"This... a human survivor base?"
Ye Feng was also somewhat surprised.
They had just followed a winding, rugged road and, after passing a large mound, found themselves surrounded by people moving about, dressed in various attire.
Tractors, off-road vehicles, and motorcycles were displayed everywhere, along with quite a few tent encampments.
There was even an RV...
"Cough cough! ~ What a coincidence!"
At this moment, a male voice that Ye Feng found somewhat familiar rang out.
"It's you?"
Ye Feng turned his head and couldn't help but be surprised.
The person who had just spoken was none other than the captain of the Leopard Adventure Team, Boss Leopard, whom he had met just yesterday.
"You..."
"My name is Li Bao, you can just call me Little Leopard~"
Seeing that Ye Feng seemed unsure how to address him, Li Bao quickly spoke, adopting a very humble posture.
"Uh... Little... Li Bao, my name is Ye Feng, is this a human survivor base?"
After observing for a while, Ye Feng found it peculiar for this place to be considered a base.
There were no sturdy, large buildings, and the outer defenses were rather rudimentary.
The dwellings were mainly tents, and there was no cultivated land for crops. However, there were plenty of various modes of transportation. wap.kanshu伍.net
Moreover, the people here were mostly carrying all sorts of weapons, making it seem more like they were preparing for battle rather than living here...
"Cough cough, Mr. Ye is here for the first time, isn't he!~"
Li Bao wasn't particularly surprised by this. "This is an outpost, an important supply point!"
"Outpost?"
Ye Feng frowned slightly, clearly not understanding.
"Mhm!"
"To be precise, it's the outpost leading to the City of Despair, named Firefly!"
Li Bao nodded and said,
"Most adventurers who come here because of the City of Despair choose to rest, trade supplies, and gather the latest intelligence about the City of Despair before heading there!"
"After making thorough preparations, the adventure team will then set off!"
Li Bao paused and added.
"This..."
After hearing Li Bao's explanation, Ye Feng was astonished, but more so, he was pleased. He was finally nearing the City of Despair that the system had given him a special tip about.
"By the way, Mr. Ye, why did you come from that direction?"
At this moment, Li Bao looked at the direction the military Humvee was facing, a hint of confusion on his face.
"That direction?"
Ye Feng frowned slightly. "Is there something wrong with that direction?"
"Uh, Mr. Ye, in that direction are ferocious elephant pigs with strong territorial instincts."
"If people are discovered by them, they will immediately be treated as enemies and hunted!"
"And it also rains sulfuric acid there from time to time, which is the most terrifying thing. If it falls on people..."
"So, adventurers generally choose to avoid that area!"
Li Bao explained with a serious expression.
"..."
Ye Feng was speechless. They had accidentally taken the most dangerous route.
...
Soon, Ye Feng arrived at a stall.
According to Li Bao, this Firefly outpost was for trading supplies and information.
Regarding supplies, Ye Feng wasn't particularly concerned. However, he was clearly very interested in information about the City of Despair. kanshu
"Little adventurer brother, if you want to know anything, just ask!"
"I, Qi Banxian, have been here for 30 years, and no one knows the City of Despair better than I do!"
"And the prices are fair, no one is cheated!"
Seeing Ye Feng's arrival, a man with a handlebar mustache, looking to be in his forties or fifties, greeted him enthusiastically.
"Tell me about the City of Despair?"
Ye Feng pulled up a chair, sat down, and asked indifferently, showing no intention of paying any reward.
"Little brother is testing me!"
Qi Banxian didn't mind.
After all, basic questions like this could be answered by any adventurer who had been around here for a while.
"The City of Despair was an extremely famous city twenty years ago, almost everyone knew of it!"
"Anyone who had a little confidence in their own strength wanted to go to the City of Despair!"
After speaking, Qi Banxian took a sip from his can of cola, looking relaxed.
"Why was it famous twenty years ago?"
Ye Feng took out a can of cola from his backpack, pulled off the metal tab with a "hiss," and took a drink.
At the same time, he leaned back in his chair, looking casual.
"Cough cough~"
Qi Banxian coughed lightly, feeling a bit awkward.
Because the "cola" in his can was just plain water, while Ye Feng had produced a real cola. The familiar fizzing sound was clearly not enough to match.
Qi Banxian couldn't help but pay more attention to the somewhat youthful-looking Ye Feng.
"The City of Despair wasn't originally called that; it was first called the City of Hope~"
"In the early days of the Great Cataclysm, facing the sudden and terrifying disaster, many people despaired, even choosing to commit suicide..."
"Then, at some point, news began to spread about adventurers with extraordinary abilities~"
"Legend had it that someone in a certain city gained the ability to breathe fire, and some could transform into giants~"
"After visiting that city, some people could fly directly, and some could even become invisible..."
"Humans saw hope of survival in this post-cataclysm world from those who came out of that city..."
"Later, people began to call that city, which was so talked about, the City of Hope!"
Qi Banxian explained rapidly.
"It's mostly what I understood, though with some differences~"
Ye Feng nodded slightly after listening but didn't fully agree with the explanation.
This made Qi Banxian frown slightly, a look of thought on his face. He remained silent, quietly observing Ye Feng.
"Give me some recent intelligence about the City of Despair!"
With that, Ye Feng took out another can of cola from his backpack and placed it on the small table in front of Qi Banxian.
He could tell that this Qi Banxian really liked cola, otherwise, he wouldn't be using an empty cola bottle to hold water.
In the man's small tent, there were quite a few mineral water bottles and a ceramic cup.
"No problem, no problem~"
Upon seeing this, Qi Banxian's entire face broke into a smile like a blooming chrysanthemum.
"Although the exact reason is unknown, the City of Despair is no longer the City of Despair it once was!"
"The reason it was famous twenty years ago was that afterwards, the City of Despair became too perilous!"
"Those who entered basically had no return, and even those who were lucky enough to come out had gone mad..."
"With the deaths and disappearances of a large number of adventurers... the name City of Hope gradually became the City of Despair, meaning a desperate situation with ten deaths and no life..."
"Because of this, fewer and fewer people dared to go to the City of Despair... and its fame declined, becoming known mostly only within the adventurer circles..."
Qi Banxian explained slowly again.
Although his eyes were on Ye Feng, his peripheral vision never left the can of cola on the table.
"Of course, there's another explanation for why the City of Hope was renamed the City of Despair!"
"That is, the thing in the City of Despair that allows people to gain power far beyond ordinary people is called Despair Potion!"
"Because of this, the City of Hope came to be known as the City of Despair!"
Seeing Ye Feng frown, Qi Banxian quickly added.
"As expected!"
Hearing this, Ye Feng was instantly filled with surprise.
His previous guess was correct; the City of Despair was indeed related to the Despair Potion!
...