Chapter 160: Rushing Into the Slave Era First

Ji Ming just likes talking to smart people, so he can skip the wasteful threatening part and get straight to the point.

"I ask, you answer; if you answer well, I'll spare your life."

"Please, go ahead."

Ji Ming conjured a chair out of thin air and sat down.

"Which mercenary corps are the three of you from?"

"The Mountain Folk Red Dragon Mercenary Corps, sir."

Uh…

Fei En is Gale, An De Lu is Iron Hammer, and why haven't I heard of this Mountain Folk Red Dragon?

At this moment he definitely couldn't ask naively, so Ji Ming pretended to understand.

"An De Lu's mercenary corps isn't this one; why are you carrying out the mission he assigned?"

"Sir, honestly the mercenary life isn't that glamorous; we're just a third‑rate mercenary corps that scavenges everywhere!"

Zuo Ge first mimicked the elder brother's words to explain, then added a sentence.

"It was already hard enough; if we oppose An De Lu, we might be kicked out of Sunlight City outright!"

Ji Ming thought for a moment, then indirectly asked him some detailed questions.

As he had imagined, the internal divisions and conflicts within the mercenary alliance are probably larger than those of the three great families.

It's just that, as a purely violent organization, everyone also has a "Monk Temple" thousands of miles away for settlement, so they are merely being held back for now.

And as Deputy Alliance Leader, An De Lu still has Fei Man weighing on his head, but using his influence to covertly control a third‑rate mercenary corps is still no problem.

So he resorted to intimidation and inducement, letting the Mountain Folk Red Dragon operate under the banner of a long‑term mission to explore the Underground Plain for him.

It both spares his subordinates' losses and shields him from outside eyes—a truly clever double win.

Only…

"The Underground Plain is so vast; why does your writing only mention An De Lu, and where is your alliance leader Fei Man?"

"Um… I haven't heard the commander mention him… He probably wasn't involved in this, right?"

"Liar!"

Given the seriousness, Ji Ming had Zuo Ge recall it carefully again, but the answer was still clueless.

In that case, there's only one possibility:

An De Lu actually wants to bypass the alliance leader and monopolize all the profits of the Underground Plain by himself?

Not to mention whether his throat can bear it, this "Vice" gentleman seems to truly dislike that hat.

Moreover, considering his side jobs as dean, his human experimentation, secret power cultivation, and other deeds…

Is he already scheming in secret, trying to sideline Fei Man, the "ignorant warrior" rumored in the outside world?

Heh, hard to say.

Keeping this speculation in mind, Ji Ming carefully considered what to do with these three mercenaries.

Releasing them is impossible, but they're still strong labor, so killing them outright would be a waste.

How about…

"Ah!"

The next moment, Zuo Ge felt like an object being tossed onto the ground.

He quietly opened his eyes and glanced, only to see a huge black demon wolf crouching before him.

Seeing Cloi with half a fish hanging from his mouth, looking bewildered, Ji Ming clapped his hands.

"Congratulations on your promotion; from now on the three of them are slaves of the Underground City. As long as you don't kill them, you can deal with them however you like!"

Hmph, before An De Lu messes around in the Underground Plain, I damn well entered the slave era first!

He originally wanted to capture the other exploration squads as well, but after thinking it over, he let it go.

If the Red Dragon mercenaries suffer too many losses, scaring An De Lu away would be bad.

After all, it's like fish in a river; if you won't even sacrifice a little white fish, how can you trick the Fishing God into showering you with abundant blessings?

Only by continuously investing, continuously sending people, continuously planning, can he continuously reap the economy, continuously acquire labor, and continuously bleed others.

Thinking that way, Dean An is actually a good person.

When he goes to his house later, he should bring an extra bag and help clear out the inventory.

Having solved the mercenary issue, Ji Ming reopened the map, preparing to "visit" all the Tribes from near to far.

Direct teleportation would be too superficial, so he set off on foot carrying a Sealing Talisman.

Coincidentally, the Tribe closest to the Underground City is the Iron Hoof Tribe, located in the southwest of the Underground Plain.

Walking along the meadow, a vast area of wooden structures appears on the high ground at the other end of the hill.

Even though the architectural style is rugged, the Iron Hoof Tribe is far better than the dog‑village of ruins piled together.

It has planning and division of labor, and you can see many normal tools and weapons on the cabinets.

The bull‑headed people moving through wear lighter fabrics, but their muscles are bulging and strong, showing no signs of starvation.

According to the map, the strongest combatant there is the chieftain, a level‑38 intermediate warrior.

This time Ji Ming doesn't intend to interact with them before the players, since the official order side's stance was already clearly stated during the closed beta, and he wants to see how the players understand and implement it.

Heading east from the Iron Hoof Tribe, crossing a small wild‑fruit forest teeming with various little monsters, lies a coal vein.

Of course, just like the iron mine in the Underground City, this place is also occupied by cavern‑dwelling creatures.

However, unlike the ugly, cunning dog‑heads, the inhabitants here are a group of honest, simple mole‑people.

Their plump bodies excel at digging rather than fighting, so the highest‑level professional among them is only level‑13.

Strangely, deep in the cave the resident is not the tribal chieftain, but…

An alchemist, a gargoyle, and a loathsome one.

Ah?

This setup left Ji Ming a bit confused; after reading the description carefully, he finally figured out what it was all about.

—Just bullying the honest folk because his fists are hard.

But on second thought, it's actually a good thing.

When the players arrive here, they'll find a huge crowd of "Mole's Tale" being tormented by an evil alchemy lunatic, and the dungeon scene happens to be the coal they desperately need…

They might as well instantly form 114514 expedition teams and beat the villain boss 1919810 times!

Marking the Mole Tribe prominently on the map, Ji Ming continued eastward, where spring water gushed out and gradually formed an underground stream.

Both sides of the uneven stream were dotted with small tribes, though they were more like tiny settlements than actual tribes.

A few thatched huts clustered together made a group, their level so low that finding a leader above ten was difficult.

But weak strength doesn't mean they love peace; Ji Ming could occasionally see various creature skeletons on the riverbed.

"Ah, how pitiful!"

He immediately went into a saintly mood, neatly gathered them all and placed them into the morgue.

When the terrain leveled out again, the stream slowed as it turned into a river, eventually pooling into a lake.

Though not as large or deep as Sacred Tree Lake, it was still a splendid underground sight.

Standing on the misty shore, Ji Ming looked up.

He finally understood why there were so many white dots here, all pressed against the map's edge and stacked together.

Because, like hanging coffins in the real world, the towering rock walls were actually riddled with caves.

If used properly, they make an excellent natural barrier, and the active inhabitants are a Tribe of bat‑people who can all fly.

Ji Ming approached, using night‑vision to take a look.

Calling them bat‑people, they have nothing to do with the ferocious monsters of Western legend.

If one had to compare, their appearance is actually similar to the bat spirit in "Calabash Kids".

Their body proportions are close to human, with broad bat wings on their backs and heads that look like a mouse with enormous ears.

Though their faces carry a hint of sly cunning, they won't explode the moment a player glances at them again.

The strongest among them is an old bat who serves as chief, level twenty‑six, but unfortunately his age is so great he's already slipped down to the early twenties.

At this point, the four factions' levels in the underground plain become clear.

First are top‑tier tribes like Demon Spirit and Iron Hoof.

They have powerful professionals above level thirty leading them, plus multiple level‑twenty members as the core.

Their great strength needs no fear of anyone, thus they possess full sovereignty.

Next are strong tribes like the bat‑people.

They have professionals above level twenty holding the field, but when facing stronger foes they lack confidence, so they only have partial sovereignty.

Then come ordinary tribes like the Mole people.

Professionals above level ten count as combat power, yet they're too fragile against great storms, and sovereignty is basically out of their hands.

As for the huge scattering beside the creek…

They probably can't even defeat Dog Village, so they're just a low‑tier small team.

All things considered, if you bundle the entire underground plain together, its combat power is roughly comparable to Sunlight City.

Unfortunately it can't be bundled, only serving as an experience pack for players and mercenaries.

The cave lies in the southeast corner of the underground plain, so Ji Ming can only continue northward.

The gentle terrain gradually rises, clearly heading toward higher ground.

Soon after, a sizable opening appeared on the solid rock wall beside him, and exiting through it would lead out of the underground plain.

But now it's no longer possible.

Since An De Lu discovered this underground plain, he sealed the sole exit for safety.

The mercenaries set up a checkpoint here, blocking the opening with a crude wooden wall; any creature trying to pass would be spotted.

Seeing this, Ji Ming naturally flew into a rage.

You little brat, you're going against your wild dad on both fronts, huh!??

But according to earlier intel, the Mountain Red Dragon is just a third‑rate mercenary group.

Its leader is only a little over level ten, and its overall strength is roughly equal to the Mole Tribe.

Given that, how could one refuse the juicy meat handed to their mouth?

So he hesitated briefly, then, wearing a Breath‑Sealing Talisman, swaggered over the wall and slipped inside.

He passed a campfire roasting rabbit, glanced at the mercenaries debating which flowing nightingale was the strongest.

Ji Ming sneaked to the most fortified row of huts in the camp, saw no one around, and pushed open a gap to slip inside.

Since this serves as the mercenaries' forward base for exploring the underground plain, there must be a supply depot here.

Thus, it is a food warehouse.

Boxes of bread, bags of jerky, and in the corner two barrels of wine…

Damn! Director An is my friend; he's been crushed by Feiman and hopes for a reversal, putting huge expectations on you, yet you all end up in a barren wilderness drinking wine and eating dry food?

Ji Ming grew increasingly angry as he watched, and finally opened a teleportation pouch.

Confiscate! Confiscate! All confiscated!

But Ji Ming isn't a demon; how could he watch his own kind starve to death here?

So after leaving two slightly moldy boxes of bread, he left the food warehouse and, without pausing, pushed open the door opposite.

A few cold glints flashed, but they weren't attacks; instead…

A swamp lake, and a weapons depot!

Director An, I've given that bunch of lazy, fish‑slacking mercenaries a stern lesson—borrowing a brigade's worth of equipment from my brothers shouldn't be too much, right!

Take, you can take anything!

Anyway, weapons can't be eaten and aren't necessities, so Ji Ming's move this time was relatively clean.

It's a shame the Mountain Folk Red Dragon totals only thirty or forty people, and half of them are insufficient manpower—locally recruited thugs.

So there aren't many weapons; compared to over a thousand players, just a few crates can barely stave off the chill.

Although good deeds should be done anonymously, as the Master once said: "If you don't leave your name, who will do good deeds in the future?"

So Ji Ming didn't just leave like that; instead, while continuing to search the entire camp, he randomly picked a lucky person's shoe and, using Teleportation Technique, left a faint trail of footprints on the ground.

After doing all that, he climbed over the wall and left the camp.

However, he didn't rush to leave; instead, he sat outside for a while.

Only when a string of extremely vulgar roars came from inside did he feel satisfied and head back west.

According to the map's markings, he still had a place he wanted to check.

The underground plain was vast; even though Ji Ming was rushing at full speed, it was already 5 a. m.

After rolling over a slight hillock, Ji Ming first glanced at the empty ground, then lifted his gaze to the cliff top.

No wonder so many earth elemental beings could neatly form one geometric pattern after another.

It turned out that at the center of the underground city, atop the highest cliff, was actually an inverted stone castle!

Moreover, unlike a ruined castle, this is a structure that could only exist in a fantasy world.

Almost every brick was carved with intricate patterns, independent yet complementary, more wondrous than any man-made marvel in reality.

Being able to command a large group of earth elemental beings to voluntarily form a structure, the castle's master is naturally not to be trifled with.

According to the map's display, the occupant here is a 32nd‑level juvenile rock dragon.

Just being over thirty‑level and already this big, Bu Long Fei Er De seems easy to handle—a small attic would suffice.

As for whether this dragon species will be friend or foe in the future, that's up to the players to decide.

So Ji Ming didn't linger; he went straight back to the Clinic.

For safety, Ston and the others will leave Sunlight City at dawn, so Ji Ming put the mission items in his pack and took AdaiEr to the Outer City.

Unlike Earth, which has entered the information age, in Yangyue World, though magic is highly developed, ordinary people may never see each other again after this parting.

Thus, in the sorrowful and wistful atmosphere, Ston and the others finally dared not linger; after letting Beili secure their father's ashes, they slipped out of Sunlight City under the cover of a few familiar guards.

AdaiEr was shedding tears.

"Doctor, do you think we'll ever see them again?"

"Yes."

And who knows, it might even be sooner than you imagine.

When the two returned to the Clinic, the sun had officially risen.

This morning there were relatively few patients, but Ston and the others' pace wasn't slow.

So after briefly seeing two unremarkable knife‑wound patients, Ji Ming quickly feigned illness and went back to the second floor.

Hearing the door being locked and bolted, AdaiEr sighed.

Although the doctor put on a strong front, he's so kind that he surely couldn't hold back his emotions and went upstairs to cry, right?

... Come to think of it, what would a doctor holding his head and sobbing look like?

I guess I'm a bit curious about that...