1011 Splitting up

Soon, the players reported the news they had received.

Mo Jiawei even brought a guide over.

It was not until then that Fang Heng, who had been carrying the box all the way, finally arrived as well.

"I've confirmed it. This is indeed the Barbaric World. The area we came from is an ancient cave. It was discovered by the nearby villagers two years ago after a large earthquake. After that, the Empire sent soldiers to explore the cave several times and found that the terrain below the ancient cave was extremely vast. There were also extremely terrifying monsters in the depths, so this matter was later put aside."

"However, there have been rumors recently that there are filthy rich treasures buried in the maze. As a result, many mercenary groups and adventurers have come to explore and look for treasures. Other than that, there are a few large forests around the village. Before the discovery of the cave, there were often mercenary groups and adventurers who went deep into the forest in search of medicinal ingredients. Oh right, this area is under the jurisdiction of Hani City in the north of the Empire."

"It'll take about seven hours to get to Hani City on fot."

Everyone looked at each other.

Didn't that mean they still had to hurry?

First, they had run for their lives, then they had rushed here. At this point, the players had already used up more than half of their stamina.

Tang Mingyue looked at the sky and said, "It's just past noon. The sky will probably start to turn dark in seven hours. If we leave now, we'll make it in time to enter Hani City before night falls."

The old native guide who was brought over by Mo Jiawei said, "Ahem, my Lords, I suggest you hurry up. Hani is a border city, and the city gates will close after dark. Other than the Empire's military, the city will not let anyone else in."

Wei Tao hesitated for a moment before making a decision.

They would set off!

The time limit of the trial mission was too tight. If they wasted 7 hours in the day and another 10 hours at night, they would not be able to afford to make any mistakes.

They had to enter Hani City before nightfall.

"What do you guys think?"

"Let's hurry up," Mikhael nodded, "We can still make it. We have to leave now."

Tang Mingyue spread her hands and made a cute smile, indicating that it didn't matter as long as the Federation paid for it.

Everyone shifted their gaze to Fang Heng.

"The stone box is very heavy. Should we leave it here first? I feel like there's a secret in the box though."

Everyone frowned.

If someone else had said this, the team would have naturally chosen to ignore them. However, since it was Fang Heng's suggestion, it was different.

"Why don't we split up?" Fang Heng suggested promptly, "The team trial mission only needs at least one person to complete it. We'll split into two groups. You guys can go to Hani City first. We'll do some investigations here and find a way to transport the stone box there. That way, even if we encounter special circumstances, if we travel through the night, we'll be able to arrive at the latest by tomorrow morning. We can meet in the city then."

Everyone was a little hesitant.

The guide looked at Fang Heng.

Traveling at night? This guy was probably an idiot.

The guide thus regarded Fang Heng as a young man who hadn't experienced the vicissitudes of life. He warned, "Young man, the forest at night is very dangerous."

"Thank you, I'll be careful."

Wei Tao thought for a while and exchanged glances with everyone.

With Fang Heng's strength, it wouldn't be a big problem for him to act alone. Besides, this guy had always been a lone wolf in the past. He might even find something unexpected.

"Very well. Fang Heng, we'll go and finish the mission first. Let's meet up in Hani City."

Time was limited so Wei Tao had no time to discuss the details. After a few minutes of discussion, he immediately agreed on the action plan to split up.

With that, Wei Tao led his team and set off again. They sped up and rushed to Hani City before dark. As for Fang Heng, he stayed in the village with all the baggage.

...

As he watched Wei Tao and the rest of the players leave the village, Mo Jiawei stretched and asked, "Fang Heng, what are we going to do now?"

"Let's not rush. Let's take a good look around first and then think of a way to get some money."

Fang Heng had made a rough plan.

There was no need to waste time on the road.

In another hour or so, the zombie clones would complete their resurrection. At that time, with the fusion Tyrant form, wouldn't carrying the stone box be easy peasy?

Besides, it would be too eye-catching for so many zombies to suddenly appear when they were traveling in the wilderness.

Moreover, Hani City would probably not allow his zombies and fused Tyrant forms to enter the city.

It was better to separate from the main group and travel in the wilderness alone.

After all, he still had something he wanted to verify.

Fang Heng wasn't in a hurry. He followed the team and strolled around the village, learning about the daily life of the villagers.

Thanks to the few mountains and forests near the village, the villagers lived a relatively well-off life. They relied on farming and hunting to obtain survival supplies.

A few large merchants from Hani City had opened stores in the village to purchase some wild beasts and medicinal ingredients from hunters.

The mercenary groups that were hunting for treasure would often pass by the village to rest and replenish their supplies. Sometimes, they would need a guide to lead the way, and the reward they offered would be enough for a farmer to live leisurely for the rest of his life.

Hani City was quite concerned about the village as well. The city had sent a team of guards to guard the village, with a half-month rotation shift.

After patiently wandering around the village, Qiu Yaokang had a rough idea of the level of scientific research in this world. He nodded and said, "Fang Heng, with all due respect, the level of scientific research in this place is very low."

Victor also nodded and added, "The building level is not high either. Judging from the current level of technology, it will be very difficult to build a space-tearing device passage. It's mainly due to difficulties in the area of precision instruments. If we start developing from scratch, even with sufficient ore resources, it'll take at least three years to build a space-tearing device."

Three years? Forget it then. Why would he refresh his points and spend them upgrading the technology skill tree?

Fang Heng was just trying his luck, anyway. He had expected that the passage could not be built.

"Fortunately, we brought some research equipment with us. With some modifications, the most basic research laboratory can still be completed," Qiu Yaokang looked at Fang Heng and said, "I suggest we finish the basic research room as soon as possible and study that stone box. I believe we will find more clues."

"Yes, no problem. I'll be quick," Fang Heng promised without hesitation.

They only need to wait for another half an hour for the zombie clones to resurrect before they could quickly expand and build.

"I'm going to the wilderness for a walk. If everything goes well, we'll find a place nearby to build a laboratory. You guys stay in the village and explore. We'll meet at the village entrance in an hour."

"Alright."

The unknown areas in the wild were more dangerous. Fang Heng was prepared to go out alone to explore the way first. At the same time, he asked Mo Jiawei and the others to walk around the village to see if they could find more clues.

Fang Heng was very curious about this unknown world.

Other than the monster blood of this world, he still had many things he wanted to explore.

For example, character level upgrade...

This was a mid-tier game world, so in theory, players could also level up, right?