80: Chapter 80 I'll Let You Go One More Time

"Dried Sand Scorpions, 500 bucks each, 500 bucks each!"

"Dune Fox whip, you are what you eat! Does anyone have a friend who needs this? For those who want to stay rock-hard, don't miss out, it won't come again!"

"Deep in the Thick Earth Mystic Realm, looking for a Bronze tank."

"Selling a hand-painted map of the Thick Earth Mystic Realm. A map that took hundreds of people and several days to complete, only 333 yuan!"

"..."

Li Yu walked into the campsite of the Thick Earth Mystic Realm as if he had arrived in a new world. The roadside stalls displayed all sorts of strange and bizarre specialties from the Mystic Realm, and people were holding up signs to recruit teammates.

Anyone who didn't know better would think they had arrived at some gaming plaza.

He looked left and right, and suddenly, attracted by something, he squeezed through the crowd and said, "Uncle, I'll take that map."

The man selling the map looked up, and upon seeing Li Yu wearing the Spirit Probing Armor, he immediately looked surprised and said, "Young brother, to become a Breeder at such a young age, your future is limitless."

"You flatter me."

"I always give preferential treatment to Breeders. I'll give you a ten percent discount on this map, just make it a flat 300, and I'll just make a little for my hard work."

"Thank you, Uncle."

Li Yu paid, took the map, and continued walking forward with Chen Qing, but he didn't notice that his decisiveness in paying had attracted some hyenas to follow them.

They passed through the bustling campsite and officially entered the wilderness of the Thick Earth Mystic Realm.

"Which way?" Chen Qing asked.

"Wait, let me check the map," Li Yu pulled out the map he had just bought. It was thick and felt high-quality; it looked like the person who made it had put a lot of effort into it.

When he unfolded the map, a few lines of text at the bottom caught his attention.

Published by National Geographic Publishing House. Suggested retail price: 20 yuan.

Li Yu opened his mouth wide and stammered, "… 2, 20 yuan… I spent 300! And I was even grateful for it!"

Chen Qing glanced at him with a look like she was watching her own foolish son.

"At the grocery store not far from here, a map is 15 yuan, and it comes with a free compass."

Pfft!

Li Yu nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. He clutched his chest and stumbled, as if he had been seriously injured.

So, the "hundreds of people" and "several days" referred to the publisher, not that unscrupulous merchant uncle!

Chen Qing watched this scene, feeling inexplicably satisfied.

Letting you live a little longer doesn't mean I can't annoy you. Who told you to be so foolish? Hmph, hmph, hmph!

Pity… this is the end of the line.

Chen Qing lowered her head slightly, her dark hair blowing against the wind, perfectly obscuring the expression on her face.

"Forget it, 300 is 300. A loss is a blessing!" Li Yu gritted his teeth and comforted himself, deciding in his heart that when he saw that uncle again, he would definitely settle the score.

After the farce, the two continued forward. The Spirit Probing Armor was curled up in Li Yu's arms, its nostrils twitching, constantly sensing something.

After walking for a while, Li Yu said, "Are there always this many people in the Mystic Realm?"

Chen Qing replied, "No."

"Then why are there so many people today?"

"Because of Earth Spirit Crystals."

"Earth Spirit Crystals?"

Li Yu turned his head in surprise. What he was looking for was exactly an Earth-type Spirit Crystal, and a top-quality one at that.

Chen Qing knew his goal and wasn't surprised by his reaction, simply explaining, "Recently, there is a shortage of Earth-type Spirit Crystals in Ningyang City, and the market price has been driven up many times over. Many Earth-type Beast Tamers have caught the scent and come here."

"I see," Li Yu nodded. "How did you know that?"

"I gathered it from the discussions of the people around us while you were getting scammed out of 285 yuan and missing out on a free compass."

"Don't mention the compass!!!"

"Oh."

The two walked one behind the other. Chen Qing looked at Li Yu's back, her expression somewhat complex.

The brief joy of teasing Li Yu was quickly washed away by the heavy burden of her mission.

Strangers who met by chance. Just a man on the verge of death.

She had already been merciful once yesterday; today, she had to kill him no matter what!

Thinking of this, Chen Qing's hand slowly moved toward the sword hilt. The sharp blade slightly unsheathed, and a flicker of killing intent was revealed in her eyes.

She slowly drew her longsword without making the slightest sound, a streak of light shimmering on the blade.

That protective suit would trigger an alarm; it was a form of protection for Breeders.

She didn't understand why she had gotten him a set of protective gear either, but she knew that this strike had to be fast. A fatal blow!

Having made up her mind, Chen Qing suddenly thrust her longsword toward the back of Li Yu's neck.

Suddenly, Li Yu shouted, "Someone's there," startling Chen Qing. Her expression changed slightly, and she quickly retracted her thrusting sword, which slid back into its scabbard with a "clang," vibrating slightly.

Chen Qing's expression returned to normal. Her gaze passed over Li Yu, and she saw that not far ahead, six people were indeed standing there, each with a Beast, blocking their path forward.

When she saw those Beasts clearly, the tension that had welled up in Chen Qing instantly dissipated—they were just a bunch of small fries.

At this moment, the people opposite had already walked over.

Li Yu asked, "What do you want?"

The leader cupped his hands toward Li Yu and smiled, "My brothers and I are short on cash lately, so we're looking to borrow some money from this Breeder gentleman to spend. Not much, just give each brother a few tens of thousands of yuan to send us on our way."

The others also cupped their hands, their faces bearing somewhat malicious smiles.

Li Yu frowned and said, "What if I don't have the money?"

"Then we're sorry, but my brothers will have to search you personally. If we accidentally break your bones or something, don't blame us."

As they spoke, the group brought their Beasts and walked toward Li Yu. Those Beasts were all baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, looking fierce and extremely troublesome.

Don't look at how Li Yu can usually chat and laugh in the face of Beasts; when actually facing these Beasts that were about to attack him, he couldn't help but feel a little flustered, but he quickly calmed down.

"Chen Qing, take care of them."

After Li Yu finished speaking, he waited for Chen Qing's reply but didn't get one. He turned back to look, only to see Chen Qing standing there alone, motionless, letting those Beast Tamers walk toward Li Yu.

"What's wrong with you?" Li Yu asked.

Chen Qing's hand was already gripping the hilt. She flicked her finger, and the sword guard lifted upward. The stark white blade looked exceptionally dazzling against the yellow sand, but her face was somewhat pale, and her brows were furrowed.

This was an injury from when she had suddenly returned the sword to its sheath and been shaken by the sword qi.

Li Yu didn't know this and only thought Chen Qing was unwell, so he couldn't help but say worriedly, "What's wrong? Are you not feeling well? How about I just give them the money first? I'll take you to the hospital. You should have told me earlier if you weren't feeling well."

Chen Qing trembled slightly, a fine layer of sweat appearing on her forehead, and she soon let out a long breath.

"No need…" she said.

"Are you sure? You shouldn't endure it if you're not feeling well."

"I said no!"

"Oh," Li Yu scratched his head, but scratched the protective suit instead, "Then what about these people?"

"They can't come over."

"They can't?"

As if to verify Chen Qing's words, when those Beast Tamers and their Beasts were still seven or eight meters away from them, the sandy ground trembled, and immediately after, a gust of sand erupted like a fountain.

Those Beast Tamers hadn't even reacted before they, along with their Beasts, were blasted into mid-air, leaving behind a series of shrill screams.

Chen Qing's voice slowly rose: "The most dangerous thing in the Mystic Realm is the environment, followed by people. Entering the Mystic Realm without even understanding the environmental characteristics is just asking for death."

Li Yu was secretly shocked.

That was close. If these people hadn't blocked the way, maybe the person being blasted into the sky right now would be him.

No, that's not right. Chen Qing is very strong; with her here, nothing would happen.

"Let's go. Aren't you looking for top-quality Spirit Crystals? There aren't any nearby."

Chen Qing said coldly, then strode forward. Li Yu walked far around the sandstorm and followed. Halfway there, Chen Qing turned back and glanced at Li Yu.

You're lucky this time.

It's all those small fries' fault for ruining my mood to kill. It's definitely not because of that inexplicable concern of yours.