After dealing with the butcher and his subordinates, Ye Feng explored the Camel Peak and discovered a considerable amount of saltpeter and sulfur ore.
"No wonder these guys had so much dynamite... to play around with," Ye Feng muttered. He then led Xiao Xiao to release the people imprisoned in the cave.
Most of the captives were women. The men had mostly been killed in the struggle with the butcher, and those few who were captured alive had largely been used in the butcher's "human fireworks" performances...
Following this, amidst a flurry of terrified and confused thanks from the men and women, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao left Camel Peak.
...
That evening,
A highly active discussion appeared in the [Regional Chat Channel]: "Do you guys know? That terrifying serial killer, the Butcher, who tortured and slaughtered women, was account-banned this afternoon!"
"Holy crap, is that true? That guy was seriously twisted, the videos he posted were incredibly gruesome and bloody!"
"Yeah, he even ate human flesh, and his favorite was women! Men who were captured were just killed off!"
"Wait, what do you mean 'account-banned'? There aren't any admins or anything in the Survivor channel, right?"
"Ahem, well, someone went to his door and 'physically banned' him..."
"I saw the live broadcast today! The Butcher was performing his 'live fireworks' when someone showed up and took him down. That was so satisfying!"
"That guy in the steel helmet was also amazing, fighting against over a dozen guns with his bare hands and winning..."
"And there was a small person next to him who could conjure fire..."
"That's unbelievable?!"
"I saw it too..."
...
The next day,
Ye Feng woke up early and habitually opened the [Shop].
[Sufi Sanitary Napkins x1, Survival Coins 30]
[Milk Little Buns x16, Survival Coins 160]
[Ice Cream x3, Survival Coins 270]
[Oatmeal x10, Survival Coins 200]
[155mm Howitzer Compatible HE Shell x3, Survival Coins 300]
[155mm Howitzer Compatible HE Shell x3, Survival Coins 300]
[155mm Howitzer Compatible HE Shell x3, Survival Coins 300]
[155mm Howitzer Compatible Illumination Flare x3, Survival Coins 200]
"What the heck is this?"
Ye Feng was taken aback by the items in the [Shop].
At first, the shop's inventory was quite normal, but then it became a bit... odd. And surprisingly, there were only shells, but no artillery pieces...
Subsequently, Ye Feng purchased all the items, costing a total of 1760 Survival Coins, bringing his luck value to 312/400.
"Even though the system can't absorb Survival Coins for now, the 2500 that refreshes daily is basically enough!"
"And since I can refresh frozen food, my luck value increases faster too."
Ye Feng muttered, glanced at the still sleeping Xiao Xiao, and walked out of the tent to start making breakfast.
...
"Big Brother, what's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"
During breakfast, Xiao Xiao noticed Ye Feng frowning intermittently and couldn't help but speak up.
"It's not that I'm in a bad mood, just a bit frustrated!"
"I got some decent artillery shells, but I don't have an artillery piece to fire them!"
Ye Feng popped a milk little bun into his mouth, chewed a few times, and took a sip of oatmeal before replying.
"Artillery shells... those things are like bullets, aren't they? They need to be placed inside a gun, and the firing pin strikes the base to detonate..."
"Big Brother, since there's no artillery piece to fire the shells, can't you use something else to strike them?"
Xiao Xiao looked at a yellow-cased, pointed object in the corner, recalled the knowledge about firearms and ammunition that Ye Feng had told her before, and asked curiously.
"That's the idea... but an artillery shell isn't something you can just fire by striking it... unless you have a lot of strength..."
As he spoke, Ye Feng's eyes lit up. He looked at Xiao Xiao with surprise, "That's right! You don't need an artillery piece to fire shells. With my current strength, I absolutely can!"
"Xiao Xiao, you're so smart!"
Ye Feng happily pinched Xiao Xiao's cheek, not bothering to continue eating breakfast. He took a howitzer shell from the corner and headed out.
Ye Feng walked to about 500 meters away from the tent. A light flashed in his hand, and a large iron hammer appeared.
After a brief observation, he tossed the shell upwards and then brought the iron hammer down forcefully onto the base of the shell.
"Clang!~!"
After a crisp sound of metal impact, the shell "whooshed" and flew forward with a piercing shriek.
"Bang!~ Boom!~"
The shell hit a large rock, instantly shattering it into pieces and creating a large crater in the ground.
"It actually works!"
Although the accuracy was a bit off, Ye Feng was very happy.
"Big Brother, you just launched the shell with your hand?!"
At this moment, Xiao Xiao's surprised voice came from not far away. She blinked her eyes, her face full of wonder.
"Mhm~!"
Ye Feng nodded slightly, "Let's go, we're having breakfast!"
...
At noon,
Xiao Xiao parked the infantry fighting vehicle under a large tree, and then she and Ye Feng started a fire to cook.
After lunch,
The two didn't rush to move forward but instead took a short rest.
Before long, Xiao Xiao, lying on the reclined seat of the infantry fighting vehicle, fell asleep.
Ye Feng glanced at Xiao Xiao, took out the skin of the Steel Scaled Bear he obtained from the Red Bank Ruins from the airdrop warehouse, and prepared to make a bulletproof vest for himself and Xiao Xiao.
Although his physical condition was quite strong now, it was far from being able to withstand bullets with his bare body, let alone Xiao Xiao...
This Steel Scaled Bear was not only lightweight but also offered much stronger protection than a bulletproof vest. A Thompson submachine gun would leave no marks on it.
Ye Feng had observed that when the Steel Scaled Bear was struck by a hard object, its unusually hard scales would protrude outwards, deflecting the impact...
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Ye Feng's expression changed. A sense of alert suddenly came from behind him.
The next second, Ye Feng spun around sharply. He saw a white light shooting towards him. It was already within striking distance. Arcane energy appeared in his hand, and he instantly caught the white light.
The white light contained a strange power that instantly dispersed the arcane energy in Ye Feng's hand. It also exerted a tremendous force, impacting Ye Feng's hand and almost causing him to twist and fall.
"Urk!~"
Ye Feng let out a muffled groan from his throat. He took a step forward, stomped hard on the ground, causing the ground to instantly indent, barely preventing him from falling.
"This... such immense power!"
Feeling the burning pain in his palm, Ye Feng's brow furrowed deeply.
He became fully alert, scanning his surroundings with a grave expression. He even took out binoculars to observe, but he found no one who shot the white light at him, nor anything else...
"This feeling..."
After confirming the surrounding situation repeatedly, Ye Feng examined the white light he had just caught. It turned out to be a feather emitting a white glow, with dark red marks on it, appearing to be dried blood.
A small strip of paper was tied to the base of the feather. Ye Feng quickly untied it. It read: "Deliver the Tang dao, or I will pluck every single hair from the little angel of Lingxi!"
...