Chapter 172: Entering the Meteorological Tide
Returning to the Vick University camp with Qingbai Wild Sake and Haicheng, Zhou Ning found the place bustling with activity. Many students were rushing around, preparing supplies.
For the vast majority of students, the Meteorological Tide was tied to the war of the gods—and divine battlefields often meant countless treasures.
As a result, most of them felt not even the slightest fear about venturing into danger. Instead, excitement and anticipation were running high. They acted more like tourists heading off on a treasure hunt. Zhou Ning even suspected some of them would have brought picnic gear and kites if they could…
Zhou Ning also noticed that a few more professors from the Warrior Department and Meteorology Department had arrived at the camp. They were covered in dust, clearly having just rushed over. Two of them were about as burly as the Hulk, exuding sheer combat power at a glance.
Since today's lunch would be the last meal before entering the Meteorological Tide, the food was even more lavish than last night's—there was even fresh fruit salad and sea fish, though no one knew how they managed to get it.
"So much food!"
Qingbai Wild Sake and Haicheng, both curious and excited, followed Zhou Ning into the dining hall. In the game, players did have a "satiety" stat, but as long as it didn't drop to zero, they wouldn't starve. So most players acted like camels—gorging themselves on enough food for a week, then not eating again until they had to. Of course, who could say no to a free meal?
Imitating the others, they picked up plates and added some food, though they didn't dare take too much. Qingbai Wild Sake opened his video recorder and began filming material.
He was especially fond of lifestyle scenes like this—they added flavor to his videos. In his opinion, this game was absurdly amazing. Even seemingly ordinary scenarios were packed with detail.
No matter whose perspective you looked from, that person had their own behavioral logic and backstory. It all felt like a real, living world.
Qingbai Wild Sake even overheard, not far away, the secondary male lead, Leandro, complaining to his companion about how the chef had overcooked the cucumbers yesterday—so much so that when he went to the washroom this morning, he found a strip of cucumber still stuck to his butt.
Qingbai Wild Sake: …He stared at the cucumber salad on his plate, lost in thought.
That wild? Suddenly, he felt like he could never look at the second male lead the same way again.
Nearby, the protagonist Wayne Sturwell had clearly overheard too, recoiling in horror and edging away from the two.
Not feeling particularly hungry, Zhou Ning simply packed up some roasted meat and left the dining hall. At the nearby weather observation deck, Edwin was working with a female meteorologist in her late twenties or early thirties, measuring weather conditions.
Her name was Rachel—the most popular female professor in the Meteorology Department. She stood nearly 1.8 meters tall and, while not exactly beautiful, she had a rather generous bust. At the moment, she was standing on tiptoe, collecting data from seven massive metal rods.
Meteorologists in this world had their own methods for forecasting the weather, but the most common technique involved these rods: gathering data from seven giant metal poles and taking the median reading.
After a while, Rachel came over holding one of the rods and a paper filled with notes. She told Edwin, "It'll keep snowing for the next few days, but the weather index near the Meteorological Tide's entrance looks relatively mild. At least for the next two days, we shouldn't see any extreme conditions."
"I agree with your assessment," Edwin said, also holding a rod and sheet. He squinted seriously through thick glasses, then smiled. "Then we'll set out at 3 p.m. today. Make sure all supplies are packed—no oversights."
"Yes, Vice Principal Edwin!" the students cheered enthusiastically.
Since he hadn't brought much to begin with, Zhou Ning adjusted his cap and headed back to his tent.
There, he summoned Little Deathwing again. The tiny black dragon was curled up on the table like a boneless caterpillar, clearly lacking energy. But the moment Zhou Ning dangled a piece of roast meat in front of it, it perked up instantly and gulped it down with a loud chomp.
[Little Deathwing's favorability toward you has increased. Current favorability: 64]
Still in its hatchling stage, this little black dragon was greedy, lazy, and undiscriminating—it only took some simple feeding to raise its affection. It was surprisingly easy to care for.
"Is that… a dragon?" Qingbai Wild Sake and Haicheng, who had followed Zhou Ning, witnessed the scene and felt Zhou Ning's aura of mystery level up again.
"That's right. Its name is Little Deathwing." Zhou Ning chuckled. After playing with the little dragon for a bit, he stored it away once more.
By around 2:40 p.m., the entire camp was ready. Nearly 300 expedition members were equipped with supply-laden backpacks and ready to depart.
Edwin once again stepped forward and addressed the crowd: "This expedition into the Meteorological Tide may be dangerous. According to legend, this area was one of the three major battlefields between the Sun Goddess and the God of Death. Death energy and weather anomalies are highly active here. In the past year or two, the Meteorological Tide has even shown signs of expanding—just this year alone, it's grown by 37 meters."
"The first explorer, Count Robbins of Wisdom, failed to conquer this place. Our goal is to survey the outer regions of the Tide to prepare for a more comprehensive exploration next time."
"Once inside, we'll split into two groups based on department. Each group will explore the perimeter, led by Professor Rachel and myself. The main exploration force this time will be the university staff. Bringing you along is mostly to give you firsthand experience."
"The weather inside the Meteorological Tide is wildly unpredictable. There are all sorts of supernatural creatures—many elemental monsters, and even some ancient, malevolent entities. Be extremely cautious. I've assigned powerful combatants and skilled meteorologists to each department. Stay close to your team and don't get too curious. If you fall behind… it means death."
The students exchanged uneasy glances. Many of them had come in thinking the Tide wasn't very dangerous, treating it like a field trip. Edwin's words shattered that illusion.
Now, everyone understood how serious this was.
Qingbai Wild Sake and Haicheng, however, were unusually excited. Among everyone present, they were the most relaxed—after all, they could respawn if they died. As long as they stuck with the protagonist, they were bound to reap rewards.
Hearing Edwin mention death energy, Zhou Ning blinked thoughtfully, recalling a particular quest.
"In my previous life, I heard there was a strange old man in the eastern part of Darkland—near the trade district—who was collecting death cores dropped by undead monsters. If you gave him ten or more high-quality cores, he could craft an alchemy potion that increased mental strength. Really useful."
These collection-type quests were usually repeatable. With this opportunity to enter the Meteorological Tide, it might be worth trying to gather more death cores.
The entrance to the Tide was located about four kilometers west of West Lin Town. From the outside, it looked like a vast expanse of white fog, with only brief glimpses of swirling snow, gloomy skies, and a few towering stone pillars visible through the mist.
The expedition team trudged through thick snow for about an hour before arriving at the entrance.
"Let's go. Time to head in," Edwin said calmly.
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