Chapter 18 – I Just Can't Stand Seeing Handsome Guys in Trouble

[Mission: Drive away the Ghost Dragonflies near Yangshan Village]

[Mission: Kill the Blazing Eagles above Highway 302]

[Mission: Clear the Benthic Demon Fish swarm occupying Luming Lake]

[Mission: Clear the Iron-Fang Rat swarm in Zone 2 of Pinghai City’s sewers]

Lin Ze went through the missions one by one.

After nearly half an hour, he finally settled on a target.

[Mission Objective]: Clear the Deathknell Beetles in Deathknell Canyon

[Mission Type]: Subjugation / Solo

[Mission Reward]: 1,000 Credit Points per Deathknell Beetle

[Mission Deadline]: No time limit

[Related Intel]: Over the past month, the Deathknell Beetle population in Deathknell Canyon has surged and shown signs of migrating outward, posing a threat to nearby villages. Please eliminate as many Deathknell Beetles as possible. Kill count will be verified based on Combat Recorder data.

[Cautions]: Deathknell Beetles are pack-type Ferocious Beasts with Power Levels ranging from Tier 1, Stage 5 to Stage 7. They never operate in groups of fewer than double digits. Executors are advised to exercise caution.

Among all available missions, the Deathknell Beetle elimination mission was the only one whose reward was tied directly to kill count with no upper limit.

In other words, as long as he killed enough of them, he could earn a substantial reward in a short amount of time.

This type of mission was undoubtedly perfectly suited to Lin Ze’s goals.

“There’s still half a month until the College Entrance Exam. After accounting for leaving early to head to Ningjiang City and getting familiar with the environment, I’ll have at most thirteen days left.”

“During this time, I need to earn enough money to successfully evolve the Ice Crystal Soul and contract a second Pet Beast!”

Lin Ze quickly made his decision and decisively accepted the mission.

Afterward.

He went to the counter, paid the deposit, and received a Combat Recorder.

This was a special auxiliary device made by the Beast Tamer Association, equipped with flexible flight capabilities and real-time video recording functions.

It could record the entire battle and transmit data back to the Association in real time.

Many Bounty Missions with rewards tied to kill count would have their final settlement judged based on the footage recorded by the device.

After completing all of this, Lin Ze left the building without looking back.

Camp 12.

This was a civilian camp located south of Pinghai City.

It served as a transit point and supply depot for expeditions into the wilderness.

Many adventurers would replenish supplies and sell their spoils within the camp.

Inside the tall circular walls were messy temporary shacks and haphazardly placed street stalls.

The open ground was bustling with noise, adventurers laughing, cursing, and shouting everywhere—extremely lively.

“So many people.”

Lin Ze was inwardly astonished.

There had to be several hundred Beast Tamers in this camp.

A gathering of this many Beast Tamers was a rare sight.

After taking a curious look around, Lin Ze finally remembered the purpose of his visit.

“First, I need to rent a vehicle.”

Deathknell Canyon was nearly thirty kilometers from Camp 12.

With such a long distance, walking was out of the question—he had to rent some form of transportation.

However, to his surprise, he visited three vehicle rental shops in a row, only to be told at each one that all vehicles had already been rented out.

“Is it always like this?”

“Not usually.”

The shop owner spread his hands.

“It’s been a bit unusual these past few days. Quite a few more adventurers have been heading to Deathknell Canyon, so vehicles are in short supply. If you’d come a few hours earlier, you might have found one.”

Lin Ze frowned.

This was going to be a problem.

Could it be that he had to walk all the way to Deathknell Canyon?

By the time he got there, it would already be dark.

“If only I had a Pet Beast I could ride,” Lin Ze sighed inwardly.

Just then, a clear female voice came from beside him.

“Hey, handsome, are you heading to Deathknell Canyon?”

Lin Ze turned around and saw a female adventurer in her twenties with a pleasant face.

He sized her up for a moment. “That’s right, you are…”

“My name is Wang Xueyun.”

The female adventurer said with a smile:

“Our squad rented a car, and we happen to be heading to Deathknell Canyon too. If you don’t mind, we can give you a ride along the way.”

Lin Ze was slightly taken aback.

What a coincidence—he had just been worrying about how to get to Deathknell Canyon, and now someone was offering to help him out of the blue.

But…

They were complete strangers. Why would she do this?

As if she had guessed Lin Ze’s confusion, Wang Xueyun explained cheerfully:

“I’ve always hated seeing young handsome guys troubled, so I couldn’t help but want to lend a hand. It’s not like I have any ulterior motives toward you… Eh, wait, saying it like that really does make it sound like I have ulterior motives.”

“…”

Lin Ze felt that this person named Wang Xueyun was a bit scatterbrained.

Still, he didn’t suspect her of meaning him any harm.

After all, he was alone and clearly carried no valuable materials on him. Only someone with nothing better to do would bother scheming against him.

And even if some fool actually tried, Lin Ze was confident he could make that person lose more than they gained.

In an instant.

Many thoughts raced through Lin Ze’s mind.

He nodded and said, “Then I’ll trouble you all. By the way, how much is the rental fee? Let me chip in my share.”

Wang Xueyun smiled and waved her hand to decline, but under Lin Ze’s insistence, she eventually agreed.

With transportation settled, Lin Ze breathed a sigh of relief.

The two walked out of the shop together, heading to where Wang Xueyun’s teammates were waiting.

On the way.

Lin Ze casually introduced his name.

After hearing it, Wang Xueyun muttered to herself in confusion:

“I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before. It sounds familiar.”

But soon, her attention was drawn to something else.

“You’re this year’s College Entrance Exam student?”

Wang Xueyun’s eyes widened in shock.

Even though she had already guessed Lin Ze couldn’t be that old, she still couldn’t help being surprised when she learned he was just a student.

The next second, she suddenly realized something.

“Your destination is Deathknell Canyon, so you’ve probably also taken on the task of clearing out the insect swarm, right?”

Lin Ze nodded.

Seeing this, Wang Xueyun slapped her forehead.

“…That task is way too dangerous for you!”

If he was a College Entrance Exam student, he was only around eighteen.

An Apprentice Beast Tamer of that age usually had a Pet Beast at only the first tier, seventh or eighth stage.

With that little strength, going into Deathknell Canyon—how was that any different from seeking death?

Wang Xueyun immediately began to regret it.

She might be carefree, but she knew where to draw the line.

If she had known this young man was still a student, she would never have offered him a ride. Wasn’t that just sending him down a dangerous path?

With that thought, Wang Xueyun hesitated, opening her mouth as if to speak before saying cautiously:

“Lin Ze, I think the task of clearing out the Deathknell Beetles is still too dangerous for you…”

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by a booming voice.

“Wang Xueyun, what took you so long? Hurry up, we’re about to set off!”

Lin Ze looked toward the sound.

Three people dressed as adventurers were striding over in this direction.