Chapter 304 - 303: Deep into the Desert, Anomalies in the Fortress

Two days passed quickly.

Li Jing spent two days in Kregar, getting a taste of the local ambiance.

He had a leisurely two days, spending quite a bit of money.

All in all, he spent over a hundred thousand Spirit Crystals.

But this splurging did not bother him.

The main reason being that he managed to buy many "toys" in Kregar which are unavailable in Longyu.

These things are restricted from display in Longyu.

However, they were quite appealing to men.

For example, the handheld Spiritual Gatling that had caught Li Jing’s eye.

And the shoulder-mounted spiritual cannon.

Even with his positions at the Management Bureau and Patrol Bureau, Li Jing would rarely get to see such items in Longyu, let alone touch them.

Granted, these "toys" had limited functionality and some were even less powerful than medium level attack talismans that cost a few hundred Spirit Crystals, but they were controlled equipment in Longyu and common folk were not allowed to possess them.

Only in the "free" West could you get your hands on them.

Of course.

Even in White Hawk, you cannot just take these things out as you please.

Li Jing didn’t just buy these items for collection.

He bought them mainly because he felt he might make use of them during his journey, and also for enjoyment.

With a cultivation level of the Seventh Realm and Immortal Items at his disposal, Li Jing was aware of himself.

The destruction that he could cause once he unleashed his full might was horrifying, hence he needed to have some less destructive methods on hand for emergencies.

...

It was noon that day.

Li Jing sat in front of the hotel room TV, bored and watching the local news.

The news in White Hawk was more entertaining, not particularly dull.

Just when he was considering whether to go out for a bite, a knocking sound came from the door.

Hearing the noise, Li Jing perked up.

These past two days, he hadn’t kept a close watch on the Adventure Guild’s activities.

There was no point in monitoring them even if he wanted to.

The guild was keeping a low profile for the execution of the secret task.

The ones who could get in touch would naturally be able to, those who couldn’t wouldn’t know what they were up to.

After waiting for two days, someone finally came knocking.

Are they here!?

Turning his head, Li Jing got up and opened the door.

Following which, a handsome young man came into view.

Seeing this young man, Li Jing frowned.

It wasn’t Evlyn.

Just as he was about to ask a question, the young man appraised him.

"Archer?"

Li Jing raised an eyebrow at the question.

Clearly, this young man was sent by Evlyn.

Without giving it much thought, Li Jing nodded.

"That’s me."

"Snake Eye."

The young man introduced himself with his code name and extended a hand.

"The team leader sent me to pick you up. We’ll gather at a place outside the city. You probably don’t need to prep anything, right?"

"Yeah, I can leave right now."

Li Jing responded and lightly shook hands with him.

"Let’s hurry then."

Snake Eye spoke, turning to leave.

Seeing this, Li Jing followed.

...

After a short while, the two of them left the hotel.

Upon exiting the hotel, Li Jing saw a heavily armored off-road vehicle parked outside on the avenue.

This vehicle filled Li Jing with envy.

However, he lacked the ability to drive and a driver’s license.

Seeing Snake Eye headed straight for the vehicle, Li Jing followed.

Once inside, they hit the road.

The journey was mostly silent.

Li Jing was quite content with this.

After all, they weren’t familiar with each other.

If Snake Eye was particularly talkative, Li Jing would have to think about how to respond, which would be troublesome.

...

About half an hour later, Snake Eye drove to the outskirts of Kregar.

There were already quite a few vehicles gathered here.

Less than half a kilometer from the desert, nearly twenty off-road vehicles were parked together in several groups.

Two days ago, Evlyn told Li Jing that three adventurer teams had confirmed their participation.

However, judging from the assembly of the convoy, there appear to be at least six teams involved.

Serpent Eye quickly merged with a group with only three off-road vehicles upon arrival.

As soon as the vehicle stopped, the window of the driver’s seat of a nearby off-road vehicle rolled down, and Evlyn gestured at Li Jing with a raised hand.

Seeing this, Li Jing smiled and raised his hand in response.

After signaling him, Evlyn rolled up her window again.

Li Jing was not surprised by this.

This non-human leader, who also serves as the vice-president of the Adventure Guild, has a rather unorthodox way of talking and doing things.

After looking around, Li Jing spotted Basaka in a convoy of seven or eight off-road vehicles.

At this point, Basaka was communicating with his team members under a car.

Li Jing noticed Basaka, and the latter too, found that he had been spotted.

Suddenly being watched, Basaka seemed a bit taken aback.

Clearly, he was surprised to see Li Jing here.

Looked at Li Jing and managed a polite smile, Basaka looked away.

Serpent Eye noticed this and gave a slight frown.

"Are you acquainted with someone from the Star Fragment?" he asked.

"I wouldn’t say we’re acquainted. We just had a chat when I registered a couple of days ago," Li Jing replied. Seeing his slightly odd expression, he asked, "Is there a problem? Does our team have a conflict with the Star Fragment?"

"Not exactly. It’s just that there are many unpleasant rumors about the Star Fragment," Serpent Eye replied.

"I won’t go into details, but it’s not appropriate to talk behind someone’s back without proof. Be careful around them, and try to keep as much distance as possible unless necessary," he advised.

Li Jing glanced towards where Basaka was, nodded silently in response.

No adventurer is essentially kind-hearted, which goes without saying.

Even without Serpent Eye’s warning, he would not trust Basaka anyway.

And in fact.

He didn’t trust Evlyn either.

However, Serpent Eye’s caution could be seen as a kind reminder.

Rumors about adventurers often hold some truth.

Although Serpent Eye didn’t elaborate, Li Jing could infer that the Star Fragment Mercenary Corps, to which Basaka belonged, must have done something that most adventurers despise.

Even if despised by other adventurers, this was really worth pondering.

Not paying much attention to the Star Fragment Mercenary Corps, Li Jing took the opportunity to ask a question.

"Will we be driving directly into the desert next?"

"Yes," Serpent Eye nodded.

"A sandstorm has occurred deep in the desert over the past few days. Sky Control will obstruct our line of sight making it impossible to observe the ground conditions. Although traveling by ground will slow us down, it is relatively safe," he explained.

"As the leader of this mission probably explained to you, we currently do not know what the deep desert looks like and it’s a total unknown with great risks. Additionally, the Adventure Guild has been receiving continuous reports over the past week, claiming that many adventurers who entered the desert disappeared without trace," he warned.

Hearing this, Li Jing nodded in understanding.

The Kregar Desert posed no small challenge.

One clear point was.

None of the present adventurers, including Serpent Eye, knew what exactly was the condition of the deep desert. Hence, everyone tacitly decided to drive there.

...

After a short wait, several more off-road vehicles emerged from the city.

Evlyn’s team eventually consisted of six vehicles.

The Star Fragment Mercenary Corps, on the other hand, increased its number of vehicles to twenty-four, the highest among all of the present teams.

Considering that there were two people per vehicle, that equated to forty-eight people, excluding the possibility of more people in some vehicles.

The Star Fragment Mercenary Corps had a crew of more than thirty people.

From the looks of it, Basaka appeared to have recruited quite a number of people over the past few days.

At precisely one o’clock in the afternoon, all team convoys set out together.

Over sixty off-road vehicles formed a large convoy and rolled extensively into the desert, each team forming its own line.

The convoy moved at a high speed, quickly leaving Kregar City.

As Serpent Eye had stated.

The deeper parts of the desert had quite severe sandstorm conditions.

As the convoy moved forward, the visibility up ahead decreased more and more.

Due to Serpent Eye’s presence, it would be inconvenient for Li Jing to activate his Heavenly Eye and observe the surrounding situations. So, he simply lay down, took out his secondary card phone, surfed the internet, and awaited their arrival at the destination.

In a blink of an eye.

Over two hours had passed.

The speeding convoy slowed down, and Serpent Eye spoke up.

"We’re nearing our destination, be vigilant, things can change at any moment," he warned.

"Understood," Li Jing responded, looking up to put away his phone.

...

In the end, the change Serpent Eye anticipated did not occur.

All through the journey right up till the convoy arrived at the sand-covered fortress - their destination - everything was remarkably peaceful.

But this calmness is rather unnatural.

The laboratory lies just below the fortress ahead.

On their way here, they passed several areas where desert monsters should have been roaming.

Yet, throughout the journey, Li Jing didn’t see a single one.

Monsters, are exclusive species of the Western World.

They’re akin to Spiritual Beasts, markedly different from demonic creatures.

Spiritual beasts live oblivious, while monsters don’t understand cultivation.

They’re called monsters because these beast species inherently possess Magic Power which gradually strengthens as they grow.

Some powerful monsters even possess combat powers comparable to high-level mages.

Monsters are critically dangerous.

Unlike spiritual beasts that understand human nature, they fully retain their primal animalistic traits with strong aggressiveness.

At the same time, they’re also rare resources.

Once demonic creatures start to cultivate after their initial demonic transformation, their flesh and blood become inedible due to the emergence of Demonic Qi.

Monsters, on the other hand, can be served on the table unless they’re naturally poisonous species.

The flesh and blood of monsters are extremely nutritious.

No matter what system, eating monster flesh and blood brings significant benefits.

Among them, the Magic System, which also possesses Magic Power, benefits the most.

In the Western World, monsters are delicacies on the table, priced extravagantly.

As for the Eastern World, they cost a fortune.

Even if you have the money, there’s no guarantee you’ll get one.

Moreover, monster parts are considered high-priced alchemy materials.

Performing alchemy with Magic Power-containing limbs can effectively reduce the corresponding resource depletion. In the rules of equivalent exchange in the alchemy system, monster body parts are top-tier items.

Due to the aforementioned reasons, the sale price of high-tier live monsters in the Western World is no less than that of demonic creatures.

However, the hunting of monsters is strictly regulated in the Western World.

Monsters reproduce rapidly, but because they don’t understand cultivation, their growth rate is slightly slower.

Add their habit of killing each other to accelerate their own growth, the monster population always remains at a delicate balance. They would not withstand large-scale hunting.

Not only this.

The Magic Power within monsters would continuously impact the surrounding environment.

Given sufficiently large monster populations, rare spiritual objects would naturally evolve in the corresponding environment.

Consequently, wherever monsters inhabit is usually designated as monster protection areas.

Only when sufficiently powerful monsters appear, would people hunt them.

The existence of monsters is the root cause of White Hawk regarding the Kregar Desert as an important resource point.

Even the Adventure Guild who are permitted to freely move around the desert strictly forbid hunting weak monsters.

The members of the Adventure Guild are not ignorant.

If the monsters were wiped out, the Kregar Desert and the Adventure Guild would also be finished. They have to restrain themselves a bit.

It’s unusual that not even a single monster was encountered so far, although they should’ve been plentiful in the depths of the desert.

If even Li Jing could notice this, of course, the other members of the Kregar Adventure Guild would notice it too.

Snake Eye parked the vehicle near the fortress and then turned his head to look at the group and said,

"We get off and see what the team leader arranges."

"Okay."

Li Jing responded and exited the car.

At the same time, including Evlyn, the members of other teams also got off the vehicles, grouping together based on their respective teams.

Li Jing joined Snake Eye and Evlyn, noticing the entire team consisted of only nine people.

Five vehicles, nine people.

One of the vehicles had only one person.

Once the team assembled, Evlyn looked over everyone and pointed out Li Jing and another delicately featured young man.

"Introduce yourselves, this is Archer, and the other one is Wolf Hunter. Both have temporarily joined our Deep Blue squad. Make sure you’re familiar with each other, which will facilitate future cooperation."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the two and introduced themselves using their codenames.

Li Jing and Wolf Hunter responded in turn.

Once the entire team got familiar with each other, Evlyn took out a stack of blueprints from her storage space and distributed them.

"This is the blueprint of the underground fortress. The underground space is vast, approximately forty thousand meters at the deepest level. Keep the blueprints safe and don’t lose them. When we get underground, we will be significantly limited. If a situation arises, be mindful of the power you use."

"The fortress has a special construction and is very sturdy, capable of withstanding a nuclear attack. However, if we attack from the inside, the fortress can only withstand up to the full force of the Fifth Boundary. We’re all from the Six Realm, and if we let loose without any worries, the interior of the fortress could be destroyed, or even collapse altogether. We won’t be buried underground, but if the fortress collapses, we cannot retrieve what the White Hawk Officials want."

After explaining two points, Evlyn, with her usual forthright style, did not wait for anyone to speak and continued.

"Our mission is to reach the core laboratory at the deepest part of the fortress. The White Hawk Officials need all the data stored in the laboratory’s supercomputer. All other things will be destroyed on-site and carrying anything out is strictly prohibited. That’s it. Does anyone have questions?"

The individuals looked at each other, but no one spoke.

Clearly, everyone understood that Evlyn liked to say everything at once, leaving no detail ignored.

She would explain everything she knew.

Everything that could be said was said.

Even if you had questions, she likely wouldn’t be able to answer them.

Seeing everyone was silent, Evlyn brought out her phone to check the time and said,

"Five minutes, everyone examine the structure of the fortress. There are six passages from the surface to the bottom, and there are only nine of us. We need to split up to ensure someone reaches the very bottom of the fortress. Decide which passage you want to take, make the division of labor clear in advance."

Hearing her words, everyone nodded and immediately started studying the fortress structure.

Li Jing looked over the fortress structure for a moment, then indicated a central passage.

"I’ll take this middle passage. I can handle it alone, no need for anyone to accompany me."

No sooner had the words fallen, than everyone looked at him.

Evlyn spoke up.

"The middle passage is a straight path, with the estimated highest risk. Are you sure you want to proceed alone, Archer?"

"I prefer to work alone ."

Li Jing smiled.

"Okay."

Evlyn agreed.

Upon her agreement, the other seven people in the room made their own choices.

Among the three passageways, two people would go together.

Evlyn and Snake Eye, like Li Jing, chose to go alone.

The moment they finished dividing the tasks, other teams have opened the heavy sealed doors of the fortress and entered in groups.

Seeing this scene, Evlyn was not in a hurry either.

There was an understanding between the several teams.

Those who entered at the same time were from the same team, people from different teams waited aside, not competing for order.

Li Jing also waited on the side without haste.

No one was sure of the situation inside the fortress.

If there was someone to scout ahead, that would be best.

If there was nothing in the fortress, everyone could safely reach the deepest part of the fortress, the pace wouldn’t be too different.

The depth was forty thousand meters below ground.

For those participating, if everything goes smoothly, it would not take much time.

The only thing worth considering was that the inside of the fortress was linked by narrow spaces, and to reach the deep underground, there was no straight path, posing a significant limitation.

Meanwhile, Li Jing asked Evlyn,

"How should our team communicate with each other?"

"We can’t."

Evlyn shook her head and said,

"The construction of the fortress is extremely special, completely blocking signals. Wireless devices such as cell phones and communicators cannot be used. To communicate inside the fortress, you need wired devices."

Li Jing frowned upon hearing this.

No communication, yet splitting up. What’s the point of forming a team?

Merely ensuring that one of them could reach the deepest part of the fortress?

The way of the adventurers was really hard for him to adapt to.

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, Evlyn glanced at the main door of the fortress.

"It’s our turn."

Li Jing turned his head.

In just a short time, two teams had already entered the fortress. The rest of the teams were still gathered on the side, discussing.

A window of opportunity to enter the fortress just opened.

Evlyn led the way directly towards the main entrance.

Li Jing and the others quickly followed.

Just as they were about to approach the main entrance of the fortress, a bloody figure suddenly stumbled out from inside.

The person was a female adventurer.

As she faced Li Jing and other onlookers, her beautiful face was full of terror, and she spoke out in an almost wailing cry.

"Save me!"

Before her words fell, her entire body exploded with a "boom", turning into a mist of blood.

The sudden turn of events left everyone at the scene stunned for a moment.

No one anticipated this accident.

Li Jing clearly remembered that this female adventurer was a member of the second team that had just entered the fortress. Their whole team had only been inside for a few minutes.

The blood mist slowly dissipated.

Evlyn, who was walking in the front of the team, reacted quickly and brought out her Golden Holy Power around her so as not to be splashed with blood.

Looking at the falling blood mist, Evlyn had a solemn expression as she turned her head and said,

"Snake Eye, do you recognize this person?"

Snake Eye’s ways were indeed unconventional.

Evlyn didn’t recognize the person who had just come out and turned directly to him for answers, which explained a lot.

Answering the question, Snake Eye whispered,

"Victoria, Fifth Boundary."

As he spoke, he turned his head to glance at Li Jing and continued,

"She’s a newly registered adventurer with great strength. She was temporarily added by the Night Raid Corps for this trip."

With the answer, Evlyn nodded and said,

"There’s trouble inside. If anyone wants to drop out, you still have time."

Evlyn’s team was all from the Six Realm, with quite strong abilities.

Everyone was confident in their own strength. Even after witnessing a death, no one said they wanted to retreat.

It has to be said that this was very much like adventurers.

Seeing no one in the team objected, Evlyn signaled that they should proceed.

Li Jing saw this and took the lead to step forward.

He was very interested in what had happened inside.

With strong forces backing him up, he had nothing to panic about.

As Li Jing moved, so did Evlyn. They both walked almost simultaneously into the fortress.