"What did you do with your share of the honey?" Mir said to Reno on their way to the grassland.

"Nothing. Why rush? Consuming contaminated food is not exactly a safe process."

"Oh, okay. Listen, uh...don't take what Murray said to heart. He's been pretty frustrated these days because he's so close to the peak of the Evolution Standard scale and has been stuck at this stage for so long. I already told you there are some people after him. So he lost control back there-"

"No, it's fine. I was just too scared to return there. He's correct from his standpoint, and I believe I am correct from mine. A conflict would rise naturally because of this difference."

Mir sighed, relieved. "Good to see that you understand. By the way, you never explained why you entered this place so soon without much preparation. Do you have any plans in mind?"

Reno opened his mouth to answer several times, each time stopping to think. Almost five minutes passed in silence that way. Finally, Reno whispered, "I need to contract a certain creature. I'm not sure if it's here, but I need to search for it as thoroughly as I can."

Mir felt weirded out by his reply.

"What do you mean you're not sure if it's here? All species inside Code-Green Sacred Grounds are recorded in the software's database. And why do you need to contract it so desperately?"

Reno hesitantly answered, "It's a...rare creature. There might not be any left due to how many explorers go through this sacred ground every day."

"What species? And how rare?" Mir's interest was piqued.

"...I'd rather not say. You'll just keep asking more questions and I can't answer all of them. Let's leave it at that."

Scratching his head, Mir decided not to pursue the matter.

Soon, they crossed through the woods and reached the edge of the flat grassland, on the other side of which lay the silent stream.

The grassland was abuzz with the hum of enraged bees. Reno was right. The discovery of their queen's corpse had made them too angry to just get back to their usual routine.

Murray was hunched over behind a thick bush, watching the bees whiz about. Sensing Mir and Reno approaching from behind, he gestured at them to quickly join him.

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"Within 48 hours, they will groom a new queen," he said as they crouched beside him.

Both Mir and Reno sharply turned their heads toward him. The next 48 hours...was this a coincidence? No, probably not.

"You two don't have contracted creatures. Well, Mir doesn't. I don't know about you, Reno."

"I don't, either," Reno quickly replied.

"Want one?" Murray said, finally making his intentions clear.

Mir and Reno exchanged a worried look in the dark.

Contracting mutant creatures is a delicate process. One has to defeat it without dealing too much damage, and then suppress it mentally until it gave up on defending against the contractor. The creation of a contract depended on the mental attack made by the contractor on the creature. Ordinary people couldn't comprehend how to release this kind of mental attack without experiencing similar attacks made on their minds through the consumption of contaminated food.

This battle of mind was actually not that difficult for those whose mental fortitude had been tempered by regular hallucinations. The mind of a beast was naturally incapable of creating anything too sophisticated. Defeating them mentally several times was usually enough to suppress them totally and gain their allegiance as the champion of the battle.

The next process was more dangerous though. Upon gaining its allegiance, a contractor's brain would begin to connect with the brain of the mutant creature, leading to the transfer of a huge wave of data. The brainwaves of both man and beast would collide, each creature imprinting the uniqueness of the other in its own brain.

Now, a mutated creature's brainwaves were different from ordinary ones. Just like how being infected by the virus increased the [ Brainwave Disturbance ] stat of an explorer, mutant creatures full of active viruses naturally experienced the same phenomenon. The higher the grade of mutation, the bigger the range and limit of its Brainwave Disturbance would be.

This was why ordinary people could not form any contract with mutated creatures. Their brains would be fried the moment the Brainwave Disturbance of the mutant creature is imprinted on their neural networks.

Mir had already experienced once what it felt like to be at the receiving end of mental attacks. But he still had a long way to go before being able to call his mental fortitude 'refined'.

Reno hadn't yet touched his contaminated honey, which made him even weaker in terms of mental fortitude than Mir. Neither of them was suitable to form contracts with any creature just yet.

"How are WE supposed to form contracts?" Reno said to Murray.

"The honey isn't the only source of contamination inside a hive," Murray answered. "The larvae are edible and delicious, from what I've heard."

Mir felt like throwing up as he imagined eating slimy bee larvae. And judging by the look on Reno's face, the feeling wasn't exclusive.

Murray's plan was simple.

"You can eat the Larvae and the younger bees, increasing your extent of infection to train your neural networks. If all three of us can use contracted creatures, our exploration would become easier, and we would even be able to defend ourselves from...enemies."

"I'm not eating that," Reno hissed.

"Then give the honey back. Why would you want shares of contaminated food if you don't want to eat it?" Murray said fiercely.

Reno refused to answer. Mir wondered why this guy was acting so odd. He had clearly revealed that he wanted to contract a rare mutated creature. But how did he plan on achieving that task without training his neural network to handle mental attacks?

Murray directed his focus on Mir.

"What do you think, Mir? Do you want to try contracting a Purplevein Bee Queen?"

Mir hesitated before answering.

"I could try. But I don't think it's gonna be safe. I need to undergo a lot more mental refinement from the hallucinations to be able to suppress another creature, theoretically. Have you ever tried it before? Some recounting of your experience would be helpful. I mean, there's no easy way to tell when I've grown strong enough to form a contract. This is why guidance is necessary."

Murray shook his head. "I've never tried to form a contract before. But Father Vincentious instructed me on how to do it. It's almost the same as the hallucinations, except, instead of refusing to be moved by the temptations inside the hallucinations, you need to suppress the creature's representation in it."

Mir scoffed.

"I couldn't defeat a Purplevein Queen Bee if we fought face to face. What makes you think I could do it inside the mental battlefield?"

"Because in that mental battlefield, your imagination, powered by your mental endurance, can affect the battle, little brother. As long as you do not back down in fear and use your imagination to fight the creature, you have a chance."