Chapter 70 – The Portal of Chance

Chapter 70 – The Portal of Chance

As Cheng Yang approached the vicinity of the profession statues, he noticed Niu Bing walking towards him from a distance. The expression on Niu Bing’s face suggested he was dealing with something troubling.

“Old Niu, what’s going on?” Cheng Yang immediately asked.

Niu Bing replied with a bitter expression, “Lord, we’ve just suffered casualties in our team.”

“Oh? What happened? Didn’t I tell you not to venture into unexplored areas?” Cheng Yang frowned.

Niu Bing explained, “We didn’t go to the outskirts. We were all operating in areas we’d already cleared. But just after the gods finished modifying this world, two mid-tier first-stage demonized beasts appeared simultaneously in one location. They attacked the same person at once. We couldn’t even attempt a rescue before our comrade fell in battle.”

This news surprised Cheng Yang. Such an occurrence was extremely rare, which was why he hadn’t mentioned it before. After the world’s modification, while it was possible for mid-tier first-stage demonized beasts to spawn directly, the probability was extremely low. Around Phoenix Village, spawning one such beast per day was already considered good fortune, let alone two appearing simultaneously in the same location.

This was a rare event within rare events!

Most people might overlook such an occurrence, but Cheng Yang, with his past life’s experience, knew that anomalies always indicated something significant. In his previous life, someone had conducted statistics showing that abnormal demonized beast spawns always coincided with the appearance of something special.

Whether one could find this special thing depended on individual capability and luck.

Cheng Yang immediately asked, “Where exactly did this happen?”

Niu Bing, though puzzled by Cheng Yang’s sudden interest, quickly replied, “About two kilometers southeast of the south gate. There’s a small hill there – it’s easy to spot.”

Being very familiar with the terrain around Phoenix Village, Cheng Yang immediately visualized the location upon hearing Niu Bing’s description.

“Old Niu, take care of these people. I need to go out for a while,” Cheng Yang said quickly.

Only then did Niu Bing notice the people standing beside Cheng Yang. When he saw Liu Xiyue, he exclaimed in surprise, “Lord, you actually rescued the campus belle?”

“Just got lucky. She happened to be in Xiangcheng City’s main city,” Cheng Yang said casually before turning to leave.

Liu Xiyue recognized Niu Bing. As Pang Shan’s friend, she had met Niu Bing before, though Pang Shan and Niu Bing hadn’t been together for long. She hadn’t greeted Niu Bing earlier because Cheng Yang was present.

Once Cheng Yang left, Liu Xiyue couldn’t contain her curiosity, “Niu Bing, why are you here? And where’s Pang Shan now?”

Instead of answering immediately, Niu Bing turned to Ma Tao, “You’re Ma Tao, right? Are these your family members?”

Ma Tao nodded immediately, “Yes, Captain Niu.”

Though Ma Tao wasn’t part of Niu Bing’s combat team, he was familiar with the captains of Phoenix Village’s five major combat teams.

Niu Bing said, “Alright, go settle your family first, then report back to your team. As for your family’s job changes, I believe the Lord will consider it.”

Ma Tao said gratefully, “Thank you, Captain Niu.”

With that, Ma Tao quickly led his family away.

Niu Bing then turned to Liu Xiyue, “Welcome to Phoenix Village, beautiful. Pang Shan went to the alchemy room to buy potions. She’ll be here soon.”

Liu Xiyue looked at the departing Ma Tao, then back at Niu Bing in astonishment, “Niu Bing, you’re a captain here? What kind of team?”

Niu Bing smiled, “A combat team. We currently have five combat teams in our territory. I’m one of the captains.”

Liu Xiyue was even more shocked. Before the apocalypse, Niu Bing had been just an ordinary college student, yet now he was a combat team captain, while she, once considered a prodigy, remained an ordinary person.

The gap was indeed significant.

Seeing Liu Xiyue’s confusion, Niu Bing explained with a smile, “It’s not as complicated as you think. I became a captain because the Lord of Phoenix Village is my best friend and former roommate.”

Liu Xiyue’s eyes widened, “You mean the Lord who brought us back is our classmate? This…”

“Hard to believe, isn’t it?” Niu Bing chuckled. “I felt the same way at first. But now that the apocalypse has happened, what’s truly unbelievable anymore?”

Liu Xiyue gave a bitter smile, “That’s true.”

Niu Bing said, “Alright, enough of that. You’ll have a good life here in Phoenix Village. It might not be as comfortable as before the apocalypse, but it’s definitely better than Xiangcheng City.”

After speaking, Niu Bing began to attend to Zhou Jie and the others. Though he wasn’t familiar with them and didn’t understand why Cheng Yang had specifically brought them back from Xiangcheng City, since Cheng Yang had entrusted him with their care, he would handle it properly.

…

After leaving Phoenix Village, the sky had already darkened. However, Cheng Yang wasn’t concerned. Alone, he could reach his destination in just a few minutes.

When Cheng Yang arrived at the small hill Niu Bing had mentioned, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Aside from the occasional demonized beast spawning, the area looked no different from any pre-apocalypse forest.

However, Cheng Yang didn’t give up easily. If such random events were easy to discover, they wouldn’t be so valuable.

Since the gods modified this world, most items possessed some form of energy, with more valuable items exhibiting stronger energy fluctuations.

Cheng Yang focused his mind, sensing every blade of grass and tree around him, carefully distinguishing…

After more than ten minutes, Cheng Yang had searched most of the hill’s surroundings but found nothing.

He began to think he might have missed his opportunity. After all, with such random events, if you missed the timing, they might disappear completely. With a sense of reluctance, Cheng Yang continued his search. A few minutes later, he suddenly detected a faint energy fluctuation not far ahead.

Cheng Yang quickly rushed forward, parting the thick grass to reveal a dark gray light screen standing there, its surface swirling with light that sent a chill through his heart.

“How could this be here?” Cheng Yang’s expression changed immediately.

This dark gray light screen was similar to a dungeon portal, but while dungeon portals were permanent and fixed, this was called a Portal of Chance. Stepping through it would transport you to a random location, with no control over the destination.

However, each Portal of Chance led to a fixed location. A team entering together would be transported to the same place.

Moreover, the portal’s effect had a time limit. If a portal’s duration was five hours, once you entered, you would be transported back exactly five hours later.

This setup seemed similar to dungeons but was fundamentally different. Dungeons had limited space, while the Portal of Chance transported people to locations still on Earth. With sufficient strength, one could explore vast areas.

However, most combatants preferred dungeon exploration over using the Portal of Chance. This wasn’t because the portal didn’t offer good rewards – quite the opposite. While the destination was random, it fell within a specific range. Any location reached through the portal was guaranteed to contain treasures or opportunities.

Correspondingly, greater opportunities meant greater danger – a universal truth. Whether one could obtain the treasures depended entirely on individual capability.

Cheng Yang now faced a dilemma. Should he enter this Portal of Chance? What if the other side held an overwhelmingly powerful demonized or mutated beast? Would he be instantly annihilated without a chance to resist?

After all, once through the portal, there was no returning before the time limit. If he encountered something too powerful, death would be certain.

Yet, giving up on this portal was equally difficult. In his previous life, only nine known Portals of Chance had appeared, with only three yielding significant rewards. Four had resulted in total annihilation, while the remaining two saw safe returns but no gains.

The three teams that gained nothing didn’t do so because their destinations lacked treasures, but because they lacked the strength to obtain them.

This was a global statistic, highlighting the rarity of such portals.

“I’ll take the risk! Fortune favors the bold. I’ve already died once – what’s there to fear?” Cheng Yang muttered to himself.

He immediately ran back to Phoenix Village, first purchasing forty mana potions from the pharmacy. He packed half into his backpack and kept the rest close to his body.

Next, Cheng Yang had someone summon Zhao Chuan to his room. There were matters he needed Zhao Chuan to handle.

Since Cheng Yang had rescued Zhao Chuan from the ruins of Huimin Town, Zhao Chuan had been deeply grateful. Now, with Cheng Yang appointing him as captain of the Fifth Combat Team, Zhao Chuan felt a sense of loyalty that would drive him to sacrifice his life for his benefactor.

Cheng Yang could sense this loyalty, which made Zhao Chuan the perfect person for certain tasks.

“Lord, what do you need from me?” Zhao Chuan asked respectfully upon entering Cheng Yang’s room.

Cheng Yang said, “Zhao Chuan, find me a combatant to accompany me on a mission. Upon completion, I’ll offer substantial rewards. Make it clear to them that this task carries life-threatening risks. Participation must be voluntary – no coercion.”

Without hesitation, Zhao Chuan immediately said, “Lord, let me go with you.”

PS: Seeking recommendations and collections! Collection growth hasn’t been strong. They say Wednesday is the worst day, but why is Thursday even worse?