Chapter 005

Chapter 5: Uninvited Guests

Although the Clean Zone holds a higher status, trade can only happen in the Sewage Zone. After all, many of the cataclysm materials not only have a strong odor but also possess a certain level of danger. There had been an incident at Golden Hill Base where cataclysm materials had destroyed nearly half the city.

Armored vehicles drove past, splashing large amounts of sewage onto the ground.

Wang Jie crossed the street and arrived at the dedicated area for cataclysm material sales—the Materials Zone.

The Materials Zone was a wide area covered by large canopies. Buildings from the peaceful era simply couldn’t withstand the weight of cataclysm materials and frequently collapsed.

This place was always bustling with people. Cultivators looking to increase their strength would absorb the imprint power from the cataclysm materials, which was the fastest way to grow stronger. Wang Jie was a regular here.

“Isn’t that Weed? What materials did you bring this time? Come sell them here, we’re honest folk.”

“Weed, we’ve got some new mutated beast blood. Interested?”

Wang Jie ignored the calls and made his way to the farthest corner of the Materials Zone, where the largest cataclysm material shop in all of Golden Hill stood, right up against Golden Hill Base.

A loud roar echoed, shaking the roof of the canopy. A splash of blood shot up several meters high before slowly dripping down. The roar subsided.

Wang Jie remained calm as he entered the shop. Inside, a five-meter-high mutated beast lay on the ground, its life fading as workers extracted the cataclysm materials from it. Such things were rare, and only this shop had the ability to bring in live mutated beasts—no other shop had the means.

The shop was busy, with many employees. Wang Jie scanned the room, then walked up to a woman in her thirties.

The woman was of average looks, but when Wang Jie approached, her eyes lit up. “Weed? You’re back! How was your haul?”

Wang Jie shook his head. “Not much, just a mutated beast tooth.”

She smiled. “No worries. Next time, you’ll have better luck. Are you here to buy something?”

“One 33-year-old flower,” Wang Jie replied.

The woman looked puzzled. “Thirty-three years? Why such a precise age?”

Wang Jie nodded.

She asked him to wait for a moment, then turned and entered the warehouse. A short while later, she returned with two mutated plants. “I’m not sure about their exact age, but they grew in the old residential area from peaceful times. Plants there can grow for over ten or twenty years. You can try them.”

“Thank you,” Wang Jie said, buying both. He couldn’t test them here, and taking them out was not an option.

Leaving the store, Wang Jie turned around to find a huge bounty board hanging at the center of the Materials Zone. It was a joint bounty list issued by the five major bases, listing people who had committed serious crimes. The board updated constantly. There was no fixed number of criminals—sometimes over a hundred people were listed.

Wang Jie’s gaze landed on a familiar name—Hu Guan.

Hu Guan was an extremely dangerous person with five-seal strength. His crimes included robbery, murder, and all sorts of evil deeds.

The notice read: If found, report immediately. If acted upon privately, consequences are the individual’s responsibility.

Reward: Hundred-tube beast blood.

Wang Jie’s eyes flickered. The last time he had been here, Hu Guan’s name was not on the list. The southern base had been hunting him for some time, so it seemed he had only been added recently. It wasn’t even specifically mentioned that Hu Guan had stolen the hibiscus tears.

His gaze shifted upward. His eyes passed over many more faces until he reached the top of the list.

There was no face—just a person wrapped in a mass of black shadows.

No name, extremely dangerous, battle power unknown, speculated to be at the seven-seal level.

Crimes: Anti-human activities.

Characteristics: Appears to be between sixteen and twenty years old. Has at least used five battle techniques and should be heavily injured. Report immediately upon encounter. Once confirmed, reward—hundred cataclysm materials.

Wang Jie studied the top of the list deeply before leaving the Materials Zone.

He returned home, placing one of the flowers on a green sprout.

Had it worked?

Wang Jie’s face lit up in surprise. The first flower was indeed thirty-three years old. There was no need to test the second one. Now, he just needed the tears of a heartbroken young girl and the severed finger of an evil person.

He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache. How was he supposed to get the tears of a heartbroken young girl? He had never paid attention to women and was completely clueless about relationships.

As evening fell, Wang Jie leaned against the edge of his bed, watching the sunset. A streak of fiery red light flashed across the distant sky—was that a meteor?

At the same time, across Blue Star, meteors fell simultaneously. Some struck land, some landed in mountains, and the majority fell into the ocean.

Boom!

A tremendous explosion shook the makeshift gathering place, sending a shockwave that sent many people flying. Those hit directly were vaporized, leaving no trace behind.

Only those further away looked on in fear. As the shockwave passed, they saw a stone fragment—so it was a meteor. How unlucky, that a meteor had struck their gathering place.

The next moment, the meteor cracked open, and a gust of air surged out, enveloping the area. The onlookers dared not approach, but after another breeze passed, the shockwave disappeared, and the cracked meteor vanished.

Those who had witnessed it rubbed their eyes in disbelief. Had they seen that right?

Not too far from the gathering place, a woman in a purple veil, her long hair flowing down to her legs, walked step by step, covering tens of meters with each stride. In her hand, she held a longsword, its sheath exquisitely decorated with gemstones.

She looked up at the broken buildings in the sunset, her lips curving into a smile. “This trial ground is interesting.” As she spoke, her pupils flickered with light, scanning the gathering place. “Everyone here is weak. Completing the objective should be easy.”

A similar scene was unfolding in other corners.

The people of Blue Star had no idea that a group of uninvited guests had arrived.

While it was unsafe to rest in the wilderness, it was different inside the base.

When Wang Jie opened his eyes again, the sunlight was spilling across the land. The surface of the sewage looked as if a rainbow had touched it.

A night had passed. Wang Jie stretched, washed up briefly, and headed out.

By the time he arrived at the eastern gate of Golden Hill Base, there were already many people coming and going.

Wang Jie noticed several huge armored vehicles. The largest one stood in the center, clearly a custom-built model. It was at least three times bigger than the others, resembling a house armored with iron. The logo on it unmistakably marked it as belonging to the Zhao Clan Hunting Team.

Gray Claw spotted Wang Jie and waved excitedly.

“Be careful with your words. The young master of the Zhao Clan is in that car. See?” Gray Claw pointed to the largest armored vehicle. “He has a bad temper, and this mission to find the snow steed is for Bai Xiao’s twentieth birthday gift. It can’t go wrong, or neither of us will be going back.”

Wang Jie was surprised. “Bai Xiao?”

Gray Claw lowered his voice. “One of the Three Gods. Bai Yuan’s daughter.”

Wang Jie’s eyes shifted. So that was it. No wonder the young master of the Zhao Clan was personally leading the dangerous expedition into the wild.

Blue Star had experienced ten years of disaster. Apart from the destruction of firearms, everything else, including communication, had not completely broken down, though it had been intermittent due to the cataclysm. Many regions could still maintain contact. Cultivators were initially divided by their imprints, which led to the establishment of the Three Gods and Five Extremes concept years ago.

The Three Gods and Five Extremes referred to the eight strongest individuals in Blue Star today.

Although it was called Blue Star, only the Eastern Continent remained under human control—the rest of the world was dominated by mutated flora and fauna. The Three Gods and Five Extremes were all from Hua Xia.

Hong Jian from Golden Hill Base was one of the Five Extremes. Bai Yuan from Upper Capital City was one of the Three Gods.

If the Zhao Clan could form an alliance with Bai Yuan, it would change everything. No wonder they were searching for the snow steed. The snow steed was just a bargaining chip for the young master to approach Bai Xiao.

The convoy was quite large, with over fifteen armored vehicles and more than a hundred cultivators.

Gray Claw said, “You understand the weight of the task now, right? This whole trip depends on you. You must find the snow steed. Otherwise…”

Wang Jie glanced at him. “You’re dragging me into this. Who can guarantee we’ll find the snow steed in three days?”

Gray Claw’s expression was awkward. “You are the best guide in Golden Hill. Not just me, even the Zhao Clan investigated you. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have listened to me and only hired you.”

Wang Jie knew Gray Claw was telling the truth.

The Zhao Clan wouldn’t listen to outsiders—they must have done their research. In fact, there were many good guides, some even better than Wang Jie, but either they were dead or had joined hunting teams. Wang Jie had been guiding in Golden Hill for a long time.

He had the most survival experience in the wild, which is why the Zhao Clan valued him.

Soon after, the convoy set off.

Outside the base, many ragged people watched in envy, hoping that one day they could become cultivators. Unfortunately, to become a cultivator, one had to first witness the sky projection, something not everyone could experience.

Wang Jie handed the route map to the Zhao Clan and gave it to the female steward.

The steward entered the vehicle to report, and the route was approved.

This route would pass by the resort where Liu Ying’s older brother had gone, completing two tasks with one trip.

Entering the wilderness, they followed the old peaceful-era road. Mutated beasts occasionally appeared on either side, but seeing such a large convoy, they retreated. When a mutated beast did dare to attack, it was quickly wiped out without Wang Jie needing to lift a finger. This area was a safety zone; in the dangerous zones, mutated beasts didn’t care about convoys.

“This hunting team is impressive,” Gray Claw said, his voice full of admiration. “Look at how they organize their battles—ranged attacks, close combat, ambushes, and drone reconnaissance. I estimate the entire area within ten miles is under surveillance. Not a leaf will move without them noticing. There’s almost no risk of danger.”

Wang Jie replied calmly, his tone light as wind: “Even someone like Hong Jian, one of the Five Extremes, isn’t safe. If we run into beasts with six-seal or seven-seal power, they’ll still die.”

Gray Claw rolled his eyes. “Can’t you say something more uplifting?”

“Wish you a long life,” Wang Jie said.

“More depressing,” Gray Claw muttered.

“By the way, do you have a partner?” Wang Jie suddenly asked.

Gray Claw froze and looked at him oddly. “Why are you asking this now?”

Wang Jie glanced ahead. “Just curious.”

“Yes.”

“Does she love you?”

“Yes.”

“Then break up with her.”

Gray Claw’s face twitched. If not for the fact that he couldn’t win, he would have slapped this guy and showed him what a “disjointing tendons hand” looked like.

Wang Jie sighed. As expected, things like heartbreak were difficult to deal with.

But he now had a solution. He’d handle it when he got back.

With no concerns as they followed the convoy, vehicles that broke down were quickly repaired, and meals could be made into something fancy. It was quite comfortable.

Judging by Wang Jie’s estimation of speed and the occasional small skirmishes along the way, they arrived at the resort in the evening.

The female steward came over. “Why are we stopping?”

Wang Jie replied, “The wilderness is more dangerous at night. The plants could come out from anywhere.”

“You know you only have three days, right?” the steward threatened, her gaze cold.

Wang Jie remained calm. “Don’t worry, three days will be enough.”

The steward went back to report.