Chapter 205 - 181: Familiar
Unless it’s a coincidence, it’s unlikely for two places to have the same name.
Li Tieshan might have come from the same place as this Home.
Qin Ziwu remarked with a sigh, "Doesn’t that mean we’re standing on the remains of a Home that once existed?"
He felt a sense of wistfulness. It was a difficult feeling to describe, a sense of temporal displacement.
After learning this place had once been a Home, everyone’s interest was piqued, and they enthusiastically began a thorough search.
Unfortunately, perhaps because too much time had passed, almost everything left here was beyond salvaging.
Even the areas that were once recognizable as Card-based buildings had long fallen into ruin.
Perhaps the death of the Lord of the Homeland had caused these buildings to lose their magical properties, leaving them to weather and decay over time.
While the others searched, Qin Ziwen sent the Beaked Eagle back to bring Li Tieshan.
The small city wasn’t large, and half of it was still buried beneath the sand.
The group searched the entire city but found nothing of value.
Afterward, they dragged the Desert Raptor’s corpse to the edge of the sand dunes.
They found a narrow alleyway between two buildings.
They placed it inside to act as bait.
Then they set up two Car-Mounted Crossbows nearby, aiming them at the Desert Raptor’s corpse.
All they had to do was wait for their prey to appear and then fire the Crossbow Arrows.
After a good while, the sand dune churned, and a Desert Giant Worm slowly poked its head out.
The exposed upper half of its body swayed in the air as if trying to pinpoint the source of the bloody scent.
Finally, it confirmed the location.
It slowly slithered forward...
"THWACK!"
"THWACK!"
One from the left and one from the right, two heavy bolts struck both sides of its head at nearly the same instant.
Having dissected one before, both Cao Biansheng and Qin Ziwu knew the location of the Desert Giant Worm’s vital organs.
Upon being hit, the Desert Giant Worm’s body trembled.
It shuddered violently.
It contracted its body, trying to retreat into the sand.
But the terrain prevented it from turning around. Its thick head slammed into the adjacent wall with a loud CRASH.
Sand and dust flew everywhere.
"Fire!"
Another two heavy bolts were fired.
The Desert Giant Worm’s body was struck.
Its movements grew increasingly frantic until, in a final, convulsive burst of energy, its body gave a violent shudder.
It went taut, then suddenly collapsed.
"THUMP~"
Its massive body crashed to the ground.
Qin Ziwen raised a hand, gesturing for them to stop.
He watched the fallen Desert Giant Worm in silence.
’This thing... is still playing dead.’
It hadn’t dropped any Cards, which meant it wasn’t completely dead yet.
But he wasn’t in a hurry. If it wanted to play dead, he would let it continue.
Because Qin Ziwu and Cao Biansheng had also finished preparing—they had reloaded their crossbows with new arrows.
Shooting at a stationary target, their accuracy would be much higher.
The two of them took a moment to aim before firing two more bolts.
In an instant, a brilliant white light erupted from the Desert Giant Worm’s body.
This Desert Giant Worm took a full six giant crossbow bolts before dying. It was truly a Legendary Resilience King.
It dropped three Cards. Qin Ziwen took two and gave the third to Cao Biansheng.
"Oh, for me?" Cao Biansheng asked, surprised.
"Yes. Your performance has been excellent lately," Qin Ziwen said plainly. "Just take it."
"Alright." Seeing this, Cao Biansheng didn’t argue.
The other two Cards Qin Ziwen kept were an [Enhancement Card] Animal Constitution Enhancement Card (One Star) and a [Building Card] Level 1 Farmland.
He planned to use the Animal Enhancement Card on Red Hare.
The stronger the horse, the faster it could run.
It didn’t matter if they couldn’t win a fight, as long as they could outrun their enemies.
"SCREECH~"
The Beaked Eagle flew back.
Red Hare approached, carrying Li Tieshan on its back.
As they drew near, Red Hare snorted, and Li Tieshan quickly dismounted.
He cupped his fist in his palm. "My lord!"
But even as he greeted him, Li Tieshan’s gaze kept drifting to his surroundings, a dazed look in his eyes.
"Follow me." Qin Ziwen led Li Tieshan deeper into the ruins.
When they reached the stone stele, Qin Ziwen pointed at it.
"Do you recognize the characters on this? This place used to be the Yangzhou Iron Workshop. It’s the same place as your old home."
Li Tieshan squinted, studying it intently. After a long moment, he shook his head. "My lord, I can’t remember, but this place does feel familiar. It’s as if I came here a long time ago."
After a pause, Li Tieshan looked toward a specific area. "I don’t know why the Iron Workshop is here," he said. "I only have memories of being in Yangzhou City. I think my home was over there."
Li Tieshan pointed to the east, toward an area buried by sand dunes.
He found it both a pity and strange. How could the home from his memories be here?
While Li Tieshan was still confused, a possibility occurred to Qin Ziwen.
’I always thought Recruitment Cards summoned people like Du Yu and Liu San, but now it seems that’s not the whole story. Perhaps you all have another layer to your identities.’
It was a bold speculation, however.
Qin Ziwen couldn’t be sure, not without more corroborating evidence.
But even if his theory was correct, those who were recruited and revived had permanently lost the ability to use Cards. They could never become a Lord of the Homeland.
The group returned to the Gated Community. Shortly after their arrival, Luo Gang sent a messenger with good news and bad news.
The good news was that they had found a target suitable for Du Yu to hunt.
The bad news was that this target was a bit over the top.
"We’ve discovered traces of a Tyrannosaur. It must have migrated from the north. It’s currently on a killing spree in the eastern canyon, and all the larger beasts have fallen victim to it. It’s massive—even longer than a Desert Giant Worm. It’s pure muscle, completely different from the lean, dog-like build of a Raptor."
Luo Gang gave a friendly warning: "You should stay away from the eastern canyon for the time being. This Tyrannosaur is probably heading for the Oasis further on. Since there’s no water here, it should leave soon."
Qin Ziwen wondered, ’Could the Car-Mounted Crossbows kill a Tyrannosaur?’
’There should be a chance.’
’But a Tyrannosaur is different from a Desert Giant Worm. It’s faster, it can charge quickly, and for a creature that large to run at high speed, its muscles must be incredibly tough.’
’To kill it, we’d need at least six Car-Mounted Crossbows firing a coordinated volley to even have a chance.’
"You’re not actually thinking about how to take it on, are you?" Luo Gang asked, noticing Qin Ziwen’s pensive look.
"You don’t?" Qin Ziwen countered.
"Killing it would complete a Level 2 Task instantly. Who wouldn’t want that?" Luo Gang chuckled. "But now isn’t the time. We need more Car-Mounted Crossbows."
Qin Ziwen nodded. "I’ll make sure to speed up production. By the way, we’ve already killed two Desert Giant Worms. We only need one more to complete the Level 2 Celestial List task. If you get any leads, please let me know as soon as possible."
Luo Gang marveled at Qin Ziwen’s efficiency. It had only been two days, and a Level 2 Task was already nearly complete.
"Alright. I’ll assign more men to look for signs of the worms."
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