Chapter 108: Waking Up from a Hangover
By the time the sun was already high in the sky, Zhou Ming slowly woke up from his sleep.
“Lion King and the others really could drink.”
The headache that followed the hangover left Zhou Ming’s consciousness not fully clear, and he could only lie on the bed while rubbing his temples.
After the pain eased somewhat, he finally got up to wash up, cleaning the stench of alcohol from his body.
A moment later, having regained his spirits, Zhou Ming wore a bathrobe and flipped through his phone. On it were messages sent by Lion King and the others.
When they drank together last night, they had more or less experienced life and death together, so they exchanged contact information with one another.
The general content of the messages was that they had already returned to the bases where they lived, so there was no need for Zhou Ming to personally see them off.
After reading the messages sent by Lion King and the others, Zhou Ming did not plan to reply. After all, his phone could only be used within the Base.
If Lion King and the others took an airship to leave Qinshan Base, even if he replied, they would not be able to receive it.
After that, Zhou Ming focused his attention on the Spatial Ring in his hand.
“This adventure can be considered a success. I managed to obtain what I needed, but I don’t know whether it can help me complete my class advancement and finally break through to become a Professional Beast Tamer.”
Thinking of his own special situation, Zhou Ming was not confident that the Half-beastman class advancement would definitely suit him.
However, compared to before, he at least now had a set of Class Advancement Materials, which was still of some help to him.
After all, knowledge involving Professional Beast Tamers was already something ordinary Beast Tamers could not come into contact with.
Some Beast Tamers, in order to advance to Professional Beast Tamer, could only sell themselves to major powers, using their own lives in exchange for an opportunity to advance.
Casting aside the distracting thoughts in his mind, Zhou Ming did not plan to immediately look through the Half-beastman class advancement information. Instead, he got up and planned to head to the Hunter Guild.
Previously, when he and Lion King and the others fled from the Northern Wasteland, the group had joined forces on the way back to hunt Ferocious Beasts, making up for the losses from this trip to the Northern Wasteland.
After all, the gains from the ruins had been heavily squeezed by those major powers. They could not have made the trip for nothing.
This time, his trip to the Hunter Guild was to deal with the spoils in his hands, and at the same time inquire about the subsequent changes in the Northern Wasteland.
The appearance of a large Dimensional Rift, accompanied by two lord-level Ferocious Beasts, was enough to threaten the safety of Qinshan Base.
Although the destruction of medium-sized bases by beast tides rarely happened now, that did not mean it was impossible. Zhou Ming did not want to wait until the beast tide arrived before making preparations.
After changing his clothes and retrieving the Ironthread Snake group back into the Beast Space, he finally carried a backpack and headed for the Hunter Guild.
Although Zhou Ming now had a Spatial Ring, this kind of rare high-tier equipment was not something he wanted the outside world to easily know about.
With his background and strength, revealing a Spatial Ring would only be asking for trouble.
At the current market prices within the Alliance, a single piece of spatial equipment cost at least hundreds of millions of Alliance Coins, and even with money, it was difficult to find a purchasing channel.
A Spatial Ring like the one in Zhou Ming’s hand could no longer be bought with Alliance Coins. Only Source Crystals could be used to purchase it.
Source Crystals were companion minerals of Energy Crystals. Compared to Energy Crystals, whose properties were extremely violent and could only be used as an energy source, Source Crystals were exceptionally gentle.
Not only could they be used to feed Phantasmal Beasts to increase their strength, but Beast Tamers could also rely on Source Crystals to enhance their Spiritual Power.
In addition, some special equipment or secret techniques also required the use of Source Crystals.
This special material had already become an essential item for Beast Tamers above the professional rank to purchase resources.
Therefore, every discovery of an Energy Crystal mine would trigger bloody and violent struggles.
Major powers that could not control Energy Crystal mines were ultimately just fleeting phenomena, eventually disappearing amid the competition between all forces.
Half an hour later, the tram slowly arrived at the Hunter Guild. Before Zhou Ming even got off, he could already hear the noisy bustle coming from outside.
According to his plan, Zhou Ming went straight to the mission hall to submit various materials.
Within the Hunter Guild, various forces or corporate groups would long-term post missions to purchase all kinds of materials.
Although the purchase prices might be relatively low, there were additional hunter points, which was why he came directly to the Hunter Guild to deal with his spoils.
After all, Beast Taming knowledge could be exchanged through hunter points. Even some basic knowledge would be of help to him.
This time, after submitting the various Ferocious Beast materials, Zhou Ming obtained a total of 1.53 million Alliance Coins, as well as 153 points.
Compared to the first time he left Qinshan Base, his income this time could be described as pitifully small.
However, this situation was also normal. After all, he and Lion King and the others were worried about changes occurring in the Northern Wasteland, so they did not dare to stay too long in the wilderness.
Moreover, the reason he had so many gains the first time was also because he had picked up quite a few good things from other hunters.
After clearing out the spoils, Zhou Ming directly went to the hunter bar.
“Give me a glass of Ice and Fire Love. Also, do you have any news about the Northern Wasteland?”
Beside the bar counter, Zhou Ming ignored the noisy surroundings and placed one thousand Alliance Coins in front of the bartender.
Ice and Fire Love cost five hundred Alliance Coins. The remaining five hundred Alliance Coins were for information.
Behind the bar, the formally dressed bartender sized up Zhou Ming in front of him.
His clothing was simple and casual, but his tall, agile physique revealed a sharp and capable temperament.
There was an aura of having been in and out of the wilderness about him, a bloody scent that ordinary people would not have.
With just one glance, the bartender immediately identified Zhou Ming as a hunter, rather than an ordinary young man who had come out of curiosity.
Without much hesitation, the bartender directly accepted the one thousand Alliance Coins.
“Five days ago, various forces entered the ruins that appeared in the Northern Wasteland, competing over the Beast Tamer class advancement materials preserved in the ruins. In the end, they were obtained by an unknown force, which escaped the ruins through an underground dark river.”
As he mixed the drink, the bartender narrated the recent events in the Northern Wasteland.
Zhou Ming naturally knew all about this, but he did not interrupt the other party, acting as though he were a completely uninformed outsider.
As the bartender gave a brief and rapid introduction, Zhou Ming soon heard the intelligence he needed.
“After a lord-level Ferocious Beast, the Violet-Gold Berserk Ape, appeared from the Dimensional Rift near the ruins, Major General Xu Chunjun of the military did not withdraw. Instead, he led a thirty-man Griffin Knight squad and took the initiative to attack.”
“The outcome was that Major General Xu Chunjun was severely injured, and the Griffin Knight squad suffered over half casualties, but they successfully slew the Violet-Gold Berserk Ape and heavily injured the Azure Moon Wolf King, driving it back into the Dimensional Rift.”
“Based on the current situation, there should be a Legendary Beast King behind the Dimensional Rift.”
When he heard the news about a Legendary Beast King, Zhou Ming instantly felt tense.
However, thinking of the scale of the Dimensional Rift in the Northern Wasteland, he did not show excessive panic.
To cross between two different worlds, a large Dimensional Rift was still insufficient to support a Legendary Beast King arriving on Blue Star. Only a giant Dimensional Rift could support the descent of a Legendary Beast King.
“As for Major General Xu Chunjun’s contributions, there have recently been rumors within the Alliance that they are considering whether to grant Xu Chunjun the rank of General.”
Zhou Ming’s five hundred Alliance Coins ultimately bought information that could not be considered secret.
However, even if he wanted to pay more, the bartender in front of him would most likely not know any additional information. Zhou Ming could only take the Ice and Fire Love handed over by the other party.