"Wu Ye Ling... that's still Ling, right?"
Ye Feng was a bit confused, not quite understanding why Ling was introducing herself so formally.
"My surname is Wu Ye, if you ever need help with anything, you can come find me in Zhongzhou!"
Seeing Ye Feng's bewildered look, Ling spoke again.
"Oh!~"
Ye Feng blinked his eyes, still looking puzzled.
"Ye... Ye Feng, you haven't heard of the Wu Ye Guild? It's a very famous explorer's guild on this continent!"
Upon hearing this, Lei Jian looked as if he had seen a ghost.
"Uh... no!"
Ye Feng recalled for a moment and shook his head.
As soon as he said this, not only Lei Jian, but Ling and Liu Laoshitou also wore expressions of disbelief.
...
For the next few days,
Under the guidance of Xu Wenqiang, Ye Feng and his group thoroughly toured the City of Ice, and also collected some usable supplies.
Notably, Lei Jian was a skilled mechanic. Using various materials from the City of Ice, he assembled a snowmobile, which he and Ye Feng's group used to travel around the City of Ice...
...
One noon,
The group was enjoying the snow and eating lunch under the sun.
"Ye Feng, I must say, you're the most affluent explorer I've ever seen!"
"Never mind other things, your tracked snowmobile is in a completely different league compared to the two-wheeled ones we got from those scavengers!"
Although he had already witnessed Ye Feng's various supplies along the way, Lei Jian was still surprised when Ye Feng took out a four-seater tracked snowmobile from his spatial warehouse.
The snowmobile he assembled with materials from the City of Ice was modeled after Ye Feng's.
"Yeah, it's okay~"
Ye Feng walked over to Liu Laoshitou with his bowl, "Old Liu, do you know about Strengthening Fruits?"
Having obtained a Strengthening Fruit, Ye Feng, who had not received much specific information, decided to ask Liu Laoshitou, an old hand who was clearly knowledgeable.
"Strengthening Fruit?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Laoshitou was immediately surprised.
"Oh, it's that fruit about the size of a fist, bright red, looking a bit like a tomato~"
"It seems to emit heat outwards!"
After thinking, Ye Feng described the Strengthening Fruit in his spatial warehouse.
"Ye Feng, you must be talking about a mature Strengthening Fruit!"
"Strengthening Fruits are very mysterious. They can enhance a person's physical fitness without any side effects. This item attracts competition from major powers and super experts... When I was young, I followed the old guild leader on his adventures, and we happened to see one at an auction!"
"However, that Strengthening Fruit wasn't fully ripe yet. It was half green and half red, and quite small~"
"But even then, it caused quite a bloody storm!"
Liu Laoshitou took several deep breaths before continuing.
"Is it that exaggerated?"
"Doesn't that thing only have the effect of making *that* part... more *that*?"
Ye Feng was a bit puzzled, recalling the survivor who had eaten the Strengthening Fruit he bought earlier, felt hot all over, and then had *that* for an entire night.
"Uh... cough cough cough~..."
Liu Laoshitou was slightly taken aback, then reacted, his old face flushing red, and he coughed violently.
Seeing Ling and Lei Jian looking at him with concern, he quickly waved his hand, indicating he was fine.
"Uh... well, Ye Feng, immature Strengthening Fruits do have that effect, but that's just a side effect. The true efficacy of Strengthening Fruits lies in enhancing a person's physical fitness without any side effects!"
"Whether it's strengthening serum or desperation potions, they have relatively strong, even fatal side effects when one becomes stronger!"
"Even the cultivation of arcane energy, considered the safest, can lead to qi deviation or self-injury."
"This makes Strengthening Fruits so precious... Especially for some super experts, they have accumulated hidden injuries on their path to becoming super experts... Some people's strength even plummets due to these hidden injuries..."
"Another excellent use of Strengthening Fruits is to repair these hidden injuries..."
As he spoke, Liu Laoshitou sighed deeply, his expression somewhat dejected.
"Of course, this is only possible if the body can withstand it. Eating a large quantity of Strengthening Fruits directly can also cause problems..."
"However, that's only theoretical, as Strengthening Fruits are not as common as cabbage..."
After a pause, Liu Laoshitou added.
"I see~"
Ye Feng began to understand.
Then, Ye Feng asked another question, "Immature Strengthening Fruits have that... side effect, what about mature ones?"
"This... I've never heard of such a side effect..."
Liu Laoshitou hesitated slightly and added, "Of course, it's possible. After all, those who obtain mature Strengthening Fruits are invariably from major powers or are super experts. It's unlikely they would spread such private matters..."
"Oh, alright~"
Ye Feng nodded and grumbled somewhat dejectedly, "That old explorer was definitely spinning a yarn. He said Strengthening Fruits were just special aphrodisiacs, that he specifically bought them, and that he offered fair prices with no deceit, a hundred survival coins each... He was a scammer!"
"Uh..."
Liu Laoshitou, who had almost confirmed that Ye Feng possessed Strengthening Fruits, twitched at the corners of his mouth upon hearing this.
Of course, he had a sliver of suspicion in his heart... but Liu Laoshitou was unwilling to think about it, and even somewhat afraid to...
Although he had collapsed due to Ke Leji's sound control technique, he hadn't completely lost consciousness.
He could vaguely see that when Ye Feng was in a tough fight against Ke Leji and facing a life-threatening situation, a white figure had suddenly appeared and instantly killed Ke Leji...
"By the way, Ye Feng, you need to be careful of an organization called the Dark Holy Cult!"
Suddenly, Liu Laoshitou said to Ye Feng with a serious expression.
"Dark Holy Cult?"
Ye Feng was somewhat surprised. This was the second time he had heard of this organization. Ling Xi had also mentioned it to him before.
"Yes!"
Liu Laoshitou nodded. "Ye Feng, do you remember Ke Leji, whom we encountered when we were looking for Eternal Frost Ice?"
"Yes, what about it?"
Ye Feng frowned slightly.
"The Dark Holy Cult is an extremely terrifying organization with extensive reach... It is filled with experts, many possessing very bizarre abilities. It is said that in their prime, they almost unified the entire continent..."
"Later, for some reason, the name of this organization became a 'taboo'..."
"Within the Dark Holy Cult, there is a person named Dr. C, who is the most well-known... His name is also Ke Leji."
"Although it's unlikely that the Ke Leji we encountered earlier is the same person as Dr. C of the Dark Holy Cult,"
"One thing is certain: the Ke Leji we met was definitely a member of the Dark Holy Cult, and likely related to Dr. C!"
"Dr. C, the aura he carried, that from the abyss... that aura of deep-seated disgust and fear in one's soul... I can never forget it!"
"Moreover, sound control, where everyone almost does as he says when he speaks... that is Dr. C's technique!"
Liu Laoshitou spoke in an extremely serious and profound tone.
...