Fei Ling suddenly stopped midair, staring blankly at the Crystal, no longer flying forward.
He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, then said calmly, “Call it off. Return to the city.”
“…”
“There’s no need to go. That Herb Gathering Squad only had three members. When the distress report came in, one had already been eaten. The remaining two were just killed.”
“Are you sure they’re dead?” Jiang Ke’er asked.
“The Bear King of Three-Leaf Mountain never leaves survivors, and it moves quickly. If it catches you, you’re dead for sure.” Fei Ling’s expression remained unchanged, his tone flat.
“Rather than waste time searching for bodies, it’s better to move on to the next rescue mission and increase the survival chances of the next caller.”
Jiang Ke’er fell silent.
The Realm of No Regret had no room for sentimental humanitarianism. If someone died in the wild, no one risked their life to retrieve the body. There was no scene like in the movie Saving Private Ryan, where a group sacrificed themselves to save one person. It was all about value exchange, minimizing losses as much as possible.
Rrring~
As they were flying back, Fei Ling’s Communication Stone rang again.
Jiang Ke’er saw the others straighten up, hope flickering in their eyes as they looked at Fei Ling.
“This is the Dongming City Rescue Team. Please state your location.”
[We’re near the western entrance of Dongming Valley. While mining, we dug up a medium-sized Xubeast Nest that wasn’t marked on the map. There are probably… over a hundred fifth- and sixth-rank Xubeasts here. We’re hiding in some very tall pine trees now; they haven’t found us yet.]
Fei Ling gave the team a look. “Move out.”
Everyone still clung to the faint hope that the cultivator from Three-Leaf Mountain might still be alive… But it seemed luck wasn’t with him.
The Rescue Team immediately changed direction and flew swiftly toward Dongming Valley.
Meanwhile, Fei Ling kept the call going.
“We’re on our way. Keep your voice down and tell me more specific details… How many cultivators are in your Mining Team?”
[Fifteen.]
The Rescue Team members’ expressions tensed visibly.
Fifteen trapped at once—that was no small number.
“Are you hiding in the same tree?”
[No, two trees. There are only two trees tall enough here.]
“Check carefully—are there any Flying Lizard Type Ruin Beast nests in the treetops?”
[Let me see… There seems to be… Yes!] The cultivator’s voice turned distinctly panicked. [It’s a Flying Lizard Type Ruin Beast nest. There are unhatched babies inside!]
“The mother must be nearby, probably out foraging. But she won’t be gone longer than two hours. She could return at any moment. You need to prepare for that… Do you have any Magic Crystals?”
[A few!]
“Throw them far away. Mother Flying Lizards like Magic Crystals. Use them to buy time… and make sure you throw them far, far away, without drawing attention from the Xubeasts below.”
[Are Spirit Stones no good?] The cultivator asked reluctantly.
“No. Spirit Stones have relatively low Spiritual Power density; they won’t catch the mother’s attention.”
[Fine…]
After a moment.
[We threw the Magic Crystals out, a big handful. We almost got caught… What now?]
“Tell me the type of Xubeasts below. If you can, take a few clear pictures and send them to me.”
The other party quickly sent images.
Fei Ling frowned. “Aquatic Ruin Beasts? How did they get to the surface… How exactly were you mining? Be honest—how deep did you dig?!”
[Uh… three miles…]
“The legal mining depth in Dongming Valley is at most one and a half miles! Are you tired of living?”
[We found a Green Field Stone Vein, so… Ah! Just come over already!]
“We’re on the way.” Fei Ling’s face was cold.
He turned to Jiang Ke’er.
“Senior Bu, you probably don’t know much about Aquatic Ruin Beasts. They’re often highly venomous, with thick scales, and hard to deal with. Our standard solution is to clear a passage and lure them back to the underground river.”
“Can’t we just kill them all?” Jiang Ke’er asked.
“With your strength, killing them all would indeed be a simple, crude solution, but it would leave terrible consequences,” Fei Ling explained.
“Every night, Xujie Gates open where Xubeasts die, to replenish the Xubeast numbers in the Realm of No Regret. If these hundred-plus Xubeasts die on the surface, Dongming Valley will become an impassable dead zone. Flying System Ruin Beasts might even appear in the air, causing endless trouble.”
“I understand.” Jiang Ke’er nodded. “Then I’ll follow your plan. I’ll assist you as much as I can.”
The Rescue Team quickly arrived above Dongming Valley.
“Attention! The danger level of this airspace is extreme!” Fei Ling said.
No sooner had he spoken than Jiang Ke’er saw a dark shadow extend claws and fly straight at her!
It was a Flying Lizard Type Ruin Beast.
Jiang Ke’er cut it down with a single sword stroke, but more Flying Lizard Type Ruin Beasts surged forth endlessly. The Rescue Team immediately found itself in a fierce battle.
This airspace was far too dangerous for ordinary people to cross. That was why the Mining Team couldn’t escape by flying.
Fortunately, every member of the Rescue Team was an elite of the clan, battle-hardened. Though some were injured, they were lucky enough to survive the Flying Lizard territory intact.
They spotted the target.
“Damn it!” one Rescue Team member cursed in fury.
Only when they saw the scene with their own eyes did they realize just how severe the problem was—far worse than the cultivator had described during the call!
“At least five hundred. The number’s still growing.”
“And… the ground has collapsed for hundreds of yards around!”
The Rescue Team demons felt their scalps tingle.
Fei Ling quickly found the cultivator in the treetops.
He grabbed the cultivator by the neck. “Why did you lie about the severity?”
“Cough… I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” The cultivator writhed in pain.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t come… I used to be on a Rescue Team. I know you’re short-handed. If the request is too serious, you won’t take it… I’m sorry, I just wanted to survive…”
“And we don’t want to survive?!”
The Rescue Team members wished they could tear the cultivator apart on the spot.
“I’m sorry, I won’t do it again!” The cultivator kept begging. “I didn’t expect it to be this bad. Our Altitude Measuring Device was broken. We didn’t know the depth, and we accidentally dug too deep…”
“Enough. You dug through the underground river, collapsed the ground, and let Aquatic Ruin Beasts flood to the surface. A major incident like this is beyond the Rescue Team’s ability to handle,” Fei Ling said coldly.
“We might all die here.”
“Then what do we do?” The cultivator’s face crumpled.
Fei Ling sighed.
“No choice. The nearby High-Risk Emergency Response Unit isn’t in Dongming City. They’re dealing with another massive pit some idiot like you dug. They can’t get away in three days. We’re on our own.”
“We’ll have to block the gaps with our lives.”