This was the first time Bai Zemin had encountered a mineral that was not naturally native to Earth... Well, at least it was not naturally native before mana changed everything. After all, it was undeniable that this forging material had appeared in his world.
As Bai Zemin rotated the metal fragment that looked like an oversized tennis ball and observed it carefully. He could feel the flashes of electric energy that constantly flickered on the surface of the metal travel through his hand. He could feel even how the electrical property of the metal in his hands came into mild conflict with the electricity naturally generated by his own body.
"It feels like someone is trying to tickle me." Bai Zemin pointed out as he casually threw the metal ball into the crater where it had been before.
Bang!
A small cloud of dust rose up, and seeing this, Bai Zemin sighed.
Because the leather bag he had tied around his waist was a leather bag made from the hide of a normal pre-apocalypse animal that he casually took from a store, it was naturally impossible for something of such quality to hold not only the weight of all the metal called Lapiodite but it also had to be tough and good enough to withstand the endless amount of electric energy that constantly flickered on the metal.
"But I wonder why this thing was here?" Bai Zemin put a hand to his chin and rubbed gently as he thought aloud, "Was this what attracted those Second Order beasts?"
"No, it wasn't the metal itself." Lilith next to him shook her head and replied, "These types of ores that grow underground have a high probability of causing a normal plant to mutate thanks to the electric energy it contains, turning the plant into an electric-type plant that when consumed grants the consumer some resistance to lightning-type elemental attacks."
Bai Zemin looked at her and was speechless. His heart began to bleed when he realized that he himself ended up completely crushing such a good natural treasure!
"Just give up, what's done is done and can't be undone." Lilith shrugged and then pointed out, "As long as you come across an elemental mutated plant that grants some resistance against some element, remember that it is very possible that underneath or nearby there is a metal or some other valuable gem."
"There's no point in lamenting over spilled milk." He exhaled the heavy air in his lungs and lightened his mood.
While he did end up losing a valuable natural treasure, at least he ended up learning something valuable in return. Besides, it wasn't as if he didn't get anything either since he at least obtained quite a few Lapiodite fragments; this alone was good enough.
Aside from this, Bai Zemin knew that it was not good to be greedy since that greed could be one of the reasons for his downfall someday. If he hadn't launched Crimson Blood Judgment he definitely wouldn't have been able to fight against those Second Order beasts. Bai Zemin was not arrogant enough to think that at his previous level he would have the strength to fight three Second Order beings face to face.
It could be said that the lightning elemental plant was sacrificed in exchange for some Second Order materials, a poison-type Second Order Soul Stone, various treasures, a huge amount of Soul Power, and more. No matter how one looked at it the gains outweighed the loss countless times.
Since he did not have the strength to obtain everything without losing anything along the way, then he naturally had to be willing to suffer certain losses. It was just a matter of trying to lose as little as possible and the less important what was left behind, the better.
After clearing his mood, Bai Zemin began to search the surroundings carefully.
He basically left no hole unexplored and no healthy rock unturned. He searched through the broken branches and shattered tree fragments carefully in search of some treasure left behind by the Second Order mutated spider and after about ten minutes he finally managed to find something.
It was a skill scroll.
[Suffocating Toxin (First Order active skill) Level 3: Needs to consume 20 Mana points to activate. The user must have a Magic stat higher than 60 points to use. When activating this skill, the user releases a toxin that is colorless and odorless to most humans. After being affected by the toxin, those involved will fall unconscious and lose the ability to move for 2 hours. The power of the effect depends on the difference in the Magic stat of the user and the enemy. It has a cooldown of 8 hours.]
This skill is good to capture enemies alive. Bai Zemin silently reasoned and without saying a single word put the greenish scroll away in his bag.
He didn't even need to think about it a second time. The owner of this skill was sealed in stone from the moment it appeared.
Boom!
Just as Bai Zemin finished storing the skill scroll in his bag, a distant explosion broke out amidst the loud noise of the storm that was lashing probably the entire district and maybe even all of Beijing reached his ears.
His face changed immediately and without hesitation, he dashed towards the source of the sound.
Straight to the left of the forest!
His body turned into a shadow and taking advantage of the light of a momentary flash of lightning, Bai Zemin activated Shadow Blink and blinked right into the shadow of a huge shattered tree 50 meters ahead. Then, he continued running at full speed.
Swoosh!
Lilith's body swooshed gently and in the next instant, she seemed to have melted into thin air as there was no trace of her anywhere.
* * *
About two or three kilometers away from where Bai Zemin was conducting his search, Shangguan Bing Xue was also doing exactly the same.
As she held her Frozen Winter Sword with her right hand firmly gripping the hilt while cautiously and carefully looking at her surroundings, Shangguan Bing Xue sighed in her heart.
Her armor was soaked, the light clothing she wore below it had also gotten wet as raindrops seeped through tiny slits around her neck and the joints of her limbs, her hair was soaked and when a strong breeze of icy wind hit it would be stuck to her face making her very uncomfortable, etc.
Water had even slipped inside her combat boots.
"I really should have stayed in bed instead of coming to this dark forest packed with monsters and disgusting insects." She mumbled to herself as she used her blue eyes to scan the surroundings for any treasure orbs, skill scrolls, or antique sheepskin scrolls.
However, even though she knew that right now she might as well be enjoying a queen-sized bed with silk sheets and luxurious comfort inside a safe and warm mansion instead of being in this situation, she was actually aware deep in her heart that if time were to turn back and she was given the option to choose an option knowing where her decision would lead, Shangguan Bing Xue would undoubtedly choose to come back here.
Because regardless of how cold her body was, regardless of how cold the frozen drops of water that fell relentlessly on her head felt and regardless of how dangerous the area she found herself in amidst seemingly endless darkness, this night was one that she valued now and would probably value greatly for the rest of her life.
Her pink lips slightly pale from the cold curved upward slightly as her mind drifted to everything that had happened in her life in the short span of three or four hours.
"Friends, uh..." She muttered as if satisfied with something.
To many, a friend might not be a big deal.
For many it was just a matter of going out to the corner, striking up a friendly conversation with a stranger, and maybe that very day they could have a new friendship.
However, for Shangguan Bing Xue friendship was a very difficult concept to obtain.
Over the years, the word 'friendship' had gradually lost its value and friends were no longer as valuable as they once were.
How many of those who claimed to be our friends were really our friends? How many of them would really be willing to risk their lives for us? And what about you? Would you be willing to risk your own safety for those you assume are your friends? These were questions Shangguan Bing Xue always asked herself when it came to making a friendship; because she was willing to risk her life for those who managed to find a place in her frozen heart in the coldness of the world in which she grew up.
Today, in the middle of a cold and stormy night, she made a friend.
Her third real friend. Number 3 in almost 24 years of life... For many this might be an extremely small number, but for her, it was an extremely important number.
Shangguan Bing Xue had a few other people who were somehow close to her, such as Gao Min, Li Na, etc. However, considering someone an acquaintance was completely different from considering them a friend... And she was completely sure that those three friends of hers would definitely be willing to risk their lives for her safety.
She might have only three friends, but those three were priceless and countless times more valuable than those who had dozens of friends but in reality were all fake. At least, this was the way Shangguan Bing Xue liked to think.
A month ago we were like a pair of dogs and cats who barely got along for the sake of coexistence. Who would have thought... Shangguan Bing Xue chuckled at such thoughts.
However, after a deeper thought, she felt that it was actually not so weird for her and him to get close so quickly and strike up a very good friendly relationship in such a short time.
Remembering the cold and indifferent look Bai Zemin gave her the first time the two of them exchanged glances, only now she realized that somehow the two of them were so much alike that it was natural to end up getting closer automatically.
That cold and indifferent look that seemed to contain no emotions, in reality, hid a deep hurt and distrust; distrust that had been born as a consequence of being betrayed by the one they least expected and when they least expected it.
Moreover, Bai Zemin never looked at her with lust, desire, affection, love, or any similar emotion. In fact, the only thing he had focused on from the beginning was to become more powerful as quickly as possible while carrying the lives of thousands on his shoulders as he slowly but surely forged a safe path south to search for his family.
The number of zombies and beasts that had been slaughtered in order to open that path easily reached over ten million at present. This was a number that even the current Bai Zemin could not face on his own as he would sooner or later die of exhaustion... And this was just the number in a straight line to the south.
One could imagine how large was the actual number of zombies they had killed so far.
But it was precisely this dedication to his cherished ones and those he loved that also gradually attracted the attention of a cold woman like Shangguan Bing Xue. Because at the end of the day, she too was more than willing to do everything possible to find her mother, dead or alive.
In the end, Shangguan Bing Xue watched Bai Zemin in silence for a long time until a day ago she finally decided to put a test on him to see if he was really the man she believed him to be or just a fake like many she had met in her life.
Luckily and to her delight, Bai Zemin turned out to be the kind of man she really expected him to be, and he did not disappoint her. On the contrary, he turned out to be even more excellent than she estimated.
While Shangguan Bing Xue was thinking that Wu Yijun really found a good man, she suddenly felt a chillingly powerful aura hovering over her.
Her delicate body froze for a moment and her grip on her Frozen Winter Sword tightened unconsciously only to relax in the next second.
"Bai Zemin, apparently, fate wishes for this to be my battle after all..." Shangguan Bing Xue whispered amidst a loud thunder as she thought about the reason why Bai Zemin sent her away from the right side of the forest's depths.
She narrowed her eyes and her expression turned completely cold as her two eyes glittered like two precious sapphires in the midst of the darkness.
Just a couple of hundred meters ahead, where some trees were still standing, a giant figure slowly approached with heavy steps.
* * * * * * *
Thanks a lot to all those who use their Golden Tickets to vote for BW <3