Giant Beast Smuggling

There seemed to be someone on the train who had the same question as Luo Yan.

A girl in a pink dress whispered, "Why would anyone smuggle Giant Beast parasites? That's disgusting."

A male companion beside her chuckled. "Weren't there cases of people smuggling all kinds of wild animals in the past?"

"Smuggling parasites now is pretty much the same thing."

"Some people have unusual tastes. They don't like keeping cats or dogs—they prefer keeping Giant Beast parasites."

"Some people are superstitious about Giant Beast parasites. They even believe that Giant Beast bones and organs can be used as medicine to cure every disease."

"Since these people are willing to pay, of course someone will dare to smuggle them."

Luo Yan was dumbfounded.

He had spent three years on the surface.

He had seen far too many people killed by parasites, directly or indirectly.

He had never imagined it.

There were actually people who wanted to raise Giant Beast parasites or use them as medicine.

General Knowledge Class had mentioned this as well.

Giant Beast parasites could not be bred artificially or domesticated.

They were naturally savage and could not be kept privately.

As for using them as medicine, that was even more absurd.

Both parasites and Giant Beasts came from the Jambu Realm Space. They were not natural products of Earth.

They carried large numbers of unknown viruses and bacteria. Using them as medicine was simply asking to die.

"Ridiculous, right?"

Zeng Shan said softly, "When I first heard that people were smuggling Giant Beast parasites, as well as Giant Beast bones and organs..."

"I was just as surprised as you. I wondered if those people had something wrong with their heads."

"But as it turned out..."

"For money, people could have no bottom line."

"In the black market, taking Wolf Ticks as an example, one Wolf Tick can be exchanged for half a year's worth of food for an adult."

"The profits are enormous, so plenty of people are willing to take the risk."

Luo Yan frowned slightly.

He could roughly imagine it.

Behind every parasite that made its way onto the black market, there were probably several lives.

Those weren't cats or dogs.

They were ferocious creatures!

At that moment, Zeng Shan patted Luo Yan's arm and pointed out the window. "Look, that's the 'Quick Attack Skylight'!"

Luo Yan looked over.

He saw several enormous pipes leading to the sky above the Undercity.

When he had first entered Guangling City, he had seen these pipes as well.

But he had not known what they were for.

Seeing Luo Yan's confusion, Zeng Shan laughed. "You came from the surface, and the course hasn't covered this yet."

"No wonder you don't know."

"The 'Quick Attack Skylight' is a passage—or rather, a device—that allows mechs to reach the surface quickly."

"Part of the energy our city uses depends on the light-gathering devices on the mountains behind the Great Lake region."

"Sometimes, those devices are damaged by Giant Beasts or other causes and need to be replaced."

"That's when mech escorts are needed. To let mechs reach the surface quickly, these 'Attack Shafts' were built."

"Speaking of which, since the Surface Exploration Legion often has to go on missions..."

"Surface escort work usually falls to our Academy."

"But only third-year students are allowed to go on missions."

"We still have a long way to go."

Luo Yan nodded. Under Zeng Shan's explanation, he gained quite a bit more understanding of Guangling, this Undercity.

A moment later.

He took the initiative to ask, "Have you awakened your 'Divine Treasure'?"

Zeng Shan gave an awkward laugh and said somewhat sheepishly, "I awakened it after returning from observing the Forbidden Land."

"Can't be helped. Unlike you guys, I only started practicing the Visualization Technique after entering the Academy."

"So it took me some time."

"But the 'Divine Treasure' I awakened is pretty good."

Luo Yan asked casually, "What is it?"

Zeng Shan wiped the tip of his nose with one finger and lowered his voice. "Discharge. Nature element."

"Right now, I can only add high-voltage currents to my Combat Skills and Mystic Arts, but my mentor said that if I can break through two or three times, it'll become extremely powerful."

"You could say this 'Divine Treasure' has good potential."

After saying that...

He remembered that Luo Yan's Divine Treasure was the 'Qi Gazing Eyes,' which had almost no potential, and hurriedly consoled him. "Old Luo, you don't need to lose heart."

"Last time we went to the Forbidden Land, didn't Teacher Wei say that if you had a 'Primordial Stone Fragment,' it could trigger a mutation in your 'Divine Treasure'?"

"Even a Divine Treasure with mediocre potential would become extraordinarily powerful after mutating."

"After graduation, you can join the Exploration Corps directly. By then, you might have a chance to obtain a 'Primordial Stone Fragment' and make your 'Qi Gazing Eyes' mutate."

Luo Yan responded with an "Mm," but did not tell Zeng Shan that his 'Qi Gazing Eyes' had already mutated.

Speaking of which...

Wei Fenghua had also promised to give him a book about Divine Treasures after he returned to the Academy.

It was just that after returning from the Forbidden Land...

He had been busy cultivating and had completely forgotten about it.

He decided to look for Wei Fenghua and ask for it after returning to the Academy on Sunday.

Perhaps he could find some information related to the 'Obstacle Breaking Dharma Eye.'

A little over an hour later.

The train stopped.

They were already close to the terminal station.

There were very few people in the carriage.

Luo Yan and Zeng Shan got off the train and left the station.

In an instant...

They arrived at a place with narrow roads, low buildings, and a strong atmosphere of everyday life.

The vendors selling all kinds of goods simply rode tricycles to set up their stalls along the streets.

To make it easier to do business at night...

They had connected private wires, so above Luo Yan's head, he could see bunches of electrical cables crossing the street.

People came and went, some walking, some riding bicycles, and others riding electric scooters.

They weaved back and forth across the narrow road.

Shouts, curses, laughter, and all kinds of other sounds blended together.

It gave Luo Yan the feeling of returning to the bustling downtown streets of the past.

Zeng Shan said somewhat awkwardly, "It's a little chaotic here, but the rent is cheap. The environment is far worse than the Academy dorms."

He was just about to say that Luo Yan might not be used to it.

But Luo Yan had already asked, "How do we get to your house?"

Seeing that Luo Yan did not mind, Zeng Shan immediately perked up and stepped forward. "Come on, I'll take you there."

"My mom makes delicious jianbing guozi. I'll have her make a few for you to try later."

Luo Yan smiled and nodded. "Sure."

They passed through streets and alleys.

Soon, they arrived at Zeng Shan's home.

There, they saw a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl squatting beside the door.

She looked sullen.

Two thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boys beside her were doing their best to make her laugh.

Unfortunately, they had already tried every trick they knew.

There was not even a trace of a smile on the girl's face.

"A Bao, Little Shuang, Little Xi, what are you doing?" Zeng Shan called out excitedly, not forgetting to introduce them to Luo Yan.

"A Bao is my younger sister, and she's the second child in the family."

"Little Shuang and Little Xi are the third and fourth. They're twins."

Hearing Zeng Shan's voice, the three people by the door all looked up.

Then the twin boys ran over and grabbed Zeng Shan. "Big Brother, you're finally back!"

"Hurry and go tell Mom. Second Sis doesn't want to get married."

Zeng Shan looked utterly confused. "Get married?"

The twin boys nodded vigorously. "Exactly! Today, Mom and Dad are arranging Second Sis's engagement."

"They said that if they married Second Sis off, the other family would give them a sum of work points."

"But how is this marriage? They're clearly trying to sell Second Sis!"