Why is my territory in a 2D anime art style?

Chapter 142 Ye Tengyang Reappears

Jiangcheng West City Commercial Street.

Qian Hui looked at Zhao Feng, who had come out with him, with a smile, his tone unusual.

"Captain Zhao, why didn't you ask for leave today?"

But Zhao Feng ignored Qian Hui and sat in the corner of the transport vehicle, closing her eyes to rest. The more you pay attention to this kind of person, the more energetic he will become.

Since we've already decided to forgo these mining rewards, there's no need to dwell on it or even explain it. Explaining it will only reinforce the negative impression.

Qian Hui's expression remained unchanged. He was about to say something more when he saw Ning Pan come out of the hunting party's camp, so he stopped talking.

Ning Pan arrived at the door, scrutinized the team members in the two transport vehicles, and then reminded them, "Today we're going to the Pinghu area to continue collecting Sky Blue Pearls. Check your equipment."

"Qian Hui, are you prepared enough bait?"

Upon hearing Ning Pan call his name, Qian Hui raised a metal bucket in his hand: "I brought fifty portions of bait, which should be enough for my team."

Ning Pan frowned. He had instructed Qian Hui to prepare enough for two squads, so it seemed he was going to clash with Zhao Feng.

Zhao Feng seemed to have noticed as well. Before Ning Pan could say anything, she reached out and patted the bucket next to her: "I brought one for our team too."

The Gale Hunting Group is divided into small teams and large teams.

The small team was led by level four professionals such as Zhao Feng and Qian Hui, while the large team was led by two level five deputy leaders.

Small missions are usually carried out in small teams, while larger teams are only used for highly competitive resource points.

However, the recruitment and team formation of these members are not the responsibility of the team leader; the team leader is in charge of everything.

Therefore, Zhao Feng was just like any other manager in the company, taking the lead. She was naturally more familiar with the members of her own team, but she couldn't be considered a confidante.

After all, most of the time it's the two deputy commanders each leading two squads on missions, or even the commander leading the entire regiment.

It's actually quite rare for a small team to go out into the wild. If a small team does go on a mission, it's usually in a place not far from Jiangcheng.

Seeing that Zhao Feng was prepared, Ning Pan stopped hesitating and got into Qian Hui's car. The group then drove the two transport vehicles towards Line 7.

Pinghu is located southwest of Line 7, about ten kilometers southwest of the Zhao family's territory. It is the largest lake near Jiangcheng, covering an area of ​​seven or eight hundred square kilometers, and is also the upstream area of ​​the small river near the Sui'an territory.

As a vast body of water, it was rich in various source energy resources after the invasion of the source realm. However, with the arrival of the ice fog tide, this huge lake has long been covered with a thick layer of ice.

Today, the convoy is going to find a special resource: a level 3 source beast called the Azure Clam, which is a specialty of Pinghu.

Because they are aquatic creatures with extremely weak land mobility, and because they don't have much territory near the lake, they are unlikely to come ashore to attack other territories when the blood moon arrives.

This has resulted in a large number of water-attribute source beasts in the lake, and the resources are much richer than in the wasteland, making it a public resource area frequently visited by many hunting groups.

Before winter arrives, the Blue Clam condenses a special pearl. Unlike ordinary pearls, this pearl is an aggregate containing abundant special energy substances, which allows the Blue Clam to have enough nutrition to safely get through the winter.

The value of a sky-blue clam that has formed pearls differs greatly from that of a sky-blue clam that has not formed pearls.

This is because the Sky Blue Pearl is a low-grade alchemy material of blue quality.

If the Azure Clam can break through to level 4, then this special clam pearl will be promoted to a mid-grade blue material, and its value will skyrocket.

What they do is lure the blue mussels to the surface with specially made bait, and then harvest the blue mussel pearls.

It took the group nearly two hours to reach the huge lake, where many people had already appeared on the ice.

Such resources are naturally the goal that many people in Jiangcheng strive for.

However, the Azure Clam is a Level 3 Source Beast. It is not a harmless river clam; it has real attack power, and its combat power in the water is extraordinary. If the river hadn't frozen over, it would be hard to say whether it could be easily defeated by a professional of the same level.

Therefore, the people who can come to this ice surface must be at least level 3 professionals, and there are even quite a few intermediate professionals among them.

Qian Hui jumped out of the car, glanced around the lake, and immediately cursed under his breath, "I didn't expect there to be so many people here so early, and they're all so damn cowardly!"

"Resources are really hard to come by these days, and Originium is especially hard to earn!"

"We still need to utilize some non-public resources, right, Captain Zhao?"

As Qian Hui spoke, he steered the conversation back to Zhao Feng. This time, the group members in the car became somewhat restless, as they had seen the raw mineral resources in Zhao Feng's car before.

But Zhao Feng was determined to ignore him, and Qian Hui didn't have any good ideas. The group members hesitated to speak, and few dared to actually bring it up with Zhao Feng.

After all, only the three regimental commanders could keep Zhao Feng in check.

These ordinary members of the group have no say whatsoever.

The deputy commander did not support them at all, but Zhao Feng did not ask for leave this time, which made them a little suspicious. Could it be that the ore has been mined out?

"Stop daydreaming! We're at Pinghu now, why aren't you concentrating? Aren't you afraid of being dragged into the water by the Source Beasts?"

Seeing the restless atmosphere, Ning Pan could only reprimand them. He scanned the ice surface and finally found a relatively quiet spot on the lake. The group then took their bait and tools and began to walk onto the ice.

They hadn't gone far when a roaring sound suddenly came from not far away, and even the ice surface trembled slightly.

"Has someone shipped the goods?"

Qian Hui exclaimed in surprise and immediately looked towards the distance, where a man who appeared to be a hermit was pulling a giant azure clam out of the ice with a specially made fishing line.

The commotion just now seemed to indicate that he used the spear beside him to strike the blue clam below.

"That azure clam is quite large; it's already an adult, a level three!"

"What a great start!"

"Such a precise shot!"

"He looks like a level 4 casual player."

Everyone cast envious glances at him, but Zhao Feng suddenly frowned. Why did this person look so familiar?

Seemingly noticing Zhao Feng's unusual behavior, Ning Pan spoke softly first.

"It's Ye Tengyang."

"It really is him!"

Zhao Feng was stunned for a moment. She went to find him herself, only to learn that he had withdrawn from the hunting group he had joined less than half a year ago and had disappeared without a trace. As a result, she bumped into him here.

What a coincidence! You searched high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly.

As if noticing the gazes of the crowd, Ye Tengyang glanced at them and his expression changed drastically. Without making a sound, he put the azure clam into a bag beside him, neatly packed up all his tools, and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Zhao Feng shouted hurriedly, but Ye Tengyang not only did not stop, but sped up and ran towards the shore.

Zhao Feng didn't care about causing any misunderstandings at this moment. She put down the iron bucket in her hand and hurriedly chased after them.

"Ye Tengyang, I need to talk to you!"

But Ye Tengyang showed no sign of stopping and kept running away, and the two of them quickly disappeared into the distance.

Qian Hui curled his lip. Although he didn't know why Zhao Feng was chasing after Ye Tengyang, he guessed it wasn't anything good, but that didn't stop him from causing trouble.

"Deputy Commander, if you don't do something about this, they'll just abandon their teammates and run away on this mission."

Ning Pan turned to look at Qian Hui, his gaze deep and unwavering. He didn't utter a word, yet Qian Hui felt a chill run down his spine. He involuntarily took a half-step back and waved his hands repeatedly.

"Fine, fine, I don't care anymore. Do whatever you want. After all, you're the deputy commander."

"You lead the team and keep an eye on the group members. I'll go check on things, just in case there's any danger!"

Ning Pan spoke calmly, ignoring whether Qian Hui agreed or not, and turned to chase after him amidst his stunned gaze.

His physique was exceptionally strong, and he was very fast; he disappeared from the lake surface in just a few breaths.

Qian Hui stared blankly into the distance, and after a long while, he finally managed to utter a series of silent words: "You two are a scoundrel!"

In the distance, Zhao Feng and Ye Tengyang had already arrived at the shore. Ye Tengyang didn't seem to be driving; he carried the things and ran a bit further before stopping near a hillside.

Ye Tengyang was very cautious, even glancing behind him to make sure no one was following before he stared at Zhao Feng and asked.

"Zhao Feng, what do you want with me?"

"Don't you know why I'm looking for you?"

Zhao Feng's face was flushed, whether from the cold wind, the running, or excitement, it was hard to tell.

Zhao Feng's reply immediately made Ye Tengyang understand the reason. He narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Zhao Feng, clearly not expecting Sui An to tell Zhao Feng about this so quickly.

Seeing that she didn't seem inclined to attack, his brows slowly relaxed.

Suddenly, she realized that she and Sui An were only related by marriage, while Zhao Feng was not only related by marriage, but also by family. Zhao Feng and Sui An lived in the same building, and their families had been neighbors for many years. Naturally, Zhao Feng was closer to Sui An than she had been for many years.

"You're pursuing me, is it because of Ning Pan?"

Zhao Feng nodded: "Yes, tell me again what exactly happened back then!"

But Ye Tengyang wasn't prepared to explain to Zhao Feng again: "I've already told Sui An what I needed to say. I've also repaid his father's kindness in saving me with the materials. The rest is none of my business."

Zhao Feng immediately retorted, "How can it be unrelated? You just left behind a vague excuse and disappeared. It's hard for me not to suspect that you deliberately created conflict to make Xiao An attack Ning Pan in order to achieve some goal of yours?"

"Heh, what purpose would I have? That purple material of mine was worth several thousand source stones, and I gave it directly to Xiao An, just to cause trouble for Ning Pan?"

Zhao Feng clenched her fists, took two steps forward, and pressed on again, "Then why did you disappear twice?"

Ye Tengyang said expressionlessly, "Because I'm afraid of trouble!"

"Moreover, this matter is simply impossible to explain, because I have no evidence and no witnesses."

Seeing Ye Tengyang's attitude, Zhao Feng suddenly felt indignant and immediately questioned, "Then do you dare to confront me?"

"I wouldn't dare, I don't want to die!" Ye Tengyang blurted out without any hesitation.

Zhao Feng was stunned for a moment: "What?"

Ye Tengyang sighed and gestured with his hand: "Even if the two of us are tied together, we can't beat Ning Pan by one hand. What's the point of going to confront him? Are we just offering ourselves up for death?"

"You're still under Ning Pan's command, so I assume you haven't exposed this matter yet. You'd better not test Ning Pan; the consequences are too great for you to bear."

"However, your performance today will definitely make him suspicious. Listen to me and leave the hunting party, otherwise you'll also be in danger!"

Ye Tengyang's series of affirmative words stunned Zhao Fengren. Could it be that he was telling the truth?

Is Ning Pan really harboring ulterior motives?

But Ye Tengyang wasn't going to explain to her anymore. His gaze was fixed on Zhao Feng's back. Suddenly, his eyes widened as if he had discovered something, and he quickly turned away.

This time, Zhao Feng did not try to stop him, because she knew that Ye Tengyang had already made it clear to her that he had no witnesses and no evidence, so he could not prove to her what Ning Pan had taken from Sui An's parents' treasure bag, nor could he prove that the death of Sui An's parents was related to Ning Pan.

To put it bluntly, he only told his son, Sui An, about this because of his friendship with Sui Ping.

Even if I ask any more questions, nothing will change.

After a few breaths, Ning Pan's figure quietly appeared beside Zhao Feng, startling Zhao Feng.

"Commander Ning, how did you get on us?"

Ning Pan withdrew his gaze. Ye Tengyang was very cautious and had already used the undulating terrain of the wilderness to escape his sight. Unless Ning Pan followed him, he would no longer be able to find him.

He looked at Zhao Feng and said softly, "I'm worried that if you rush into pursuing him, there might be problems. After all, he probably broke through to level four earlier than you, and he might already be at level five."

Zhao Feng nodded subconsciously, but suddenly her heart was filled with turmoil. Ye Tengyang had left the hunting group a long time ago. He was only level three when he left. How could Ning Pan know that he had broken through to level four earlier than her?

The light shining on her suddenly made her feel a chill to the bone.

She tentatively asked, "Commander Ning, have you seen Ye Tengyang all these years?"

Ning Pan shook his head: "If we hadn't met today, I wouldn't have seen you in a long time. But why are you suddenly interested in Ye Tengyang, and even want to follow him?"

Zhao Feng remained silent for a while. She felt that Ning Pan might really have a problem, but after so many years of getting along, she also felt that Ning Pan shouldn't have a problem.

But Ye Tengyang's warning forced her to take it seriously.

"I just wanted to ask him where he had been all these years. After all, he, Xiaoyuan, and I had a very good relationship back then. Why did he suddenly leave without saying goodbye?"

"But he doesn't want to talk about it, so let's just leave it at that and go back."

Ning Pan's expression remained gentle. He gazed at Zhao Feng and, seeing that she showed no obvious abnormality, looked up and glanced into the distance.

"Okay, let's go back then!"

"good!"

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