Chapter 13: In the shadows

"Second Brother? Fourth Brother?"

The burly man's eyes turned red instantly. A dragon's roar erupted from the longsword in his hand, and several inches of sword radiance flickered in the darkness as he slashed horizontally!

Pfft!

The longsword sliced across the wild boar monster's body, leaving a long, bloody gash.

For a human, this would be a fatal wound, but to this boar demon, it was completely insignificant; instead, it only further incited its ferocity.

Snort! Snort!

It raised its hooves high and stomped down violently!

Boom!

The ground trembled, as if an earthquake had struck.

A circle of earthy-yellow light emerged and rapidly expanded in all directions.

The third man was directly enveloped by the light, and several earthen spears sprouted from his chest, pinning him to the ground.

"Third Brother?!"

The burly man knew they were done for this time. Without further hesitation, he took a bright yellow talisman from the animal-hide pouch on his chest and tore it open with great solemnity.

Clang!

A circle of golden radiance appeared around him, vaguely forming the shape of a large golden bell.

Several earthen spears struck the golden bell, emitting dull, muffled sounds.

After activating this hard-won 'Golden Bell Shield Talisman', the burly man didn't hesitate; he turned and ran!

In the darkness, a ball of golden light fled for its life in front, while a massive black shadow with blood-red tusks pursued from behind, appearing exceptionally conspicuous.

After the two had left, the sound of propellers suddenly drifted through the air.

A small, pitch-black drone descended, extended its mechanical claws, snatched up some small items from the ground, and quickly vanished into the night.

……

Temporary camp.

"Sword radiance? That person's strength is indeed at the Unpolished Jade Realm. Besides that, they actually have talisman arts? What is this… cultivation? Daoist practice?"

Fang Xing stared at the surveillance footage, his face showing shock, then he looked up at the sky.

"It's here."

He maneuvered the drone to land and reached out to take the miscellaneous items it had grabbed.

"As expected of an interstellar-era drone; not only is it cheap, but its endurance and payload are also significantly enhanced…"

After a sigh of admiration, Fang Xing put on rubber gloves and began to sort the items.

Among them, the most dazzling were naturally the few stalks of 'Zhu Longcao'!

After all, those people had lost their lives for it; it must be something good.

"Hmm, there are quite a few extraordinary species nearby. Near their nests, there seem to be some strange medicinal herbs…"

Fang Xing examined the Zhu Longcao, then rubbed his chin, suddenly thinking of a way to make a fortune.

That was to use drones to harvest various rare medicinal herbs!

There were many benefits to doing this; first and foremost, it was sufficiently covert!

To many wild beasts, a drone was just an inanimate object, making it very difficult to detect.

Coupled with its flight capability and swift movements, acting stealthily meant a high success rate!

Of course, if it were seen face-to-face by a monster, it would certainly be destroyed.

But this involved another benefit—it was cheap!

Even if discovered by a monster, the most that would be lost was a single drone.

In Maple Leaf City, this was almost equivalent to a child's toy, and the price was very cheap.

"Take a gamble, and a bicycle turns into a motorcycle."

Fang Xing sighed with emotion and looked at the other miscellaneous items.

The scavenged items were few, including a pitch-black dagger; when drawn, it gleamed with a cold light, clearly exceptionally sharp.

Besides that, there was a small money pouch.

This pouch seemed to be tanned from animal hide, grey and unremarkable.

After pulling open the bag, inside were three strange ores and four strange crystals the size of rice grains.

"This pouch was tied very tightly; clearly, the original owner was afraid of accidentally losing these grains…"

Fang Xing placed one crystal in front of him and examined it carefully, discovering that the crystal was as transparent as jade, with what seemed to be a mass of mist inside.

Furthermore, borrowing the external light source, it seemed to be enveloped in a layer of illusory, hazy, five-colored luster.

"At a glance, I know it must be something good."

He put the items away and looked at a large map on the electronic screen.

After these few days of exploration, Fang Xing had a rough understanding of the surroundings.

"Many extraordinary species, many fierce beasts… it is a dangerous place."

"Adding the route those four people took today, the direction of the human gathering point should be to the east, right?"

"Go back and buy a few more toy models, and explore to the east…"

With a thought, Fang Xing set the automatic cruise and released the drone again.

Then, he counted to three in his heart, and a silvery-white radiance appeared before his eyes.

The light grew intense, swallowing his entire body.

By the time he regained his senses, he was already standing in his bedroom.

"Known: I can now travel to the other world at will, only needing a three-second delay, and no other consumption is required…"

"As for the location of the travel, it seems to be based on the current position?"

"Finally, items from this world, and even living things like white mice, can be brought to the other world, and things from the other world can also be brought over…"

Fang Xing looked at his palm; that small money pouch was lying quietly in the center of his palm.

"Good things are good things, but it's a pity I don't dare to take them out for appraisal, let alone sell them…"

"Even the supplies I bought before were a bit strange; if I make large-scale purchases next…"

Although the Federation valued privacy and citizens were free to buy whatever they wanted, as long as it wasn't on the list of contraband.

But Fang Xing habitually wanted to keep an ace up his sleeve.

"Perhaps I should go outdoors more and build a persona as an outdoor survival fanatic?"

"For now, just buying and not selling, the problem isn't too big…"

He confirmed one more thing, or rather, a principle for future actions—items from the other world must absolutely not be sold using this public identity!

"It seems… I still can't avoid the black market."

Fang Xing sighed.

……

Oak Park.

Green vegetation stretched as far as the eye could see, lawns were continuous, and there were colorful little flowers in the flowerbeds at the edges.

It was night, and the lights were dim.

Pedestrians were sparse on the roads paved with various pebbles, and at intervals, there were long benches, also made into the shapes of various small animals.

Because the environment was tranquil and the scenery beautiful, it had always been a place that young couples in Maple Leaf City liked to visit.

Liu Wei was holding a bouquet of flowers, waiting anxiously, when a soft, delicate voice suddenly came to his ears: "A-Wei, I'm here…"

"Lian… Lianyi."

Liu Wei seemed startled, then seemed to want to hide the flowers behind his back, but felt it was a bit like trying to cover his ears while stealing a bell; he was awkward in every way, extremely embarrassed.

"Why did you call me here?" Bai Lianyi wasn't wearing her usual training clothes, but had changed into a pure white dress, her temperament even more delicate and elegant.

"I… I…"

Liu Wei seemed to have done a lot of mental preparation, and finally spoke: "I've thought about it very clearly; the one I like isn't Ouyang Qianqian, but…"

Bai Lianyi's eyes held a smile and a sense of desolation; she shook her finger, stopping Liu Wei from continuing: "That won't do…"

"Why? Because of what happened at the Huizhong Jiangfu? I know, I know everything; I'm not a fool… I just… don't mind…"

Liu Wei's face flushed red instantly, and even the acne on his face seemed to be trembling.

"What is there to mind? I just dated a rich boyfriend, that's all…" Bai Lianyi replied frankly: "I'm not a fool either; it's impossible for me to be like those annoying girls say."

Liu Wei was speechless.

Indeed, this was the situation he had investigated.

Bai Lianyi wasn't as unbearable as those female classmates said, but there were some other things.

For example, that rich boyfriend of hers was a bit old…

'It seems that in the hearts of white people, finding a sugar daddy isn't much of a big deal, especially for the sake of studies; it even feels a bit inspirational…'

A thought inexplicably flashed through Liu Wei's mind, and he then promised: "I swear, I will be good to you, I will even get into university, I…"

As he spoke, he suddenly choked; because the young man truly had nothing, and even had debts.

All he could offer was the future and hope!

But these were all inferior to the present!

This was the miserable, green first love of a callow youth!

"Hmm…"

Bai Lianyi twisted her fingers: "I will cheer for you, and A-Xing too…"

"A-Xing?"

Liu Wei had a strange feeling: "Why mention him?"

"Because…" The girl's eyes seemed to have light: "A-Xing is so amazing… He has already practiced the Long Xiang Gong to the second stage, and the possibility of him getting into university in the future is very high."

"I…"

Liu Wei suddenly fell silent; he felt like a loser.

Comparing the present, he couldn't compare to that person.

Comparing the future, he couldn't compare to A-Xing either.

Clearly, he didn't mind, and even appreciated the girl in front of him, wanting to give her some security, so why did things turn out like this?

In an instant, his heart turned to ash, and not knowing what he had said, he stumbled away.

……

The night wind was cold, and everything was silent.

The monitor on the park streetlamp made a clicking sound, as if it had short-circuited.

And a black shadow appeared abruptly behind Bai Lianyi, as if it had been silently observing all of this.

"Alright, I have successfully provoked the unwillingness in his heart… If you approach him at this time, use Fang Xing as a comparison, and invest in him, he will definitely accept."

Bai Lianyi's voice was cold, like a snow lotus on Tianshan Mountain.

"Hmm, in this way, we have one more partner among us. I believe that after witnessing those greatnesses, he will definitely agree."

The black shadow emitted a low and thick voice: "But compared to this, I am more optimistic about his classmate."

Bai Lianyi's beautiful brows furrowed slightly: "Xia Long is more concerned about Fang Xing, and the other party has been staying indoors recently and isn't working anymore. I threw out bait through Liu Wei several times, but he didn't take it. It's a bit strange; could it be that he was scared out of his wits by the last messenger's arrival?"

"It's not impossible… The mental impact brought by the messenger can even subtly and completely change a person."

The black shadow was silent for a while, then replied: "If that's the case, then he's ruined and has no value… The talent we need must at least pass the college entrance examination in the future to have a glimmer of possibility of becoming a high-level Federation official!"

"But this kind of thing might require waiting a very, very long time…"

Bai Lianyi sighed.

Nowadays, the average lifespan of Federation people is very long, and the higher the level, the more so.

Martial arts is only the cheapest evolutionary path, but after the fourth realm, it can also greatly extend lifespan.

Self-evolution, genetic surgery, medicine, superpowers… various life-extending means make the governing time of the Federation's upper echelon extremely long.

"Hehe… For those great existences, time is completely meaningless!"

The black shadow's voice gradually lowered and finally disappeared… ===== CHAPTER 14 =====