When system cheat becomes rampant!

The process required pioneers to survey the terrain, assess the risks, kill all the desolate beasts in a region, then temporarily enclose it, and finally clear out the beast eggs.

They had to clear the land hundreds of square meters at a time and set various observation periods for these lands, based on the hatching time of the desolate beast eggs.

Some desolate beasts might hatch in a few days, while others might take several years. The observation periods were set to allow those eggs buried too deep to be detected to hatch first, then be killed, to prevent any from slipping through the net.

If no desolate beast appeared on this land within two years, it could basically be considered a safe area, and then be integrated into the territory, with additional defensive measures set up around this land.

They also did not dare to expand too rapidly at once, even if the boundary could be expanded by a kilometer a year. However, once a massive wave of beasts erupted, breaking through the defenses, what could be lost was more than just a kilometer. Hence, all aspects had to be considered, making the process extremely troublesome.

In short, losing land was easy, but reclaiming it was difficult, so the focus of the alliance was on strengthening defenses.

"Let's go, Wen Lin is in this city. You've learned about Wen Lin, right?" Fan Kai asked.

"I have."

Before coming for the mission, Xiang Beifei had learned very clearly about the desolate beast he was meant to kill, he even knew what it looked like.

This time he was much better prepared than during his entrance assessment. Back then, he did not even know what a Three Souls Desolate Snake looked like and blindly went to kill it. But this time, he was well-prepared.

Wen Lin, a creature similar to a large spider, covered with barbs, able to change size. When small, it's as big as a palm; when large, it can grow over two meters tall. Its attacking method is bizarre—spitting out scales!

It is said that normally, this desolate beast only eats other desolate beasts with scales, like those similar to pangolins or fish. After swallowing these scaled beasts, it would absorb their scales, store them, and shoot them out in various forms when in danger, as a means of attack and defense.

They walked along the ruined path into the City of the Old Days. It was hard to say whether it still counted as a path because the place was covered with weeds and was barely recognizable. Some areas were even damaged by desolate beasts.

However, it was obvious that quite a few apprentices had still come here, and some had even managed to carve out a small path.

The houses from a hundred years ago were very different from those of the present. Buildings erected a century ago were very tall, towering skyscrapers, but now many of those buildings were cut off midsection, crooked, some had already collapsed, and were covered with various creepers and thick moss.

The city was in ruins, and the overcast sky was thick with heavy clouds, making it feel quite oppressive.

Rustling!

They hadn't gone far when they saw, from a distance, a tongue protruding from the window of a toppled building covered with dense vegetation, curling in a bird that was flying by in the sky.

"There's a Ghost Giant Snail in that building," Fan Kai said cautiously.

Xiang Beifei also recognized the large tongue.

"We don't need to bother with such a low-level desolate beast,"

Sun Yushan walked along the ruined street—though it could hardly be called a street, still it somewhat resembled a decent path. The buildings on both sides had been eroded beyond recognition, the concrete seemed to have been gnawed away by some desolate beast, and many tall black trees had grown out from the windows.

As they walked further, Sun Yushan and Fan Kai's experience proved to be richer than Xiang Beifei's, as they skillfully avoided certain areas that looked normal. Sometimes, although the road appeared flat and walkable, they would still detour.

"Don't underestimate these roads. You see that stone path, it doesn't look special, but if you step on it, it will burst into flames," Fan Kai explained to Xiang Beifei.

"Burst into flames?"

"There's a Flame Insect hiding underneath that specializes in spitting fire. In the outer wastelands, don't think about killing every desolate beast you encounter. Our tools and energy are limited, and there's no need to provoke them. Just focus on completing your own task; otherwise, it's easy to encounter unexpected complications," said Fan Kai.

Xiang Beifei took note of all this.

Although the textbook had covered a lot of knowledge, practice differed greatly from theory, and many things required experience to figure out. Without experience, one would simply step onto ground like this.

Of course, facing a desolate beast like the Flame Insect, which was in the intermediate stage of Qi-Controlling, wouldn't affect Xiang Beifei, but it was always best to avoid them if possible.

Killing a desolate beast might seem simple, but it could cause a lot of noise, attracting other, more powerful desolate beasts. The first rule for pioneers was to keep a low profile, focus on one's own mission, and avoid killing insignificant weaker desolate beasts.

The desolate beasts of the wilderness beyond were endless, and conserving one's strength was crucial.

Otherwise, after having fun killing, one might encounter even stronger desolate beasts on the way back, and with depleted strength, escape would be impossible.

As a senior, Fan Kai took good care of Xiang Beifei, always keeping him within sight and reminding him of precautions. Although he knew Xiang Beifei was highly talented, he was still only a Qi-Controlling martial artist, quite different from those at the Meridian Opening stage.

Xiang Beifei listened carefully to Fan Kai's instructions and noted them down. In areas he was unfamiliar with, Xiang Beifei would study seriously to make up for his shortcomings.

In this process, Xiang Beifei also tried using spiritual power to detect the path. He spread his spiritual power around a distance of about ten meters and quickly detected various desolate beasts, such as poisonous bugs and scorpions in nearby rocks and bushes. These beasts eyed them predatorily, but did not attack. They too measured the gap between their strengths.

"I found a stream."

Sun Yushan, who had been mostly silent while leading the way, found a ditch in the grass ahead with surprisingly clear water, looking drinkable.

However, when Xiang Beifei extended his spiritual power into the water, he quickly noticed many strange transparent insects that seemed to be clarifying the water. If one drank this water, they would also swallow these insects.

"Take out the bait," Sun Yushan said.

"Here."

Fan Kai took out five palm-sized fishes from his backpack. These fish were developed by the school's black technology department as Wen Lin bait, specially designed to target Wen Lin.

The fish had sharp scales on their bodies. Once in the water, the Wen Lin could easily smell the scent from the scales and come to eat the bait.

Once a Wen Lin ate the bait, the scales would become part of it, and then a small trigger device would release a drug from the scales, killing the Wen Lin.

"The dissection class teacher's reward task says it needs to be alive," Xiang Beifei reminded.

"Don't worry, I've adjusted the dosage,"

Fan Kai scattered all five fishes into the clear water. The invisible insects in the water started moving towards the fish, but the fish had their own defenses. After darting around briefly, they quickly disappeared from view.

"Now, we just need to wait for the rabbit. If there's a Wen Lin in this area, it will definitely come for these fish. Then it will alert us," Fan Kai said.

Sun Yushan stood on a rock, looked around for a moment, and then said, "I remember there was a pioneering spot over there. Last year, when I came here, I seem to have seen it. Let's wait there."

She and Fan Kai had been to this place before. Desolate beasts would roam randomly. The last time they were searching for other desolate beasts, they passed through here, so they were somewhat familiar with the area.

But just as they were about to head towards the safe spot Sun Yushan mentioned, at that moment, from somewhere, suddenly came the crying of a baby.

"Wah wah wah..."

"What was that sound?"

All three of them immediately became alert.