Chapter Seventeen: The Ultimate Ruins!

“Alright, everyone, take a break!” Tang Zhen called out, pulling out a generous amount of food. After unpacking everything, he placed it all on a flat stone inside the cave, using it as a makeshift table.

The little girl, who had been playing with a doll, immediately stopped and stared wide-eyed at the roasted chicken, sausages, canned goods, and bread laid out on the stone. Her beautiful eyes grew round with fascination, fixed unblinkingly on the feast before her.

Tang Zhen chuckled at the sight and tore off a greasy drumstick, handing it over. The little girl grabbed it eagerly and began devouring it ravenously.

“So lavish!” Qian Long clicked his tongue twice and gave Tang Zhen a thumbs-up, eyes filled with admiration. Ordinary folks couldn’t get their hands on such food—some of it he had never even seen before.

The impatient, chubby bear had already grabbed a chicken and begun eating, but even as he wolfed down the meat, his eyes kept drifting toward the remaining delicious dishes.

They all sat around the stone and began eating together. Despite having worked hard all night, the sumptuous food whetted their appetites. In the end, every scrap was devoured. Even the leftover chicken bones were picked up by the bear, who chewed them with a look of bliss.

Tang Zhen couldn’t bear to watch and pulled out some compressed biscuits for hunger relief, handing them to the bear.

After eating their fill, the weary group spread out blankets and found corners in the cave to rest. Tang Zhen himself felt drowsy and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke again, it was already afternoon. Murong Ziyan had long since risen and was tidying the cave, arranging the supplies Tang Zhen had brought.

The little girl, who needed little sleep, was awake as well, busy helping her sister.

Qian Long sat at the cave entrance, clutching his weapon and watching the occasional wanderers passing by in the distance.

From time to time, teams of wanderers entered and exited the cave area. They had noticed signs of habitation inside the cave and would glance over occasionally.

Tang Zhen approached Qian Long and sat down beside him, watching the scenery outside for a moment before asking, “I want to find a chance to enter that nearby tower city and have a look. Do you have any good ideas?”

Qian Long lowered his head to think before replying, “You can sign up for the tower city’s exploration team or merchant caravan. Once you reach a certain level, you’ll get an opportunity to enter the city.”

“How long does it take to level up?” Tang Zhen asked, frowning.

“Hard to say, but at least three to five years,” Qian Long answered.

“That won’t do, that’s too long. Any other way?”

Tang Zhen shook his head in refusal.

“Either you get an invitation from the tower city or earn residency status. Otherwise, it’s really hard to get inside,” Qian Long shrugged, signaling that was all he could think of.

“Invitation? What invitation?” Tang Zhen blinked, curious.

“Every year, the tower city holds an auction. They send invitations to wealthy and influential wanderers nearby, inviting them to participate…”

Here, Qian Long turned to Tang Zhen with a serious tone. “You want to build a tower city, right? As far as I know, the auction sometimes sells cornerstone and brain orbs rated level six or above!”

Tang Zhen’s eyes lit up with excitement. “What’s the story? Tell me everything in detail!”

Qian Long sighed helplessly. “You know I’m just an ordinary wanderer. How could I possibly know the auction’s specifics?”

Tang Zhen felt a flicker of disappointment, but now that he knew the tower city’s auction held the items he desired, he was determined to get an invitation and gather enough brain orbs.

For now, the priority was to kill monsters and level up as quickly as possible. He was eager to see how much his strength could improve after leveling.

Resolute, Tang Zhen decided to lead Qian Long and the bear out into the wilderness to hunt monsters and gain experience today.

Spotting the dull-eyed bear sitting nearby, Tang Zhen suddenly remembered the gear he had prepared for him. He went to a corner of the cave and pulled out a shield made from welded steel plates and a large steel wolf-tooth club.

The club’s main body was a steel pipe about 1.7 meters long, covered with sharp triangular steel spikes, making it a terrifying weapon.

Tang Zhen had tried lifting it earlier; it required both hands. Such a heavy weapon could probably only be wielded by someone as monstrous as the bear.

With the shield in his left hand, the club in his right, and thick dark iron chains wrapped around his body, the bear looked formidable. As long as he stayed silent, he could easily intimidate most wanderers.

Qian Long and the others marveled at the bear’s new armament, imagining the bloodbath that would ensue when he wielded those weapons against monsters.

Once ready, Tang Zhen instructed Murong Ziyan to stay behind at the cave, and the three set out into the wilderness.

Previously, Tang Zhen had always been cautious passing through the wilderness, fearing encounters with monsters. But this time, he eagerly hoped for monsters to appear so he could level up faster.

However, during daylight near the wanderers’ market, monsters rarely appeared. Even the occasional low-level monster was often killed by guards or passing wanderer teams, who then harvested their brain orbs.

After nearly an hour of searching, the three finally encountered two low-level monsters, which Tang Zhen dispatched with ease.

“This isn’t enough. Can we find a place with more monsters?” Tang Zhen asked a bored Qian Long.

“There are plenty near the wild towers, but most are low level. Then there are monster strongholds, usually ruled by high-level monsters occupying vast areas rich in resources. The number of monsters there is in the thousands,” Qian Long replied, taking a sip from the military water bottle Tang Zhen had given him, then pointing in a direction.

“I’ve heard there’s a tower city far away established by monsters, enslaving countless humans.”

Tang Zhen looked calmly in the direction Qian Long indicated and said, “If one day my power is strong enough, I’ll give you an army to lead and rescue them. How about that?”

Qian Long was silent for a moment, then shook his head. “No one would do that unless there’s a vested interest. After all, in the wilderness, a wanderer’s life is the cheapest thing.”

As he kept an eye on the map and chatted casually with Qian Long, their destination was a nearby cluster of wild tower ruins. These were enormous ruins dating back many years, said to have yielded many valuable items for exploration teams from surrounding tower cities.

Now this wild tower cluster had become a hunting ground where wanderer teams killed monsters and scavenged steel, tobacco, alcohol, and other valuables, making it a frequented spot.

Following a dusty path through the wilderness, they were free from monster harassment but found the trek exhausting and dull, draining their energy.

After a while, Tang Zhen asked, “How much farther, guys?”

Qian Long’s face was expressionless. “Almost there.”

Tang Zhen shook his head, thinking perhaps they should get a vehicle to make travel easier.

After some more time, Qian Long suddenly said, “We’re here.”

Tang Zhen used binoculars to survey the area and saw a vast expanse of crumbled ruins about a kilometer ahead, with occasional figures flickering through the debris.

Approaching the ruins, Tang Zhen was stunned by their scale.

From a high vantage point, he looked out over several kilometers of collapsed, dilapidated buildings. The ruins’ edges were unseen, shrouded by a faint gray mist that veiled his vision.

“Good heavens, how large is this ruin?” Tang Zhen asked Qian Long, lowering his gaze.

“No one knows for sure. But I heard someone once took a whole month to cross these ruins and came out with a lot of valuable loot,” Qian Long said coolly, preparing his gear.

He held a bow in his left hand with five sharp arrows and had one already nocked.

Tang Zhen nodded silently, leapt down from the high ground, drew his weapon, and the three began advancing into the ruins.

As they moved forward, Tang Zhen listened intently to the surroundings while monitoring the map.

Not even a hundred meters in, the map showed an active target just ahead—a tawny-colored monster!

Without hesitation, Tang Zhen charged toward it. Qian Long froze briefly but quickly called the bear to follow. Just as Qian Long circled the ruins, he saw Tang Zhen slash down a monster that had already been heavily injured.

“Boss, how did you spot that monster?” Qian Long asked, puzzled.

From what Qian Long knew of Tang Zhen, his experience living and fighting in the wilderness was minimal. Tang Zhen shouldn’t have been able to detect such a well-hidden monster before him.

Yet Tang Zhen had found it first and dispatched it cleanly.

Qian Long had many questions about Tang Zhen but wisely kept them to himself. However, he could clearly sense Tang Zhen’s progress in combat—a promising sign.

In this savage world, only great strength guaranteed survival. The stronger their leader, the greater the benefits for the followers.

After harvesting the brain orb, the trio proceeded onward. Tang Zhen continued to spot monsters first and swiftly cut them down.

About a kilometer into the ruins, after killing a monster, Tang Zhen suddenly felt his body stiffen, a tingling heat spreading throughout him. At that moment, he sensed he could unleash the full power of his limbs with every punch and kick.

This was the power of reaching level one—able to fully release an adult’s physical strength!

Feeling energized, Tang Zhen swung his greatsword wildly, intoxicated by the sheer force. But after just a dozen swings, he began to gasp for breath. When he stopped, his body ached terribly, and his legs could barely support him.

“Damn it, what’s going on?” Tang Zhen sat down with a frustrated scowl, looking at the smirking Qian Long nearby.

“Once you reach level one, everyone feels like they can punch through steel. They can’t hold back from venting that power, which drains their stamina completely. That’s why you’re like this now,” Qian Long explained.

Tang Zhen rolled his eyes and cursed, “You deliberately didn’t tell me, just to watch me make a fool of myself, didn’t you?”

“I was worse,” Qian Long said calmly. “I broke through during a fight. After killing that gang of bandits, I collapsed on their bodies and lay there for several hours before I could barely stand again.”

His tone was plain but carried a subtle, almost hidden sadness.