Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The woman in the red dress turned around and beckoned to one of the monsters squirming under the black drapes.
A silver-gray serpentine shape tore through the drapes like an arrow into the open air.
A huge cobra reared its head at least three stories above the ground. Its tail was tipped with a silver point that flashed dangerously like a dagger behind it. There were also faint yellow bands around the dagger-like tip of the tail.
A faint rattling sound could be heard every time the snake shook its tail.
[Monster Name]: Desert Mamba
[Monster Level]: Level 36 (Commander-tier)
[Monster Grade]: Excellent
[Monster Ability]: Sand Immunity Level 2
[Monster Attribute]: Sand type
[Description]: The Desert Mamba is an extremely aggressive monster that can usually be found in the desert. Sand is its primary food source.
Level 36… Not bad.
While the market was becoming even more saturated with Commander-tier monsters as everyone gradually acclimatized to the post-Cataclysm world, a late-stage Commander-tier familiar was still a rarity. The woman in the red dress flashed a smile at Gao Peng, then began walking towards Dali Desert with her familiar.
After whispering something to each other for a moment, the couple took one of the small paths branching off of the main road and disappeared into the night.
Da Zi, who had been cooped up under the black cloth for so long, squirmed out of it and began circling around Gao Peng like an excited puppy.
“Thought I was gonna suffocate in there,” chirped Da Zi.
“Let’s look for a place at the gathering spot to turn in for the night,” said Gao Peng. He breathed in the sandy air and hastily rubbed his nose.
Being on the road the whole night was a tiring affair. The only thing Gao Peng wanted to do now was lie on a soft, warm bed.
Even though they were wiped out from their night-long drive, Gao Peng and his familiars still had enough energy to continue the rest of their journey. A few minutes later, Gao Peng could make out the vague outline of buildings behind a hill in the distance that looked like a small town. However, as it was already three in the morning, there probably wouldn’t be anyone out on the streets at this hour.
A flag on a wooden post fluttered in the bleak wind in front of one of the buildings.
An earthen wall surrounded the small town. There was a guard on lookout duty right now with a hunting dog by his side. Suddenly, the dog began barking at something in the darkness.
The guard, who was moments away from dozing off, woke up with a start. He took his gun out of his backpack and strained his eyes at whatever his dog was barking at. In the distance, he could see a few blurry outlines approaching the town. They didn’t look human.
Just when he was about to report this, he heard a voice calling out in the distance. “Do you have any places to stay there?”
A human?
The guard put away his gun. No monster could possibly speak a human tongue that fluently.
A few minutes later, a young man came into view. He looked to be about 20 years old and had quite handsome features—clear skin, a high nose bridge… Damn, how is he so handsome?
The guard was beginning to feel a bit jealous.
“Why are you still out at such a late hour? The Dali Desert can be quite dangerous at night, you know,” said the guard.
“I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the nocturnal monsters in the desert,” said Gao Peng, casually raising his right hand to show a recently deceased Night Sand Scorpion.
“Well, you can still come in,” the guard mumbled. “However, it’s already late, so most of the inns are already sold out. You should know that we have a hard time accommodating all our visitors, even during the day.”
“I can pay more,” said Gao Peng without any hesitation.
A toothy smile spread across the guard’s face. “Let me ask around.”
He began exchanging a few words with someone else on his walkie-talkie.
Ten minutes later, someone came out to bring Gao Peng to his sleeping quarters.
Setting up an inn near a desert was no easy task. Gao Peng was lucky that there was even a place to stay in the middle of nowhere.
After settling his familiars down, he finally went to bed.
The next day, Gao Peng was woken up by the blinding sunlight and the bustle of the street outside. It took most of his willpower to pull himself out of bed. For a moment, he thought that he had been completely pinned to his bed by an unseen force.
Gao Peng shielded his eyes from the blinding sunlight as he looked out the window.
Outside, he could see buildings shaped like cow sheds lining the street. Between them stood a few low-rise buildings.
The shoddy brick walls made Gao Peng think of a primitive civilization. They looked as if they had been built using a familiar’s Earth Mastery ability.
People filled the streets like schools of fish.
Most of them were either wearing a hat or a mask over their faces. Some of them were even walking their familiars out on the street. On both sides of the street, besides a few stalls selling street food, there were also others selling all kinds of materials.
On the surface, it seemed like there were all kinds of materials being sold. However, thanks to his enhanced eyesight, Gao Peng could see that there was little variety in the merchandise being sold.
He was able to make out some of the more ubiquitous items currently out on display in every stall.
[Material Name]: Exploding Cactus
[Description]: It can be applied directly to any wound to achieve a cauterization effect. It can also used as a medicinal ingredient.
—
[Material Name]: Normal Sand-Type Monster Core
[Description]: A crystal core formed from the residual energy inside a Sand-type monster’s body. Can be used on a familiar to increase its elemental power. Is most effective when used on a Sand-type monster.
—
[Material Name]: Sand Soul Stone
[Description]: A stone that’s saturated with Sand-type and Earth-type elemental energy.
These were the three most popular items being sold in every stall.
Gao Peng figured that said items wouldn’t be hard to find here. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been for sale in every corner of the street.
The second, third, and fourth floors of the inn that Gao Peng was staying in were rooms for guests, while the first floor was a dining room. Gao Peng went down to the first floor and ordered a couple of dishes for himself. Then he poured himself a cup of water and quietly listened to the chatter around him.
Just then, Silly slid off Gao Peng’s head and dipped one of its tentacles into the soy sauce, then slurped up the sauce.
It was revolting. A wave of nausea washed over Silly all of a sudden. That’s not right, it thought.
“The army had the entire Dali Desert locked down. Now, they’re only letting their own people in.”
“Those army people are just trying to hog the good stuff for themselves,” grumbled someone else after downing two cups of wine.
“You speak—” He hiccuped. “The truth, brother.”
Gao Peng didn’t hear any useful information from the crowd. For the most part, all of it was idle chatter.
It seemed that the army held quite a lot of influence over the public in Chang’an City, as most of the people there didn’t dare bad-mouth the army, at least in public.
However, the fact that the army had locked down the Dali Desert and forbidden anyone from entering meant that something big was about to go down there.
After breakfast, Gao Peng got up and headed out to the Dali Desert with his familiars.
The desert was situated in the northeastern region of Chang’an City. Before the Cataclysm, it had once been a popular tourist spot. Since then, the desertization problem had grown worse. The desert began encroaching upon the area around it. Eventually, the place had become a wasteland with no signs of human life.
Ever since someone had discovered the existence of Shatuoman Man-eating Earthworms in the Dali Desert, the place had been branded a dangerous area that wasn’t for the faint of heart. The desert gained even more notoriety when the Desert Ruler came in and chased the Shatuoman Man-eating Earthworms out of th domain.
