328: New discoveries, change of plans

Shen Bei easily dealt with the three robbers, barely exerting any effort.

Their strength was simply too weak.

So weak, in fact, that Shen Bei suspected this trio of robbers knew Liang Jingru.

To still attempt to attack, knowing his name, deserved only a scoff.

This also made Shen Bei even more certain that the gap between Martial Artists of the same level was truly immense.

“You, the one who was just watching, quickly clean up the bodies.”

Shen Bei leaned against a tree, grinning widely.

Zhuang Bifan opened his mouth in surprise at the words but didn't know what to say.

From entering the Dungeon until now, there had been three battles in total.

The first encounter with the Other army, due to the threat of Death Qi, was left to Shen Bei to handle.

Zhuang Bifan had to admit this; Shen Bei's Fifth Dimension Attribute happened to be a counter, and that Red-Clad Otherworlder had hit a wall.

For the second time, with the giant ape, Zhuang Bifan had a reason: he was protecting Fang Hanxi.

And this time, he was restrained first, so it wasn't that he didn't try, but that he was powerless.

Zhuang Bifan felt that describing him as merely 'watching' the whole time was inaccurate; the journey into the Dungeon was still long.

There would be a time when he could be useful.

But what could Zhuang Bifan say at this moment?

He just silently dealt with the bodies...

Dealing with the bodies didn't mean decomposing them like the Others or burying them somewhere.

It meant collecting the spoils of war.

Generally speaking, this involved searching for valuable items.

For example, weapons; battle weapons forged from good materials could fetch a good price.

There were also various Medicinal Pills, Ores, and so on.

Of course, the most easily monetized items were storage-type artifacts.

But clearly, the three robbers would not have such invaluable artifacts on them.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have risked their lives to rob Shen Bei.

Zhuang Bifan continuously flipped through the bodies.

Three bodies, a total of three backpacks.

All were bulging.

Opening the braided man's backpack revealed various drinking water and food.

He discarded them immediately.

Food and water were not lacking for Zhuang Bifan, and he even carried them more conveniently than they did.

The items in the other bald man's backpack were slightly more valuable, containing many Medicinal Pills and other things.

He took everything.

Finally, there was the backpack of the woman named Hong Ying.

He opened it.

Zhuang Bifan was instantly bewildered.

A large bag of items, all paper!

Sheets of paper neatly stacked!

It looked like newspapers, or text printed from the internet.

Initially, Zhuang Bifan thought there were expensive items beneath the paper.

After all, paper could also act as a buffer, though not as good as bubble wrap.

But when Zhuang Bifan reached down to pull, he found nothing underneath.

Only paper, and more paper!

“Hmm?”

Zhuang Bifan scratched his head: “What does this mean?”

At this moment, Shen Bei hadn't noticed the abnormality in Zhuang Bifan's expression.

Instead, his gaze was slightly unfocused, immersed in the corner of his eye.

The daily settlement panel had arrived!

【Yesterday's settlement rewards are as follows:】

【Completed the mission to destroy the Other army's ambush, Money +7 million, Strength +3, Agility +3, Spirit +3, Physique +3, Death Qi Resistance +20%, Movement Stability +20%】

Shen Bei had never expected this matter to become an activatable panel!

After all, there was no prior agreement for this mission.

Thinking it over, it must have been his subsequent request for money from Fang Nanxi that patched up the logical flaw?

At the same time, Death Qi Resistance increased by another 20%, bringing the total increase to 40%.

And Movement Stability, it should be a new Fifth Dimension Attribute given for fighting on slippery ground.

Not bad.

If he could continue to collect this attribute, reaching one hundred percent, it would likely mean that no matter what surface he stood on, he would remain stable and maintain foot friction.

In Shen Bei's opinion, this was a Fifth Dimension Attribute that wasn't usually needed but would display Divine Might at critical moments.

The daily settlement panel rewards ended here.

As for the golden pattern fruit, this was a mission from Hope Camp's bounty board. Although the mission item was obtained, the mission had not yet been submitted, nor had money been received.

Naturally, the settlement panel would not activate; it could only activate and grant related rewards after the transaction with the client.

There was no rush for this.

Then, Shen Bei turned to look at Zhuang Bifan.

At this moment, Zhuang Bifan was still scratching his head and fidgeting over a pile of paper, unable to figure anything out.

Shen Bei walked over, lowered his head, and glanced at it: “Hoh, is all this toilet paper? It’s not hard, is it?”

Just thinking about it was scary. Could a little chrysanthemum endure such hard newspapers and A4 paper?

Without another word, the two of them worked together to pull out all the newspapers and A4 paper from the backpack.

The backpack was emptied, and still, there was nothing else.

The two looked at each other, both with confused expressions.

A Martial Artist going into the Dungeon with a 'girlfriend' in their backpack was understandable.

But carrying so much newspaper and similar items—was there something seriously wrong with them?

Fang Nanxi squatted on the ground, spreading out the newspapers and A4 paper. She stared at them for a while, then suddenly said: “Whether it's newspaper or A4 paper, they're all news...”

Shen Bei tilted his head at her words, grabbing some papers to look at.

The newspaper in his left hand was from a month ago, primarily publicizing some of the latest domestic policies and trends.

Moreover, Shen Bei also noticed that the newspaper had been cut.

Typically, a newspaper contains mainstream news, entertainment news, livelihood news, and advertisements.

But this clipped newspaper contained only mainstream news.

The A4 paper in his right hand was news printed from Baidu.

It was also some news about Martial Artists, such as the summary of the nationwide virtual combat drills for reserve Martial Artists held not long ago, and so on.

Shen Bei looked down at other papers, some of which were international news.

The dates of these papers spanned about three months.

All had the same style, consisting of various types of news.

Bluntly speaking, reading through so many papers and newspapers would allow one to understand everything that happened on earth's surface over three months.

Shen Bei frowned, deep in thought, unable to comprehend what Hong Ying was trying to do.

What was the point of carrying this stuff into the Dungeon?

To show to Martial Artists?

Shen Bei shook his head, feeling it wasn't quite like that.

After Martial Artists returned to the camp, they could get news from earth's surface. Although information transmission was slow, it was still much faster than carrying three months of news from earth's surface.

Shen Bei asked: “Old Bi, do we have specialized newspaper vendors in the Dungeon?”

Zhuang Bifan was silent for a moment, then finally said: “I've never heard of selling news in the Dungeon. How much money could this stuff be worth? Just catching an Other casually would be enough capital. Besides, is it necessary? Not every Martial Artist likes news.”

Shen Bei exhaled a mouthful of stale Qi, shaking the newspaper and saying: “Hong Ying wouldn't do something completely irrelevant. There must be something we've overlooked. Martial Artists in the Dungeon certainly don't need this outdated news. Selling it to the Others? Can they understand a hammer—"

“Wait!”

Shen Bei suddenly shut his mouth, abruptly remembering something.

Are there Dungeon Others who can read human script?

Yes!

Just as humans learn the Dungeon language, Others also learn human languages.

However, it's not as systematic as humans; only a portion of Others have the time and energy to learn.

But if you're talking about Hong Ying exchanging news with Others...

That should be Wala Mountain, not going to Black Furnace City.

If it was going to Black Furnace City, then only one person would need news.

That would be...

At this moment, Zhuang Bifan and Fang Nanxi also realized what Shen Bei was about to say.

They instantly understood.

The three of them almost simultaneously blurted out: “Fang Han!”

Shen Bei took a deep breath.

That's right!

It was him!

Only he would need and have reason to understand the news from earth's surface.

Because... Fang Han was essentially human!

Although he had defected to the Others, he was still very eager to obtain information from earth's surface.

In other words, Hong Ying and the others weren't going to Black Furnace City to catch some Others.

They were going to trade news with Fang Han!

Shen Bei licked his lips: “Our luck is truly good.”

Zhuang Bifan gave a mysterious smile: “Indeed, it seems our first plan needs to change.”

The first plan Shen Bei and Zhuang Bifan had devised was to spread subversive slogans outside Black Furnace City.

To sarcastically expose Fang Han's true nature.

To force Fang Han out of Black Furnace City, and then find an opportunity to capture him.

Zhuang Bifan had already had the flyers printed at the Blade Camp's military department.

Now it seemed they might not be needed; these newspaper articles would be more attractive to Fang Han.

Shen Bei clapped his hands: “This is the universe rewarding the diligent; it's practically being delivered to us!”

The group quickly put the newspapers into their backpacks.

“Let's go, let's go, move out!”

Shen Bei called out, and the three of them hurried on, continuing their journey to Black Furnace City.

...

Three hours later.

After a long trek, Shen Bei and the others began to enter the mountains.

Here, the map's boundaries started to blur.

There were no detailed landmarks, only rough outlines.

Woo woo...

The mountain wind stirred up sand and dust, and the overcast sky seemed to never disperse, silently shrouding the wilderness.

Under the dim sky, peaks pierced the heavens, and strange cries drifted with the wind, passing through jagged rocks, echoing eerily.

“Another hour of mountain road, and we should be able to see Black Furnace City.”

Zhuang Bifan bent his hands, one in front, one behind, forming a binocular pose, gazing at the mountains.

Shen Bei tilted his head, mimicking Zhuang Bifan's action: “This can magnify the view?”

Zhuang Bifan made his hand into a long tube, turned it in a direction, and showed it to Shen Bei.

At some point, a circular concave-convex lens had appeared in Zhuang Bifan's palm...

Two concave-convex lenses formed a simple telescope.

Zhuang Bifan lightly squeezed his palm, and the concave-convex lens directly shattered, turning into fine powder the size of dust, all absorbed by Zhuang Bifan.

Shen Bei sniffed, muttering: “So Old Bi, you're glass.”

Zhuang Bifan: ???

Why did this guy feel so awkward!

In a daze, he realized Shen Bei's words had a hidden meaning: “You're glass, you're the one who's glass!”

“If you're not, you're not, why are you so eager to explain?” Shen Bei explained with a rogue look.

But Zhuang Bifan looked at Shen Bei's cunning and peculiar, mixed-emotion gaze, clearly undisguised, and was utterly speechless. He waved his hand: “Can I pay you to shut up?”

“The price would be high then, no less than ten.”

Zhuang Bifan: ...

“You're damn expensive!” Zhuang Bifan said, rolling his eyes.

Fang Nanxi giggled beside them, listening.

The three rested for a while longer, replenished their food and water, and continued their journey.

Not long after.

Shen Bei started acting up again...