Chapter 172: Unexpected Encounter

Words : 1378 Updated : Oct 5th, 2025

In the boundless gray desert. Like a round stone, a gray lifeless egg was slowly rolling, because its rolling speed was slow, Yi Chen, after estimating the egg’s rolling direction, would pick up the egg and sprint one hundred meters before setting it down again, make a brief directional adjustment, then pick up the egg and move another hundred meters. This cycle repeated. During the routine of Yi Chen picking up and placing down the egg, a silver-haired young man followed him, leaning on a mobile metal cane commonly seen in hospitals. ... Moon Trace Lorrian, disillusioned with the Old World, had not embarked on the exploration alone, and he also gave up the idea of settling in the Old World. Comparing the two worlds, Lorrian still thought the original world was better; this trip was just a day tour of the Old World. Eventually, he would need Yi Chen’s physical body to transcend back through the passage, so they formed the current odd duo of one person and one patient. Such a team had its pros and cons, as Moon Trace’s strength allowed them to venture deeper and greatly increased the chances of retrieving relics. Should they accidentally encounter another Gentleman Team who had come to the Old World, things could become complicated, and Moon Trace was very likely to kill them all, leaving no survivors. The two had been advancing through the desert for an unknown duration, and their concept of time became increasingly blurry, this time, Yi Chen did not pick up the lifeless egg from the ground but let it continue rolling, turning instead to take an hourglass out of his backpack to recover his sense of time. “What! It’s already been half a day?” The gray sand in the hourglass had already run halfway… Generally, newcomers exploring the Old World must consider returning once half their time has elapsed. Yi Chen was just starting his exploration and hadn’t encountered anything yet. Sёarᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Moon Trace came over and gently patted his back, “Don’t worry! Your outfit has a high skin content, it could easily withstand another day… Plus, I’m here, so it’s okay to play a bit more. “Let your friend go back first, we can return later as long as we’re not exposed.” Lorrian’s palm, patting Yi Chen’s back, released a layer of a special Moonlight Barrier, causing the dark coat to gain a silver tint, changing the entire style of the person. The consumption rate of skin content was halved. “Thank you, but let’s try to keep it within a day. If it’s longer, the Watcher will surely conduct a full-body inspection on me, and it’s very likely they’ll discover your presence.” “It doesn’t matter if they find out~ I don’t need to preserve my physical strength or anything. That fellow with armor grown from his body is quite formidable, but not yet strong enough to kill me. Don’t overthink it, focus on the exploration at hand. If such a duo as us returns empty-handed, that would really be indefensible.” During the brief communication between the two, the lifeless egg had rolled a significant distance, and upon closer observation, its rolling speed had increased and was still accelerating… rolling towards a large sandy hollow. Yi Chen noticed the accelerating egg, and was just preparing to speed up to chase it when, snap! A pale and withered arm suddenly stretched out from the lower end of the pit, tightly grabbing the lifeless egg. Seeing this, Yi Chen immediately shifted to a gun-axe stance. Lorrian’s eyes flashed with silver light, his hand gently touching beneath his right eye, ready to uncover the bandage obscuring his sight. Suddenly, an exaggerated scene occurred, centered around the pit where the withered arm appeared, the sand within a hundred meters began to churn like quicksand, starting to sink downwards. Yi Chen and Lorrian also jumped back immediately to withdraw, escaping the range of the quicksand. Suddenly, a mobile structure that integrated the themes of “Ancient Castle,” “Throne,” and “Store” burst forth from the sand, with total specifications estimated at 10m×10m×15m. All kinds of nodular jewels, golden skulls, and coins from various eras formed the base, At the top of the base was something akin to a miniature ancient castle, which could fully open at the front, somewhat similar to the “sedan” in Yi Chen’s homeland when he was alive, ꭆἈΝÔᛒЕʂ Although the miniature ancient castle had not yet opened, One could imagine a treasury filled with peculiar treasures and smell a scent of trade from the relief patterns on the walls and the structure of the latticed windows. Under the throne, were several people with their backs bent at 90 degrees, known as “Back-Bearing People,” their skin completely merged with the base, not knowing how many years they had been carrying this special chair. One of the Back-Bearing People was clutching the Dead Egg mentioned earlier. Buzz! Although this group of seemingly slowly moving Back-Bearing People arrived in front of Yi Chen and Moon Scar in an instant, as if the time it took to move had been “peeled off.” Just as the two were thinking of stepping back to create some distance, §Wait a minute§ A voice that penetrated their skulls and struck directly at their brains forcibly stopped their thoughts of retreating. Instinctively, they felt that if they chose to retreat here, they might be killed outright. Even Moon Scar, as an Open Source Patient, felt the same. §I never expected to encounter such an interesting item as the ‘Lifeless Egg’ on the surface, only a rare bird with perfect human traits and itself possessing a certain ‘fertility’ attribute. Temporarily bringing the concept of ‘fertility’ from the outside has made it possible to acquire such a fine item at the first egg production. It cannot be mass-produced, only fortuitously obtained. Would you be willing to sell it to me, honorable foreign guests?§ As soon as these words were spoken, The ancient castle expanded horizontally from left and right, directly transforming into a shop adorned with various rare treasures. A man bloated with endless treasures and corpulent flesh was reclining among the treasures, his eyelids stacked with layers of fat, beneath which golden pupils were fixated on the two before him. Dressed in a patchwork style outfit that incorporated elements from various eras and civilizations, Clearly, he was the master of this special shop. As the shop expanded, his compressed body also spread out, reaching a width of nearly twenty meters and a height of ten meters. As he opened his mouth to speak, Teeth crafted from old metals and rare jewels were revealed, with his two prominent golden front teeth standing out the most, One engraved with “Du,” and the other with “ke,” together forming the word “Duke.” “I am delighted to meet here an individual with a novel illness and a special human who does not belong to either world. To trade with young people like you justifies the considerable manpower I spent to come to the surface.” This speech caused Yi Chen’s eyes to widen, as it seemed the shop owner had immediately recognized that he was from another world. Moon Trace Lorrian sensed an oppressive pathogenic aura from the corpulent merchant. “You may simply call me Duke, and come trade with me,” As soon as these words were spoken, An epic grandeur of music simultaneously resounded in Yi Chen and Moon Trace Lorrian’s ears. An elegant solo violin act initiated the performance, followed by bell sounds, choral singing, and string glissandos from high to low, seemingly drawing all outsiders into this ancient castle. As the music played, It was apparent that the shop owner was deliberately showcasing himself. A golden-framed Frame gradually emerged overhead, visible to outsiders, At the starting end of the Frame, the shop’s sign made of gold material with various gems forming the text—[Duke’s Home]. The Frame was filled with a dazzling solution of gems and even had solid gems mixed within. Attached above the Frame were the corresponding title and name. §Old World Merchant—Duke Garryson, The Old Merchant§

Chapter 172: Unexpected Encounter

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