As Fang Senyan engaged in his fight, two Cockatrices flapped up nearby, only to be effortlessly swatted back by Ramtas using the staff he had fashioned from a tree trunk, amidst shrill screeches.

It was clear from the focus of their attacks that the Cockatrices were judging by appearance; they likely assumed that larger size equated to greater strength...

Furthermore, the performance of the three androids was commendable. Each was designed with a load-bearing capacity of 40 kilograms. Since the total equipment they needed to transport only amounted to sixty kilograms when divided among the three, they had also brought along weapons and armor. They stood back-to-back in a tight triangular formation, carrying something resembling riot shields in their left hands and light automatic weapons similar to MP5s in their right.

Fang Senyan's requirement was not for them to help in combat, but simply to ensure his safety—not causing further trouble was sufficient.

The Cockatrices and the other animals could clearly sense the composition of the androids' bodies: entirely plastic and cold synthetic rubber. To them, this was no different from earth or stone, so they did not directly engage them in attack.

Because they needed to wait for the disease to slowly worsen and manifest, Fang Senyan and Ramtas opted for a cautious, delaying tactic. Suddenly, the strong wind that had been raging across the open field ceased. A few heavy drops of water struck Fang Senyan’s hair forcefully, causing a slight stinging pain on his scalp.

Across the sky, a bolt of lightning snaked by, followed moments later by a booming clap of thunder.

At this moment, a torrential downpour erupted. The rain fell like a waterfall, momentarily blurring everything into a vast expanse of white!

The frenzied Cockatrices were quick to utilize the sudden change in weather, immediately lunging out of the tall grass once more. Eerie cries rose and fell in rapid succession. However, Fang Senyan was now completely confident in handling their simple attack patterns.

While their leaping pounce was swift and stealthy, once committed, it lacked follow-up options. This might prove fatal to ordinary animals, but for a seasoned veteran like Fang Senyan, it was easily managed.

After adopting a defensive posture for some time, the affliction began to flare up frequently. The disease started to viciously torment the internal organs of the Cockatrices, causing various symptoms to erupt. It was then that Fang Senyan and Ramtas launched their counterattack. Strangely, these creatures fought with insane ferocity, refusing to retreat.

After fighting for a while, Fang Senyan suddenly withdrew and then stomped down with a high kick, pinning one Cockatrice to the ground. He reached back and grabbed its neck!

At this instant, the silver metallic life on Fang Senyan’s high-energy gauntlet flickered strangely. Fang Senyan exerted sudden force and effortlessly twisted the creature’s neck until it snapped. The crisp sound of the bone breaking could not be masked even by the wind and rain.

The death of one of their kind sent the remaining Cockatrices into a frenzy, attacking with desperate vigor as if injected with stimulants. However, the powerful virus consistently created massive openings in their movements.

As time wore on, the Cockatrices were systematically killed. In a moment of inattention, Fang Senyan slashed sideways, severing the neck of another Cockatrice. But as the severed head arced through the air, the creature, like a centipede that refuses to die easily, launched a vicious peck directly into Fang Senyan's arm!

An intense numbing sensation shot up Fang Senyan’s arm. He staggered back a step and immediately saw the spot that had been pecked instantly go numb and unresponsive, spreading agonizing pain rapidly to the surrounding area. A quick check revealed his health was plummeting by four hundred points in an instant!

Fang Senyan was startled. Given his defense rating, not only should a peck like that do minimal damage, but even being pressed hard by a power drill shouldn't deplete his health so severely.

Catching the light from a streaking bolt of lightning, Fang Senyan raised his arm. He saw that the area he had been pecked had turned ashen grey. Cracks had appeared in a circular patch about the size of three coins. When he prodded it, fragments and dust, like bits of dried earth and stone, actually flaked off!

However, around the wound, healthy flesh was rapidly writhing and growing, seeming to isolate and slough off the mutated parts, though this process was accompanied by sharp, stinging pain.

"This kind of attack... could it be petrification?" The thought flashed through Fang Senyan's mind.

Petrification wasn't strictly a myth; it occurred frequently in ordinary life—kidney stones and gallstones, for instance, were plentiful examples. Muscle calcification was also a common clinical finding, and even the lesions of tuberculosis could sometimes be cured through calcification... Speeding up this process a hundredfold would be petrification in its truest sense.

If a creature possessed psionic abilities focused in this area, possessing petrification power was not hard to comprehend.

Fang Senyan immediately called up the data he had previously scanned on the Cockatrices and reviewed it. He noticed that the description of their biological abilities now included an addition:

Biological Ability: Petrification. When attacking, there is a chance the part of the enemy struck will petrify. Generally, the angrier the Cockatrice, the higher the chance of petrification. When it is dejected or its stamina is low, the chance of the ability activating drops significantly.

After reading this description, Fang Senyan grew even more cautious. It seemed the Cockatrices, though certainly not apex predators in this world, possessed such a potent ability. Contemplating being swarmed and pecked by a dozen Cockatrices... Fang Senyan decided that regrouping with his allies sooner rather than later was indeed a good idea.

After a quick sweep of the battlefield, Fang Senyan noted that no keys had dropped. Strictly speaking, keys were extra loot granted by the dimension itself, invisible to the world's native inhabitants. Since Fang Senyan had not been fighting under the dimension's guidance, there were naturally no keys.

But no keys did not mean no gains.

The three androids consciously stepped forward and skillfully butchered the few dead Cockatrices, preserving the parts. Equipped with offline databases, they could search a wealth of information and thus provided Fang Senyan with several useful tidbits:

The Cockatrice beak was considered the most valuable component as it supposedly held the secret to the petrification ability, fetching high prices from numerous research labs.

The thigh meat of the Cockatrice was delicious and firm, considered a high-end upgrade to turkey during the Thanksgiving period, thus maintaining a consistently high price on Universal Taobao.

Given the strong market presence of Eastern culture within the Star Alliance and the deep-seated belief in 'like nourishes like,' male Cockatrice kidneys were snapped up instantly upon appearing on the market.

In summary, factoring everything in, these five Cockatrices represented a minimum profit of about ten thousand Universal Credits for Fang Senyan, with a potential upside reaching fifty thousand if luck held.

Additionally, Android Unit One humbly suggested to Fang Senyan that when animals fight to the death without retreating, it often indicates their nest is nearby, containing young or eggs that must be protected.

Fang Senyan considered the descriptive text he had reviewed earlier: "Because they favor shiny objects, their nests often contain shards of glass and pebbles, and sometimes minerals and gemstones." Based on this, he decisively chose to head in that direction.

Fortunately, the Cockatrice nest was located exactly at the earthen mound Ramtas had intended to take Fang Senyan to—it was perfectly on the way. By the time the group arrived, the storm had begun to subside, but the lightning bolts tearing across the sky danced like golden snakes, wildly thrashing, their frequency and intensity growing stronger and greater, occasionally striking the ground with a booming impact that sent up thick smoke. It looked entirely possible that a full thunderstorm was developing!

Fang Senyan immediately understood why the trees they had passed were sparse and short, and why their bark looked the way it did. This was a planet with disturbed and powerful magnetic fields, making thunderstorms highly probable. Consequently, the trees faced the constant risk of being struck by lightning. Over long ages, the trees had naturally adapted to this—any trees that hadn't evolved this way had clearly been eliminated by cruel nature.

With this realization, Fang Senyan broke out in a cold sweat looking at the metallic instruments the androids were carrying on their backs. He immediately gave the order: everyone work together, start digging from the high side of the mound, and secure an earthen shelter capable of avoiding lightning strikes as quickly as possible.

This mound was perhaps seven or eight meters high. Fang Senyan dug in at about two meters from the ground, unconcerned about rain flooding the space. As for the three androids, Fang Senyan himself and Ramtas could be considered humanoid bulldozers. Within minutes, they carved out a rudimentary cave. The three androids returned after felling three trees for reinforcement. They managed to create a space to shelter before the thunderstorm fully hit.

Ramtas, due to its massive size, was sprawled next to the makeshift fire, chewing loudly, regurgitating the remnants of the discarded Cockatrice carcasses it had previously consumed for rumination. Fang Senyan knew its physiology intimately; this behemoth was a creature forged by this harsh environment, truly a King of Consumption, possessing a full five stomachs!

Its first two stomachs were called the rumen, where it swallowed food whole in a rush to eat quickly, requiring no initial chewing. The food was softened by gastric juices and saliva inside, and fermented by resident bacteria.

After fermentation, the food passed into the next chamber—the reticulum. From the reticulum, it was returned to the mouth for thorough re-chewing.

Only then did it enter the final two stomach chambers for complete digestion.