Xiao Xiao's words had barely faded before Ye Feng closed the chat screen and put his wristband into the spatial warehouse.
He quickly got up and walked out of the tent.
"Ye Feng, I just got news. The Bald Gang has almost gone all out and is rushing towards the super sandstorm zone!" Xue Yuli said as soon as she saw Ye Feng.
Her voice dropped, and she frowned before speaking again, "Strange, the leader of the Bald Gang, Su Shu, is someone who always gets revenge. Before, he would chase after someone and chop them up just for being cursed at or even for an unhappy look."
"But you killed so many of his men, a mortal enmity. Why isn't Su Shu coming after you for revenge?"
"Even if there's a considerable amount of Arcane Raw Stones in the super sandstorm zone, the Bald Gang wouldn't abandon their base that they've been running for decades!" Xue Yuli's tone was filled with confusion.
"The super sandstorm zone again~!" Ye Feng thought for a moment and said, "Let's go take a look there too!"
...
On the other side,
Weapon City, the headquarters of the Skull Society. A large number of war vehicles, armored like iron hedgehogs, were ready to go.
Among the war vehicles, a camper van looked out of place. It was the vehicle of the Skull Society's leader, Blood Skull.
Inside the camper van, the decoration was luxurious, with leather sofas, rosewood round tables laden with various foods, and even a bathtub...
But Blood Skull, the leader of the Skull Society, clearly wasn't in a mood to enjoy himself. Even when his favorite woman came to ask for a shared bath, he drove her away.
At this moment, Blood Skull was speaking with a solemn expression to the black box on the table in front of him, the Shadow Demon Box, whose exterior was carved with strange, ghost-like runes.
"...Elder, the situation is a bit bad now!"
"I won't mention the other small factions in the dunes. The Bald Gang has mobilized entirely and rushed to the super sandstorm zone. The Ocean Paradise is likely following closely behind, and I've also spotted people from Mech City and the City of Arcane Arts..." Blood Skull frowned and summarized.
"I didn't expect so many things to happen!" Suddenly, black mist floated on the surface of the Shadow Demon Box, and an aged voice echoed.
"The Nether Script Divine Stele must not be lost!"
He paused, and the Shadow Demon Box spoke again, "I didn't expect the casual pieces I discarded more than twenty years ago to actually be useful..."
"How about this, take this thing, and go contact..." As his voice fell, the black mist of the Shadow Demon Box churned, and a metal plate fell out.
...
Over with Ye Feng,
Xue Yuli was driving, while Ye Feng lounged leisurely in the back seat, flipping through the map he had brought from the Skull Society's secret chamber. Xiao Xiao continued to look around at the scenery outside the window.
"By the way, big brother, these human bases, big and small, are all so strange! The entrance fees they charge are all over the place!"
"There's no unified standard. At the Bald Gang's place, the three of us paid for a bottle of mineral water to get in. But at the time, someone next to us paid with a steel helmet and was also let through..."
"Before, at Ocean Paradise, the entrance fee was a small bread. Someone also paid with an animal's skeleton..."
"At the Skull Society, there wasn't even an entrance fee..." Suddenly, Xiao Xiao's somewhat confused voice rang out repeatedly.
Clearly, she had been wondering about this for some time!
"Xiao Xiao, the Great Cataclysm destroyed the old world, and there's no longer a unified currency for the entire world. Large survivor bases might have their own currency systems, but most operate on barter."
"As for the entrance fees for various survivor bases, they are usually collected by the gatekeepers based on the situation. They generally accept useful supplies, rarely a fixed item!"
"A steel helmet can be used for defense. The animal skeleton you mentioned... likely contains white phosphorus and can be used as important fuel..." Before Ye Feng could speak, Xue Yuli interjected.
"If we have to say there's something universally recognized... it would be the Arcane Yuan Coin!"
"Of course, Arcane Raw Stones, Enhancement Serums, Desperate Potions, and various medicines are also hard currencies!" Xue Yuli added after a pause.
"Oh, I see~!" Xiao Xiao nodded slightly, seeming to understand.
"Speaking of which, Ye Feng, where did you get such a detailed map of the dunes!" Xue Yuli then asked Ye Feng.
"Oh, I got it from the Skull Society~!" Ye Feng replied casually without looking up from his map.
"Huh, big brother, there are people we knew before over there. They... seem to be in trouble. Should we go take a look?" At this moment, Xiao Xiao's voice sounded.
"People we knew before?" Ye Feng frowned slightly, stood up, and took Xiao Xiao's binoculars to examine.
"It's them!" Following the direction Xiao Xiao pointed, Ye Feng was somewhat surprised.
Because the people Xiao Xiao mentioned were the captain of the water truck convoy they had met at the edge of the dunes earlier, Li Sen... and the one who called himself "Mr. Know-it-all," Strange Egg...
"Just in time, I need to ask him something~!" Glancing at the map in his hand, Ye Feng immediately said to Xue Yuli, "Let's go take a look!"
...
The Hummer was quite fast. Several kilometers away, in less than 5 minutes, Ye Feng and the two of them arrived not far from Li Sen and Strange Egg.
At this moment, both Li Sen and Strange Egg were in a sorry state. They seemed to have experienced a fierce battle, with multiple injuries on their bodies. Several corpses lay on the ground, likely members of Li Sen's convoy.
Groups of hyenas surrounded them. Li Sen and Strange Egg had their backs to each other, guarding against the hyenas' rear attacks, while the others could only hold cold weapons and sit on the ground, confronting the hyenas...
"Roar~"
The sound of the Hummer's engine quickly attracted the attention of Li Sen and the others, and a group of hyenas also swarmed towards them.
Li Sen and Strange Egg exchanged glances, seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.
Because they both recognized the car, it was the military Hummer driven by Ye Feng.
"Mr. Ye, be careful behind you!" Seeing the people getting out of the car, Li Sen shouted anxiously.
Because a hyena had already leaped up, opening its mouth wide and lunging towards Ye Feng's rear.
Ye Feng showed no panic. A flash of light appeared in his hand, and a double-edged mountain axe instantly materialized.
"Clang!~"
In the next second, the hyena that had launched a sneak attack from behind Ye Feng had its head severed.
"Heheheh!~"
"Ugh... Woof! Woof woof!..."
Seeing this, the other hyenas let out strange barks and bared their teeth, charging at Ye Feng. Even the hyenas that were originally tearing and gnawing on corpses around Li Sen and the two were no exception...
"Shriek~ Puff!"
"Woof woof!~ Heheheh~"
"Bang~ Hiss!"
...
After a series of cutting sounds, hyena barks, and collisions, the scene returned to calm.
Those hyenas were either killed by Ye Feng or had fled...
"Tha... Thank you..."
"Thank you, Mr. Ye!" Strange Egg and Li Sen both thanked Ye Feng with faces full of gratitude.
"Li Sen, what's your situation? Just a few hyenas, and you're this pathetic?!" After Ye Feng surveyed the surroundings, he asked with some confusion.
Because this Li Sen was an Arcane Energy cultivator, capable of dealing with the large Tremor Worms that could drag away water tanker trucks...
Yet, facing a group of hyenas just now, he could only defend?
...