Chapter 143: Hunting Ladder (2) |
Zou Jianghe saw that all the senior members remained silent. "Why aren't any of you saying anything?"
He looked at Zhang Bo.
Zhang Bo glanced around left and right and immediately said, "Guild Leader, you know me. I only have one salt well at home! If we were ranking last place, I might have a chance, but first place? That's truly impossible for me."
Zou Jianghe shifted his gaze, looking to the left of Zhang Bo at He Biao, the captain of the Hunting Team's first squad. This was one of the earliest followers with him.
He Biao's face showed no ripple of emotion as he said slowly, "Guild Leader, you know me. My place is just that small. I don't even have an Expansion Card, so how much could I possibly store? First place would never fall to me."
Zou Jianghe continued looking to the right.
Huang Tao quickly coughed. "Don't look at me, Guild Leader. You know me. All that timber and goods at my place move through the Alliance's channels. The income is open and transparent. I've earned a tiny bit, but it absolutely can't be connected to first place."
Zou Jianghe looked around the circle. The Alliance's senior members chattered away, but they all indicated that first place had nothing to do with them.
Zou Jianghe suddenly laughed. "Interesting. According to what you're all saying, then this first place should be me?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Zou Jianghe's gaze immediately drifted far away, landing on Qin Ziwen in the distance.
"Master." Du Yu narrowed his eyes, his gaze locking onto Zou Jianghe who was walking towards them.
Zou Jianghe approached, smiling as he said, "Haha, Brother Qin. This new group of people insists on meeting the top-ranked expert in our residential complex. Unfortunately, this person isn't from our Alliance. After much thought, we finally decided it must be you."
Qin Ziwen smiled without speaking, taking two steps forward. He turned back to see Zou Jianghe had stopped in place and called out, "President Zou, let's go."
Zou Jianghe was inwardly surprised and suspicious. It really was him? He collected his thoughts and quickly caught up.
Walking alongside Qin Ziwen, he said in a low voice, "Captain Qin, once we get over there, we're still on the same side, right?"
"Of course."
"Good! With your word, I'm reassured." Zou Jianghe laughed heartily.
Outside the north gate of Yujing Jiangcheng, the open ground was piled with things like wooden firewood.
At the entrance, a middle-aged teacher wearing a gray suit and glasses stood quietly, with seven or eight strong, robust students closely following behind him to his left and right.
As soon as Qin Ziwen stood still, he felt the gazes projected from every floor of the teaching building before him.
He calmly raised his head and openly scrutinized it in front of everyone.
The walls of the teaching building's first floor were almost covered in dark brown bloodstains and black smoke stains. The doors and windows were almost completely destroyed. Through the windows, one could see the interiors were empty; benches and desks had all been dismantled.
It seemed the first floor had been abandoned.
The staircase in the middle leading upstairs was blocked by a thick wooden door.
Qin Ziwen sighed inwardly. Compared to starting in a teaching building, starting in a residential complex building was much better.
This teaching building had many people and few rooms, crowded and bustling, with almost no privacy.
On the corridors of the upper floors, many students leaned out, both male and female, leaning on the railings, openly observing them.
"You're number one?" The speaker was a young man wearing a basketball jersey, with beast-hide wrist guards wrapped around his arms. He had a crew cut, three scabbed scars on his face, a sharp gaze, and an aura of toughness emanating from his entire body.
"Are you number two?" Qin Ziwen countered with a question instead of answering.
The young man was stunned for a moment, then somewhat awkwardly shook his head. "I'm fourth."
"Then who are second and third?" Qin Ziwen looked around.
"Third is me." Zou Jianghe said from the side, his tone calm.
Qin Ziwen couldn't help but take a few extra glances at Old Zou. It seemed Old Zou hadn't held back his efforts within the Alliance.
Sensing Qin Ziwen's gaze, Zou Jianghe kept his eyes downcast, pretending not to see.
"I'm second. Actually, being able to get this ranking mainly relies on the trust and help of my classmates." The bespectacled teacher adjusted his glasses. "My surname is Luo, single character Gang. This time, I invited you all over mainly because there are four matters I'd like to discuss together. From now on, we're all companions living in the same residential complex. Communicating in advance can also avoid unnecessary misunderstandings."
Qin Ziwen took over the conversation. "My surname is Qin, Qin Ziwen. This is the Alliance's Guild Leader Zou Jianghe from our residential complex. The Alliance is also currently the organization with the most members in the complex."
Zou Jianghe smoothly extended his hand, shaking Luo Gang's hand firmly, then looked at the young man beside him who claimed to be fourth.
"I listen to Teacher Luo in everything. My name is Cao Biansheng." The young man laughed heartily, stepping forward to shake Zou Jianghe's hand, then turned to look at Qin Ziwen, proactively extending his hand.
As their palms clasped, Cao Biansheng's eyebrows raised slightly. Seeing Qin Ziwen's expression remain normal, he began to subtly increase his grip strength.
Five seconds later, the two simultaneously released their grip. Cao Biansheng's smile grew even brighter as he gave a thumbs-up. "Interesting. Impressive. No wonder you got first place. Experts truly emerge from all corners."
"That's what I should be saying." Qin Ziwen could feel that Cao Biansheng's strength was in no way inferior to his own.
This could only mean the other's physical constitution had also reached the five-star level.
Behind them, two suppressed exclamations came from the student ranks.
"Holy shit, Old Cao didn't gain the upper hand in the handshake."
"Damn, Old Cao is a tough guy who's used two Enhancement Cards."
Cao Biansheng's gaze burned as he looked at Du Yu behind Qin Ziwen, eager to try. He could sense Du Yu was also an expert. Moreover, Du Yu's full set of Mountain Pattern Armor and the cold weapon in his hand were truly attractive, making him suddenly feel his own iron-tipped long spear wasn't as appealing. "Bro, that gear of yours is really cool. Can I touch it?"
"Biansheng." Luo Gang spoke up to stop him.
Cao Biansheng shrugged, obediently taking half a step back.
Luo Gang said to Qin Ziwen with a hint of apology, "This kid Cao Biansheng's personality is just like this, straightforward and direct. He doesn't have any bad intentions."
"No problem." Qin Ziwen waved his hand. "Teacher Luo, just say directly what the four matters you want to discuss are."
Luo Gang nodded, his expression turning serious. "Alright. You should have seen it too. We only have this one teaching building. When we crossed over, we landed directly by a lake in a forest. At the beginning, there were over eight hundred students. Now only five hundred and forty-two remain.
There are few rooms, and many are female students. Whether resting or daily life, it's quite inconvenient. May I ask if there are any vacant houses in the residential complex? We hope to rent some empty houses."
Zou Jianghe stated his position. "There are definitely vacant houses. We welcome you as well."
"That's fine. I think it's no problem." Qin Ziwen nodded.
Luo Gang judged inwardly. It seemed these new teammates weren't the difficult-to-communicate type. "The second matter is that we've all crossed over to this place. This Gobi Desert environment is different from the forest. Resources are definitely more scarce. Conducting a preliminary exploration of the surrounding environment is necessary. I hope we can achieve some information sharing."
"What kind of sharing are you referring to, roughly?" Zou Jianghe pondered.
Luo Gang said, "First is water sources, second is dangers, and third is large animal herds. This information is shared by both sides. For example, if we find something, we'll tell you too. Now we're all grasshoppers on the same rope. In the Gobi, resources are scarce. Only through cooperation can more people survive."
Zou Jianghe thought it was no problem, but he still looked at Qin Ziwen. Qin Ziwen gave a slight nod.
Zou Jianghe then readily agreed. "Good! I agree."
Luo Gang continued, "Then the third matter. This is our second crossing. What about you?"
"Also the second time." Zou Jianghe said.
"Then it seems everyone's progress is similar. We've obtained some cards, among which are some production and construction buildings. I hope the two sides can conduct some transactions to achieve resource complementarity."
"This is certainly possible." Zou Jianghe agreed directly. His Alliance had the most supplies, so this clause was beneficial to them.
Luo Gang looked at Qin Ziwen again. Only after Qin Ziwen also nodded did he state the fourth item. "Finally, it's the Hunting Ladder."
"I believe you should have all received the message. If we cannot complete the challenge within thirty days, we will be forever stranded in this Gobi Desert."
He looked around at Qin Ziwen and Zou Jianghe, his tone grave. "The environment here is too harsh. I believe you certainly don't want to stay here either. On this point, our goals are completely aligned. I wonder if you've looked at the tasks on the Hunting Ladder."
Qin Ziwen shook his head. He hadn't looked closely.
He had only glanced briefly before leaving. This Hunting Ladder was similar to a mission bulletin board in form, resembling a pyramid.
The higher you went, the fewer the number of tasks, but the difficulty also increased. The targets were basically hunting various local beasts, with rewards being various cards.
This should be the second method to stably obtain cards, besides the Altar.
Zou Jianghe frowned. "I looked a little. To be honest, there's too little information. Basically, there's only a name and a picture, and we have no idea where to find these hunting targets."
Luo Gang said, "This challenge is based on the residential complex as a unit. I've observed carefully. Judging from the names and appearances, they should all be creatures living in this Gobi Desert. Moreover, there are many already extinct prehistoric creatures among them, including some never-before-heard-of creatures. Among the second-level hunting targets is the Tarbosaurus! The other second-level targets should also be creatures of the same level as the Tarbosaurus."
Zou Jianghe asked, "Tarbosaurus? Never heard of it. But judging by the name, it should be a carnivorous dinosaur?"
Cao Biansheng said, "Yes, a large carnivorous dinosaur. You can think of it as similar to a Tyrannosaurus rex, maybe even a bit more powerful than a T. rex."
"Brother Cao, you're wrong. The T. rex is more powerful." A male student behind him said.
"No, no, no. This depends on the terrain. Tarbosaurus generally lives in semi-arid regions. It's more agile. In complex terrain, Tarbosaurus should have more advantage. But if it's a death match in a narrow environment, the T. rex's bite force is more terrifying." Another male student said.
Zou Jianghe noticed a key point. "Semi-arid regions?"
Qin Ziwen, however, thought of a possibility. "Right. With a body as large as a Tarbosaurus, its daily water consumption must be considerable. So, areas with Tarbosaurus nearby should have fixed water sources."
"Alright. If it's hunting second-level mission targets, we can cooperate." Qin Ziwen expressed his agreement.
After reaching a cooperation agreement, Luo Gang waved to those behind him.
Dense footsteps sounded from inside the building.
Rows of students came down from upstairs.
Many people's clothes were dirty, covered in dust and bloodstains, unchanged.
But their faces were clean, and their spirit was vigorous.
"Do you have extra pots, pans, bowls, and utensils? We can trade some supplies for them." Luo Gang smiled wryly. "We crossed over in a hurry. We don't even have a proper pot."
"Are you doing collective procurement?" Zou Jianghe inquired.
Luo Gang pondered. "Collective procurement. Don't worry, we definitely won't let you suffer a loss. We can trade with animal hides, bones, and iron ore."
"Fine. I'll go back and ask. I can't promise other things, but we can probably spare some extra pots and bowls for you." Zou Jianghe waved his hand grandly, speaking magnanimously.
Afterwards, he and Qin Ziwen returned to the residential complex.
Zou Jianghe said in a low voice, "Brother Qin, this new group of students isn't simple. They can even do collective procurement for things like pots and bowls. They're definitely united as one."
"If they weren't united as one, they couldn't survive. Their environment—what could a teaching building have after crossing over?" Qin Ziwen shook his head. Moreover, there was something he didn't say, but he figured Zou Jianghe should understand.
Compared to the mixed composition of people in society, students in the ivory tower are more pure.
Student groups have always been full of ideals and willing to put them into practice. Adults, long tainted by society, often need to consider more.
"Brother Qin, they have five hundred and forty-two people. Even one bowl per person requires five hundred and forty-two bowls. Counting spares, let's round it to six hundred bowls, then add thirty pots. How about a 9:1 split for us?"
Qin Ziwen thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
Even with a 9:1 split, they would need to provide sixty bowls plus three pots. This quantity was too much for any single household, but if distributed among team members, it would be suitable.
Zhao Pu asked, "Mr. Qin, what are they trading with?"
Qin Ziwen said, "Animal hides, bones, and iron ore."
Zhao Pu slowly nodded. "Iron ore. It seems they don't have a Blacksmith."
He looked at the Captain. If he remembered correctly, the Captain's Home should have a Blacksmith, because during previous meetings at the Captain's house, they often heard the sound of hammering and forging.
For Qin Ziwen, the attraction of iron ore wasn't particularly high, because he already had a Level 2 iron mine himself.
But animal hides could be used to make leather armor.
Although leather armor's defense wasn't as good as iron armor, it had the advantage of being lightweight and not hindering movement.
Returning home, Qin Ziwen opened the Hunting Ladder.
The little glowing ball projected a screen, displaying a leaderboard. The leftmost column of the leaderboard was the level.
From bottom to top, they were Level 1 tasks, Level 2 tasks, and Level 3 tasks.
Level 1 Tasks: Hunt Adult Giant Hyaenodon10 (Reward: Random Ordinary Building Card1, 1 point) / Hunt Adult Sarkastodon5 (Reward: Random Ordinary Building Card1, 1 point) / Hunt Adult Gobi Sand Monitor10 (Reward: Random Ordinary Building Card1, 1 point) / Hunt Adult Red-Winged Pterosaur20 (Reward: Random Ordinary Building Card1, 1 point) ...
Level 2 Tasks: Hunt Adult Hadrosaur5 (Reward: Random Ordinary Building Card2, 3 points) / Hunt Adult Desert Giant Worm3 (Reward: Random Enhancement Card1, 4 points) / Hunt Adult Tarbosaurus1 (Reward: Random Breakthrough Card1, 5 points) ...
Level 3 Tasks: Hunt Ferocious Giant Rock Dragon1 (Reward: Function Card (Insight)1, 20 points)
At the very bottom, there was a line of text (Note: Hunting Ladder tasks cannot be repeated. Multiple tasks can be accepted simultaneously. If there is a guild, tasks can be completed collectively by the guild.)
The Hunting Ladder tasks being non-repeatable was a restriction that could prevent repeatedly farming cards.
But Qin Ziwen felt it was somewhat redundant.
Because in this Gobi Desert, the number of creatures was limited! This wasn't a game where they could respawn.