The Sneakiest Sixth Brother Starts with Me

012

The city's Protective Wall towered into the clouds.

It was gray-black from top to bottom.

In the three o'clock sunlight, it gleamed with a chilling sheen.

Jiang Fu stood atop the wall and looked up.

An oppressive force that gripped the soul radiated from it.

"If I multiplied this wall by ten..."

The thought had barely formed.

Jiang Fu shook his head.

"The design of a wall like this is based on a series of precise calculations."

"The foundation, density, size, load-bearing capacity—they're all used to calculate its maximum defensive strength. Multiplying it by ten without thinking might make it weaker than it is now."

"Or could I multiply the wall's defensive power by ten directly?"

Jiang Fu looked away.

He headed toward the entrance to the Safety Passage.

The secure entrance leading to the Wilderness Area was beneath the wall.

It was an arched passage roughly ten meters in radius.

Eighteen checkpoints inside it were tightly guarded.

They were there to keep Mutated Beasts and Realm Beasts from entering the city through the Safety Passage.

"Another high schooler in uniform... Hey, it's you!"

At the entrance,

a guard in heavy black armor spotted Jiang Fu.

His eyes widened.

"I remember you!" he blurted.

"Last time, you walked out upright and came back flat on your back... Wait, you were hurt that badly, and you're still alive?"

Jiang Fu coughed. "Well, I got lucky. Really lucky."

The guard nodded. "You certainly did."

"What, are you leaving the city again?"

Jiang Fu gave the guard an innocent look. "...Am I not allowed to?"

The guard sighed. "You're allowed."

"But you've only just become a Martial Artist, and you're still a student. You have a bright future ahead of you."

"I'd suggest studying hard at school first. Once you're stronger, you can hunt Mutated Beasts and search for resources."

"Luck won't always be on your side."

As he spoke,

the honest-faced guard looked Jiang Fu up and down.

His expression grew more helpless by the second.

Last time this kid had gone into the wilderness, he'd at least worn a combat uniform.

This time, he was heading into the Wilderness Area in his school uniform.

And that girl earlier had done the same!

Were high schoolers these days all out of their minds?

Going into the wilderness in school uniforms?

Jiang Fu looked innocent. "I'm just going out to enjoy the scenery. I'll be right back."

The guard pursed his lips. "I think you're going out to pick a grave."

Jiang Fu: "..."

He had no desire to talk to the guard anymore.

He stepped into the Safety Passage.

The guard watched him go.

He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he could only sigh helplessly.

The instant Jiang Fu entered the Safety Passage,

a red light seemed to sweep across his vision.

The Martial Artist Badge hanging from his jacket zipper gave a beep.

A cold electronic voice sounded beside his ear.

"Martial Artist identity verified."

"Entry to the Wilderness Area permitted."

Jiang Fu was familiar with the procedure.

He did not linger.

He strode toward the other end of the passage.

The Safety Passage was not straight.

Over a distance of just fifty meters, it turned eighteen times.

A defensive checkpoint stood at every turn.

Even if Mutated Beasts or Realm Beasts entered the Safety Passage,

they would have no hope of building up momentum inside it.

Besides that,

the passage walls held high-definition cameras and all kinds of concealed laser weapons.

In short,

to human Martial Artists, this was a Safety Passage.

To Mutated Beasts and Realm Beasts, it was a place they could never enter.

Not long after Jiang Fu entered the Safety Passage,

seven Martial Artists in Camouflage Combat Uniforms, Battle Knives strapped to their backs,

strode into the passage.

The guard nodded to himself at the sight.

"Now that's how you go into the Wilderness Area!"

"As for those two high schoolers... Sigh! I hope they come back on their feet."

Jiang Fu soon passed through the Safety Passage.

He had arrived in the true wilderness of this world.

The Wilderness Area!

But the next moment,

Jiang Fu shivered.

He hurriedly pulled his clothes tighter.

"I almost forgot. It's March... Still a little cold out."

Bin City lay in northern Xia Country.

Though it was spring, the weather remained cold.

He had barely noticed it inside the city.

But the moment he reached the Wilderness Area, biting cold enveloped him.

A cold wind blew.

Jiang Fu's body, having only just reached the Quasi-Martial Artist Realm, could barely stand it.

"Multiply my jacket's cold resistance by ten!"

As soon as he spoke,

the chill vanished.

The cold air and wind were shut out at once.

Jiang Fu moved his arms and legs.

Then he turned to look at the wall behind him.

His pupils contracted.

The wall behind him was covered in pits and gouges.

It had clearly endured more than one ferocious attack.

The most striking marks

were over a hundred enormous gashes, each more than twenty meters long and several meters deep.

They had plainly been torn into it by the claws of some giant creature.

Jiang Fu could not help grimacing.

"Whoever invented this Defense Wall was a genius!"

He had never seen that terrifying beast in person.

But the claw marks alone were enough to imagine how fearsome it was.

"I wonder if it was a Mutated Beast or a Realm Beast..."

"Good thing I'm after Red-tailed Rats!"

"The smallest kind of Mutated Beast."

Jiang Fu turned back.

In a low voice, he said, "Good luck multiplied by ten for two hours!"

"Multiply my chance of finding a Spiritual Fruit by ten for two hours!"

"Multiply the chance of a Spiritual Fruit being found by me by ten for two hours!"

"Multiply my chance of finding an Abyss Fruit by ten for two hours!"

"Multiply the chance of an Abyss Fruit being found by me by ten for two hours!"

He had not used these boosts inside the city.

The city was densely populated.

If he really found an Abyss Fruit or Spiritual Fruit there,

he would never be able to keep it from other people.

He would immediately become a target.

There would be nowhere to hide.

The Wilderness Area was vast and sparsely populated.

Jiang Fu was also a Psychic Master.

He could get away before anyone discovered him.

It was three in the afternoon.

Sunset was around five thirty.

Jiang Fu planned to return to the city at five.

The wilderness was far more dangerous at night than during the day.

Jiang Fu had neither a phone nor a watch.

But... his timed boosts had countdowns.

He could use them to keep track of time.

Jiang Fu thought for a moment.

Then he said quietly again, "Multiply the maximum radius of my Spirit Power's reach by ten! For two hours."

As soon as he spoke,

Jiang Fu's Spirit Power spread outward.

Its ten-meter radius

instantly became a sphere with a radius of a hundred meters and a diameter of two hundred.

"Hm?"

The next moment,

Jiang Fu turned again to look at the wall behind him.

"This wall... can actually block Spirit Power from probing through it?"

"Looks like there are Psychic Masters among Mutated Beasts and Realm Beasts, too."

At once,

Jiang Fu went on full alert.

Being a Psychic Master was nothing special!

A Spirit Power of 1,000 was nothing out of the ordinary!

Even the director of the Martial Artist Guild had not considered him worth recruiting!

Besides, he was still a rookie.

He had not the slightest experience facing Mutated Beasts in the Wilderness Area.

Keep my head down. I have to keep my head down!

The sneakiest Sixth Brother starts with me!

Jiang Fu took a deep breath and looked ahead.

Before his eyes,

Desolation and bleakness filled his vision.

The sky was gray.

The earth beneath his feet was dark red... he could see all the way to the horizon at a glance.

Starting from the Safe Exit.

And extending thirty li ahead.

There was nothing to obstruct the view.

Not a blade of grass grew within those thirty li.

Even the mountains, hills, and low-lying areas had been leveled or filled in.

This prevented mutated beasts or realm beasts from lurking there and launching sneak attacks on the city.

If martial artists wanted to hunt mutated beasts.

They had to venture beyond those thirty li.

The area within thirty li of the safe entrance.

Had long since been combed over several times by martial artists.

Not even a strand of beast fur could be found.

Jiang Fu's target was the Red-tailed Rat.

A small rodent-type mutated beast that lived underground.

Jiang Fu took everything he knew about Red-tailed Rats, including what he had learned at school and the information he had found online.

And reviewed it all in his mind once more.

"Speed, Multiply by Ten, duration: two hours."

"Go!"

Whoosh—

The next instant.

Jiang Fu's body became a blur.

And vanished from the spot entirely.