86: Chapter 86 is not bad.

[Thunder-Horned Lizardman Tribe] Secret Realm.

Landing at the northern cliff top intersection, the little mouse takes position one.

Chu Hong, Wang Suming, and Song Jiaojiao formed a team once again and entered the secret realm.

The three of them were just like before.

Rushing through the secret passage, ambushing and killing the Lizardman Priest at close range, and then looting the [kasar secret treasure].

However, the atmosphere within the team this time was much more silent.

Wang Suming looted the containers the entire way, while the atmosphere between Chu Hong and Song Jiaojiao was so bizarre that even Wang Suming felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Chu Hong looked calmly at Wang Suming, who was looting the container.

Song Jiaojiao, on the other hand, stared at Chu Hong without blinking an eye.

"……"

"The team that descended upon the river valley entrance earlier, right after landing and confirming there were no members of the Black Hole Council, immediately smeared Lizardman blood on themselves. By now, they've probably turned into lookalikes of Lizardmen and sneaked into the core area to reap the benefits, right?"

Song Jiaojiao spoke softly, breaking the silence.

"Mhm, probably."

"If you hadn't leaked this secret, no one would have ever thought of it."

"Mhm, I know……"

Song Jiaojiao had dark lines all over her face, somewhat annoyed that this damn man was starting to play dumb at a time like this.

When he was explaining those strategies outside earlier, he was even more meticulous than a teacher lecturing on the podium at Source Energy Middle School, as if he was afraid someone wouldn't understand.

"The two of us made an agreement back then. In just a few days, you went and spilled your own secret. Now, let alone the Rubiks Chamber of Commerce, the entire Huangshan Base City will know about it soon."

"With your practically babysitter-level strategies and routes, the [Thunder-Horned Lizardman Tribe] Secret Realm will soon be reduced to a secret realm even simpler than the normal difficulty."

Song Jiaojiao gazed intently at Chu Hong.

"Don't you have anything to say to me?"

She was, after all, a wealthy young lady who had been pampered since childhood. Thinking about how Chu Hong had left her behind today to adventure into the secret realm by herself, she felt somewhat irritated.

Most importantly, this damn man clearly saw that she was worried.

But he simply refused to offer a few words of comfort or speak softly… Even, even if just for the sake of the gold-quality bullets?!

Song Jiaojiao's resentful and fierce gaze made Chu Hong awkwardly rub his nose.

Hesitating for a moment.

He handed his hand over.

"Well, the ring can't be taken off right now. How about you just chop off my hand?"

Song Jiaojiao: "！！！"

"Chop your grandmother's leg!"

She stomped hard on Chu Hong's foot.

However.

The instep wrapped in metal armor made Song Jiaojiao's pretty face turn pale abruptly.

"Hiss!"

She was steadily supported from behind by a large hand.

Stubbornly trying to break free, her entire body was suddenly picked up horizontally by Chu Hong, amidst Wang Suming's exaggerated and excited spectator gaze.

Her eyes suddenly locked with Chu Hong's, who had removed his mask at some point.

"Sorry for taking so many things from you."

Song Jiaojiao: "……"

Being looked at by Chu Hong's clean, cold-star-like eyes that appeared exceptionally bright even in this dim secret passage, and furthermore in such an unprecedentedly humiliating posture,

Song Jiaojiao's pretty face began to flush red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Beside them, Wang Suming imperceptibly took out a small box.

And began adjusting the lens angle.

Thinking of all the ugly photos Chu Hong had taken of him, taking this photo today meant he could tease the other guy with it whenever he had nothing to do later.

Hehehe~

"Click!"

The sudden sound of the shutter.

Indeed startled both Chu Hong and Song Jiaojiao.

However.

Compared to them, the panic on Wang Suming's face was even more pronounced.

Holy crap!

Why does the shutter still make a sound?!

Song Jiaojiao was embarrassed and angry, immediately waving her magic wand: "Dead fatty, what are you taking pictures of?!"

An energy hand formed by magic grabbed toward the camera in Wang Suming's hand, but the latter's action of instantly storing the item into his backpack was still a step faster.

Song Jiaojiao struggled and jumped down from Chu Hong's arms.

Raising her wand, dying of shame and anger, she pressed it directly against Wang Suming's head, as if wishing the wand in her hand was a sword to directly stab this damned guy to death.

"Hey hey hey, calm down! Calm down! I didn't take a picture, the lighting underground is bad, I didn't capture anything!"

"Take it out! Take the camera out right now!"

"I really didn't take it, heaven and earth are my witness, Campus Belle Song, how can you falsely accuse an innocent person?"

Watching the two of them argue, Chu Hong couldn't help but laugh.

Seeing Song Jiaojiao suddenly turn back and glare over with eyes so embarrassed and angry they seemed filled with water, he hurriedly wiped away his smile.

"Ahem! Fatty, what kind of stinking habit is this? When entering a secret realm, you don't bring supplies, why the hell do you bring a camera?! I have to criticize you for this. Do you not know how much a single grid of backpack space is worth?"

Song Jiaojiao bit her silver teeth secretly.

Watching these two bastards sing a double act—one constantly scolding here, and the other lowering his head and kowtowing while repeatedly admitting his mistake—

yet stubbornly refusing to hand over the camera and photos.

This made Song Jiaojiao let out a cold snort, and she strode toward the other side of the secret passage.

Behind her,

Wang Suming winked and made faces without speaking, but their mutual tacit understanding allowed them to instantly grasp each other's meaning.

Wang Suming: "Brother Hong! The angle is absolute perfection!"

Chu Hong: "Send me the photo when we get home!"

Inside the secret passage, Song Jiaojiao walked angrily at the very front, with Chu Hong following alongside.

"Well, if worst comes to worst, I'll tell you some other secrets. Besides, you've never told me your secrets."

Chu Hong said with a grin.

When Chu Hong and the others passed through the secret passage and entered the [Core Area], just as they had anticipated, several high-value containers in the entire core area had already been looted.

However, the boss [Lizardman Leader Molov] remained in place.

After a simple and direct cooperation,

as Song Jiaojiao waved her magic wand, Molov's body was abruptly pierced by a thick icicle, and the battle ended.

When Chu Hong and the others came out of the secret realm,

the first thing they saw was a group of people chatting and laughing in front of the secret realm entrance.

Right after coming out, they could still hear them discussing matters inside the secret realm.

"Damn, the route Chu God mentioned is simply amazing. Along the way, as long as you follow Chu God's path, don't run around blindly, loot the container and evacuate, a round can be completed in less than ten minutes."

"Yeah, yeah, my awakened skill happens to be a speed-up skill. Why didn't I realize before that the secret realm could be played like this..."

"Someone in our team looted a gold-quality collectible. Oh my goodness, this equals the earnings of going in for several rounds previously."

When everyone saw Chu Hong and the others appear, they immediately rushed over excitedly.

"Chu God! You are simply amazing!"

"Hahaha, yeah, yeah, how did you find that secret passage? Oh my god, following your method, it was our first time defeating the priest Casar head-on. It was too easy!"

Source energy surged on Chu Hong's body, and his strength had broken through once again!

Reaching the sixth stage of the Qiyuan Realm!

Suddenly being surrounded by so many people made him somewhat unaccustomed to it.

He smiled, nodded, and was just about to leave,

when a nervous yet excited voice called out to him.

"Chu, Chu God!"

Chu Hong turned around and saw a young man clearly older than him, clutching something with a nervous yet excited look on his face.

"I'm from the Elk Team... In the previous round just now, we descended upon the northern cliff top. Thank you so much. If it weren't for the intel you shared about the secret passage, I wouldn't have been able to loot the first gold-quality collectible of my life."

As he spoke, he solemnly handed a glittering [orc empire gold coin] to Chu Hong with both hands.

"Chu God, I-I know you probably look down on this item, but this is the first gold item I've looted in the two years since I became a Pioneer. Please accept it no matter what!"

Chu Hong was slightly stunned.

However,

seeing this, the people around them slapped their foreheads, suddenly remembering something, and successively took out the most precious items they had looted in the secret realm from their respective backpacks.

In an instant,

before Chu Hong, there were golden cups one after another, and gold coins one by one.

Everyone looked at him with eager and excited expressions.

"……"

When Battalion Commander Sun led his men out of the secret realm with satisfied smiles, he saw Chu Hong sitting by the carriage of the Rubiks Chamber of Commerce, clutching a gold coin in his hand and staring blankly.

Almost instantly realizing everything that had happened, he walked forward with a smile,

patted Chu Hong's shoulder, and sat down beside him.

"Student Chu Hong, do you feel like you lost out big time? Rest assured, the City Lord will definitely reward you for this matter. Furthermore, after you enter Source Energy University, this matter will also be recorded in your resume."

However,

Chu Hong gently shook his head, stroking the glittering [orc empire gold coin] in his hand—

an item that he almost completely no longer regarded in his eyes.

A smile appeared at the corners of his mouth as he whispered softly.

"Not bad..."

(PS: Today's bonus release rule: if push updates reach 600 or if there are 10 new five-star reviews (I refuse to believe it! Could it be that I don't even deserve ten five-star reviews T_T), I will release an extra chapter!)

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