“What kind of secret is this?”
Su Yanran’s pretty face darkened, and she protested defiantly.
“I’m still an innocent maiden; do you know how much it would affect me if this secret got out?”
“Ah, yes, yes, yes.”
Cheng Xing had a strange expression, but he still nodded perfunctorily, his guard having significantly lowered.
Then he picked up the Talent on the ground.
“Talent: Digestion Recovery”
“Quality: E-grade”
“Talent Effect: Recovers health when digesting food”
“It’s indeed the Blood Mantis’s Talent. It seems that Talent drops are not as random as skills,” Cheng Xing mused to himself, then immediately used it.
This scene made Su Yanran turn into a curious baby, with “I’m very curious” almost written all over her face.
But she didn’t dare to ask further, fearing that the trust she had painstakingly gained would go to waste.
Cheng Xing seemed not to notice her gaze and continued to pick up another item dropped by the Blood Mantis—a blade, almost identical in appearance to an Embroidery Spring Blade.
“blood mantis fang”
“Quality: E-grade”
“Effect: Damage +20%”
Seeing the equipment information, Cheng Xing finally grinned. He had finally gathered a full set of E-grade equipment.
Perhaps unable to bear the burning gaze from the side, Cheng Xing reluctantly asked, “What else do you want to do?”
If he hadn’t seen Su Yanran’s panel, he might have continued to be ruthless, as only dead people can keep secrets.
But practice had proven that the current Cheng Xing couldn’t do anything to her; her Talent was too powerful in combat.
“I want you.”
Su Yanran’s words were astonishing, making Cheng Xing retreat several steps in shock. How could this person, with the appearance of an ice-cold beauty, say such shocking words?
“Don’t misunderstand, I just want to invite you to join our reconnaissance team.”
Su Yanran quickly realized she had said the wrong thing, her face slightly flushed, and she waved her hands repeatedly to explain.
“No need, I don’t need it.”
Cheng Xing refused without thinking. Firstly, he had never heard of the so-called Awakener Management Bureau. Secondly, joining a force, while gaining certain rewards, would also bring restrictions.
If he only had an F-grade Talent, he might be very willing to join.
“Don’t rush to refuse. If you join us, you won’t need to hide your Talent anymore.”
Su Yanran’s almond eyes slightly narrowed, and her cherry lips slightly parted, speaking directly to the point without any beating around the bush.
Even Cheng Xing was tempted for a moment; this was his biggest problem at the moment.
He could feel that Su Yanran wasn’t lying, which meant that the so-called Awakener Management Bureau behind her had considerable power.
However, having lived a life of freedom, Cheng Xing naturally didn’t want to join any force at the moment.
This was the confidence given to him by his two lives and SSS-grade Talent.
But when he was at his wit’s end, he could consider it.
“This is my contact information. If you change your mind, you can contact me.”
As Cheng Xing thought this, Su Yanran promptly handed him a slip of paper with an address, simply ending the topic of joining.
Clearly, the S-grade Talent of Insight was not as simple as imagined.
Such a decisive end to the topic left Cheng Xing stunned, and he dazedly took the slip of paper.
Su Yanran was clearly pleased with his reaction, and a bright smile bloomed on her pretty face. At that moment, the moonlight in the sky seemed to dim.
Her well-measured sense of distance made even an old hand like Cheng Xing feel very comfortable. Although he knew this woman knew his most important secret, he couldn’t do anything about her.
He was completely under her thumb.
“It’s not easy to meet each other, so why not help me again?”
Seeing the crisis completely resolved, Su Yanran took the opportunity to suggest.
Her current mission had made no progress.
But the information collected along the way showed that everything was not as simple as imagined.
With Cheng Xing’s help, it would be much safer.
“No, I’m busy.”
Cheng Xing refused without thinking. Instead of meddling in others’ business, he would rather farm a few more Disaster Beast.
“I’ll give you an E-grade equipment, regardless of whether the mission fails or not.”
At these words, Cheng Xing, who was already preparing to leave, paused. An E-grade equipment was worth 500,000, right?
Thinking of this, the next moment he smoothly turned around and said without batting an eyelid, “Actually, I forgot to tell you, I have another good quality, and that is being eager to help others.”
No choice, she offered too much.
Hearing this, Su Yanran rolled her eyes beautifully. A man’s words are like a ghost’s lies.
After reaching an agreement, Su Yanran stopped talking nonsense and leaned over to examine the Blood Mantis’s corpse.
From the moment she first discovered the Blood Mantis, she had sensed something was wrong.
Even with her Insight Talent, she hadn’t gained any useful information from the corpse.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
At this moment, several intense battle sounds coincidentally rang out simultaneously.
Then, the two quickly found an abandoned tall building, climbed to the rooftop, and looked out.
The sounds of battle were incessant, and they instantly pinpointed five locations.
“They’re here!”
Cheng Xing and the other looked at each other, both thinking the same thing.
The sounds of battle kept moving, as if something was chasing them.
“There.”
“That’s right.”
After a brief thought, Cheng Xing raised his hand and pointed to a certain spot in L Town. If those five teams continued forward, they would all eventually meet at that location.
“It seems someone is deliberately gathering the adventurers in L Town.”
Su Yanran’s willow brows furrowed, and she fell into thought.
L Town, as a beginner leveling spot, usually had teams of varying levels. There were self-sufficient leveling teams composed entirely of new adventurers, and there were also teams like Liu Gu’s, where one person carried four others. What could make them all forced to fight while retreating?
“Could it be that the Qingcheng Disaster Area has expanded?”
Su Yanran thought long and hard but could only come up with one reason.
“Mere thinking won’t reveal the truth. We’ll know if we go and see,” Cheng Xing said calmly, leaning against the edge of the rooftop and glancing at Su Yanran, who was still deep in thought.
Hearing is not as good as seeing.
At the same time, on the other side of L Town.
A small team was moving quickly through the ruins, but unlike a regular team, this one had six members.
Upon closer inspection, Liu Gu was actually among them.
Behind them, a Blood Mantis followed closely.
“Damn it, why are these ghostly things everywhere!”
Liu Gu was not as panicked as before at this moment, and even actively blocked when the Blood Mantis attacked.
The reason was simple: the Blood Mantis chasing them was only a Level 9 F-grade Disaster Beast.
And the team he had encountered had an overall level of around 7, and with him, an E-grade Awakener, they were enough to escape safely.
The Blood Mantis seized the opportunity and attacked one of the team members.
“Watch out!”
Liu Gu was the first to shout a warning, simultaneously stepping forward with his shield to block the fatal blow for that person.
“Thank you, Brother Liu.”
The person who was saved said excitedly.
Liu Gu waved his hand, taking advantage of the momentum to continue retreating, silently gaining favor from this team.
“Look, there are people ahead!”
Just then, a sharp-eyed team member suddenly spotted two figures ahead.
“Great! More people mean more strength. What’s the other party’s strength?”
The team leader was overjoyed. In the current situation, the more people they had, the safer they would be.
“Uh, one of them seems to be an F-grade Awakener, and I can’t see the other one’s nameplate.”
“An F-grade? I hope he’s not a newbie. Let’s go! Hurry over.”
Immediately, the group approached the two figures.
As they got closer, the appearances of the two also became clear to everyone.
“So beautiful!”
When the five members of the team saw the appearance of one of them, they were instantly deeply attracted.
Liu Gu was also like this, but when he saw the appearance of the other person, his expression suddenly changed drastically.
“Stop quickly, don’t go over there! That’s the person who almost wiped out my entire team!”
...