“No, the forest we are in is called the Sea of Immortality on this continent. It is one of the fifteen most primitive and largest forests on this planet, covering more than 138,000 square kilometers. According to my database, the nearest existence in this forest that poses a threat to you is still five hundred kilometers away.”

“Five hundred kilometers! That’s great. The weather is nice today, so I’m going to explore the surroundings and do some hunting. I’d feel guilty if I kept eating Tibetan mastiffs all the time.” These level-one bio-beasts are closely connected to my mind; losing even one leaves me feeling empty for a while, and that’s not a pleasant feeling.

“Please be careful.”

Chapter Four: Spitter Beast

As I was preparing to set out, Lifeboat 15 asked calmly, “Queen Mother will be able to transform into an underground base in four hours. Do you want me to move into Queen Mother first? I have no self-protection capability.”

“Hmph, as one of my most valuable assets, I permit you to transfer into the Queen Mother base immediately.”

Lifeboat 15 contains a vast amount of precious data and is invaluable to me—an essential assistant I cannot afford to lose. Of course, I wouldn’t just leave it unattended; that would be irresponsible to my own life.

The spherical Lifeboat, after receiving my permission, immediately began to float slowly toward Queen Mother. Lifeboat 15 is rated as a level sixteen bio-beast. However, most of its functions are geared toward space escape. Currently, the only conveniences it can provide me are its advanced AI and its ability to serve as a short-range flying device.

Although Lifeboat 15 used up most of its energy landing from space onto the planet, it can replenish 200 energy points per day by absorbing solar energy. This is enough to support forty minutes plus one hour of flight, with a range of about 1,300 kilometers. In a critical moment, it can be my trump card for escape, but normally I don’t want to waste Lifeboat 15’s energy.

At least until Lifeboat 15’s energy is replenished to over 50%, I won’t be riding it around recklessly.

On Earth, taking dogs hunting is a luxury—a hunting license costs hundreds of thousands of US dollars. Although I don’t have a hunting rifle, just as Lifeboat 15 told me, the nearest threat is still five hundred kilometers away, so what do I have to be afraid of!

However, in the AI of Lifeboat 15, I’m just a temporary passenger with only level-five clearance. If I go more than five hundred kilometers away from it, this thing will refuse to serve me. So I have no worries about going out to hunt, but I don’t dare stray too far from the base.

My mental waves are locked with Queen Mother; as long as I’m within 1.5 light-seconds, I can issue commands to it at any time. However, Queen Mother is still at a low level and many functions haven’t evolved yet, so I have to rely on the more fully functional Number Fifteen.

Lifeboat 15 has a rather sophisticated holographic scanning function. Although it’s limited by terrain to scanning only a few hundred kilometers, that’s enough for me to get a sense of this forest and use it as a living map, which is a great help.

After leaving Queen Mother, I didn’t forget to use my mental waves to communicate with Lifeboat 15 along the way. “What information about this planet do you have in your memory cells?”

Lifeboat 15, in that infuriatingly slow tone, said to me, “Our spaceship once conducted an eighteen-month survey here. But according to Earth time, our survey team last visited this planet about five or six hundred years ago, so this data is pretty outdated.”

“Damn! I know you scanned the planet’s terrain before landing, so the geographical data should be up to date. First, tell me where the nearest intelligent life gathering point is, and how I can contact them?”

“At the edge of the forest about a thousand kilometers to the south, there is a small town—the closest intelligent life settlement to the Queen Mother base. But I suggest you make that a long-term goal, because my scan records indicate there are powerful beings there equivalent to level-seven or higher bio-beasts, which could be dangerous for you.”

“OK! I won’t take any risks.”

“I suggest that after Queen Mother evolves to level two, you produce a Spitter Beast and carry it with you for safety!”

“Spitter Beast?”

Lifeboat 15 continued in that extremely annoying voice, “A Spitter Beast is a small semi-bio-beast with only basic intelligence, capable of executing a limited set of preset commands. The fluid secreted in its body is a highly efficient liquid explosive, stored in six air sacs, and can be shot up to fifty meters using high-density compressed air.”

“Highly efficient liquid explosive? And it can be sprayed fifty meters! Isn’t that about as powerful as a shotgun?”

“When Queen Mother reaches level three, you’ll also be able to choose from Spitter Beast variants that can fire poison gas bombs, nerve-paralyzing bombs, and quick-burning bombs!”

“That’s just awesome!”

After hearing this from Lifeboat 15, I immediately regained my confidence in life. I took eight Tibetan mastiffs and searched the nearby forest. One of the mastiffs killed a native beast that looked like both a rabbit and a wolf, and I returned triumphantly, satisfied.