Chapter 121: Re-entering the Secret Realm, Obtaining an All-Terrain Off-Road Motorcycle!
The slightly salty sea breeze brushed through Lin Yue's hair.
Treading on the golden sand beneath his feet, he looked at the endless expanse of pale blue seawater behind the gate, feeling a bit dazed.
When was the last time I saw the ocean?
There wasn't any ocean in the Otherworld; at first, there weren't even lakes or rivers. Not until the last earthquake did a large lake and a river like a gigantic crack appear in the desert.
But before he had a chance to see them, the water turned dark green, and even the mutant creatures stopped drinking it.
Now, seeing Earth's incredibly blue ocean and hearing the sound of waves crashing against the rocks nearby, his mood seemed to be cleansed.
But... isn't this Ancient Secret Realm Gate a bit too close to the shore?
Lin Yue looked around and estimated that it was only about a dozen meters away.
He glanced up at the sky.
On the other side of the sun, the brightness of the pale full moon was clear even during the day.
Good heavens, what if the tide comes in...
"Puchi~"
Bai, seeing such a vast amount of seawater, seemed extremely excited, quickly running towards the ocean as if to take a dip.
But just as it was about to touch the water, it suddenly stopped and quickly ran back.
"Puchi! Puchi!"
Bai looked at the vast ocean with terror, warning Lin Yue about the dangers within.
"Bai, even without those monsters, the ocean is the most dangerous place," Lin Yue said, patting Bai's head. The ocean was full of the unknown and danger.
The only thing not present was the various materials he needed.
As for the seawater, Lin Yue hadn't thought of any use for it yet. Even if there was something to be done, it would be the last thing he would collect.
He looked up at the distance, and on the coastline that wasn't too far away, stood buildings of various sizes.
"A coastal city?" Lin Yue pulled out the telescope and examined the buildings, noting most were already in ruins. "I wonder if there's any leftover materials?"
"Puchi~" At this moment, Bai seemed to have discovered something, calling out to him from a distance.
Lin Yue quickly walked over and unexpectedly found an iron lump with only the tip exposed, buried under sand.
Iron Spear tapped it, and it emitted a crisp sound.
Use 1 survival point to appraise it?
[Twin-cylinder four-stroke sports ATV (Damaged)]
ATV? Wait, isn't that an all-terrain vehicle! A four-wheeled off-road motor vehicle!
Though named "ATV", this vehicle could travel across steep slopes, beaches, creeks, and any terrain where ordinary cars struggled, truly embodying the spirit of "off-road" vehicles!
Good heavens, to find such a thing here!
Lin Yue was thrilled beyond belief.
Previously, he thought about going somewhere but always found it too far and exhausting by foot, needing either a vehicle or a road.
But now, having found this ATV, his tasks were significantly reduced.
[You've acquired: ATV (Damaged)]
Though it was damaged.
The ATV was quite large; even with a 42-cubic-meter Storage Space, Lin Yue still found it insufficient.
He ran to the Ancient Secret Realm Gate, opened the door, and directly placed the ATV in the yard, quickly closing the door and rushing back.
"Puchi?" Bai didn't understand why his owner left, but the sand under his feet was too hot, so he had already run to the distant road.
Lin Yue looked around and found nothing worth taking, so he set up an Iron Spear here and tied some yarn to it.
The vast stretch of sand made it easy to lose track of the Ancient Secret Realm Gate location, and Lin Yue did not want to find himself trapped here unable to locate the gate.
Walking out from the sand, Lin Yue first removed his hiking boots to shake out the sand inside before catching up with Bai, who had already gone ahead.
The beach wasn't far from those tall buildings, only about four to five hundred meters away. Lin Yue kept a vigilant eye as he closely followed Bai.
"These look more like apartment buildings," Lin Yue observed the row of red-brown ten-story buildings overlooking the beach, muttering to himself.
He also noticed that beneath the buildings seemed to be various shops, marked with English letters.
In an English-speaking country? The first instance was nearly in Tokyo, but these last two times seemed similar to places in Europe.
And as he neared those shops, seeing a map on a metal sign lying on the ground, Lin Yue finally understood where he had arrived.
Australia!
Good heavens, he had come here.
Lin Yue recalled those documentaries and news of giant snakes, spiders, lizards, blue-ringed octopuses, and felt his hair rising.
However, it seemed these creatures and the people who lived here had all vanished.
Inside the Secret Realm, there were no original Earth's creatures.
Even the large rats encountered initially, in hindsight, only looked somewhat like rats, but were definitely not creatures Earth once had.
Things like the Monster Winged Dragon, giant insects sucking human blood, and enormous creatures like mountains with long tentacles that flew seemed like nightmares from some horror story, not originally endemic to Earth.
Meanwhile, creatures in the Otherworld seemed like randomized combinations of Earth's traditional flora and fauna.
Mutant Sheep was like wolves and sheep, Spotted Wolves like sika deer and wolves, and Tiger-striped Shadow Deer were like tigers and deer.
Could it be that creatures from the two worlds swapped places? And some entity, no, perhaps a system transferred Earth's original creatures to the Otherworld?
Lin Yue speculated as he walked up a step, touching the glass on the door's edge.
[You've acquired: Thick Organic Glass X1]
Bank.
Unconsciously, Lin Yue seemed drawn by the word BANK.
Banks, with the strongest internal and external facilities.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be called a bank.
And "strong" happened to be Lin Yue's favorite word right now.
"What could be inside the bank? Strong multilayer glass and... the vault!"
Lin Yue and Bai entered through the modernized bank's grand doors.
His hand touched the camera beside the door.
Took it.
He approached the counter and, upon seeing the ATM machine nearby, thought for a moment and collected three of them.
Not for anything else; they had screens, were alloy-made, and had operating systems.
No reason not to take them.
As for the money inside... money in the Otherworld was less useful than a piece of toilet paper.
Lin Yue turned on the flashlight and walked to the dust-covered counter, reaching for the ultra-thick burglar-proof glass and storing it in the Storage Space.
These were excellent items; rather than being covered in dust, better for him to use them.
Without the glass, Lin Yue easily hopped into the counter where he quickly found some good stuff.
"To think, there's so much of this stuff here?!"
He exclaimed in surprise.
Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Since we're here, how could we not take it all? (Extra Chapter!)
"Didn't expect there would be so many of these things?" he exclaimed in surprise.
After storing them all in the Storage Space, Lin Yue took a deep breath, barely able to contain his excitement.
What do banks have the most of?
Lin Yue thought that most people might answer, "money."
But Lin Yue would give a different answer.
Various small precision instruments!
Call devices, LED screens, banknote binders, cash counters, money detectors, currency recognizers, coin packaging machines, check printers, bill-strapping machines, secondary counting machines, IC card reading/writing devices, photocopiers, scanners, fax machines...
These things seem useless in everyday life, no matter if you draw up various designs with them, they still appear not very useful.
But with Lin Yue, it's completely different.
A High-Precision Research Workstation will break them down into various small components, which will become some extremely useful equipment and weapons for survival, even used on electronic devices!
The workstation can disassemble and create design diagrams, and when he organizes and categorizes the parts, it will be much easier to batch produce some things.
After all, exchanging hard currency for seemingly unimpressive various parts always made him feel a bit anxious about losing out.
Five counters, Lin Yue scanned and emptied all the machines of every counter up and down, as for the money inside, he didn't even glance at it, it wasn't even worth using as firewood.
After cleaning out this place, Lin Yue, still not satisfied, continued further inside with Bai, heading down a deep corridor, where he discovered a solid, thick alloy door.
Lin Yue touched it, finding it seemed extremely sturdy.
What's inside?
Perhaps to others, this might be unbreakable, but to Lin Yue...
He simply touched it, and the alloy door suddenly vanished!
[You have acquired the treasury alloy door!]
Alloy door! As expected!
Lin Yue stored this alloy door in the Storage Space, continued further inside, and after storing two more doors, he arrived in a vast space.
"This is... the treasury!"
"Puchi~" Bai smelled something off and didn't understand why his master insisted on going inside.
"Bai, what do you think these things are made of?"
Lin Yue touched the racks storing passbooks and documents, as well as cabinets sparkling with silvery light, knowing this was indeed a profitable venture.
Of course, gold is also a very nice thing, isn't it?
[You have acquired alloy safe X1]
[You have acquired alloy storage rack X1]
[You have acquired gold 0.1kg X1]
[You have acquired...]
A plethora of items quickly filled Lin Yue's Storage Space, and he enjoyed this process.
After all, the High-Precision Research Workstation can break down all these things.
No matter what metal comes out later, it wouldn't be too bad anyway.
The ground was scattered with a lot of paper and coins, Lin Yue swept through the coins again, confirmed nothing was missed, then left the treasury.
Unexpectedly, the haul wasn't bad. Really, why hadn't he thought of taking a trip to the bank sooner?
Returning to the main hall, after scanning some more coins, Lin Yue left the bank with Bai.
The outside sunlight remained intense, but the temperature wasn't too high.
Lin Yue felt it should be spring or autumn now; the temperature was much more comfortable than in Otherworld.
"Bai, keep exploring!" The bank trip was quite enjoyable, Lin Yue glanced at the nearby shops, discovering what seemed like a grocery store.
No point going to the grocery store; looking inside from outside, it was indeed pitch black, though it seemed the adjacent bakery might have some good stuff?
However, just as Lin Yue removed the glass door of the bakery, Bai suddenly turned his head and shouted toward the sky outside!
Enemies incoming!
Goodness, they sure know how to pick their timing.
Still... what's flying in from the sky, if not Monster Winged Dragons, then what?
Lin Yue quickly pulled out a piece of Tiger-striped Shadow Deer meat from the Storage Space, swung his arm and tossed it onto the middle of the road outside, then retreated behind the bakery's entrance, placing a piece of Mutant Sheep skin over himself and Bai.
No opportunity to ambush, so create the opportunity.
The sound of wings flapping echoed, and Lin Yue, nearly covered entirely by sheepskin, saw five Mutant Winged Dragons landing from the sky one by one!
These things are really everywhere in the world.
Lin Yue couldn't help but quip, are these creatures as numerous as original humans in this current Earth? They're everywhere.
However, he wasn't quite sure why these monsters, which aren't particularly sensitive to smells, came directly to this spot.
Could it be they can perceive the arrival of this unfamiliar human?
Or is there another reason?
As Lin Yue was puzzling over this, the Monster Winged Dragons that landed noticed the blood-drenched Tiger-striped Shadow Deer meat on the ground. Just like last time Lin Yue saw them, they started quarreling for this piece of meat and then fighting fiercely.
Just like this, yes, exactly like this.
Lin Yue was pleased to see them act this way.
The Tiger-striped Shadow Deer meat has a certain toxicity. Although it doesn't seem to reach the level of instant venom, paralyzing them would be enough.
The reason for not tossing down Mutant Sheep meat was this consideration.
If they snatch and run away, how can he hunt them?
Previously, Lin Yue would avoid Monster Winged Dragons if possible, now seeing them, he's calculating how many feathers he might obtain.
The increase in combat strength also vastly enhances his confidence, and this boost allows him to face formidable enemies with composure!
Lin Yue carefully aimed at one Monster Winged Dragon closest to his position and facing him, his hand already resting on the trigger.
And then...
Swoosh!
The Crossbow Arrow rapidly launched, quickly punching into the heart of the Mutant Winged Dragon, instantaneously piercing through with a bloody hole and tearing through!
The Mutant Winged Dragon let out a scream, but the others fighting for meat hadn't reacted yet, Lin Yue's second and third arrows followed closely and shot out!
Although it can't release five arrows like the Steel Repeating Crossbow, the stringing time of the Electric Stringer allowed Lin Yue to load the Crossbow Arrow just in time and shoot quickly.
The remaining two managed to grab chunks of meat, saw their colleague fall and started roaring, spreading their wings ready to leave.
But Lin Yue wouldn't let them off so easily.
"Planning to flee? You're already here; where won't you be buried under this earth? Stay here!"
Swoosh! Another powerful arrow pierced the chest of one of them, even pushing back this over-two-meter-high monster a small distance. The other was shot in the neck and stumbled, unable to take off.
Lin Yue's arrows either targeted the neck or aimed for the heart; whether it's a kill shot or not wasn't important, what mattered was weakening them.
Of course, if they ended up immobilized, it was even better.
The Electric Stringer restrung the crossbow, and Lin Yue loaded the arrow, ready for the final kill of this one...
Suddenly, a fiery arrow flew into that Mutant Winged Dragon, followed quickly by the second and third arrows!
Hmm?
Who? Who is it?
...
Chapter 123: Overlooking from Above, Taking Full Advantage!
The fire-tipped arrows on the Monster Winged Dragon spread from the point of impact, as if they were alive, quickly turning it into a fiercely burning fireball!
The Monster Winged Dragon screamed and rolled on the ground, also igniting its companions on the ground. As five fireballs rose simultaneously, Lin Yue heard a cheer from an unknown direction.
Who?
He did not get up but remained prone under the sheepskin, patiently waiting for the situation to develop.
However, he did not expect that there were actually other people in this place as well.
Lin Yue couldn't help but think of Tokyo Tower that time, didn't he encounter Korun and his group? Guo Lei was also around the Tokyo Tower at that time...
Earth is so big, yet every time it seems the Secret Realm Gate opens, he almost always encounters others. What is the system trying to do?
"Puchi." Bai waited by Lin Yue's side for his command, the little one was very clear that the reason his master was not coming out lightly was to avoid falling into a passive position.
Although their strength was strong, venturing out blindly would definitely put them at a disadvantage.
Lin Yue watched as the corpse of the Monster Winged Dragon gradually turned into black charcoal and remained motionless, still waiting for the person who launched the fire arrow to show up.
The opponent seemed to know the weak points of the Monster Winged Dragon very well; it seemed they should also be a frequent visitor to the Secret Realm, otherwise, it would be impossible.
However, the opponent was quite patient, showing no signs of coming out even now.
Unless they just arrived at the battlefield; otherwise, they must have seen him and Bai lingering outside and certainly saw him shoot the five Monster Winged Dragons,
They might even know exactly where he was hiding.
But this person could really hold their calm, staying hidden all this time.
Could they have left? Probably not.
Wait a bit longer.
Time passed slowly, Lin Yue even felt the ground was a bit cold, turning to glance at Bai, he hadn't expected the little one to be so composed.
Suddenly, a whistle came from outside, then someone yelled loudly as if addressing him.
However, Lin Yue really couldn't understand the language, and he didn't respond at all.
Subsequently, someone shouted again, seemingly in English, which Lin Yue understood.
"Come out with your hands up, or we'll kill you? Goodness, what the hell is this."
Lin Yue placed several Crossbow Arrows beside him, aimed the Alloy Compound Crossbow at the outside.
The bakery he was in was quite large, making it quite suitable for hiding and even guerrilla warfare.
Also, the entrance was parallel to the wall, not protruding, attacking him from the front or a slant would be impossible.
If the opponent appeared in his front or at an angle, then he would be the one counterattacking.
While Lin Yue was strategizing, the opponent shouted again. He caught the gist of "We have many people. If you don't come out on your own, don't blame us for charging in."
Goodness, I have to listen and translate at the same time.
Lin Yue remarked, system, can you please add a translation feature in this Secret Realm, it's somewhat inhumane to only have Storage Space accessible.
If everyone could form a small chat group before a dialogue, at least pre-battle, they could at least greet each other's parents or something, wouldn't that be nice?
However, despite the threats, Lin Yue still did not go out.
Going out would get me shot full of arrows.
Next up, let's see who can endure loneliness the longest.
Turning on the flashlight, Lin Yue glanced around inside the bakery.
This shop was at the bottom of that row of apartment buildings.
Could there be another exit or something here? Wait, wasn't it that things in the Secret Realm can be stored in the Storage Space? How about walls?
A flash of inspiration struck him, and Lin Yue gently retreated inside the shop, placing down the sheepskin and stuffing a piece of wood underneath, giving Bai a motion.
"Puchi?" This time Bai was confused; what was the master planning?
The bakery was dark and dreary, but it seemed spacious towards the back. Lin Yue gently searched around, finding no stairs leading to the second floor.
With a flashlight in hand, Lin Yue remembered to scoop items into the Storage Space wherever he went, reaching the oven in the back kitchen, he just stored one when he unexpectedly found a rusty metal door.
A door? Could it lead to the back? Seems like my luck is good.
Originally considering whether to try storing the back wall into the Storage Space, he now found it seemed unnecessary.
"Puchi." Bai indicated there was no danger behind the door, and Lin Yue touched the door, storing it in his Storage Space.
A beam of light instantly entered the dark back kitchen, and Lin Yue also leaned against the wall at the same time, after waiting a little, he stepped into the high grass at the back of the house.
"There sure are many cars back here." Behind the apartment buildings was a parking lot, filled with cars of various sizes, though most were rusted and decayed.
A small car is actually not very large in volume, Lin Yue calculated, the smaller ones were around 3 cubic meters, the larger ones four or five, with his current 42 cubic meters of Storage Space, he could theoretically fit six or seven after accounting for necessary items.
Even so, he must first eliminate danger before considering this.
So, should he go around the front or just leave directly?
Leaving might not be feasible, he looked ahead, there was a vast open area beyond the apartment buildings, which seemed as if something was intended to be built with a large expanse already paved with concrete, beyond that was an unimpressive road, though sparsely dotted with trees.
If he proceeded forward and encountered any enemies or if those from behind pursued, there would be no place to hide. If caught in a pincer attack, that would be a disaster.
Moreover, such open visibility was the perfect spot for a Monster Winged Dragon attack.
Perhaps, his only option was to circle around the building and confront those people head-on? Or should he...
Lin Yue glanced around and suddenly found an escape ladder in the farthest corner at the back of the building.
"Bai, keep on guard." Lin Yue removed his Exoskeleton, wearing only the Bone Armor, and sprinted quickly.
He could hear people ahead still shouting, but that no longer mattered.
Let's hope this metal escape ladder hasn't rusted away after decades.
Lin Yue called Bai, and man and pet quickly started climbing up, Lin Yue discovered that despite rust markings everywhere, the ladder seemed quite sturdy, with thick treads and no deformation.
Climbing all the way to the 12th floor, Lin Yue reached the rooftop.
The wind was stronger up high than below, this place was filled with rusty machines of various sizes and even had a not-too-small water tower, though it was completely damaged, covered with what seemed like feces.
Lin Yue didn't venture onto the rooftop immediately, but placed a sheepskin over himself, slowly moving to the edge to look down.
A mass of charcoal radiating a strong odor came into view, and the shouting seemed to continue.
What is with these people, can't we just leave each other alone, why must it be life or death?
Lin Yue expressed his disbelief.
He shook his head and set up the crossbow, aiming at the ground from the rooftop.
Overlooking everything from above, he held the advantage!
Chapter 124: Give Them the Last Lesson of Their Lives!
On the rooftop, the breeze gusts gently.
Lin Yue and Bai are quietly waiting for the right moment, their heads covered with sheepskin.
He holds an alloy compound crossbow in his hands, aiming at the ground, while Bai continues to remain vigilant against potential threats.
Lin Yue feels a sense of wonder.
Being at least thirty meters above the ground is an experience he rarely has, and he has never looked directly down at the ground from such a height.
He's grateful he doesn't suffer from acrophobia; this height could instantly be fatal to someone who does.
Having been relocated from the bakery to this elevated position, he has complete control, as opposed to being cornered in that small bakery, where one swift move by the enemy could have put him at a significant disadvantage.
Through the sighting scope, the charred corpse of the monster winged dragon emits wisps of smoke, while the person who was shouting before hasn't stopped, and even seems to intensify in their yelling.
Moreover, there isn't just one voice, one he doesn't understand, and another speaking English.
Are there others? Just how many people are there, or is it a large group?
With limited intelligence, Lin Yue can only make educated guesses based on the clues at hand.
The alloy tactical crossbow's string is taut, the crossbow arrow poised for immediate firing, while he simultaneously waits for the moment when the enemy can no longer restrain themselves and rushes out.
If others do not provoke him, he won't take the initiative, and if these people leave after their verbal barrage, he wouldn't necessarily have to deal with them forcefully.
Everyone is from Earth, why must it end in a life-or-death struggle?
Lin Yue's principle is that as long as everyone keeps to themselves, things will stay peaceful, but if the other side wants his life, he absolutely won't hesitate.
The three previous groups of raiders are prime examples; none of them left there alive, did they?
"Twitch twitch." Bai, who has been on alert all along, signals that there is temporarily no enemy on the roof, which is true.
The enemies in the sky... it seems that the only known real threat to them on the rooftop is the monster winged dragon.
Right, wasn't that tentacle monster on the last occasion able to fly as well?
After waiting for a while, as Lin Yue's boredom grows, five heads suddenly emerge from a location nearly fifty to sixty meters away from the bakery!
They're here!
Lin's sighting scope sweeps over their heads, discovering these people carefully sticking close to the wall, moving slowly towards the bakery, almost without any noise.
They're holding short bows, with flaming arrows burning fiercely, yet another voice can be heard emanating from the building from which they emerged, calling out incessantly.
A team of more than five? And they know how to feign actions to distract attention?
Moreover, they appear to be genuinely intending to kill!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Inside the sighting scope, several flame-tipped arrows suddenly shoot from the hands of the five people, directly piercing the sheepskin at the bakery's entrance!
Thick smoke quickly rises, and those individuals simultaneously let out a low cry.
Lin Yue targets one person's head.
Wow, they really mean it. If I were still in that spot, you all would have really killed me on the spot, wouldn't you?
He finds it unreasonable.
Why must it be like this? Are these people also raiders?
Well, eliminate one first! At over thirty meters distance, the original steel repeating crossbow could shoot with absolute precision; now with the alloy tactical crossbow, even if they're wearing bone armor, Lin Yue can pierce right through them!
"Have we killed Lin Yue?"
Suddenly, one person, seemingly overly excited, can't help but shout, and this shout is heard crystal clear by Lin Yue, who was about to press the trigger!
His finger involuntarily stiffens.
Killed Lin Yue?
They... recognize me?
Have I become that famous, or have I been targeted for a long time?
Unfortunately, from here he can only see the tops of their heads, unable to discern who they are; even if he could see their faces, he might still not know them.
Just now was truly ruthless; if he had been there, he would've been engulfed in flames, leading to certain death.
"Wait, there's no one under the skin, he ran..."
One person points at the burning skin, not having finished speaking, suddenly a crossbow arrow shoots through their back, pinning them to the ground!
The person beside them hadn't even reacted before another arrow pierced their neck, causing them to scream tragically and fall to the ground.
"Up, above! He's... ah ah ah!"
The third!
Hunting me, is that it? Hunting me, huh!
I'll send you all on your way!
Although Lin Yue maintains his composure now, his long-term survival instinct and numerous confrontations with those trying to kill him have fully awakened his primal instincts.
With his life threatened, he's not thinking of escaping, nor pleading with the enemy, but ensuring that he gives a final lesson to each of them with his weapon!
Why do some people just want to take others' lives without others being allowed to resist?
With a powerful weapon in his hands, Lin Yue has no reason to let these people dance over his head.
Feel like jumping? Get ready to become corpses first!
The electric stringer reaches its end, and the crossbow arrow instantly fires, piercing the abdomen of one of the remaining two people.
The fourth!
"Wow, ah-ah-ah! Don't kill me, don't kill me!"
The remaining one rushes into the bakery, entering Lin Yue's shooting blind spot, while the two who were previously calling for Lin Yue are completely silent now.
Is it over?
Or...
Whoosh whoosh!
Two arrows suddenly fly from below, hitting the wall below where Lin Yue lies, then fall down.
Good stuff, even at this moment, they still want to fight back, fine.
It seems the enemy is indeed after his life—Lin Yue's life!
Since they called his name, this proves they know who they're dealing with, and seemingly won't stop until they achieve their goal.
"Twitch twitch!" Bai faces in another direction, where there are faint figures concealed within tall grass.
Lin Yue raises the alloy compound crossbow and aims at that direction, pressing the trigger in his hand!
"Ah!!" The arrow pierces the person's forehead, resulting in them falling facedown to the ground, beyond dead. Lin Yue prepares to reload, ready to finish off the last one, but finds that the remaining person suddenly turns and runs, heading farther away.
"Ran away? Not going to fight to the death?" Lin Yue is rather surprised; he thought these maniacs wouldn't stop until they achieved their objective.
"Twitch." Bai signals to Lin Yue that there's no more movement and that the person who ran away seems to have disappeared into the deeper left-hand direction.
After waiting some more, Lin Yue finally lifts the sheepskin from his head and stores it in the storage space.
He takes a deep breath, standing up at this more than thirty-meter-high spot.
The distant ocean looks beautiful, so beautiful it makes him believe he's returned to the Earth of the past.
But the corpses on the ground remind him that this is Earth decades later, with dangerous people like these lurking in such an unusual apocalypse, watching him intently.
"Let's go down, Bai."
Lin Yue walks to the ladder and descends.
The rhythmic sounds of footsteps on the metal ladder echo; Lin Yue, for some reason, feels a sense of isolation.
Though he never really liked interacting with others, his personality has become even more pronounced since crossing into the Otherworld together with humanity.
"Yet, there isn't anyone trustworthy." Lin Yue shakes his head.
Everyone lives for themselves by any means necessary.
Even those originally gentle as sheep have become a mix of sheep and wolf, with a heart that is ready to prey hiding beneath a harmless appearance.
Once reaching the ground, Bai leads Lin Yue straight toward the person within the grass.
As they get closer, a strong scent grows stronger.
Entering the tall grasses, Lin Yue sees the corpse with the arrow lodged in its forehead and notes that the aroma emanates from its body.
"Sprayed perfume again? Could it be intended to confuse monsters like the winged dragon?"
Lin Yue is about to search for perfume or something similar near this corpse, but suddenly realizes this face looks familiar.
Black hair, wearing glasses, and the eyebrows and eyes...
Lin Yue's brain races as he feels he has had plenty of exchanges with this person before, yet...
Wait a minute!
Isn't this person?!
...
Chapter 125: Cleaning the Battlefield, Monster Tide Strikes!
"This person, this person seems to be..."
Lin Yue carefully looked at the face of the person he killed, confirming once more.
He said he felt the face looked familiar, like he'd seen it somewhere before!
"Du Ping!"
Lin Yue stared at the face in front of him, undoubtedly, the person was Du Ping.
Du Ping was someone familiar yet not so familiar to him.
When he first arrived in the Otherworld, among the people he frequently traded with, this name was included.
Du Ping's catchphrase was "report," easily recognizable in the group.
Before the first disaster struck, Du Ping was very active, both in the group and transactions.
Back then, Lin Yue was amazed at how Du Ping could open treasure chests before everyone, even managing to open Copper Treasure Chest and Iron Treasure Chest, killing a substantial number of mutated creatures.
But it turned out Du Ping's strength was only because he was the earliest to team up with others.
After the first ranking, Du Ping stopped speaking in the group, and by the second ranking, Lin Yue saw he jumped from fourth to second place, acquiring a high score of over 1400 points, with the system even evaluating him as "team."
Team, were they these people just now?
Lin Yue looked at the four corpses at the bakery entrance, suddenly recalled, seemed there was one more person?
Bai didn't react at that time either, did that person already escape?
Lin Yue held up the Crossbow Arrow and quickly headed towards the bakery entrance, while Bai was even faster, directly darting into the bakery.
"Poof!" Bai informed Lin Yue, inside was already empty.
Lin Yue walked in and found the bakery silent, with no sign of that person, probably escaped through the back door.
Back outside, Lin Yue collected the Storage Space from the four people on the ground.
"4 cubic meters, and a pile of trash, but at least there's some gain." Lin Yue felt no sentiment towards the ones who wanted to kill him.
He's unsure if it's because he no longer cares, or if he's grown colder.
But this way, is better than being indecisive, begging and then getting killed. Such people won't survive till the end.
Du Ping's group weren't raiders, yet seemed quite obsessed with his life.
Lin Yue doesn't recall having any conflict with them, even enough to make them want his life.
During their attack, they clearly knew who he was, wanting him dead.
Why?
Returning beside Du Ping, Lin Yue flipped his body with the Iron Spear, unexpectedly found the white sparkling dot next to him wasn't there.
"Huh? Not here? Can't be?" Lin Yue flipped again, still nothing.
Strange, logically there should be...wait.
Lin Yue recalled that person leaving, although quickly, seemed...
"Poof! Poof! Poof!!" Bai suddenly straightened up, loudly shouted, signaling Lin Yue about great danger from another direction!
Danger?
A series of roars suddenly erupted in the distance, followed by countless wing flapping sounds!
Lin Yue also heard an indescribable sound continuously approaching!
Nothing visible in the sky, but danger kept approaching.
Lin Yue quickly grabbed chunks of Tiger-striped Shadow Deer meat from the Storage Space and tossed them beside Du Ping, then he and Bai rushed towards the bank as fast as they could.
He took out the Exoskeleton, put it on quickly, then retrieved a parchment to cover himself and Bai, then lay prone with the Alloy Compound Crossbow aimed outside the door!
Lin Yue was now ready for combat, glancing at Bai lying beside him.
"Poof! Poof!" Its tense demeanor seemed...familiar.
Last time it was like this, was in the European Ancient City, facing that disgusting Tentacle Monster resembling a mollusk.
Could it be, a similarly powerful monster appears this time? Or is that disgusting creature back?
Thundering wing flaps sounded continuously, followed by shadows descending on the road outside!
This group of creatures with deep red bodies covered with wrinkled keratin exoskeletons, upon landing, their backs' membranous wings folded down.
Bright yellow eyes kept scanning surroundings, and the massive bird-like keratin claws roamed the solid ground.
The long sharp beak like a dagger opened wide, emitting an indescribable roar, while numerous tentacles behind the head shook continuously.
Dozens of Monster Winged Dragons emerged within Lin Yue's sight, heading directly towards Du Ping's corpse.
They began fighting and snatching over Du Ping's corpse and the Tiger-striped Shadow Deer meat scattered on the ground, roaring excitedly and joyfully!
Monster Winged Dragon numbers kept increasing in Lin Yue's view, many also headed towards the unseen left side, where the bakery was, ground still holding the four corpses he took down.
Moreover, their numbers kept growing, making Lin Yue recall being forced to spend a night in the Secret Realm near Tokyo Tower.
"Next, wait for them to disperse, or spend the night here like last time?"
Lin Yue thought, remembering how Du Ping and them used burning arrows to instantly ignite the Monster Winged Dragons.
If all else fails, might try this move.
Monster Winged Dragons seemed coated with a substance enabling swift fire spread, otherwise, they wouldn't burn into charcoal so easily.
It was then, Lin Yue smelled blood, along with Monster Winged Dragons' cries.
Did they start attacking each other? Seems it's their nature too.
The Tiger-striped Shadow Deer meat he threw served this purpose as well.
However, that previously strange sound, seemed gone?
Lin Yue recalled that it sounded like stepping in mud then pulling out, or grabbing an octopus or squid, the gelatinous noise seemed truly vanished.
As Lin Yue pondered, he suddenly noticed some Monster Winged Dragons frantically spread wings to fly away, but midway were grasped by something!
Ground Monster Winged Dragons began scattering, more attempted taking flight, yet each was seized by gray-black rope-like things!
This is...
In the Monster Winged Dragons' shrieks, Lin Yue heard again the sound he thought disappeared.
And this sound grew increasingly familiar!
Eyes on the Sighting Scope, he saw those strangled Monster Winged Dragons were caught by Tentacle Monster tentacles!