Chapter 19 – Who do you think you are, Lin Ze?

The newcomers were three male adventurers.

A burly man with an honest, simple face.

A young man with sunken cheeks.

And a middle-aged man with a square face who looked very mature and steady.

The honest, burly man walked at the front of the three.

He was the one who had called out just now.

After noticing Lin Ze’s presence, the honest, burly man was startled at first, then seemed to understand something. He slapped his forehead with a smack and wore a speechless expression.

“Wang Xueyun, you’re being lovesick again… What did you promise him this time?”

“Watch your words, Zhang Lei. Who’s being lovesick?”

Wang Xueyun shot the honest, burly man a glare, then began introducing Lin Ze.

“This handsome young man took the same quest as us. He also wants to go to Deathknell Canyon, but unfortunately couldn’t rent a car, so I agreed to give him a ride.”

“You want to go to Deathknell Canyon?”

Zhang Lei’s eyes widened as he looked Lin Ze up and down, then scratched his head and said:

“Little brother, by the looks of you, you should still be a student, right?”

Lin Ze nodded frankly. “I’m from Pinghai No. 1 High School. I’ll be graduating this year.”

At these words, aside from Wang Xueyun who already knew, the other three all wore strange expressions simultaneously.

An Apprentice Beast Tamer who was still a student—his Pet Beast probably hadn’t even reached the second rank—yet he dared to run off to Deathknell Canyon. They didn’t know whether to call him audacious or lacking in self-awareness.

Zhang Lei was honest and straightforward by nature. He scratched his head and said, “I’ll say this, little brother—Deathknell Canyon is too dangerous for you. You’d better go back and pick a simpler quest.”

Lin Ze didn’t mind. He shrugged and said, “I think this quest shouldn’t be a problem for me.”

“It’s a huge problem, alright.” Zhang Lei couldn’t help but complain.

The sunken-cheeked young man seemed impatient with Lin Ze’s refusal to take advice. He frowned and said, “You’re a student who hasn’t even graduated yet. What makes you think you can handle the Deathknell Beetles in the canyon? Do you think you’re Lin Ze or something?”

Wang Xueyun beside him was taken aback. “Lin Ze?”

Zhang Lei explained, “Have you forgotten? We were just talking about it yesterday—the peerless genius who passed the Apprentice Assessment at Ultra Difficulty!”

Wang Xueyun whipped her head around to look at Lin Ze, her mouth nearly forming an O shape.

She remembered that when this young man had introduced himself earlier, he had said his name was Lin Ze.

The same name, coupled with the courage and confidence to take on a quest to clear out an insect swarm.

The identity of this young man before her was clearly all but certain.

“You—you’re Lin Ze!?”

Wang Xueyun asked stammeringly.

The abrupt question left the other three bewildered for a moment.

But soon enough, they quickly caught on and turned to stare at Lin Ze in unison with shock.

Lin Ze stated the facts plainly. “I did indeed pass the Apprentice Assessment at Ultra Difficulty just yesterday.”

“No way!”

Zhang Lei’s eyes bulged like copper bells.

The other three weren’t much better off, their faces full of astonishment.

They never imagined that the peerless genius who had been the talk of the Beast Tamer circle in Pinghai City would suddenly appear right before their eyes.

Especially Wang Xueyun, who had brought Lin Ze here—she was even more stunned.

“Looks like my luck is really something.”

Wang Xueyun murmured to herself in disbelief.

It took a good while before everyone came back to their senses, looking Lin Ze over with curious, astonished gazes.

At this point, no one brought up the matter of persuading Lin Ze to turn back anymore.

A genius Beast Tamer with a second-tier Pet Beast who could even kill a Saber-Tooth Lion—his strength alone was hardly any weaker than these veteran adventurers. Taking on a pest-clearing mission was hardly a problem for him.

The skinny young man, meanwhile, was utterly embarrassed.

He had just used Lin Ze’s reputation to mock the very person standing before him.

The slap to his face couldn’t have been more audible.

It was truly awkward.

Fortunately, Lin Ze didn’t seem to be the type to hold a grudge.

The middle-aged man stepped forward and extended a hand to Lin Ze.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Li Pei, the captain of this squad. Sorry about what was said earlier—we meant no harm.”

“I understand.”

Lin Ze shook his hand with a smile, indicating he didn’t mind.

“As for the ride…”

Li Pei said immediately, “No problem, leave it to us!”

Compared to his earlier casual attitude, Li Pei was now noticeably more enthusiastic.

His companions were used to this as well.

After all, this was a genius who had passed the Ultra Difficulty assessment—his future was bound to be bright.

As long as he didn’t meet an untimely end, he was destined to become a pinnacle-level Beast Tamer.

With such a promising prospect, any chance to build a good relationship was not to be missed!

Even the skinny young man flashed Lin Ze a fawning smile, completely shedding his earlier impatience.

With Li Pei and the others deliberately trying to get along, the atmosphere quickly became quite harmonious.

The group then made their way to where the vehicle was parked, ready to set off.

The vehicle was a modified, reinforced jeep.

Hardened alloy steel plates had been added to the sides, front, and rear.

Even the tires were specially made off-road versions.

After all, with so many Ferocious Beasts roaming the wilderness, attacks during travel were inevitable—the sturdier and more durable the vehicle, the better.

“Deathknell Canyon is famous for its Deathknell Beetles. They’re the most numerous creatures in the area.”

On the road, Wang Xueyun shared intel about Deathknell Canyon with Lin Ze.

“Deathknell Beetles aren’t very strong individually—their main threat is that they usually move in groups. But that’s easy enough to deal with as long as you team up.”

“Overall, Deathknell Canyon is well-suited for Apprentice Beast Tamers to adventure in groups. Many of them come here in teams to hunt.”

As she spoke, Wang Xueyun stole a glance at Lin Ze, feeling a bit impressed.

Only a genius like Lin Ze would dare to come to Deathknell Canyon alone right after becoming an Apprentice Beast Tamer.

Geniuses truly couldn’t be judged by ordinary standards.

Lin Ze casually asked, “The mission briefing said the beetle swarms in the canyon are showing signs of migrating outward. Is that right?”

Wang Xueyun nodded. “That’s correct. Normally, Deathknell Beetles stay put in the canyon and rarely leave. But over the past month, something’s been off—the swarms have suddenly grown restless, migrating in large numbers and even actively attacking nearby human villages!”

“Nowadays, you can even run into swarms outside the canyon, and the closer you get, the higher the chance. So we need to be careful on the road ahead…”

Before Wang Xueyun could finish, Li Pei abruptly cut her off.

“Beetle swarm spotted two hundred meters ahead, numbering between one and two hundred. Everyone, prepare for battle!”

Wang Xueyun’s expression froze.

Zhang Lei, sitting in the front row, chuckled and said, “Your jinx really works.”

The girl shot him a glare, then swiftly opened her tactical backpack, retrieved the Combat Recorder, and tossed it upward with a flick of her hand.

The palm-sized Combat Recorder hummed as it unfolded its paper-thin spiral wings, soaring into the sky and hovering about ten meters above the ground.

At the same time,

Li Pei, Zhang Lei, and the lean man Zhao Mingshan quickly summoned their own Pet Beasts.