Chapter 62: Are You Really Bold Enough to Show Up?

Source Water Supply Base, main entrance hall.

A group of six walked in, under the watchful eyes of everyone.

At the forefront was a tall girl, around eighteen or nineteen years old.

She wore a light blue combat suit, tightly fitted.

Her slightly full chest curves and alluring waist-to-hip ratio were perfectly outlined.

She had delicate features: a straight, refined nose, thick, long eyelashes, and skin whiter than snow.

But what left the strongest impression was her hair.

It was a long, white mane reaching down to her waist—not the dull, unhealthy white of decay.

Rather, it was smooth and lustrous, like silk.

Behind her followed several men and women, some tall, others fierce in aura, like bodyguards.

One of them even carried a heavy camera on his shoulder.

“Looks like Goddess Jiang is heading out to the Wild Zone again to film footage.”

“Can’t deny it—her videos are all team-based, but the quality is unbeatable; I watch every episode.”

“By the way, doesn’t Goddess Jiang have close to ten million online fans?”

“More than that—she’s got nearly fifteen million!”

“Man, if I could have a girlfriend like Goddess Jiang, I’d gladly give up ten years of my life!”

“Heh, even twenty years wouldn’t help. She’s a sophomore at Magic City Institute of Abilities—why would she look at you? Dream on!”

“......”

Inside the hall, numerous Ability Users were murmuring; Xu Jingming only then remembered.

Wasn’t this the very Goddess Jiang that Zhang Hao had begged him to get a signature photo of before leaving Jiangcheng?!

Since arriving in Magic City, Xu Jingming occasionally spoke with Zhang Hao on the phone.

In idle chat, Zhang Hao always brought it up.

Xu Jingming had grown so tired of it that he’d briefly looked into her.

Unfortunately, he’d never once encountered her at school.

Now, the moment he stepped into the Wild Zone, he ran straight into her.

“Still, Zhang Hao’s taste isn’t bad.”

To be fair, among all the women Xu Jingming had ever seen—in both his past and present life—

Only Song Qiuyun could rival this Jiang Chu.

Of course,

In terms of looks, they were evenly matched: Song Qiuyun was enchanting, while Jiang Chu was cold and stunning.

As for figure, Xu Jingming felt Song Qiuyun had a slight edge.

Thus, Jiang Chu and her group walked straight upstairs, under the gaze of everyone in the hall.

The supply base was a comprehensive building, offering not only equipment sales and purchases of beast materials and rare herbs,

but also lodging on higher floors, like a hotel.

Most Ability Users who didn’t return to the city chose to stay here at the supply base.

“Sir, your Adventurer’s Permit is ready.”

“Also, here is your satellite smartwatch—it contains a map of the Wild Zone.”

Not long after Jiang Chu and her group left, the female attendant walked over gracefully and handed him a black card and a smartwatch.

The black card was the Adventurer’s Permit, recording basic information like name and rank.

Xu Jingming stored the permit safely and slipped the smartwatch onto his wrist.

With a light tap on the screen, a map of the Wild Zone instantly projected.

It detailed the activity levels of beasts in every zone and even marked their danger levels.

But only for the outer regions—the deeper interior zones remained shrouded in mist.

Of course, even these marked areas weren’t entirely reliable.

Beasts could leave their territories at any time to hunt.

Still, having something was better than nothing—it was at least a reference.

“Thank you.”

After confirming the smartwatch worked, Xu Jingming politely thanked her and prepared to rise and leave.

But a voice called out to stop him:

“Hey, kid, want pills?”

He turned to see a thin, middle-aged man.

He grinned broadly. “You’re new to the Wild Zone, right?

You can’t go in without pills—I’ve got all kinds. Want to take a look? Price is negotiable.”

“Pills?” Xu Jingming’s eyebrows lifted.

Pills were indeed essential for entering the Wild Zone—whether healing or antidote pills, they proved vital in emergencies.

“What’s your price for pills?” Xu Jingming asked, intrigued.

“Grade One healing pill: 20,000 per unit. Grade One antidote pill: 15,000 per unit.

Grade Two is a bit pricier, but still reasonable—40,000 and 30,000 respectively.”

Seeing potential, the middle-aged man hurried to explain.

“Oh? That’s not expensive at all.”

Xu Jingming spoke casually, but his gaze grew cold.

Pills were divided into nine grades, from One to Nine.

The higher the grade, the stronger the effect.

Even a Grade One pill usually cost at least 30,000 to 40,000.

Yet this man’s prices were nearly half that!

Combined with his suspicious demeanor, Xu Jingming was certain: this was a fraud selling fake pills.

And likely a seasoned one.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t target new recruits—those unfamiliar with the trade, just registering as Adventurers.

“Of course, my pills are famous for being cheap and effective.”

The man patted his chest confidently.

But he was met with Xu Jingming’s mocking tone:

“You’ve scammed plenty of newbies with this trick, haven’t you?”

“Huh?”

The man froze; his smile vanished instantly. “You saw through me already?”

“What do you think?” Xu Jingming smiled faintly.

“Fine. Very fine!”

The man’s eyes narrowed; his aura turned increasingly dangerous.

“You’re the first person to dare pull a stunt like this inside the supply base!”

Before Xu Jingming could respond, a sharp voice rang out from the side: “Zhao Chunlin! You’re scamming newbies again!”

It was a group of four—the speaker was a young woman in black combat armor, carrying a long black sword.

Her eyebrows furrowed, she stormed over and stood protectively behind Xu Jingming.

She furrowed her brows in anger and stormed over, shielding Xu Jingming behind her.

Seeing her, Zhao Chunlin’s face darkened with wariness; he snorted.

“You’re lucky this time, kid. But don’t leave the supply base these next few days.

Otherwise, you’ll regret it.”

He gave Xu Jingming a meaningful glance, dropped his threat, and turned to leave.

“Tsk tsk, getting targeted by Zhao Chunlin—this rookie’s in trouble.”

“Why pick Zhao Chunlin? Of all people?”

“He just advanced to Second Stage Mid-Level recently. This kid’s only First Stage Upper-Level—he’s done for.”

"I heard he advanced to Second Tier Mid-Grade not long ago; this little guy is only First Tier Upper-Grade—his outcome will likely be terrible."

The commotion drew attention from other Ability Users in the hall.

In the Source Water Supply Base, a Second Stage Mid-Level Ability User was already a formidable fighter.

Xu Jingming, barely First Stage Upper-Level, daring to clash with him, naturally became the object of pity.

“Did you just provoke Zhao Chunlin?”

Hearing the murmurs, the young woman Wang Qian, still shielding Xu Jingming, frowned.

Without waiting for his reply, she went on: “Forget it. Since you’ve angered him, don’t leave the supply base for now.

Fighting is banned here—he can’t touch you inside.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

Though Xu Jingming didn’t care about Zhao Chunlin’s threat, this woman had not only intervened to stop his scam,

Although he didn’t care about Zhao Chunlin’s threats, this young lady not only spoke up to stop him from swindling.

Fortunately, he reminded himself that Xu Jingming naturally held goodwill toward her.

“It’s no trouble—I was scammed by him myself, so I don’t want others to get tricked,” Wang Qian waved her hand.

“So he’s just kept swindling people all this time, and no one stops him?” Xu Jingming frowned slightly.

“Hah, Zhao Chunlin has ties to the black market—who dares to interfere with him?” Wang Qian sneered.

In fact, the man wasn’t just connected to the black market—he also had links to the supply base’s high command.

Otherwise, how could he have been swindling here for years?

“Xiao Qian, we should head back to our room.”

Hearing her teammates calling her, Wang Qian responded, and before leaving, she reminded him once more:

“Remember, don’t leave the supply base during this time!”

“She’s quite a kind-hearted girl.”

Watching Wang Qian and her teammates fade into the distance, Xu Jingming nodded slightly.

There aren’t that many good people in this world; those who’ve been caught in the rain won’t offer others an umbrella—they’ll smash yours.

Just now, for instance, he was certain there were others in the hall who had been scammed before.

Yet when Zhao Chunlin approached him, not a single person spoke up to warn him.

Some may have even secretly rejoiced at his misfortune.

Only Wang Qian had spoken up voluntarily—and like a mother hen, she’d shielded him behind her.

“Her personality reminds me of my high school class monitor, Lin Qingyuan—both equally kind and gentle.”

Xu Jingming thought silently to himself.

As for Zhao Chunlin, he had never taken him seriously from the start.

After all, a second-rank mid-tier ability user might not even survive the impact of his single shot.

Next, Xu Jingming purchased a tactical backpack and enough fresh water and energy bars to last over a month through official channels at the supply base.

He also bought ten Grade-One healing pills, ten Grade-One detoxification pills, and one Grade-Two Blood-Explosion Pill.

The tactical backpack and supplies weren’t expensive—totaling less than 100,000—but the pills cost him 900,000.

Of course, it was worth it.

Especially the Grade-Two Blood-Explosion Pill, worth 300,000—a true life-or-death artifact.

After purchasing all the supplies, Xu Jingming rented a room at the supply base and slept for the night.

Early the next morning, fully armed, he stepped out of the supply base.

Yet as Xu Jingming set foot onto the square before the supply base, a familiar voice rang out from nearby:

“Oh? I didn’t think you’d actually dare to come out.”