Chapter 63. Arrival at the Desolate City
Unsurprisingly, Peng Liang was caught and taken down without seeing anything.
A group of men didn't hesitate to sell their little brother out completely.
The journey that followed was arduous, involving treacherous mountains and rivers, and overcoming numerous obstacles. Apart from the perilous experience in the cave, the group of seventeen proceeded relatively smoothly throughout the journey and did not encounter any more hordes of demons.
The only minor flaw was that Lu Zhenghe left markers for Lu Nian every day. However, Mo Fan had the Silver Moon Wolf carry all those markers far away.
To put it bluntly, he can arrange for Lu Nian to come, but the timing of Lu Nian's meeting with them needs to be changed.
Mo Fan had no intention of using any demonic abilities here. To be honest, whether or not he should possess them was still under consideration. Therefore, he planned to get his hands on the Bloodstone first, while also giving Zhan Kong a chance to arrive.
With their current strength, they weren't going to be devoured by demons after just a few steps. After traveling for nearly ten days, the remote city of Jinlin finally came into view.
This was a mountain range, and the train tunnel still cut through it. This time, however, no one chose to walk through the dark tunnel; they preferred to climb directly through. Clearly, the previous cave slaves had left them with extremely bad memories.
Once you reach the top of the mountain, you'll immediately see a vast plain basin. To the west, the plains and low hills stretch as far as the eye can see, all of which can be taken in at a glance.
To the north, a river meanders past a city that is now in ruins and overgrown with weeds. The river flows into the distance and turns east, towards the mountain range from which the group has come.
"That's Jinlin City. It's only been fifteen years, how could it have changed like this?" Zheng Bingxiao looked at Jinlin City from afar, full of confusion.
"Where demons once dwell, this is bound to happen. The houses, streets, and roads are all completely destroyed. The plants, nourished by the demons' excrement, grow incredibly fast, and vines, moss, and grass cover everything," Jingjing said.
"Let's go, let's survey the area first and count how many demons are roaming around here," Song Xia said.
The group then headed towards the outskirts of Jinlin City.
They quickly arrived at the outskirts of Jinlin City, searched the area, and found only a few scattered small demons, but no large groups of them.
The exploration of the outer forest went very smoothly. A green mark on the map indicates that the outer forest is relatively unobstructed and that there are not many demons.
"Let's go straight in and finish this quickly so we can get back sooner. Staying out here for too long makes me feel uneasy," Luo Song said.
Luo Song has lost a lot of weight in the past ten days, and he simply doesn't want to suffer here any longer.
He knew that if he didn't complete the mission and return, he wouldn't receive more resource rewards; otherwise, he wouldn't be willing to endure this hardship.
In fact, the same is true for everyone else.
This was the first time they had ever experienced such hardship.
But this is a necessary lesson on the path of magic, and even though it is painful, one must continue on this path.
The seventeen people began to enter the deserted city. The roads that originally led directly into the city were filled with abandoned cars that had long been covered in verdigris. They blocked the outer ring road. It was easy to imagine that when they evacuated, these cars basically blocked the roads, most of them abandoned and fled.
Cars are actually quite impractical in the face of real disasters because they are too dependent on roads.
After passing through the outer ring road, streets and houses gradually appeared.
The street road was clearly cracked, with the cracks winding and spreading along the entire road. Weeds were also growing in the cracks, as if these weeds had a huge vitality and were breaking the road apart as they stretched out.
The houses were covered in dust, densely covered with ivy, and unidentified vines climbed up the floors, even reaching into the windows, which were probably filled with dilapidated and filthy conditions.
The trees on both sides had been neglected for a long time, their canopies blocking out the sun. At this moment, the seventeen students from Mingzhu Academy and Imperial Capital Academy walked on this dilapidated road that resembled both a lush forest and houses. Listening to the low roars that came from not far away, each of them had a somewhat solemn expression.
This former residential area was the first place to be surveyed after entering the city. Judging from all the signs, a large group of demons must have once lived here, because piles of dried excrement in the corners of some houses were everywhere, and the skeletons of some huge animals were also scattered all over the ground.
"I can't even imagine what happened here, such a beautiful city." Bai Tingting seemed rather sentimental, and said with a sigh.
When a city resembles the end of the world, when there isn't a single living person to be seen on the streets and alleys, the desolation of the entire city can send chills down one's spine, because this is a scene that people living in big cities would never normally see.
Desolate and barren—these words perfectly describe this city.
"We need to find a safe place to stay first," Shen Ming said with a smile.
This was indeed the first thing everyone should do, and they quickly selected a suitable building.
A gray building rose from the ground in this area, and it didn't look so dirty because of the rain.
Most importantly, this building, which stands in a deserted street, is relatively well preserved, and its sturdiness is naturally extraordinary, because not only is the building towering, but the entire base is also magnificent.
The group found the place to be quite nice and immediately set off. After passing through several residential areas, they finally approached the municipal building. The municipal building had a three-tiered structure. The first tier consisted of the entire municipal hall and other auxiliary floors, which were rectangular in shape and covered a very large area!
The second-level structure is a staggered cube-shaped floor built on top of the huge base, which looks very architecturally distinctive when compared with the rectangular base below.
The third level consists of the square high-rise buildings that rise atop this cube-shaped building. These were likely built for public institutions that are not fully open to the public. Their height makes them stand out among the surrounding residential buildings, streets, and urban areas.
Coincidentally, this area also falls within their survey area.
"I always felt that this city hall looked strange. Did you notice those plants? Instead of growing towards the sunlight, they all grew into the city hall. It's unbelievable," said Jingjing, a plant-based mage.
"It is a bit strange. It's best to be careful when you go in," Mo Fan said.
Since he was leading the team, it was impossible for him to return privately. Therefore, Mo Fan planned to go in with them this time. His purpose was simply to wait for the pseudo-demon to appear and be killed by the giant lizard pseudo-dragon, then directly obtain the seed that condensed after its death.