Chapter 48: What It Feels Like to Have Gotten into a Brawl Alongside Miss Qiu

Inside a semi-subterranean cave formed by geological shifts, the wasteland five-man squad had just finished exploring the cavern after completing their self-introductions.

They found practically nothing of any use.

Lu Wenwu felt that his treatment was hardly that of a transmigration protagonist.

Other people's transmigrators, even if they lacked a system or a cheat, would explore ancient ruins or millennial tombs where the furnishings and treasures were practically brand-new, just like items sold by female owners after minor use!

How come things here were not only pungent and choking, but caved in at many places?

In a climate this bizarre, riddled with pollution and radiation, nothing good could last long.

The interior of the cave was filled with massive amounts of rust and debris, making it impossible to tell what things originally were.

This debris was mixed with chunk-like objects resembling human skeletons, piled high upon the ground.

As a result, Master Ruhou's chanting of "Amitabha" and the *Sutra of Rebirth* had not stopped the entire way.

Their meager harvest was a sealed atlas wrapped in layers of protection.

Most of the handwriting on it had already blurred, but the geographical locations could still barely be distinguished through color blocks and lines.

It was at least a tiny bit of psychological comfort.

"Let's go. Let's check out the closest location first. Hopefully, after all these years, that shelter is still there."

As Lu Wenwu spoke, he exerted force with his legs, kicking the heavy alloy door along with a vast amount of gravel flying far away, carving out a path to the outside world.

He stepped out first, feeling the breath of the wasteland for the first time.

The temperature was far from warm, and the air was foul.

Coupled with mild dizziness, nausea, and a stinging sensation on his skin.

His health bar continued to drop slightly, but was instantly healed back by Lu Wenwu's [Flesh Regeneration] talent.

It only showed signs resembling slight bleeding.

Circulating his vital energy slightly to isolate himself, all the discomfort instantly vanished.

"Circulate your energy to protect your bodies. The radiation outside is quite heavy," Lu Wenwu reminded them.

Elder Ruhou thought for a moment, chanted a Buddhist verse, took a radiation detector from his backpack, and walked out holding it high.

"Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep..."

The harsh warning sound never stopped.

Anthony, who followed behind, showed a look of astonishment: "Goodness gracious! 9,999 Roentgens? Exactly how many nuclear bombs carpet-bombed this place?"

"9,999 is probably an understatement," said the Northeastern fox lady, whose appearance was concealed by an illusion, wearing a solemn expression. "This is the limit of the radiation detector, but clearly not the limit of the nuclear radiation here."

"A little over a hundred years ago, when that island nation next door came to harass and plunder our coastlines, didn't we teach them a severe lesson that almost wiped out their nation?"

"Our four major fox clans also dispatched elite members there to have a cordial and friendly exchange with the shrine foxes of that side, capturing some vassal tribes."

"Later, after Miss Qiu gave them a warm kiss, when my elders and I toured the radiation zone to finish off survivors, the radiation levels were only a few hundredths of what they are now."

"I was only selected as a player in recent years. When I went back then, my cultivation was at most just reaching Tier C."

Anthony pondered for a moment and said cautiously, "Calculated this way, the radiation dose in this place must be at least twenty to thirty thousand Roentgens? This has reached the environmental radiation level after that accident involving the Northern Polar Bear back then."

"If the creatures in this dungeon can withstand this level of radiation for decades... No, even if they survive for just a dozen years without dying, we must act with absolute caution. Their physiques must have undergone ultra-massive mutations."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt deeply in agreement.

Except for Lu Wenwu.

He was very excited right now, harboring a faint sense of anticipation.

If the average strength of the creatures in this dungeon was high, wouldn't this be a prime opportunity to farm attribute points?

"It's just that this situation... seems somewhat unreasonable. There might still be ultra-large radioactive materials on this land, otherwise, with at least several decades passing since the outbreak of nuclear war, no matter how strong the radiation was, it should have dissipated by now," Anthony muttered.

"Amitabha." Master Ruhou shook his head, a look of compassion on his face, "In this realm, all living beings suffer."

The few of them chatted casually like this, walking blindly forward according to the map while talking.

After walking for about half an hour, the furry ears on top of the big fox lady's head suddenly twitched, and her gaze shifted toward a certain direction in the distance.

"Hey, I say, Sister Kassan, do you know Eagle Eye? Cast one over there and take a look."

Kassan behaved just like a wronged little daughter-in-law, obediently casting an Eagle Eye spell that hung high in the firmament, projecting toward the direction Su Qinghong pointed.

The pale cyan magical radiance was extremely conspicuous in this wasteland.

"I... I see it," Kassan said nervously in a low voice. "A seven-person squad, just behind the hill. Among them is a guy with a strange appearance. He looks humanoid, but has a layer of hard exoskeleton, and one of his hands has turned into a pincer."

Lu Wenwu paused slightly.

It couldn't be that coincidental, right?

The wasteland scavengers were moving fast.

At most a few dozen seconds after Kassan exposed the information, they poked their heads over the top of the hill.

Lu Wenwu took a look and was amused.

They really were damn familiar.

They had the exact same vibe as that bunch of lying-flat survivors in the previous dungeon!

Anthony quickly scanned the scavenger squad and said in a low voice, "One Tier C, the rest are all Tier D+. Their physical structures are very strange; they seem to have evolved a certain degree of radiation resistance, but they pose no threat. Should we..."

"There's no time to explain!"

Before Anthony could even finish his sentence, Lu Wenwu had already reached the opposite side.

The scavenger squad had no time to react to what was happening before the only Awakened among them was kicked sprawling to the ground.

A wisp of flame, before it could unleash its might, was forcefully beaten and scattered.

The remaining six people were instantly petrified, their entire bodies rigid.

Lu Wenwu stepped on the Awakened one and asked with keen interest, "I ask, you answer, play dumb and you die. Understand?"

The Awakened one was very sensible and nodded hurriedly: "Understood! I will definitely tell you everything I know!"

"What's your identity, what's their identity, and what are you here for?" Lu Wenwu asked.

The Awakened one hurriedly replied, "We are all believers in the great God of Evolution, and also scavengers in the Giant Bone Settlement."

"Besides that, I am an Awakened one, and also a glorious priest, bestowed with divine power by the great God of Evolution."

"We came this time because Old John found an old-world map indicating that there might be a temporary military facility from the late old-world era here, and we wanted to try our luck."

As he spoke, the fellow who claimed to be a priest stretched out a tentacle and pointed at the weather-beaten man, indicating that he was Old John.

"Sir, among your group, are there also any priests of the great God of Evolution? I just felt a sort of destined guidance from afar, which is how I found this place."

The great God of Evolution... priest... divine power?

Could there really be deities in this wasteland doomsday?

A Tier B dungeon, wouldn't it be so out of spec?

Lu Wenwu said casually and calmly, "The great God of Evolution? Never heard of it. We came from the east, and there is no such deity on our side."

The priest was immediately a bit puzzled: "But... but sir... the east... is the active zone for aberrations! Further east is the gathering place of the believers of the God of Eternal Glory. How could you possibly have not heard... uh..."

Looking at Lu Wenwu's fist, which was the size of a sandbag, the priest swallowed back the rest of his unfinished question.

"I can't be bothered to make up a second excuse to fool you, so you'd better take what I just said seriously," Lu Wenwu retracted his fist. "Now, tell me all the intelligence about the wasteland under our feet, and those two so-called gods you mentioned."

"Uh, alright." The priest instantly grasped the situation. "Where would you like to start listening?"

Lu Wenwu turned back to exchange glances with his teammates, lifted his chin, and said, "Start with you. The power system or cultivation system of this land. You may begin."