Chapter 153 Request to Leave

"I originally expected to see a fierce battle of dragons and tigers, but instead, I got a bromance battle of dragons and tigers!"
"Those apes have so many wild moves!"
"That circle of behinds around the elder suddenly reminded me of a movie I watched!"
"Brother, spare a link for research!"
"Big boss, please bestow some sauce!"
"Monkemon is truly shameless! The moment he realized his ultimate move couldn't touch Sister Catherine, he immediately backed down! How can someone like him even be a boss?"
"Sister Catherine, if you keep this up, you'll genuinely degenerate into an explicit live-streamer!"
"The level of these rides has been upgraded! Now it's switched to group action!"
"Look at that smug, triumphant look on the newly promoted elder's face! He looks just like our village party secretary!"
"Clearly, Monkemon just slaughtered quite a few of his own kin not long ago! Why are those apes acting like nothing happened?"
"Here come these kinds of folks again! Stop trying to apply human worldviews to magical beasts! They have their own social codes; why should they be just like humans?"

"Exactly! Imposing human concepts and systems onto magical beasts is no different from a certain lighthouse country forcefully peddling freedom and democracy!"
"What do you mean by forcefully? Our lighthouse country naturally brings justice and freedom to people all over the world!"
"You should save that line for the people in the Kazak region!"
"Yes, yes, we know you breathe the fresh, free air every day, happy now?"
"We are damn well watching an entertainment streamer here! Can we stop discussing major affairs of state?"
"Can we talk about something serious? Like which ape is thicker and which ape is longer? Don't get me wrong, this is serious magical research!"
"..."

After dropping this flat remark, Ling Mo let his gaze fall upon the reveling dark apes, took a deep breath, and said, "Living from hand to mouth, combined with simple minds, you could say magical beasts live extremely pure lives. Lower-level magical beasts hustle for their food every day; bad weather, bad luck, and various other factors can lead to starvation, and a moment of carelessness might land them as another magical beast's meal. As higher-level magical beasts grow in intelligence, the energy required by their high-intensity bodies also steadily increases. To sustain life, they must fight against individuals of equally high energy, and a split second of carelessness will cost them their lives."

"Even if they don't die on the spot, suffering overly severe injuries will drastically reduce their combat effectiveness, turning them into targets for other magical beasts and greatly increasing their mortality rate. Familial affection? Romantic love? Hatred? These emotions are far too luxurious for magical beasts. Monkemon choosing not to continue fighting you is a completely normal occurrence, much like lions on the savannah: even though they can easily kill hyenas, they won't start a war with them unless absolutely necessary."

Catherine said in a daze, "This lifestyle—so straightforward, so utilitarian, so disgusting."

"This is the so-called law of nature: survival of the fittest, natural selection." Ling Mo's tone was extremely detached. "Although I've lived in the rainforest for a long time, I also know that many people in modern society frequently complain about how hypocritical and tedious life is, wishing to return to a natural, primitive existence. But this is nothing more than idle whining. The various rules of human society might seem like restrictions, but in reality, they exist to protect the majority of people and maintain the normal operation of society. Once you truly break away from these rules, you'll find that you wouldn't survive a single day."

"In the past, even though I also did wilderness live-streaming, it was mostly just going to less dangerous places, relying on all sorts of modern equipment and a level of magical power far higher than the local beasts to put on a show," Catherine said with a wistful tone. "It was practically impossible to encounter any real danger, nor did I experience any harsh environments. It was more of a playful mindset; I didn't even need to conserve my mental energy, and I still had enough spare capacity to cast a 'Wind-Warding Spell' on my body just to resist mosquito bites."

At this, Catherine let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Thinking back now, I was utterly ridiculous at the time, acting like a clown, coaxing a huge crowd of empty, lonely, and cold viewers looking for a little thrill. My biggest daily worry was that the content wasn't exciting enough to attract attention, so I'd rack my brains to manufacture drama. Every time I saw viewership drop by a thousand or two, I'd panic, wishing I could bare my entire body to draw eyeballs, yet feeling too proud to stoop quite that low..."

"To gain attention, you thought about coming to the Magical Beast Rainforest to manufacture some topics, right?" Vayne chimed in. Seeing Catherine nod, Vayne said somewhat mockingly, "And so you actually came? Only to find out upon arrival that the dangers of the Magical Beast Rainforest far exceeded your expectations. If you hadn't happened to run into Master, the grass on your grave would already be half a foot tall by now! Weren't you already a pretty popular streamer? Why did you have to go courting death like that?"

"True. For me back then, the horrors of the Eight Great Forbidden Lands were just a few dry descriptions in books; I couldn't muster much reverence for them," Catherine said with a bitter smile. "Junior sister, you might not understand, but actually, starting over two months ago, my popularity had already begun to drop sharply. In our line of wilderness streaming, the niche is already small, and it relies heavily on unique content. There's a wilderness streamer on the neighboring Ice Cat Platform who successfully survived for three days on the outskirts of the 'God's Punishment Wasteland'—one of the Eight Great Forbidden Lands—and he practically snatched all my viewers away overnight. Under those circumstances, if I hadn't come to the outskirts of the Magical Beast Rainforest, whether I could renew my contract with Douha for the next year would have been a huge question mark."

"So you're saying that once Teacher Ling joined your stream, that streamer from Ice Cat must be having a really hard time too?" Vayne asked curiously. She glanced inadvertently at the live stream chat and let out a soft exclamation: "What? That streamer's popularity plummeted to rock bottom, and to win back his viewers, he went to live-stream on the outskirts of the 'Molten City' and essentially courted his own death? Is that true? So many people are saying it's real? This..."

She fell silent for a moment, then bowed deeply to Catherine with great solemnity and apologized, "I'm sorry, Senior Sister. It seems I just uttered some very foolish words of 'why don't they eat meat porridge'."

Catherine hurriedly helped her up and said repeatedly, "No need for that! Not at all! Junior Sister, you're an extraordinary alchemist who has always been immersed in research; it's completely normal that you don't understand our petty struggles. In the past, I truly lacked reverence for nature. If I hadn't bumped into Master, I would probably have been dragged back to their nest by a Blood-Eyed Toad by now, had eggs laid inside my body, suffered endless torture, and finally had my stomach chewed open by a bunch of little frogs next spring."

"Meeting Master is simply the luckiest thing in this lifetime. Although it's only been a few short days, it feels like a very, very long time has passed, and life seems to have undergone a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering transformation. Not only have I gained strength far exceeding my past self and witnessed all sorts of wondrous sights I couldn't even dream of, but the live stream has also gained infinitely higher popularity than before, and my income is so much greater than I ever dared to imagine. It's just that..."

Catherine's voice gradually trailed off. She slowly raised her head, looked at Ling Mo with eyes full of hopeful anticipation, and asked, "It's just that I'm really just an ordinary person, and this kind of life right now is truly a bit too much for me to bear. I've already reached your requirement and become an Advanced Martial Master. Master, can I finally leave the rainforest now?"