Who said this card is outrageous?

Ironback Crocodile glanced at Gatomon, then at the "giant" vehicle gleaming metallically in the sunlight in the distance, and immediately scurried to the side of the road to make way.

As they ventured deeper into the wilderness, the two encountered more and more extraordinary creatures along the way, and they grew stronger and stronger. Eventually, they even saw groups led by third-tier extraordinary creatures.

However, Zhang Che discovered an interesting pattern: the stronger the extraordinary creature, the more cautious it was.

When faced with uninvited guests suddenly appearing on their territory, whether they were in groups or lone wolves, they generally did not choose to engage in mindless warfare. Instead, they would observe carefully for a while, and after confirming that Zhang Che and his group had no intention of seizing their territory, they would turn around and leave silently.

After all, it is the beginning of spring, and these wild superhuman creatures are unlikely to waste their precious physical strength and energy on uncertain goals.

Otherwise, if the hunt fails, the weakened being may become prey for other supernatural creatures.

The stronger the extraordinary creature, the better it understands this principle, because those who stubbornly refuse to understand it have mostly become someone else's meal, which is why they choose to back down.

Chapter 157 Sustainable Development

For those who hadn't provoked him, Zhang Che chose to heed Mo Yuncheng's advice and didn't kill them.

This is a tacit, unwritten rule among mid-level superhumans: unless absolutely necessary, they should not hunt for lower-level superhuman resources, but rather leave them to those lower-level superhumans to handle as much as possible.

As mentioned before, Earth has only been a supernatural world for a limited time, and the resources it has developed are of relatively low quality.

If the powerful are allowed to act arbitrarily, the lower-level extraordinary beings, who make up the largest proportion of the population, will face a shortage of resources.

It's not worth it for a little bit of lower-level extraordinary resource that's not very useful to me.

If necessary, just find a mid-level rift, form a team, and go in. I can't say how many mid-level extraordinary materials you'll get, but you'll definitely get a ton of low-level materials.

Those places are not lacking in low-level supernatural beings.

……

Moreover, this can be considered a form of sustainable resource development. Otherwise, given the conditions on Earth, unless there are high-level rifts nearby leaking extraordinary energy, it would be impossible to directly generate mid-level extraordinary resources overnight. It would be more about gradual improvement from low to high.

Of course, these rules are generally not seriously monitored, so unless someone goes too far, such as wantonly slaughtering superhuman creatures near a city, no one will usually hold a mid-level superhuman accountable.

Zhang Che did this only to avoid unnecessary killing; if he encountered a suitable target, he would not hold back either.

And so, Zhang Che and his son spent their first day in the wild without any major incidents.

When Wang Guofu ate breakfast the next morning, he was still quite emotional, saying that he never thought he could live so comfortably in the wild.

He had traveled between several cities when he was young; otherwise, how could an ordinary person who wasn't a superhuman have the capital to run a superhuman prop shop?

However, as he got older and had a wife and children, Wang Guofu returned to Binhai City to live a peaceful life.

Recalling the days when he and his brothers adventured in the wild, constantly living in fear, Wang Guofu couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Zhang Che simply smiled and didn't respond.

He had heard these stories so many times when he was a child that he was sick of them. He never expected that after a few years of peace and quiet, this trip would reignite Wang Guofu's desire to confide in others.

Fortunately, Wang Guofu didn't dwell on the past for long. After a quick pack, the two resumed their journey. Today's task was crucial; they needed to reach Hezhou City before nightfall.

Today, Wang Guofu was the one in charge of driving.

Actually, he had been eager to try since yesterday afternoon, but he hadn't dared to speak up because of his elders.

Finally, Zhang Che allowed him to have his fill when they set up camp for the night.

The advantage of alchemy tools is that ordinary people can use them normally. Not to mention that Zhang Che's alchemy vehicle is very easy to operate, and Wang Guofu was able to get the hang of it quickly.

For Zhang Che, constantly holding the steering wheel was a bit boring, so today he handed the task over to Wang Guofu, while he sat in the back seat with his eyes closed to rest and practice the meditation technique that Mo Yuncheng had taught him.

After advancing to the intermediate level of extraordinary, Zhang Che could clearly feel that every bit of improvement in his spiritual power was more difficult than before.

Even with the shortcut of card production, the supply of resources has become a problem—resources here refer not only to card production materials, but also to the corresponding card formulas.

In fact, Zhang Che is already quite lucky. With the ability to fuse cards, he doesn't have to worry about the cards he makes not selling for a good price, thus avoiding losses.

He had heard plenty of complaints from Xu Jing and Mo Yuncheng about how tough it was when they first advanced to the fourth rank: Xu Jing was alright, at least she had a teacher to back her up, so she didn't have to worry about not having enough materials to make cards; while Mo Yuncheng said with a wry smile that if he hadn't "sold himself" to the Adventurers' Guild, he probably wouldn't have gotten through the early days so easily.

No wonder they say being born into the right family is a skill. If you had a grandfather like Fu Xing, you wouldn't have to worry about these problems.

……

Perhaps due to the unconscious fluctuations in mental energy emitted by Zhang Che during his meditation practice, the journey on the second day was even smoother than the first.

Occasionally, when they encounter a few powerful extraordinary creatures, they avoid them from a great distance.

At the same time, what Zhang Che saw and heard along the way made him realize why everyone said that there was a lack of extraordinary resources on Earth.

Putting aside everything else, just considering the density of extraordinary creatures, it's far inferior to even the Void Rift.

In the journey of over 300 kilometers, we encountered fewer than 30 third-tier extraordinary creatures, not to mention fourth-tier ones, which we didn't even see.

However, a small rift like the Void Rift, which is no more than 25 kilometers in length and width, can give birth to nearly double-digit numbers of third-tier extraordinary creatures. The extraordinary creatures that Zhang Che killed in the Void Rift that had fused with the power of space were all top-tier third-tier creatures.

There were still many third-tier extraordinary creatures left, and Zhang Che did not exterminate them, but left them as resources for sustainable development.

Not to mention the extraordinary resources at the lower-tier top level, such as the Blazing Cherry.

No wonder the old man and the others told Zhang Che to be more restrained; otherwise, if Zhang Che really wanted to, he could have killed most of the third-tier extraordinary creatures he encountered on the road.

Sustainable development...

Of course, all of this is based on the fact that there are resources in the numerous fissures on Earth to replenish our lives. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to survive, so who would care about sustainable development?

……

Around 5 p.m., it had already gotten dark, and the headlights on the alchemy vehicle were turned on. Wang Guofu looked somewhat guilty, feeling that he had driven too slowly and hadn't been able to reach Hezhou City on time.

"It's alright, Uncle Wang, we'll be there soon." As soon as he finished speaking, the alchemy cart turned a corner, and the outline of a city appeared before the two of them.

The gray city walls appeared particularly imposing in the twilight. Every few dozen meters along the walls stood a watchtower, its runic lamps atop illuminating the darkness with a pale yellow glow.

Wang Guofu finally breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

He had been to Hezhou City many times before, but this was the first time he had come by private car.

As for the route, thanks to Zhang Che's strong capabilities, he was able to drive directly to places that were usually considered too dangerous and required detours, and no one dared to block his way.

Then the route became completely chaotic, leaving Wang Guofu somewhat disoriented. It wasn't until he was near the city that he finally found the corresponding memory in his mind.

Chapter 158 The Missing Brother-in-Law

As a city located inland, Hezhou also has its own satellite cities, mainly to protect the core urban area from attacks by supernatural creatures in the wild, just like the citadels built by Binhai City near the sea.

As night approached, the city should theoretically be closing its gates. However, the alchemy chariot was clearly not something an ordinary person could possess, so after hesitating for a moment, the soldiers guarding the city took the initiative to approach Zhang Che and his companion to inquire about their identities.

"Wang Guofu, I'm from Binhai City, visiting relatives." Upon seeing this, Wang Guofu quickly handed over his identification.

This wasn't his first time here, so he was quite familiar with the place.

As for Zhang Che, it was even simpler. He tugged at his clothes, revealing the third-tier card maker badge pinned to them, and handed over his work certificate from Binhai University, indicating that the two of them were together.

The Adventurers' Guild in Binhai City is not qualified to grant Zhang Che a higher-level badge, so they can only use this one for now.

The soldiers quickly verified the two men's identities and then readily let them pass.

Although Zhang Che's face was not clearly visible, the spiritual power emanating from him, which was almost tangible, was undeniable.

A mid-level extraordinary card maker is already a top-tier existence in a city the size of Hezhou. These lowly soldiers can't afford to mess with them.

……

Having passed the checkpoint at the city gates, the rest of the journey was much easier. Wang Guofu immediately sped up and, following the route he remembered, drove Zhang Che to his daughter's house.

The urban layout of Hezhou City is quite different from that of Binhai City. The streets are narrower and the buildings are more densely packed, but the roadside trees are taller than those in Binhai City.

The night view on the street is similar to that of Binhai City, with the shops on the roadside lit up and the air filled with the aroma of food.

The alchemy vehicle naturally attracted a lot of attention along the way, and several young people even exclaimed and took out their phones to take pictures.

But Wang Guofu was only thinking about seeing his daughter and grandson and didn't care about the stares of these people; Zhang Che, on the other hand, kept his eyes closed and rested, but he couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

It had been three years since Zhang Che last met Sister Xinran. Back then, Zhang Che was just a little boy who was working hard to pass the Level 1 Card Maker exam.

I wonder how Sister Xinran will react if we meet again now.

About half an hour later, the two arrived at the front of a two-story building in the eastern district of Hezhou City.

Wang Xinran and her husband are both second- and third-tier superhumans, respectively. Although they are not among the top tier, such a couple would not have to worry about making a living even in a provincial capital, let alone a small city like Hezhou. Therefore, their quality of life would certainly not be too bad.

The exterior walls of the small building were painted a light yellow, and several osmanthus trees were planted in the courtyard. Under the trees, there was a set of stone table and chairs, which looked warm and comfortable.

The commotion outside naturally caught Wang Xinran's attention. She pushed open the window and glanced out, then ran downstairs with a "thump thump thump".

However, when she ran out the door shouting "Husband, you're back!", she realized that the person who came was not her husband.

She paused, her gaze falling on her father, her eyes widening little by little.

"Dad? What brings you here!" Wang Xinran couldn't care less about her husband now and rushed to her father, looking him over nervously.

Holding Wang Guofu's hand, he carefully examined the man and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that his father was indeed safe and sound.

Then she pretended to complain and said, "Dad, why didn't you tell me you were coming? I could have picked you up. How did you get here? Did you encounter any danger?"

Wang Guofu smiled broadly, clearly pleased with his daughter's concern.

He patted Wang Xinran's hand and said it was alright, the road was very safe. He was riding in Zhang Che's alchemy vehicle and hadn't encountered a single decent supernatural being along the way.

Wang Xinran found something increasingly off: an alchemy cart? Zhang Che's?

She instinctively turned her head to look at the young man standing behind her father, grinning at her.

"Hey sis, didn't you see there's someone else here?" Zhang Che's voice carried a hint of helplessness, and some inexplicable... tension?

He didn't know why he was nervous; maybe it was because they hadn't seen each other for so long.

"Xiao Che? It really is you!" Wang Xinran was genuinely shocked.

She let go of her father's hand and walked up to Zhang Che, almost not recognizing him.

"What, can't I come to see you and my nephew?" Zhang Che put on a sad expression, and unsurprisingly received a flick on the forehead.

Wang Xinran flicked his finger on his forehead, making a crisp "smack" sound, with the same precision and force that hadn't changed over the years.

Yes, it still feels familiar.

"You brat, when did you become so talkative!" Wang Xinran's tone was tinged with annoyance, but the corners of her mouth were turned up.

The arrival of her two relatives made her momentarily forget that the feel of her fingers touching Zhang Che's forehead was very different from before.

She just assumed it was because her younger brother had grown up; after all, it's normal for a man's body to be a little hard.