Yan Kuan becoming a Great Earth Blacksmith was good news for the entire team.
After confirming that the fatty had no other abnormalities besides being 'showy,' Chen Bugu and Bai Ting left the underground.
As for Yan Kuan, he decided to research the pile of scrap metal collected by the Goblin Blacksmith; after all, after becoming a blacksmith, many things suddenly looked different in his eyes.
Although the Goblins had been annihilated by them, the deterrent power of the Goblin tribe remained, making this camp the safest place in the vicinity for the short term.
Chen Bugu decided to rest here for a night and set off again the next day.
Before leaving the underground, Chen Bugu took out 3 yun ling fruits and placed them on the workbench, telling Yan Kuan to remember to eat them, but the fatty seemed to be concentrating on studying a certain ore and ignored him.
Upon returning to the surface, Chen Bugu found Wang Bin and others in a Goblin wooden house.
Wang Bin lay on a Luo Beast's fur, his broken hand wrapped in many bandages.
Clearly, Lin Lin had completed Wang Bin's treatment, and he only needed a few more hours of rest for his hand to fully recover.
"Was that monster killed? If it hadn't ambushed me, I wouldn't have been injured."
"Don't worry, the fatty killed it himself."
Seeing Wang Bin ask, Chen Bugu also took the opportunity to tell everyone about Yan Kuan acquiring the blacksmith profession.
"Ah? How long has it been, and the programmer has switched to being a blacksmith?"
Wang Bin was clearly still a bit confused.
However, everyone quickly accepted this, as there were too many unreasonable things anyway, so this was just one more.
Chen Bugu took out 18 yun ling fruits from his storage ring and distributed them to everyone.
Bai Ting had previously asked curiously what they were when Chen Bugu gave them to Yan Kuan, but Chen Bugu told him to wait a bit longer and would explain once everyone was gathered.
"These are yun ling fruits, good stuff, edible. Everyone gets 3, divide them up."
Chen Bugu thought it over and decided it was best to distribute the remaining yun ling fruits equally, as yun ling fruits, unlike weapons and equipment, don't have such strong specificity and adaptability. For this type of general treasure, it's better to worry about uneven distribution than scarcity.
After taking these out, he only had 3 yun ling fruits left in his storage ring, and he decided to keep them for now.
"What beautiful fruits!"
Lin Xiaoxiao looked at the crystal-clear blue fruits, picked one up, and took a bite.
The next second, everyone looked at her expression, which became a bit strange, clearly the taste of the fruit was not as good as imagined.
Bai Ting also took one and put it in his mouth.
It was cool on the tongue, but the taste was spicy, the texture dry and juiceless, indeed far less delicious than it appeared on the surface.
However, the next second, a gentle energy merged into his body.
Energy!?
Bai Ting was surprised.
Up until now, they had mostly relied on hunting magical beasts to obtain energy; this was the first time they had gained an increase from another source.
The Luo Beast meat snatched from the Goblins contained almost negligible energy and was mainly used to fill their stomachs.
As for the meat of other magical beasts, their toxicity far exceeded their energy content, and Chen Bugu had warned them long ago not to eat them.
And after killing the tattooed man named Xue Ke today, Bai Ting was also glad he hadn't gained energy, otherwise, he couldn't imagine what might happen later.
So Bai Ting had always understood that to break through, he had to risk his life hunting magical beasts, until he ate this fruit called yun ling fruit.
Chen Bugu observed everyone's reactions and then fully informed them about the yun ling fruit.
"yun ling fruits contain a large amount of energy, with no toxicity or side effects. Generally, the longer they bear fruit on the tree, the more energy they contain. The energy of a ten-year-old yun ling fruit is roughly a hundred times or more that of a one-year-old yun ling fruit. The ones we're eating are probably about five or six years old, picked from the southwest corner of this camp."
"Then why don't we wait a few years to pick them?"
Wang Bin had just finished asking when he realized the foolishness of the question.
"Well, there's really no need."
Everyone recalled the skeletons carried out of the Goblin Shaman's wooden house, as well as the people crying heartbrokenly, and their faces were not good, especially Old Liu, who was very worried about his wife and daughter.
"You all should rest too. Who knows how much longer the fatty will be tinkering. We'll spend the night in this camp tonight."
After Chen Bugu finished speaking, he walked out of the wooden house and found Ba Dou in the open space, who was still holding the three 'yun ling fruits' in his hand.
"Ba Dou, did you monitor anyone else nearby just now?"
Chen Bugu was still very concerned about the Mysterious person.
"Huh? No, I haven't detected any other energy units within my monitoring range, Chen Dage, why do you ask?"
Chen Bugu frowned. Han Badou's monitoring range was a circle with him as the center and a radius of 100 meters. The underground iron smelting room was clearly within this range.
If Han Badou hadn't detected the other party, there were only two possibilities.
First, the other party had a stealth ability that could evade detection. Energy Monitoring, in the end, should also be a type of ability and not entirely unstoppable.
Second, the other party transmitted their voice to him from outside Han Badou's monitoring range. If so, then the other party's strength was probably far superior to his own and his group's. Could it be an aboriginal? If it was an aboriginal, why would he seek him out?
Actually, there was a third possibility, but that was too absurd for him to consider.
"It's nothing. Hurry up and eat those three yun ling fruits. Everyone in my team gets three, it's fair."
Chen Bugu finished speaking and turned to leave, but was suddenly stopped by Han Badou.
"Chen Dage, actually, I have a question that I've wanted to ask you before."
"Hmm? Go ahead."
"Chen Dage, did you know me before? But I've thought about it for a long time, and I can be sure that we haven't met before."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because when we talked last night, when you heard my name, your expression and reaction clearly showed that you knew me. No, it should be said that you knew the name Han Badou, but I'm from Guanzhou, and you're from Yutan. Guanzhou and Yutan are thousands of miles apart, so we shouldn't know each other, right?"
Chen Bugu hadn't expected Han Badou to ask this, so he immediately denied it.
"I don't know you, you're overthinking it."
"Chen Dage, do you know, from a psychological perspective, a man shrugging one shoulder indicates an attempt to conceal something."
Chen Bugu was stunned when he heard this. Had he just shrugged? Or was Han Badou trying to trick him?
"Your ability is indeed troublesome. I have no need to harm you, you just need to know that much."
Chen Bugu did indeed know Han Badou. In his previous life, when White City faced a siege by high-level magical beasts, this guy led several offensive and defensive battles, with unparalleled wisdom and strategy. His scheme of sowing discord made two races attack each other, buying precious time.
Han Badou also became famous after that battle, becoming the top strategist under the White City Lord.
It was said that Han Badou was not old, but Chen Bugu only learned last night that he was still a middle school student.
"Alright, thank you, Chen Dage. No matter what, you are my benefactor."
Han Badou finished speaking and bowed deeply to Chen Bugu.
"Hey, Han Badou, you're not thinking that after your revenge is complete, it doesn't matter if you die next, are you?"
Chen Bugu suddenly noticed that Han Badou was in low spirits, not very energetic, and hadn't eaten the yun ling fruits he gave him.
"I won't commit suicide; dying so cowardly would be even more unfair to my sister. But with my strength, in this strange forest, death is only a matter of time."
Han Badou gave a bitter smile. After his sister's revenge was complete, he always felt an emptiness in his heart.
"Hey, Han Badou, come with me. I know the way out of this forest."
"Ah?"
Han Badou had actually guessed that Chen Bugu would invite him to join, as Chen Bugu's attitude had subtly changed since he recognized him. What surprised him was that Chen Bugu actually knew how to leave this forest.
"Are you serious?"
"Don't worry about the method. As long as you're willing to follow me, I can take you out of this forest."
Han Badou stared at Chen Bugu for a while, unable to discern any hint of guilt on his face.
Chen Bugu once again extended his hand to Han Badou, just as he had last night.
Han Badou reached out...
"Okay, I'm joining."
"Welcome aboard!"