Nobody told me this wasn't a game.

The leader was a middle-aged man. When the driver saw him, he quickly went up to him and said, "Captain Li, we're troubling you again this time."

Captain Li looked weathered, his lifeless eyes devoid of any vitality, and he appeared extremely tired.

He nodded and glanced at Zuo Chang: "Just one person?"

"Yes, he went to Qushui Town to take the exam. His background is absolutely solid, so you don't need to worry about that."

As the driver spoke, he handed over an envelope.

Captain Li felt the thickness of the fabric and quietly slipped it into his pocket.

He waved to Zuo Chang and said, "Alright, follow along. It's the last car, get on yourself."

Zuo Chang smiled and said, "Okay."

The driver bowed and scraped as he watched Captain Li walk away.

Then he said to Zuo Chang, "This is Captain Li from the Giant Shield Escort Team. Mr. Zuo, you know about Giant Shield Escort Team, right?"

"do not know."

"Uh... this giant shield escort is from the renowned 96511 escort team. Established for ten years with a perfect record of success, their reputation is extremely high! You can rest assured that everything will be foolproof with them this time!"

Fine.

After saying goodbye to the driver, Zuo Chang boarded the last flatbed cart.

There were already several people on the flatbed truck.

Most of them, like Zuo Chang, were only at the first level of cultivation, and were probably going to Qushui Town to take the exam.

Three of them were clearly not novices; when they saw Zuo Chang come up, they sized him up for a moment with rather unfriendly eyes.

"Hey buddy, want one?"

Among the three, a middle-aged man with a relatively kind face offered Zuo Chang a cigarette and said with a smile.

Zuo Chang glanced at the man and noticed a strange bulge on his waist.

Judging from its shape, it resembles the outline of a knife.

He reached out and pushed it away, saying, "I don't smoke."

"Oh……"

The middle-aged man lit a cigarette, took a satisfying drag, and squinted as he asked, "My name is Wang Tianyou, a second-realm adventurer. Where are you from, young man, and what skills do you have?"

Zuo Chang shook his head and said, "I don't know any skills yet. I'm going to Qushui Town this time to participate in the adventurer assessment."

"Really? You're a newbie? You don't look like it!"

"Not like?"

Wang Tianyou, with a cigarette between his fingers, said, "You don't seem like it at all. I think you're a master."

Zuo Chang smiled and said, "You flatter me."

Wang Tianyou was undoubtedly deceived by Zuo Chang's talent.

"veteran".

After personally experiencing the journey, the veteran's talents differed slightly from those in the game, but not significantly:

"Veteran": Your experience is evident. Whether it's experience, knowledge, or skill, you are a true master. You can actively use Veteran, consuming 5% of your mana per minute, to learn the enemy's attack range.

This talent, as the name suggests, is being knowledgeable and experienced.

Zuo Chang now possesses wilderness survival experience, adventure experience, and most importantly, combat skills, fighting experience, and mental fortitude.

More importantly, the veteran's character can be seen by others.

To others, Zuo Chang looks young, but he gives off the feeling of someone who has been through countless battles, so it's normal to ask him a few questions.

Wang Tianyou nodded in a friendly manner and said, "With your outstanding temperament, I believe the adventurer assessment will be a piece of cake for you, no problem at all."

Zuo Chang smiled slightly, not denying it: "Brother, what are you going to Qushui Town for?"

“My brothers and I went to visit a friend. It wasn’t safe to be out in the wilderness, so we had a caravan take us there. It wouldn’t cost much.”

"Oh……"

Zuo Chang glanced at the guards at the city gate and asked, "The guards in Fengming City are unusually tight today. Could something have happened?"

Wang Tianyou shook his head: "I don't know what's wrong with them. Giant Shield Escort has a lot of face, good reputation, and official backing. They usually won't check us, so you can rest assured."

The prestige of being escorted by a giant shield is indeed significant.

At the city gate, Captain Li showed his credentials, and the guards' expressions changed visibly. They searched him briefly and let him pass.

But it doesn't affect other people's reputation much.

When they arrived at the last vehicle, the guards ordered the passengers to get off and checked them one by one!

Someone was using a magical device to scan Zuo Chang and the others' bodies from all angles.

If the instrument alarms—

Hey.

There was a simple hut nearby. Regardless of gender, everyone was asked to go in and strip naked to check if they were carrying anything.

"What are you doing...?"

At the front of the line, someone grumbled in dissatisfaction.

Zuo Chang looked at the instrument and recognized it as a "magical material detector".

Its effect is similar to that of a metal detector, which can check whether the other party is carrying any valuable magical materials.

Looking again at the heavily guarded city gate, a guess naturally emerged:

Fengming City has a massive iron mine with reserves of tens of billions of tons.

In the game, in addition to regular iron ore, the billions of tons of iron ore deposits also produce a small amount of a magical material called "Iron Gallbladder".

Iron gall is the essence of iron, with excellent effects and extremely limited quantity. It can greatly enhance the attack power of weapons.

Only when iron is used can a piece of equipment be called "top-tier".

In the later stages of the game, Zuo Chang went so far as to deploy troops and intimidate other communities to offer him Iron Gall in order to obtain more Iron Gall!

"Could it be... that the iron gallstones from the mine have been stolen?"

Zuo Chang thought to himself silently.

Judging from this situation, it's probably true, almost certainly.

Whether it is or isn't, what does it have to do with him?

He didn't possess the Iron Gallbladder, so while he wasn't entirely uninterested in such a rare item, he simply lacked the strength to covet it.

He was just a prospective adventurer going to take the assessment.

Zuo Chang spread his arms and stood in front of the guard.

The guard scanned the area with his magical material detector, then waved his hand and said, "Hurry up! Next!"

Chapter 8 I'm nothing more than a pathetic wretch controlled by desire.

The caravan set off in silence.

The Giant Shield Escort had traversed the route from Phoenix City to Qushui Town countless times, so they were naturally very familiar with it.

The journey was smooth and uneventful.

Captain Li of the caravan is not very capable; he is only at the third level of the cultivation realm at nearly forty years old.

However, he was quite experienced and arrived at the designated location smoothly at dusk, where he was now busy setting up camp.

If all goes well, they should arrive in Qushui Town by tomorrow afternoon.

Zuo Chang ate dinner hastily and squatted by the campfire to roast himself.

Do not know why……

He felt a little uneasy, as if something was about to happen.

Before setting off, Blood Rose clearly stated that she had arranged for a spellcaster of the third realm to escort her.

But even now, Zuo Chang has not seen the spellcaster.

Given Blood Rose's abilities, there's no way she could fail at such a small matter.

There must have been something wrong with the spellcaster; they missed the opportunity.

"Ugh!"

Zuo Chang sighed softly, somewhat helplessly.

A spellcaster in the third realm isn't particularly strong. But in a dilapidated place like 96511, they're still considered to have some fighting power, and having them around gives one a sense of security.

"Sir, your name is Zuo Chang, right?"

Captain Li's voice rang out in front of him.

Zuo Chang looked up and saw two people.

One of them was Captain Li, and the other person's face was not visible.

It was a person shrouded in a black cloak, presumably a woman, whose weight and features were indistinguishable.

Judging from her exposed red lips, she must be a very attractive woman.

Her lips were neither too thick nor too thin; they were simply closed naturally, yet a hint of a smile lingered. The color of her lips was as vibrant as a strawberry dipped in water; even without seeing more, those lips alone were enough to arouse desire in others.

Unfortunately, he is not tall.

The girl barely reached Zuo Chang's chest, so she was probably still growing.

Zuo Chang stood up and said, "That's me."

This time, it was the cloaked man who spoke.

Her voice was clear and bright, with a rising tone at the end, which sounded quite cheerful: "You're the 'very important person' the 'Chief' was talking about, Zuo Chang?"

Oh!