Chapter 142 – The Explosion

Chapter 142 – The Explosion

The amount of lumber they managed to bring back this time was less than thirty cubic meters. It couldn’t be helped – their manpower was limited. If not for the fact that their physical strength had increased significantly after their class advancements, they wouldn’t have been able to transport this much lumber at all.

After Liu Xiyue constructed two residential buildings, they didn’t venture out again as the sun was already setting. However, to ensure they had enough spiritual energy for cultivation, Liu Xiyue and Niu Bing led all the combat-class members out to hunt monsters. Their hunting grounds were limited to within one kilometer of their territory since these newly advanced fighters still lacked combat experience. The area around their base had no large groups of demonized beasts or high-level ones. With Liu Xiyue, a powerful priest, watching over them, there was no need to worry about casualties.

Before Niu Bing left, Cheng Yang transferred 100,000 units of spiritual energy from his personal account to help Niu Bing cultivate faster. The Return Stones Cheng Yang had been selling at the Treasure Pavilion had sold out again, though the price had dropped to 5,000 points each. After deducting costs and fees, the profit margin was only three times. Still, Cheng Yang had earned about 600,000 units of spiritual energy in a single day, which was quite substantial.

After everyone left Crane Mountain Village, Cheng Yang summoned his pet, Little White, and activated a Return Stone. Today’s progress had been slower than expected. If not for the delays on the road and the time spent searching for lumber, they might have been able to locate another altar near Yicheng. That task would have to wait until tomorrow.

Three seconds later, Cheng Yang reappeared in Luofeng Village, with Little White by his side. The Return Stones didn’t teleport users to random locations but rather to designated open areas at the outskirts of the territory.

Cheng Yang’s sudden appearance, especially with Little White’s massive form, startled several villagers who hadn’t undergone class advancement yet. They thought a demonized beast had spawned inside the village, and screams erupted everywhere as the common folk couldn’t contain their fear of such creatures.

However, someone soon noticed Cheng Yang standing beside the giant tiger. The villagers held deep respect for their lord, and seeing him calmed their panic.

“It’s alright. This is my new pet. You’ll be seeing it around often,” Cheng Yang explained briefly before mounting Little White and heading towards the inner village.

The sight of Cheng Yang riding a massive white tiger turned heads everywhere. People couldn’t help but stare at the majestic creature. Such a large tiger was unheard of, let alone a rare white one. If not for its intimidating presence, many would have gathered around for a closer look.

As they reached the inner village, the crowd thinned out since most combat-class members hadn’t returned yet.

“Lord!” A voice called out as Chen Yun approached quickly.

Cheng Yang halted Little White and asked, “What is it?”

Chen Yun glanced at the tiger with a hint of envy. For a warrior, having such an impressive mount would be a dream come true. However, he quickly dismissed the thought, knowing that taming a mutated beast was a matter of luck.

“Lord, this morning after Commander Li Wanshan returned from Xiangcheng City, he mentioned seeing someone spying near the southern passage. He advised us to be vigilant about strangers around our territory,” Chen Yun reported.

Cheng Yang wasn’t surprised. “That must be Yuan Jianze’s doing. It’s only natural he wants to gather information about us. Nothing unusual there.”

Chen Yun continued, “If that was all, I wouldn’t be so concerned. But this afternoon, one of our territory guards sensed an intruder at the border. When he went to investigate, he found no one but was injured by a strange explosion. The blast was powerful enough to take nearly 20 health points from him. I’m worried Yuan Jianze might have acquired some powerful alchemical items.”

This caught Cheng Yang’s attention. He frowned and said, “That’s unlikely to be an alchemical item. It’s probably a weapon from our world. It seems Yuan Jianze isn’t willing to give up control of the Xiangcheng region so easily.”

In his previous life, Cheng Yang had heard of alchemical items created by a special class called Alchemists. Some of these items were said to possess tremendous power. However, at this stage of the apocalypse, no Alchemists should have appeared yet.

The only plausible explanation for the explosion was conventional explosives, most likely landmines.

Although Chen Yun hadn’t been involved in the previous conflicts with Yuan Jianze, he had heard enough from Liu Hao and others to understand what Yuan Jianze’s faction represented. He suggested, “Lord, since Yuan Jianze isn’t honoring the agreement, we don’t need to maintain peaceful relations with them. This could be our chance to tear up the agreement and eliminate their faction.”

Cheng Yang shook his head. “It’s not the right time yet. We can’t kill anyone within the main city. If Yuan Jianze stays holed up there, we can’t touch him. Without concrete evidence that he sent people to cause trouble, we can’t do much.”

Chen Yun asked helplessly, “Then what should we do? Just let them create chaos as they please?”

A cold smile appeared on Cheng Yang’s lips. “Of course not. I’m not one to turn the other cheek. This move might have been ordered by Yuan Jianze himself or initiated by one of his subordinates. Either way, it shows Yuan Jianze is getting restless. As long as he shows any intention to act, we can find a way to lure him out. I’d like to see if Yuan Jianze truly possesses immortality.”

In truth, Cheng Yang didn’t want to kill Yuan Jianze. In his previous life, he had a relatively good impression of the man. If not for Yuan Jianze leading his troops into the city, the civilian casualties in Xiangcheng would have been much higher, and Cheng Yang himself might not have survived the first year of the apocalypse.

This was one reason why Cheng Yang had been relatively tolerant so far. He believed that as long as Yuan Jianze was content with being a faction leader within Xiangcheng’s main city, he could let him be. Given enough time to develop, Yuan Jianze’s faction would pose no threat. However, it seemed Yuan Jianze wasn’t the type to remain in the background, forcing Cheng Yang to reconsider his approach.

After some thought, Chen Yun nodded. “Since you already have a plan, I’ll follow your orders.”

“Don’t worry,” Cheng Yang assured him. “When the time comes, I’ll make sure you’re properly involved.”

After dismissing Chen Yun, Cheng Yang went to the territory altar and allocated 20,000 units of spiritual energy to the newly occupied Crane Mountain Village to upgrade their statue.

With that done, Cheng Yang rode Little White out of Luofeng Village alone. He had a promise to keep – rescuing Chu Qiang and his daughter who were waiting for him in a mountain crevice about twenty kilometers away. At his current speed, it wouldn’t take too long.

Sometimes Cheng Yang wondered why he had become so compassionate. In the past, he had helped people, but those were always groups of survivors that Luofeng Village needed. What difference could two people – Chu Qiang and Chu Lingling – make to the village’s development? From a purely practical standpoint, it didn’t make sense to make this trip just for them.

Yet Cheng Yang couldn’t let it go. Perhaps it was the old woman’s sacrifice that moved him, or Chu Lingling’s pitiful eyes that haunted him. Maybe it was Chu Qiang’s devotion to his mother, or simply Cheng Yang’s own sense of honor that compelled him to keep his promise. Whatever the reason, rescuing this father and daughter pair had become his top priority upon returning to Luofeng Village.

Riding Little White at full speed, they tore through any obstacles in their path. The tiger’s claws easily cleared away vines and thorns, maintaining a pace nearly as fast as Cheng Yang could run on flat ground.

After about half an hour, Cheng Yang arrived at the mountain crevice. Along the way, they had encountered seven or eight groups of demonized beasts but avoided direct confrontation by relying on Little White’s speed to charge past them. Though there were several encounters, they didn’t delay their journey significantly.

Once inside the crevice, progress became easier. Soon, Cheng Yang reached the area beneath the overhanging boulder.

“Uncle, are you here to take us away?” A youthful voice called from above.

Cheng Yang felt a twinge of annoyance. He wasn’t even twenty yet – why was he being called “uncle”?

“Aren’t you afraid of attracting monsters by shouting like that?” Cheng Yang replied with a wry smile.

The voice belonged to Chu Lingling. Hearing Cheng Yang’s response, she exclaimed excitedly, “It really is you, uncle! Dad, I told you he’d come back for us!”

With a light step on Little White’s back, Cheng Yang leaped up to the stone platform. The area looked cleaner than before, and the old woman’s body had been properly buried with soil Chu Qiang had gathered from the cliffs.

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