Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 298: Lying in Wait

After another roughly 25 kilometers, Li Wei could clearly feel the Radiation Storm's intensity diminishing. Even the radiation toxin concentration had dropped to a level that could barely cause Level 2 Blood Plague infection, and the number of mutant creatures had decreased accordingly.

By that estimate, if his camp was producing one Level 4 Universal Gold Card per day, other mission branches were probably seeing one every two or three days.

Of course, this was the current trough of the Radiation Storm — hence the continued weakening.

After nightfall, Adai returned and shared its reconnaissance results.

Li Wei considered briefly, then decisively left the highway and entered the wasteland, which at this hour resembled a maze.

His plan was simple: using Adai's reconnaissance capability combined with his own, he would begin a full-map sweep from this moment forward.

Specifically — efficiency didn't matter. Not a single blind spot could be left.

Using the highway as a baseline, he would sweep 100 kilometers to the left and 100 kilometers to the right, advancing across the entire area.

Throughout this process, he would leave as little trace as possible — suppressing his presence, reducing his life-force field.

A talent unique to the Night Ranger.It was an absurd method, and most of the time it would feel like wasted effort. But Li Wei understood clearly: he was conducting a great and dangerous hunt. Scar Glenn and Chu Wushuang were like two large fish — or two extremely dangerous predators. He needed more patience, more precision, more composure.

Perhaps Scar Glenn and Chu Wushuang had no idea he was coming. But the hunt had already begun.

"Adai — memorize this location. And the aura of that Level 5 mutant creature inside."

Li Wei was standing outside a ruined town. He had already traveled over 200 kilometers. Based on fragments let slip by Zhao Guozhu and the others, Scar Glenn's camp should be roughly 100 kilometers to the southwest.

He hadn't gone in a straight line. He had been moving in arcs, scouting the outer perimeter, marking each ruined town and resource point that harbored Level 5 mutant creatures.

These ruins all radiated intense life-force fluctuations — unmistakably the signatures of lurking mutant creatures or powerful Magic Zombies.

Li Wei hadn't disturbed any of them. He hadn't swept through anything on his way here.

Since parting with Liang Yuzhi, he hadn't triggered a single fight.

Even when mutant creatures passed within dozens of meters of him, they rarely noticed him.

The passive talent of the First-Order Night Ranger was in effect.

And so it was now.

Li Wei entered an abandoned house on the edge of the town, found a corner, and sat down silently. He pulled his Scout Cloak over himself, then took out some food and chewed noiselessly.

Replenishing food was critical. Even with his extended Stamina, it would eventually run dry.

Also — he was now only about 100 kilometers from Scar Glenn's camp. He could encounter Chu Wushuang at any moment. Caution was never wasted.

Yes — Li Wei didn't believe that during the Radiation Storm's low period, Scar Glenn and Chu Wushuang would be sitting idle in their fortified camp playing cards.

Stocking up on Two-Star Blood Resistance Potions and hunting Magic Zombies out in the field — why wouldn't they? Preparing for next month's hunts was entirely plausible too.

He rested there overnight, recovered to full condition, then set out again. Every six hours, he released Adai and sent it back along the route he had already traveled to patrol once more.

The focus was on the ruined towns and resource points — checking the auras of the Level 5 mutant creatures, confirming whether any had died.

This way, he could reliably determine whether Scar Glenn and Chu Wushuang had ventured out to hunt.

So far, no trace of them.

Another day passed. Adai flew out twice. Li Wei covered another 150 kilometers, scouting and discovering seven ruined towns and resource points, finding numerous mutant creatures growing restless, barely suppressing themselves.

The chaotic magical particles from the Radiation Storm acted like a toxic but potent supplement for these creatures — Level 2 rising to Level 3, Level 3 to Level 4, and so on. The stronger they became, the more easily they lost their reason.

Before the Radiation Storm erupted, these Level 5 mutant creatures and Magic Zombies had instinctively dug down, burrowing as deep as possible to avoid it. That was a key reason why Level 5 threats had been so rare in the first half of the month.

They were still hard to find now.

But by mid-month or month's end, some Level 5 mutants and Magic Zombies would crack under the pressure. They would go berserk, seeking what they instinctively recognized as an antidote — natural humans.

Li Wei continued to move silently, rest silently, drifting through the wasteland like a ghost.

And Adai was a ghost among ghosts. Since entering the wasteland, it hadn't made a single sound. Its entire body seemed wrapped in a layer of cold mist.

Without it, confirming Scar Glenn and Chu Wushuang's movements quickly would have been nearly impossible.

Over the next two days, Li Wei continued to curve around Scar Glenn's camp in tightening arcs, until he had completed a full encircling loop.

The full circuit — including checking each ruined town and resource point individually — covered roughly 750 kilometers.

Adai flew the loop once per day, confirming whether Scar Glenn and Chu Wushuang had gone out to hunt.

Those ruined towns and resource points were the minions of the wasteland.

It was a slow, clumsy method — but it was essentially foolproof.

So far, Li Wei had not come within 50 kilometers of Scar Glenn's camp. Within that range, Level 5 mutant creatures would certainly have been cleared out long ago.

The question now was whether Scar Glenn and Chu Wushuang had any intention of venturing out.

Li Wei was currently hidden in an ordinary mountain forest about 60 kilometers from Scar Glenn's camp.

He had dug a small cave for shelter. No more active scouting was needed — from here, he could leave it to Adai. One patrol flight per day was enough to track their movements.

It was now the fourteenth day of the month. The full encircling reconnaissance had taken him over six days.

But there had been no sign of Scar Glenn or Chu Wushuang venturing out.

Would they really pass up this opportunity?

Li Wei pondered, and casually upgraded his One-Star Rare Scout Card to Two-Star. He was now at 4+4+3+2.

The past six-plus days of scouting had also earned him 300 Scouting experience points.

Naturally, that called for a level-up.

The five new free attribute points went entirely into Agility, bringing it to 39. For his class and Destiny Grid, Agility was the most compatible attribute — adding to it carried no side effects, as long as he didn't overdo it. Adding five points to Defense, by contrast, would have required at least three days of adjustment.

A soft flutter of wings from a distance. Li Wei immediately pictured Adai gliding in with elegant form — it had completed today's patrol.

Still nothing?

Day fifteen already.

Li Wei sat in thought, watching the sparse rain outside the cave and the cold mist filling the valley.

October now. Winter wheat was out of the question — the Radiation Storm made any planting pointless.

Daytime temperatures had dropped to around 10°C. Nighttime was approaching zero.

A new wave of the Radiation Storm seemed to be building.

The radiation toxin concentration was fluctuating wildly. Mutant creatures in the wasteland were moving erratically.

Walking through the wasteland right now without Level 3 Blood Plague immunity would be a death sentence.

'Could it be that Scar Glenn and Chu Wushuang are waiting for the radiation toxin to increase? Does Scar Glenn have the Rat Slayer title? Do the other Pioneering Branch players have it?'

Li Wei considered. Almost certainly not — titles had strict acquisition conditions. They weren't handed out freely.

None of the other Seed Players with Pioneering Cards had likely gone through what he had.

And headquarters might not even be able to read his backend attributes precisely.

He thought back to the first mission's conclusion — going to the Internal Affairs Department and swiping his card at that mysterious machine. That method was probably the only way to read his full attribute data.

Distant thunder rolled in from the far horizon. The chaotic magical particles in the air continued to build.

From a ruined town dozens of kilometers away came a thunderous roar, then more howling — continuous and unending.

Li Wei didn't need to look. He knew: some Level 5 mutant creature had finally cracked, clawing its way up from deep underground. It would now go berserk searching for natural humans as an antidote, triggering a siege event.

'Well — looks like these past days were wasted effort.'

Li Wei felt a touch of resignation. With siege events about to erupt everywhere, Scar Glenn and Chu Wushuang would be even less likely to venture out for hunting.

They were genuinely patient.

In that case — one more day. Worst case, he'd strike during a monster siege event.

The night passed. The next morning, the rain had stopped, but cold mist had sealed off the entire world — connecting seamlessly with the cloud layer above. Looking at the conditions, it was probably like this for hundreds of kilometers in every direction. No significant mountains here; just flat, open terrain.

"Adai — be careful."

Li Wei gave it a warning and released it again. The dense fog would affect Adai too, but it didn't need to see the ground in detail — it only needed to check whether the auras of those Level 5 mutant creatures had changed.

Yes — it could sense them from hundreds of meters away.

At this time of year, mutant creatures blazed like light bulbs. There was no concealing them.

This time, Li Wei had barely waited until noon when he suddenly noticed Adai returning rapidly.

Something had happened.

Through the blurry images Adai transmitted, he confirmed it.

Scar Glenn's people had finally come out to hunt. No figures visible, but the sounds of mutant creatures shrieking were audible — and most importantly, the fluctuation of Universal Gold Cards was unmistakable.

Universal Gold Cards meant Scar Glenn was there. He was carrying the Pioneering Card.

But was Chu Wushuang with him? Or holding down the camp?

'No — Chu Wushuang should be out there too.' Li Wei made the call quickly. The Radiation Storm was about to surge again. Radiation toxin was already at levels that could rapidly cause Level 3 Blood Plague infection. Level 5 mutants were growing restless. Scar Glenn alone wouldn't be enough to hold the situation.

Especially given how cautious they had been all these days — this outing was almost certainly a fast-strike operation: develop quickly, then return before nightfall. No overnight stays.

In that case, Chu Wushuang was even more likely to be at Scar Glenn's side.