Chapter 375 - 243: Golden Stone Gang Realm 2

Chapter 375: Chapter 243: Golden Stone Gang Realm 2

"When resources are scarce, more and more people will take desperate measures. Add to that some high-level Martial Artists fanning the flames, and you have the root of all this chaos."

"But it’s unrealistic to expect the martial arts world to just stop developing!"

"Not unless we can completely conquer the borderlands, or find a way out!"

...

Taolang spoke, and Yu Fei listened.

To this day, Yu Fei’s understanding of the martial arts world’s entire ecosystem was still quite one-sided. However, by piecing together information from various sources, he had managed to deduce some of the fundamental causes.

First, there was the matter of the number of Martial Artists. Whether it was the top-tier Martial Saints or the second and third-realm practitioners who formed the foundation of the martial arts world, their numbers were constantly rising.

Second, the exploration of the borderlands had hit a standstill. A large number of borderlands with easily accessible resources were already controlled by various factions, such as the Golden Stone Gang Realm he was about to sneak into.

Beyond that were the open-type borderlands that were far more dangerous, similar to the Abyss. While the rewards were great, so were the risks.

The rest were basic resource-type borderlands, where one could only earn a small amount through hard labor.

But Martial Artists were accustomed to fighting and killing. With a sharp blade in hand, killing intent naturally arose. They instinctively sought out the fastest ways to make money, which only exacerbated the chaos.

Take Xu Wei, for example, the high-ranking Grandmaster who was recently captured by the Security Bureau. Why would a figure of his stature fall to the darkness? It was all because he wanted to control a mature illegal organization to rake in profits.

Yu Fei felt like the entire world was a powder keg with a steadily rising temperature, ready to explode at any moment.

"Senior, for now, all we can do is focus on ourselves. In the end, strength is what matters for a Martial Artist. We’ll have to see what the future holds!"

Taolang sighed softly. "You’re right. Let’s focus on cultivating for now. Only the strong get to make the rules. I wish you a safe journey!"

After bidding farewell to Taolang, Yu Fei found a nearby Martial Artist gathering place and bought a large quantity of potions, supplements, and high-energy food.

He took the opportunity to move everything into his personal dimensional space. The space, about ten feet in diameter, was the size of a room and could hold quite a lot.

Moreover, his [Lesser Spatial Affinity] talent was still green, meaning it had enormous potential for development.

At the very least, upgrading it to purple quality should be relatively easy.

’Among my talents, in the long run, the [Netherworld Servant] talent I got from the Abyss must be upgraded to gold quality, or at least until its subjugation characteristic disappears.’

Yu Fei had a premonition that this talent might be related to why the Cross-Border Black Fog, which humans were investigating on the side of the Yuanmo aliens, had disappeared. Perhaps it could unravel the mystery of the alien races.

’In the short term, I need to max out my [Lesser Spatial Affinity] as quickly as possible.’

This spatial talent was not only extremely practical but also enhanced Yu Fei’s comprehension of space, which would significantly strengthen his Illusory Sword Intent.

’I’ve stored up another use of my copy ability. I’ll see if I can use it in the Golden Stone Gang Realm. If a good opportunity doesn’t present itself, I’ll just wait for the semester to start and beat up some silver-ranked prodigy.’

With all preparations complete, Zhang Wenji personally brought him to the entrance of the Golden Stone Gang Realm two days later.

"Yu Fei, take this ID card. Your cover is Zhang Cheng, an equipment maintenance engineer from Kexin Company. The equipment at Kong’s Metallurgical Company’s No. 3 Branch Factory is broken, and you’re the repairman."

"Of course, you don’t have to do the actual repairs. The reason reported to the Bright Jade Alliance is that you’re entering to deliver testing equipment and participate in the subsequent repairs. Once you’re inside, just deliver the equipment, and you’ll have a week of free time."

"You must get out before the seven days are up."

Zhang Wenji explained everything in meticulous detail.

The Bright Jade Alliance controlled the immense profits of the Golden Stone Gang Realm and managed the entry and exit of personnel with extreme strictness, especially when it came to conducting rigorous inspections.

Furthermore, the entrance and exit of the borderland were constantly monitored by Grandmaster-realm Martial Artists to prevent any accidents.

But where there are policies, there are countermeasures. Yu Fei reviewed Zhang Wenji’s plan; it was practically foolproof.

His identity information was real and valid. As long as he wasn’t carrying any ore when he came out, he would be fine.

The entrance to the Golden Stone Gang Realm was located inside the belly of a giant mountain, which had been almost completely hollowed out.

After registering at the entrance, Yu Fei boarded a vehicle designated for internal transport and headed inside, passing through numerous security checks along the way.

Zhang Wenji had specially prepared a work uniform for him. Personnel were not allowed to wear any metal items. Each time the case with his testing equipment passed a security checkpoint, a new tag was affixed to it. The process was incredibly strict.

Even the longsword he carried as part of his cover was photographed and scanned from every angle.

It made Yu Fei feel very uncomfortable.

Twelve massive conveyor belts extended from within the mountain belly. Stacks of various supply crates were sorted and sent to different transport docks. Just by looking, Yu Fei could sense the immense profits involved.

After all, these crates were filled with all kinds of extraordinary metals. He estimated in his mind that the value of the goods moving through this place was likely in the hundreds of millions of merit points per minute.

Combined with the intelligence he had looked up later, the Bright Jade Alliance was incredibly powerful. It used this terrifying industrial capacity to support a number of Martial Saint experts and maintained good relations with various other powers.

Lost in thought, Yu Fei entered the mountain’s core and immediately saw the vast, deep black fog.

Compared to the Abyss, this black fog was smaller, about half the size, spanning less than two thousand meters.

The area in front of the black fog was divided into two sections. The right side, less than a hundred meters wide, was for personnel entry and exit. The rest was a logistics and transport area.

Countless burly men in yellow uniforms pulled special flatbed carts, moving supply crates like ants.

Yu Fei passed through the final three security checks, discovering that the management of both entry and exit was extremely strict. Any item being taken out, especially metal products, would be rigorously verified.

For an ordinary person, even if they managed to privately acquire extraordinary materials in the Golden Stone Gang Realm, getting them out would be a huge problem.

He silently observed the security personnel. The force was led by a Grandmaster and supported by five other Grandmasters, with numerous Gang Qi Martial Artists on patrol.

Nearing the last security checkpoint, Yu Fei was directed to counter 17. The inspector here was actually a Gang Qi Martial Artist.

He opened the case Yu Fei was carrying and inspected its contents carefully.

"...Standard model sonic detector. No problems here."

Then, he took the longsword Yu Fei handed him. He first injected it with Gang Qi, then placed it in a special device to be weighed and structurally scanned, confirming there were no hidden compartments or mechanisms before handing it back to Yu Fei.

Once everything was complete, Yu Fei stepped into the black fog. A familiar sensation washed over him as he lost all his senses. He walked forward numbly for a moment before light appeared ahead.

He had arrived in the Golden Stone Gang Realm.

It was dusk in this realm. The sky was a hazy gray, with a dim white sun hanging in the sky. The temperature was low.

The first thing he saw was a massive transit plaza. There were no obstacles for personnel entering, but the exit path had several inspection checkpoints.

This borderland gave Yu Fei a different feeling. The concentration of Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi was only slightly higher than on his home planet, but it was too stable, almost stagnant and lifeless.

The people living here were the same. Most of the people Yu Fei saw had exhausted, numb expressions in their eyes.

Following Zhang Wenji’s advice, he continued forward, rented a vehicle at the transport dispatch center, and headed for the location on his map.

Along the way, he recalled the basic intelligence Zhang Wenji had given him.

The Golden Stone Gang Realm was home to only two types of alien creatures: the Gang Tie Race and the Jade Spirit Race. Both alien species were very rare. They would appear randomly anywhere in this realm, with no discernible pattern.

Killing them would yield mid-to-high-grade refined metals or jade resources.

There wasn’t even much wind along the way. The land was dead silent, with no green vegetation in sight, like a no-man’s-land.

After driving for an hour, he reached his destination. He parked the vehicle, delivered the testing equipment, and then entered the wilderness alone with his map.