While Li Nuo was establishing his character, he also did not forget to do business.
After coughing for a while, he stood up from the ground and ran to help Mark and the others collect their loot.
Seeing that he was recovering well, Mark gave him the task of packing the ammunition bag.
Li Nuo took this opportunity to collect all the soul fragments from the corpse.
[Soul Strength +0.2]
[Soul Strength +0.2]
【…】
Li Nuo glanced at the system messages and nodded secretly.
In terms of soul strength, ordinary people in the Golden Federation and the Tatis Empire are exactly the same.
While alive, they have exactly 1 point of soul strength, no more and no less.
The soul fragments left behind after death are also 0.2 points of soul strength.
Li Nuo thinks this phenomenon is quite interesting.
First of all, the local people panel of the Golden Federation is very different from the people of the Empire.
The "Tenacity" attribute of Imperial people is generally relatively high, while the "Spirit" attribute is very low.
Within the Golden Federation, there is a strong atmosphere of alchemy among the people, and there are very few illiterates.
The average "Spirit" attribute of the locals is relatively high, reaching 10 points, which is twice the average level of the Imperial people.
Logically speaking, after the "spirit" is high, the soul strength should also increase, right?
But why is the soul strength of the federal people also 1 point?
Li Nuo thought about it but couldn't find an answer. He could only treat soul strength as a unique attribute independent of basic attributes.
It is worth mentioning that there are no soul fragments in the wolfdogs of the Bulldog Gang.
When Li Nuo returned to the motorcycle with the ammunition bag on his back, he walked around the wolfdog that fell to the ground and died suddenly, but failed to collect any soul fragments.
He had previously used a pistol to blow up the wolf-dog's head, and had already deconstructed the wolf-dog through passive deconstruction.
At this time, he called up the wolfdog's panel properties and took a look. Li Nuo discovered the problem.
Wolf dogs, animals with certain intelligence and aggression, do not have the attribute "soul strength".
On their panels, there are only two basic attributes: "toughness" and "dexterity", plus a few passive skills.
There is no "Spirit" attribute, no "Knowledge" entry, and no "Memory" entry.
After ruling out the relationship between "spiritual" attributes and soul strength, Li Nuo derived a preliminary conclusion:
Only the living who possess both the "knowledge" and "memory" columns can have soul strength.
On the other hand, this sentence seems to be true, that is, only with the strength of the soul can the living have "knowledge" and "memory".
I don’t know if this conclusion is correct...
"Everyone, gather and get ready to go."
Conte's voice pulled Li Nuo out of his thoughts.
Li Nuo suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind, quickly packed the ammunition bag, and fixed it to the motorcycle with a rope.
In the battle just now, the side of the Iron Thorn Shield Security Company won. Five people were killed, more than ten people were injured, and 12 four-wheeled motorcycles were seized, as well as guns, ammunition, cash and food.
The Bulldog Gang of scavengers were defeated, 26 people were killed, and the only Extraordinary was injured and escaped.
The number of people in the scavenger team was less than half of the Iron Thorn Shield security team.
The Extraordinaries in the team are also werewolves who are good at movement and assassination, rather than alchemists who can fight head-on.
It can be seen that the Bulldog Gang made an attempt to use a small amount to make a big difference.
It would be great if the werewolf could kidnap Fals.
If he couldn't be kidnapped, it would at least test the strength of the security team.
Maybe, there might be an ambush from the Bulldog Gang ahead.
Based on this consideration, Conte decided not to take the route he had repeatedly used in the past, but instead adopted an alternate route that was unknown to outsiders.
He asked the team members to turn off their car lights, slow down slightly, and move forward silently under the cover of darkness.
Mark was responsible for controlling the motorcycle, while Li Nuo sat behind and looked after the trophies.
Away from the city, light pollution is minimal.
As soon as the team turned off the lights, the stars in the sky became clearer.
Li Nuo raised his chin and looked up at the sky, staring blankly at the stars in this world.
In his understanding, the starry sky should look like stars.
But here, on the quiet and deep black background, the light of most stars is very weak and hazy, and only a few stars have clear and bright light.
And these brighter stars also look much larger than other stars.
Some stars are as pale as bones. Some stars are surrounded by colorful storms. Some stars also appear a dark red color similar to blood stains.
The weirdest thing is the moon.
It was a broken, bright object.
If the moon that traveled through the previous world was the size of an egg.
The moon in this world is as big as a basketball. It seems to be very close to the ground, giving it a sense of oppression.
Its surface is silvery white, and there is a ferocious crack near the equator.
This gap spans the entire celestial body, like the moon being disemboweled.
Countless gravel flowed out from the cracks, forming a halo that looked like a "silver belt" around the moon.
Compared with this "disembowelled" moon, those bright stars with different colors of light appear much more normal.
Li Nuo aimed at these celestial bodies and threw the deconstruction technique.
The system feedback he got was much the same.
[System message: You are trying to deconstruct "Moon". It is estimated that 36 billion energy points will be consumed to achieve 100% deconstruction result. 】
[System message: You are trying to deconstruct "stars surrounded by colorful storms". It is estimated that 9 billion energy points will be consumed to achieve 100% deconstruction result. 】
【…】
Li Nuo acted very calmly when faced with numbers in the unit of "trillions".
Be it the moon or the stars, their deconstruction consumption is only a fraction of that of the sun.
Completely deconstructing the relatively large sun requires more than 3,000 trillion energy values.
The smaller sun is better, only a little over 1,000 trillion.
Li Nuo is already numb...
To be honest, if the entire universe could be deconstructed, he estimated that it would start at least "trillions".
Li Nuo glanced at his energy inventory and suddenly felt poor.
In comparison, a first-level alchemist who can completely deconstruct it with only 10,000 energy points is simply not too cheap.
Li Nuo calmed down, patted the deputy captain's shoulder and asked:
"Mark, tell me about that werewolf? What did you call him? 'Wolfguard'?" Is he a human or a wolf? "
"Oh, you're asking about this. This is actually the most interesting part of alchemy. "Wolf Guard" is the most basic alchemical weapon in the "Wolf God" series. The members of the Bulldog Gang like the alchemy set of the "Wolf God" series the most. Most of the alchemists of the Bulldog Gang have mastered the alchemical weapon "Wolf Guard". "
As soon as Li Nuo started the topic, Mark started talking like a flooded reservoir.
"Do you know what alchemy weapons are? Ah, don't know? It doesn't matter, it's easy to understand. After you have the alchemy stone, you can use alchemy materials and alchemy runes to create a set of alchemy weapons for yourself. Alchemy The weapons will be stored in the alchemy stone and will be inseparable from you. Of course, you can also move the alchemy weapons out of the alchemy stone like Fals did to make room for water and things.
"Alchemy weapons include alchemy armor and alchemy weapons. Each weapon has its own fixed combination of armor and weapons. If I became an alchemist, I would definitely choose the "Stinging Viper" from the "Snake God" series. I have been coveting that silent alchemy revolver for a long time. Not only does it make no sound when fired, but it can also use venom warheads..."
Mark chatted a lot and introduced common sense about alchemical weapons.
The Alchemy Temple publicly provides alchemy recipes and materials for 12 types of alchemy sets.
These 12 alchemy sets are related to the most common animals in the Golden Federation.
The basic model of the "Ox God" series of alchemy sets, "Iron Guard Mang Niu", is the alchemy weapon used by Kante. While it has excellent defensive performance, it also has strong melee capabilities.
The so-called "basic model" is the alchemy weapon at the level of a first-level alchemist.
In addition to the "Ox God" series, there are 11 alchemy sets named "gods" such as wolves, snakes, cats, crocodiles, birds, and apes.
The naming method of "animal + god" has a profound historical and cultural background.
Before the emergence of the modern Golden Federation, this land was the territory of the Midas Dynasty.
The Midas Dynasty was an ancient alchemy dynasty that worshiped alchemy extremely.
As can be seen from its name, "turning stone into gold" is one of the eternal research topics in the field of alchemy.
The twelve extraordinary forces guarding the Midas Dynasty are called the Twelve Pillars of the Dynasty.
These twelve pillars represent the twelve alchemy families.
Based on alchemy, they conducted in-depth research into the extraordinary properties of demonized animals, and finally developed an alchemical weapon named after the demonized animal.
These 12 alchemy weapon series are officially sold, with quality assurance, including production and installation, and excellent after-sales service. As long as you become an alchemist, anyone can buy it from the Alchemy Temple.
In addition to these 12 alchemy suits, the Alchemy Temple also publicly sells 8 types of research-based alchemy suits and 4 types of alchemy suits that take into account both combat and research.
However, the alchemy suits sold by the Alchemy Temple account for less than one-tenth of the entire alchemy suit system.
There are many ancient alchemy sets that were submerged in the long river of history with the collapse of the Midas Dynasty, and were buried under the land of the Golden Federation.
"There are three types of employment tasks that our security team receives most frequently."
Mark raised three fingers and introduced them one by one:
"The first one is the escort mission we are doing now. Deliver designated people and objects to designated locations.
"The second is to investigate ancient ruins. If rich and powerful alchemists find clues about ancient ruins, they will hire security companies like us to help them explore the way or guard the gate.
"The third kind of employment task is to assist in hunting demonized animals. Making alchemical weapons requires the use of extraordinary organs of demonized animals. The key lies in the extraordinary organs of demonized animals. This thing is indispensable, and it must be killed immediately. Take it and use it while it’s hot.”
Mark raised his arm and pointed in several directions:
"For example, there, there, and there. If you go straight in those three directions, you will enter the territory of demonized animals. Those places are more dangerous. If you really want to hunt demonized animals, you will need at least two security guards. The team just needs to act together.”
Li Nuo nodded slowly and asked again:
"What about the demonized animals? How come I never heard of this thing when I lived in the empire?"
"Ah, never heard of it? It's really strange. I thought there were demonized animals everywhere. No wonder the boss and the others often say that demonized animals are a specialty of our Golden Federation."
Mark shook his head and said, looking very familiar:
“According to the book, the origin of demonized animals can be traced back to the early days of the Midas Dynasty.
"It is said that a long time ago, animals on the earth did not have extraordinary abilities. But one day, the sky changed drastically, and a huge, immeasurable, and unobservable extraordinary will descended on the earth, distorting the bodies and spirits of the animals.
"Since then, animals with relatively high intelligence levels have possessed extraordinary abilities. People call them demonized animals. For example, the "howling wolf's throat" used by "Wolf Guard" comes from the ability to control The Demonized Timber Wolf of Wind. "
Li Nuo thought about it and said:
"It sounds like the appearance of demonized animals is the result of external forces..."
I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but Li Nuo always feels that this is very similar to the Twilight Giant falling into the Ancient Tatis Dynasty...
In Greensau's memory, this extraordinary phenomenon is relatively common, and has occurred in various countries around the world.
It is precisely because extraordinary phenomena are relatively common that the Wizards Advancement Association in Unas Ring has become the magic department with the largest number of wizards and the most complicated internal forces.
…
…
The convoy moved forward quickly in silence. Only after it was far away from the previous battlefield did Conte allow the car lights to be turned on.
The alternate route he took was safe but a bit detoured.
After killing the scavenger team of the Bulldog Gang, the convoy did not encounter even a single person until midnight.
The surrounding grass and bushes have also become sparse, with more gravel and sandy areas that can be blown up by the wind.
Without green vegetation, the number of small animals available for hunting will decrease sharply, and rivers that can provide fresh water resources will also become scarce.
Except for those who perform special tasks and come to this desolate place, everyone else will stay away from this kind of desolate land with no village in front and no store in the back.
On a gentle slope with floating dust, Conte ordered the car to stop.
He held the alchemy pointing instrument in one hand and the telescope in the other, looking around.
"We have reached the edge of the "Stone Wasteland". This bird has no food or water, it's ridiculously big. To intercept us here, we would need a team at least three times our number. The human and material cost of mobilizing so many people is already close to half of the total value of the goods. As long as those gangs are not stupid, there is no way they will show up here. "
Conte nodded calmly, raised his hand and pointed to a building in the distance:
"Let's go there and spend the night. We'll leave tomorrow morning."
The convoy continued to move forward and soon arrived at an abandoned building full of quaint atmosphere.
It has mottled walls, pitted courtyards, and a three-story castle that leaks air everywhere.
Dried vines hang from the wall outside the castle. When you pinch it with your hands, these rattans that have long lost their moisture will turn into powder in your hands and scatter in the wind.
"Boss, where is this place?" Mark got out of the car and asked Conte while instructing the team members to park the car.
Conte rubbed his chin, stretched his neck and glanced at the empty castle hall:
"The map within the company says that this place used to be a military outpost of the Midas Dynasty. After the establishment of Gathering City, it was used by several gangs and companies as the army of wild patrol teams. Later, because there was really no money in this place, all the gangs and the security company abandoned the camp.”
"Abandoned camp..." Mark glanced at the castle hall and sighed:
"Oh, the people in front moved it very cleanly, leaving nothing behind...even the windows and door panels were removed..."
"Let's make do with it. Divide the work among the brothers and arrange for people to keep watch in turns. As soon as day breaks, we will set off back to Gathering City. By the way, check the fuel of the motorcycle. If the fuel is not enough, use the scavenger motorcycle. The fuel and bullet-proof panels in the car were removed and taken away, and the car was left here... I will search the castle to see if there are any traps or anything. I am not afraid of ten thousand, just in case."
Conte lit the lantern in his hand, called the two team members to follow him, and then stepped into the dark castle.
Mark took over the command of the scene and shouted orders.
After all the team members were arranged, he looked at Li Nuo who was sitting on the motorcycle wiping his pistol and said:
"Li Lei, you don't need to keep vigil. Have a good rest. If there is still a battle, you will have to work hard to protect Fars."
"Okay, Mark."
Li Nuo put away his pistol and glanced around the castle hall, trying to find a suitable place to lie down. He immediately saw a speechless scene...
This guy Fars kept several sets of sleeping bags in the alchemy stone.
He had packed himself into his sleeping bag and was lying down.
When he heard that Li Nuo didn't need to keep vigil, he immediately took out another set of sleeping bags from the alchemy stone and spread them beside him. Then he raised his hand and patted the surface of the sleeping bag, making a "snap, snap, snap" sound.
"Come on, Li Lei, come to me. I have a spare sleeping bag. We just happen to be chatting about the rumors about the Tatis Empire. I'm interested in your biochemical mutation technology."
Facing Fals's warm invitation, Li Nuo's brows jumped sharply.
I've already covered my face, how can I still kill both men and women? !
Uh huh huh? !
Doesn't covering the face affect the effectiveness of the "charm" attribute? !
He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and then resisted the urge to gesture with his middle finger.
"Thanks, Fars. I'm too tired today. If you have anything to do, we can wait until Gathering City to discuss it."
Li Nuo nodded slightly, ignored Fals's eyes hungry for knowledge, and came to a corner to sit down.
He took some scavenger clothes from the car and rolled them into pillows.
He spent the past few days sleeping on the grass, having to keep an eye on his surroundings to avoid becoming food for prairie animals.
Now that someone was keeping vigil, he could finally relax a little and get a good night's sleep.
As soon as I took possession of the simple pillow, fatigue came over me like a tide.
Li Nuo recalled the previous battle scenes before sleep overwhelmed him.
To be honest, the first-level alchemist seems a bit weak.
Neither the werewolf nor Counter should be able to defeat the first-order "Imperial Fist".
Li Nuo estimated that this should be the difference between civilian and military use.
The first-order "Imperial Fist" is a military product.
The Werewolf of the Bulldog Gang and Conte of the security company are just civilian figures, not professional soldiers of the Golden Federation.
It is understandable that the alchemy weapons they used were weaker than the first-order "Imperial Fist".
While Li Nuo was thinking about things, he twisted a few times on the rough stone floor.
He found a comfortable position and fell asleep.
…
"Ka...ka ka ka...ka ka ka...ka..."
A slight rubbing sound woke Li Nuo up.
He opened a slit of his eyes and glanced at the scene inside and outside the house.
The floor of the castle hall was full of people, and snores could be heard one after another.
In the courtyard outside the castle, the security team members who kept vigil set up a smokeless stove to boil water and chatted under the weak firelight.
All was well and no enemies appeared.
The "click" sound I heard just now must have been caused by the wind blowing something.
Li Nuo turned over and continued to sleep.
After a while, a faint but hard-to-ignore noise came again.
Li Nuo suddenly opened his eyes, but did not move his body. Instead, he concentrated on looking for the source of the noise.
"Kakaka...kakaka...kaka..."
The sound seems to be coming from under the floor?
Li Nuo moved the pillow and put his ear against the floor tiles.
"Kaka..."
It really comes from underground.
Is there a basement underneath this castle?
Was it something like a rat that made the noise?
Li Nuo rubbed his eyes and subconsciously turned on "Tracking the Living" to see through the ground.
His body suddenly froze, and his breath froze.
He rubbed his eyes again, looked at the ground with wide eyes, and his pupils shrank.
He was right!
There are indeed five living creatures under the floor tiles.
Judging from their walking posture on all fours, these living creatures are definitely not human beings, but more like animals living underground, or demonized animals.
Maybe it was the people in the castle hall who disturbed these underground creatures to take a rest.
The underground creature was following the purring sounds in the hall, rubbing the underside of the floor tiles with its two forelimbs, as if trying to find a way to open the floor tiles and come to the ground.
The floor of the castle hall is composed of large square stone tiles.
The spaces between the stone bricks are sealed with cement, leaving no gaps.
If an underground creature wants to come to the surface, it must select a stone brick and smash it into pieces.
Li Nuo put his hands on the ground and shifted from lying flat to half-sitting on the ground.
He looked around at the sleeping security team members, then looked down at the ground, feeling that the situation in front of him was inexplicably strange.
It was as if I and others were lying above the lair of underground creatures...
Fals was also awakened by the sounds underground.
He turned his head and saw Li Nuo sitting on the floor. He blew out air from between his teeth, attracting Li Nuo's attention:
"Bah. Li Lei, did you hear the sound underground? I heard it too."
"Is it a mouse? Or another animal that likes to dig holes?" Li Nuo asked quietly.
"Well, I'm not sure, but I feel something strange. If you listen carefully, the sound is very regular. It moves along the gaps between the stone bricks, as if something is looking for an exit."
Fars became more and more enthusiastic.
It can be seen that any unusual thing will arouse his great interest.
He got out of his sleeping bag and tiptoed past the sleeping security team members.
He came to Li Nuo and squatted down, his ears on the ground, and his body moved slowly following the sounds underground.
"My many years of alchemy experience tell me that regular noises like this must be caused by intelligent creatures. There should be a relatively spacious space under our feet, maybe the basement of an old castle, or a similar place. That kind of noise The intelligent creature making the friction sound must have accidentally wandered into the space below the castle while digging a hole...Eh?! Wait a minute. There's more than one creature underground..."
Fars stopped, knelt on the ground, and tapped the floor tiles with his knuckles.
The sound of knocking spread to the ground, causing a stir.
The "click-click" friction sound became more and more obvious.
The nearby security personnel woke up from their sleep and looked at Fars with his butt sticking out and facing the floor with strange expressions.
Mark woke up with a yawn, rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked:
"Fars, what are you doing? Why are you sticking your butt up so high when you don't sleep at night? Do you still have this habit..."
"Shhhhhhhhhh." Fals raised his finger to signal those around him to keep quiet.
As Mark chattered, the noise under the floor tiles grew louder.
What was once just the sound of fingernails digging into cracks in the stone has now turned into a muffled sound of hitting the floor tiles.
"哐哐哐..."
Li Nuo frowned and looked at the ground, his eyes hidden under his sunglasses looking solemn.
The five creatures on all fours were frantically hitting the stone bricks.
They obviously have very good jumping ability and physical fitness. They can take off vertically on the spot without running and accelerating, and hit the lower layer of stone bricks with their backs.
"Eh? How interesting. What kind of underground creatures are these? They are quite strong." Fals stretched out his hand to hold down the slightly shaking floor tiles:
"Look. The floor tiles have been knocked loose by them, and the cement in the gaps between the floor tiles is about to crack."
"Bang, bang, bang..." The impact on the ground was clearly audible.
Conte, who was keeping watch at night, walked in with a cigarette in his mouth, exhaling smoke and said:
"What's wrong? Guys. Are you staying up late at night and having a storytelling session here?"
"Head, Fals said something was hitting the floor tiles underground." Mark scratched his hair and said.
"Conte, come and listen. Things down there seem to be going crazy." Fals tilted his head, his ears close to the ground, and his face was full of curiosity:
"Are there any demonized animals locked up in the basement of the castle?"
"Basement? Where did the basement come from? I turned around several times and couldn't even find the stairs or secret door going down."
Conte came to Fars muttering and caught a glimpse of the cracks in the gaps between the floor tiles.
The cracks were as thin as hair and spread rapidly on the cement filling the gaps.
Conte grabbed Fals by the collar, pulled him up from the ground, and ordered repeatedly:
"Everyone, wake up, get out, get out, the cement in the gaps between the floor tiles is cracking, and the floor may collapse. Everyone, get out!"
As soon as Kante finished his words, the sound of cracking could be heard endlessly.
"Back off, back off, everyone!" Mark waved his arms to drive away his companions, reaching out to shake the sleeping team members.
Li Nuo took a few steps, climbed out of the window, and then turned his head to stare at the creatures underground.
At the moment when those five creatures hit the floor tiles, several more creatures of the same type ran from far underground.
They clump together and bang against the tiles.
As the momentum grew, more and more weird creatures ran out from deep underground and joined the queue of hitting the floor tiles.
At this time, without the need for Conte and Mark to remind them loudly, everyone realized that something was very wrong.
Conte drew the pistol from his waist and shouted:
"Copycat guys, brothers. I have a hunch that the things underground are very tricky. They should be demonized animals that eat meat. Maybe the smell of our meat has attracted them."
"Boom..."
While all the security team members were standing guard outside, there was a loud sound of floor tiles collapsing in the castle hall, and billowing smoke and dust sprayed out from the door openings and windows.
A dozen strange-looking gray-skinned monsters walked out of the castle with sticky, wet steps, leaving obvious water stains on the ground.
They look very much like humans, with arms, legs and heads, but they lie on the ground and walk on all fours like crocodiles.
Their skin is one piece, with an extremely smooth surface. They have no eyes, noses and mouths, and are smooth gray from top to bottom.
"Damn it! How could it be a deformed body?!"
"Oh my God! What did I see?! Why are there aberrations outside the city?! Don't they only appear in the big crack in the center of the city?"
A group of security personnel shouted.
Even Conte and Mark had shock written all over their faces.
Fals, on the other hand, seemed to have discovered some breaking news and shouted in surprise:
"Wow! Wow! Wow! We actually saw aberrations outside the Great Rift! Who still remembers the last time a mutant nest appeared in the wild? No matter what, no matter what happened to us tonight It will definitely become the headline news in Alchemy Weekly!”
Li Nuo stared closely at the gray-skinned humanoid aberration, a strange color flashing in his eyes.
Is this thing the culprit that destroyed the Midas Dynasty?
It looks really weird.
How the Midas Dynasty made its fortune is unknown to the scavengers.
But when it comes to how the Qidian Jin Dynasty fell, every scavenger can tell it clearly.
Because the disaster that destroyed the Midian Dynasty has not ended yet.
Li Nuo had already found this information from the scavenger's memory.
It was the gray-skinned aberration in front of him that looked human but had no facial features that destroyed the Midas Dynasty.
They appeared across the dynasty overnight.
Some people say that this is an alchemical creature secretly developed by the Midas Dynasty.
Some people say that the Midas Dynasty was too obsessed with alchemy and caused many tragic man-made disasters. The victim casts a curse on his tormentor, transforming the participants into monsters called aberrations.
Some people say that aberrations are the root of evil buried deep underground. They are older than the Midas Dynasty. While exploring the deep underground space, the Midas Dynasty accidentally awakened this monster, which triggered a disaster that led to the collapse of the dynasty.
There are many theories about the origin of the aberrations, but no one knows which one is true. The Alchemy Temple has not announced a final research conclusion.
But there is one thing everyone agrees on.
That is, when you find an aberrant, there must be a whole nest nearby!
Their reproductive capacity is as powerful as cockroaches!
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(End of chapter)
