First Visit to the Outpost

Chapter 151 First Visit to the Outpost

"Explain yourself clearly. What do you mean by our area becoming a dead zone?" He Feng asked, puzzled.

"Why would anyone come to this dead zone? We're here to trade. If you don't want to make money, just say so."

"Wait, Crona, it's me." The Starfish, following closely behind the Azure, rushed over, and Langming called out from a distance at the edge of the ship.

"Langming, you're back. You're back so early today?" Upon seeing a familiar face, the fear on Crona's face vanished instantly.

"Hmm, I've hooked up with a big brother." The Starfish slowly approached the shore, and Langming seized the opportunity to land smoothly from the deck.

"This guy, the great guy from the Azure, brother, let me tell you, if it weren't for this lord named He Feng who spared my Starfish's life, I wouldn't have the chance to chat with you today."

Krona looked at He Feng, and a strange expression gradually appeared on his face. He quickly pulled Lang Ming aside and whispered something to him.

"You mean this person is related to you? Listen to me, I feel like this guy is a bit crazy. He actually said he came from the Dead Zone Sands."

"What kind of place is the Sandy Sea? There's a giant Buddha statue down there! Besides collecting some monster resources, who would go there?"

"I know it's a good thing to have a good Tier 2 fortress as your leader, but you can't just ignore your master. Stay away from him, listen to me! I'll have someone transfer him away later."

Upon hearing this, Lang Ming looked at He Feng, who was standing high up, with a look of disbelief. Although his brows furrowed slightly, he quickly regained his composure.

He laughed it off.

"Hey bro, let me tell you, he just upgraded to the second-tier fortress. He's been picking up trash on the edge of the sea before, and he's never seen the world before. He thinks he's someone from there."

Lang Ming patted his chest and said confidently, "Don't you trust my character? I guarantee this guy is absolutely fine. Just listen to me."

"really?"

"really!"

Krona glanced helplessly at Langming and let out a soft sigh.

"Alright, I'll handle this officially. If there's anything wrong with this person, get far away from him immediately. A newly upgraded Tier 2 alien fortress won't last long here."

After speaking, Crona gazed meaningfully at the sky, then softly murmured with a hint of sadness.

"That thing in the Sunken Sands area, huh, it's better to die there and never come out again."

During Langming's negotiations, the information for the Azure was naturally registered.

Because it was a VIP lane, the process was very quick.

"Listen up, everyone. On the tenth day of berthing at this dock, the amount of soil will be fixed at 1 pound. After that, it will be 1.5 pounds. Be careful to manage your time."

After giving his instructions, Crona walked along the pier to the other newly moored fortress.

"My lord, you may come down now!" Langming waved from below, flattering him.

A long spiral staircase extended from the massive ship's hull, and He Feng descended it step by step, his gaze fixed on the strange staff member.

Lang Ming noticed this and cleverly explained it to He Feng.

"That's a friend I met here. We pulled him out of the sea. He's a really nice guy."

"What is this dead zone you're talking about? I've never heard of it." He Feng scratched his chin, completely puzzled by the other person's reaction.

"Sir, you don't actually come from that Sunken Sand Sea, do you?" Lang Ming asked in a low voice, leaning closer to He Feng.

"That's the truth, and I have no objection to it. I admit it."

"It's a miracle you survived!" Lang Ming's voice suddenly rose. "As far as I know, almost no one who went into that area ever came back."

With a mysterious air, Langming continued to move his face closer, pointing towards Crona, who was still unhurriedly at work.

"At the time, he and his sister were with the whaling team from Golden Outpost, heading closer to the sandy sea area. He was the only one who came back later, and I caught him."

"So from now on, never tell anyone where you're from. Don't reveal yourselves or act impulsively. My Starfish ship still needs you guys to live a life of luxury!"

The story sounds bizarre, but judging from the reactions of others, it is undeniably true.

He Feng nodded, agreeing with Lang Ming's suggestion.

"From now on, just say that you're like us, living off the resources on the edge of the Black Abyss Sea."

"Well, with your guarantee, it shouldn't be a problem. Let's go buy some resources first, we won't be staying here for long."

He Feng gazed into the distance and offered his own insights.

Even including the crew of the Seastar, the total manpower available for the Azure is still very limited.

It's not that there aren't enough people, but that there's too much cargo. Just the meat that was killed from that starfire horned whale alone would require dozens of people to move. There are tens of tons of whale meat. You can move it without making a sound.

Not to mention the bulk commodities, food raw materials, and even steel and energy needed for the fortress; before the goods even reached the fortress, the people were already exhausted and collapsed.

There are many different kinds of laborers at the dock, but the porters are different; most of them have very strong arm muscles.

This shows that the physical changes aren't necessarily a bad thing; being able to do more work is definitely an advantage.

"Do you want to live?" He Feng asked a group of shirtless dockworkers sitting on shipping containers.

The leader glanced at He Feng, noticing that He Feng's clothes weren't particularly expensive, and his tone wasn't very polite.

"Selecting goods, connecting with merchants, and getting a good price are all important."

"All 200 or so porters need to have arms like this." He Feng stared intently at the man's extremely taut muscles, examining him with curiosity.

As he listened, the foreman suddenly gave a contemptuous laugh.

"We're all top-tier workers. Each button weighs 100 ounces. Can you really afford that?"

"The more the better, I'm just worried you don't have enough people." After He Feng finished speaking, he raised his head and let Old Dog walk to the front.

Originally, there were occasional jeers and snickers among the workers, but once the tall and burly old dog showed up, no one dared to make a sound anymore.

"I'm counting on you. I'll rent a shop later, and you can have these people move their stuff there. Just keep an eye on those with dirty hands."

"Yes, my lord," the old dog replied crisply, the silent tremor of his muscles giving him his assurance.

After saying goodbye to Lao Gou and the others, He Feng saw no need to linger on such matters.

I've heard Langming say that outposts usually have clubs for fortress lords.

The reason is nothing more than whether it's for better communication or to keep a close watch on these restless elements; no one can say for sure.

Even so, it was quite remarkable that these old-fashioned outpost managers would even leave them a designated area.

After passing through the bustling market with its throngs of people, the two arrived at a rather unique square building, guided by Langming.

The dry tree stands at the end of the street, isolated from the world.

It looks like two Rubik's Cubes stacked together, misaligned top and bottom, and you can tell without anyone telling you that it's roughly divided into two layers.

Langming is a long-time member here, which fits the tradition of senior members introducing new members.

Upon entering, Lang Ming grabbed He Feng's shoulder and headed straight for the front desk.

"Administrator, please register my friend's information."

Beside the front desk, a woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses leaned her face against the wall, listlessly flipping through some rumors and gossip that had accumulated here, trying to glean some useful information from this idle chatter.

"No time." The female administrator glanced at the name tag hanging on Lang Ming's chest. The lowest-level bronze name tag came into view, revealing half of the white of his eye.

Her disdain was undisguised on her face, and she didn't even want to say a word.

Clearly, a weak fortress like the Starfish is not favored by the Fortress Club.

"What if I had some cutting-edge intelligence?" Lang Ming continued, a hint of sharpness in his eyes.

"Is this all you Tier 1 Fortresses can bring to the club? Otherwise, who would bother with you? Why did you bring another Tier 1 Fortress buddy to register?"

The female administrator said irritably, finally getting off the bar stool and walking to the front desk seat.

"To reiterate, the authenticity of the information is guaranteed by the person in charge, and the more valuable the content, the higher your reward will be."

The female administrator looked distressed, her right hand resting on her chin as she listlessly raised her pen.

"Speak."

"You know the Rockburst, right?"

"Yeah, I know. They're also one of our members. They went to hunt a BOSS not long ago. Quite a few people are interested in them."

They're all dead.

"I remember, they are all—all dead—dead!?" The female administrator's pupils suddenly dilated, and she exclaimed in astonishment.

"There are physical evidences available for comparison."

He Feng pulled a classic-style pistol from his waist pouch and slammed it onto the table.

He pulled a black and white photograph from the file folder below and placed it on the table.

The female administrator carefully examined the pistol, barely daring to breathe, her gaze fixed intently on it for comparison.

"It's absolutely true, this—it really is Lord Li Yan's sidearm from the Burst Rock. How did you get it?"

Lang Ming leaned his shoulder against He Feng with a smug look on his face and glanced at He Feng.

"I did it. It's just that the fortresses led by the Rockbreaker started fighting each other. In the end, only the Rockbreaker was left. My fortress had no choice but to fight back against the Rockbreaker in order to protect itself."

"Okay, okay, I got it." Listening to He Feng's barely perceptible explanation of the "facts" that kept them out of the fray, the female administrator couldn't help but gape.

Keep in mind that it was a fleet consisting of nearly a dozen Tier 2 fortresses; the complete annihilation of such a fleet would be an incredibly alarming prospect.

Regardless of whether He Feng and the others are telling the truth or not, as long as this "Mourner" weapon is available, anything, whether fake or unreal, can become real.

And perhaps this is true.

Although we don't know what happened in between, this major news is still unknown to anyone.

All intelligence is like a freshly baked cake; it will become stale and sour if left out for a day or two.

"Sir, this is your lord's certificate."

The female administrator, unlike her previous sharp and sarcastic manner, respectfully took out a document from under the desk, along with a silver name tag.

"A silver name tag, isn't that something only high-level members get? You're really something, sir."

Langming chuckled and flattered, pointing to the bronze badge on his chest, "The club collects information that lords share or want to trade. Bronze is the starting point, while silver and gold require providing substantial information."

"Although it's true that you don't have to do anything to get a silver badge quickly in a Tier 2 fortress, this is the first time I've ever seen someone get a silver badge right from the start."

"Those of us with bronze name tags can only stay on the first floor. Since you have a silver name tag, you can go upstairs and take a look. The information shared there is quite valuable."

After saying that, Lang Ming waved his hand, put on a smiling face, and hurriedly walked towards his cronies who had been waiting for him in the distance.

"They really don't treat themselves like outsiders," He Feng thought to himself.

After taking the things handed to him by the administrator, He Feng still glanced briefly at the scene on the first floor.

A group of large men huddled together, shouting incoherently, holding either bottles of liquor or playing cards, and started yelling at each other in the club.

The word "joy" perfectly encapsulates a clean and pure state.

At this moment, He Feng felt some sympathy for the female administrator who was usually tormented.

Feeling he couldn't bear to look for even a second, He Feng climbed the stairs and went up to the second floor without looking back.

There weren't many people on the second floor, but one could feel a tranquility that hadn't been tainted by vulgarity.

Basically, it involves two or three people finding a table, sitting together to exchange information about other sea areas, or recruiting fortresses for missions.

With just one glance, He Feng recognized the reliability of this place.

"Dude, new here?"

A man who was very outgoing opened his arms and walked straight toward He Feng, who was standing still.

Just as she was about to put her arm around He Feng's shoulder to get closer to him, He Feng dodged her with lightning speed.

"Well, this one seems to be a smart person, Tianxing. I say you should change your outdated methods."

A scantily clad, leather-clad, edgy punk woman burst into laughter.

She wore a pair of tightly closed, spiked boots, which were complemented by extremely short shorts with very little fabric, creating an absolute territory between her thighs and pant legs.

The character in the video wears a punk-style crop top and a distinctive jacket, but is actually quite pretty. She sits on a chair, tilting her head and shouting.

Tianxing, who almost made intimate contact with the ground, barely managed to steady himself. After stumbling a few steps, he finally stood up and immediately became angry.

"Rui Lan, you're sabotaging me again!"

"So what if you are? All you do is play tricks, you coward who doesn't know how to find land!"

"Dare to say another word!"

"I told you so what if I'm a coward?" Rui Lan, who had her legs crossed, stood up from her seat as if she had rebounded, and looked up at him mockingly.

This is ridiculous.

He Feng was caught between the two men with a rather helpless feeling. Taking advantage of the moment when the two men were about to attack, he quietly slipped past them.

"I'm telling you two, don't go too far. Do you have to use all these tricks to find someone to team up with? Why don't you just ask directly?"

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