Chapter 8: The Black Panther with a Human Face

Having finalized the task, Chu Danqing planned to head outside the city first to deal with the beast infestation at the mine.

A contribution of 1,000 points could be used to directly complete the trial mission and earn the qualification to return. Essentially, it was a life-saving insurance policy; if he ever encountered insurmountable danger, he could make a clean getaway. No matter how great the rewards, the prerequisite was that he had to stay alive to enjoy them.

If he were fast enough, he could resolve the matter in the morning, visit the Ji estate to discuss grain in the afternoon, and then oversee the porridge distribution later in the day.

"Master Consultant, this is the mine," the overseer said, lifting the carriage curtain for Chu Danqing.

"Since there is a beast infestation, why not halt production?" Chu Danqing stepped out of the carriage and saw the miners working in a frenzy. According to the intelligence he had read on the way, more than a dozen men had already been snatched away and devoured. The culprit was a leopard-like exotic beast, extremely stealthy and possessing immense strength.

"We can't stop. This mine business belongs to the official authorities," the overseer hurriedly explained. "If we miss the production quota, the Lu family will be in deep trouble. The local government doesn't care about what happens at the mine; they only demand the required amount of ore."

Chu Danqing found this hard to accept. He did not believe the Lu family lacked sufficient ore reserves; it was simply that in times of great disaster, human life was worthless. There were plenty of people willing to come to this mine to dig just for a bite to eat.

"What about that leopard? Are there any clues?" Chu Danqing decided to drop the subject and focus on the task at hand.

"This... we are not sure. It comes and goes without a trace. It has snatched a dozen men, but has only been seen once or twice. Two other consultants have already come to investigate, but they left empty-handed," the overseer replied.

Hearing this, Chu Danqing realized that the 1,000 contribution points would not be easy to earn.

"Dabao, what do you think?" Chu Danqing looked at his companion, pinning his hopes on Dabao's keen senses.

Dabao scanned the area and shook his head: "First... look for... tracks." He had found no clues.

"Take us to the scene of the incidents," Chu Danqing said to the overseer after stepping down from the carriage. The overseer readily agreed, and after instructing someone to watch the carriage, he led Chu Danqing and Dabao toward the site. Along the way, he detailed the situation at the mine and summarized the descriptions provided by previous witnesses.

"A black leopard with fur on its head that looks somewhat like a human face," Chu Danqing muttered. A leopard that snatched people was indeed rare, but otherwise, there were no major issues.

After walking around for a long time, Chu Danqing found nothing, but Dabao did. He tugged on Chu Danqing's clothes and pointed in a certain direction: "There... is something."

Chu Danqing paused, his gaze landing on the spot Dabao indicated, though from a distance, nothing seemed amiss. He picked up a stone and tossed it over. As the stone landed, ripples similar to those on the surface of water appeared.

"Mimicry?!" Chu Danqing retreated decisively, while Dabao moved to the front.

The rippling mimicry slowly rose, and as the surrounding colors shifted, it revealed a black leopard. The creature was large, comparable to a tiger, and the most striking feature was the human-like face on its head, which looked incredibly vivid.

After estimating the distance, Chu Danqing did not hesitate. He immediately cast five energy links and summoned his crossbowmen while simultaneously using his detection skill.

[Human-Faced Black Leopard]
[Attributes]
[Health: 100%]
[Mana: 1]
[Strength: ???]
[Agility: ???]
[Constitution: 6]
[Spirit: 3]
[Perception: 5]
[Talent: ???]
[Skills: ???]

The Human-Faced Black Leopard stumbled, a human-like expression of shock flashing across its face. Chu Danqing immediately severed two energy links and replaced them with two others, instantly draining the leopard's energy to zero. Because the leopard had been bearing the burden of Chu Danqing's energy consumption, its mana was already down to 1. The sudden loss of energy caused it to stagger as it rose, and the final drain dealt a secondary blow.

Behind him, the crossbowman adjusted his magazine, and in an instant, all the bolts were fired in rapid succession. Dabao followed closely, activating his Ripping Claws.

"Its strength and agility must be at least 8," Chu Danqing muttered. He watched as the bolts struck the leopard, followed by Dabao’s claws tearing through its vital points. The creature died on the spot.

The crossbowman began reloading, and Dabao reached out to claim the treasure chest. Five seconds passed, but no chest appeared.

"There's more than one?" Chu Danqing looked at the leopard; it was clearly dead. If no chest dropped, it meant the threat wasn't fully eliminated. But leopards were solitary animals, and this was a male—there were no cubs to speak of.

Suddenly, Dabao retreated, his eyes locked on the leopard's carcass. He sensed an abnormal aura emanating from it. In the next instant, the human face on the leopard's head stretched out and snapped at the air where Dabao had been. If Dabao hadn't retreated, it would have been too late to dodge.

After missing its strike, the face fused back into the carcass and slowly spread. The dead leopard shook its head, the crossbow bolts were squeezed out, and it stood up on its hind legs. Its fur writhed continuously until it transformed into a new monster with the head of a leopard and a human body, though its injuries remained.

Chu Danqing immediately severed the energy links. Unfortunately, the one-minute cooldown for the detection skill hadn't finished, so he couldn't identify this resurrected leopard-man monster.

Dabao did not hesitate; he closed the distance and launched an attack.

[Cruel Beast - Child of the Cave dealt 20 physical damage + 9 ripping damage + 9 bleeding damage to the target and recovered 3.8% health.]

The crossbowman, having reloaded half his bolts, began firing again.

[Crossbowman dealt 10 physical damage to the target.]

The damage was low, and the critical hit descriptions that had appeared when striking vital points were now replaced by simple physical damage. The leopard-man monster stiffly extended its right claw and launched its first attack at Dabao.

[Target dealt 17 physical damage to Cruel Beast - Child of the Cave.]

Seeing this combat log, Chu Danqing understood that the monster's strength and constitution were likely 9 or 10. It was nearly half the damage value of Dabao. As the fight progressed, the monster's stiff body began to loosen up, making its attacks faster. Fortunately, Dabao’s lifesteal effect allowed him to hold his ground.

As soon as the cooldown for the detection skill ended, Chu Danqing used it without a moment's hesitation. However, the result was far beyond his expectations.