Chapter 176: Red Soil City’s President—Professor Asher? Isn’t He the Savior I’ve Been Desperately Waiting For!

[🎉 Shoutout to Sardine_Power, Skyhawkfang, Nathan, Sakura_Arrival for joining patreon. Thank you very much.🤗]

Upon hearing this, Asher couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement, 'Crimson City, this place really is…'

"So what is Red Soil City planning to do now?", Asher inquired.

President Robb wouldn't send him this video for no reason, nor would he bring this matter up just for casual conversation. So the purpose was—

["You don't need me to tell you how serious the situation in Crimson City is."]

Asher nodded.

'Nearly half of the city's residents have fallen into a high fever, which is definitely a Level 1 emergency.'

["The situation in Crimson City started after midnight last night. One after another, almost every household had someone fall into a high fever."]

["At first, some people didn't pay much attention, but as the numbers grew…"]

President Robb sighed.

["Less than twelve hours have passed so far, and we still can't be sure if more residents will continue to develop high fevers."]

["After ruling out the possibility of a virus, the only anomaly we could link to the outbreak was the Red Soil Forbidden Zone expedition team running into trouble. The timing matches almost exactly."]

Asher was stunned.

He turned back to rewatch the video.

He hadn't noticed earlier— the surrounding lights were so bright that he subconsciously thought it was daytime, 'But it was actually nighttime?'

["Yes."]

["The Alliance and the authorities have already taken action. Time is extremely tight."]

["One side is focusing on medical aid for those afflicted by high fever. The other side is sending in more, stronger Beast Tamers and various experts into the Red Soil Forbidden Zone to investigate."]

["Asher, you…"]

As he spoke, President Robb, who had already decided to send Asher, suddenly hesitated.

'Won't it be better to reconsider?'

'Is Asher really the right person for this task?'

"Just let me go," Before President Robb could change his mind, Asher agreed without hesitation.

["Sigh… then I'll leave this matter to you. As for the situation in Crimson City…"], President Robb's voice carried a hint of apology.

Thinking about how Asher had just barely finished handling the Fourth Legion's commission and hadn't even had time to rest before being sent straight to Crimson City, President Robb felt guilty.

But what could he do? Asher was, after all, the most well-known figure in NY City.

Now that the decision was made, President Robb sent all relevant information about Crimson City and Red Soil City to Asher, including the expedition team's roster and various other details.

Asher didn't rush to depart. Instead, he carefully read through everything.

"By the way, Angel, check out any information related to Red Soil City and Crimson City."

["Understood, sir."]

For once, Angel responded normally. But Asher wasn't in the mood to joke around with it today.

After a thorough review, Asher had mentally mapped out Red Soil City, Crimson City, and Red Soil Forbidden Zone.

The relationship between the three was somewhat complicated.

But as a city bordering the Red Soil Forbidden Zone, Crimson City wasn't completely without benefits. It's just that most of the advantages had been taken by Red Soil City itself.

Online, there was almost no information about what had happened inside the Red Soil Forbidden Zone.

At most, there were some complaints from Crimson City residents on local forums—grumbling that they got all the downsides while Red Soil City got all the benefits. Some almost started arguments with Red Soil City over it.

Not that things were any better now.

Public sentiment was boiling over.

Asher didn't intend to dwell on these grievances, but the sheer volume of related posts made them impossible to ignore.

After going through all the intel—

Asher still only had a fragmented understanding of what had actually happened inside the Red Soil Forbidden Zone and what was up with that mountain.

But his brain was now packed full of gossip and neighborhood drama.

Asher rubbed his forehead.

"Headache."

'Might as well head to Crimson City first.'

'Whatever happens, I will deal with it when I get there.'

At the very least, being on-site would give him more useful information than just reading reports here.

Just then—

["Sir, I found an IP address from Crimson City belonging to a family member of a Red Soil Forbidden Zone expedition team member. Would you like to mark and contact them?"]

Asher: "?"

'Hmm?'

'This title and buff stack seems a bit excessive.'

'Crimson City resident? Expedition team member's family?'

"What did they say?"

"Show me."

A small, unnoticed post buried under a flood of regional discussions and arguments was brought to the forefront by Angel.

[Does anyone know anything about the Red Soil Expedition Team?]

Clicking in, it was a simple, anxious inquiry about the team's status. The tone was very polite—clearly, a well-behaved kid.

'Mmm.'

'Too well-behaved.'

Didn't know how to highlight key points or attract attention, so barely anyone had responded seriously.

There were only three replies, all asking the same question.

Then the post quickly sank, with no further comments.

If Angel hadn't pointed it out, Asher would have ignored it too.

"If the post title had been something like 'Shocking! Exclusive footage leaked from the Red Soil Forbidden Zone…' or 'Red Soil Expedition Team risked their lives to smuggle out a secret…'", Asher muttered.

The method wasn't important. Clickbait wasn't the key point either. The important thing was that if more people had seen it, the poster might have gotten the answers they needed.

But being too straightforward and lacking in engagement meant the post faded into obscurity.

Asher shook his head and messaged the original poster.

[Asher: Hello, is the Red Soil Expedition Team currently missing? Could you share what you know? I'm about to enter the Red Soil Forbidden Zone—maybe I can help.]

Message sent.

No response.

Asher figured the person wasn't at their computer. He wasn't in a hurry.

Preparations were almost complete.

Everything was set—only departure remained.

Ridgevale City to Red Soil City…

After checking a flight booking app, Asher decisively abandoned the idea of flying.

"Lightyear Dragon Rider Express—fast, reliable, time is money," Asher declared righteously.

After booking, the app displayed an arrival time within an hour and a travel duration of one hour. The price… a hefty six-figure sum, almost seven.

If Asher wasn't already earning well… Well, even so, he still felt the pinch.

"I'll look into getting this reimbursed later," Asher sighed.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Legion had just found out about his departure.

"Professor Asher, you don't treat us like family at all!", Dominic, who was supposed to be busy, practically circled around Asher, "If you had told us earlier—"

"I didn't even know about it earlier," Asher spread his hands, "Crimson City's situation happened suddenly. If I had a choice, I wouldn't want this to happen either."

Dominic: "…"

Fair enough.

No one could predict the future and foresee Crimson City's crisis.

Asher left in a hurry.

———

[Red Soil City]

"This is really… The Red Soil Expedition Team still hasn't been found?", A middle-aged, balding man paced anxiously in his office, sweating profusely. This was Vincent Aldridge, President of the Red Soil City Beast Tamers Alliance.

The Red Soil Expedition Team was a renowned local team, with every member at least a Tier-2 Beast Tamers.

More importantly, they had a Tier-6 Beast Tamers leading them.

Because of this, they had earned the prestigious "Red Soil" name and were the most coveted team among Beast Tamers from nearby cities.

Starting from a year ago, Vincent had been hiring the Red Soil Squad, directing them to explore and develop the interior of the Red Soil Forbidden Zone.

And he had spent a large sum of money, specifically designating a certain sixth-rank Beast Tamer to take action.

The results were good.

A year had passed, and they had successfully developed 1% of the mist-covered area.

Don't underestimate just 1%.

This 1% of the Red Soil Forbidden Zone could provide benefits to Red Soil City far beyond imagination.

What excited Vincent even more was that the Red Soil Exploration Squad informed him that they had discovered a great mountain within.

From a distance, they could already feel the dense power emanating from the direction of the mountain.

('A mountain.')

('Dense power.')

Vincent's eyes lit up at that moment.

('Does this… mean the discovery of Red Ore?')

It was important to know that after all these years, the amount of top-tier resource Red Ore that had actually been excavated was far lower than other resource levels. On the market, it was something that had a price but no supply.

If Red Ore could be discovered…

Even if it was just a hundred pounds, Red Soil City would gain immense benefits.

Vincent did not hesitate to continue hiring the Red Soil Exploration Squad to explore and develop this mountain range.

Theoretically speaking, for the sake of safety and caution, the process should take at least about a year. Two years wouldn't even be considered excessive.

But…

Thinking of this, Vincent felt bitterness rise in his mouth.

'Regret!'

'Too late for regrets!'

And to make matters worse, the situation had suddenly blown up. As the Beast Tamer Alliance President of Red Soil City, everything Vincent had done couldn't escape investigation.

Just thinking about how he had suddenly been saddled with a major responsibility… well, fine, it wasn't entirely unfair to call it a scapegoat situation. In any case, the sudden weight pressing down on Vincent almost made it hard for him to breathe.

"What high-rank Beast Tamers and professionals have arrived?", Vincent fired off one question after another.

Beside him, a young woman with an ordinary appearance, an ordinary build, and an overall plain presence, so plain she would be lost in a crowd, pushed up her glasses.

"The Red Soil Exploration Squad has yet to report back. The likelihood of an accident occurring is extremely high. We are still continuously attempting to locate them."

"The Beast Tamers who have arrived include Mr. Peter and Ms. Henrietta, as well as three other seventh-rank Beast Tamers."

At these words, Vincent felt his heart seize up.

"Mr. Peter?"

"Ms. Henrietta?"

Clutching his chest, Vincent had already started planning where he wanted to be buried after his death.

Oh.

If this situation wasn't resolved, no matter where he was buried, he would probably still be pelted with rotten eggs.

"Yes," The young lady showed no concern for Vincent's emotional state and continued reporting the list of those who were on their way.

Hearing a familiar name, Vincent froze.

"Eh… eh eh?"

"Professor Asher?"

Vincent paused for a moment before quickly reacting to who it was, "Wasn't he with the Fourth Legion? He actually came too?"

═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═

patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator

🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.

https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y