I Give You Absolute Freedom

Li Ziran watched the confidence-brimming Karen while thinking about the One-eyed Frog on his belt, his heart full of nothing but worry.

This job was a real headache.

He had only wanted to steal a chicken, never expecting to become the main force.

With so many eyes watching, how was he supposed to collect corpses?

Difficult!

His thoughts were a tangled mess. This barely counted as his first mission. Joining a slave corps was bad like this—there were many things he did not want to do but had to do anyway.

Li Ziran needed to calm down and sort out how this should be handled. He could not just foolishly let others lead him by the nose.

Dwarves stood no higher than his knee, yet this race possessed the brains every living creature dreamed of. Their minds, which never took detours, could easily solve bizarre mechanical alchemy problems.

Because they were especially proficient in machinery, Dwarf slaves sold for outrageously high prices. An alchemy Dwarf apprentice was probably worth as much as a magic apprentice.

There were some of this species on the Wasteland, but most served in large mercenary corps and rarely thought much of slave-catching corps.

And being able to operate a teleportation array meant this Dwarf was anything but ordinary. If that Dwarf was also a member of the slave corps, then that explained even more.

The simplest way to judge the caliber of a slave corps was to see how many races it contained, especially rare races.

A fairly outstanding beginner slave corps, like Karen's, possessed three Dark Elf archers and an apprentice fire mage.

Though the rank divisions were somewhat vague, this was an enduring rule of thumb on the Wasteland.

A person could only eat as much meat as their ability allowed. This rule was especially important in the slave trade.

Corpse Dragon!

That term surfaced in Li Ziran's mind again without warning. He was unfamiliar with the field of necromancy. The only thing he had ever dealt with was ordinary skeleton summoning, and even that had relied on the power of the Necromancer's Rope.

Strictly speaking, corpses and living creatures were clearly different.

Living creatures functioned through neural networks. Only by using those neural networks to draw elemental power from the Elemental Tide could they stay alive. But in a corpse, the neural network was utterly useless.

He had heard necromancers say that undead could function because magic power accumulated within remains and formed a unique kind of Necromantic Power.

That Necromantic Power formed a unique Necromantic Network.

Magic was Li Ziran's greatest weakness. Whenever he collided with that field, his mind immediately turned into a pot of mush.

It was the subject he feared most. He would rather perform two more difficult organ surgeries than touch this unfamiliar field.

But he understood that some steps had to be taken. In this era ruled by the Elemental Tide, not a single detail of living creatures could be separated from magic power.

He had been trying, yet he had achieved nothing so far.

"This is a little difficult." Li Ziran forced out a smile. "Do you have a strategy?"

Karen shook his head. "No. Do it as you see fit. Don't worry, even if you mess it up, it won't matter much."

Li Ziran did not see it that way. Such words had to be understood in reverse. Mess it up, and it would cost him his life.

On the fiercely competitive Wasteland, especially among those who had traveled thousands of miles here to make a fortune, the law of survival was followed even more closely.

They had not come here to do charity.

"I'll be the lead surgeon?"

"Of course!" As though afraid Li Ziran had not heard him clearly, Karen emphasized it again. "I believe in you. And I plan to take thirty percent in this distribution."

One-third?

Li Ziran's brows drew together slightly. If they truly faced a swamp nation this time, the difficulty would be immense. To conquer something of that caliber and claim one-third of the proceeds, a low-level slave corps would inevitably need to make a considerable investment.

Karen had quite the appetite!

That meant his task would be extremely heavy. He could not understand it. Even he himself had no confidence, so why was Karen so full of confidence?

"Tell me the specific plan."

"There is no plan." Karen answered frankly.

Li Ziran was a little dumbfounded. He directly laughed at the corps leader. "You're joking with me, right?" He was somewhat angry. During discussions this crucial, he had never liked using so-called jokes to liven up the atmosphere.

Though he had never intended to serve the slave corps wholeheartedly, he did not want the slightest sloppiness in surgery.

Who would dare perform surgery without preparation?

"No, that's the truth. Don't mind it. It's my habit. I never make plans for any operation. Plans bind me. We only need to set a goal, then move toward it. You'll get used to it later. My team has a high degree of freedom, so I don't need plans to bind you." Karen was very solemn.

Yet in Li Ziran's eyes, that solemnity was excessive. Though he admitted that such thinking sounded comfortable, and admitted that freedom could create miracles, he understood the essence of survival even better.

Before survival, exploitation was the best method. No matter how many twists and turns it took, those above could only endlessly exploit those below in order to infinitely increase their own value.

Whether labor or ability, as long as one existed within the food chain, no one could escape.

All he could think was: what made Karen believe that if he were allowed to act freely, the slave corps could carve out thirty percent for him? Was this a mission?

This was completely children playing house!

"Tell me the details. Be specific, including my competitors." Though his heart resisted, Li Ziran became very serious. He wanted to live, not casually joke around.

After the surgery, there would be plenty of time for idle chatter.

Karen hesitated for a moment, then smiled helplessly.

"Li, since you've joined the slave corps, you have the right to know many things. Judging from the swamp torn open by the Elemental Tide, we're very fortunate to have encountered an independent swamp nation. This nation will probably disappear in about two days.

"It is ruled by Medusa. According to the information currently detected, there are one hundred and twenty-seven adult Medusas, surrounded by more than eight hundred Crocodile Warriors, over three thousand Snake Women, and more than ten thousand Swamp Fishmen. This batch is abundant and in excellent condition."

"It isn't ruled by Medusa!" At that moment, a voice abruptly interrupted Li Ziran. It came from the One-eyed Frog at his waist.

"Not ruled by Medusa?" Li Ziran murmured softly.

"What?" Karen asked, clearly displeased by Li Ziran's interruption.

"Nothing. I just think the lineup is a little huge. We can't swallow it with just us!" Li Ziran brushed it off.

Karen smiled. "Of course not. If it were just us, we'd have run already. But this time, the Cannon Slave Corps is leading. They're an advanced slave-catching corps with more methods than one can count. Together with us, there are seven slave corps participating in the hunt, with two thousand people in total. Swallowing this swamp will be as easy as turning over a hand!"

Li Ziran was somewhat dazed. If he had not known Karen's character, he would definitely have taken him for a fanatic.

A complete nation, even the lowest-level one, possessed a complete system. A complete system meant a sound development system and a sound war system.

Not to mention an advanced slave corps—even if a super slave corps participated, it would probably be difficult to breach it.

The only thing Li Ziran could think of was that the Wasteland was now annexing the swamp. Without the cover of the swamp, the combat strength of the Snake Women and Crocodile Warriors would be at least halved.

Clearly, the slave corps intended to borrow this geographical advantage.

But even so, this kind of collision was equivalent to a battle between large formations. And the swamp side had no path of retreat; when they resisted, they would surely be ferocious to the extreme.

The law of survival told him again and again that he was standing on the mouth of a volcano.

This was not making a fortune. This was courting death!

Leave!

Li Ziran had made up his mind. No matter how profitable it might be, he had to find a way to get out as quickly as possible.

He needed to have a proper talk with Medusa, preferably to learn the entire sequence of events.

"This is very difficult." Li Ziran used a smile to hide his inner thoughts. "Fine, I'll take part. This is my first step since coming to the slave corps. I'll definitely prove myself with my own abilities!"

"Good, Li!" Karen was delighted. "Then we'll meet up at the Cannon Slave Corps' camp. Your abilities will definitely make them gape in astonishment!"

"Alright, Karen. Could you find me an assistant? The stronger, the better. I'll need one." Li Ziran wanted to send the corps leader away. He needed to buy some time.

"This... is that necessary?" Karen did not want to waste time.

"Yes, it is necessary. You have to understand, this time it's a Corpse Dragon!" Li Ziran deliberately emphasized the most important point.

Though Karen was still hesitating, when he saw Li Ziran's increasingly resolute expression, he could only say helplessly, "Fine. I'll bring one over in a moment."

After Li Ziran waited until the other man's back had completely disappeared, he abruptly turned and slipped into the toilet. At that moment, this foul-smelling enclosed space instead gave him a strange sense of safety.

He was about to untie the red cord at his waist, but the One-eyed Frog had already broken free on its own. Wrapped in a green membrane, it rapidly grew to the height of an adult. Before Li Ziran could speak, it rushed to speak first.

"He's lying. You can't believe a single word he says. He's sly as a fox. If it weren't for him, my sisters and I wouldn't have ended up stranded outside..."

The Medusa girl spoke extremely fast, as though she wanted to paint Karen as a heinous archvillain in a single instant.

Li Ziran could infer some things. This Medusa had certainly encountered Karen before, and Karen had used some methods—deception, perhaps—to capture Medusa.

In Medusa's eyes, Karen was naturally evil.

But in Li Ziran's view, it was all the law of survival.

He admitted Karen had methods, but he did not want to become enemies with such a person because of Medusa.

"Tell me, why did you interrupt me? You said this place isn't ruled by Medusa, so who controls it?" Li Ziran asked sternly. He needed to gather information.

"He said he'd help us find a new habitat. My aunt took him into the Medusa camp..."

"Get to the point!" Li Ziran directly cut her off. Karen had not given him much time, and he had no desire to hear her tale of suffering. "Who controls this place?"

Medusa was frightened by Li Ziran's fierce gaze and blurted out, "The Swamp Dragon!"

"The Swamp Dragon?"

Li Ziran asked in surprise.

Dragons were the most apex creatures in this world. Their innate dragonhide could devour rare energies from the Elemental Tide, allowing them to evolve into ever-changing dragonkind with miraculous powers.

Every dragon was an overlord this world could not resist.

"Yes, the Swamp Dragon!"