Since the naming attempt failed, Qin Shou decided not to waste more time on the Skeleton Giant Lizard.
Among the numerous monsters, the Skeleton Giant Lizard wasn't even considered a strong contender, so Qin Shou didn't care much for it.
The scene shifted, and he began constructing a model with the Black Ape Beast as the base.
[Black Ape Beast] + [Monster Battle Talent] + [Level 1 Giant Strength Cell]
Once the model was completed, the Black Ape Beast's figure appeared more streamlined, and its muscles showed profound changes.
It seemed as if every inch of muscle had been meticulously calculated, born solely for battle.
Qin Shou nodded in satisfaction.
"Ding! Model construction complete. Synthesis requires 250 Synthesis Points. Begin synthesis?"
"Synthesize!" Qin Shou still wore his pained expression.
Mere moments later, the model solidified.
"Ding! Synthesis successful. This creature is a Dangerous Nine-Star Monster. Please name it!"
Without hesitation, Qin Shou declared, "King Kong!"
"Ding! Naming successful. Data search and comparison in progress…"
"Ding! This creature has a 70% similarity to the original King Kong. Reward: 100 Synthesis Points, Level 1 Anti-gravity Device x1."
"Ding! Similarity exceeds 50%. Reward: King Kong Transformation Card x1."
A series of notification sounds echoed, leaving Qin Shou smiling with satisfaction.
Although its strength couldn't rival the original King Kong, their essence of life was strikingly similar, achieving a 70% similarity rate.
This was so worth it!
Combined with his previously synthesized Radon and Steel Garuru, he now owned three Dangerous Nine-Star Monsters.
In comparison, his first creation, the greedy snake, with just Danger Level 8 strength, felt somewhat weak.
No, wait—actually, he, as the Beast Tamer, was the weakest one here!
...
The night passed without incident. When Qin Shou woke up from his meditation, he found things bustling outside the tent.
Stepping out, he saw Long Xia, Hong Cong, and Ye Ning squatting together, pointing and chuckling at the giant tree beyond the barrier.
Lin Xiaomei, on the other hand, shook her head in exasperation, glanced briefly at the trio, and then turned to Qin Shou as he emerged from the tent.
"Qin Shou, just in time. I just finished preparing breakfast. Come have some."
Qin Shou thanked her, then gestured toward the trio with his chin. "What's going on here?"
Lin Xiaomei shook her head and pointed at the green foliage on the giant tree. "Two mantis monsters."
Qin Shou looked up and indeed spotted two mantis-shaped monsters blending perfectly with the tree canopy, almost invisible at first glance.
Because of the barrier, the two mantis monsters hadn't noticed them yet.
As for the trio's suggestive grins...
Well, anyone who's watched nature documentaries knows what mantis mating positions look like.
Ew!
Qin Shou clicked his tongue in disgust. Watching live coverage of mantis behavior—seriously, how shameless!
Do monsters need no dignity?
After scoffing at the trio, Qin Shou thought for a moment before quietly borrowing a pair of binoculars from Long Xia.
"Ah, I see. Monster reproduction is truly fascinating…"
Qin Shou murmured while observing through the binoculars, occasionally making cryptic comments that baffled the trio.
Lin Xiaomei: "..."
An hour later, the two mantises were still at it, but the four of them had grown bored and went off to wash up.
"You've got to admit, monster endurance during battle is something else," Hong Cong joked as he splashed water on his face.
Beside him, Long Xia looked at him strangely. "No way… Are you actually jealous of the mantis?"
Hong Cong's face darkened. "Stop spouting nonsense. I'm not…"
Before he could finish, the barrier suddenly rippled violently, and everyone's expressions turned serious.
They quickly turned back to the barrier, only to see that the previously affectionate pair of mantises was now locked in a fierce battle.
The barrier distortion was caused by the two mantises' combat spilling over.
"What the hell? They were so lovey-dovey just moments ago. How did they turn on each other so quickly? Are we supposed to believe in love anymore?" Long Xia muttered, dumbfounded.
Qin Shou smirked. "Didn't your teacher ever tell you? During mating, a female mantis will eat the male if she gets hungry."
Long Xia scratched his head. "Which teacher taught us that? I don't recall."
"Teacher Zhao," Qin Shou said flatly.
Lin Xiaomei cut in, "Alright, enough nonsense. Those two mantis monsters both have Danger Level 8 strength. If the barrier breaks, they'll spot us, and we'll be in trouble."
Hearing this, Hong Cong and the others stiffened.
Was this the price of watching a live stream?
"So, what do we do now?" Hong Cong asked nervously.
Qin Shou shrugged. "We wait. If the male mantis surrenders quickly and the fight ends, the female mantis will leave once she's full."
As he spoke, he plopped down on a small stool, watching the battle beyond the barrier with keen interest, occasionally making comments.
"Hmm… The female didn't immediately succeed. Looks like this male mantis has some experience."
The others: "..."
...
"Screech!"
Outside the barrier, the slightly smaller male mantis shrieked in panic, seemingly pleading for mercy from the female.
Its body was riddled with blade wounds, its massive forelimb blades broken, and one of its blood-red eyes sliced open.
The female mantis strode forward, her gaze icy and merciless.
When you're hungry, you need to eat.
"Haaah!"
Suddenly, the female mantis swung her blades with blinding speed.
"Swish, swish!!"
Despair filled the male mantis's eyes as it mustered all its strength to dodge to the side.
"Crack…"
The male narrowly evaded the strike, but the female's attack landed directly on the barrier.
Instantly, the barrier dissolved into faint light and dissipated.
The next moment, a flash of bloodthirst appeared in the female mantis's eyes—it had discovered new prey.
With the barrier's camouflage gone, what replaced it was a dark-green "snake-like" monster.
Can snakes fly?
This thought suddenly crossed the female mantis's mind.
Before she could react, a scorching fireball began forming in her opponent's mouth, the lethal aura snapping her back to her senses.
"Haaah…"
The female mantis shrieked in panic, but it was too late to evade.
"Boom!!"
A blazing pillar of fire erupted, its devastating energy instantly obliterating the female mantis's head.
She didn't even have time to wail before her head vanished into the flames.
"Boom…"
Her massive body collapsed in a heap, billowing smoke. Only then did the male mantis snap out of it.
"Screech!!"
With the female dead, the one-eyed male mantis fell into utter madness.
Her death meant the extinction of their unborn offspring.
"Roar…"
Just as he prepared to retaliate, a dragon's roar erupted ahead—the snake monster that had killed his mate was now lunging at him ferociously.
"Haaah!"
The male mantis charged furiously toward its enemy, only to feel an excruciating pain in its tender rear moments later.
"Squish!"
It was as though something strange had pierced it...
"Screech!"
Writhing in agony, the male mantis screeched skyward, its rage growing stronger.
Behind it, Qin Shou had just driven a sword into the mantis's rear, pouring his raging Star Power into the wound.
With one precise strike, he retreated dozens of meters away.
The greedy snake perfectly coordinated, taking advantage of the mantis's distraction to deliver a Divine Dragon Tail strike that sent its head flying.
"Boom…"
The male mantis's headless corpse crumpled to the ground, twitching reflexively.
In less than a minute, the couple had both fallen to Qin Shou's hands.