Chapter 34: Return to the World of Loucheng!

Situated on the frontier, Zhenyuan City boasts a well-preserved natural environment, with eighty percent of its jurisdiction covered by primitive mountain forest belts. The trees here are primarily conifers and white birches, stretching out in a magnificent, unbroken expanse when viewed from afar. It is said that once, during a massive forest fire, the people living deep in the mountains were trapped with nowhere to flee, as they were surrounded on all sides by towering, burning trees. In the end, they only survived by huddling inside a roadside culvert.

Transportation in the mountainous regions is mostly inconvenient; the deeper one goes, the sparser the population becomes, to the point where some areas require satellite phones to maintain contact with the outside world. This is especially true in winter; if snowplows and bulldozers are not deployed to clear the roads, the paths buried beneath the snow often remain impassable until April or May.

The road Tang Zhen and Xu Feng were traveling was relatively smooth, with heavy trucks hauling logs and stone passing by from time to time. As the saying goes, "those who live on the mountain live off the mountain, and those who live by the water live off the water." In its early days, Zhenyuan City’s fishing and forestry industries flourished, producing sturgeon and high-quality timber, contributing significantly to national development. Later, as resources were exhausted, the fishing industry dwindled and logging became strictly regulated. The local people then utilized their wits, leveraging the surrounding mountains and rivers to develop aquaculture, tourism, and the processing of wild mountain vegetables, creating many low-profile, wealthy individuals in the process. These local rich, like migratory birds, would spend their time shuttling between their several local properties and homes in the coastal provinces of the south.

Although the scenery on both sides of the road was pleasant, it eventually led to visual fatigue. Tang Zhen and Xu Feng chatted idly to pass the time, and finally, after a bumpy journey, they reached their destination. It was a place of lush greenery, exuding an air of primitive wilderness.

After hopping out of the car, Tang Zhen took a deep breath of the air near the waterfall on the cliff ahead. Turning to Xu Feng, he praised, "You really are something, finding a paradise like this. If I weren't so attached to the bustling world outside, I’d truly want to retire and live in seclusion here."

Xu Feng gave him a look of utter disbelief. "Seclusion? Is that a lifestyle for a worldly man like you? I bet you wouldn't last a month before crying and begging to leave."

Tang Zhen offered a sheepish smile and did not retort. He knew his own nature well enough; he certainly had no intention of abandoning the world to live in seclusion right now.

Xu Feng was very familiar with the area. He claimed to have hunted a bear here once—a "black blind" larger than a big water buffalo, which had taken over ten shots without dying and was ultimately finished off with a wild boar spear. The two walked along a gravel path overgrown with weeds, twisting and turning until they finally stopped in front of a cabin built of logs. Tang Zhen looked at the cabin, which was said to have been constructed without a single nail yet appeared remarkably sturdy, and couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder.

Just then, the door opened, and a young man with high cheekbones stepped out. Seeing Xu Feng, he smiled slightly and gestured for them to come inside. "Young Master Feng, it’s been a long time!" The young man spoke with a rather stiff accent, clearly unaccustomed to communicating in Mandarin.

The interior was simple, with most furniture made of wood. By the window was a heated earthen bed (kang), decorated with a few small items made of birch bark, giving the room a primitive, natural charm. With no one else around, Xu Feng got straight to the point.

"Alright, enough stalling. Bring the stuff out; we need to head back before dark!"

The young man did not hesitate. He turned, pulled a long cloth bundle from beneath a reed mat, and unfolded it to reveal the contents. Tang Zhen focused his eyes and saw a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle and a shotgun. Tang Zhen eagerly stepped forward to inspect them, surprised to find the Type 56 in excellent condition. There were no obvious damages to the exterior, the gun oil had not dried up, and even the rifling remained clearly defined. Attached to the muzzle was a silver-grey bayonet—the infamous "three-edged bayonet" of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. This bayonet had been sharpened, and its three blood grooves, along with the tip, glinted with a menacing light, making it obvious that a strike from it would be fatal. For a fifty-year-old rifle, such a state of preservation was rare. It seemed the previous owner was someone who cherished and understood firearms, leaving Tang Zhen very satisfied. The shotgun appeared to be of Russian make, though Tang Zhen could not identify the model.

In a paper box next to the guns were 7.62mm rifle rounds and some shotgun shells—roughly over three hundred rounds in total. Combined with the pistol he already possessed, this should last him a while. Satisfied with the rifle, Tang Zhen nodded decisively. "These guns are good, I'll take them. What about the explosives and detonators?"

The young man glanced at Xu Feng, his expression hesitant. Seeing this, Tang Zhen directly opened his backpack to reveal the stacks of cash. Upon seeing the money, the young man turned and pulled a plastic bag from a hole in the kang. Inside were various types of detonators, fuses, and sticks of TNT wrapped in yellow oil paper. Tang Zhen made a rough count; there were over forty sticks.

"These detonators and TNT were things I acquired from a gold mining company back in the day. Five thousand for the guns and the explosives together."

The young man pushed the plastic bag over. Tang Zhen did not dither; he pulled out five stacks of bills and handed them over. Once the young man verified the amount, the deal was complete.

With their mission accomplished, Tang Zhen and Xu Feng did not linger, driving straight back toward Zhenyuan City. Because they were carrying contraband, they didn't stop in the city, instead driving directly home. Once in town, they parted ways; Xu Feng went off to continue his pursuit of women, while Tang Zhen rushed home and stored all the items in his spatial dimension.

With these supplies in hand, Tang Zhen finally had a plan for how to escape the room in the "Wild Building." Back home, he tidied up and began assembling the TNT. The young man had given him instructions, so it didn't take long before he possessed a makeshift bomb. After some thought, feeling a bit uneasy, he made a few more and placed them into his spatial dimension.

Donning his leather cloak and activating the quantum stealth screen, Tang Zhen took a few deep breaths and resolutely initiated the teleportation.

Before his vision had even cleared, Tang Zhen sensed a strange odor in the air. Upon closer inspection, it was a heavy, almost suffocating scent of blood. This smell hadn't been present during his last escape, which immediately heightened his vigilance.

"Roar!"

Before he could adapt to the darkness, a beastly roar echoed in his ears, and he sensed monsters lunging toward his position.

"Argon-Magnesium Flash!"

Reacting with lightning speed, Tang Zhen triggered his newly downloaded application. In an instant, an incredibly dazzling, piercing light erupted from his position, illuminating the entire room. At the same time, his other application, the "All-Encompassing Digital Combat Interface," filtered the intense glare, allowing him to see the scene before him.

Seeing the sight, Tang Zhen couldn't help but curse. "Damn it, are they using cannons to swat mosquitoes?"

At the exit of the room, a dense crowd of over ten massive corpse monsters was surging in, each possessing strength beyond the fourth level!

[Corpse Centurion, Level 4 Monster: Possesses immense strength, brutal and bloodthirsty. Capable of simple martial techniques. Weak point: back of the head.]

Although disoriented by the flash, these Centurions didn't rely solely on sight; they tracked prey through their sense of scent and aura. Ordinary corpse monsters couldn't detect Tang Zhen's aura, but these Centurions could. That was why they had locked onto him the moment he appeared and swarmed toward him.

What Tang Zhen didn't know was that because he had stolen that chest, combined with recent events, the Corpse Lord had tightened security in the Wild Building. Ten Centurions were enough to hold off hundreds of ordinary drifters. With the layers of defense outside, the Corpse Lord was confident no one could break in. Out of caution, he had even set a trap in the room where Tang Zhen had vanished. The Corpse Lord had specifically instructed his subordinates that if anyone triggered the alarm in this room, they were to kill them on the spot.

Seeing the Centurions charging in with weapons, looking as if they would tear him to shreds in the next second, Tang Zhen dared not stay. Without hesitation, he threw the bomb at the group of monsters and immediately initiated another teleportation.