Chapter 80: The Whereabouts of Star Steel
The call ca from the smart butler—his order of nutrient solution had arrived.
Now that matters were settled, Jiang Chen chose to log off.
He opened his eyes and returned to the real world.
Downstairs.
Thirty vials of nutrient solution were enclosed in a half-ter tall tal device. After scanning his citizen ID, it would unlock automatically.
This was a light blue potion, a recent invention of the Alliance. It was said to improve physical constitution. Jiang Chen wasn’t sure whether it was true, but he did indeed need to enhance his body right now.
He drank it directly. Since it was sold by the Alliance military, there were no safety concerns.
After drinking the potion, there was no noticeable effect—it felt no different from a regular beverage.
Since he was already offline, Jiang Chen wasn’t in a rush to log back in. He decided to solve his hunger first—logging in could wait.
In the anti, Jiang Chen opened the wristband’s web interface and checked the latest news.
Most of the news related to Hope World stemd from Jiang Chen himself. Of course, there were also updates on the activities of other major guilds, but nothing requiring serious attention.
Jiang Chen shifted his attention to news from the real world.
However, what he saw made his heart tighten. It turned out that the mutated beast attack wasn’t limited to District 13 of Jiangnan—similar incidents had occurred across the country, and even around the globe, with heavy casualties.
The forms of these mutated creatures were increasingly alien from Earth’s native species. Their evolutionary paths were growing eerily similar to the monsters in Hope World.
The most obvious trait was their size, which had increased dramatically. So armored beasts had beco strong enough to withstand bullets, and the lethality of standard firearms against them had dropped sharply.
This was not good news. While the beasts had evolved, humans still seed to rely heavily on firepower. Physically, humanity remained just as weak.
Jiang Chen focused on the defense chanisms and capabilities of Level 3 Safe Zones: massive outer walls, isolation electric grids, and the core defense—Oracle Bone.
“Oracle Bone” was a defensive shield enveloping the outskirts of a protected area. Its na ca from its resemblance to a tortoise shell.
It was humanity’s strongest defense asure against interdinsional creatures. However, “Oracle Bone” required an imnse energy supply, which was why Safe Zones existed instead of full global coverage.
Depending on the level of the zone, the strength of “Oracle Bone” varied. Naturally, Level 3 Safe Zones had the weakest defense systems.
Even so, the defensive rating of a Level 3 zone still reached C3, strong enough to withstand ordinary missiles.
anwhile, the “Oracle Bone” shield of a Level 1 Safe Zone had a defensive rating of C7—on par with nuclear weapons. Theoretically, even nukes couldn’t breach the defenses of a Level 1 Zone.
This was humanity’s ultimate line of defense.
“Mutated Earth creatures alone shouldn’t be able to break through the ‘Oracle Bone’ defenses of a Level 3 Safe Zone.”
That was Jiang Chen’s belief. There was no need to panic—for now. He could only hope that the ‘Virtual Manifestation’ system would soon be realized. That way, there would be far less to worry about.
Having handled matters in the real world, Jiang Chen put on his gaming helt.
Logged into Hope World!
…
He retrieved the remaining gold-tier equipnt from his inventory, planning to sell it all.
These items no longer ant much to Jiang Chen.
He mass-sent the equipnt list to his friends.
He didn’t have many friends now—just [Hongsha Liusul], [Bank Leader], [General of Chaoge], and a few ladies from the Beauty Guild.
“Gold-tier gear, preorder while supplies last. Na your price if you’re interested.”
These gold items ca from treasure chests after clearing dungeons. Jiang Chen had no use for them.
“Are you in the main city?”
[Hongsha Liusul] was the first to reply to Jiang Chen’s ssage.
“Yeah. At the warehouse manager near the north gate.”
“Wait for , I’m on my way.”
Soon, [Hongsha Liusul] t up with Jiang Chen.
“How about 20,000 gold for everything?” Hongsha Liusul looked at Jiang Chen nervously. These seven gold-tier pieces were top-tier at this stage—she had to get her hands on them.
Her offer was about 10% above market value. Partly out of respect for Jiang Chen, and partly because these items were rare at this stage of the ga—hard to find on the open market.
Essentially, they were priceless. So offering 10% more was perfectly reasonable.
Twenty thousand gold was equivalent to ten million Yuan—a huge sum.
Even though he already had close to a billion in wealth, Jiang Chen still enjoyed the feeling of making money. He accepted the offer, and they quickly completed the transaction.
Afterward, Jiang Chen looked at Hongsha Liusul and asked, “Hongsha, do you know where I can find Cloud-clear Stone or Star-pattern Steel?”
One person’s knowledge couldn’t compare to a guild with hundreds of thousands of mbers—especially when it ca to map exploration.
“Cloud-clear Stone and Star-pattern Steel?”
Hongsha Liusul thought for a mont and said, “I’m not sure about Cloud-clear Stone, but I know where you can find Star-pattern Steel. It’s a level 7 high-tier material, but players can’t harvest it yet.”
“Where is it located?” Jiang Chen asked urgently.
“Um… in Star Phantom Valley. It’s about an hour and a half from the main city. The monsters there are quite high-level. One of our players hunting a boss stumbled upon it.”
Hongsha Liusul didn’t hold back. She even shared the map her guild had painstakingly explored with Jiang Chen.
Large guilds typically had many scouting mbers dedicated to exploring unknown regions and creating maps. These detailed strategic maps were crucial for the guild.
Such custom maps were highly valuable, requiring extensive manpower to complete. Hongsha Liusul’s willingness to share it freely moved Jiang Chen.
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank . Just let know if you have gear to sell in the future…”
Hongsha Liusul blushed. “Also… I’ll have the guild keep an eye out for Cloud-clear Stone for you.”
“Well, I’ll be going now. Bye.”
“Bye…”
…
Opening the map, Jiang Chen quickly located Star Phantom Valley.
It was a large map covering a vast area. The locations where Star-pattern Steel could be found were already marked—saving Jiang Chen the trouble of searching.
Star Phantom Valley lay far southwest of Yunhuang City. It was a long journey—another expedition.
But for the sake of equipnt—set out at once!
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