Chapter 4: Secret Technique
The revived Thunder Mouse was somewhat confused, but quickly regained its senses. After a slight hesitation, it followed the command and charged at the giant insect.
After losing two prey that mysteriously disappeared, the giant insect became irritated. As the Thunder Mouse charged, it suddenly spewed a mouthful of white sticky liquid, which expanded like a spider's web and immediately ensnared the Thunder Mouse.
Having captured its prey, the giant insect quickly twisted its body and pounced, using its sharp claws to tear the Thunder Mouse apart.
"Revive!"
"Attack again!"
Su Ping quickly revived the Thunder Mouse, sending it back into battle.
In the blink of an eye, the Thunder Mouse revived again and was killed again by the giant insect. By the eighth time, as it charged toward the insect, facing the web-like sticky liquid being spewed at it, the Thunder Mouse suddenly flashed and disappeared, reappearing a distance ahead of the insect as if it had teleported!
"Thunder Flash!"
Su Ping's eyes widened, and his face was filled with shock.
Could it really be the Thunder Mouse's secret technique, the "Thunder Flash"? Was he seeing things?
This Thunder Mouse, just a first-tier star pet, had actually mastered this rare and precious Thunder-type technique?
Su Ping was both confused and amazed.
It was known that many high-tier Thunder-type star pets at the seventh or eighth rank hadn't even mastered such a rare top-tier technique!
Yet, this Thunder Mouse, whose talent was mediocre at best, had not only failed to learn intermediate Thunder techniques but had now somehow comprehended a legendary secret technique?
Su Ping observed closely, trying to make sense of it.
After the sudden burst of speed, the Thunder Mouse closed the distance to the side of the giant insect, finding a perfect opening. It immediately radiated intense lightning energy and crashed into the insect's soft side.
The giant insect stumbled and fell to the ground, with the soft area scorched.
However, it didn't lose its ability to fight. In fact, the intense pain caused it to thrash wildly, and it quickly got back up, moving even faster to counterattack the Thunder Mouse.
Having just unleashed its full lightning power, the Thunder Mouse was already tired, and its movements became sluggish. In the insect's counterattack, it was caught and killed again.
"Revive."
Su Ping said quickly.
The Thunder Mouse reappeared on the ground. This time, it didn't appear confused like before. It seemed to have become accustomed to the brief pain and was now reinvigorated.
Seeing the wounded giant insect, the Thunder Mouse, without waiting for Su Ping's command, charged forward to continue the fight.
Attack, injury, death, revival.
After repeating this process a dozen times, the giant insect finally collapsed, unable to endure the relentless attacks, and died in frustration.
In the subsequent battles, Su Ping didn't see "Thunder Flash" again. It seemed like the technique had only been a fleeting illusion.
He felt a bit disappointed and regretful, but when he thought about it, he realized that if the Thunder Flash had been real, then it would certainly appear again in the future!
With the giant insect defeated, Su Ping could finally relax. At least he wouldn't be eaten by the insect and experience that disgusting death again.
"It seems that while it's dangerous here, the training effect is indeed powerful."
Su Ping observed the Thunder Mouse, exhausted and lying on the giant insect's body. The little creature had clearly become faster and more precise in its attacks after each revival. It had even used feints to successfully land a sneak attack.
The battle, though it involved repeated deaths, had only lasted about ten minutes. The rapid progress made in such a short time was truly remarkable.
Maybe, after three days, the Thunder Mouse's power would indeed surge!
Su Ping suddenly felt a sense of anticipation. Perhaps this task wasn't as hopeless as it seemed.
"Let's go, little one." Su Ping patted the Thunder Mouse on its little head, stood up, and prepared to look for the next target.
Tired!
The Thunder Mouse sent a reluctant thought.
Su Ping was momentarily stunned.
Recalling the grueling battle it had just fought to kill the giant insect, he immediately understood.
"Then let's rest for a bit." Su Ping smiled kindly.
The Thunder Mouse, lying on the giant insect's back, glanced at Su Ping with a weary look. When it saw his smiling face, it suddenly felt a strange sensation.
Before it could react, a sharp pain shot through its body.
"Revive."
Su Ping watched the Thunder Mouse reassemble on the ground and asked with a smile, "Feeling better now?"
When the Thunder Mouse was revived repeatedly, Su Ping had noticed that it always came back in its prime state, never showing any signs of fatigue from the earlier battles.
So, this was the fastest way to recover.
The Thunder Mouse's fur stood on end. At that moment, Su Ping's smile was deeply etched into its mind.
"Hiss!"
The Thunder Mouse bared its teeth, seemingly warning Su Ping to stop.
Su Ping released the giant insect's sharp claw. It was indeed razor-sharp and could pierce the Thunder Mouse if used with force. It could be considered a divine weapon.
"Good, let's go." Su Ping patted its little head.
The Thunder Mouse's teeth ground against each other, and if it weren't for the contract, it might have had the urge to bite this master to death.
Three days later.
On a towering mountain in the Thundercloud Sea.
The mist swirled around the mountainside, the rocks towering like peaks, creating a magnificent and tranquil wild landscape.
On one seemingly insignificant giant rock, a few tiny lives, no bigger than ants, were engaged in an intense life-or-death battle!
"Quick, use 'Thunder Shadow' to distract it."
"Circle around from the side."
"Use 'Thunder Strike' to hit its side."
Su Ping stood by the giant rock, communicating with his mind to direct the battle.
Ahead, two figures, one large and one small, were locked in fierce combat.
The larger one was a giant, cockroach-like creature, its body agile and covered in a limestone-colored rock shell. It had sharp stone claws resembling spikes. It was a star pet from this rocky terrain and was one of the rare Earth-type star pets in the Thundercloud Sea, a natural enemy of Thunder-type star pets.
The smaller one, about the size of an ordinary house cat, had purple fur, crackling with electricity. Its fur stood on end like sharp needles. It was the Thunder Mouse.
Zing!
The Thunder Mouse darted forward, its body surrounded by crackling lightning.
The stone insect instinctively chased after it.
But just then, a flash of light, a lighter purple, appeared behind the stone insect.
The insect soon realized something was wrong. The Thunder Mouse, while crackling with electricity, grew fainter and fainter, eventually becoming a semi-transparent lightning afterimage.
It was a shadow clone!
The stone insect quickly turned its head, sensing the danger, but just then, a dazzling purple light appeared in its line of sight.
The Thunder Mouse leapt high, its body radiating the densest lightning. Above its head, the energy coalesced into a sharp blade, highly compressed.
Thwack!
The lightning blade struck. The insect's soft spot, between the gaps in its armor, was helpless against the attack, and its body was sliced in half!
Green blood sprayed from the wound, splashing onto the rocks.
"Perfect." Su Ping snapped his fingers.
In just one life, the Thunder Mouse had slain this Earth-type star pet, which was clearly stronger than a first-tier pet. The Thunder Mouse had grown immensely in power, a far cry from what it was just three days ago.
And indeed, it was as Su Ping had thought.
Just moments ago, he had received the system's notification that the mission was complete.
"I can't believe it, just three days and we really did it…" Su Ping thought to himself in awe. This was beyond belief.
But to achieve such a massive increase in strength, both he and the Thunder Mouse had paid a hefty price. They had died in every conceivable way hundreds of times, and the Thunder Mouse had died more than a thousand times.
"Mission complete. The training dimension is closing…"
"The host will soon disconnect from the Thundercloud Sea…"
"The temporary contract with the pet is now dissolved…"
"Return preparation underway…"
In the next second, everything went black.
When the light returned, the familiar sights of the pet shop appeared before Su Ping's eyes. Everything felt like a dream.