Chapter 261: Ice Dew Wine Bottle (C)

'Well, having just transformed into a new race, it makes sense that the newly formed crystal core inside his body is only at E-rank.'

'However, according to the previous equivalence theory, does that mean Huang Xingming's threat level to the Karim World started being calculated the moment he became a part of the Demon Clan?'

...

Lan Qingyou was utterly perplexed. She simply could not make sense of it anymore.

'Judging by the situation with the Dark Demons, if things continue developing this way, who knows if the Demon Clan will eventually turn into mindless, watchdog-like monsters just like them.'

'Forget it. This isn't something I should be worrying about anyway. It's not like they are unkillable, so they pose no threat to me.'

"Clan Head, are you alright?"

Susi had finally found an opportunity to approach.

She had no choice. Earlier, the two of them had been engaged in a completely one-sided 'fierce battle,' and she simply couldn't find a suitable moment to intervene.

Looking at Lan Qingyou, who was smiling and waving a hand in greeting, Susi was at a loss for words.

After holding it in for quite a while, she finally managed to utter a single sentence.

"This must be your first time killing someone, Clan Head."

"..."

Lan Qingyou squinted at Susi with an expression of profound, bewildered disbelief.

"What kind of thing is that to say? I'm not some homicidal maniac," she retorted.

"Oh, my apologies, I misspoke. I meant that judging by your actions, you clearly aren't used to doing this sort of thing."

As she spoke, Susi revealed several thin cards in her hand.

On the back of the cards was an emblem depicting a goddess's profile enclosed in a ring, surrounded by four arrows. This was the insignia of the Adventurer's Guild.

"Are these... Identity Cards?"

Although she had never seen this type of card before, Lan Qingyou was very familiar with the emblem. After all, the Magician and the rest of the group had designed it together in their chat.

Those four arrows represented the four cardinal directions—East, South, West, and North—symbolizing adventuring across the world.

"Correct."

Susi nodded.

"Anyone belonging to the Adventurer's Guild would pick these up."

Identity Cards.

Originally, they were conceived as a method for adventurers to contact one another, making it easier to issue quests and handle related matters.

But after Chu Yuan discussed the matter with the Magician on behalf of the Supreme Council, the Identity Card evolved into a universal identification token for all professions.

It was just that each profession had its own distinct patterns and emblems, and all of them were issued by the Adventurer's Guild.

While adventurers had to pay out of pocket for their cards, the costs for all other professions were covered by the Supreme Council.

Having ordered quite a few machines from the Chariot, the Magician, the High Priestess, and the Wheel of Fortune had successfully achieved mass production in their respective manufacturing processes.

This further consolidated their authority.

Indeed, thanks to a few public announcements and their subsequent operations, the vast majority of people across the continent now recognized this governing body.

After all, those with dissenting ambitions were in the minority. The rest maintained a fairly indifferent attitude toward such matters.

As long as someone could provide them with benefits, they were perfectly fine with letting them be in charge.

"Oh, so they belonged to those guys. But what's the point of picking these up?"

Lan Qingyou asked curiously.

'They're just Identity Cards, what's the big deal?' she thought.

"Usually, it's nothing special, but Adventurer's Cards are a bit different from the rest."

"Different how?"

"Watch this."

Saying so, Susi pulled out one of the cards. Then, under Lan Qingyou's curious gaze, she channeled magic into her hands and tore the card straight down the middle.

Pop!

As the card shattered, a pile of items abruptly burst out from within.

The loot explosion was even more spectacular than a boss dropping premium gear in a hack-and-slash video game.

"Are these... the items stored inside the Card?"

Although it was her first time seeing it, it wasn't hard to deduce.

After all, a Magic Desk would similarly drop all of its stored contents upon the death of its bound host.

It was just her first time witnessing such a direct, visceral demonstration.

"Correct. Unlike other professions, an adventurer's Identity Card can be destroyed like this."

"You just need to focus magic into your hands to do it."

"And as you can see, once the Identity Card is destroyed, all the supplies and items the owner stored inside will drop out."

As the branch president of the Adventurer's Guild in the Golden Plains, Susi gave Lan Qingyou a brief explanation.

"Hmm... I understand now."

Lan Qingyou nodded thoughtfully, then looked at Susi.

"This mechanic completely encourages mutual slaughter."

It was true.

If killing someone guaranteed a loot drop of equipment, materials, and other valuables, there would undoubtedly be people willing to take the risk.

The Magician, the High Priestess, the Wheel of Fortune, and Judgment had never mentioned this detail in the group chat.

She had nearly missed out on claiming her spoils of war because of it.

Although Lan Qingyou wasn't exactly strapped for cash.

But who didn't love the thrill of looting corpses and dropping equipment?

"Survival of the Fittest is the creed of all adventurers. If someone is afraid of being robbed, they shouldn't become an adventurer. They can take up another profession and obtain a different Identity Card instead. This system itself is a mechanism designed to encourage everyone to grow stronger."

"Whereas the Identity Cards for other professions..."

Susi didn't see any issue with this arrangement made by the higher-ups of the Adventurer's Guild and the Supreme Council.

This was simply how the world worked.

Only by constantly strengthening yourself could you avoid being robbed, unless you chose to directly band together in groups.

This was the true intention behind the Adventurer's Guild and the Supreme Council.

Lan Qingyou had no objections to this, because this was life.

This was the law of the jungle, a natural rule that existed even back on Blue Star.

Or rather, this world, the magic, and all these supernatural phenomena had merely magnified the underlying realities of Blue Star to an infinite degree.

"Since that's the case, let me take a look at my spoils too."

With that, Lan Qingyou eagerly joined in the looting.

After all, she was the one who had killed them. How could she possibly sit out on something as fun as opening mystery boxes?

After a brief search, she pulled an Identity Card from Huang Xingming's pocket, then mimicked Susi's earlier action and tore it in half.

Clatter!

A pile of items spilled out onto the ground.

Lan Qingyou sifted through them but didn't find anything particularly valuable. It made sense, though. Considering how severely they had been suppressed by Susi and the others earlier, it was only natural that they didn't have much wealth hoarded away.

In this regard, the Huang father and son were probably even poorer than those peripheral members of the 505 Formation who called themselves 'merchants.'

'So poor...'

Lan Qingyou sighed inwardly. Curling her lips in disappointment, she prepared to walk away.

But just as she turned her head, she caught sight of a translucent object hidden among the pile of junk out of the corner of her eye.

It was an object shaped somewhat like a tube.

[Ice Dew Wine Bottle (C)]

[Effect: Can be used for the long-term storage of liquids.]

[Description: A wine bottle crafted from high-altitude permafrost. When used to store beverages, it not only preserves them long-term while ensuring the quality never degrades, but it also comes with a natural cooling effect.]

[Recipe: Century Permafrost, Frost-Resistant Iron, Soft Arbor...]