bigabreads Chapter 78, Rank 3577: A Rare Item
Chapter 78, Rank 3577: A Rare Item
Jia Zhenxin was intimidated by the three men's imposing manner, and the fawning smile on her face instantly froze. She quickly raised her hands in a gesture of surrender.
"No, no, no! Mercy! I'm just a businessman... I was merely passing through your esteemed place and meant no harm!"
His eyes darted around, quickly scanning Xu Si's cold gaze and Su Su's poised fist, before finally settling on Fu Xiaojian, as if he had found a breakthrough.
"This team leader seems reasonable and follows the rules! I can offer you a piece of information for free in exchange for your safety!"
Fu Xiaojian and the three exchanged glances, and immediately formed a plan in their minds.
"What information do you want in exchange?"
"Are you trapped in this swamp and can't find your way?" the old man asked confidently.
Xu Si couldn't help but look at Fu Xiaojian.
Fu Xiaojian's expression was not good at this moment. Since entering the swamp, his sense of danger had been greatly reduced, and the level of danger was the same in any direction.
In other words, it doesn't matter which direction you go.
"This is because your sequence is too low and is being suppressed by the strangeness of this swamp!" the old man continued.
"You mean the [Lord of the Rotten Swamp]?"
"Oh? You ran into that big guy? And you still managed to escape?" The old man couldn't help but re-examine the convoy.
He initially thought that the convoy had so many strange items due to luck, since it was the most dilapidated convoy he had ever seen, with few vehicles and even fewer people.
Now it seems that this team's strength was truly hidden!
"Incredible, truly incredible!" he exclaimed in amazement.
"To escape from the mouth of the Lord of the Rotten Swamp, your convoy... you've got something!"
His gaze swept over Xu Si's sword, Su Su's brass knuckles, and Ta Shan's rock-like body again, this time with more scrutiny and assessment.
"Why does this old man talk so much nonsense?" the little girl couldn't help but complain.
"Hehe," Jia Zhenxin laughed awkwardly, reverting to his snobbish demeanor.
"The Lord of the Rotten Swamp, one of the nominal 'bosses' of this swamp, its domain power will invisibly interfere with the lower-level sequence, making you like headless flies."
Want to get out? Simple. Either wait until it completely falls asleep—but judging from your expressions, you've definitely angered it, so that's probably hopeless; or, find something that can counteract or shield it from interference with its domain.
He paused, his small eyes glancing at Xu Si: "This young man seems to have a... peculiar scent? Like it came from an extremely cold place? That stuff's aura is naturally somewhat restraining towards filthy creatures like the Lord of the Rotten Swamp. But it looks like it's not enough."
Xu Si's heart skipped a beat. This old man's senses were so sharp that he could even detect the trace of the "Ice Sleeper's" remaining aura.
"Get to the point." Fu Xiaojian's words carried a hint of impatience. This old man was clearly hesitant to act against them, making them wary.
"The key point is that I happen to have a little gadget here that can help point the way, as long as it's a strange drop."
As Jia Zhenxin spoke, he rummaged through his huge bundle, making a clattering sound, and finally pulled out a thing that looked like a wooden ant.
"This is the 3577th ranked wonder—the ant nest. The worker ants produced here have only one characteristic: they return to the nest. Simply put, wherever the ant nest is, they will move in that direction, like this."
As the old man spoke, he placed a worker ant in his palm. The worker ant quickly moved toward his thumb, and the same thing happened even when the old man switched hands.
"Who has the ant nest now? Why do you have this thing?" Fu Xiaojian asked the key question.
"The ant nest is in the hands of a group called the 'Martial God Caravan.' They want to hunt mid-ranking anomalies and need the assistance of other caravans. As a miracle merchant, I am naturally the best organizer!"
"I've visited six car teams so far, and all but one, which was extremely unfriendly, have accepted my invitation. Whether you accept or not, I can give you this worker ant for free! Consider it a gift for our first meeting." The old man's smile widened.
We have to have it, whether we want it or not! It's the key to getting them out of the swamp.
Xu Si stared at the wooden-carved worker ant in Jia Zhenxin's hand, his scarlet star-like eyes flickering slightly.
The perception of "star trails" focuses on it, and one can clearly "see" an extremely faint but stable energy flow pointing in a specific direction.
This thing seems to actually work.
"The Martial God Caravan? The mid-level hunting sequence is strange?" Fu Xiaojian caught the key words and frowned even more.
"Why do they think we can help? And why should we trust you?"
Jia Zhenxin chuckled and carefully placed the worker ant on the ground.
As soon as the worker ant landed, it immediately changed direction and resolutely crawled towards the southeast.
"Based on this," he said, pointing to the worker ants.
"Without it, you may never get out of this swamp, and in the end you will either become nourishment for this swamp or be swallowed up by other lurking monsters."
"As for the Martial God Caravan... hehe, they are very strong, extremely strong. The leader is a Sequence 3 'Martial Master', and he has several Sequence 2 experts under his command. More importantly, their caravan also has a wizard who can make awakening potions."
Their target is a strangely dropped mid-sequence creature, which they intend to use to create an awakening potion, but they can't consume it themselves and need help.
The rewards, of course, are very generous: rare items, intelligence, supplies, even sequence awakening potions... anything is possible.
"Wizard? Making awakening potions?" Su Su's cold voice carried a hint of doubt, and her brass knuckles [Violent Tiger] trembled slightly, as if sensing the fluctuation of their master's emotions.
The ability to create awakening potions is a strategic resource in any survivor caravan. Why would the Martial God Caravan be so generous as to offer it as a reward?
Tashan spoke in a deep, gruff voice, his rocky fists clenched so tightly they cracked: "I don't think this old man is trustworthy! Who knows if he's leading us into a trap?"
Jia Zhenxin immediately protested, "Oh dear! You've wronged this old man! I'm just a businessman, and I value my reputation above all else! If you don't believe me, you can follow the worker ants and see for yourselves. You don't have any other direction right now, do you? If it doesn't feel right, you can just abandon it!"
His words hit the team's weak spot.
Without a clear direction, wandering aimlessly in this eerie swamp, even if you don't encounter anything strange, you will eventually be trapped and die here.
Without making a sound, Xiao Luo picked up the worker ant that was still crawling on the ground and handed it to Fu Xiaojian. He could tell from the smell that it was a good thing.
"Our convoy has accepted the goods; whether we go or not is up to us!" Fu Xiaojian said.
"Of course!"