Our neighborhood has been transported again.

Chapter 145 Hunting Ladder (Part 2)

Seeing that all the senior executives remained silent, Zou Jianghe asked, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

He looked at Zhang Bo.

Zhang Bo looked around and immediately said, "Chairman, you know me. My family only has one salt well! I might have a chance of being last, but being first is really out of the question."

Zou Jianghe shifted his gaze to He Biao, the captain of the hunting team to Zhang Bo's left. He was one of the oldest members of the team who had followed Zhang Bo the longest.

He Biao's face remained calm as he slowly said, "President, you know me. My house is so small, I don't even have an expansion card. How much stuff can I store? I'll never be number one."

Zou Jianghe continued to look to the right.

Huang Tao quickly coughed and said, "Don't look at me, Chairman. You know me. The timber and goods in my house are all sourced through the alliance's channels. The income is open and transparent. I have earned a little bit, but it has absolutely nothing to do with being number one."

Zou Jianghe looked around and saw the Tongmenghui's high-ranking members talking all at once, but they all said that being number one had nothing to do with them.

Zou Jianghe suddenly laughed, "Interesting. According to you, I should be number one?"

Huang Tao spoke up: "They might not necessarily be from our Tongmenghui."

Upon hearing this, Zou Jianghe's gaze immediately drifted away and landed on Qin Ziwen in the distance.

"My lord." Du Yu narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on Zou Jianghe who was walking towards them.

Zou Jianghe approached and said with a smile, "Hehe, Brother Qin, this group of newcomers insists on meeting the number one expert in our community. Unfortunately, this person is not from our alliance. After thinking it over, we finally decided that you should be the one."

Qin Ziwen smiled without saying a word, took two steps forward, turned around and saw Zou Jianghe standing still, then called out, "Chairman Zou, let's go."

Zou Jianghe was surprised and doubtful. It really was him. He snapped out of his thoughts and quickly followed.

He walked up to Qin Ziwen and whispered, "Captain Qin, once we get there, we'll be on the same side, right?"

"of course."

"Good! I'm relieved to hear that." Zou Jianghe laughed heartily.

There were piles of wood and firewood on the open ground outside the north gate of Yujing Jiangcheng.

At the entrance, a middle-aged teacher wearing a gray suit and glasses stood quietly, followed closely by seven or eight strong students on either side.

As soon as Qin Ziwen stood still, he felt the gazes directed at him from every floor of the teaching building.

He calmly raised his head and carefully examined the man in front of everyone.

The walls on the first floor of the teaching building were almost entirely covered with dark brown bloodstains and soot marks. The doors and windows were almost all destroyed, and through the windows, one could see that the rooms were empty, with benches and tables all removed.

The first floor appears to have been abandoned.

The middle stairwell leading upstairs was blocked by a thick wooden door.

Qin Ziwen thought to himself that starting with a school building was much better than starting with an apartment building in a residential area.

The teaching building is crowded with people and has very few rooms, offering almost no privacy.

On the upper floors, many students, both boys and girls, leaned out of their balconies to observe them openly.

"You're number one?" The speaker was a young man wearing a basketball uniform with animal skin wristbands wrapped around his arms. He had a buzz cut, three scabbed scars on his face, sharp eyes, and exuded a tough and capable aura.

"You're second?" Qin Ziwen asked instead of answering.

The young man paused for a moment, then shook his head somewhat awkwardly: "I'm fourth."

"Who are the second and third?" Qin Ziwen looked around.

“I’m third,” Zou Jianghe said calmly from the side.

Qin Ziwen couldn't help but glance at Lao Zou a few more times. It seemed that Lao Zou had put in a lot of effort in the Tongmenghui.

Noticing Qin Ziwen's gaze, Zou Jianghe kept his eyes down, pretending not to see it.

"I came in second, and I owe this ranking mainly to the trust and help of my classmates." The teacher, who was wearing glasses, pushed up his glasses. "My surname is Luo, and my given name is Gang. I invited you all here today because there are four things I'd like to discuss. Since we'll all be living in the same neighborhood from now on, communicating beforehand will help avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings."

Qin Ziwen took over: "My surname is Qin, Qin Ziwen. This is Zou Jianghe, the president of the community alliance. The alliance is also the largest organization in the community at present."

Zou Jianghe extended his hand and shook hands firmly with Luo Gang, then looked at the young man next to him who claimed to be fourth.

"I'll listen to Teacher Luo. My name is Cao Biansheng." The young man laughed and shook hands with Zou Jianghe before turning to Qin Ziwen and extending his hand.

The two clasped hands. Cao Biansheng raised an eyebrow and, seeing that Qin Ziwen's expression remained normal, began to subtly increase the pressure.

Five seconds later, the two released each other at the same time. Cao Biansheng's smile became even brighter, and he gave a thumbs up: "Interesting, impressive. No wonder you got first place. There are indeed many experts."

"I should be the one saying that." Qin Ziwen could sense that Cao Biansheng's strength was in no way inferior to his.

This only shows that the other party's physical fitness has also reached the five-star level.

Behind them, two suppressed gasps came from the student ranks.

"Damn, Lao Cao didn't even get the better end of the handshake."

"Damn, Old Cao is a tough guy who has used two enhancement cards."

Cao Biansheng stared intently at Du Yu behind Qin Ziwen, eager to try his luck. He could sense that Du Yu was also a master, and Du Yu's full armor and the cold weapon in his hand were really attractive to him. Suddenly, he felt that his own iron spear was not so appealing anymore. "Dude, you look really cool. Can I touch it?"

"Upgrade," Luo Gang interrupted.

Cao Biansheng shrugged and obediently took half a step back.

Luo Gang said to Qin Ziwen with a slight apology, "That's just Cao Biansheng's personality. He's straightforward and doesn't have any bad intentions."

"It's alright." Qin Ziwen waved his hand. "Teacher Luo, just tell me the four things you want to discuss."

Luo Gang nodded, his expression turning serious: "Okay, as you've probably seen, we only have this one teaching building. When we crossed over, we ended up at a lakeside in a forest. There were over eight hundred students at the beginning, but now there are only five hundred and forty-two left."

There are few rooms available, and many of the rooms are occupied by women, making it inconvenient for both rest and daily life. Are there any vacant rooms in the complex? We are hoping to rent some empty rooms.

Zou Jianghe stated, "There are definitely vacant houses, and we welcome you there."

"Sure, I think it's fine," Qin Ziwen nodded.

Luo Gang judged in his heart that these new teammates did not seem to be difficult to communicate with. "The second thing is that we have all crossed over here. The Gobi Desert environment is different from the forest, and resources are definitely scarcer. It is necessary to conduct a preliminary exploration of the surrounding environment. I hope we can share some information."

"What kind of sharing are you referring to?" Zou Jianghe pondered. Luo Gang said, "First, it's water sources; second, dangers; and finally, large herds of animals. We share this information. For example, if we find something, we'll tell you. We're all in this together now. In the Gobi Desert, resources are scarce. Only through cooperation can more people survive."

Zou Jianghe thought there was no problem, but he still looked at Qin Ziwen, who nodded slightly.

Zou Jianghe readily agreed: "Okay! I agree."

Luo Gang continued, "Then the third thing is, this is our second time traveling through time, what about you?"

"This is the second time," Zou Jianghe said.

"It seems we're all at a similar pace. We've acquired some cards, some of which are for production and construction. We hope we can make some trades to complement each other's resources."

“Of course,” Zou Jianghe agreed immediately. His Tongmenghui had the most resources, so this was advantageous to them.

Luo Gang then looked at Qin Ziwen, who nodded in agreement, before he said the fourth point: "Finally, there's the Hunting Ladder."

"I believe you have all received the message that if we cannot complete the challenge within thirty days, we will be left in this Gobi Desert forever."

He looked around at Qin Ziwen and Zou Jianghe, his tone serious: "The environment here is too harsh. I believe you don't want to stay here either. On this point, we are completely aligned. I don't know if you have seen the missions on the Hunting Ladder."

Qin Ziwen shook his head; he hadn't looked closely.

I only glanced at it briefly before leaving, and this Hunting Ladder is similar to a task posting system, like a pyramid.

The higher you go, the fewer the tasks there are, but the more difficult they become. The main objective is to hunt various native wild animals, and the reward is various cards.

This should be the second way to reliably obtain cards, besides the altar.

Zou Jianghe frowned. "I've looked at a bit, and to be honest, there's very 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 communities. I have observed them carefully. Judging from their names and appearances, they should all be creatures that live in this Gobi Desert. Moreover, there are many extinct ancient creatures among them, including some creatures I have never heard of before. Among the level two hunting targets is the Tarbosaurus! The other level two targets should also be creatures of the same level as the Tarbosaurus."

Zou Jianghe: "Tyrannosaurus Rex? Never heard of it, but judging from the name, it should be a carnivorous dinosaur?"

Cao Biansheng said, "Yes, a large carnivorous dinosaur, you can think of it as similar to Tyrannosaurus Rex, maybe even more powerful."

"Brother Cao, you're wrong, Tyrannosaurus Rex is more powerful," a boy behind him said.

"No, no, no, it depends on the terrain. Tarbosaurus generally lives in semi-arid regions, and it is more agile. In complex terrain, Tarbosaurus should have an advantage, but in a close-quarters fight, Tyrannosaurus Rex's bite force is more terrifying," another boy said.

Zou Jianghe noticed a key point: "Semi-arid regions?"

Qin Ziwen thought of a possibility: "That makes sense. A creature as large as a Tarbosaurus must drink a lot of water every day, so there must be a fixed water source near where there is a Tarbosaurus."

“Yes, if it’s a level 2 hunting mission objective, we can cooperate,” Qin Ziwen agreed.

After reaching an agreement, Luo Gang waved to someone behind him.

A flurry of footsteps echoed from inside the building.

Rows of students came down from upstairs.

Many people's clothes were dirty, covered in dust and bloodstains, and they hadn't changed them.

But their faces were all clean, and they were full of energy.

"Do you have any spare pots and pans? We can trade some supplies for them." Luo Gang smiled wryly. "We traveled through time in such a hurry that we don't even have a proper pot."

"Are you making group purchases?" Zou Jianghe asked.

Luo Gang pondered for a moment, "Let's make a group purchase. Don't worry, we definitely won't let you suffer any losses. We can trade animal hides, animal bones, and iron ore."

"Okay, I'll go back and ask. I can't guarantee anything else, but I can definitely spare some pots and pans for you." Zou Jianghe waved his hand generously.

He and Qin Ziwen then returned to the residential area.

Zou Jianghe said in a low voice, "Brother Qin, these new students are something else. They can even manage to buy pots and pans together as a group. They're definitely working together as a team."

“They can’t survive without working together. In their environment, what could possibly be found after crossing through a school building?” Qin Ziwen shook his head. There was something he didn’t say, but Zou Jianghe probably understood.

Compared to the mixed crowds in society, students in the ivory tower are more innocent.

Students are generally full of ideals and willing to put them into practice. Adults, on the other hand, who have been exposed to society for a long time, often need to consider more factors.

"Brother Qin, there are 542 of them. If each person has a bowl, that's 542 bowls. Including the spares, let's round it up to 600 bowls. Then we'll take 30 pots. How about we get 91 points?"

Qin Ziwen thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Even if it's split 91/10, it would still require sixty bowls and three pots, which is too much for any family. But if it's divided among the team members, it would be just right.

Zhao Pu asked, "Mr. Qin, what are they trading?"

Qin Ziwen said, "Animal hides, animal bones, and iron ore."

Zhao Pu nodded slowly: "Iron mine, it seems they don't have a blacksmith shop."

He looked at the captain. If he remembered correctly, there should be a blacksmith shop in the captain's house, because he could often hear the sound of hammering iron whenever he had a meeting at the captain's house.

For Qin Ziwen, iron ore wasn't very attractive, since he already had level 2 iron ore.

However, animal hides can be used to make leather armor.

While leather armor offers less protection than iron armor, it is lightweight and does not impede movement.

Back home, Qin Ziwen opened the Hunting Ladder.

The small ball of light projected a screen, displaying a leaderboard with the rankings displayed on the far left.

From bottom to top, they are level one mission, level two mission, and level three mission.

一级任务：狩猎成年巨鬣齿兽*10（奖励：随机普通建筑卡*1，1点积分）/狩猎成年裂肉兽*5（奖励：随机普通建筑卡*1，1点积分）/狩猎成年戈壁沙巨蜥*10（奖励：随机普通建筑卡*1，1点积分）/狩猎成年红翼翼龙*20（奖励：随机普通建筑卡*1，1点积分）
二级任务：狩猎成年鸭嘴龙*5（奖励：随机普通建筑卡*2，3点积分）/狩猎成年沙漠巨蠕虫*3（奖励：随机强化卡*1，4点积分）/狩猎成年特暴龙*1（奖励：随机突破卡*1，5点积分）
Level 3 Quest: Hunt the Ferocious Giant Rock Dragon*1 (Reward: 1 Utility Card (Insight), 20 Points)
At the very bottom, there is another line of text (Note: The Hunting Ladder cannot be completed repeatedly. Multiple tasks can be accepted at the same time. If you are in a guild, the task can be completed collectively by the guild).

The Hunting Ladder missions cannot be repeated, which serves as a restriction to prevent players from repeatedly drawing cards.

But Qin Ziwen felt it was somewhat unnecessary.

Because the number of living things in this Gobi Desert is finite! This isn't a game that can be repeatedly refreshed.

　The previous story of a friendly alliance hitting a minor pudding point didn't affect the plot; now it will only trigger a warning if there's strong malice.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)