Ark Journey

After watching enough animal training and making arrangements for the future, Xue Zhi, who couldn't think of anything else to do for the time being, followed W back to the tent. This seemed to be the first time in these days that she went home to play before nightfall.

Sitting on the blanket in the tent, Xue Zhi took out a book and read it for a while, then suddenly threw the book aside and said:

"I feel a little uncomfortable with the sudden idleness."

W, who was working on a question at his desk, looked up at him:

"You are not the kind of person who is destined to work hard. You feel uncomfortable when you are idle."

Xue Zhi moved closer to W and put her arms around her slender waist.

"How is that possible? It's just that I feel a little embarrassed to be idle while everyone else is working."

W sighed, put down her pen, twisted her body from his arms, then hugged Xue Zhi and pressed him against her chest, then slowly stroked his hair.

"You've done enough. You've dug canals, planted trees, and raised livestock. It's enough. Relax a little, Xue Zhi."

The warm and soft touch on his face made Xue Zhi choose to bury his head deeper. He felt very comfortable there.

After hugging W tightly with her backhand, Xue Zhi whispered:

"Maybe. You may not know what I can do. I can only say that it won't take me much effort right now. If I want, it will only take one day for the entire settlement to reach a level that even Kazdel City can't reach. However..."

W took over his words:

"But this is meaningless, isn't it? What we Sarkaz need is self-reliance, not development that comes from charity, even if you are my lover."

Xue Zhi's hand was slowly sliding down at this moment, but W didn't notice.

"It's a bit hurtful, W. We are so close."

"That's different, Xue Zhi...wait, I still have papers to finish, and it's daytime now!"

"I'm your teacher. No one will punish you if you don't finish the test."

As she spoke, Xue Zhi had slowly pulled W's short-sleeved shirt up to her chest, revealing her high-quality black silk underwear that shone with blue light.

And although she said that, her body was still very honest and did not stop Xue Zhi's actions. She even took the initiative to pull her clothes to both sides.

"Don't be like a child, Xue Zhi, no matter what you do, it's impossible...!"

Xue Zhi reached out and grabbed W's tail. The huge stimulation brought by the slight electric current made her speechless.

After taking a short breath, she punched Xue Zhi's shoulders a few times, with a force that seemed more like teasing than resistance.

"Next, we have another patrol this afternoon..."

"It doesn't matter, there's still a lot of time."

Chapter 73: Patrol (5/5)

In the afternoon, W changed his clothes and took Xue Zhi, who was doing her first assignment, to the town's security department, but Xue Zhi preferred to call it the police station.

The mercenaries in charge of this will gather here and begin patrolling the surrounding areas. The journey is not short, but for them it is just a matter of sprinkling water.

W found a place to sit at the door, then patted the seat next to him and said, "Everyone hasn't arrived yet, wait a moment."

Xue Zhi readily sat down beside her.

The people in this department are the absolute elite of the mercenary group, and many of them are the group that followed Xue Zhi around in the woods before. Although he had never been here before, all their supplies and gear were paid for by Xue Zhi himself.

Soon, several familiar figures wearing camouflage uniforms but with swords on their hips walked over.

"Minister, why are you here today?"

Seeing that everyone was present, Xue Zhi stood up and said with a smile:

"I've finished what I need to do. If there's nothing else for me to do, come and do your job."

"Okay, with the Minister here, the safety of our patrols will be greatly improved."

After everyone chatted for a while, W looked at the time and took them out.

Although the settlement is not large, the area they need to patrol is much larger than this. Some dangers need to be discovered in advance, otherwise accidents will occur.

Walking on the dry land of the wasteland, Xue Zhi, who had not left the village for more than half a month, felt like he had returned to the days when he first came to Terra. However, there were many more people around him this time, and at least a small team of mercenaries was under his command.

Each patrol by the security department will split the three teams to patrol in different directions.

In the occasional sandstorm, you can still see the houses in the village from afar, but they quickly disappear from view due to some terrain obstructions.

Looking at the troops around him wearing uniform desert camouflage, Xue Zhi felt like he had arrived at the frontier of his motherland again, but the cold weapons hanging from these people's waists immediately brought him back to reality.

A drone followed them overhead, helping them observe the surrounding situation.

After walking for a while, when they climbed a hill, W suddenly called out to everyone:

"Be careful ahead, there's something going on."

Although she couldn't see it with her eyes, she felt that there was something very strange in front of her, and her increasingly keen perception captured the sudden increase in Originium energy in the air.

The mercenaries immediately put their hands on their weapons, and Xue Zhi, who had been restraining herself, began to release her mental power to actively sense her surroundings.

[This is, an Originium worm? ]

In front of the team, a mercenary holding a shield walked to the top of the mountain. Everyone followed behind him, carefully hiding. Then they all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw what was in front of them.

On the flat ground at the foot of the mountain, there was a large pile of Originium crystals that emerged from the ground. In the middle was a large piece, and around the crystals, dozens of Originium worms whose original forms could no longer be seen were wriggling aimlessly, leaving fluorescent mucus wherever they crawled.

This is indeed a threat to ordinary travelers, but it is just that to their patrol team.

"It wasn't there when you came yesterday, was it?"

"Definitely not, otherwise we would have recorded it, but it is very common for Originium crystal clusters to suddenly appear in the wasteland."

"really."

The mercenaries took out the operating terminal and started comparing the information recorded by the drone as a sample, and finally came to the conclusion that this thing appeared suddenly.

Xue Zhi, who was standing by, stretched out her hand and asked W:

"Dispose of it?"

W nodded:

"Let's do it."

The Originium must be disposed of, as it has the potential to spread and pollute the land.

It is convenient to have Xue Zhi around. Although the mercenaries can also deal with these small things and Originium, they do not have sufficient protective equipment and may easily develop acute mineral sickness if they are not careful, which will waste a tube of medicine to suppress it.

After getting a positive answer, Xue Zhi did not use magic, but planned to use her new weapon.

A longbow appeared in his hand, and the bow and bowstring seemed to be made of the starry night sky.

Heaven's Fallen Longbow, which I just bought at noon today for 20 points. It is the most unworthy weapon in the Endless Greed module.

The damage in the game also made Xue Zhi understand why it was the only one in the entire series that was sold so cheaply.

There was no arrow placed, but after the bowstring was pulled, a pure white arrow made of light appeared on the bow.

A mercenary with an infinite bow that also fired light arrows turned around and said to his companions:

"Minister, this is a little different from what we use."

"Yeah, it feels a little cooler."

"I don't think this is what I want to say. Forget it. There's nothing to worry about."

The arrow was shot out, its flight path almost invisible, but it did not hit any Originium Bug and went straight into the ground. However, then the light arrows that fell from the sky like rain nailed all the Originium Bugs around the Originium crystal cluster to the ground.

Each arrow was almost halfway inserted into the ground. Although it was a little weak compared to other equipment of Endless Greed, its power should not be underestimated.

Some high-energy substances carried by the Originium worms leaked, and these things stimulated by the Originium radiation caused a small-scale explosion.

Putting away the longbow, Xue Zhi slid down the hillside, used the iridium drill to dig out all the Originium crystal clusters, and then summoned water to wash herself to prevent carrying tiny Originium particles and Originium radiation.

"It's done."

"Well, let's keep going. Let's record this. This land is just like the human body. Where Originium has appeared before, the chances of it appearing again will be higher."

After marking the location, the team took a detour and continued their patrol, but Xue Zhi thought of something interesting.

"By the way, does anyone in the mercenary group know how to raise Originium worms? I remember that these little things have many uses."

Making medicine, brewing wine, making equipment, Xue Zhi recalled the related articles she had read before. Oh, maybe it can be eaten directly. After all, this is different from the potato flowers that can kill people immediately.

W, who was walking beside him, said:

"It's really useful, but it's also a little dangerous. There was a mercenary group that knew how to raise Originium worms, but he died in an operation, and we haven't met anyone who has made any achievements in this area since then."

"what a pity."

Other mercenaries also added:

"I still remember that person sold us a disposable bomb made of Originium insect shells, but after using it a few times, he thought it was not powerful enough and discarded it."

"Yes, I also drank the Originium Bug Wine he brewed. I almost vomited my stomach that time. This makes me doubt whether this thing can be used to brew wine."

Just as everyone was chatting, the drone suddenly discovered that a group of people appeared outside their patrol route and were walking towards the village.

Chapter 74: New Population

"Someone has entered the security area."

The voice of the artificial intelligence came from the operating terminal, reminding everyone of the marked targets it had observed.

Hearing the sound, the operator took the operating terminal out of his bag, opened the image interface and zoomed in on a certain location.

"It seems that setting up automatic reminders is convenient. Let me see who is coming to our place again."

The entire team gathered together, and the image on the operating terminal gradually became clearer as the lens zoomed in.

Diagonally below the drone's current position, 23 dusty Sarkaz were walking in the wilderness. They were carrying large and small bags of things and protecting a few women and children. Judging from their movements, they were obviously very tired.

"With a child still in the middle, it seems the danger is relatively low."

"And only a few of them, those walking in front and behind, had weapons in their hands."

"Well, have our scouts found any of the surrounding villages? The equipment and pace of these people seem like they are fleeing rather than wandering."

"No, we didn't put too many people around, so the area we explored was limited."

"Enlarge the image a bit. Look at the man's hand near the center circle. The wound is wrapped in a piece of cloth. It's probably caused by acute Originium disease, or it could be caused by an infected creature."

"Indeed, there was a natural disaster somewhere nearby?"

"I don't know. There are many possibilities."

The mercenaries discussed the identities of this group of people, and then looked at Xue Zhi who was silent.

"Minister, what should we do?"

Xue Zhi, who had been watching their performance, made a decision.

"Since they are just ordinary people, then go over and take a look. If they are suitable, bring them back. Our town is short of labor."

"clear."

It is easy to find a few people within the detection range of the drone. After determining their own position and planning the shortest route, the team changes direction and moves towards the location of the group of people.

Soon, the team, which had the advantage in physical strength and information, found those people.

The wind in the wilderness blew up sand, blocking their vision. Blau, who was walking in front of the crowd, stretched out his hand to block the sand to prevent his eyes from being blinded. It had been several days since they left their hometown. When would they be able to find a place to survive?

As the sand fell, several figures emerged from the wind. Blau immediately stopped the people behind him and put his hand on the tattered weapon at his waist. The woman behind him hugged the children tightly.

"Who are you?"

A group of mercenaries who still retained their fierce temperament suddenly jumped out from the side and really scared them. Their uniform attire and sophisticated weapons on their waists made the team quite threatening in the eyes of ordinary people.

Faced with such a question, the mercenaries did not answer, but took a half step back to reveal Xue Zhi in the crowd.

"Minister, it's your turn now."

"Yeah, brothers, we're not really suited to this kind of situation. Even if we don't mean any harm, we can easily be misunderstood."

Xue Zhi didn't say anything, because he looked kind and he didn't have any weapons on him.

He walked forward a few steps, maintaining a safe distance for the other party to feel, and then he stood in front of the group of people.

"Which direction did you come from?"

Blau answered cautiously. Although the man who came out to talk to him did look gentle, the indifferent look he occasionally revealed was even more chilling. However, these people in uniform did not seem to have any hostility. He had seen many mercenaries, but he did not see that the other side had any intention of taking any action, and their bodies were also loose.