Chapter 18

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Lu Jin’s hair stood on end as he looked at that distorted face. His back was drenched in cold sweat.

Although he knew that those monsters would test him relentlessly, he did not expect that other than pretending to be him, it would even pretend to be Chen Kemeng…

“Found it! Found it! Finally… found it!”

“You are mine! You will definitely be… mine…”

That distorted face was filled with indescribable excitement. It looked at Lu Jin with more excitement than a hungry wolf would look at a delicious piece of meat. It was so happy that even its words started to become twisted and manic.

Amidst that madness, flames suddenly appeared and they burnt the disguise of Chen Kemeng.

However, the burning flames did not cause any pain to the disguise of Chen Kemeng. It laughed maniacally instead.

Before it was burnt out, it had continuously stared at Lu Jin, as if it was telling him that they would meet soon…

“D*mn it!”

Lu Jin saw that the Shadowraze had completely vanished and felt an unprecedented pressure.

At that point, Lu Jin could already imagine what would happen to him if he were to leave that place. He would probably end up like the younger Lu Jin, or even worse…

“CEO Lu, are you feeling unwell? You don’t look very well.” Chen Kemeng looked at Lu Jin, who suddenly seemed upset, and couldn’t resist but ask curiously.

After everyone came to the Sacred Grounds, all of them felt refreshed, as if their entire bodies had come alive.

However, Lu Jin did not seem to have come alive at all. He actually looked half-dead.

Lu Jin could only smile wryly when he heard that. He envied people who couldn’t see Shadowrazes.

“Miss Chen, how many years can I stay here?” Lu Jin asked.

Chen Kemeng almost lost her balance when she heard his words.

Years?

Even as the successor of the Group, she did not dare to think that way.

“CEO Lu, don’t joke with me.” Chen Kemeng took a glance at Lu Jin and explained seriously, “It’s true that the effect of the Sacred Grounds is great, but the number of people that it can accommodate every day is very limited. Each day it can only accommodate five people, and each person can only stay for a day. If there were more people, the effectiveness would be significantly reduced. Therefore, even the higher-ups of the Group can only come once every two to three months. By coming here this time, you actually used up the quota that I had saved previously.”

“Can’t I stay here permanently?” Lu Jin could not help asking.

“Permanent residence?” Chen Kemeng looked at Lu Jin in astonishment. She did not understand how much Lu Jin liked that dark and damp place. She then shook her head and said, “That’s impossible. The Group will never allow it. If you’re worried that the effects here won’t be retained after you leave, you don’t have to. As long as you stay in the Sacred Grounds for a few hours, you can usually retain it for up to a month.”

“A month?” Lu Jin couldn’t help but frown.

He could tell that his body was constantly absorbing the light when he was in the pulses of light. His spirit was getting better and the effect did not disappear immediately after leaving the pulses of light.

However, he did not think that that light would be able to stop those crazy Shadowrazes for a month.

Chen Kemeng looked at Lu Jin, who was frowning, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly. “If CEO Lu really wants to retain this kind of spirit, there’s actually another way.”

“What way?” Lu Jin was curious.

“We plant many fruits in the Sacred Grounds all year around. These fruits are affected by the Sacred Grounds, so after eating them, a person can retain their good spirit for five to six hours. The effect is not very different from coming to the Sacred Grounds.” Chen Kemeng smiled slightly and said, “Regarding these fruits, our Group usually doesn’t sell them because the supply within the Group is already insufficient. CEO Lu is an exception, of course. If CEO Lu is interested, I can sell some to you.”

Lu Jin instantly understood what was going on and could not help but marvel at Chen Kemeng’s tactics.

It was really one after another.

That thing about selling his materials to come to the Sacred Grounds for free…

That was just a trap that Chen Kemeng had set up for the real deal.

After all, after experiencing the benefits of the Sacred Grounds, even ordinary people would find it extremely difficult to reject such a proposal, let alone those big shots who wanted to rapidly increase their AR level.

It was just that Chen Kemeng did not know the real purpose of the Sacred Grounds and the Sacred Fruits for him.

“How do you plan to sell them, Miss Chen?” Lu Jin asked calmly.

Other than that d*mned Shadowraze, everything else was actually part of Lu Jin’s plan, which Chen Kemeng did not know about. After all, he had displayed the means to generate a Regional Boss.

With such means, any ambitious person would probably not miss such an opportunity.

“Let’s work together.” Chen Kemeng smiled at Lu Jin. “I can provide you with the monsters. Then, you can turn them into Bosses. We’ll defeat them and split the items left behind by the Boss equally. I’ll use the fruits from the Sacred Grounds to pay for my half. How about 100 units of memory fragments for one fruit?”

“Miss Chen, your suggestion is not bad, but I refuse.” Lu Jin shook his head.

“You refuse? Why?” Chen Kemeng was puzzled. “Are you not satisfied with my suggestion?”

Her suggestion was already quite generous. She offered to provide monsters, defeat the monsters, and then pay for her half of the items with fruits from the Sacred Grounds. It was impossible to find someone offering the same in the entire City of Light.

“No! It’s not that I’m not satisfied.” Lu Jin looked around at the Sacred Grounds and said slowly, “It’s just that I have a better suggestion.”

“A better suggestion?” Chen Kemeng smiled. “Then, please tell me, CEO Lu.”

“Hasn’t your Sun and Moon Group always wanted to explore that mine 60 kilometers to the south?” Lu Jin looked at Chen Kemeng with a faint smile. “I can help you to raid the Regional Dungeons there!”

“You can really do it?” Chen Kemeng said in disbelief. “Although it’s just a Level 14 normal Regional Dungeon, there are more than 10 Regional Bosses inside. Moreover, there’s a Regional Overlord guarding it. Only 50 combatants are allowed, and the level limit is 14. Even if we gather all the Magical equipment in the City of Light, it might not be enough, let alone our Group.”

In the City of Light, there was no group that did not want the mine that was 60 kilometers to the south.

Right now, the entire City of Light was lacking in resources, especially metal resources. Whether it was for the production of AR equipment or simulation equipment, a large amount of metal ores was needed. That was especially true for the Grade ‘C’ simulation equipment that had already been constructed in theory.

That thing required a large amount of silver ore.

In a world where there was no mist, it was not too easy to obtain silver ores. However, now that all kinds of resources were almost used up, silver ores were extremely scarce.

According to the information left behind, silver ores could be obtained from the mine in the south.

When those silver ores have been obtained, not only would they be able to create Grade ‘C’ simulation equipment, but they would also be able to trade resources with other cities. After all, Grade ‘C’ simulation equipment was rarely seen in the surrounding cities.

It’s just that none of the hunting teams had succeeded in raiding. If they could unlock the upper limit of their individual domain level, they would be able to conquer and easily guard a large number of miners.

“I can!” Lu Jin was very certain. “But I have one condition!”