After entering the alternate space, a vast mountain range stretched out before them.
The sky of this alternate space was shrouded in dark clouds, as though the world were on the brink of destruction.
"So this is an A-rank alternate space?"
Fang Bai surveyed the surroundings. Unlike the alternate space he had entered last time, this place made him feel extremely oppressed.
The group followed a deliberately cleared road forward. Before long, buildings appeared in their sight, and Monster Slaying Army patrols could be seen in the distance.
The entire alternate space was divided into two lines of defense, one inner and one outer.
Once again, they were asked to present their identification.
The conditions for entering an alternate space controlled by humanity were rather strict.
Naturally, criminals and villains were barred from entering.
After their identities were confirmed, Li Xue led the group deeper into the mountains.
They passed through a forest.
Along the way, they encountered only a few first-rank demon beasts, all of which were easily dealt with.
Zhang Zifeng clicked his tongue. "Looks like there aren't many demon beasts near the garrison anymore. They've probably all been cleared out."
Li Xue nodded. "Let's continue deeper in and conserve our strength."
Fang Bai already held a combat saber in his hand, but unfortunately, he still had no chance to strike.
There was no helping it. Being carried by his teammates was simply too comfortable. The moment a demon beast appeared, it was instantly killed.
Everyone was highly motivated, because aside from the mission itself, all other resources were distributed according to contribution.
The greater one's contribution, the more resources one could receive.
This wouldn't do. He had come to the alternate space to improve his strength—how could he just lie flat?
Fang Bai suddenly said, "Senior, how about I scout ahead?"
Li Xue frowned at his words. "No. It's dangerous here. Your strength isn't enough, and going alone is too risky."
Fang Bai smiled. "My second attribute is the Dark Element. I can hide in the darkness, and those demon beasts won't be able to detect me. Besides, if I discover any danger, I can send word immediately."
Zhang Zifeng nodded. "I think Fang Bai has a point."
Li Xue pondered for a moment before nodding. "All right, then. Be careful."
Fang Bai nodded. "Don't worry."
With that, he turned into an afterimage and vanished from the spot.
"Hmph! That kid knows he's dead weight, so he wants to take this chance to make his presence known."
Yu Bing said disdainfully.
"Shut your mouth! Nobody cares what you think!"
Zhang Zifeng glanced at him and said flatly.
Yu Bing snorted coldly. "Zhang Zifeng, don't let me run into you at the Exchange Competition half a month from now!"
Zhang Zifeng chuckled. "You'd better pray you don't run into me, or I'll beat you until you call me Daddy!"
Li Xue said helplessly, "Enough. Stop arguing. The mission isn't complete yet, so settle down."
Yu Bing and Zhang Zifeng snorted at the same time and fell silent.
Elsewhere.
Fang Bai hid within the shadows. Less than ten minutes into scouting, he encountered two first-rank demon beasts. They resembled cockroaches, except they had wings on their backs.
"Holy shit, mutated cockroaches!"
Without changing expression, Fang Bai slipped into their shadows. Then he suddenly burst forth, ending them both with two slashes!
Caught off guard, first-rank demon beasts were no match for him at all!
[ Ding! Host has killed first-rank demon beasts x2 and obtained a small amount of Exotic Energy! ]
At last, the long-awaited system prompt rang out. Feeling the obvious increase in Exotic Energy within his body, a smile appeared on Fang Bai's face.
"As expected, killing demon beasts is still the fastest way to improve!"
Fang Bai silently stored the demon beast corpses in his ring.
In his eyes, these corpses were all points!
Before long, Fang Bai had advanced a full li ahead!
And he had killed seven first-rank demon beasts!
The Exotic Energy within his body had increased considerably—equivalent to a month of cultivation at the martial academy!
Yet he did not choose to break through to the second rank. Instead, he compressed the energy and continued accumulating it.
Even while killing demon beasts, Fang Bai did not forget his mission. He had to find the target of the mission: the Thunder Spotted Python.
This type of demon beast generally traveled in groups and grew stronger by absorbing Lightning Power. Therefore, wherever they hid had to be a place abundant in Lightning Power!
As Fang Bai advanced, he left marks along the way.
Li Xue and the others followed the markings.
Before long, they noticed something was wrong.
"Why aren't there any demon beasts at all?"
Huo Qi hesitated before saying, "Could Fang Bai have killed them all?"
"Impossible! He's only first-rank. How could he have that kind of strength? It's just a coincidence. He must have gone around those demon beasts."
Yu Bing was the first to reject the idea.
"Having no demon beasts lets us conserve our strength. That couldn't be better. Our target isn't those low-level demon beasts anyway."
Li Xue spoke up.
But just then, everyone stopped in their tracks.
Because the markings disappeared here.
At the same time, the ground suddenly began to tremble.
"???"
Everyone wore the same bewildered expression.
What was going on?
Then they immediately found out. At their one o'clock direction, a bedraggled figure came sprinting madly toward them, with a dense swarm of poisonous insects following behind him!
There were at least a hundred of them!
Li Xue's expression changed. "Run!"
The others reacted quickly as well. Before Li Xue had even finished speaking, they decisively turned and ran!
At that moment, Fang Bai caught up to them.
"Brother, how the hell did you lure them over here?"
Zhang Zifeng turned his head and shouted at Fang Bai.
Fang Bai pulled a golden fruit from his ring and said in a trembling voice, "I dunno! I just casually picked a fruit to quench my thirst. Then these guys came out of nowhere!"
Everyone was speechless.
Your urge to touch things randomly was really strong. You dared to mess around without knowing anything.
In an alternate space, casually touching things that should not be touched could cost you your life!
The fruit Chen Zhou was holding was obviously a precious Spiritual Plant!
Li Xue slowed down and said to Fang Bai, "They've already locked onto the fruit's scent. Unless you abandon it, they'll keep chasing us."
Fang Bai frowned. "This thing should be worth quite a few points."
"Are points more important than your life? If you don't throw it away, all of us will be dragged down by you!"
Yu Bing shouted bluntly.
He too had recognized how extraordinary the fruit was. Greed and jealousy surged within him, and he wished Fang Bai would throw it away immediately.
If he couldn't have it himself, seeing someone else hold it made his eyes burn with envy!
Fang Bai glanced at Yu Bing, his eyes narrowing as he considered whether to finish him off right here.
Sensing that something was off with Fang Bai, Li Xue said, "You have another choice. We face them together, but we get a share of that fruit too."
Fang Bai did not hesitate and immediately nodded. "All right!"
He naturally understood that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
Li Xue came to a stop and slowly turned around, Exotic Energy radiating from her body.
"Let's fight them!"
Before you continue