Jiang Yuxi came to her senses and immediately handed Zhou Ran the 300,000 yuan, excitedly taking the three Shangqing Dan pills.
'Alright, thank you for your business. We hope to see you again.' Zhou Ran finally smiled, his pearly white teeth shining brightly.
Li Feng immediately ran over and whispered in Jiang Yuxi's ear, 'I get three too, ha ha!'
"Stop fooling around, we have important business to attend to." Jiang Yuxi calmed down and said.
Watching the two whispering, Zhou Ran asked, "Do you two have any other business? If not, feel free to leave."
Jiang Yuxi put away the Shangqing Dan and looked at Zhou Ran with a fervent gaze, saying, "Sir, are you interested in treasure hunting?"
'Treasure hunting?'
Zhou Ran was taken aback.
Through his understanding over the past period, he had already fully grasped the nature of this world.
On this Blue Sea Star, there are 56 regions suitable for human habitation. However, these regions occasionally experience spatial anomalies resembling temporal rifts, from which large numbers of wild beasts emerge to attack humans.
The Blue Sea Star government immediately dispatched troops to suppress them, but the locations and times of these rifts were completely random, so each city had no choice but to form its own army to resist the rift beasts.
However, humans are curious. Even after the beasts were repelled, the rifts still existed!
Driven by curiosity, the military entered the temporal rifts in search of 'treasures,' but everything within the rifts was shrouded in mystery. Out of ten military units that entered, only one or two returned, and those who did often returned with abundant loot, including powerful materials, treasures, and even extinct beasts.
However, the casualties were simply too high. Therefore, the government funded the assembly of a group of explorers with formidable strength, forming a treasure-hunting team.
An extremely dangerous department, but one with equally immense rewards—not only possessing vast financial resources but also authority equivalent to that of the military.
For ordinary people without connections, joining the military was too difficult, but the treasure-hunting team was different. As long as you had the strength and hadn't committed any crimes, you could join—it was the best way for ordinary people to gain status and wealth.
'That's right, boss. With your strength, running a shop is a waste of your talent. Why not join the treasure-hunting team? You can demand any待遇 you want, and I guarantee you'll earn a hundred times the money.' Li Feng hurriedly said.
Zhou Ran snapped back to reality. Earn a hundred times the money? What good is that if it can't be converted into points? He replied indifferently, 'Sorry, I'm not interested.'
The two were stunned.
They didn't expect Zhou Ran to refuse so decisively.
Isn't it said that he loves money the most?
Jiang Yuxi calmed down and continued, 'Given the recent anomalies on Holy Emperor Mountain, I think a temporal rift will appear soon. Boss, are you really not interested?'
'No interest means no interest.' Zhou Ran waved his hands, beginning to dismiss them.
'Are you kidding? Sitting in the shop making money every day isn't comfortable? Why would I want to go to that place? I've just arrived here and haven't had a chance to show my skills yet. I don't want to die.'
'If we find good treasures during this treasure hunt, we can let you choose first!' Jiang Yuxi clenched her teeth and said.
'Didn't you hear what I said? No! Interest!' Zhou Ran shouted.
Jiang Yuxi looked at Li Feng with a bitter expression and shook her head, clearly helpless.
'Ding!'
"Activate side quest: fully participate in this temporal rift treasure hunt!"
"Reward upon completion: 2,000 points!"
"If you abandon the quest midway, 2,000 points will be deducted!"
The system's voice suddenly echoed in Zhou Ran's mind.
Zhou Ran was stunned.
Another quest?
Both times, it was because of these two that the system's quest was activated. What a karmic connection!
'This is so dangerous. I don't want to die,' Zhou Ran thought to himself.
The system said emotionlessly, 'If you want to become the strongest beast tamer, how can you be afraid? Please complete the quest as soon as possible, host.'
"...
Zhou Ran was speechless. It made sense, and he couldn't refute it...
After much internal struggle, Zhou Ran clenched his fist and said, 'Wait, you said that if we find a powerful treasure, I can choose it first?'
Jiang Yuxi's originally dejected eyes suddenly lit up, and she said excitedly, 'Yes, as long as the boss is willing to participate in this treasure hunt, everything is negotiable!'
'Give me a definite answer!' Zhou Ran's expression darkened.
'No problem, the boss can definitely choose first, but only one item. After all, it's not easy for us either.' Jiang Yuxi said solemnly.
'Alright!' Zhou Ran clenched his teeth and agreed immediately.
The two were overjoyed. They never expected Zhou Ran to agree. With such a person of 'powerful background' joining them, this time would definitely be foolproof.
"What kind of anomaly has occurred on Holy Emperor Mountain?" Zhou Ran suddenly asked.
Jiang Yuxi was startled and hurriedly explained, "Starting three days ago, the beasts on Holy Emperor Mountain began to exhibit strange, uncontrollable behaviour, all converging towards one location, as if earnestly awaiting something."
"According to our speculation, it should be a temporal rift approaching, and it must be extremely powerful, otherwise so many beasts wouldn't be behaving abnormally. The last time this happened was three years ago, when an expedition team encountered an extremely powerful ninth-tier beast, resulting in countless casualties."
'Ninth-tier?'
Zhou Ran furrowed his brows and thought, 'Damn it, these are such dangerous tasks. I wonder if we'll even make it back alive.'
'System, you must protect me at this critical moment...'
The system remained silent, as if it had vanished.
'How many people are in your team, and what are their abilities?' Zhou Ran asked.
Jiang Yuxi said, 'Our team has five members. The captain is a seven-star beast tamer, the deputy captain is a six-star beast tamer, and the rest are five-star. We belong to the Outer City Treasure Hunting Team of the Xuan Zhong Treasure Hunting Organisation. Our strength is considered above average.'
'This is considered above average? The highest-ranked member in the entire team is only seven-star.' Zhou Ran sighed helplessly.
This is way too weak. How can they even think about entering the temporal fissure, especially one where ninth-rank exotic beasts might appear? This is just dragging me to my death...
Jiang Yuxi and Li Feng felt a bit awkward, after all, this was just an outer city treasure-hunting team. You know, a seven-star beast tamer can 'call the shots' in the outer city!
"Sir, please rest assured. We're just an outer city treasure hunting team, responsible for the outer perimeter of this rift. The main tasks are handled by the elite treasure hunting teams from the inner city." Jiang Yuxi feared Zhou Ran would refuse and hurriedly added.
Zhou Ran didn't pay much attention to their words. Who was responsible for the outer perimeter? Once a ninth-rank exotic beasts appeared, they'd all be doomed. To survive, he had to prepare for the worst!
If we can't defeat it, we'll flee immediately! Who cares about losing points? Survival is the most important thing!
The system flickered in Zhou Ran's mind before settling back into calm.
"When exactly will the spatial fissure open?" Zhou Ran asked.
"Based on our current observations, it's likely to open tonight, which is why we're so urgent," Jiang Yuxi hurriedly replied.
Wow, it's coming so soon. We need to prepare immediately, Zhou Ran couldn't help but frown.
'Alright, I understand. I need to prepare now. You two go ahead.' Zhou Ran said.
'Alright, we won't disturb you then. We'll come to pick you up at 8 PM tonight.' Jiang Yuxi and Li Feng bowed to Zhou Ran and left.