CHAPTER 507: CHAPTER 374 ABYSS TAVERN (6,000-WORD CHAPTER)_3

"By the way, back then Xiao Ying was just a tiny little thing, but now she has grown into a Diamond Level leader." Li Zheng smiled.

Revisiting the old place gave him a different feeling, like returning to his alma mater as an adult. Scenes that were almost forgotten reappeared in his mind as if they had just happened not long ago.

Although it had been less than twenty days, Li Zheng, who had been exploring, running dungeons, and teleporting everywhere daily, felt like it had been half a year.

"Hmm, let’s stay here for the night."

Li Zheng took out the capsule residence, but in his mind, he was considering whether to try a few more random teleports. Maybe he could find the room where the Rock Ice Giant was originally.

If luck was on his side, he might get a chance to take down the Rock Ice Giant leader again and obtain a second Rock Ice Ruo Fire.

He wasn’t particularly interested in a Platinum Level ability, but putting it in the legion’s warehouse as a benefit for new players wasn’t a bad idea.

As he thought about it, a private message alert interrupted his thoughts.

"Lu Li? Why is he messaging me at this hour?" Li Zheng put away the capsule and casually opened the message.

"Special room, wanna come?"

The message was short and didn’t contain any strange words, indicating Lu Li was currently in a state of sanity.

"Coming!" Li Zheng replied.

He was a bit puzzled; how did Lu Li still have exploration attempts this late?

"I’ll pull you in, wait a bit."

After a moment, a Teleportation Gate opened before Li Zheng, and he called over the Red Polis and stepped through.

...

On the other side of the portal, Lu Li, carrying his large gun and looking pale, greeted Li Zheng: "You’re here, wait a bit; a few more people are coming."

Li Zheng frowned and approached him: "What’s with your injury?"

As he spoke, he discreetly attempted to communicate with Old Prel, trying to use the Prel’s Eye to understand the situation.

Old Prel, through the connection of his sub-body, quickly investigated and displayed how Lu Li got injured.

After Li Zheng read all the information, his expression became odd.

This guy actually dared to take on Xiao?

Is he tired of living?

That guy is ridiculously strong; I couldn’t even gain an advantage under his hand.

Wasn’t Xiao punched to channel 879 by me?

How did he end up back at 995?

"It’s nothing, just a relapse." Lu Li shook his head, seemingly reluctant to explain further.

"Got beaten by a player?" Li Zheng didn’t want to reveal his ability to monitor players with the Prel’s Eye, so he casually threw out a question.

"Not a player," Lu Li was about to speak when three people emerged from the teleportation gate behind him.

Ye Kai arrived, shouting: "Nephew, what were you thinking? That’s a Wandering Merchant, a special merchant in the Matrix. His strength is unfathomable, and you dared to shoot at him?"

Another familiar voice followed: "Exactly, exactly, you’re so reckless, do your family know?"

Li Zheng turned to see, and surprisingly, it was Wang Chaoran.

This time, his inseparable buddy didn’t come; the third player was a young man named Liu Jin.

"I guess his family probably doesn’t know." Li Zheng smiled and said to Wang Chaoran: "Long time no see, I’ve been busy entertaining Liu Qi and the others, and neglected you all."

"Big boss!"

Wang Chaoran was first surprised, then jumped for joy: "Are you leading the team again this time?"

"Well, kind of." Li Zheng nodded, checking their status.

Since last time Wang Chaoran earned his first bucket of gold with Li Zheng, he had developed quite well, unlocking two Platinum Level Genetic Abilities, with one Earth Element already at full level and one Gold Element currently at Lv5.

Both Genetic Abilities are self-enhancing types; the former increases strength, while the latter increases defense and attack power, complementing each other well.

Liu Jin came over to greet: "Hello, big boss, we’ve met before."

"I remember you." Li Zheng smiled and said: "Jungle Python Meat has a nice texture, very tasty."

"That’s because of your cooking skills, big boss." Liu Jin shyly scratched the back of his head.

"The ingredients are also crucial." Li Zheng said: "Oh, I remember you have a blueprint for a Blood and Qi Suppression Device. I’ll have Li Chun design a logo for you later, and you make some for me. Tell me how many materials you used, and I’ll reimburse you."

The Blood and Qi Suppression Device, also known as a badge, mainly functions to suppress the Blood Qi that players generate from being marked as ’red’.

Due to its unique nature, players have developed additional uses for it, using it as a symbol of identity.

When Li Zheng founded the Starting Point Legion, he thought about having Liu Jin make some uniform style ones for all legion members to equip.

It turned out to be convenient to meet him here today, saving Li Zheng the trouble of messaging him later.

"It’s an honor to help out the big boss!" Liu Jin said excitedly, patting his chest.

"I’ll leave it to you then." Li Zheng nodded, then turned to ask Ye Kai: "You mentioned Lu Li tangled with a special merchant?"

"Indeed!" Ye Kai, sitting inside the mecha, gave a thumbs-up: "Daring to challenge a special merchant, your kid is the first I’ve ever seen."

Haha, the first? Not necessarily...

Li Zheng recalled his first encounter with a certain octopus, his mouth twitching twice as he pointed at Lu Li and scolded: "What were you thinking? Huh? Xiao’s abilities are unfathomable, even I almost fell into his hands, and you’re a long-range squishy. You’re lucky he didn’t kill you."