"Heh, don't be so surprised. Those are all cannon fodder..."
Sensing Ye Cangtian's gaze, Zi Long sneered sinisterly and spoke slowly.
In fact, the ruins where the Dark Association resided were as vast and boundless as the ruins in China.
With the strength of the Dark Association, it was impossible to explore every corner and control the entire ruins.
And people are selfish; they all consider their own lives. Therefore, not many people in the Dark Association were truly willing to explore the ruins and expand the living area for humanity.
For this reason, the headquarters of the Dark Association made a bold decision.
That is, to open the ruins and allow everyone to come in and seek treasures, regardless of nationality or faction!
This would attract countless greedy people to explore the ruins, thus achieving the effect of expanding humanity's territory.
Of course, this opening was not unlimited, to prevent certain factions from gathering and harboring ill intentions towards the Dark Association.
"Uh, aren't you afraid the headquarters will let these people take away the treasures in the ruins?"
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian asked curiously.
After all, some of the treasures in the ruins were too powerful. If they fell into the hands of other factions, it would be a huge loss for the Dark Association.
He didn't believe that the Dark Association had no backup and wanted to probe for information.
"If they want to take them away, that's a joke!"
"How would the Dark Association allow such a thing!"
Zi Long smiled slightly, his smile full of cunning.
Entering the ruins of the Dark Association was simple, but getting out was extremely difficult, almost impossible.
Upon entering, these people would be forcibly assigned a mission. The consequence of not accepting the mission was death.
And the mission they accepted was to explore the map.
Those with good luck could leave six or seven out of ten, while those with bad luck would be wiped out.
After completing the mission, those who survived could explore the ruins on their own, but these people had to complete at least one exploration mission per year.
When these people wanted to leave, they had to reach a certain mission score and hand over all physical items.
Of course, these physical items could also be exchanged for double the points to be taken out of the ruins...
Zi Long explained simply. Although they could take away some powerful weapons, such situations had been rare over the years.
Reaching the points required to leave was a near-death experience, and then using double the points to exchange for the right to take weapons out would involve many dangers.
So few people chose this option, after all, they were not stupid.
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian outwardly gave a thumbs-up, but inwardly he was extremely disdainful.
This was equivalent to wicked capitalists. If you wanted to leave the company, you had to make enough contributions to the salary.
If you wanted to take a client away from the company, you had to generate profits from a few clients for the salary, and only then would it be possible. In short, the company would not lose out.
After a brief chat, Ye Cangtian and Zi Long began to prepare for the journey.
They then rented two camels and joined the team heading to the Dark Association, entering the desert.
To Ye Cangtian's slight surprise, the Dark Association had made arrangements quite comprehensively. There were professional guides in the team.
Their job was to find oases along the way, avoid sandstorms, and smoothly lead the team to headquarters.
...
Night fell, and fires were lit and tents were set up in the team.
Ye Cangtian and Zi Long gnawed on their dry rations and chatted.
Just then, a burly man approached them.
This person had fair skin, a high nose bridge, and a head of yellow curly hair, with a pair of blue eyes. At a glance, he was of European descent.
The other party walked directly to them, took out two cans of tin, and handed them over.
"Lord Xuan Qi, Lord Zi Long, please have some together..."
Ye Cangtian glanced at him. After traveling for several days in harsh conditions, everyone in the team had become familiar with each other.
If he remembered correctly, the person in front of him was Bardock.
"No, the environment has been harsh all the way. You should keep it for yourself," Ye Cangtian replied indifferently.
Along the way, similar incidents had happened more than once, with many people coming to curry favor with them.
The reason was the masks on their faces.
Those were the masks of Earth-level powerhouses and Profound-level enforcers. If they could befriend these two at the Dark Association headquarters, there would be countless conveniences.
Of course, there might also be some hidden motives.
Ye Cangtian was not interested in these people.
They were not good people and might be involved with certain factions. Ye Cangtian did not want to get involved with them, which could affect his own goals.
Zi Long turned his head away, emitting a soft hum from his mouth.
In his opinion, these people were just cannon fodder, and it was meaningless to get acquainted with them now, at least not until they entered the ruins and survived.
Besides, he also understood the principle of not taking favors without repayment.
Seeing Zi Long's distant expression, Bardock's gaze changed, and then he sat next to Ye Cangtian.
Compared to Zi Long, Ye Cangtian's attitude was obviously much better. In his opinion, the opportunity to get acquainted was great.
"Lord Xuan Qi, please have some!"
"This is canned fat beef from New Zealand, very delicious. Oh, and I also have top-quality Lafite red wine!"
As he spoke, Bardock excitedly ran back to his tent and returned with a bottle of red wine in less than two minutes, personally pouring a glass for Ye Cangtian.
Seeing that Ye Cangtian still had no intention of starting, Bardock leaned in again.
"Lord Xuan Qi, although the environment is harsh, we should still find joy in hardship!"
"Besides, you are all big figures in the Dark Association. How can it be that we eat canned food and drink red wine while you gnaw on dry rations!"
Ye Cangtian's eyes always carried a hint of a smile, without showing any reaction.
On the other hand, Zi Long's gaze within the pupils of his mask became fierce, gradually filling with murderous intent.
The dry rations in his hand naturally couldn't compare to canned food and red wine. Who would believe him if he said he wasn't tempted!
It was already difficult not to be moved, but the other party kept provoking him, which truly angered him.
If these people weren't valuable as cannon fodder, he would have killed them long ago.
"Bardock, a long time ago, there was a movie in China where a steamed bun caused a tragedy!"
"If you don't want a tragedy to be caused by canned food and red wine, I advise you to leave quickly!"
Ye Cangtian also sensed Zi Long's killing intent. After a moment of silence, he said with a faint smile.
"Uh... a tragedy caused by a steamed bun?"
Bardock's eyes darted around, clearly having not seen this movie.
After thinking for a moment, Bardock instantly laughed and said, "I understand. This is what the Chinese call, sharing joy with others is better than enjoying it alone!"
As he spoke, Bardock ran back to his tent, took out some canned food and red wine, and then distributed them to everyone in the team.
He understood from the literal meaning that in a specific situation where food was scarce, a bloody incident occurred due to the struggle for steamed buns.
It was with this thought that he took out his own provisions to share.
In the desert, especially when food was scarce, this would absolutely arouse the greed of others.
By sharing it, this risk would be avoided.
At the same time, by sharing, he could also forge friendships, which would also be a form of security at the Dark Association headquarters, so he didn't feel heartbroken at all.
"What a talent!"
Ye Cangtian watched Bardock darting around the team, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.
Didn't the other party see that Zi Long was already feeling murderous intent? Could he have misunderstood so badly?
"Hurry up and send him away."
Zi Long glanced at Ye Cangtian and said vaguely.
He knew Ye Cangtian was secretly warning the other party, but that was not important. He himself did not want to kill the other party.
However, if the other party continued to provoke him, he couldn't be blamed for being ruthless.
"Alright."
Ye Cangtian replied.
Seeing that Bardock had finished distributing the food and was happily returning, Ye Cangtian flicked his hand, and the beef and red wine placed in front of him flew over.
"Bardock, take your things and get away from here."
"If you bother us again, you might not make it to the entrance."
Ye Cangtian's voice came. Bardock was slightly stunned, and he nodded and bowed subserviently, as if he dared not offend the two.
But the moment he turned around, a sinister look flashed in Bardock's eyes. These maggots of the Dark Association, how much longer can you be so arrogant!