Douluo Continent: We agreed on a simulation, but they've come to life?

"Me, me!!!"

Upon hearing about a picnic or a publicly funded trip, Keke became extremely excited, raising her hand high and jumping up and down.

"I'm free too," Orange nodded.

"I...I'm afraid I have something to attend to," Zi Mu said awkwardly.

Something happened at home, so I need to ask for leave to go back.

"Alright, let's all go back and prepare. We need to focus on testing the performance of the current self-propelled soul-guided detector, its hill-climbing speed, manned speed, and energy consumption. After we get back, I'll optimize it based on the problems we encounter."

Lu Cheng waved his hand and said.

In his view, that big guy still has a lot of room for improvement.

At least they have to put on an act and show some of their talent in soul tools.

……

Chapter 181

The next day.

As dawn broke, three figures flew through the air towards the outskirts of Mingdu City.

The city had no towering walls to conceal it, yet it gave people an extraordinary sense of security. Lu Cheng glanced at the seemingly nonexistent "walls" with a hint of apprehension. Although there were no visible walls, the Sun Moon Empire's defensive linkage soul guidance array and its ample resources were enough to deal with any surprise attack from any force.

This underground area may seem calm on the surface, but in reality, it will instantly transform into a terrifying war fortress once an enemy force invades, keeping all Soul Master life forms at bay.

The destination wasn't far, located in the Jingyang Mountains.

It is also the place where the group encountered trouble in the original work. There are many metal-attribute soul beasts here, and the terrain is varied, making it most suitable for this calibration experiment.

After resting briefly on a wide open plain outside Mingdu, Coco cheered with joy.

Lu Cheng smiled. Having two young and beautiful girls with him was always a pleasant experience.

Today, Ju Zi changed into a white outfit that perfectly accentuated her slender figure. Her fair skin, as white as mutton fat jade, complemented the white dress, making her even more radiant. She truly deserves to be the only woman in the original work known for her fair complexion.

It is said that fair skin can cover up three flaws, not to mention that her appearance is top-notch.

The petite and adorable Keke was dressed in a clean and neat blue dress. Her short legs made her run around, and she was exceptionally lively and active, the complete opposite of Xiao Xiao, which gave Lu Cheng a headache.

"Wow, it's been so long since I've been here..." Keke exclaimed happily, picking a pale white wild chrysanthemum and gleefully choosing one to tuck behind Orange's head, her demeanor quite fitting for the character. "Beautiful, Orange!"

"Is it pretty?" Orange paused for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Lu Cheng beside her.

However, she quickly realized something was amiss. Her fair face flushed slightly, and she casually brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she strolled through the fields. She spoke softly, "My hometown is on the western coast of the Sun Moon Empire. Similar flowers grow there, but unfortunately... I haven't seen them for many years."

“It’s quite pleasing to the eye.” Lu Cheng gave an ambiguous answer and walked forward with him, looking around. The scenery of the Sun Moon Empire was quite nice, but unfortunately, evil soul masters were rampant around it. Further south was the Demon Forest, whose very name sounded sinister, giving people the feeling of a demon’s lair.

"..." Orange's fair earlobes turned slightly red, but she didn't say anything.

Keke, on the other hand, kept giving her a helping hand.

"Have you rested enough?"

Lu Cheng looked at the two of them.

"Then let's keep going. We must arrive before tonight..."

Having said that, a pair of bionic wings unfurled behind her, embracing her on the left and right, transforming into a streak of azure light that shot towards the horizon.

At first, Ju Zi was a little shy, but after seeing Ke Ke's carefree and nonchalant attitude, and glancing at Lu Cheng's indifferent face so close to her, she bit her red lips and focused her attention on the scenery below.

With Lu Cheng operating at full speed, the level-eight flying soul tool was practically smoking from being swung around, and they finally arrived at the Jingyang Mountains before noon.

The group was ostensibly there to test the all-terrain automatic detection soul tool, but in reality, it was a picnic on public funds. As soon as the oranges hit the ground, they pulled out a bunch of fruits and vegetables, along with two turkeys, and busily gathered firewood to start a fire all by themselves.

"Senior Brother, what kind of Soul Master are you? I've been thinking about it all day and I still can't figure it out." Keke was peeking at the roast chicken, staring at it longingly, planning to get some to try before she got there. But before she could get started, she was spotted by the sharp-eyed Orange, who kicked her back and sat down next to Lu Cheng, asking curiously.

“An all-rounder,” Lu Cheng said with a smile.

"Perfunctory," Keke pouted, dissatisfied.

Lu Cheng shook his head. In a sense, he was indeed an all-rounder. Similar to Soul Masters, Soul Masters would also have more and more detailed branches as their strength and realm improved. There were several major types, such as war type, logistics type, scientific research type, and so on...

The war-type category has nearly ten subcategories.

For example, Keke is a "high-burst mid-range combat type soul master". You can roughly guess that from the fact that this girl is carrying a heavy cannon that is disproportionate to her own size.

After all, a Soul Master's energy is limited. The sea of ​​learning is boundless, and knowledge has no end. The higher the rank, the easier it is to waste time and energy on the complex and vast knowledge system.

But for him, both simulation experiences provided ample time to study the Soul Master, and even after falling into the Holy Spirit Cult, he never stopped working.

He has dabbled in all sorts of things, from humanoid mechs and linked defensive soul guidance arrays to bionic technology and the most cutting-edge soul guidance technology in the Sun Moon Empire. He is very familiar with everything from offense to defense to supply. The simulator has given this teenager in the real world decades of memories.

"Okay..."

Orange brought out the roasted turkey.

Lu Cheng's carving knife moved nimbly as he gently cut off a piece of meat, put it in his mouth and chewed, revealing a hint of surprise. This taste... is indeed quite good.

My father was a chef.

Orange sat on a rock, her long legs together, her trouser legs billowing in the wind, revealing her fair ankles.

She said with a touch of melancholy, "It's a pity that he was forcibly recruited into the army and died on the battlefield while resisting the invasion of the Star Luo Empire, leaving behind my mother and me. But my mother was too heartbroken and died of illness..."

"So you want to take revenge on the Star Luo Empire?"

Lu Cheng remained calm, showing little sympathy like Ke Ke. He fixed his gaze on the beautiful woman's deep eyes, wiped his mouth, and asked.

"Ah."

Orange nodded slightly, showing no emotion.

No one is willing to reopen old wounds unless they are deeply moved or have other motives. The faint sadness she revealed was half genuine and half fake. Her parents' death left her with nothing but anger and grief, and bringing it up now was naturally to gain the sympathy and pity of this senior brother.

Playing the victim is also a strategy.

What she didn't expect was that Lu Cheng's reaction was so indifferent. Was he just a clueless, emotionally inept straight man? Impossible...

Then there's only one possibility.

My little schemes have been seen through.

"It's difficult for you to get revenge..." Lu Cheng shook his head and said.

"Senior brother is so clueless," Keke complained, clearly not understanding Ju Zi's true meaning at all.

"Children shouldn't interrupt adults..." Lu Cheng put the carving knife into his storage soul tool, his expression calm: "Ju Zi, your parents died under the invasion of the Star Luo Empire. Don't you want revenge?"

"How could I, a mere woman, have the right to decide such an important matter?" Orange smiled bitterly.

“No.” Lu Cheng shook his head and said calmly, “With your personality, you don’t seem like someone who can truly let go of hatred. As time goes by, those pains will not fade. Instead, they will make you do everything in your power to climb up, even if it means giving up everything you have.”

"..." Orange's face stiffened.

She felt completely seen through; she even seriously suspected that this guy knew about her relationship with Crown Prince Xu Tianran!

A chill ran down his spine. Could he be the illegitimate son of some prince in the capital? Or perhaps...

She always pretended to be harmless, as if everything was over, spending each day leisurely with Keke and Zimu, suppressing the deep-seated hatred she once harbored, but...

"You want me to help you get revenge."

Lu Cheng spoke calmly, enunciating each word clearly.

"..."

An eerie silence fell over the room.

Keke was dumbfounded. Only two things occupied her mind: food and love. Her matchmaking of Ju Zi and her senior brother was the latter, but she had never imagined that Ju Zi, who was like a sister to her, would actually…

That's a bit too much of a reward for this turkey meal.

"..."

Ju Zi remained silent. Since the other side had ruthlessly exposed her, there was no point in continuing to cover it up.

We are all smart people.

"It tastes good, but it's a pity it's not cooked quite right..." Lu Cheng glanced at the remaining roasted turkey, his tone no longer sharp as before, seemingly returning to the warm and gentle senior brother he had been earlier.

After saying that, he threw out the all-terrain self-propelled soul-guided detector.

"Let's go up and take a look."

This giant creature is somewhat like a spider, except that the upper part is a sphere with a diameter of two meters that can accommodate three people, while the lower part has six sharp "spider legs" that can easily penetrate into the soil, with extremely strong adhesion and exaggerated stability.

Orange remained calm and followed along with Keke.

Keke acted as a lubricant, livening up the atmosphere as if nothing had happened.

The Jingyang Mountains, also known as the Jingyang Forest, resemble a spider when viewed from above. Its eight branches stretch outwards like eight spider legs, while the interior is a basin covered with vegetation and home to a wide variety of spirit beasts. According to Ju Zi in the original work, it could even rank among the top five on the continent, on par with the Sunset Forest of ten thousand years ago, and it is also rich in minerals.

After walking only a few kilometers, Lu Cheng felt a blockage under his feet, unable to penetrate with his spiritual energy. It was probably a sizable mine.

What a treasure!

Lu Cheng sighed inwardly.

It's a pity that the Sun Moon Empire's army is stationed nearby, otherwise he would have liked to mine some for experimental materials.

During the journey, some data and changes in direction were discussed, and Keke was asked to write them down in her notebook before the search continued deeper into the area.

They encountered many spirit beasts along the way, and the deeper they went, the stronger they became. Ten-thousand-year-old spirit beasts were not uncommon. In their spiritual perception, they even saw a large creature that appeared to be over fifty thousand years old. Clearly, this Jingyang Forest was far stronger than the current Sunset Forest.

"Senior Brother, do we really have to continue?" Keke's throat bobbed, her little face filled with worry.

It is said that deep within this forest, there exist soul beasts of the 100,000-year level.

They wouldn't stand a chance against someone of that caliber.

"Let's set up camp."

Lu Cheng pondered for a moment, then gestured to Ju Zi to operate the all-terrain self-propelled soul tool to take root here. Ju Zi nodded in agreement, pressed the button, and everyone felt their center of gravity suddenly sink downwards as the six "long legs" were deeply embedded in the ground, extremely stable.

Keke and Ju Zi chattered away as they huddled together, preparing to set up the tent.

Light the campfire and begin preparing dinner.

"I'll do it..."

Lu Cheng said calmly, and just as easily made the tableware and food. He used to often spend the night in the wild, and with the precise mixing of Blood Eye, he had become a good cook. Even Ma Xiaotao would often pester him to feed her.