Chapter 168: Chapter 102: Returning Fully Loaded, Ruoruo’s Sacrifice

Considering the spores still hanging in the air, there was no mistaking it.

"It’s true then. Who on earth did this? I only saw a single figure from a distance."

"A lone wolf? Not necessarily. It could’ve been a member of a Scavenger Squad or a Watcher squad. At the very least, it had to be someone from the local garrison’s assault team."

With so many rumors flying around, no one could say for sure. One thing was certain, though: this mysterious, unnamed powerhouse was about to get rich.

According to official information, they might have taken more than ten High Level Runes in one go.

Of course.

The attention of some, however, was drawn to the mature woman.

"Fire Element..."

Lin Wanqing could feel the lingering, scorching scent of embers in the air. As a member of the Law Enforcement Team, she received intelligence at least four hours faster than the general public, and some secrets were never disclosed at all.

Modified humans weren’t so easy to kill. Generally speaking, they were never alone; accomplices were always nearby to provide support.

At the distant Border Gate 3 garrison, a formidable Extraterritorial Investigation Team had suffered heavy casualties after falling into a trap while trying to capture a modified human alive.

If a Fire Element Spellcaster had really killed the modified humans alone, the first person Lin Wanqing thought of was undoubtedly the tall man from last night’s campsite.

’He probably didn’t retreat back to town...’

She had paid close attention to the people in the retreating column during the day but hadn’t spotted him.

...

Su Chen was in high spirits when he returned to the Qixia Night Market. From that last wave of kills alone, he had obtained 12 Dark Element Runes: three were Lv5, another three were Lv3, and the rest were all Lv4.

He reverse-devoured the Lv5 Shadow Leap Rune, using it to upgrade his own Shadow Jumping Skill.

[Shadow Leap] (Lv5): The Spellcaster can ignore obstacles and spatially jump to any dark area or region with faint shadows. The maximum range is 100 meters.

Besides the increased range and the less stringent shadow requirement, the newly unlocked feature was the ability to ignore obstacles.

Previously, the destination for the Shadow Jumping Skill had to be within his line of sight. Now, that restriction was gone. Combined with his extraordinary Telekinesis Perception, his shadow jumps could be made to much more difficult and precise locations.

The other two Lv5 Dark Element Runes he acquired were Dark Shackles and Shadowy Veil.

The former was a binding-type skill, a form of crowd control.

The latter was interesting. Like environment-shaping skills such as Earth Wall Skill, Water Curtain Skill, and Fire Wall Skill, the Shadowy Veil could also partition a space. In addition to creating a physical barrier, touching the veil would inflict a significant Spiritual Whip effect.

"Quite useful."

Su Chen thought about using it to set up defenses around a campsite.

Of course, due to its high level, the official information was likely incomplete. The actual effectiveness would have to be tested through practice.

"Let’s go. We’ll check out the ore yard and the equipment workshop," Su Chen said.

When he returned, Yan Ruoruo was standing watch by Xiaoye’s side.

As for the Earth Element modified human, he had long since used his Earth Escape Skill to flee and hadn’t dared to return.

"What a horrible way to go. The number two of the Watcher squad died just like that, in a toilet stall, without his pants on. Even his brain was pried out and devoured." Outside the public restroom, a police line had already been set up, and some law enforcement officers were just arriving at the scene.

A Two-Star Storm Priest was considered an absolute top-tier power in this region.

The Watcher squad had even made a name for themselves.

For their second-in-command to die so ignominiously was truly lamentable.

"Damn it. Will we ever feel safe just going to the bathroom again?"

Amidst the uneasy complaints of the crowd, Su Chen nonchalantly led his group back to the night market’s main street.

The creative park’s internal broadcast system crackled to life just then, announcing three deaths and warning that a Bloodthirsty Fungus modified human had infiltrated the area. Everyone was urged to be extremely cautious and not to walk around alone.

Although this news would cause panic and even damage the reputation of the first-ever Qixia Night Market, they had an obligation to break the news to prevent any further terrible incidents.

"I’m sorry, but I’ve already sold the rest of the ore at a premium to the Smithy. They’re coming to pick it up soon." The ore yard owner said, wringing his hands, his face full of apology.

Even if the deal fell through, the goodwill remained. He wouldn’t be so rude as to shoo away a potential customer.

"So blacksmiths are in that much demand, huh," a customer lamented, thinking that perhaps he should learn another trade.

Su Chen wasn’t disappointed. He still had a considerable reserve of ore and had mainly come to check the market prices anyway. He promptly took a photo of the price list posted in the shop with his phone.

The prices were mainly differentiated by size and the ore’s purity.

For example, a basketball-sized Red Flame Ore Crystal, a pure elemental crystal, could fetch a price of 18 essences.

A Red Flame Ore of the same size but with average purity and mixed with a lot of useless rock would see its price drop to 6-12 essences.

If it weren’t for the amazing Separation Refining Skill, the latter wouldn’t even be worth that much.

Additionally.

He also saw Light Element and Dark Element ore crystals, named Radiant Ore Crystal and Dark Ore Crystal respectively. Their prices were naturally much higher than those of regular elemental ore crystals.

After taking pictures of the relevant items, Su Chen realized there was no information about Soul Sand Ore.

’It probably hasn’t reached the market yet.’

The forest fissure zone wasn’t far from Qixia District. The team that had presumably been wiped out before probably came from this town. Besides, he had heard about the existence of other caves at the salon party.

That was normal.

A vast stretch of forest terrain had been fractured and shattered by countless ravines. For all he knew, a large population of cave dwellers could be living underneath it all.

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