, Shen He felt no fear as he faced the female mantis. In fact, he could sense the blood within his veins surging with excitement.

Under the blessing of the “Battle Across Tiers” achievement, his stats now approached the threshold of a true Tier One. The strange sensation coursing through his body seemed to urge him to leap into a fierce battle, to adapt to this surge of power.

Swish—

The female mantis powered up her hind legs and charged straight at Shen He. As she drew near, her forelimbs swung with blinding speed, intent on slicing him clean through.

Shen He's expression hardened; he dodged nimbly, rolling out of the way like a lazy donkey. Her blade-like forelimb hacked through the air, slicing a small tree behind Shen He cleanly in half, the trunk as thick as a man's fist.

Her speed was astonishing, roughly equivalent to Shen He’s agility at a value of 4. Had he not gambled everything and temporarily boosted his stats, evading her attacks would have been far more difficult.

Steadying himself, Shen He countered, swinging his entrenching tool toward her lower limbs. The female mantis leapt lightly, easily avoiding his strike, then resumed her hunt, her gaze fixed on him as if searching for his weakness.

Shen He steadied himself, his eyes fixed on her abdomen. When he arrived, the male mantis had already been devoured, leaving her belly distended and full. Judging from her movements, the near-satiated female mantis was sluggish—otherwise, her speed would have been even greater.

He held his entrenching tool, facing off against her for less than three seconds before she charged again, forelimbs swinging to strike.

Resolute, Shen He raised the entrenching tool vertically before him, bracing himself to meet the blow head-on. Her forelimb sank halfway into the tool’s metal; had she been any stronger, she might have cleaved it in two.

Seizing the opportunity, Shen He twisted the tool, freeing one hand to draw the dagger at his waist. With a ferocious thrust, he stabbed at the joint of her forelimb.

This strike was delivered with everything he had.

In an instant, he severed the sharpest segment of her forelimb at the joint. He could faintly hear the mantis shriek.

After lopping off her forelimb, Shen He followed with a swift side kick, driving the tip of his foot directly into her swollen abdomen. Green, viscous fluid sprayed from the wound.

This time, the mantis’s shriek was unmistakable—a piercing, high-frequency sound that left Shen He’s ears ringing, almost as if blood were oozing from them.

The female mantis struggled, yanking her remaining forelimb free and attempted to flee.

A cold gleam flashed in Shen He’s eyes.

Trying to escape?

He threw his dagger, embedding it in her body. Unfortunately, it missed her head, failing to deliver a fatal blow.

Snatching up his entrenching tool, Shen He yanked the mantis blade free, then charged after her.

Wounded, the mantis could only stagger away, her speed much slower than before. Within seconds, Shen He overtook her, swinging the severed forelimb down onto her waist and abdomen.

With a decisive strike, he sliced off her distended belly at the joint.

This time, the mantis collapsed, unable to rise again.

Shen He looked down at her dying form, raised the forelimb, and stabbed it into her head.

At the same moment, the mantis summoned the last of her strength, swinging her intact forelimb at Shen He, slashing through his outer clothes and lodging in his bulletproof vest.

Startled, Shen He leaped back. He glanced down anxiously at the tear in his vest, his heart pounding.

He could hardly believe the mantis, in such a state, still had the strength to swing her forelimb, attempting to take him down with her.

Thank goodness he wore the bulletproof vest today. Otherwise, that beast would have gutted him on the spot. His organs would have spilled onto the ground, and even with bonus attribute points, he would have died in this cursed place.

The thought made Shen He break out in a cold sweat. He spat fiercely at the mantis corpse on the ground, then reactivated his earpiece, calling Chen Zhao and the others over.

When they heard Shen He had acted on his own again and slain two mutant mantises, Chen Zhao and his group were so terrified their souls nearly left their bodies.

After all, Shen He was merely a helpful civilian assisting them with their mission. If anything happened to him, it would be a disaster.

Through the earpiece, Shen He could hear a commotion on the other end—everyone sounded panicked.

Moments later, lines of tiny text appeared before him:

[Temporary mission complete.]

[Mission reward: 2 free attribute points]
[...]

Shen He’s eyes lit up at the sight.

He hadn’t paid attention to rewards the last time he triggered a temporary mission. He hadn’t expected there to be any.

Though two free attribute points weren’t much, they were an extra windfall, and quite welcome.

Then more text appeared.

[Congratulations, player, for slaying a Tier Four mutant mantis. You have gained +5 free attribute points.]
[Achievement “Battle Across Tiers” updated.]
[Battle Across Tiers!]
[Earned by defeating higher-level opponents. Holding this title increases all attributes by 20% when facing enemies stronger than yourself.]
[This achievement can continue to grow; defeating even higher-tier foes will further increase the boost.]
[...]

He had gained five free attribute points for slaying the Tier Four mutant mantis.

Adding it all up, he now had seven free attribute points on his player panel.

With this, he was that much closer to completing the main quest and stepping into true Tier One.

The most critical gain was the “Battle Across Tiers” achievement—the boost had risen from 15% to 20%.

If, in the future, he completed the main quest and collected the Earth Dragon set, his attributes might far surpass Tier One.

He then opened his “Martial Artist” tab.

[Martial Artist]
[Current progress: Novice (65%)]
[...]

His progress had jumped by 15%.

Excellent! The battle was exhilarating!

Shen He gazed at the lines of text floating before him, his face radiant with joy.

In the darkness not far away, several beams of light approached, accompanied by hurried footsteps and voices calling his name.

It was Chen Zhao and his team, rushing to his side after hearing the news.