Chapter 222: and ===GLOSSARY===

Bai Lang squatted across the street, waiting until the sun fully rose; around eight a. m. he saw the male head of the household leave for work, and the female head kiss him goodbye — truly they were Westerners, not fake foreign devils. Judging by this, the place is completely normal by day, so why does it change at night? Moreover, seeing the male host walking in the sunlight with a ruddy complexion, Bai Lang sensed his qi and knew he was a living person.

This is puzzling, but Bai Lang didn't think too much about it — there are certainly many strange things in this world, definitely not just what's before him; an Innate Expert here would still need to be cautious. Wanting to stay here until he can leave, Bai Lang felt he should investigate more — how wide is his range of movement? This question can reveal a bit of the Adventure Hall's background.

Bai Lang kept wondering: is the Adventure Hall a playground specially created by the big boss, a limited‑range world with a scripted event for people to cause trouble in, or are they dumped into a world to cause trouble according to the boss's demands? What's the elimination about? Besides fun, what else does the boss want to gain from this? These are all questions, and Bai Lang feels this world might explain at least part of it.

Because this world is too strange.

Not to mention the strange hut, just the fact that everyone seems to be constantly shifting identities and perceptions is already twisted enough. What frightens Bai Lang is the possibility that he too might be affected... 'What will I become after changing identities? Just thinking about it is terrifying.' Plus the world's distorting power — Bai Lang doesn't believe the power of steam could be weak anywhere.

If steam's power were weak, then this era ought to be dominated by experts like him. But that doesn't seem to be the case now, so perhaps relying solely on innate martial arts can't reach the top tier. 'What is steam's power? But is it really okay for me, in this state, to ponder this question? I'm about to take up my old trade again.' Bai Lang is still in ragged clothes, squatting on the curb, about a broken bowl away from when he first crossed over.

Exactly, Bai Lang is penniless, and this guy can't bring himself to eat a free meal — after all, he's an Innate Expert; sponging off others would be too embarrassing. As for lodging, that's not a problem; he can sleep anywhere on the street. But enduring another bout of ragged, beggar‑like life is pointless, so making money must be put on the agenda. As for investigating this world and charging Yu Yu... 'I think the Adventure Hall certainly wouldn't have sent only me here!'

Although he has no basis, Bai Lang just feels that way.

The fastest way to make money here is either killing exotic beasts or gathering ingredients — basically the two are one and the same. Of course there are quicker methods, but you'd have to prepare to serve hard labor. Bai Lang doesn't know if there are higher‑level experts in this city, so he'd better avoid hard labor; he also isn't keen to join the establishment — who knows if it's reliable.

Bai Lang has no money, so he lacks a monster‑ingredient catalog; he can only throw caution to the wind and head to the wilderness first, since the tastier something is, the harder it is to hunt — that principle might still hold.

What appeared before Bai Lang was a wasteland; he had found another anomaly in this world — a spatial anomaly. After following the road signs for not long, it was like switching maps in a game, and he instantly appeared in the wilderness, where there was also a sign that read, 'Left is wilderness, right is city...' Bai Lang muttered.

This world is indeed spatially off; Bai Lang himself couldn't do that — 'I'm just an Innate Expert, after all... let me see what troublesome things are here.' On the wilderness there are hardly any trees; the most abundant plants are low‑lying succulents growing in the sand and gravel, and as for creatures, Bai Lang can sense only some insects and birds flying in the sky, of course also lizards.

This is pretty much like Earth's environment; Bai Lang also didn't notice any abnormality in these creatures, such as unusual size. He wandered the wilderness, thinking, 'This is probably just the entrance; the truly valuable stuff must be deeper inside.'

Bai Lang's guess was right — there is a small house in the wilderness that looks like a Western saloon... actually it's not just a small house; upon approaching he realized it's essentially a small town — an underground one. The Western saloon is merely an entrance; pushing the door open reveals two old men sitting lazily, each holding what looks like a formidable shotgun, with a bottle of wine and a plate of peanut‑like snacks beside them.

They saw Bai Lang and couldn't even be bothered to nod, as if he were just a sack of flour walking in; between them was a fairly spacious stairway leading downstairs. Bai Lang's appearance didn't provoke their disgust — well, never mind, those two old geezers are dressed in rags too, typical rundown Western cowboys and drunkards. Anyway, Bai Lang went down that way and discovered there was indeed another world below.

This is the scale of an entire Western town — bars, hotels, brothels, weapon shops, canteens, fur stores, equipment shops, pawn shops, general stores — all present. The streets aren't empty either, yet Bai Lang can sense that nobody there is stronger than him. The people of this world are strong; fundamentally they're not weak, and even without martial training their physiques far surpass those of scholars‑swordsmen or late‑Ming folk.

So‑called Batu Lu here is probably about the level of a five‑year‑old child — at most. The chief steward Zhan Huwei and Hongliang Xiangshuai, if they came here, would likely be just ordinary martial practitioners, only slightly stronger than average folks. Bai Lang doesn't know whether they practice martial arts, but they seem to display abundant vitality. He formed this impression in the tavern — though he's penniless, it doesn't stop him from entering to see the sights.

Then he encountered the inevitable bar brawl in a Western town; this guy took the chance to snatch a bottle of beer and half a roasted chicken — probably grilled **, anyway the person who ordered it hadn't even started eating before being dragged into the fight. The cause of the brawl is unknown, but basically it started from drinking too much and horse‑urine causing trouble, then more and more people got pulled in until the whole bar descended into a massive melee, and in the end those who fell in the bar had to pay compensation.

Bai Lang witnessed the strength of this world's people in such a fight: 'Their energy and stamina are excellent, their punches are heavy — though they can't match mine, they're not inferior to Qing dynasty Batu Lu. They seem to have never studied any martial arts, and I saw no external energy attacks — perhaps the level here is low... but seeing that these guys didn't even pull out guns from their pockets shows they also have some rules.'

That guy, while watching, had shrunk behind an overturned table, drinking and eating chicken, when just as he thought about it, gunfire rang out.....