Translator: AnubisTL
They had no intention of returning to the wasteland. Instead, they drove straight into the wilderness, preparing to slaughter mutated beasts. The very creatures that had once chased them into a desperate retreat stood no chance against the overwhelming firepower of their one-meter-caliber cannons.
Scar Dog shook his head with a hint of regret. "Too bad we don't have a car stereo. Playing some music right now would really add to the atmosphere."
Chen Jiang rested his hand on the window frame, smiling silently.
The sun still hung high in the sky, hours from setting. The barren wilderness stretched before them, devoid of lush vegetation. Only occasional withered trees dotted the landscape, the rest composed of arid yellow earth.
With no speed limits and no worries about sudden electric scooters darting out, driving here truly felt like driving.
The only question was where the mutated beasts were hiding. They had already ventured deep into the wilderness, yet not a single creature had been sighted. This desolate, treeless expanse hardly seemed like a place where anything could hide.
But just then—
Suddenly, they spotted a yellow pillar of light rising from the ground in the distance.
The pillar stood approximately three meters tall.
Screech!
The tires screeched as Chen Jiang braked sharply.
He slowly brought the vehicle to a halt, grabbed his hand cannon from the dashboard, and remained inside, his gaze fixed warily on the yellow pillar.
In this desolate wilderness, every strange phenomenon reeked of danger!
Especially something they had never encountered before.
"Could it be a treasure chest or something?" Scar Dog ventured, his eyes fixed on the mysterious pillar.
"Uncertain," Chen Jiang replied hesitantly. "It could also be a distress signal, a trap, or even a mutated beast spawning point."
"We've been driving for hours and haven't seen a single mutated beast cave," Scar Dog pointed out.
"Maybe mutated beasts don't have caves," Chen Jiang mused. "Maybe they just respawn at night like in a game, from designated spawning points."
For a moment, neither could come up with a definitive answer.
The information was simply too scarce.
From this distance, all they could see was the three-meter-tall yellow pillar. There was no way to deduce much more.
"Then let's use our old trick—stir up the grass to flush out the snake?" Scar Dog suggested tentatively.
In the wilderness, a place teeming with danger, they had to maintain constant vigilance and extreme caution.
Within the three months since their arrival in this world, they had encountered countless bizarre phenomena like this pillar of light. Through trial and error, they had developed a reliable method for gathering information:
"Stirring up the grass to startle the snake."
This approach proved effective in revealing traps, treasures, or other strange entities.
"Alright," Chen Jiang nodded, scanning their surroundings. After confirming there were no sudden gatherings of mutated beasts, he hopped out of the vehicle.
Estimating the distance to the yellow pillar of light, he waved his hand, summoning the Steel Sword Autonomous Rotating Turret from his space bracelet and placing it on the ground.
He patted the turret's barrel lightly.
The next moment—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening artillery fire erupted beside them!
Massive shells, each trailing a crimson tail of flame, surged from the turret's muzzle in relentless succession, hurtling toward the yellow pillar of light.
For a brief moment, the barrage nearly blotted out the sky.
A colossal cloud of smoke and a surging wave of fire completely engulfed the yellow pillar of light.
This was the method they had learned in their three months in the wilderness: when encountering the unknown, unleash a barrage first and ask questions later.
After the bombardment, they waited to observe the aftermath.
A moment passed.
The smoke gradually dissipated, revealing the yellow pillar of light standing firm like a warrior defying a storm, unwavering in its place.
"Whoa," Scar Dog exclaimed, a glint of excitement in his eyes and a faint smile playing on his lips. "Looks like we've struck gold this time."
Based on their experience, such phenomena usually indicated the presence of valuable treasures.
Chen Jiang felt a slight sense of relief, though he remained vigilant. He retracted the turret and returned to the vehicle.
With a gentle press of the accelerator, he slowed their pace, cautiously approaching the yellow pillar of light.
They could have simply turned back and left, avoiding any involvement with the mysterious light, whether it was a treasure or a trap. This would have significantly reduced the risk.
But in the wilderness, constant evasion might prolong survival in the short term.
When the Hundred Races War inevitably erupted, they would undoubtedly become cannon fodder, unlikely to even survive until then.
So far, they had only encountered one alien race: the mechanical race.
The other nearly hundred races remained elusive, not even a shadow of their presence detected.
Soon, the two gradually approached the yellow pillar of light.
"This is..."
Scar Dog stared at the yellow pillar of light, now only ten meters away, slightly stunned. It was neither a trap nor a distress signal.
Instead, it was a fragment.
A puzzle-like fragment, radiating a faint yellow glow, formed a three-meter-tall pillar of light in the air.
"Is it an item?"
They had picked up items in the wilderness before. The wilderness was a place teeming with both opportunities and dangers, so finding items wasn't particularly unusual.
For example, an item might be swallowed by a mutated beast, then excreted somewhere because it couldn't be digested.
There were countless possibilities that made finding items by the roadside not particularly strange.
But this was the first time they had encountered an item with such special effects—a three-meter-tall yellow halo forming a pillar of light.
"It looks quite extraordinary."
Chen Jiang first retrieved his turret and placed it nearby, ensuring he remained within its firing range at all times. Then, armed with his hand cannon and a cautious expression, he slowly approached the yellow pillar of light.
Soon.
He stopped before the yellow pillar of light.
First, he used a stone to nudge the fragment slightly. As the fragment shifted, the yellow pillar of light above it remained stationary.
Seeing no immediate danger, Chen Jiang cautiously relaxed and slowly picked up the item to examine it.
As a yellow glow flashed, a panel popped up before him:
[Item Name: Armor-Piercing Bullet Fragment (1/5)]
[Item Tier: None]
[Item Description: Collect five Armor-Piercing Bullet Fragments to obtain an Armor-Piercing Bullet energy cartridge. This cartridge will imbue your firearm's bullets with powerful armor-piercing capabilities.]
[For detailed usage instructions, please watch the video.]
A semi-transparent panel materialized in mid-air, providing a detailed explanation of how to use the energy cartridge.
Despite being called an "energy cartridge," it was actually a chip no larger than a fingernail.
To use it, simply place the chip on top of your firearm's existing energy cartridge. It will automatically adhere, altering the bullets fired by the weapon. Removing it is equally simple: just pry it off.
(End of the Chapter)
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