Wherever There Are People, There Is Jianghu

The lobby on the first floor of the Super God Guild Building.

The lobby is where guilds post quests.

After nearly a century of development, the Psychic Energy Era has formed a fairly mature and stable order.

Each base city is responsible for maintaining its security through its Awakened Association. The association president holds an official position, usually concurrently serving as the commander or deputy commander of a major military region. They are the most powerful figures in the base city, and their authority is not merely a title but stems from the large number of Awakened experts within the military—a force that no major guild can easily contend with.

The presidents of all the guilds in the base city will join the Awakened Association and serve as vice presidents, standing committee members, committee members, and so on.

This organizational structure is also known as a uniquely China awakened organization system that "takes public ownership as the mainstay while allowing for the joint development of multiple ownership forms"...

This model remains quite stable. In the Psychic Energy Era, China's status as the safest and most livable country in the world owes much to this system. Other countries have tried to learn from this system, but few have succeeded; most have only managed to imitate it superficially.

The military established bunker outposts along major roads throughout the country to monitor the proliferation of mutated beast hordes and unintentional incursions by the Spirit Realm creatures.

Once the mutated beast horde and Spirit Realm creatures gather to a certain extent, they will generate feedback and submit it to the Awakened Association.

Based on this intelligence, the Awakened Association generated a series of missions.

Some of the tasks will be assigned to the various guilds within the association. This is similar in nature to the road clearing work in spring and Spring and Autumn Annals, but the scope is no longer limited to the twenty kilometers along the road, and there are tasks all year round, rather than a short-term cleanup operation lasting one or two months.

The tasks assigned to each guild are then posted in their respective guild task halls, where awakened members of the guild can freely form teams to choose which tasks to complete.

This is the order of the Awakened World in China during the Psychic Energy Era. There may be some drawbacks, but the advantages undoubtedly outweigh the disadvantages. For ordinary Awakened, they no longer have to venture into the Wilderness Zone in complete darkness, greatly saving time and energy spent searching for monsters. They can also choose suitable missions based on intelligence, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

Bai Xiaowen had informed Li Beihai beforehand about her trip to the Wilderness Zone.

The layout of the lobby is simple, similar to a bar, but of course not as noisy.

The quest giver was located at the bar, with a receptionist sitting behind them. Awakened members of various Super God Guild sat in the lobby, some drinking, others chatting quietly, most waiting for their friends to arrive so they could accept quests and venture into the Wilderness Zone together.

"Hey, Little Bai, over here..."

As soon as Bai Xiaowen entered the hall, Old Demon, who was sitting in the corner, raised his hand to greet him, and then Old Demon got up and walked over.

Next to the Old Demon's table were two other people who looked somewhat familiar. Bai Xiaowen thought for a moment and then remembered them.

One of the skinny guys is Hou Zihua, a marksman nicknamed "Monkey," who is a member of the Super God Guild's main team. The other one isn't on the main team, but he also participated in the Spring Road Clearance event and is considered one of the more active Awakened members in the guild.

Hou Zihua and his companion also saw Bai Xiaowen, and they nodded to each other as a greeting.

The Old Demon had already walked up to Bai Xiaowen: "You're going to the Wilderness Zone, right? The guild leader spoke to me on the phone."

Bai Xiaowen was a little taken aback. "I was just going for a stroll in the Wilderness Zone, why is the guild leader so nervous...?"

The Old Demon shook his head and said, "The Assassination attempt just happened a short time ago, so the guild leader's caution is understandable. I'll accompany you this time; if danger arises, we can easily escape."

Old Demon's words were quite honest. In terms of actual combat strength, he was no match for Bai Xiaowen. However, when it came to escaping, he had a powerful three-star group stealth skill— Refractive Barrier. Combined with the Psychic Shielding perception between him and Bai Xiaowen, their ability to escape was quite formidable.

"This is making a mountain out of a molehill..." Bai Xiaowen gave a wry smile, "And it'll just waste your time..."

The Old Demon shook his head. "There's nothing to waste. I've got nothing better to do anyway, and I can even get guild contribution points for running this quest... Alright, enough said, let's go pick a quest."

The two had already walked to the bar while they were talking.

The receptionist smiled sweetly, "Hello, what kind of task do you need? Please tell me the keywords so I can search for it."

Besides the receptionist's computer, there was another lit monitor on the bar counter.

Bai Xiaowen thought for a moment and said, "I need a quest with a relatively high concentration of monsters. As for the difficulty... it doesn't matter, preferably below level 6..."

The receptionist typed out keywords like "cluster" and "≤6" in rapid succession, and a series of tasks appeared on the bar monitor.

"Abandoned Village: Monsters are Mutant Dog, averaging around level 3. No Leader Tier monsters confirmed, with an estimated number of 30-50. Danger level assessment: 26. Reward: 130 Guild Contribution Points. Minimum level requirement for solo play: Level 6 (Standard Class) / Level 4 (Elite Class) / Level 3 (Hero Class); Level requirement may be lowered for group play."

"Venomous Snake Valley: Monsters are Mutant Viper, average level 1, no Leader Tier monsters confirmed, number over 200. Danger level assessment: 30, reward: 150 guild contribution points. Minimum level requirement for solo play: level 6 (Standard Class) / level 4 (Elite Class) / level 3 (Hero Class); level requirement may be lowered for group play."

"Fanged Mire: Monsters are Fishman (Spirit Realm beings), average level 3, Leader Tier level unknown, number exceeds 50. Danger level assessment: 45, reward 280 guild contribution points. Minimum level requirement for playing: Level 8 (Standard Class) / Level 6 (Elite Class) / Level 4 (Hero Class); level requirement may be lowered for group play."

"Impact Plains..."

Looking at the long list of tasks, Bai Xiaowen thought to himself, "Having a guild is so convenient."

"Let's choose this one, Venomous Snake Valley," Bai Xiaowen said.

"Are you sure?" the Old Demon asked again. "These Mutant Viper, numerous yet small, are not easy to deal with. Don't underestimate them just because their average level is only 1... Their small size means that when you attack them in a group, many snakes can leap at you at the same time to bite you, not to mention their venomous damage..."

"It's okay, I'm sure," Bai Xiaowen said with a smile. He was just attracted to the large quantity and small size...

"Alright then..." Old Demon nodded. "Anyway, the guild leader said you're in charge. Just like last time, I won't intervene unless there's a particularly dangerous situation..."

Bai Xiaowen nodded slightly. "My car is outside, it's all ready. Let's go."

After selecting the Venomous Snake Valley mission, the girl did a series of operations the day before yesterday to check the box for the mission and fill in the names of Bai Xiaowen and Meng Gui.

The two walked out of the Super God Guild building.

"Wait a minute..." Bai Xiaowen suddenly stopped the Old Demon.

"What?" The Old Demon was a little confused.

Bai Xiaowen walked a few steps along the wall of the building and chuckled softly, "You were sitting in this spot just now, weren't you with Hou Zihua?"

Old Demon nodded, also lowering his voice. "That's right, and Tan Li too... What happened?"

"Uncle Old Demon Yao, you're also a Mental Specialty type, can you hear what's being said inside?" Bai Xiaowen asked.

Under Bai Xiaowen's Psychic Sensing, the conversation between Hou Zihua and another person, who were only five meters away and separated by a wall, clearly entered his ears.

"Our guild might be going to be under the Bai family name, right? What do you think, Lao Tan?" That was Hou Zihua's voice.

"Hey, who says otherwise? Look at that Old Demon, he's practically begging to befriend her..."

Hou Zihua: "Tch... Old Demon is being a bit too blatant. He's a key member of the guild, how can he be so subservient to a newbie?"

"The son-in-law who's currying favor with the guild leader, isn't that just currying favor with the guild leader... Actually, Old Demon a Standard Class, and the reason he's been able to stay in the main team all this time is because he's close to the guild leader, isn't it? Look at his usual harmless, good-natured appearance, he's got a lot of scheming..."

Hou Zihua said with a smile, "Old Tan, don't worry. Old Demon is in his thirties this year, almost there! Once he retires, won't that be your chance?"

The Awakened One named Tan Li snorted, "It should have been my turn long ago. After all, I'm an Elite Class..."

Bai Xiaowen, who was eavesdropping, shook his head and clicked his tongue in amazement upon hearing this:

"Wherever there are people, there is a world of its own..."

The Old Demon patted Bai Xiaowen on the shoulder.

"What are you still listening to? Let's go."

Bai Xiaowen was slightly taken aback. "Didn't you use your Psychic Sensing to hear? These two aren't exactly pleasant to listen to..."

The Old Demon chuckled, "Knowing it's unpleasant to hear, why should I bother listening?"

The two of them got into the SUV, one after the other.

Bai Xiaowen started the car and couldn't help but ask again, "Uncle Old Demon Yao, don't you and Hou Zihua usually get along well?"

"It's alright..." Old Demon said, sitting in the passenger seat and fastening his seatbelt. "I'm a few years older and look older, so several people in the team call me 'Big Brother'..."

"Tsk, that guy is pretty hypocritical," Bai Xiaowen shrugged. "I can't get along with that kind of person. As a Mental Specialty Awakened, don't you usually notice anything? I don't believe it."

The Old Demon thought for a moment, "I guess I have a feeling about it. But it's meaningless, and I won't waste my energy eavesdropping on what they say in private... Just take it easy."

"Uncle Old Demon Yao, your level of awareness... is quite Zen-like, but I can't learn it," Bai Xiaowen said with a chuckle. "If my teammate badmouths me behind my back... I won't play with him anymore. I'll confront the management directly. It's either him or me... I'll just leave. It's better to avoid having to cooperate as a team in a game together, that's just not fun!"

The Old Demon chuckled, "Why are you trying to emulate me, you young upstart? Wait until you're a decade or two old, your rough edges will wear down, and maybe you'll see things more clearly... Hmm, not necessarily. You're too cunning, everyone has to go along with you, and those rough edges are hard to smooth out."

"Uncle, you've got it backwards. The root of people becoming stronger is simply wanting everyone to do what they want, right? Hahahaha..."

Amid laughter, the off-road vehicle headed south towards Venomous Snake Valley.

Following the map provided in the mission, Bai Xiaowen finally found Venomous Snake Valley after some trouble.

The main issue is that it's quite far from the main road; off-road vehicles need to travel for over an hour through bumpy terrain to reach it. Of course, this bumpy ride is nothing to the awakened ones.

"Longitude... latitude... hmm, this is the place." Bai Xiaowen got out of the car.

"Don't worry about latitude and longitude, just look ahead and you'll know." The Old Demon gestured with his chin.

The two were at the mouth of the valley, where a snake, as thick as an adult's finger and covered in colorful markings, was slithering through the low bushes.

Bai Xiaowen immediately glanced at his left wrist; the smiling face on it reassured him. He then used his Insight on the venomous snake.

[Desert Rattlesnake (Level 1, Common)]

[Race: Beast Species / Terrestrial Beasts]

[Attributes: Strength 1, Agility 5, Constitution 1, Spirit 1]

[Skill 1: Venomous Bite: The rattlesnake bites the target, continuously injecting blood-soluble venom. Each stack of poison will cause a loss of 1% of Life Value (considered as poison damage). The number of poison stacks increases over time, up to a maximum of 5 stacks.]

[Skill 2: Launch: The rattlesnake's thick, powerful tail slams into the ground, launching it towards the target enemy. The launch speed is 200% of the rattlesnake's maximum movement speed.]

"Hmm, it's poison damage that causes percentage-based health loss, impressive."

Bai Xiaowen stroked his chin. He originally thought that the Butcher could easily solo these level 1 ordinary monsters with Rot, but now it seems... with so many snakes, he might actually be unable to hold them off.

The Old Demon said, "These Mutant Viper have very poor basic attributes, so their skills are stronger than ordinary monsters. Otherwise, they would be no different from Mutant Cockroach and Mutant Rat, only able to survive in the Buffer Zone and unable to establish themselves in the Wilderness Zone."

"Mutant Viper?" Bai Xiaowen said, somewhat puzzled. "The name I saw was Desert Rattlesnake."

"Huh?" The Old Demon was slightly taken aback. He knew that Bai Xiaowen's Insight Talent allowed him to accurately see the name of the target.

"But they're all Terrestrial Beasts, so it shouldn't matter, right?" Bai Xiaowen waved his hand, releasing the Butcher. After thinking for a moment, he released two more Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier to protect the Butcher's left and right flanks. "Let's get to work."

Three summoned creatures led the way, charging headlong into the Venomous Snake Valley.

Hiss...

With a loud bang, seven or eight rattlesnakes shot out from different directions like arrows. Three of them hooked onto Fatty and bit him, while the other four landed on the Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier on either side and continued to bite.

With a whoosh, the Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier and the Butcher were enveloped in a purple mist, entering a state of poisoning.

"Butcher are one thing, but skeletons can get poisoned too... It's supposed to be called Blood-Dissolving Toxin, but my skeletons don't even have blood vessels..."

Bai Xiaowen made a sarcastic remark, but he also knew that the creatures of the Psychic Energy Era could not be explained by science; otherwise, it would be contrary to biological common sense that a skeleton could rise up.

A buzzing sound rang out, Butcher suddenly activated the Rot!