Chapter 359: Goodbye Man Shui Village (8/15, Autumn Subscription)

On the other side.

Fang Yue, still on his way back to the village, after guarding the first half of the night, ordered the convoy to resume movement.

The escort team, having rested through the night, moved significantly faster, greatly advancing their progress.

Now that things had stabilized on the real side and he had no worries, Fang Yue simply stayed in the game.

Tap-tap.

Using the Ningtai Ring, he routinely used internal force to ignite and fix the flame.

Fang Yue sighed—he always felt the day he'd actually be able to use this damn ring was still far off.

He sighed, but he still had to practice.

He activated the Flame Heart Method, channeled internal force into the ring, maintained the rhythm, successfully ignited the flame, and guided it to fix the hexagonal flame in the designated position.

First piece, second piece, third piece…

Hss—

The flame lost control and extinguished entirely.

He sighed and started over, mechanically continuing his efforts.

Only when he himself could barely endure it did he switch to cultivating internal force.

Cultivating internal force was far more comfortable than practicing with the Ningtai Ring.

After completing one full Great Circulation of internal force, he gained tangible results—he could see and feel the progress clearly, real, solid improvement!

Added to that, Fang Yue had Fire Stone as a foundation, making his cultivation twice as effective—it couldn't get any better than this.

Skills were ultimately hard to master, but his foundational internal force improved in real, measurable ways.

The night passed quickly.

It was another peaceful night, yet Fang Yue's Flame Heart Method seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough.

This lifted his spirits—he felt an urge to stay in the game and push for a breakthrough in the Flame Heart Method.

But skipping work on his first day as a new officer was simply unacceptable.

So Fang Yue notified the Blood Hunters and prepared to log out.

And just then, Fang Yue suddenly froze.

He saw a familiar figure.

Yang Xu Gui??

Seeing Yang Xu Gui here was completely unexpected—it was the first strange entity he'd encountered in this entire day and night.

Fang Yue was about to approach and eliminate it, when Yang Xu Gui, as if seeing a ghost, turned and bolted away the moment it spotted him.

Its two goat hooves kicked rapidly, surprisingly fast.

He could catch up easily, but there seemed no need—he'd long stopped receiving rewards for killing this thing.

The others had no idea what had happened, because Yang Xu Gui was a phantom body; without special eyesight or medicinal aids, no one could see it with the naked eye.

Fang Yue didn't know why Yang Xu Gui fled—did it sense the traces of his previous kills? Or was it simply overwhelmed by his raw power?

He shook his head slightly, unable to figure it out, and slowly logged out of the game.

…

In reality, Fang Yue opened his eyes.

He had breakfast with Bai Xiaoya and Yuan Jie; Yuan Jie, full of energy, went to work.

Calling it "work" was a stretch—it meant stepping into the elevator, riding up ten floors, and sitting at a desk staring blankly at a computer—basically a retirement lifestyle.

As for Bai Xiaoya, she rode the elevator with Fang Yue to Team Ten's floor.

Yes, the entire floor belonged solely to Team Ten.

Rooms like the training room, meal prep room, and medical room all had professional staff on standby.

The actual members of Team Ten were only Fang Yue and two others.

After greeting Fang Yue, Bai Xiaoya went straight to professional training; she had been a lady of refinement, trained in dance and gymnastics, so she had flexibility, but compared to proper combat training, she was far behind—almost starting from scratch.

But Bai Xiaoya trained diligently; she deeply understood the world's changes and prepared for them.

In a certain sense, Bai Xiaoya, who had experienced the upheaval, adapted to the world's changes better than Fang Yue.

As for Fang Yue himself, after meeting Qiu Dugu, he was dragged around to greet and visit other teams' members and Captains.

It was all just a formality—to get familiar with faces.

Then Qiu Dugu brought him to the window, pressed a switch, and the glass pane slid open, wind rushing in with a whoosh.

"What's this for?"

"Work! Get to work!"

Amid Fang Yue's confusion, a helicopter flew up to the window; his face darkened—he knew he was truly going to work.

Boarding the helicopter, it began circling the Qingshui District, while Qiu Dugu kept his phone ready for calls, waiting for missions or emergencies, all the while scanning the ground below—truly a workaholic.

The morning passed quickly; nothing happened, and the Strange Index remained stable.

After eating, checking on Bai Xiaoya's sprint training, Fang Yue was dragged again by Qiu Dugu to patrol the Qingshui District.

The afternoon passed; the conclusion: today's Jianghai City was peaceful.

Fang Yue called out to Bai Xiaoya, and they headed home together.

He also sternly told Qiu Dugu: just this once—next time, if there's no mission, he absolutely wouldn't follow this workaholic on pointless patrols of Qingshui District.

There's nothing happening, yet you insist on patrolling—who can take this?

If a strange entity appeared, Fang Yue stepping in would count as a performance, earning points for the team—everyone benefits.

But there isn't any—because of Qiu Dugu's presence, the Strange Index in Qingshui District is far lower than in other districts, making the probability of strange entities appearing even lower.

Back home, after dinner, Fang Yue quickly logged back in.

After inquiring about the Blood Hunter's condition and confirming the team had encountered no issues, Fang Yue resumed his daily training with the Ningtai Ring and the Flame Heart Method.

Time passed steadily like this.

When the night ended, Fang Yue's mastery of the Ningtai Ring had improved further, and the Flame Heart Method now felt just one step away from breakthrough.

At that moment, the Blood Hunter suddenly pointed ahead.

"Ye Ge, Man Shui Cun is almost here."

Man Shui Cun…

Fang Yue's eyelid twitched; immediately, the rugged mannerisms of Captain Shan flashed through his mind.

He clenched his jaw and lowered his voice: "Don't stop. Pass through directly."

"Yes!"

The Blood Hunter was only too happy with this—naturally, he had no objections.

The others also had no qualms; instead, they felt that since Man Shui Cun had arrived, Gu Yue Cun couldn't be far off, and their spirits lifted, even quickening their pace.

"Ye Ge, Ye Ge, when I get back to the village, I'll be a little rich woman!"

Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu said proudly; her journey had been easy in some ways, yet not entirely so.

It was easy because she barely did any work—every day she just lay around and ate.

It wasn't easy because the entire journey was nothing but travel; for a normal player, it was nearly hypnotic. Had she not feared encountering the uncanny, Fang Yue suspected Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu could have slept from the moment they left Mo Cun all the way until they reached Gu Yue Cun.

Like Fang Yue, Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu had bought many items in Mo Cun and sold them upon returning to Gu Yue Cun, earning a modest profit and easing some economic pressure.

Since they had already discussed Qiu Dugu yesterday and there was no watch duty, Fang Yue simply didn't log out and kept grinding on the Ningtai Ring.

And just then…

Thick black smoke rose from ahead—from Man Shui Cun.

(End of Chapter)