Dragon Bone Village

"Whoa!"

Four cries of surprise rang out again. Lu Wen had delivered another surprise.

"Don't be so surprised. By the standards of your era, it's just an antique."

Just now, Lu Wen had pulled out an Optimus Prime-a Peterbilt, an American heavy-duty truck.

During his downtime in Marvel, he had stuffed all sorts of things into his System Space. Nick Fury had even come calling again to ask whether the end of the world was coming.

He had shut him down with the same excuse about a business trip, and had even tried to squeeze a couple of Quinjets out of Nick.

Unfortunately, his negotiating skills hadn't been up to scratch. Nick had refused him and mocked him for it.

Damn you, Secretary Fury! Now that I've got points, I'm definitely picking a trait that makes me a better talker when I get back. I'll squeeze a fortune out of him.

In another two years, S.H.I.E.L.D. will turn into Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D. and disband anyway. All that stuff in his warehouses will either get blown up or gather dust, with even more going to other departments for a song. What's the harm in giving me a little? I'm not asking for much. Someone's going to get a bargain either way~~~

What a cheapskate.

After taking everyone out of the web ball and wrapping them up individually, Lu Wen loaded them all into the truck's cargo compartment. He pulled out the keys and asked Xiadou and the other three,

"Who's driving?"

Before the four of them could decide who would drive, Bai Yuekui stepped forward.

"I'll do it. It's been ages since-"

"No, no, not you! These people are already unconscious. If you drive, you'll scramble their brains."

Lu Wen shook his head and flatly refused.

"Heh~ Sounds like you know me pretty well." Bai Yuekui lowered her eyes and gave Lu Wen a look that said she was not amused.

"Like I said, how would I dare take the job without some basic intel? Shanda, you drive!" Lu Wen tossed the keys to Shanda.

"You got it. Watch me."

The burly, middle-aged Shanda caught the keys, looking as happy as a child, and nimbly squeezed his broad frame into the truck's cab.

Xu Tong climbed into the passenger seat too, ready to experience this pre-catastrophe antique.

"Since they're taking the truck, you can ride with us. I'll be driving!" Bai Yuekui put particular emphasis on those last three words.

"Sure~ You're the boss. Whatever you say."

Climbing into the four-ring-brand off-road vehicle, Lu Wen had only one thought: Now this is the real deal! The absolute real deal!

In the back seat, Xiadou and Suixing nervously fastened their seat belts, fear written all over their faces.

Seeing Lu Wen calmly buckle up, Bai Yuekui gave a mischievous smile.

"Hold on tight."

With a roar of an engine, the two human vehicles-one gas-powered and one electric-drove off into the night...

"Electric cars a hundred years in the future really have some kick!"

Lu Wen's exhilarated shout rang out beneath the night sky.

Bai Yuekui glanced at Lu Wen. Seeing that he wasn't the least bit afraid piqued her interest, and the vehicle's speed climbed higher and higher!

Leaving two drones to guide Shanda and the others in the truck, Bai Yuekui drove the off-road vehicle through the wasteland like a bolt of silver lightning.

Even so, Lu Wen remained unfazed! Once his initial excitement wore off, he spent the rest of the trip leaning lazily against the window.

Whenever they passed a gathering of Snake Dogs, he casually tossed out a few Pumpkin Bombs to earn some points.

The speed was decent, and Bai Yuekui certainly drove hard, but after riding the Glider, this didn't amount to much.

In the early hours of the morning, a drowsy Lu Wen felt the vehicle stop and woke up.

He opened his eyes to find that they had arrived at the foot of some mountains.

Dragon Bone Village's main entrance lay hidden behind a fissure in the rock face on the western side of the mountain, camouflaged by withered ground vines and loose stones. Four Chinese characters meaning "Safe travels, coming and going" were carved into the stone wall at the entrance.

The entrance had a guard post and multiple physical isolation doors, serving both to withstand Devorant charges and filter out scarlet essence. It was one of the regular passages connecting the surface to the settlement within the mountain.

Bai Yuekui shut off the engine and got out, leaving Suixing to park and wait for Shanda and Xu Tong behind them. Taking Xiadou with her, she motioned for Lu Wen to follow.

After they entered the mountain and walked about thirty meters, the space ahead opened into light.

Lu Wen looked up, then stood rooted to the spot.

An enormous skeleton hung overhead. Its ribs spanned the entire cavern like arched bridges, their thickest sections wider than a truck, their surfaces coated in grayish-white mineral deposits.

The skeleton supported the ceiling of the entire Dragon Bone Village, extending from the rock walls on either side of the cavern and disappearing into the warm yellow lights in the distance.

Some houses had been built where the ribs branched, their wooden walls and sheet-metal roofs fitted between the bones as though they had grown from the skeleton.

"This is the skeleton of a Lord-Class Devorant. Back then, we used the mountain to kill it and established Dragon Bone Village."

Bai Yuekui came to stand beside him and explained the village's origins.

Although he had read about it in the records before, seeing it with his own eyes was truly stunning.

Perhaps because it was the early hours of the morning, all the villagers except the night sentries were still asleep, leaving Dragon Bone Village rather quiet.

Bai Yuekui stood beneath the dragon bones and waited until Lu Wen drew his gaze back before continuing forward. Xiadou followed behind, yawning and rubbing her eyes, then jogged a couple of steps to catch up.

Bai Yuekui stopped in front of a row of houses above one side of the terraces. She pushed open one of the doors and stepped aside. "Stay here for now. There isn't much, but it's enough."

Lu Wen stepped over the threshold and flicked the switch on the wall. The light came on-an old-fashioned incandescent bulb, not very bright, but warm.

The room was small, with a bed, a table, and a chair. A wooden cabinet stood in the corner, its doors closed. Beside it was an old refrigerator with patches of peeling paint, though its compressor was still humming away.

"There's nothing in the cabinet. If you need anything, go find Xiadou over by the terraces. She has everything."

Bai Yuekui leaned against the doorframe. After saying that, she glanced around the room. "I'll come find you at noon tomorrow to talk about the order."

"Sure."

Bai Yuekui turned and left. Xiadou poked her head through the doorway and smiled at Lu Wen before running off too.

Once he was alone, Lu Wen looked around. With Venom enveloping him, his clothes changed into a set of pajamas.

Ever since getting Venom, he had kept all the clothes he carried in Venom's pocket space. Whenever he wanted to change, he only needed to say the word, and Venom could change him within two seconds.

It had been a long time since he had put on his own clothes~~~

After lying down on the bed, Lu Wen called up the system panel. He wanted to see how many points he had just earned in total!

[Points: 52,310]

He stared at the string of numbers for two seconds, blinked, and looked again. It hadn't changed.

"Fifty-two thousand..." He repeated the number and quickly ran through the tally in his head.

He had killed several hundred Spine Beasts, at ten points each, which came to several thousand. There had been even more Sting Eels, worth three hundred points apiece, putting that total at twenty thousand at least. The three thousand for the Calyx Beast had come last, and the few Sting Eels and Spine Beasts he had casually killed while searching the underground compartments were worth another thousand or two.

Adding in what he had gradually saved from selling cheap traits, fifty-two thousand sounded about right.

In less than two hours, he had earned more points than he had from five orders in Newbie Village! This was far more efficient!

He closed the panel and rolled over.

Fifty-two thousand was enough to buy a white permanent trait! If he was lucky and found one at the right price, he might even have some left over.

But he wasn't in a hurry to browse the Trait Shop. He still didn't have enough points. Rather than rushing to buy a low-level trait, it would be better value to save up some more and buy a high-level one.

Putting those questions out of his mind, he lay with his eyes closed for a while, feeling the muscles in his chest and shoulders slowly relax as he gradually eased out of his tense state.

Ever since transmigrating, no matter which world he went to, the one thing he never skimped on was letting himself get some proper rest.