Who said this card is outrageous?

After Zhang Che had traveled several kilometers away from Li Zhaoya and the other two, he found a secluded spot to put away the Black Rhino Armor and summoned his beloved steed.

That alchemy vehicle that has been with me since my time in Binhai City.

Of course, to avoid getting bored during the journey, Zhang Che also summoned a few of his friends.

"Owner!"

As soon as Ahri appeared, she pounced into Zhang Che's arms.

Seeing this, Tailmon and Nine-Tailed Fox quickly came over and leaned against Zhang Che, one on each side.

After a brief period of playing around, Zhang Che started the alchemy chariot and sped off in the direction Li Zhaoya had pointed out.

……

Five days later, Zhang Che finally arrived near his destination.

Dongzhou City is a small city of similar size to Hezhou City. It was named after its location at the easternmost part of the Southwest Province when it was first established.

However, as times have changed, although other cities have sprung up to the east of this city, the name Dongzhou City has been retained.

Unlike Hezhou City, which was built not long ago, Dongzhou City exudes a profound historical atmosphere simply by standing at a distance and looking at its ancient and old city walls.

Of course, these are just appearances. The fact that Dongzhou City has been able to stand here for nearly two hundred years shows that it is quite capable. Otherwise, it would have already fallen into the invasion of those alien creatures.

In this day and age, the foundation for any human settlement in the Federation to survive is the availability of a sufficient amount of extraordinary resources nearby.

However, due to the extraordinary recovery of Earth itself, most cities can only rely on rifts of level four or higher, and the subspace connected to those rifts.

Or take Binhai City as an example. Although there are no high-level rifts nearby, it is located by the sea, so there is no need to worry about the production of extraordinary resources.

Recalling the records about Dongzhou City in his mind, Zhang Che's alchemy vehicle did not stop at all and drove straight towards the city gate until it was stopped by the city guards.

Sensing the undisguised aura of a mid-level transcendent being emanating from Zhang Che, the city guards quickly discussed the matter and finally selected a representative to come and negotiate.

"Sir, you look unfamiliar. Is this your first time visiting Dongzhou City?"

“That’s right.” Zhang Che nodded, noticing that the city guard had been glancing at Ah Li sitting in the back every now and then since earlier.

At first, he was a little annoyed, but Zhang Che soon realized that there was no lewdness in the other person's eyes, but rather a strong sense of vigilance and wariness.

Fortunately, the city guard did not forget his duty. After forcibly averting his gaze, he respectfully asked Zhang Che to show him his identification.

And, relevant proof of the fox-like demi-human on the vehicle.

Fox-like demi-human?

Zhang Che turned his head and glanced at Ah Li's appearance, a look of realization flashing in his eyes: No wonder this guy was wary of Ah Li, it turns out he mistook her for a demi-human.

Due to the Eye of Truth, the Southwest Province can be said to be the region under the entire Federation that is most resistant to peaceful exchanges with creatures from other worlds.

Even according to the information provided by Lin Jiming, those with elven bloodlines who are already considered part of the Federation's family are ostracized here.

In the end, it was only through the intervention of the federal government and the use of force that the trend of that year was suppressed.

Even so, people with elven blood still do not receive fair treatment in the southwestern province; at best, they are simply spared harm.

So those people left the place one after another.

By this point in time, while it's hard to say there isn't a single person with elven blood left in the Southwest Province, they are definitely a very small minority, and they are all very well hidden.

If even elven bloodlines are treated this way, then demi-humans, being truly foreign species, will naturally receive even worse treatment.

The city guards were able to speak properly just now, probably because of Zhang Che's status as a mid-level extraordinary being.

Otherwise, if you provoke these people too much, you might get yourself into trouble and be ruined.

Having figured this out, Zhang Che sighed helplessly and then, in front of everyone, put Ahri back into the card itself.

Let's do as the Romans do.

Moreover, such a deeply ingrained belief of the other party is not something he alone can shake, so it's better to avoid trouble.

As expected, after seeing Zhang Che's actions, the city guard's attitude immediately improved. After confirming the authenticity of the silver-tier adventurer's badge that Zhang Che had produced, he quickly called to his companions to make way for him.

"Please forgive our offense, sir."

"Ah."

Zhang Che merely glanced at them casually before driving into the city without looking back.

In a small city like this, a mid-level transcendent is already a top-tier figure, and the rule that armed units like alchemy vehicles cannot enter the city is meaningless to them.

Zhang Che was naturally entitled to the same treatment.

However, he didn't make a big fuss. After finding a suitable place to stay among several locations recommended by Li Zhaoya, he put away the alchemy cart.

The check-in process went smoothly, and in less than half an hour, Zhang Che was already lying on the soft bed.

"call--"

"Finally, I can get some rest!"

In order to capture the Mountain Rock King, whose whereabouts had been hard to ascertain, Zhang Che had given up several opportunities to enter the city for rest and recuperation.

Hard work pays off, and the final result was quite good.

After resting briefly in this city, Zhang Che then prepared to head to Nanzhao City, which is about 500 kilometers away from Dongzhou City.

It is known as the second provincial capital of the Southwest Province, and is one of the few sub-provincial cities in the entire federal province with a strength comparable to that of a provincial capital.

The best proof of this is that Nanzhao City is said to have a high-ranking superhuman being in charge, which is far more powerful than Yunzhou City in the Southeast Province, which is also known as a sub-provincial city.

The reason is quite simple.

Twenty years ago, those antisocial elements in the Eye of Truth created two high-level rifts near what was then just an ordinary city.

They were trying to do something big in the southwestern provinces.

It was because of this incident that they were officially designated by the federal government as an antisocial organization with all members wanted by the public, a designation that continues to this day.

Despite being only a level 7 rift, the lowest among high-level rifts, several high-ranking transcendent beings from other worlds still managed to reach Earth through the rift passage.

Fortunately, the devil is always one step ahead of the saint, and the disaster was eventually quelled.

The Southwest Province suffered heavy losses, but in return, it gained two rifts that can continuously produce superior extraordinary resources.

It can only be said that fortune and misfortune are intertwined.

At the same time, Nanzhao City also took advantage of this opportunity to rise completely and become a real sub-provincial city, with the possibility of becoming a full provincial city at any time.

Chapter 302 The Situation of Demi-humans

As night fell, Zhang Che lay on the sofa, holding Gatomon in his arms, looking extremely comfortable.

At this moment, Ah Li came over and gently fed Zhang Che a lychee, before somewhat resentfully bringing up her experience when entering the city that day.

"Hmph, if it weren't for my master, those annoying guys would have arrested me on the spot!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Che simply rubbed Ah Li's head before slowly explaining the grudges and entanglements between the Southwest Province and the Eye of Truth.

Zhang Che concluded by saying, "Actually, after so many years, the people in the Southwest Province are no longer as xenophobic as they used to be."

"If it were during the craziest period back then, I probably wouldn't even have given me a chance to explain."

While that statement is a bit of an exaggeration, the materials Lin Jiming gave to Zhang Che did indeed contain many records of directly attacking mid-level transcendents.

Many of them paid the ultimate price for this.

All I can say is that the people of the southwestern provinces were incredibly brave back then.

In the end, it was only by taking advantage of the opportunity to help those with elven blood that the Federation's upper echelons used forceful measures to suppress this trend.

"Hmph, what's so great about it? If I could become a fourth-tier card..." Ahri muttered to herself, but didn't dwell on the matter too much.

Zhang Che had already told her that although card advancement was extremely rare, it didn't mean it didn't exist.

He had actually heard the relevant stories from both Xu Jing and Grandpa Yun.

However, most of these are rare and unrepeatable personal encounters, and only a very few methods have the potential to reproduce them.

But it's only a possibility. Let alone whether Zhang Che can get the method from them, even if he does, it's another matter whether it will be applicable to Ahri.

Therefore, all Zhang Che could do was try to research a suitable advancement method for Ahri while also preparing for another possibility: whether she could gain stronger power through "fusion".

Zhang Che has only tried fusing purple cards once so far, and he only used ordinary purple cards of the first and second tiers.

The result was naturally unsuccessful, and three rare cards were also destroyed.

That's why he was so reluctant to discuss this method. After all, failure would be acceptable, but if Ahri were to be lost as well, even if there was only a certain probability, Zhang Che would absolutely not take that risk.

Ahri also witnessed the failed fusion of the purple card, which is why she was able to maintain a stable mindset and dare not have the slightest thought of taking risks.

So what if she's weak? At least she can stay by her master's side, and that's what matters most to her.

So the conversation quickly shifted to other topics, such as "demi-humans," which had been a frequently used term in the chat.

"Master, I heard that the demi-humans living within the Federation are currently concentrated in the north. When can we go there to take a look?"

Looking at Ah Li, who was resting her head on Zhang Che's lap, Zhang Che heard her bring up an idea.

"Go north..."

Zhang Che closed his eyes and considered it in his mind for a moment, and found that it didn't seem like a bad idea.

One of the purposes of this detour through the Southwest Province was to visit Yancheng Port in the Northwest Province, where they are cooperating with Binhai City to develop star-patterned flint.

As one of the Federation's renowned forging centers, Flame City Port's trading market for extraordinary metal resources is naturally quite large.

With connections in Binhai City, Zhang Che's thought was whether he could obtain the fusion materials needed to create the [Snow Leopard Armor] there.

If everything goes smoothly, and we manage to get the [Wind Eagle Armor] in the Southwest Province and the [Snow Mastiff Armor] in the Northwest Province, then it seems like a trip to the Northern Province wouldn't be out of the question.

The Gobi Desert environment might be the place to find the fusion materials for the [Earth Tiger Armor].

“Okay, if we have enough time, we can go there together and see your ‘kin’ in this world.”

"Uh-huh."

Ah Li happily lowered her head, rubbing her smooth face against Zhang Che's head, looking extremely happy.

While enjoying the services from the fox-eared girl, Zhang Che began to ponder why the people of the Northern Province could coexist peacefully with the demi-humans.

He had never considered this issue before, but after witnessing the attitude of the people of the Southwest Province towards foreigners, the thought suddenly came to mind.

Unfortunately, the northern provinces were too far from Zhang Che, and communication in this era was not as convenient as in his previous life. Therefore, lacking the necessary information, he could only temporarily give up thinking about it.