Chapter 2023 - 2016: I Need Muscle

What Zhang Menglong did not expect was that Ming Yang did not want his reward. He told Zhang Menglong that he only needed 10 Supreme Crystals, and that soon he might leave this world with Meng Qi.

The difficulty of Ming Yang’s mission was not high, requiring only 10 Supreme Crystals, but his character setting was terrible, and his power was restricted by the rules. Therefore, over the years, he hadn’t even obtained a single Supreme Crystal. Now that Zhang Menglong had completed the mission for him, he no longer needed more Supreme Crystals.

Perhaps after he leaves, there will be another Meng Qi and another Ming Yang to take their places. This is the endless cycle of this world.

With these items in hand, Zhang Menglong could at least infiltrate the Ice Demon Race and appear in the guise of a royal. At that time, as long as he directed and performed a play, entering the core circle should not be too big of an issue.

Zhang Menglong spent a night creating a Genetic Potion for the royal family of the Ice Demon Race. With his current ability and level of technology, this was already a very easy task.

Although it had no effect on his appearance and aura, as long as he wanted, Zhang Menglong could exhibit the characteristics of the Ice Demon Race in an instant. Even if the ancestors of the Ice Demon Race appeared, they wouldn’t recognize him.

That night, Gou Dan also entered the entire map’s information into his database. The span from the Great City of Aiville to the Ice King City of the Ice Demon Race wasn’t very large, with about 30 other races in between.

Along this route, Gou Dan found a total of 1297 Warcraft species belonging to the Insect Clan, among which 570 had large nests similar to the Demon Ant Nest, with about 97 of those.

If Zhang Menglong could mobilize all these Insect Clan Warcraft, even without using other methods, it would be enough to give them a tough time.

The only issue left was how to deal with the Ice Wing Dragon Bat. Zhang Menglong believed the Super Divine Cannon he purchased could inflict some damage on the Ice Wing Dragon Bat, but it might not necessarily help him make a graceful escape after acquiring the Ice Demon Flower.

Thus, he needed more assistance. Only a Guardian Beast can defeat another Guardian Beast!

Zhang Menglong looked up at the sky where only the tail of the Azure Dragon was visible, half-hidden in the clouds. Just now, Ming Yang mentioned that the City Lord of each Giant City could, to a certain extent, command the Ground Guardian Beast. Thus, he must start with the City Lord of the Great City of Aiville to solve this issue!

But how could he meet this City Lord?

Lumors and Baidao had their own plans; they intended to purchase some supplies needed for the survival base. Zhang Menglong planned to first stroll around the City Lord’s Mansion to try his luck.

However, he didn’t expect that upon arriving at the hall, the lobby manager stopped him right away.

"Sir, please wait."

"What’s the matter?" Zhang Menglong looked at the lobby manager. Generally speaking, these rule-based characters rarely interacted proactively with adventurers like them beyond doing their duties obediently.

"The thing is, our boss would like to meet with you."

"Your boss?" Zhang Menglong remembered that Lumors mentioned that the owner of the Aiville Hotel was indeed the City Lord of this city. He was just racking his brain on how to meet the City Lord, and now someone came offering a pillow when he’s drowsy!

"I was just thinking of meeting your boss. Why not right now?" Zhang Menglong had many things to attend to, so he had to resolve them quickly.

"The car is already waiting for you outside!"

Zhang Menglong walked outside, and sure enough, a car was already waiting for him. The car’s appearance was even cooler than the one he used for yesterday’s outing, likely a vehicle the City Lord used to invite guests or for personal outings.

Soon, they arrived at the City Lord’s residence, which was almost like an estate, guarded everywhere by powerful Martial Artists. Some were rule-based characters, while others were adventurers working part-time.

"Are you Mr. Zhang Menglong? Our City Lord is already waiting for you in the garden." A receptionist walked respectfully to Zhang Menglong and bowed, "Please follow me."

Zhang Menglong followed the receptionist into the City Lord’s Mansion, winding through several turns until they reached a garden. In the middle of the garden, atop a tastefully equipped pavilion, a burly man was seated there, with a table of fine food and drinks.

"City Lord, Mr. Zhang is here."

The burly man stood up. When he saw Zhang Menglong, it was as if his eyes lit up with a spark.

"Honorable City Lord, I’m Zhang Menglong. May I ask why you’ve invited me today?"

"Let’s not talk about that first," the City Lord warmly invited Zhang Menglong to sit down, "Little brother Menglong, let me introduce myself; I am Po Jun, the City Lord of the Great City of Aiville, and I’ve served for over 2000 years."

This term ’little brother’ used by Po Jun gave Zhang Menglong a sense of humor—it felt as though he had somewhat overstepped his bounds.

However, Zhang Menglong could tell that Po Jun obviously had some request, otherwise, as the City Lord of the Great City of Aiville, he wouldn’t have treated him with such enthusiasm.

"City Lord, just tell me what you need; this is making me a bit nervous."

"Hahaha," Po Jun laughed heartily, "Actually, it’s nothing major. Little brother Menglong has taken up permanent residence in my Aiville Hotel, a first in history! So, I had someone look into this quietly, and it turns out, little brother Menglong is quite wealthy."

"Did you have me investigated?" Zhang Menglong felt somewhat displeased.

"Please, don’t be upset," Po Jun quickly said. "As the City Lord of the Great City of Aiville, I must pay attention to every detail within the city; it’s my duty to be aware of special circumstances."

"True enough," Zhang Menglong thought that if he were a City Lord and such a wealthy person appeared in the city, he would certainly stay vigilant as well.

"Here’s the thing, little brother Menglong," Po Jun’s tone suddenly turned serious, "I heard that you are planning to carry out a mission to the Ice Demon Race to seize their Ice Demon Flower?"

Zhang Menglong silently cursed Ming Yang a hundred times; it must have been him who told Po Jun about this.

Nonetheless, Zhang Menglong nodded. There was nothing much to conceal here.

"You know, between humans and the Ice Demon Race lies a bitter conflict, one might even say it’s irreconcilable," Po Jun said. "Even though there is a disparity between us and the Ice Demon Race, our Guardian Beast, the Azure Dragon, was once equally matched with the Ice Wing Dragon Bat!"

"Then why can’t it win now?" Zhang Menglong asked bluntly.

"Firstly, our human race hasn’t expanded, whereas the Ice Demon Race has been rapidly growing. Secondly, during a battle with the Ice Demon Race, the Azure Dragon lost a very important item, severely diminishing its strength."

"Are you telling me this item is also with the Ice Demon Race?" Zhang Menglong rolled his eyes.

"That’s right," Po Jun said. "The item is called the Wind Thunder Pearl. If there’s any chance for you to find this item, I hope you can help retrieve it."

"Alright," Zhang Menglong nodded, "but I need muscle!"