Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 256: Tier-Two Blood Plague Immunity

Li Wei didn't deliberate long. He made his choice.

Option 1 was out of the question. He'd rather sell irradiated black soil — ten cubic meters fetched a thousand gold coins, though that came with its own complications.

Option 2 wasn't worth considering either. A Silver Quality Clearance Token could be split into two Black Iron tokens, which would upgrade both his Three-Star Hunter Card and Three-Star Woodcutter Card to four stars.

But that would inflate his stats on paper far too much — bad for running missions down the line.

He was still a newcomer. He needed to consolidate, develop patiently, build a proper foundation. There were so many basics he still hadn't covered. Last time he'd returned, he hadn't even visited the second-hand market in Crooked Alley.

So for now, the plan was simply to find a way to advance the Scout Card to two or three stars.

That settled it — Option 3. Enhance any two Titles.

The first title to enhance was obviously the Tracker. It could only be upgraded half a level — still Perception +2 — but the Stamina and Spiritual Power consumption was reduced further. Previously it offered a 50% reduction; now it was 75%.

Previously, 100 Stamina and 10 Spiritual Power sustained it for twenty seconds. Now it could hold for forty seconds.

That was substantial.For the second title, Li Wei didn't choose the Bear Hunter for +1 Strength, or the Dog Butcher for +1 Agility. Instead, he chose to enhance the Rat Slayer title.

The reason was simple: he had no idea what the incoming radiation storm would be like.

His base wasn't underground — it was on the surface. He could strut around looking impressive all he wanted, but the moment the chaotic magical radiation value hit 100, he'd have to take Blood Resistance Potions to bring it down. Otherwise he was done.

And the radiation storm would rage for an entire month. During that time, all water sources and food would increase radiation values. What good was combat power then?

Was raw fighting strength going to solve that problem?

He still had to send people out on patrol. If they died, he'd face Impeachment.

So he'd have to patrol himself — but with what? Was he supposed to rely on Liang Yuzhi, that scheming woman, to supply him with Tier-Two Blood Resistance Potions?

That was why the Rat Slayer title was so valuable.

["Your Rat Slayer title has been successfully enhanced by one level. When equipped: Life +50. Grants immunity to Tier-Two Blood Plague infection — meaning, as long as the magical radiation value in your body does not reach 100 points, equipping this title will prevent your magical radiation value from increasing further, unless the external magical radiation level exceeds the cap. After cumulative wear time exceeds 12 hours, the magical radiation value in your body will decrease to 50 points. Also grants excellent immunity to most parasites, contaminated food, and polluted water."]

Excellent. Perfect. The Tier-Two Blood Plague immunity was exactly what he needed.

Li Wei smiled with quiet satisfaction. The extra difficulty for his Pioneering Side Missions had finally reached 180% — four-star-plus. So what?

Hmm?

A sudden alertness — Adai's warning. The five Ability Users were moving toward him quickly. What was this — trying to rob him? Fine. Welcome to try.

Li Wei put away the Three-Star Dagger and turned to meet them.

A moment later, the two groups met in the forest. The five Ability Users stopped well back, and only the centaur captain stepped forward about twenty meters, projecting goodwill in advance.

"Friend, we have absolutely no hostile intent. We simply wanted to express our admiration — and extend a sincere invitation to visit the Frost Underground City. The radiation storm this year may arrive in about two months. Truly. With your level of strength, it would be a terrible waste if the storm left you mentally impaired. I'll stake my head on it: in this post-apocalyptic world, there is no better end-times base than the Frost Underground City."

"Normally, joining the Frost Underground City requires completing several tasks and trials. But you've just taken down that terrifying man-eating flower — you'd qualify directly as a Three-Star Wilderness Mercenary of the Frost Underground City. Come back with us. The Frost Duke has a bounty posted for the man-eating flower. If you don't come claim it, the reward goes to waste — all bounties are recalculated before each year's radiation storm ends."

The centaur's pitch was sincere. Li Wei thought it over and didn't close the door entirely. "I've got a nest of dependents back home, also sheltering underground, so I can't head to the Frost Underground City right now. But I might go in the future. As for the man-eating flower bounty — can I transfer it to you in exchange for some compensation?"

At that, the centaur swallowed hard and immediately glanced back at his four companions, then turned back, face lighting up with eagerness. "I won't pretend that doesn't make me feel a little ashamed — but it truly is an excellent arrangement. Friend, I'll need one leaf of the man-eating flower as proof of the kill. And I have to be honest — this material is genuinely valuable. The Frost Underground City has dedicated alchemists who pay top price for it—"

"So, friend — what do you want?"

"What can you offer?" Li Wei countered. Truth be told, he was genuinely curious about the Frost Underground City. But reason told him it wasn't the right move. He wasn't an adventuring mercenary or a wandering hero — he was a lord. Holding his territory and developing it steadily was what mattered most.

Besides — how could he be sure this Frost Duke wasn't some kind of evil mastermind?

He wasn't going to take that risk. A trade was fine. That was enough.

"I can offer—" The centaur stopped mid-sentence, turned, and trotted back to huddle with his companions for a long moment. Finally, all five Ability Users stepped forward together.

The ram-headed man spoke first. "Friend, I'm a spellcaster — and I can do preliminary identification of magical materials. Let's forget about the man-eating flower bounty for now. Show me one leaf first. If it checks out, we'll treat this as a trade. What do you say?"

"Fine."

Li Wei didn't overthink it. This wasn't the moment to quibble over minor gains. Through this trade, he could learn something about the Frost Underground City — whether they had a nuclear power plant, how far the Frost Duke's ability magic had developed, and so on.

He took out the smallest leaf. The material was slightly soft, fairly elastic — felt like rubber to the touch, with an overall jade-green color. Remarkable.

The ram-headed man examined it carefully for a moment, then his eyes lit up — though he stumbled over his words trying to explain. "This is definitely something special. I can sense pure magical energy fluctuations inside it. Unfortunately, I can't determine more than that. Captain, as I understand it — the bounty goes to our team, the reward gets split between you and the other three, I take nothing — just half the leaf. Is that right?"

"Exactly, exactly. We have to be fair — can't shortchange our friend here. Come on, everyone, bring out whatever good things you have."

The centaur called out, and began pulling items from the pack on his back — a pile of food, various stones, herbs, mushrooms, bird eggs.

The others did the same. Before long, quite a collection had accumulated. Li Wei looked it over and felt a little exasperated. Was he really going to come out behind on this deal?

Then the ram-headed man produced two items with an air of pride — two sealed small bottles, each containing a liquid. One red, one blue.

"Friend, these are a Healing Potion and a Brute Force Potion, made by the most senior alchemist in the Frost Underground City. They're not cheap. There are some minor side effects, but in a critical moment, they could save your life."

Li Wei stepped forward and took the two bottles. Almost simultaneously, two lines of text surfaced before his eyes.

["You have obtained two portions of magically refined raw essence, preliminarily filtered and settled. Note: This is a hazardous substance collected from the ruins of a collapsed Mage Tower by a rather incompetent alchemist. It is also an extremely rare magical material — but its internal structure has become highly unstable. Taking it recklessly could have serious long-term consequences."]

["Recommended: Hand over to a qualified scholar or alchemist for deep processing."]

["Suggested sale price: 500 Standard Gold Coins."]

Well then. Not bad at all. So the Frost Underground City had apparently found the ruins of a Mage Tower? Looked rough on the outside — but clearly loaded.

"Gentlemen, then we're settled. We're even."

Li Wei nodded. No further objections.

The five Ability Users laughed and quickly departed, looking like they'd just scored an enormous windfall.

Right — no need for violence. A little creative thinking went a long way.

Once they were well out of sight, Li Wei examined the pile of trade goods they'd left behind.

Quite the assortment.

Eighteen one-star mushrooms. Twenty-four one-star medicinal herbs. Nine unidentified ore fragments with magical energy fluctuations. Suspected remains from mutant creature kills. Even some decent food — five pieces of one-star quality cheese, two-and-a-half kilograms of one-star quality dried meat. Quite a haul overall.

Acceptable. He could live with this.

Li Wei unslung his pack and loaded everything in. Then he had Adai tail the five Ability Users for a while — they were genuinely heading south in high spirits. The Frost Underground City probably wasn't more than a hundred kilometers away.

Come to think of it — those twenty Pioneering Cards had each started their missions about a hundred and fifty to two hundred kilometers apart. Was there another pioneering base in that direction?

If he could find one, raiding it would be satisfying.

Of course, Li Wei only let himself think about it. The risk was too high. For the next two months, he wouldn't be venturing out. He needed to find a way to finish building the walls next month, further reinforce and strengthen the camp building, and deploy more defensive weapons.

Beyond that, next month he'd need to send Liang Yuzhi out to gather medicinal herbs and mass-produce Blood Resistance Potions in preparation for the coming radiation storm.

And on top of all that — he needed to watch out for Liang Yuzhi and Li Yue stirring up trouble.

A long road ahead.