Chapter 7: I Am the Boss, You Are the Leader

"Go over and take a look!"

The goblins in the forest quickened their pace, breaking into a jog.

Before long, Li Meng heard the noise of goblins ahead in the forest.

In a clearing in the woods, a group of goblins was enjoying a feast.

Each goblin held a piece of meat with fur still attached and gnawed at it.

"Who's there!"

One goblin seemed to sense something.

It stood up alertly and let out a shout.

Its warning drew the attention of the nearby goblins.

The goblins, who had been dining, quickly picked up various weapons and stood up.

"It's me, it's me!"

Under the watchful gazes of the goblins, Li Meng emerged from the bushes with a group of goblin underlings.

Seeing their own kind appear, the goblins lowered their weapons.

"What have you guys been up to these past few days?"

At that moment, a rough voice came from the rear.

A tall hobgoblin, holding a spiked club, walked over.

Looking at Li Meng's group of goblins, it glared at them angrily.

This was Gobuka, the small leader of this hunting team.

Seeing Gobuka approach, the goblin underlings behind Li Meng shrank their necks, stepping back repeatedly with anxious and fearful expressions.

Li Meng remained unfazed, holding a wooden stick and pointing it at Gobuka.

"Gobuka, I challenge you!"

This guy wasn’t strong. Although it was a hobgoblin, its stats were pitifully low.

[Name: Gobuka]

[Race: Hobgoblin]

[Level: 16]

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[Strength: 26]

[Defense: 24]

[Agility: 21]

[Magic: 6]

"Hahaha, Gobumeng, have you eaten too much filth? How dare you challenge me?"

Gobuka laughed loudly as if he had just heard the funniest joke.

The goblins behind him also burst into laughter.

They laughed so hard that they waved their arms and stomped their feet, some even rolling on the ground clutching their bellies.

"What, are you scared?"

Li Meng grinned, a mocking look on his face.

Seeing that Li Meng was serious, the smile on Gobuka's face vanished.

It grinned hideously and greedily looked at Li Meng.

"Gobumeng, you look tender and tasty. Today, I’ll eat you. Roar!"

Gobuka roared and charged at Li Meng, holding its spiked club.

It swung the club, aiming a heavy blow at Li Meng's head.

If struck, Li Meng’s head might explode like a smashed watermelon.

Gobuka grinned maliciously, its face filled with excitement and greed.

It could already imagine Li Meng's head shattering into pieces.

Then, just as the club was about to smash into Li Meng's head...

Li Meng moved. His right hand suddenly shot out, grabbing the spiked club.

With a loud "thud," Gobuka's club was firmly caught in Li Meng’s hand.

Although the spikes on the club caused blood to drip from Li Meng's hand, Gobuka’s strike was completely blocked.

"Impossible!"

Gobuka screamed, frantically pulling at the club.

But in Li Meng’s hand, the club was as immovable as a mountain, no matter how much force Gobuka used.

"Boss, it’s my turn now!"

Seeing the panicked Gobuka, Li Meng grinned.

He waved the hand holding the spiked club, easily prying it from Gobuka’s grasp.

Then, he swung downward!

The handle of the spiked club smashed into Gobuka’s face with a "thud."

Gobuka's entire face twisted, and its body was flung over five meters away before crashing to the ground.

"The boss… the boss lost?"

The goblins watching this scene were dumbfounded.

"The boss won, the boss won!"

The goblin underlings behind Li Meng jumped and cheered.

"Gobumeng! Gobumeng!"

Gobuda shouted excitedly.

The other goblin underlings quickly joined in, shouting in unison.

Their synchronized chants soon spread to the other goblins, who also began shouting together.

For a moment, the forest echoed with cries of "Gobumeng! Gobumeng!"

Facing the goblins’ reverent gazes, Li Meng grinned.

Good. From now on, this hunting team was his.

Of course, to avoid a "life simulation" ending, the process had to change a bit.

Li Meng raised the spiked club, and the chants in the forest fell silent.

In the forest, Li Meng, holding the spiked club, walked toward Gobuka.

Seeing Li Meng approach, Gobuka, who was struggling to stand, turned pale.

It stepped back repeatedly, looking at the advancing Li Meng with a face full of fear.

"Gobumeng, you win. From now on, you’re the boss!"

Li Meng approached Gobuka with a smile.

"Do you submit?"

Gobuka nodded vigorously.

"I submit! I submit!"

Satisfied, Li Meng nodded, flashing a grin at Gobuka.

That smile sent a chill down Gobuka’s spine.

"Here, this is yours."

Li Meng handed the spiked club to Gobuka.

Gobuka looked at the club in Li Meng's hand, then at Li Meng himself.

Hesitation flashed in its eyes, but ultimately, it forced a flattering smile despite its reluctance.

"Boss, let me offer this club as a gift to you."

"I don’t need it!"

Li Meng tossed the spiked club to Gobuka.

Gobuka hurriedly caught it and hugged it like a treasure.

"From now on, you’re still the boss, the leader of the hunting team. But you’ll follow my orders. Understood?"

***

Although Gobuka didn’t understand why Gobumeng did something so incomprehensible to goblins, it didn’t think too much. It nodded.

"Hand over the magic crystals. All of them!"

Gobuka quickly removed a pouch made of animal hide from its waist.

Li Meng weighed the pouch in his hand.

It was heavy, indicating Gobuka had hoarded plenty of magic crystals.

But magic crystals weren’t of much use to goblins.

To goblins, magic crystals were just glowing stones.

"Boss, we should head back. We can’t carry more prey."

After nearly ten days of hunting, the team had gained a lot.

Most of the prey were ground mice, which were goblins’ staple food.

Without ground mouse meat, the goblin nest couldn’t sustain so many goblins.

"Let’s head back!"

The cooldown for the life simulation was still half a month away.

During this time, Li Meng planned to lie low as a weak goblin.

This world was too dangerous. The more you did, the more likely you were to meet an untimely death.

Without the life simulation to predict the future, it was simply too risky.

"Stop eating! Set off! Return to the nest!"

Under Gobuka’s shouts, the hunting team began its return journey.

When they had set out, the hunting team had 87 goblins.

On the way back, only 64 remained.

"Boss, boss, I… I think I’ve grown taller and stronger."

In the dim forest, a group of goblins marched along.

The long line stretched for hundreds of meters.

Gobuda approached Li Meng, waving its fists excitedly.

Li Meng glanced at it.

With that glance, he realized Gobuda had leveled up.

Its stats had also improved.

Li Meng looked at the other goblin underlings.

Those who had eaten the Earth Demon Bear’s meat had all leveled up once.

It seemed eating high-tier magical beasts’ meat sped up goblins’ evolution.

This thought made Li Meng’s expression shift as he recalled the bodies in the traps.