Published: February 5, 2025
Ye Zhongming sat between two large stones, cautiously peeking his head out to observe his surroundings.
The members of the elite martial team were all asleep, appearing to be in a deep slumber.
Ye Zhongming surveyed the group, feeling a slight disdain in his heart. Such vigilance and strength, and they call themselves elite martial?
There was not a single aspect of this team that caught Ye Zhongming's interest, except for Tang Guo.
Tang Guo, whose surname was Tang, became known as 'Candy' because of her sweet appearance and smile.
Becoming an alchemist was quite accidental; she received her profession scroll on the first day of the apocalypse, and her elder brother, who was significantly older than her, gave her a bottle of One-Star Evolution Elixir.
These were things that this young girl had gradually shared with Ye Zhongming throughout the day; she was not particularly guarded around strangers.
Ye Zhongming engaged in conversation with her, being careful about what he said. For instance, he did not ask her how her brother obtained that bottle of evolution potion. However, during their conversation, Ye Zhongming still revealed a bit of knowledge about alchemy to the girl, beginning his first step towards manipulation.
Such dealings should not be abrupt; they required a gradual approach, and Ye Zhongming was in no rush.
Throughout the day, his injuries had somewhat healed, but he could barely manage to walk with the help of a cane, moving slowly, which meant the elite martial team did not cover much ground.
Although Ye Zhongming's claim of knowing the map of the desolate land was a lie, he had indeed entered and exited this desolate land twice, and even ran to various places while 'pitting' two monsters against each other. With his previous life’s experience, he managed to make the elite martial team feel that he was quite familiar with the area, as he had predicted dangers twice today, making it the easiest day since the team entered the desolate land.
A few days ago, three of them had already died.
The terrain of the Riverbank of Desolation was generally quite flat, with only a few hills and woods. The campsite chosen by the team had a good line of sight. After taking another look around, Ye Zhongming found nothing unusual. He flicked his wrist, and a gem appeared in his hand.
That day, Ye Zhongming faced difficulties head-on, resulting in considerable gains despite the risks.
Indeed, the rewards were several times greater than what he would have earned through the strenuous effort of orchestrating a fight between two monsters.
However, as these were still raw stones, Ye Zhongming couldn't specify how many pieces he had obtained; he needed to process them first.
Slowly, trying not to make too much noise, Ye Zhongming began to process the natural gemstone in his hand.
The atmosphere in the desolate land was always tense; members of the team occasionally awoke, glancing around before continuing to sleep. Tian Jia woke up once, nudging Ye Zhongming with a threat to prevent him from dozing off, but Ye Zhongming took it as nonsense.
When the team was well-rested and ready to continue their search for materials, Ye Zhongming had also finished processing a natural gem.
He was excited to find that it was a mid-level ice gem.
At first glance, the difference between an initial-level and a mid-level gem seemed minor, but the power unleashed through the Staff of Nature was entirely different. Two initial-level gems, one for defense and one for attack, could withstand a strong skill from a level four monster. Based on that, the mid-level ice gem that Ye Zhongming obtained should unleash a power comparable to the blue blood lotus, if not as formidable as the ice extreme tornado.
Without a doubt, the appearance of this mid-level gem provided Ye Zhongming with his most powerful weapon to date.
Leaning on his cane, Ye Zhongming walked slowly ahead, paying attention to the traces on the ground, the scents in the air, and any faint movements.
The other members of the elite martial team followed at a distance, maintaining a safe space in case of danger.