89: Chapter 89 Ye Zhen: I Will Win

Chapter 89 Ye Zhen: I Will Win

Sweeping the School Team, Day 11, Thursday.

This is an elegantly decorated coffee shop. Soft sunlight filters through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling onto the natural wood-colored tables. The air is filled with the aroma of roasted coffee beans and the sound of low conversation.

The four members of the Dawn Squad are sitting around a booth by the window.

Zhang Xiaoxiao takes a clearly printed notice from her bag and places it gently in the center of the table.

"Look at this. This is the only large-scale joint mission our squad can currently accept, and it should be very suitable for us."

Lin Chen and the other two cast their eyes on the paper.

The title is eye-catching: "Notice Regarding Organizing Students to Participate in the Northern Wilderness Star Meteor Collection Competition."

Below is a line of small text: Joint Cleanup Operation and Practical Course (Credits can be earned).

Zhou Ming leans in impatiently, and Lin Chen and Su Qingyuan also read it carefully.

Zhang Xiaoxiao explains simultaneously from the side, her voice clear: "Every year around this time, a periodic star rain phenomenon appears over the Northern Wilderness, dropping a large number of special meteorites, which the Beast Tamer Association has named Desolate Star Crystals. These meteorites rapidly decompose and shatter, turning into countless fragments scattered across the wilderness."

"The Desolate Star Crystals contain a special energy substance that causes continuous damage to the surrounding environment, leading to soil desertification and thinning energy."

"However, the Beast Tamer Association has ways to process these star crystals, extracting the harmful energy and processing it into useful strategic resources. Therefore, the Association joins forces with major Beast Taming Academies in the North every year to organize students to enter the wilderness to collect star meteors. For students, it is also a different kind of training."

Zhang Xiaoxiao's gaze sweeps over the three of them. "What do you think? Shall we accept it?"

"Accept! We must accept!"

Zhou Ming is the first to raise both hands in favor, his face full of excitement: "Our squad has been established for a week, and all we've taken are boring tasks."

"Going into the wilderness to collect meteorites sounds very interesting."

Lin Chen does not express his opinion immediately; his gaze sweeps quickly over the notice.

When he sees a small note about 'Desolate Star Crystal by-products,' his heart moves slightly.

The note mentions that in areas where Desolate Star Crystals fall densely, due to energy impact and special substance infiltration, there is a high probability of accompanying or giving birth to some special mineral or crystal-type resources.

"Crystal-type resources..." Lin Chen thinks silently.

The holy radiance crystal core needed for the Songsong Dog's evolution is exactly a Tier 3 light-attribute crystal-type resource.

So, is there a possibility that he could find the holy radiance crystal core in the wilderness, thereby saving the 350 credits required to exchange for this resource?

The progress of earning credits is not as smooth as he initially imagined.

Without large-scale competitions like the Freshman Grand Competition, and with high-credit missions being rare and usually snatched up by senior students as soon as they appear, the speed of earning credits is very slow.

And even if he doesn't find the holy radiance crystal core in the wilderness, he can still exchange the credits earned from completing collection missions for the holy radiance crystal core, and the Songsong Dog will still be able to evolve.

Thinking of this, Lin Chen glances at the evolution exp required for the Songsong Dog — (410/500).

The acquisition speed of evolution exp is faster than credits. The system issues daily tasks related to training or battles from time to time. After more than a week, the Songsong Dog is only ninety away from filling the evolution bar.

"Okay." Lin Chen nods.

After the three of them nod one after another, Su Qingyuan also agrees.

"Good! Unanimously approved!"

Zhang Xiaoxiao claps her hands and carefully puts away the notice: "Then I will go and formally submit the squad application now."

She thinks for a moment and arranges: "Today is Thursday. We will set off tomorrow afternoon after class and first head to the assembly point on the outskirts of the wilderness."

"As for the mission time, let's set it from Friday evening to Sunday evening. This time is enough for us to explore and collect. We can still make it back for class on Monday. How about it?"

"No problem!"

"Okay."

"Mm."

The next afternoon, after the last class, the four meet at the school gate and board a large flying mount reserved in advance — the Cloud-Winged Giant Roc.

The Giant Roc spreads its wings, carrying the four toward the sky in the north of the academy.

The so-called Northern Wilderness is not a desolate place inaccessible to humans.

It is located north of Qiming City, a vast and relatively flat area where Gobi deserts and sparse grasslands interweave. Further north lies that towering shadow that spans the heavens and earth, isolating countless dangers — the Wall of Eternal Night.

The wilderness is close to human activity areas, so the danger is relatively controllable. As long as they don't go deep into those marked dangerous areas or encounter extreme weather, for Primary Beastmasters acting in a team, as long as they are cautious, safety is completely guaranteed.

After flying for about two hours, the monotonous green below is gradually replaced by earthy yellow and gray-brown, and the terrain becomes open.

In the distance, a simple multifunctional building appears in their field of vision. Many flying mounts are parked on the open space next to the building, and many students wearing various academy uniforms are coming and going, busy.

That is the forward base and registration office set up on the edge of the wilderness for this 'Star Meteor Collection Competition'.

Among the students coming and going, there are not only freshmen like them with immature faces and curiosity, but also senior students who are experienced and calm.

The Cloud-Winged Giant Roc lands slowly.

The four jump off the roc's back, and the Cloud-Winged Giant Roc lets out a long cry and flaps its wings to return to the academy.

Walking into this slightly noisy building, Zhou Ming looks around and sees students with badges from other academies: "There are quite a lot of people."

"After all, it is a joint competition, and students from nearby academies will all come."

Zhang Xiaoxiao leads them to the exclusive registration channel for the Qiming Beast-Taming Academy, explaining while queuing: "This competition is led by the Qiming City Beast Tamer Association and organized jointly by almost all Beast Taming Academies in our North."

"According to the rules, for every small Desolate Star Crystal collected, you can get 10 credits."

"Those senior students can go deep into more dangerous areas, so the Desolate Star Crystals they collect are larger and more valuable."

"However," she pauses slightly and adds, "although it is called a competition, there is actually no leaderboard, and there is no strict end time. From the end of the star rain until now, the competition has been going on for nearly two weeks, and it will continue until autumn, when there are no more Desolate Star Crystals in the wilderness."

"This is a long-term open mission. Students can participate freely according to their own time, come anytime, leave anytime, and hand in their harvest anytime."

Lin Chen understands.

Zhou Ming, however, is full of regret: "Damn, there is no leaderboard."

Lin Chen is puzzled: "You still care about the leaderboard?"

Zhou Ming turns his head and sighs repeatedly: "Brother Chen, I am frustrated for you. This way, the opportunity to dominate the top of the list again and stay far ahead is gone."

Lin Chen is speechless for a moment.

Joke, is he such a shallow person?

Registration is soon their turn. The four register their personal identities in turn and receive a special star crystal collection bag, a simple wilderness topographic map marked with explored and unexplored areas, and an emergency distress signal device.

After the formalities are completed, the four are about to leave the registration hall when they run into two acquaintances.

"Hey, what a coincidence."

Yun Chuxiu's eyes light up, and he takes the lead in waving and saying hello: "I was wondering why you guys ran away as soon as class ended. So you came to participate in this competition too."

Ye Zhen's gaze lingers on Lin Chen's face for a moment, his expression complex, but he nods slightly in greeting.

After a simple greeting, Lin Chen and the others leave.

Ye Zhen watches Lin Chen walk away, his lips pursed, but he says nothing.

Yun Chuxiu nudges him with his elbow and teases him in a volume that only the two of them can hear: "Zhenzhen, what are your thoughts right now? Do you want to compete with him to see who collects more Desolate Star Crystals?"

Ye Zhen glances at Yun Chuxiu sideways and says lightly: "Boring."

Yun Chuxiu laughs and says: "Do you really have no thoughts of competing with him?"

Ye Zhen is silent.

A moment later, he says: "If we meet in the wild, I will challenge him."

Speaking of this, his eyes are deep, and he says word by word: "A no-rules, unrestricted field battle."

"I will win."

Hearing this, Yun Chuxiu sighs.

In the evening, the last rays of the setting sun sink into the distant horizon in the west, and the night falls slowly from the sky.

The night in the Northern Wilderness comes swiftly and thoroughly.

A cool breeze rises, and the stars are bright, outlining the blurred and hideous shadows of rocks and low shrubs.

Lin Chen and the other three are standing on a weathered soil slope with slightly higher terrain.

Just stepped into the wilderness, and night has officially arrived.

Night is the most dangerous time in the wild.

Mature Beast Tamers will always keep their pets by their side to survive the long night, and the four are no exception.

"Chirp~"

A clear bird call sounds, and a cyan stream of light flashes out from Su Qingyuan's side, lightly hovering in mid-air.

Its body is more slender and elegant than the Green Feather Wind Bird, with a wingspan of nearly two meters, and its whole body feathers present a glossy flowing cloud cyan color, which seems to carry a faint light under the starlight.

Its tail feathers have become extremely long, divided into several strands, like elegant cyan silk ribbons, gently swaying behind it.

This is exactly the evolved form of the Green Feather Wind Bird — the Wind Feather Bird.

[Race Name: Wind Feather Bird]

[Attribute: Wind, Spirit]

[Race Grade: Medium Elite]

I don't know when Su Qingyuan's Green Feather Wind Bird evolved into a Wind Feather Bird.

However, for the wealthy Su Qingyuan, this is not a difficult task, and this evolutionary form is not a secret.

Zhou Ming's Flame Eagle has not evolved yet, but he is already collecting evolution materials and steadily improving the Flame Eagle's strength.

As a support member of the team, Zhang Xiaoxiao's pet is a Spirit Light Mushroom.

This kind of pet is like a large dandelion, emitting a soft pale green light throughout its body, and the main body is an umbrella cap covered with dense white mycelium.

As a medium-level extraordinary wood-type pet, the Spirit Light Mushroom has low combat power, but possesses good healing abilities and auxiliary skills, making it the team's medic.

Lin Chen summons the Songsong Dog.

"Yingwu!"

As soon as the Songsong Dog appears, it rushes into Lin Chen's arms impatiently, and its tender voice sounds.

But it soon discovers that there are other strangers nearby, and they are all staring at it, so its ears turn red, and it buries its head completely in Lin Chen's arms, motionless.

Lin Chen smiles.

Under the cover of night, the four form a loose exploration team and head into the depths of the wilderness in the darkness.

Under their feet is hard sandy ground, mixed with gravel and dry grass stalks.

In the distance, there are occasional strange cries or rustling sounds of unknown nocturnal creatures, adding to the wilderness's unknowns and sense of oppression.

After walking for about half an hour, except for a few strangely shaped weathered rocks and a few clumps of tenacious thorns, they have gained nothing. The Desolate Star Crystals do not seem to be as easy to find as imagined.

Just when Zhou Ming can't help but want to suggest a rest, Su Qingyuan stops without warning.

She tilts her head slightly, as if listening to something, or feeling the subtle flow of the night wind.

Suddenly, she opens her eyes and looks to the northeast.

"Follow me." Su Qingyuan says without explanation, then changes direction and walks quickly towards the northeast.

A flash of doubt crosses Lin Chen's eyes.

Zhou Ming and Zhang Xiaoxiao look at each other, their faces not only devoid of doubt but showing a hint of excitement.

Following Su Qingyuan through the rock pile for less than ten minutes, after bypassing a giant rock the size of a car, the scene before them makes several people stop at the same time.

I see a stone the size of a fist, dark grayish-black, covered with fine holes on the surface, quietly floating above a relatively flat sandy open space ahead.

It has no support, just floating there against reason, emitting a dazzling white halo.

This is the goal of their trip — the Desolate Star Crystal.

"Found it!" Zhou Ming can't help but whisper.

Lin Chen is stunned for a moment.

Is it that easy to find?

Did Su Qingyuan secretly contract a treasure-hunting rat or something?

Or does she really possess a special talent for sensing resources?

Lin Chen stares at Su Qingyuan, his gaze intense.

But no matter what, she is worth his deep friendship.