Chapter 107: Visiting Dragon Mountain
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Unusually, the dining time today took less than twenty minutes.
Lu Ming ate three bowls of rice and a pot of bird meat.
In terms of quant.i.ty, his appet.i.te was equivalent to that of a small capacity eater among ordinary people, far from the level of most mukbang streamers.
This demonstrated how rich in energy the bird meat was.
After the meal, Lu Ming sighed while cleaning his teeth.
“That bird isn’t small…”
Zhang Chengcheng chuckled, “Indeed, Zhang Lixin removed over 2 tons of meat from it.”
Lu Ming nodded slightly, “Let everyone have a taste of it and store the rest properly.”
Lu Ming did not know if that big bird was a one-time occurrence or if there were more of them. Either way, he couldn’t let such valuable things go to waste.
Zhang Chengcheng and Wei Lan immediately agreed, and Zhang Chengcheng continued,
“Meng Jie examined the carca.s.s of the strange bird earlier. Its physical strength is quite astonishing, even comparable to a Level 4 Awakened.”
“At the same time, it was Uncle Hong Lei who brought back the carca.s.s of this strange bird. He also checked around the area and found that there didn’t seem to be any zombie crystals inside its head. Of course, it’s also possible that the zombie crystals were knocked out by you and couldn’t be found.”
“Meng Jie also mentioned that this strange bird looks like a crow, but it’s entirely different from a crow. She named this strange bird an ’Exotic Beast.’”
Exotic beasts were different from ordinary wild beasts.
They were stronger and comparable to Awakened individuals.
For Lu Ming, he was not particularly interested in these research-related matters.
He was more concerned about another question.
“Where did this thing come from?”
Exotic beast meat was good stuff.
So Lu Ming wanted more of it.
On this matter, Zhang Chengcheng could only hold out her hands helplessly, as Meng Jie did not know either.
Meng Jie naturally did not know the source of Exotic Beasts.
However, unlike Lu Ming’s “if you can’t figure it out, don’t think about it” mindset, Meng Jie, as a researcher, knew how to think divergently and explore possibilities.
In the research lab, surrounded by equipment, Meng Jie held the black bird’s feathers and nails, examining them carefully.
As a biologist, Meng Jie was certain that the exotic beast black bird could not have evolved from existing bird species. So, where the Exotic Beast came from became a big question.
It was not just a matter of food supply; safety was also a concern.
The Exotic Beast black bird had the strength of a Level 4. It did not seem to be a threat, but Meng Jie detected signs of them forming a group—once thousands of black birds attacked…
That scene…
Well, they would probably be shot in the head by Lu Ming’s slingshots one by one.
Shaking her head, Meng Jie dispelled the vivid images in her mind.
“No, that’s not important.”
“What if a stronger exotic beast appears? What if there are Exotic Beasts that even Lu Ming can’t handle?”
Thinking of this, Meng Jie wasted no time and immediately left, and drove to the official shelter.
This matter needed to be reported to Hao Sheng as soon as possible.
That night, Huo Sheng already knew about the appearance of the Exotic Beasts.
After sending Meng Jie off, Huo Sheng stood in the laboratory and let his imagination run wild.
After a while, Huo Sheng sighed.
“It’s getting more and more complicated.”
Huo Sheng had the feeling that the more he knew, the more ignorant he felt.
Initially, the apocalypse was very simple—humans, Awakened, and zombies.
Although there were also the Holy Tower and the Black ATist at that time, he did not understand and thus, paid no attention to them.
Unlike now…
The worried Huo Shengcheng sighed and pondered the issue of Exotic Beasts.
“Meng Jie’s conclusion is probably correct. But if the black bird Exotic Beast didn’t evolve from existing bird species, then where did they come from?”
A term suddenly popped into his mind.
“The Black Mist Zone.”
“They must have come out from the Black Mist Zone.”
The more he thought about it, the more Huo Sheng felt that this was the case.
However, as a researcher, speculation was unacceptable. Even if it was a logical guess, it was still a guess, and not a fact.
However, Huo Sheng had a way to verify his guess.
“Dragon Mountain Hidden Cultivators Society.”
Chang Yi had obtained many secrets from the Dragon Mountain Hidden Cultivators Society. From the looks of it, this Dragon Mountain Hidden Cultivators Society must have its own exclusive information channels that were even more powerful than the official ones.
Perhaps they knew the source of the Exotic Beasts?
In fact, ever since Eileen mentioned the Dragon Mountain Hidden Cultivators Society, Huo Sheng had the idea of exploring it. However, the popularization of the Basic Breathing Technique was very important. Huo Sheng was busy, so the priority of the Dragon Mountain Hidden Cultivators Society was pushed back.
But now, things were different.
Day 105 of the apocalypse calendar, Sat.u.r.day.
Early in the morning, the Black Mist Exploration Team, which was in seclusion to level up, received orders from their superiors.
Protect Gao Junyi on a diplomatic mission to Dragon Mountain, find the Dragon Mountain Hidden Cultivators Society, and establish friendly and cooperative relationships with them, if possible.
Lu Ming had just finished his usual morning exercise when he saw three military vehicles rumbling out of the Guangping Street Shelter.
“Looks like Bai Tianyu and the others are preparing to explore the Black Mist Zone.”
Lu Ming concluded in his mind and then pushed the matter aside.
Rather than trying to figure out what others were doing, he’d better pay attention to his own lunch.
Today’s lunch was also Black Bird meat—Lu Ming was looking forward to it.
During the day, Bai Tianyu and the others left Good Hope Village, which was equivalent to entering a dangerous area.
However, the so-called dangerous area was actually not that dangerous.
Lu Ming’s observation tower had now been raised to about 250 meters, a height that was already top-notch in Nanxiang, excluding the Holy Tower.
Being at such a high vantage point allowed Lu Ming to have an extremely vast shooting range—there were no large-scale hordes of zombies within a distance of over ten kilometers from Good Hope Village.
Initially, Bai Tianyu and the others made good progress, but as they left Lu Ming’s shooting range, they encountered more zombies.
This was not a big deal to Bai Tianyu.
As a Level 4 Awakened with the Blood Boiling superpower, Bai Tianyu could unleash a Level 5 combat power. Although he was still inferior to Chang Yi, he was still considered top-notch in Nanxiang.
They proceeded without being overly cautious, but they also could not be considered reckless.
In short, It was a journey with some surprises but no real dangers.
An entire day and night pa.s.sed.
On Sunday, the 106th day of the Apocalypse Calendar, Bai Tianyu and the others safely arrived at the foot of Dragon Mountain.
Dragon Mountain was located in the suburbs of Nanxiang.
Before the apocalypse, it was a small tourist attraction.
The mountain was not tall, with its highest peak only reaching about 300 meters. There was a small People’s Park halfway up the mountain, and at the mountain’s summit stood a small temple.
That was the entirety of Dragon Mountain.
Hence, it could only be considered a small tourist attraction for nearby residents to take a stroll after their meals.
This meant that there were not many visitors here before the apocalypse.
It also meant that there were not many zombies in this area after the apocalypse.
Along the mountain path, the group of eleven carefully ascended the mountain. Along the way, they could see some signs of human activity, but they had not come across any cultivated farmland.
“Seems like there’s no one here.”
A young warrior in the team muttered.
If there were people, there would surely be fields. The vicinity of Dragon Mountain was relatively desolate, so there were not many readily available resources. If they did not farm, there would be no food, which meant no conditions for survivors to live.
Hearing this, Gao Junyi smiled and said,
“Now that you mention it, i roughly know where this Dragon Mountain Hidden Cultivators Society is.”
He suddenly took the lead and turned into a small path up the mountain, talking as he walked.
“This place has no farmland, but that doesn’t mean there’s no food.”
“I remember that there seems to be a national strategic reserve warehouse on Dragon Mountain. I wonder how things are over there now.”
As a former high-ranking official in Nanxiang before the apocalypse, Gao Junyi knew this place very well..