Chapter 157: Great Business Opportunity (4/10, Autumn Subscription)

"That's right! The frequency of the Heavy Deception Flower has been increasing each time it appears! Given that its power grows stronger the closer it gets to nightfall, its appearance frequency will only keep rising! The fact that it hasn't shown up now means we've truly shaken it off!"

An Shenyi spoke with some excitement, his eyes frequently glancing at the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 beside him.

This is a major discovery! Or rather… a major business opportunity!!

The danger of a Black Grade Mid-level Deception like the Heavy Pressure Deception goes without saying.

If there's a safe way to avoid being hunted by the Heavy Pressure Deception, I'm sure many would pay a high price for it!

Even if you never encounter the Heavy Pressure Deception, keeping a bottle in your backpack as insurance against accidents is still worthwhile—no one would ever turn down an extra life-saving method!

Thinking of this, An Shenyi couldn't help rubbing his hands together.

"Blood Hunter, I wonder… do you sell your 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】?"

The Blood Hunter was in a good mood; hearing An Shenyi suddenly change the subject, he paused, then smiled faintly: "What do you think?"

An Shenyi said seriously: "I believe everything has a price."

"To me, the 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 is priceless."

"…No room for negotiation?"

"No room for negotiation."

With that, the Blood Hunter walked forward; An Shenyi hurried to follow.

"Hey hey! Don't leave so fast—we can still talk! If you won't sell the dog, will you sell its urine? I'll pay top price!"

That An Shenyi was willing to spend big clearly meant huge profits lay behind it—but the Blood Hunter still showed no interest.

Fang Yue watched the two walk away and pulled out the parchment. He hesitated, then put it back.

Since the Heavy Deception Flower didn't follow, it was basically confirmed they'd shaken it off.

Now, as long as we solve the team's fatigue problem and keep moving along the village path through the night, we'll reach Shuiman Cun safely.

"Fatigue? … I don't feel tired at all."

Fang Yue couldn't think of a solution himself, so he started asking for help—the first person he approached was Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu.

The wounds on her face had already healed somewhat; after washing with Qing Shui, only red scar lines remained.

Her looks were probably affected, but Fang Yue didn't care—though she herself was very concerned and had gone to An Shenyi for scar-removal medicine, only to be scared off by the price.

"You spend your days eating and sleeping—of course you won't feel tired!"

Fang Yue ignored Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu's protest and went to find Ma Ling'er.

"Tired? I'm fine. If Ye Ge feels tired, you can lean on my shoulder…"

Fang Yue fled from Ma Ling'er's side.

Next target: Niu Niu.

"Me? I'm exhausted! Ye Ge, I've been running nonstop since being hunted by Deceptions—the whole team is more tired than me! Ye Ge, give me a horse, let me lie down for a bit, okay?"

Let him suffer!

But… horse… horse…

"Ye Ge! Ye Ge! I've got an idea!"

Fang Yue was just thinking when Tail sent a message—he'd been informed of this by Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu.

Fang Yue quickly asked: "What idea?"

"The three-horse cargo cart behind us has extra space besides the supplies—move some items lower, cover them with cloth or hay. People can sleep on top—five or six can fit comfortably, eight if you squeeze. Have tired team members or villagers take turns resting on it, add two more horses to pull the cart for extra power—won't that work?"

Fang Yue knew that cart—it was the same one used to haul the large vats of Growth Liquid.

It required three horses to pull, proving how large it was—the biggest cart carrying the most supplies; all other horses pulled smaller carts or carried loads on their backs.

Only someone like Tail, who raised horses, would notice the cart had spare space—Fang Yue had barely paid attention to such things.

Following Tail's pointing, Fang Yue silently calculated.

Eight or nine people resting at once—the whole team numbered only eighty or so.

It seemed… feasible?

Fang Yue praised Tail, then brought over An Shenyi and the Blood Hunter.

"Taking turns resting while moving… that will inevitably slow us down a bit," An Shenyi mused.

"Still better than my idea of setting up camp to rest."

The Blood Hunter had no objections; after thinking a moment, An Shenyi agreed.

Setting up camp meant the whole team rested together; using the cart meant taking turns—hardly affecting progress. The discomfort of sleeping on the cart was ignored—they were in an emergency, after all.

Under these conditions, restoring the strength of eight or nine people at a time through rotation—like shift changes—was an excellent system.

As long as they held out until Man Shui Cun, everyone could rest.

After deciding on the method, next came details: what ratio of team members to villagers should rest, who went first, who second.

After all, others wouldn't have fatigue values displayed above their heads—if someone didn't say they were tired, you could only judge from their expression and behavior.

The three discussed briefly and quickly settled on a plan, then began mobilizing.

"I—I'm not tired!"

"Me neither!"

"It's still early—why should I rest already… yawn…"

After organizing the supplies and tossing some cloth on top, Fang Yue shoved people onto the cart.

Though they resisted a little, Fang Yue convinced them.

At first they felt uneasy, unable to sleep—but exhaustion soon overwhelmed them, and soon snoring rose in waves.

Many looked on with envy; when Fang Yue announced everyone would get a turn and those who worked harder would rest first, their eyes lit up and their motivation surged.

"Didn't know you were so sneaky, Yeye!"

An Shenyi chuckled.

Their roster was prearranged, even down to how long each person slept, with strict rules; any talk about whoever worked harder getting on the cart first was definitely a lie.

"Enough talk, let's hurry on our way, it's almost dark."

True enough, after all this commotion, the sky was already nearly dark.

After continuing on for a while, the setting sun cast its rays down.

It had to be said, traveling along the village road really was quite safe.

At least along this stretch, they hadn't encountered any new strangeness or incidents; however, An Shenyi spotted a medicinal herb by the roadside and spent some time gathering it.

The personnel taking turns sleeping had already been swapped out twice.

Basically one batch per shichen.

Although the sleep and rest time was relatively short, and the sleep quality lying on the cart was also rather poor, they had rested after all, and their spirits were far stronger than those who had been exhausted for a whole day.

Rousing their spirits, they took turns getting back on duty one after another.

Under the setting sun, this team continued forward along the village road.

Watching the time draw closer to night, Fang Yue grew a little nervous.

The Heavy Strangle Flower hadn't caught up again — that was good news — but traveling at night greatly increased the odds of encountering something strange.

(End of chapter)