Chapter 582
Chapter 582 - 562: First Exploration
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7 min read
If it weren’t for the slogan signs along the way, the bloodstains on the ground, and the unburied bones, Lu Ping’an thought this would probably be a very popular tourist area.
Green grasslands, boundless blue sky, and fresh natural air - walking in this area felt more appropriate and comfortable compared to the outside world.
"...Life is more active than the outside."
The plants and magic plants along the way expressed their joy from the bottom of their hearts.
It seemed that the whole world was exceptionally friendly.
"You guys..."
On the way, Lu Ping’an met some returning teams, and tried to greet them, but what he received was their wary gazes.
Seeing their unlowered weapons and their cautious eyes, Lu Ping’an didn’t approach.
He had noticed that there was enough safe distance maintained in their interactions, it seemed that the danger here was not only limited to magic monsters.
What he didn’t know was that it was rare to see a loner like him, whose face was too unfamiliar.
Especially since he had no military rank or identification, there were a few particularly shape-shifting humanoid creatures that preferred to imitate loners.
Lu Ping’an had actually read the local "Strategy Guide", which was incredibly simple, essentially just one sentence...
"Kill all hostile enemies."
There were no rules or reasons here, only the existence of killers and those being killed.
Lu Ping’an rubbed the back of his head, feeling a bit annoyed by the various defensive gazes along the way.
"Maybe I’m a bit hasty..."
After some thought, Lu Ping’an decided to go all in.
"....Let’s just go farther."
As per the original plan, Lu Ping’an intended to assess the situation near the entrance of the cave and find some local mercenaries, but it seemed to be quite difficult in this area.
Tens of minutes later, Lu Ping’an also encountered some "small troubles".
There were at least twenty beasts following him as far as he could see. While in the outside world monsters could be easily wiped out, these creatures would be more difficult...
"Wild beasts... snake lizard beasts? Since when did these things start living in groups?"
What Lu Ping’an saw were snake-headed, lizard-bodied, petrified magic monsters whose strength varied from 2-tier to 4-tier.
And the group seeming to target Lu Ping’an appeared to be a community.
Leading the way were two with gold and silver striped eyes, both clearly rare mutant species.
How strong were they? That would only be known after a fight...
"Hehe, is it about numbers? Interesting..."
Lu Ping’an smiled and opened his "gate".
From the beginning, this was never an equal war. Once Lu Ping’an had set up his forces, it was already over.
A large number of magic plants appeared on the battlefield, hungry Fusang trees reappeared in the world, and beams of light descended from the sky.
Lu Ping’an, alone, actually gained more control over the battlefield.
One after another, the constructs completed their tasks, and soon, only the magic plants that were still "flogging corpses" were left on the ground. Lu Ping’an easily completed his first hunt.
Perhaps the "petrification" ability was particularly useful against close combat, especially single close combat, but it did not count for much against similarly army-type opponents.
The time spent cleaning up the battlefield after the fight took longer than it took to deal with the monsters.
"Walking on the main road and encountering monsters of this level, it seems that it’s indeed quite unsafe here..."
The Channel No.6 chosen by Lu Ping’an was prepared for individual and small teams. According to the official information, its safety assessment was relatively high.
But even in the safest areas, as long as you dare to run around alone, the "hunters" will naturally follow you.
Perhaps the number of individual creatures does not represent fighting power, but in the eyes of beasts, the less numerous side naturally has the value of being hunted.
After organizing the spoils of the war, Lu Ping’an headed to the next stop.
Along the way, he observed the magic plants and demons around him, and he had to admit that they were all quite subtle.
"The magic plants are all local items or, from another perspective, since this type of output is abundant, they are only worth the price of local items in the ancient city."
The demons followed the same path, all local common species that could not sell high prices even if their materials were collected.
"...This is getting a bit annoying."
Lu Ping’an came to investigate not only for his own sake.
His own armed forces needed regular training and daily maintenance, and it might be a good idea to deploy them to a war zone, but if the fight cost more than it returned, it was a losing deal.
"It’s strange how other professionals maintain a balance between income and expenditure."
"Normal professionals would have a hard time surviving here. They would move in groups, carefully hunt under the premise of not getting injured, and never provoke groups of monsters. Haven’t you noticed? The intelligence of magical beasts here is quite high."
Big Cat’s suggestion made Lu Ping’an nod in agreement.
Just as Xue En had taught Lu Ping’an practical experience with typical secret realms (and dungeon grinding), most ordinary secret realm monsters had templated attack methods and straightforward AI.
However, in the previous battle, the monsters’ attack methods were flexible, and they even employed tactics.
"Is it delicious?"
Judging from Little Flame’s feedback, it was probably delicious.
This guy was more than just picky, and he was becoming more and more fond of the teeming "live meat" recently.
Lu Ping’an looked into the distance, where a piece of city wall stood, probably the underground city’s "Rest-town".
Moving forward alone from here, it should be quite dangerous...
"... 1100 Eastern Country’s coins for one credit coin? Why don’t you just rob them?"
As soon as he walked into the small town and entered the rest inn’s first floor, Lu Ping’an heard something that made him feel uneasy.
It was obvious that someone was semi-publicly conducting trades in credit-coins and Eastern Country coins, which were forbidden by command.
Lu Ping’an looked over and received several pairs of cautious eyes... he was too young and too unfamiliar.
With current market demand, private trading between credit-coins and Eastern Country coins was inevitable, but it was surprising that they were making the trade in this area.
However, upon further thought, this place was indeed a very suitable trading area. The city’s Special Service Team would basically never come here, and the local military forces... Can we rely on the army to catch private small currency trades?
This was a gathering point for professionals above the 2-tier, so there was a demand for credit-coins and Eastern Country coins, and transactions were fast.
Lu Ping’an rubbed his chin, not saying anything.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t do anything about it, as he still had his uniform with him, but if he intervened, he was afraid he would become the enemy of everyone here.
"Tsk, let’s stay for now and see. It feels like the development of events is completely different than what I had anticipated."
— End of Chapter 582 —