Chapter 53: High-Speed Identification

In the next few hours, they visited multiple stalls in Lizard Alley, and Luo En's 【Herb Identification】 EXP was also steadily increasing thanks to his precise identification ability.

At a stall specializing in rare plants, he found the third material on the list—Thirst-Dying Tongue Moss.

This thing looked like a small piece of shriveled gray tissue, its surface covered with a layer of fine crystal structure, emitting an unsettling aura.

Its acquisition method was extremely cruel—just as Andre said before, it required binding a living person in the desert to die of thirst, and then extracting specific tissue from the corpse.

This inhumane practice made it almost impossible to obtain through regular channels, and it could only be found in gray areas like the black market.

The stall owner was a hunched old woman, her skin presenting an unhealthy yellow color, her eyes deeply sunken in their sockets, almost unable to see the pupils.

"This is real Thirst-Dying Tongue Moss, young man." The old woman's voice was hoarse and dry, like a sound from a throat that had been lacking water for a long time:

"Not many people know about this thing, and even fewer can recognize it. What do you do, to be interested in this kind of thing?"

Luo En didn't answer directly, but reached out to take the glass container.

The moment his fingers touched the container, a strong sense of thirst suddenly struck him, his throat feeling as if it were being burned by fire.

This was the most obvious characteristic of Thirst-Dying Tongue Moss—it would induce a strong sense of thirst in the contactor, simulating the pain of the deceased before death.

【Precise Identification! Herb Identification EXP +2】

【Breakthrough! Herb Identification (Entry 50/50) → Herb Identification (Proficient 1/100)】

【Additional Trait Acquired: High-Speed Identification (Identification speed increases; judgment accuracy increases slightly)】

A strange feeling surged into his heart; Luo En could feel that his perception ability for herbs had suddenly risen to a whole new level.

Previously, he needed to carefully observe, touch, and even try to determine the authenticity and quality of a material.

But now, just a glance, he could quickly capture the key characteristics of the material and make an accurate judgment.

It was as if his previously blurry vision had suddenly become clear, and it was as if a complex musical score had been simplified into a simple melody; all details became clear and distinguishable in an instant.

"What's wrong?" Andre noticed Luo En suddenly stunned and asked in a low voice, his eyes carrying a hint of vigilance, worried if there were any traps.

"Nothing, just made a new discovery." Luo En smiled slightly, suppressing the joy in his heart, maintaining that calm and self-possessed attitude on the surface.

He hid the joy of the breakthrough in his heart without a trace and continued to focus on the transaction at hand:

"This is indeed genuine, and it's preserved quite well. Ten magic stone fragments; this is the highest price I can accept."

"Ten?" The old woman let out a mocking chuckle:

"Young man, do you know how difficult it is to obtain this material? At least twenty; this is still a discount price because your eye is good."

Luo En shook his head and placed the glass container back on the stall:

"I know the market situation very well; even in a place like Lizard Alley, the price of Thirst-Dying Tongue Moss won't exceed ten. Fifteen, this is my final concession; you definitely have a profit."

After some bargaining, it was finally traded at the price of fifteen magic stone fragments, even lower than Luo En expected.

Now that the four main materials had been bought, the money bag at his waist had clearly shriveled. He had spent several dozen magic stone fragments, almost more than half of all his savings.

"Must find a way to earn some magic stone fragments." He calculated in his heart: "Maybe I can use the 【High-Speed Identification】 ability to do some identification work in the black market?"

When he packed up the materials and prepared to leave, Luo En noticed a strange light flickering in the old woman's turbid eyes.

That wasn't a simple merchant's profit-seeking color, but a deeper, almost greedy observation, as if she were looking at a fat sheep.

"Be careful, I feel that old thing is ill-intentioned." After leaving the stall, Luo En whispered to Andre:

"The way she looked at us, it didn't look like she was looking at customers, but more like looking at some prey."

Andre nodded slightly:

"Indeed, people who do business in this kind of place are rarely simple merchants. Most have some other identities—information peddlers, bounty hunters, or even eyes for certain forces."

The two had just turned a corner when Luo En felt his inspiration triggered.

He didn't look back, but his spiritual power had already quietly expanded, forming ripples to probe outward.

"We are being followed." He said calmly, his voice so low that only Andre could hear:

"Judging from the footsteps, there are at least three half-orcs and one goblin scout responsible for leading the way; they have been following us since that old thing's stall."

Andre's expression suddenly became serious, his hand moving toward his waist without a trace, where a small but sharp dagger was hidden:

"Half-orcs? The situation is a bit bad... The physical fitness of this alien race far exceeds that of ordinary humans; I can barely deal with one alone, but three... should we shake them off?"

"No rush." Luo En's mouth curled into a cold smile: "Let them think we haven't noticed, and see what they actually want to do."

Andre looked at him suspiciously, but still nodded, expressing trust in his decision.

The two continued to walk forward, stopping at various stalls casually, acting just like ordinary customers.

But Luo En's spiritual power was always focused on the four sneaky followers behind them.

The physique of the half-orcs was terrifying; even the smallest one had shoulders twice as wide as an ordinary adult, and the exposed skin presented an unhealthy blue-gray color.

Their faces were between human and beast, fangs exposed, eyes deeply sunken in prominent bone sockets, emitting unsettling yellow light.

The most eye-catching thing was their equipment—unlike ordinary street thugs, these three half-orcs wore uniform leather armor, battle axes hanging at their waists, their movements coordinated, clearly having undergone professional combat training.

This wasn't some temporarily assembled robbery gang, but a well-trained mercenary squad.

"The situation is a bit wrong." Andre whispered with a frown: "Those guys don't look like ordinary street thugs, but more like some kind of bounty hunters. Well-equipped, and organized and disciplined."

Luo En sneered: "Maybe they got information from that old woman, knowing we are fat sheep..."

He vigilantly scanned the surrounding environment and quickly found an alley suitable for an ambush.

It was a dead end, the entrance narrow, the walls on both sides almost without windows, almost a perfect battlefield.

"Follow me." Luo En suddenly grabbed Andre's wrist and walked quickly toward the alley: "We'll wait for them there."

Andre was a bit surprised, but still followed silently.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 54 =====