In Hubville, unable to withstand the captain’s pressure, Johnson once again inquired about the progress with Ju Yin Chase.
After all, he knew that this weapon was the Chronos device closest to Cent-Arms in power.
The geography of the Spark Moon-level cross-section winds was sometimes vast—simply traversing several beast-infested mountain ranges within half a month was a daunting task for an ordinary person, let alone confronting those –demons– imbued with bizarre abilities.
Having this weapon in hand would bring many intangible benefits for stabilizing an A-level convergence zone, with the most direct effect being and the reduction of the recovery time for the escalation of Chronos mana.
Outside a simply decorated wooden café, sitting at a round table, Ju Yin Chase glanced at the newspaper and said:
–I’ve already found a formidable individual willing to offer you his help in the search. Well, I’ll share some good news—they’ve already located those A-level mountain ranges that fell into the Shibin Wastes.–
Beside him, on another chair, Johnson, clad in a plaid shirt jacket, widened his eyes.
–You really found it! Oh, thank heavens! Who is this person? Can he be trusted to enter that place?–
Knowing that such a vast expanse as the Shibin Wastes could yield the location of his city’s fallen A-level zone in no time, Johnson felt his greatest worry beginning to ease.
Finding the frequency-lost Twilight Scene was a matter of luck; in the worst case, it might take months, but with time, those regions lose all vitality, eventually turning into a barren wasteland. Countless black springs and streams flow, causing the terrain to collapse rapidly—after that, one could never hope to find any trace of it in the Shibin Wastes again.
Ju Yin Chase’s QuadMoxel upon his chest shimmered, a fine line reflecting into the void.
–Just perfectly, he’s right near there. Why don’t you have a look for yourself?–
Another folded line then emerged from his chest, streaking toward Qiao Ming standing beside him.
Vast, shadowy clouds appeared in Qiao Ming’s line of perception. In the distance ahead, several towering mountain ridges rose, and a young man stood in a grove of trees beyond the mountains.
At the sight of these peaks, Qiao Ming’s eyes lit up.
–It’s here indeed! This is where my team member entered—I saw it when we spoke! Let me think, the last place he contacted me must be that one mountain.–
He gestured with his fingers slightly, but within the sensory projection, one couldn’t tell which peak he meant.
On the other side, Yang Zicang also caught the extra voice in the sensory projection. It belonged to an unfamiliar young man sitting beside Ju Yin Chase whose entire aura radiated a sharp combat presence, honed after struggling and battling in this world.
–You’re not saying it’s the third mountain from the left, at the innermost, are you?–
–That’s right!– Qiao Ming nodded.
Yang Zicang’s heart sank—that was the mountain peak where the apparition had appeared.
{I just went over there. What’s your teammate’s name? I’ll try using Moxel to contact him later.}
–We called him Xue Lao’er. Since there are ‘Spellcasters’ in our city, we basically all use aliases to address each other.–
Spellcasters? Yang Zicang recalled that in his own city, the elderly tended to use nicknames, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. He roughly described his experience after entering, though he didn’t reveal exactly how he had gotten in.
After listening, Qiao Ming was stunned. –You’ve already been inside? So fast!–
{That’s not the main point here. By the way, someone I know has entered this mountain before. They all said there were mental illusion attacks inside. Did Xue Lao’er encounter such an attack as well?}
–No. After entering, they chose the scene with mostly beasts from several terrain options. With our pseudo-Cent-Arms, they stabilized quickly. It took about ten days for the terrain to merge, and they faced no mental attacks before that.–
In other words, the mental illusions definitely came from the terrain that emerged at the end. Once the illusion of the creatures or objects inside appeared, it covered dozens of square kilometers.
Yang Zicang took a deep breath—if he could successfully obtain this ability or item, it would be a treasure covering nearly half the city.
Although Qiao Ming had never entered that Class-A settlement, he had experienced many areas through his teammates’ Syn-Link, and the two of them followed its guidance into the mountains.
Shortly into their journey, Yang Zicang felt his thoughts uncontrollably drift toward terrifying and eerie places, even experiencing hallucinations that the person beside him harbored ill intentions.
But every time this happened, the scent emitted from the incense pellet in his pocket constantly interrupted his wild thoughts and helped sober him up.
–This incense pellet is a real treasure.–
Robin Lo finally took this pellet seriously.
Suddenly, a rustling sound of grass and leaves came from the woods.
–Roar~–
A massive creature with cyan skin covered in thick veins and blood-red eyes charged down the slope like the wind, bulldozing its way like a tank, snapping trees with crushing cracks.
Whoosh!
Before it could get close, the Paleshade Wyrm dashed out in an instant and yanked out its psychic core in one bite.
Bang! Thud! The cyan-skinned mutant beast suddenly lost its vitality; its body tumbled down the slope like a wrecked car, skidding along the dirt to crash at the bottom of the slope, where it stopped moving and breathed its last.
[I have gained 43.7N.]
Qiao Ming caught sight of the phantom that had suddenly appeared behind Yang Zicang, and the chair beneath him instantly creaked and groaned.
He raised his head and looked at Ju Yin Chase in disbelief:
–T-this, is this a psychic fearsoul?–
–Mm-hmm.–
Ju Yin Chase nonchalantly picked up his coffee cup and took a light sip.
Qiao Ming’s throat moved with difficulty. An ordinary silver Moxel actually possessed its own psychic fearsoul. That meant that guy had, after birthing a Moxel, completely subdued a psychic fearsoul! How did he accomplish that?
Several possibilities flashed through his mind at that moment, but they were all quickly dismissed. After pondering back and forth and drawing no conclusion, he could only sigh softly and say:
–As expected of Futown, even a friend from the Shibin Wastes possesses such formidable power.–
–Haha, not too shabby, not too shabby.–
Ju Yin Chase smugly gave a slight flick to the newspaper he held open.
Qiao Ming let out a strained smile. He was tempted to ask how Yang Zicang had managed it, but in the end he didn’t voice the question.
Probing someone else’s most closely guarded secrets right off the bat—wouldn’t that feel like a challenge for supremacy? How could anyone be willing to cooperate with you after that? He told himself he should focus on finding the greatsword first; that was what really mattered.
Luo Bin glanced at the giant beast as it rolled down the slope, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly.
A mutated beast of this level, in the old days of crossover zones, would’ve been enough to give anyone a real run for their money, yet it was effortlessly slain by Yang Zicang.
–Bro, next time for small fry like this, there’s no need for you to make a move—let me take care of it.–
–OK.–
After venturing another two or three li deeper, Yang Zicang said to Robin Lo:
–Extend an area scan on your Moxel and see if you can find someone named Xue Lao’er.–
Qiao Ming, far away in Hubville, tensed up when he heard Yang Zicang’s words from the sensory feed.
Qiao Ming was torn at that moment—part of him wanted to find Xue Lao’er, part of him was afraid of finding him.
Xue Lao’er silently thought: –Xue Lao’er, it’s not that I, your big brother, don’t value your life. I just hope you can protect the Chronos Warbringer and return it—otherwise, don’t blame me for being heartless.–
Robin Lo activated the Moxel and broadcasted what he was about to say.
{} –Whoa, bros, are you in that newly appeared mountain? How come you haven’t gone crazy yet—how are you protecting yourselves?– {}
–Get the hell away. Xue Lao’er, where are you?!–
{& An anonymous user invested 20N for me. &}
{} –Brothers over there, you can actually enter that Pink-Moon zone—let us invest a bit and split some Chronos, huh?– {}
–Yeah, yeah! This chubby bro here, have a heart, won’t you? There should be plenty of rabid beasts in there—help us kill a few to earn some lifespan, please.–
[Renxiu Invests 100N in me.]
[Zhang Shanlu Invests 52N in me.]
Dozens of investments of varying amounts came pouring in one after another.
–What the hell is this?!–
Robin Lo quickly refunded every bit of that Chronos, only to find hundreds of more years heaped up in new investments instantly.
–Please, we’re begging you.–
Robin Lo never expected that in such a backwoods place, these people would be so relentless in their enthusiasm, having already invested two or three thousand Chronos on a whim—they wouldn’t let up until he agreed to kill a few rabid ferocious beasts.
Robin Lo turned his head to glance at Yang Zicang beside him—no wonder that little bastard wouldn’t do this himself.
–Damn, these guys are all short-lived bastards. Should we help them kill a few?–
–We’re already here, anyway.–
No sooner had Yang Zicang spoken than a few dull, low roars erupted from the forest. Amidst the crackling of snapping branches, several maddened beasts—their bloodshot eyes like those of cattle—barged out from the woods.
–I’ve got this.–
Without waiting for Yang Zicang to say a word, Robin Lo grabbed Matt Chao’s Fen Yun Sword and charged forward.
The mad bull’s iron hooves pounded the ground with a thunderous roar. Robin Lo charged straight at it, deftly lowering his body to evade the strike of its curved horns, rolling swiftly beneath the rampaging beast and thrusting out his sword.
Pfft!
In the same moment he withdrew the sword, he immediately rolled away to dodge the splattering hot blood, then pushed off the ground and rushed toward another mad bull behind him.
–Moo~–
The mad bull’s forelegs gave way, collapsing to the ground as it rapidly withered into brittleness.
[I’ve gained 32N.]
{Awesome! Bro.}
{Watch out for the branches on the right—scratches from those could deduct several days of Chronos.}
{Damn, you killed that fierce beast with one blow! Nice! Dude, are you going to Invest in the guy next to you? Isn’t he making a move?}
Yang Zicang stepped forward a few paces, keeping the fragrant scent within close reach of Robin Lo.
Robin Lo swiftly ended the lives of three bulls in rapid succession, yet the disturbances from beasts in the distance didn’t cease. In these mountains, there might still be thousands or even tens of thousands of beasts like this.
[I’ve harvested 38.2N—this is all thanks to me, the glory of the great Quad.]
[I’ve gained another 21.3N.]
Yang Zicang stood quietly, watching Robin Lo’s movements without the slightest intention to intervene.
Within the spiritual connection, countless sycophantic praises echoed persistently—some were awestruck by Robin Lo’s skill, while others sought to secure this formidable ally to help them continue reaping Chronos dividends.
{It’s rare to see such a nimble fatty out in the wild.}
{Bro, I’ll lend you another five hundred years! Hey guys, everyone transfer Chronos to me right now—I’ve got an Investment. Hurry, hurry!}
{Good heavens, that must be at least a hundred or two hundred years’ worth of Chronos. Big Bro Fatty is truly magnificent.}
Yang Zicang scratched his ear while Robin Lo, buoyed by the endless compliments, eagerly plunged into the depths of the woods in search of beasts ahead. This startled Yang Zicang into quick pursuit. –Hey, are you trying to get yourself killed?!–
{If only I could enter. You earn Chronos way too fast in there.}
{Don’t be so envious. Even if you got in, you couldn’t take down those mad beasts that quickly. Just one charge from them and a bunch of bulls stampeding around—with your limited lifespan, how many hits do you think you could withstand?}
This remark struck the crux of the matter.
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