Chapter 61 Heading to the City Construction Site

As the cultivators of Black Rock City poured out en masse, venting their rage upon the dead birds scattered everywhere, Tang Zhen and a group of wanderers were ruthlessly driven out of the city immediately after receiving their meager compensation.

Gazing at the coldness and disgust in the eyes of those Black Rock City cultivators behind them, it seemed they had completely forgotten that it was precisely these wanderers who had braved mortal danger to deliver the items that resolved Black Rock City's crisis right into their hands.

Now that the crisis was averted, these meritorious contributors were pinched-nosed and driven out amidst curses and vitriol by the city's cultivators, not even a single word of gratitude offered.

The Black Rock City clerk who had previously invited Tang Zhen here didn't even show his face, and the promises he made were naturally and selectively forgotten.

Fortunately, the payment for that batch of slingshots had already been settled; otherwise, Tang Zhen would have definitely brought a horde of corpse-monsters to besiege the city. Relying on the aura of the Corpse King's Death Warrant he carried, accomplishing such a feat would have been effortless.

Thinking of this, Tang Zhen curled his lip in secret, never expecting that after being plotted against by the Spirit Brain Corpse King, this unlucky taunting ability would actually have such a use. Indeed, as long as one looked at things from a different perspective, bad things could turn into good ones.

Observing the ugly faces of those Black Rock City cultivators, Tang Zhen, who had initially felt a shred of guilt for emptying out their treasure vault, instantly felt entirely at ease.

Damn it, since you look down on people, just wait. There will come a day when you'll be weeping tears of regret.

In Tang Zhen's view, if not for the countless wanderers in the wilderness propping it up, Black Rock City would be worth less than nothing. A bunch of isolationist, otherworldly natives who considered themselves superior—just wait for otherworldly visitors far more advanced than you to crush and despise you!

On the way to the wanderer settlement, Tang Zhen chatted idly with the wanderers for a while and learned that they all belonged to different exploration teams, which extinguished his intention to recruit them.

Upon returning to the wanderer settlement, Tang Zhen dragged Qian Long, who was tending a stall in the market, back to the cave and asked him about the specific details of the valley suitable for building a Tower city that he had mentioned previously.

Hearing Tang Zhen suddenly bring this matter up, Qian Long replied that the valley could be visited at any time, and asked if Tang Zhen had made any progress regarding the city-building endeavor.

At these words, Tang Zhen patted Qian Long on the shoulder with a cryptic, mysterious smile, yet said nothing more.

A trace of joy surfaced on Qian Long's face. Based on his understanding of Tang Zhen, it seemed there was a genuine possibility; otherwise, Tang Zhen would not have acted this way.

With this thought, Qian Long immediately grew somewhat impatient, pacing back and forth endlessly within the cave and repeatedly asking Tang Zhen when they would set off for the valley.

Tang Zhen had not expected Qian Long to be even more anxious than himself, but thinking of the wanderers' yearning for a Tower city, he could well understand the man's current state of mind.

Now that he possessed the Cornerstone and a Lord-grade brain pearl, even the brain pearls required for the sacrificial ritual during the Tower city's foundation had been gathered. Thus, lingering any longer in the wanderer settlement served no purpose whatsoever.

Furthermore, the harassment range of the Corpse Clan had been expanding recently, and coupled with the influx of more and more zombies infected by the death birds, Black Rock City had fallen into a defensive posture, even beginning to completely disregard the wanderers in the wilderness.

Before reinforcements from other Tower cities arrived, Black Rock City would likely maintain this turtle-like defensive stance. Having lost this leader and primary combat force against the Corpse Clan, the wanderers' situation was deeply concerning.

He believed that with the Spirit Brain Corpse King's methods, it certainly wouldn't rely solely on Corpse Clan soldiers and dead birds; even more terrifying measures were probably yet to come, and perhaps had already been put into action!

A wise man does not stand under a tottering wall; slipping away early was the wisest course of action. Moreover, since he had emptied Black Rock City's treasure vault, when they frantically searched for the treasure thief, they would inevitably suspect the wanderers who had once entered the city.

Therefore, Tang Zhen gathered everyone together and decided to immediately set off for the valley Qian Long had spoken of!

There were still quite a few supplies left in the cave, and Tang Zhen had no intention of leaving them behind to benefit others. After a moment of thought, he decided to display his special ability before Qian Long and the others.

Witnessing Tang Zhen vanish into thin air in an instant, Qian Long and the others were dumbfounded with shock. No matter how hard they tried, they could not fathom how a living, breathing man could simply disappear out of nowhere.

Tang Zhen had merely teleported back to his home to clear out a space within his crammed storage inventory, making room to accommodate the supplies left in the cave.

He did not dare to rashly use the brain pearls he had just acquired to upgrade his storage space, because building a Tower city still required a large quantity of brain pearls for the sacrifice.

Upon returning to the cave once more, Tang Zhen saw the expressions of awe and shock on the faces of Qian Long, Murong Ziyan, and the others. He merely offered a faint smile without explanation, proceeded to pack up the cave's supplies, and teleported back home once again.

After dumping these items into his warehouse, Tang Zhen hurriedly retrieved the boxes he had previously placed out. Compared to ordinary supplies that could be bought with money, Tang Zhen cared much more about these chests filled with treasures.

When he returned to the cave this time, the gazes directed at him by Qian Long and Murong Ziyan already carried an indescribable quality, their attitudes growing far more respectful and cautious.

Tang Zhen knew they were merely stunned by the spectacle they had just witnessed; once they saw it more often, they would grow accustomed to it. However, one thing was certain: their loyalty and faith in Tang Zhen would be elevated to the absolute extreme.

Only otherworldly humans whose loyalty reached this degree could truly be trusted partners for Tang Zhen!

With the supplies dispatched, Tang Zhen had no more attachments to the wanderer settlement. The group fully armed themselves, with little Murong Ziyue tucked into the back basket carried by Da Xiong, and they began walking out toward the wilderness beyond the wanderer settlement.

The wilderness now was permeated everywhere with a faint stench of rotting corpses, and every so often, the mutilated remains of wanderers and corpse-monsters could be seen, giving one the distinct sensation of standing inside a slaughterhouse.

When the Corpse Clan had first launched their attacks, many external wanderers had rushed over to slay monsters and make a fortune. However, as the Corpse Clan grew increasingly powerful and Black Rock City hunkered down in defense, those outside wanderer exploration teams had successively departed, while those who failed to retreat in time had entered the wanderer settlement to sit out the storm.

As for the ordinary wanderers in the wilderness, they could only rely on their own luck.

Tang Zhen held an assault rifle, his eyes fixed intently on his map. The moment he detected monsters approaching, he would immediately notify everyone to evade. Relying on this ability to discover enemies before they spotted them, the group managed to navigate the terrain without any major mishaps.

To escape the Corpse Clan's control zone as quickly as possible, the group did not dare to rest along the way. Even when hungry, they could only eat on the move, terrified of wasting a single second.

After marching continuously for nearly a full day in this manner, the group finally walked out of the territory controlled by the Corpse Clan, and all of them let out long sighs of relief!

The path ahead grew much safer; with the Corpse Clan's harassment gone, ordinary monsters were simply no match for the weapons wielded by Tang Zhen and his companions.

One of the reasons Black Rock City had chosen to establish a Tower city in this land was that monsters exceeding Level 4 were exceedingly rare in this region.

The descent of the Corpse Clan and the harassment of numerous high-level corpse-monsters had dealt them a devastating blow.

After determining the direction based on experience and memory, Qian Long took the lead to clear the path, hacking down wild grass bearing sharp barbs and hooks to make passage easier for Tang Zhen and the others following behind.

This was a trail rarely traveled by anyone, making the journey arduous for Tang Zhen and his group. After wading through this annoying brush for several hours straight, they finally stepped onto a vast wasteland covered entirely in rocks.

By this time, their clothing was pierced full of the seeds of that wild grass, and wherever the fine barbs at the tips touched their skin, slight red swellings had formed.

Unable to watch any longer, Tang Zhen teleported back and fetched some wear-resistant clothing, having Qian Long and the others change into them while throwing away their old clothes, which were simply too prickly and uncomfortable to wear.

After changing, Qian Long pointed ahead and stated that after another half-day of travel, they would reach their destination.

Seeing that the sun was about to set, Tang Zhen called out to the others to search for a place to rest for the night, preferably an enclosed, hidden spot like a cave—monsters at night, after all, grew extraordinarily terrifying.

True to his word, Qian Long had indeed walked this path before. Leading Tang Zhen on a winding path through the rocky hills for about a kilometer, and after eliminating a dozen Level 1 snake-headed scorpions, they arrived before a cave with a narrow entrance yet a spacious interior.

With this cave secured, as long as they blocked the entrance with a large boulder at night and avoided making loud noises, they could safely weather the night in the wilderness.