The journey continued without incident, encountering no dangers.
Soon, Golden Eagle Building B-1 appeared ahead of him.
As he returned to Building B, several people came to greet him, led by Ding Longyun, who shouted from a distance: "Xuehui said you were carrying a huge egg, and we didn't believe it. I can't believe you actually brought one back."
Jiang Shuijue stood beside him, a curious expression on her face. "This isn't a dinosaur egg, is it? It's so big."
Su Li smiled and said, "Let's talk upstairs first." Carrying the egg, he returned to the top floor and carefully placed it in his bedroom. Seeing Jiang Shuijue, Ding Longyun, and Xu Xuehui present but not Gong Xiao, he asked, "Where's Gong Xiao? Why isn't she here?"
Ding Longyun replied, "Gong Xiao and Luo Jun went out, said they were going to hunt for monsters."
Jiang Shuijue pursed her lips. "Even Ling Yi went. I don't understand why they're pushing themselves so hard. I think relying on the nightly hunts is enough, and it's much safer. Going out to search during the day like this is too dangerous."
Su Li hummed in acknowledgment. He understood that Gong Xiao had always been driven, eager to improve quickly, so her daytime monster hunting didn't surprise him. But unless they ventured deep underwater, finding suitable monsters for leveling up wasn't easy, and going deep meant huge risks. Plus, with the sudden downpour, if they couldn't find a safe building to take shelter, it would be extremely dangerous. This made him worry about her safety.
"You still haven't said what this egg is," Jiang Shuijue said, examining it from all angles, full of curiosity.
Su Li said, "It's a long story. I accidentally ran into a pregnant mutant beast. It laid this egg and then died, so I brought it back. If I'm not mistaken, there should be a small mutant beast inside."
Hearing this, the others looked somewhat disappointed.
"So it's just a little spirit source beast? Might as well boil this egg; it might taste good." Ding Longyun licked his lips as he spoke, thinking that if such a big egg were cooked, it would be enough for several people.
When Ding Longyun mentioned boiling the egg, there was a faint reaction from inside it. Su Li's mind stirred. Could the water qilin's offspring be so divine that, even before hatching, it could understand human speech and react to Ding Longyun's words?
Xu Xuehui had been staring at the cyan giant egg with wide eyes. Suddenly, she glanced at Ding Longyun and said, "Uncle, don't scare it. It's afraid."
Ding Longyun was taken aback. "It's afraid?"
Su Li looked at Xu Xuehui. She had special eyes, and it seemed she could see what was inside the egg. He gently tapped the cyan shell and said with a smile, "Don't be afraid. I'll hatch you properly. Do you like blood infused with spirit source? I'll get some for you."
As Su Li spoke, the faint sounds from inside the egg faded, as if the creature within had calmed down.
Ding Longyun and Jiang Shuijue watched, sensing something miraculous.
"The thing inside this egg is interesting," Ding Longyun said, stroking his chin.
Su Li chuckled. "Maybe there's even more interesting things to come."
As he spoke, he cut his hand and let his blood drip onto the egg.
He recalled the old saying about blood bonding. Though he didn't know if it was true or effective, he decided to try dripping his blood first.
As his blood touched the cyan giant egg, it was instantly absorbed, leaving faint traces of blood on the surface that quickly vanished. Aside from that, there was no other reaction.
"Wow, look, the egg really seems to absorb blood. Interesting, but it looks like your blood is a bit scarce," Ding Longyun said, eyes wide, marveling as if he'd discovered a new continent.
Su Li said, "Come with me. Let's get some other blood to try."
If he had to keep feeding it his own blood, he wasn't keen on it. Given how fast the egg absorbed blood, he'd probably drain himself dry and still not have enough. Since he'd already dripped his blood on it, he'd try using blood from other spirit source beasts next.
With Jiang Shuijue present, he couldn't take out the spirit source equipment to give to Ding Longyun and Xu Xuehui without raising suspicions. He'd have to do it secretly later.
Su Li led Ding Longyun, Jiang Shuijue, and the others downstairs. Soon, they found a few spirit source beasts. Su Li collected their blood into a large bucket he'd prepared, filling it quickly, then carried it upstairs.
Back in the bedroom, he found a large storage box, poured the blood into it, and carefully immersed the cyan giant egg in the blood.
According to the information from the "Peeping Rune," the cyan giant egg liked blood infused with spirit source, and the spirit source beast blood naturally contained it.
As the egg soaked in the blood, an incredible scene unfolded. Blood vessels appeared on the egg's surface, spreading outward at a visible rate, soon forming a dense web like a spider's net.
Seeing this, Su Li let out a soft breath. This method worked. With the large amount of blood absorbed, the egg showed remarkable changes. He could even faintly hear tiny sounds from inside.
"It's excited," Xu Xuehui said with certainty, nodding as she looked at the egg, a joyful expression on her small face.
"Xuehui, since you like this egg so much, how about I leave it in your care for now?"
Su Li looked at Xu Xuehui. He might often have to go out and couldn't carry the egg everywhere. Leaving it with her to take care of seemed like a good idea.
"Mm." Xu Xuehui nodded firmly, her small face serious, as if she'd taken on a very important task that she had to complete perfectly.
Su Li watched the blood level in the storage box drop, estimating it would last about a day. From now on, he'd just need to hunt a few spirit source beasts daily to fill it up, and then wait for the egg to hatch.
How many days of blood feeding it would take to hatch, Su Li didn't know. The "Peeping Rune" hadn't given him that answer.
After settling the cyan giant egg, Su Li thought of something: the black-scaled mermaid beast.
When Jiang Shuijue heard Su Li mention the black-scaled mermaid beast, her eyes lit up. "If this mermaid oil burns for so long, then if we find a lot of them and store the oil, we won't have to worry about fuel for a while."
Su Li nodded. "Yes. I was planning to discuss with you, Wu Feng, and Xu Haishui about trying to find these black-scaled mermaid beasts tomorrow. I encountered one today at the Jinhui Center building. It's possible there's a nest of them in the waters below."
Just then, Xu Haishui's voice suddenly came from a distance: "Brother Su! Brother Su!"
He rushed in like a gust of wind. "Something terrible has happened!"
Su Li immediately stood up. Ding Longyun asked, "What's going on?"
Xu Haishui said, "Sister Gong Xiao's crocodile-toothed turtle suddenly came back alone. It's downstairs, making urgent calls, but Sister Gong Xiao is nowhere to be seen. And the turtle..."
Before he could finish, a gust of wind swept past, and Su Li vanished from the room.
Su Li shot out like an arrow, crossing the corridor in an instant and leaping straight down from the forty-fourth floor.
On his body, the Death God Gloves on his right hand, the Seven-Star Wristguard, the Purple Pattern Belt at his waist, and the Blood Ring on his left hand all appeared in sequence.
With a loud crash, he landed like a cannonball in the water below, sending up splashes. Then, activating "Spider Walk," he kicked up huge waves, launching himself like an arrow, landing steadily on a nearby raft with his Thunder War Boots.
Beside the raft, he saw Gong Xiao's crocodile-toothed turtle, Number Two, recognizable by the rope harness on its back.
On its back, he spotted traces of blood.
The turtle, intelligent, stretched its neck and called out to Su Li urgently. Clearly, its owner was in danger, possibly worse, and it had fled back for help.
"Su Li! Su Li! Wait for us!" Ding Longyun's voice came from far above as he, Xu Haishui, Jiang Shuijue, and the others scrambled down after him.
Su Li had already mounted the crocodile-toothed turtle in one stride, saying in a low voice, "Quick, take me to your owner."
The turtle understood and immediately turned, charging off into the distance.
Though it would have been safer to bring Ding Longyun and the others, saving someone was urgent. A second's delay could change everything. Su Li wouldn't waste even a moment.
By the time Ding Longyun and the group rushed down, Su Li, riding the turtle, had become a tiny speck.
"Hurry, hurry!" Ding Longyun shouted, jumping onto a raft. The entire Building B was stirred into action, people rushing out. Though they couldn't catch up to Su Li, they saw he was heading north from Building B. Everyone boarded rafts, paddling frantically in his direction.
Ding Longyun jumped into the water, pushing the raft from behind, his face full of anxiety.
Gong Xiao's turtle returning alone clearly meant something was wrong with her. And Su Li going alone made him even more uneasy. He worried not just for Gong Xiao, but for Su Li too.
Su Li rode the turtle, his expression grim. With his left hand gripping the rope on its back to steady himself, all five pieces of spirit source equipment were visible. He drew the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword with his right hand.
Aside from the Ice Python Sword, six of his seven spirit source items were now in play.
The turtle sprinted north at full speed, leaving a long white wake behind it.