Fortunately, healing soul injuries was not as troublesome as flesh wounds. With a wave of coolness spreading to his forehead, the trauma previously sustained in his divine consciousness sea began to recover.
It was a tangible and clearly perceptible recovery.
In just a few minutes, Li Chonglou felt his strength return to approximately the peak of the sixth level.
This thing was reliable!
He opened his eyes and quickly asked Old An about his condition.
"I've also recovered more or less. As long as there are no more critical situations, there shouldn't be a big problem."
Li Chonglou gave a wry smile and said, "That's really hard to say."
However, for now, Master Jianwen's pills had served their immediate purpose. The situation was at least more than twice as good as before.
Now, all they had to do was wait for Wu Di and the others.
Ten minutes later, Wu Di and Liu Tianzhi also returned.
Like Li Chonglou, both of them had an extra backpack behind them, which was packed full.
Not long after, Fan Li and the other four also returned together.
"Let's go. The team is ready. We'll set off in half an hour."
"Team?"
The three exchanged glances, and Wu Di was the one to ask, "Captain Fan, are we going to act with others?"
Before this, Fan Li had only told the three that the mission location was on the front lines of the underground world, but he hadn't mentioned anything more.
"We'll talk as we walk."
Fan Li waved his hand and led the way.
Wang Liqiang was responsible for the explanations. Li Chonglou had some prior knowledge of the front lines, knowing that they were all about dangerous exploration missions.
This time, what they were going to do was also exploration.
The difference was that this time they were responsible for the front-line mission issued by the higher-ups.
"There are three exploration teams going together this time. We are one of them, and our mission is to open up a new route."
"Of course, this route has already been scouted by a powerful individual, so there shouldn't be any unexpected issues."
Wang Liqiang slowly explained the mission details. At first glance, the mission didn't seem very difficult.
After all, it had been scouted by a powerful individual, which meant the route had already been cleared. However, the three of them knew that things couldn't be that simple.
Indeed, after hearing the latter part, the three of them understood the hidden complexities.
Firstly, the powerful individual hadn't meticulously scouted every single place, but had merely followed a route. What they had to do was to ensure that within a certain section of this route, with it as the center, there was no danger within a ten-kilometer radius!
This point alone was enough to demonstrate the danger of this mission!
One should know that some mutated beasts preferred to hide in the dark to hunt prey. Such mutated beasts would not reveal themselves when facing powerful enemies; they had a natural vigilance towards danger.
And for exploration teams, such mutated beasts were undoubtedly the greatest potential danger!
There were also many natural dangerous areas, similar to the forbidden zones in Lei Ci Island, which were also countless in the underground world!
Otherwise, humans would not have developed less than one percent of the area over hundreds or even thousands of years.
As he spoke, everyone quickly left the safe zone and headed rapidly towards a certain place.
Don't forget that in the underground world, they had an enemy that could not be ignored: Hei Zi.
As public enemies of humanity, it was naturally impossible for them to let humans casually explore the underground world. Some of the dangers encountered during this process also came from them.
However, the route that Fan Li and the others were taking had clearly been surveyed. Not only did they not encounter any mutated beasts along the way, but they also didn't run into any Hei Zi.
Several hours passed in the blink of an eye.
The group, advancing with bated breath, finally stopped.
At this point, they had arrived at a place that, as far as the eye could see, was nothing but boundless wasteland.
Green plants seemed to be extinct here. All that could be seen was gloom. The entire world seemed to have returned to its primitive state, and the land itself was so dry that it cracked, spreading like a tortoise shell to the horizon.
Occasionally, a strong wind would blow, striking their faces like a sharp knife, causing pain.
"Where are the people?"
Wu Di scanned the surroundings, but he didn't see a single figure.
Fan Li, on the other hand, took out a map and, after signaling for everyone to gather, unfolded it.
"The place we are currently in is a transition zone. Further ahead is a barren plain where there is no spiritual energy. However, it is inhabited by a group of mutated beasts that feed on rocks and soil. The weakest among them are already at the fourth level, and they are gregarious."
Fan Li's expression became solemn.
"This is also considered a test for us. Only by passing through here without any casualties can we keep up with their team."
Li Chonglou looked at the place Fan Li pointed to on the map and realized that their current location was quite far from the safe zone.
The map in Fan Li's hand had two colors, green and gray, and the place he pointed to was the northernmost part of the green, bordering the gray.
This was the first time he had seen such a map, and no one had sold anything like it in the market.
"Captain Fan, where did you get this map?"
Li Chonglou voiced the unspoken thoughts of Wu Di and the other two, and their gazes fell on Fan Li.
The latter explained, "This is a terrain map of the underground world that can be purchased internally after joining an exploration team. It is updated once a month."
At this moment, Qiu Wenying suddenly spoke, with a slight smile, "If we can successfully complete the mission this time, we will also get a certain profit from it every time someone buys it in the future."
Wang Liqiang, standing beside them, added, "This is also one of the benefits of being in an exploration team. As long as there are groundbreaking developments, you can become a lifelong beneficiary."
The two of them were clearly trying to ease the tense atmosphere, but they succeeded. The attention of the three was immediately shifted from this dangerous wasteland to the words "lifelong beneficiary."
Upon further inquiry, they learned that this was a form of official encouragement, and the reward was directly given in blood crystals, with conditions that could be described as enticing.
In addition to this, there was also a reward for establishing outposts.
This did not restrict the identity of the explorers. As long as one could assist the authorities in establishing a stable outpost, they could enjoy the same treatment.
Of course, this outpost was not a camp, but could be considered a simplified version of a camp. Although the difficulty was not as great as the camps within the safe zone, it was still not easy.
Even now, China only had about thirty outposts, scattered in various places outside the safe zones.
Speaking of which, Wang Liqiang also explained to the three the main reason why the journey had been so smooth.
It was precisely because they were traveling along the official routes between the outposts.
Just like the high-speed rail and subway routes in the real world, outside the safe zones of the underground world, the outposts were not built randomly. They each guarded a certain area, and this official route was the place where these areas merged.