GAMMT - Chapter 38
Chapter 38: Vengeance Achieved?
Fu Chuan took what she deserved and was able to take, then fled immediately, paying no mind to Ah Qi and Groundhog.
While on the run, she naturally wouldn't exit the dungeon. For one, there was still half an hour left; for another, this half-hour period was a sort of "unwritten rule."
Sometime after Fu Chuan had left, the crowd looked at the scattered corpses and carnage on the ground, and a belated realization dawned on them.
"Ah! Let's hurry and find the treasure chests!"
"Right, right!"
"I almost forgot. I was scared stiff."
"That was terrifying. She's clearly a blood-handed demon."
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing, I didn't say anything!"
"What's the rush? I just think you came up with a really good title for her."
Fu Chuan had no idea she had just earned a brutal and bloody title. She was already piloting her airship to find the Queen BOSS's lair. However, it wasn't the main nest, as Lin Qing and his group had surely plundered that one already. All the good stuff was in their legacy, which she had perfectly "inherited."
She was heading for the temporary lair the Queen had used to lie low and cause trouble. The fact that she could cultivate five elite mini-BOSSes in such a short time meant she must have used some special method or treasure. And going by the typical logic of dungeons, that treasure was definitely still inside the lair.
Fu Chuan's strategy today was a clean sweep, and its crisp, decisive execution was a testament to her thorough preparations.
She had stayed up all night releasing spider silk, scouting nearly half the farm. How else could she have confirmed the locations of those mini-BOSSes and Lin Qing's team?
But because her preliminary work had been so thorough, she hadn't found the Queen in the areas she had already scouted, which meant it had to be in another part of the farm. All she had to do was search the remaining areas.
It wasn't a major issue; she could handle it in a few minutes.
Meanwhile, the perceptive Ah Qi had grabbed Groundhog and immediately turned to search for treasure chests the moment Fu Chuan left, reacting faster than anyone else.
As it happened, they were searching the temporary lairs of those mini-BOSSes.
Ah Qi was quick-witted and soon led Groundhog to the first BOSS's lair. As they explored, Groundhog was still buzzing with excitement, chattering nonstop about their "Miss Captain."
"Hey, why do you think she didn't group up with us? Uh, I don't mean I wanted a share of the loot or anything. I just feel like we aren't weak, either. We could have at least killed a few people."
Ah Qi glanced at him. "She didn't group up with us because, deep down, she's still a good person."
"Huh?"
"Killing people like Lin Qing is no big deal. There are no repercussions, other than gaining a reputation that might become a burden later. But she killed members of the Xie Clan on their own turf in Jingyang, and most importantly, she crippled Xie Guangyu. That makes things troublesome. The Xie Clan won't let it go. If we had been in her party from the start, even if we didn't participate in killing the Xie Clan members, do you really think the Xie Clan would just ignore us? They would at least interrogate us about her identity, or worse, kill us to vent their anger and save face. That's why I say she's a good person—she thinks things through."
Groundhog finally understood, scratching his head. "When you put it like that, it makes sense. It's a shame. We're still not strong enough."
"Jingyang is just a small place in the end. As long as we survive, we'll get to see the wider world. Eventually, we'll become the 'wider world' in someone else's eyes. There's nothing more to say... Can you touch this spot for me?"
Groundhog was called over and, without thinking, reached out and touched it. He then looked at Ah Qi. "A pile of dung?"
Ah Qi: "Mm-hmm. You mentioned before that she was mean for making you touch this, so I wanted to see if you'd really fall for it. Turns out you would."
Groundhog's eyes widened in fury. He jumped up as if to strike her, but his paw had actually touched something inside.
It was a green-tier crimson gemstone.
"A healing gem that releases organic ions to rapidly close wounds? Nice find... Your paws are so fair. You should search the next cave, too."
Ah Qi feigned surprise, but Groundhog was enraged. "Don't even think about tricking me into touching dung again! You cunning human female!"
Ah Qi said, "There's only one, so how should we split it? Based on our overall scores, I believe mine is higher. Or do you want to fight me for it? Are you sure? We'll definitely have to find a second one to make it fair."
Groundhog: "..."
He was out of options. Huffing, he shook his head, his cowlick flopping about, and muttered curses about how both of the girls were so cunning and always tricked him.
"How is this tricking you? Besides, you were the one who wanted to team up with us two young ladies."
Groundhog froze.
Ah Qi smiled. "You've seen her face, right? She's quite pretty, isn't she?"
Groundhog scratched his head, looking away and trying to change the subject. When he couldn't evade it any longer, he mumbled, "I didn't see her whole face, just half of it. We were in the water, remember... What do you mean I deliberately teamed up with you two? I'm not a pervert!"
He was clearly hiding something and wanted to avoid the topic. He also seemed inexplicably dejected, suggesting there was a story there.
Ah Qi felt a pang of regret and decided to change the subject. "On another note, um, you just had dung on your hand, and you have a habit of scratching your head, which means..."
Groundhog: "?"
Seeing that Groundhog was about to fly into another rage, Ah Qi finally changed the subject for real. "But she might not be in any real danger. If the Xie Clan can't track her down, they actually have a much better target to vent their frustrations on."
Groundhog let out a sound of surprise. He wasn't that slow on the uptake and immediately understood.
"Ah, that's right!"
"The people from the Teng Family—she didn't kill a single one of them! She barely even hurt them."
What a... nice move.
The Teng Family wouldn't be able to talk their way out of this, even if they had a thousand mouths. Besides, the Xie Clan wouldn't care whether they were innocent or not. Why pass up a perfect excuse handed to them on a silver platter to deal with a rival family?
After all, two members of the Xie Clan were dead.
"But I don't understand why she didn't kill Xie Guangyu."
Fu Chuan found the lair. The moment she stepped inside, she sensed a strange power originating from her awakened insectoid gene talent.
Using this sense, Fu Chuan uncovered five Insect Marrow Crystals. It was a good haul, but she felt it didn't align with her earlier assessment of the Queen's capabilities.
Where could an even better treasure be hidden?
After another careful search, Fu Chuan suddenly... looked up.
As a human, she was accustomed to searching the ground, but she had nearly forgotten that locusts could fly.
Looking up, Fu Chuan used her spider silk to quickly probe the clumps of earth on the ceiling. Soon, with a crack, a chunk of earth broke loose, and an object fell from it. Her silk caught it and pulled it into her hand.
As Fu Chuan touched it, her heart surged for a moment.
It was a compass-like device, built with highly complex alchemical techniques. It looked mechanical yet retro, reminiscent of steam-era contraptions, with an ancient and intricate dial inside.
This item was a high-tier resource, the kind that even an average Arcanist at level 30 or 40 might never get their hands on.
"It's a Gene Evolution Equation, a product of the Gnome race! No wonder this Queen, who originally lacked a powerful swarm, was able to stage a comeback and even devour the Green-Brown Locust BOSS. Even though it's only a level-one equation and has lost a significant amount of energy, this is a true jackpot!"
It was true that Scorpion-Tail Locusts were a stronger species than Green-Brown Locusts, but this wasn't the former's territory; it was the latter's. The Queen's swarm must have been small initially, relying entirely on this later development to stage her comeback.
"A comeback like that relies on mutation. And this Gene Evolution Equation is a product of technology combined with alchemy from the Gnomes, the most advanced technological race. The Queen really lucked out."
"She must have found it after it was dropped somewhere," Fu Chuan mused, examining the Gene Evolution Equation.
"It uses a special, dedicated gene energy, and only half of it is left. The markings on it are insectoid totems, so it seems to have been developed specifically for insects. What incredible luck... for the Queen. But my luck is pretty good, too. This remaining energy should be enough for me, and as it happens, I've already awakened an insectoid gene talent."
If she hadn't awakened that talent, she wouldn't be able to use it and would have had to sell it. While it would certainly fetch a high price, it would still feel like a net loss. Even with a large sum of money, she would never be able to purchase a resource of equivalent value.
Fu Chuan was in a good mood, an exceptionally good mood. After all, despite the constant twists and dangers in this dungeon, the rewards had far exceeded her expectations.
All that remained was to head to the Arcane Palace and claim her dungeon rewards.
The Arcane Palace was a whole other system, a vast world in itself. In some games, this would be the point where you unlock a new world map and new locations... There, she would encounter more powerful Arcanists. Level 30s were common, though level 40s were likely rarer, as Jingyang wasn't known for its powerful Arcanists.
Lost in thought, Fu Chuan rushed back as quickly as she could.
Things weren't over yet. She still had to manage the aftermath. Once the dungeon ended and the sky barrier lifted, the relevant authorities, as well as people from the Xie Clan and Teng Family, would arrive.
"The Agriculture Department probably won't meddle too much, as long as the crops are fine. As for the Xie Clan... well, Xie Guangyu is still alive, isn't he?"
Fu Chuan had already calculated her moves and felt no panic. Although she had only met Xie An once, their few "clashes" had made her fully aware of the man's cold and calculating nature.
"Quick, quick, clean this up!"
"So many bodies. It's terrifying."
"What's so scary! Just clean it up! Where's the young master? Good heavens, did you all forget about the young master?!"
Just then, Ah Qi and the others returned. Hearing the tenant farmers finally remember their own boss amidst the chaos made them speechless.
Sure enough, despite paying them well, the man himself was deeply unpopular.
"Let's go up and check on him. We can't have him dying. I saw the wall get attacked earlier. Flames went inside, and he could have been injured by the intense heat." Ah Qi was incredibly sharp and had likely figured something out. She glanced at Xie Yong's corpse but said nothing more as she followed the guard captain and the others upstairs.
They knocked on the door several times, but there was no answer.
Everyone grew tense.
Groundhog whispered, "Dead? In that case..." This is great! he thought. Three dead and one crippled. Doesn't that mean Miss Captain has gotten her revenge?
BANG!!
The door was kicked open forcefully.
The room inside was a mess, and the temperature was still high, but there was no sign of anyone.
He was gone?
Ah Qi's heart leaped!! A thought began to form—if there was something wrong with this Xie Keli...
Just then, Groundhog casually kicked open the bathroom door. "Ah, here he is."
The bathroom was huge. After all, it was the farm owner's room, and there was no shortage of space, so it had been built to be spacious. Inside that spacious room, someone had dragged in a mattress, blankets, and a quilt and was fast asleep on top. It was probably the safest place, being soundproof and insulated from the heat. Beside him were drinks, fruit, bread, newspapers, novels, and a video player... which was currently playing some kind of indescribable adult film. A pile of used tissues lay nearby.
Ah Qi and the others took one look, then turned and walked out.
Groundhog spat on the floor in disgust.
They pulled the door shut.
The moment they were gone, Fu Chuan opened her eyes from under the blankets. She calmly rubbed the bridge of her nose and sat up, deciding to use the quiet moment to organize the loot she'd gotten from the BOSS. If time permitted, she would also use the level-one Gene Evolution Equation.
But what she didn't know was that outside the countdown timer's sky barrier, an airship was rapidly approaching.
If she had seen the airship's registration number, she would have immediately scrambled up and prepared to run for her life.
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