Chapter 830
Chapter 830 - 816 Eyes
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8 min read
"...Uh, a strange taste, and it’s kind of hot."
As he stepped out of the earthfire passage, Lu Ping’an patted the dust off his body and coughed twice.
The two unfortunate souls beside him, however, were in a bit worse condition, with markedly listless spirits and symptoms of high fever and fever.
This was not simply a matter of temperature, but the deeper Abyss, which brought the erosion of the plane’s rules. The "burning sensation" hadn’t actually reached the limit of Lu Ping’an’s fire pit, it was a sensory illusion caused by the erosion of the local power.
"...Tch, use it sparingly," he said.
With some helplessness, Lu Ping’an stuffed each of them with a bottle of "Abyss Resistance Magic Potion" and "Horned Demon Meat Barbecue (Fire Pit)", and their condition clearly improved.
Uh, although when feeding the barbecue, they retched on the ground for a while and even lost consciousness for a moment, they were much more listless.....
"Zhi Xi, are you sure this thing isn’t poisoned...."
"No, it’s just that Horned Demon meat smells a bit foul, and it tastes a bit fishy."
"But they’re all saying it’s too sweet and too spicy."
"Hehe, that brings me to my newly concocted ’Droplet Sweet and Spicy Sauce,’ freshly made with local ingredients, perfect as a flavoring agent to both enhance the flavor and mask unpleasant odors, while also preserving moisture. Want to try some?"
"No need, I’d like to live a few more years..." Lu Ping’an felt increasingly peculiar, especially after he’d recently checked Zhi Xi’s progress and realized she was about to become a third-tier chef—his mood was truly stunned... just how many unnamed victims had there been!
Even though the two victims were quite listless in spirit, the reality that their state had significantly improved after being "fed" made Lu Ping’an feel even more peculiar.
𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
".....Forget it, as long as I don’t have to eat it."
"Lu Ping’an, you also don’t want to have your armor disintegrating in the midst of battle, right?" In the next moment, the situation became crystal clear.
"Fuck, who did you learn that from!" Lu Ping’an was instantly shocked, wondering who had been corrupting my dear Zhi Xi.
"From you... don’t change the subject. I’m actually curious about the taste of this dish. Take a bite and share the flavor with me, so I can refine it. You want me to advance quickly too, right? In an environment like this, the chef’s path is really useful, and you need my new dishes too..."
Right, this mixture of deception and threats was indeed characteristic of the Lu family.
"...It’s disgusting." Lu Ping’an gave in reluctantly, not really intimidated by the girl’s threat but because the work ahead would become much harder if she slacked off.
He tried to swallow, then spat it out vehemently.
But some things had to be acknowledged.
"It’s okay, better than last time...."
"Thank you." Zhi Xi’s reply was tinged with joy, and it looked like someone else was about to have a stroke of bad luck.
Having confirmed that the two "hostages" were still in a condition to endure, Lu Ping’an relaxed somewhat, not just for their sake.
"...If they can’t handle it, there’s no point in rescuing people."
They were subpar in level, with mediocre combat capability at best, but they were still among the best of 2-tier and in good condition (having taken the potion). If they couldn’t withstand the environment of this place, then the real hostages who had been taken would likely not be alive, and there wouldn’t be anyone to rescue.
"If you’re ready, then hurry up and get to work." With limited time on his hands, Lu Ping’an immediately urged the two examinees to start working.
Kicked in the rear, the pair were dumbfounded by this "boy’s" mercilessness in driving them to work, a sight that would bring capitalists to tears.
But truth be told, the two were not employed to loaf around, and after a brief rest, they indeed started working.
Lu Feng was a Sentry, whom Lu Ping’an had seen a few times before, even attempting to recruit him but never finding a practical path.
The profession was weak in actual combat, reportedly even having a negative influence on battle-professions after cultivation... Too team-oriented of a career path, and in the wild, they were rare and expensive.
Though uncomfortable amid a surround of demons, upon touching the Brass Taboo weapon, with toxin and flame damage, handed directly by his "employer," he didn’t say a word but began using his Career Ability to scout the surrounding terrain.
Previously, Lu Ping’an had a similar ability called "War Eagle," which was said that upon reaching high-level, one could gain a bird’s-eye view of the entire situation from the perspective of "Observer."
His hand swiftly moved across the paper, and a rudimentary terrain map was quickly sketched out.
This was one of the most useful characteristics of bringing a sentry into the team. As long as they passed a certain area, a rough map would appear; thus, as time went by and the battle lines were extended, a complete map of the region would eventually emerge, naturally giving the team a strategic advantage in intelligence.
On the other side, Fang Lingguo looked quite uncomfortable, still hesitating.
Unlike Lu Feng, what Lu Ping’an needed was her Talent Abilities... Not only was it a secret and a weakness for each individual, but on the other side of being powerful and convenient, it often came with strange side effects.
Lu Ping’an handed her a bone short knife, which to him was nothing more than a toy, but to a college student, a high-quality, near-pollution weapon like this could be a treasure used for several years.
"I need her personal items, the closer the relationship to her, the better, um, photos and documents are okay, but they tend to lead to odd places, so personal items used for a long time are best..."
"...Personal items?" Now it was Lu Ping’an’s turn to be somewhat troubled.
"Person of Thought" was Fang Lingguo’s rare Talent Ability, in some ways a Rule System presence.
She could designate a target, regardless of whether it existed or not, and then establish a certain connection between "each other." The more detailed the information obtained, the tighter the connection.
Does it sound like a powerful ability? Uh, indeed, it is powerful, but there are some issues with its use.
If you establish "contact" with a powerful life form, the transmission and connection are two-way. If it got interrupted without explanation, wouldn’t it turn around and give you a slap?
If it’s just "connecting" to ordinary strongmen or demons, that’s one thing, but if you see a deity... It’s said that her current state is the result of a glimpse into a deity’s tomb, where she almost turned into a mummy on the spot.
This ability could also be used for treasure hunting. The society had unearthed several Taboo items that way, but "Taboo items" in themselves are sources of contamination, and one careless touch of something formidable could lead to a curse and erosion.
It’s quite impressive that she’s alive today; she is now very cautious,
Without enough safety guarantees and benefits, without a definite target, she dares not use her ability recklessly.
"...You can use the ability with peace of mind. My ability ’deferred payment’ can segment the contamination. With me, you won’t be killed by a curse or contamination."
Lu Ping’an reassured her, and then he pulled out a white...
"...Underwear? Um, Your relationship with Sister Xia..."
With just one glance, Fang Lingguo was shocked. Although the closer the personal item, the better the effect, wasn’t this going a bit too far?
"Don’t misunderstand; she often stays over at my place and leaves things here."
Lu Ping’an was quite casual about it. The buildings in his courtyard also served as a hostel; not to mention Xia Qin’s underwear, but the rooms here also contained items from Xue En and Guan Xinxian... Um, that seemed a bit off, but it didn’t matter anymore.
Fang Lingguo shakily took the ’token,’ feeling like she had learned some secrets she shouldn’t have known.
Darkness, what darkness, the dealings between the big sister and the college student, the captain’s office secrets with his team members, no wonder Lu Ping’an...
"Ahem, is that enough?"
"Enough, enough!"
But Lu Ping’an’s gaze on her back didn’t give her a moment’s peace...
"Don’t refuse, don’t refuse, I am Fang Lingguo, Lu Ping’an’s assistant, let me see what you saw... Found it, she’s resting now, very safe. In front of her is a lake, a lake of flame, and mountains..."
Lu Ping’an handed her a set of paper and pen to draw it out directly.
With these long-range reconnaissance eyes, combined with the sentry’s terrain maps, Lu Ping’an would soon be able to find the targets and intelligence he needed.
"Since I’ve entered the fray, naturally I won’t just take a quick look and then walk away dejectedly."
— End of Chapter 830 —