Book 4, Chapter 124: Tracks
While on their way to the undeveloped area, Xu Chan’s team had encountered local hubs, but the undeveloped area was much more dangerous. How could there be a hub here?
Xu Chan immediately thought of a possibility. This was definitely not an ordinary hub.
“Have they discovered us?” he asked.
“Yes. They made contact with us.”
“Give me the details,” Xu Chan ordered grimly.
The scout connected to Xu Chan’s Realm Pass and said that from their conversation just now, he had learned that this hub was unlike any other they encountered. The people here came from all sorts of places. Most of them were people who had fled after the imperial army placed a bounty on their heads, while others were deserters from the Great Shun Republic and a few locals.
These people said that they were familiar with the terrain and were willing to provide them with what they needed or give them some help in exchange for tools and resources their team carried.
Xu Chan considered it before saying resolutely, “What do they want? If we can provide them with it, we’ll give it to them.”
His instincts told him that these people weren’t what they claimed to be, but as long as they showed no hostility, he wasn’t going to attack them, even if there were wanted criminals among them.
After all, these people had been here for a long time. If they would guide them, moving around would become much easier. They might even be able to shake off their enemies.
In any case, their priority was the artifact. Everything else wasn’t important.
For the trade to work, both sides required certain fighting power. Without it, they would just be wrapping themselves up in a nice ribbon and handing over to the other.
***
The Lightning Siblings brought Blood Diamond back to their starting point, but compared to when they left, the trees in the area had been felled. A large group of Union members were searching for something. Upon seeing them, the security guards saluted them.
Silvia ignored the others and spoke to a young man sitting nearby. “Mr. Heros, why didn’t you show up according to plan?”
Heros was more than three meters tall when he stood up. His hair was thick and dark as the night, while beneath his thick eyebrows rested a pair of lively eyes on a chiseled face. His entire body was covered in muscles that seemed to have been carved out of stone.
Even though he was taller than everyone else, the exceptional ratio of his body made everyone think that he had evolved into an even more perfect human being.
His voice, too, was magnetic and pleasant. “My apologies, madam. It’s because we ran into an enemy just now. That’s why I couldn’t get to your side.”
“An enemy?”
“Yes. It’s right under your feet,” Heros said.
Silvia looked down and discovered to her shock that they were standing on top of an absolute giant of a creature.
It lacked any mass or clear features despite covering the entire region. Since it was no longer alive, Silvia hadn’t noticed it immediately.
Siegfried jumped a few times and discovered that it was different than standing on dirt. However, there were all sorts of situations in the merged space, so he didn’t think much about it. “What is this?” he asked in surprise.
“I don’t know,” Heros replied seriously. “We ran into it on our way, and it tried to wrap us all up in its body. We’ve got no records of it, so I think it’s a new species. We spent some time breaking free of it, but that’s not the main reason why I stayed here.
“I can sense someone watching us from afar that’s a threat to us.”
“Who is it?”
“I don’t know. All I can tell is that he is very dangerous. If he shows up again, I will locate him,” Heros declared.
“Is he from the Linacrox Union? Could it be Wilheim?” Silvia looked up.
Heros shook his head. “It’s not Blue Blood.”
Silvia and Siegfried exchanged glances. If even Heros felt threatened and the person wasn’t Wilheim, who could it be?
***
While they were talking, Qi Qianyang reached a tree house made of vines around ten kilometers from them. When he got closer, the vines moved aside on their own. A man with a side-part and who appeared to be in his thirties saw him and asked, “Instructor Qi, welcome back. How’s the situation?”
“Heros is pretty perceptive. He almost noticed me. As expected of a top fighter,” Qi Qianyang praised him.
“So? He’s not your opponent,” the man stated confidently.
Qi Qianyang stroked his chin. “I can’t say. When it comes to martial artists at our level, we can’t tell who will win until we start fighting.”
“If you were to lose, it’d only be because you’re not fighting at full strength,” the man said firmly.
Qi Qianyang simply smiled and didn’t deny it. “It’s not the time yet. Let them look for it. Once they find it, I’ll swoop in to grab it.”
***
Back in the Union’s campsite, Chen Chuan swung at the gap in front of him with the Frost King Saber, and it closed.
He had spent the night training. Since there were plenty of underground spaces here, he didn’t even have to dig a hole for himself.
Once he got out, he checked his second self and found that he had gotten even closer in terms of strength.
During the fight yesterday, Chen Chuan had relied entirely on himself to win against the martial artist at the balcony, which made his second self much stronger.
He still didn’t know who the martial artist was, because when he searched through his body, he didn’t find any ID. He could tell based on his strength that he was no regular martial artist, though, so it was likely that he was a well-known person.
Chen Chuan was pretty sure that he was going to run into more of such martial artists in the future.
He sheathed the Frost King Saber and stood up to leave the underground space. Dawncall was awake and followed him out.
After opening a deformed metal door, Chen Chuan went outside and saw that the place was completely scorched. Ash had fallen from the sky and covered the ground in a thick layer.
Yang Yuncheng seemed to have woken up a long time ago. Yesterday, he had killed all the sentries before nightfall. At that moment, he came over and asked, “Are you about to leave, Lead Investigator Chen?”
Chen Chuan nodded. “Yes. But the road ahead is going to be difficult. Could you take care of my horses for me?”
“Leave it to me. I’ll be sure to take good care of them for you,” Yang Yuncheng promised.
Chen Chuan turned his gaze upward. “There might be an airship coming over to confirm the situation here. It’d be best for all of you to go far away.”
“Alright,” Yang Yuncheng agreed.
Chen Chuan went to the side, where a Fenghai-produced Fiend was parked. He had found the motorbike near a sentry tower yesterday. The patrol guards likely used it to get around the campsite and the sentry towers.
Usually, it was impossible to venture deep into the merged space with such vehicles, since there was no telling what they would encounter on the way. Most people would be unable to react to sudden situations on time when riding at high speed.
But this was perfect for Chen Chuan. He had discovered that as long as he had enough mental energy, he didn’t need to be on guard against the creatures in the area. While traveling, all he needed to do was to release his mental energy, and most living beings would be intimidated. Of course, some could take this as provocation, but as long as he traveled fast enough, he could avoid them.
That naturally meant using up a lot of mental energy, but Chen Chuan had his second self and the artifact could restore his physical and mental stamina, so he didn’t care about it.
The motorbike was large, so Chen Chuan could put all of his items on the two metal panniers and sling the Frost King Saber over his back. He got on the motorbike and said, “I’ll be leaving now, Mr. Yang. Stay safe.”
Yang Yuncheng nodded earnestly. “I wish you success in your mission, Lead Investigator Chen.”
He took a few steps back, and Chen Chuan nodded at him. He put on his protective mask, patted the red scarf around his neck, and gave Yang Yuncheng one last nod. Once he started the engine, the motorbike shot forward with a loud rumble and left behind a trail of smoke in its wake.
Dawncall let out a shrill cry in the sky and followed after him.
Yang Yuncheng took two steps forward and watched him leave before saluting. It was only after that he went into the forest.
Once Chen Chuan left the campsite, he cast a glance at the tracks on the ground. Clearly, a large team had left them while going into the undeveloped area.
This made things easier for him. As long as he followed the tracks and used his mental energy to clear the path, he could move much faster than before.
The powerful creatures that should have been lurking in these parts were also already dead. There was even an unidentified creature as big as a hillock lying on the side. Only bones covered in insects were left of it. It wouldn’t take too long before even the skeleton was devoured.
After traveling for half a day, Chen Chuan discovered a rather big abandoned camp. Based on the number of bonfires, at least a hundred people had stayed there.
Chen Chuan stopped and got off the motorbike to check the place. There were some metal cans on the ground, so he was sure that the Union had come through here. They had made no effort to conceal their tracks.
He looked ahead. If that were the case, all he needed to do was continue onward. The trail would sooner or later lead him to them.
Suddenly, something in the camp was startled by his mental energy, and a cover was thrown off. A flock of birds flew out and went straight for him.