39: Chapter 39 The Deadly Countdown

"How long has it been?"

Song Jiaojiao looked anxiously at the entrance of the secret realm [Thunder-Horned Lizardman Tribe] before her.

White light flowed across the misty barrier of light.

But there was still no other movement.

Just like Song Jiaojiao, members of various Pioneer Squads were waiting anxiously and expectantly around the entrance of the secret realm, among whom were many who had just been messenged by their companions and rushed over hastily.

"Eldest Miss, it has been almost forty minutes!"

Hearing the reply from the family Pioneer, Song Jiaojiao took a deep breath, a faint look of worry flashing across her fair and delicate melon-seed face.

If the gold-quality lost knights relic longsword was in the hands of Chu Hong,

given the alumni relationship they could more or less claim between them, as long as she offered enough sincerity, the other party would eventually resell it to her.

But if the item fell into the hands of those Pioneer Squads,

it would not be as simple as a Source Energy point transaction.

Most likely, the Rubiks Chamber of Commerce would need to exchange it by ceding interests.

Beside Song Jiaojiao, Uncle Fu, the Song family steward who had rushed here from the base city at the first instance after receiving the notice, slightly frowned as he looked at the entrance that still showed no movement.

"The captains of both the Wolf Hunting Squad and the Black Snake Squad are at the Eighth Stage of Qi Origin. While this level cannot be said to slaughter everywhere in the secret realm, at least withdrawing completely and retreating safely is not a difficult task. But now that they have not come out after forty minutes, there can only be one possibility..."

"The two parties are fighting over that gold-quality Source Energy weapon!"

What Uncle Fu said made the complexion of Song Jiaojiao turn slightly paler, and a pair of slender hands clenched gently.

Uncle Fu sighed: "Eldest Miss, actually this is not entirely a bad thing... Although it will be very difficult for us to trade that gold-quality weapon from the hands of Black Snake and Wolf Hunting, you will indeed have one less dangerous opponent in the assessments a dozen days from now."

"Although this old man does not understand how that young man named Chu Hong managed to safely evacuate the secret realm with high value using a grade-less initial skill... anyone who chooses to enter the secret realm knowing full well that they will definitely be intercepted and hunted down is definitely not simple."

"For such a person to die due to arrogance while weak is a good thing for you."

Meanwhile,

inside the camp, several other factions that received the news also sent people over at the first instance.

Representatives of the Huangshan Base City Council of the Pioneers Guild.

Minister of the Acquisition Department of the Crossing-River Dragon Chamber of Commerce.

Director of the Huangshan Armed Forces Department...

Everyone watched the time as the one-hour deadline for being lost drew closer and closer, yet there was still no movement.

Neither did anyone from the Black Snake Squad withdraw.

Nor did anyone from the Wolf Hunting Squad withdraw.

Everyone could not help but frown.

"It has already been fifty-three minutes. Even a Pioneer Squad with the strength to clear the map should be preparing to evacuate by now, but why is there still no movement?"

"Could it be that something happened inside the secret realm that even the Black Snake and Wolf Hunting Squads cannot handle?"

"What situation could there be? Although the Thunder-Horned Lizardman leader and priest are difficult to deal with, they do not necessarily have to be dealt with. Their goal is the gold-quality Source Energy weapon in the hands of Chu Hong. Of course they would evacuate at the first instance after snatching the item!"

"Could it be that they were dealt with by Chu Hong and that fatty..."

Someone muttered weakly.

The moment it was spoken, they regretted it after being looked at by the surrounding pairs of gazes as if looking at fools.

Two greenhorns who had just graduated from Source Energy No. 1 High School and had not even undergone the assessment of Source Energy University had managed to activate Source Energy by luck—that was already remarkable among a crowd of newcomers.

Two people.

Dealing with the Wolf Hunting and Black Snake Squads whose strength was at least at the Fifth Stage of Qi Origin?

Do not make your Pioneer grandfathers laugh...

Camp trading post.

The person in charge who had previously handled business for Chu Hong and the others stood nervously beside a tall, upright, bearded muscular man in a suit.

"There are only three last minutes left..." The man muttered in a muffled voice.

At least hundreds of gazes gathered uniformly at this moment on the halo of the secret realm entrance.

The camp was so dead silent that one could hear clear heartbeats and breathing sounds at this moment.

However,

three minutes... two minutes... one minute...

Looking at the halo with no movement for so long, the bearded man in a suit sighed softly.

"It looks like that kid named Chu Hong has some tricks up his sleeve. Although he is a bit arrogant and fails to recognize the boundaries of his own abilities... being able to leave all members of both the Black Snake and Wolf Hunting Squads in the secret realm makes him a capable young man."

Dropping a simple evaluation, the man prepared to leave directly.

At this moment, the remaining chambers of commerce and Pioneers also sighed in disappointment one after another.

"It is just a pity for that gold-quality Source Energy weapon. The last time a weapon-type collectible of this level was unlocked from a secret realm in our Huangshan Base City was last year."

Uncle Fu restrained his gaze, lowered his head, and spoke in a low voice to Song Jiaojiao, who was still dazed and staring blankly at the entrance of the secret realm.

"Eldest Miss, let us go. For Chu Hong to leave both squads in the secret realm, failing to evacuate and having all members lost, is already a tremendously great ability. Think on the bright side; if you had such an opponent in the assessment of Longming Sacred Academy, you might genuinely be squeezed out of the admission list due to the limited number of enrollment slots."

Song Jiaojiao nodded and just prepared to stand up.

"Clatter!"

The halo at the entrance of the secret realm suddenly trembled, driving a circle of clear Source Energy fluctuations.

This caused everyone in the camp who had already stood up and prepared to leave to suddenly halt their steps as if cast with a body-freezing spell.

Pairs of eyes widened, staring uniformly at the mottled shadow halo of the secret realm.

"How many people? How many people are there? Which Pioneer Squad came out?"

"Is it Wolf Hunting, or Black Snake?"

"..."

Amidst the anxious discussions, the people who had just left the camp frantically turned back.

Figures flickered within the halo.

When two vague, tall figures appeared in the vision of everyone, one of them, a figure exaggeratedly over three meters tall, almost made the eyeballs of everyone pop out.

"No, who is this? So tall? Are there people of this height in the teams of Black Snake and Wolf Hunting?"

When Song Jiaojiao saw the two figures that appeared, for some reason, an absurd and ridiculous thought suddenly sprouted in her heart.

Uncle Fu's eyebrows knitted together: "This Source Energy fluctuation... are not the lowest strength among Black Snake and Wolf Hunting at the Fifth Stage of Qi Origin?"

The light dispersed.

Two feet stepped out of the halo. The moment the figures of Chu Hong and Wang Suming appeared before the eyes of everyone,

the entire audience was dead silent as if everyone was holding their breath.

"H-He, they... actually..."

Everyone stared fixedly at Wang Suming behind Chu Hong.

Or rather, they stared at the explosively exaggerated load on his back.

That was a collection of backpacks bound together with ropes like zongzi, forcibly tied together. Its volume was so massive that it was even more exaggerated than the figures of three Wang Sumings combined.

At this moment, carrying such a terrifying package, the blue veins on the forehead of Wang Suming jumped wildly.

His face turned flushed red due to the weight-bearing.

The instant he came out of the secret realm,

with a bang, he sat down heavily on the ground.

"Holy crap, holy crap, Brother Hong, I am exhausted to death, no, it is too heavy..."

He panted violently.

However, seeing the hundreds of gazes all focused on them, he hurriedly propped up his body and assumed a defensive posture.

"Chu Hong?! It turns out to be you guys who came out!"

Song Jiaojiao was the first to rush forward in shock and excitement.

Such an excited appearance made even Chu Hong feel puzzled and somewhat awkward... They did not seem to be that familiar with each other, right?

Within the crowd, the gaze of someone was already fixedly staring at the huge package behind Wang Suming.

On several of those load-bearing backpacks, there were unexpectedly the logos of "Black Snake" or "Wolf Hunting".

The hearts of everyone trembled fiercely.

Behind them, the halo flickered for a moment before returning to calm.

The ticking sound of watches "beep beep beep" also sounded one after another from the wrists of the Pioneers present at this moment.

Yet no one reached out to turn them off.

"One hour is up... Not a single person from Black Snake and Wolf Hunting has come out..."

Someone muttered, looking tremblingly at the backpacks behind Wang Suming.

"The backpacks of the Black Snake and Wolf Hunting Squads appeared on them... They actually wiped out two full Pioneer Squads! With just two people!?"