Chapter One Hundred and Six: Seeking Help Once More

Though the man had been found, there was still a mountain of things to handle afterward.

This matter implicated far too many connections; it would not be easy to scrub clean in a hurry.

Who the buyer was, whether there had been other illicit dealings with the Cave Shop—

Of course, those were matters for the Garrison Army. What Liu Yiran and the others had to deal with was the pressure the Cave Shop would bring down on them.

One of Octopus’s clones had died. It was neither a minor matter nor a disastrous one.

After all, a manager of the Cave Shop had been killed by a squad leader from the Explorers. If handled badly, it could provoke a full-scale retaliation from the Cave Shop. By then, the Explorers would become the next Garrison Army.

The Explorer Division in District L.

Like the Garrison Army branch, it occupied an entire building above a great cavern.

Captain He Zhengyang’s office in the Ninth Battalion.

Battalion Commander He Zhengyang lowered his head and read through the report in his hands.

Liu Yiran sat across from him, while Fang Tang and Su Mang stood behind him.

“The course of events is exactly as I reported. I’m worried that that miserly Octopus will use this incident against us. If that happens, I’m afraid the entire Explorer organization will be affected.”

Liu Yiran voiced his concerns.

He Zhengyang finished reading the report, his brow deeply furrowed.

“This is indeed difficult. You made a rash move, and it caused quite a stir.”

Liu Yiran rubbed the bridge of his nose and smiled. “If things had already blown up that badly and Octopus still refused to release them, then if Fang Tang hadn’t been so quick-witted, I’m afraid both of my team members would have been sent to some big shot’s hands and reduced to playthings.”

He Zhengyang nodded. “Over the years, the problems at the Cave Shop have only grown worse. But we can’t get involved in those matters; we can only stand by and watch…”

With that, He Zhengyang sighed, pressed his fingers to his brow, then looked up at Fang Tang. “You’re Fang Tang?”

“Yes, sir.” Fang Tang nodded.

He Zhengyang smiled faintly. “Good. Keep up the good work. My Explorers will never let any team member down. You don’t need to worry about this matter anymore.”

“Thank you, Captain!” Fang Tang said gratefully, grinning.

Seeing that someone was taking the matter off his hands, and that he could come away with an easy result, was nothing but good news.

“As for the fee for the two people you introduced, go collect it from the finance office later.” He Zhengyang mentioned it briefly, then steered the topic back on course. “The report says you saw photos of people imprisoned in the Cave Shop?”

“I did.” Fang Tang’s expression turned serious. “But in Octopus’s eyes, those people were only ordinary resources, available only to those holding membership cards. People like Liu Xu and Xie Ling were all high-grade resources in Octopus’s eyes, so even a membership card wouldn’t let you see them.”

“Then how did Liu Xu and Xie Ling end up in the ordinary resources section?” He Zhengyang asked in confusion.

Fang Tang glanced at Liu Yiran, swallowed, and said, “Sequence 111: Lucky Roulette.”

“Oh? These two newcomers actually have such a high sequence?” He Zhengyang’s expression brightened with surprise. He clapped his hands and laughed, then turned to look at Liu Yiran.

“How come you didn’t mention such a high-level sequence talent in your report?”

Liu Yiran smiled slightly. “It was to protect the team members. Written information can easily leak; spoken words are more direct.”

“Mm.” He Zhengyang nodded, accepting Liu Yiran’s explanation. “You handled this very well. Go ahead and head out.”

“Then we’ll take our leave first.”

Liu Yiran stood up and led Fang Tang and Su Mang away.

“I’ll take you to finance.”

Liu Yiran smiled at Fang Tang and turned to head down the stairs.

With the captain’s help, Fang Tang received his referral fee, and he also obtained compensation for the losses at the Cave Shop.

Only then did Fang Tang finally realize how generous the Explorers were.

The referral fee for two people came to fifty Cave Coins, which was equivalent to fifty elemental stones.

The little savings he had before were nothing compared to the Explorers.

He had already discussed it with Liu Xu and Xie Ling earlier: the referral fee would be split fifty-fifty. In other words, with nothing more than a few words, he had made twenty-five elemental stones for free.

Not a bad deal at all!

“So that’s the end of it?” Su Mang asked, still a little dazed after leaving the Explorers.

For someone like her, the Cave Shop was a monstrous behemoth.

“It was never something we could interfere with in the first place. That kind of thing belongs to the gods. Even the battalion commander would only be cannon fodder at that level. But the Explorers are different from the Garrison Army—we protect our own. So don’t worry.”

“Mm-hmm!” Su Mang nodded.

Fang Tang chuckled. “Should we go to the Gate of Evolution, or head back?”

Liu Yiran shook his head. “Let’s go back first. Come to the Cradle World again in three days. Next time, we’ll enter the moderately distorted rule zone again.”

...

No. 210 Cavern.

A shaft of white light fell through the ceiling and startled Yueyue inside the room.

The little thing caught Fang Tang’s scent and immediately grew excited.

As the teleportation light faded, Fang Tang only saw a flash of white before a sudden weight settled into his arms, and a wet tongue began licking his face.

“You’re getting heavier and heavier, little one!”

Holding Yueyue, Fang Tang lifted it to feel its weight and laughed heartily.

“Woo~”

Yueyue pouted and rested its head on Fang Tang’s shoulder in grievance.

Its dad had been gone for most of the day; left alone at home, it had missed him terribly.

Sensing that Yueyue was in a bad mood, Fang Tang set it down and stroked its soft fur. “Next time I’ll take you out with me. These next couple of days, you need to eat more and grow up fast!”

As a cavern creature, Yueyue grew extremely quickly.

It had been less than half a month, and the little one was already as big as an adult husky.

Who knew how large it would become once fully grown?

“Awooo!”

Yueyue let out a long howl and brightened up again.

After playing with Yueyue for a while, Fang Tang washed up, lay back on the sofa, and idly fiddled with his phone.

There was one thing bad about the cavern world: there was no entertainment.

Even with a phone, there were no short-video apps, no place to read novels, not even the most basic diversion. Aside from chatting and trading, there was nothing to do, and after too long it became rather dull.

He found Ye Qing’s private chat and sent her a message, urging her to return the spirit-bonded item to him.

Ye Qing didn’t seem to be doing anything; she never replied to his messages. After waiting and waiting, Fang Tang simply gave up on her and began exploring the caverns.

By now, the caverns were like his own backyard—there was no challenge left in them at all.

He even approached the digging with the same mindset as opening treasure chests, and he specifically told his eyes not to give him any hints. He wanted to try exploring like an ordinary person.

The result was exactly what one would expect: a miserable performance.

Out of ten caverns, Fang Tang found only one elemental stone and one gold treasure chest.

And this despite the fact that, at this stage, cavern resources had already reached the platinum tier.

“Pathetic. This job still has to rely on my eyes.”

Fang Tang clicked his tongue. Only at that moment did he finally understand just how much convenience came with his eyes.

With their guidance, Fang Tang’s harvest returned to its usual level.

It took him a total of two hours before he used up the last of his pickaxe’s durability.

Just as he stopped to rest, his phone vibrated.

Seeing the message, Fang Tang immediately laughed.

It was from Ye Qing, but not from her own account.

“I am Ye Qing. Please save me!”