"There's no other way!"
Lu Zhe looked at the human figure hidden in the tree above and said solemnly, "What if he has some very important supplies? Also, I won't be able to sleep well without figuring out what on earth is going on here!"
Tang Xiaoguo said timidly, "Just thinking about it makes my hair stand on end!"
"Some things are like this - when you don't know the cause and effect behind it, you'll feel tremendous fear. But when you get to the bottom of everything, you'll feel very assured instead." Lu Zhe continued, "Don't worry, I'll handle it!"
The girls looked at each other, feeling somewhat worried but also agreeing that Lu Zhe made sense.
Right, the less you know what something is, the easier it is to imagine something terrifying. Knowing what it is may make it less scary.
Jiang Yao worried, "It's so high up there! You're not going to climb it, are you?"
"I'm climbing it, don't worry, this tree is very sturdy!"
He pulled out a torch from the stack of firewood, estimating it would burn for three to five minutes.
He walked to the base of the tree and held it in his mouth.
To ensure safety, Lu Zhe added 15 potential points to Strength and 15 potential points to Stamina!
This significantly improved his strength, stamina and resilience.
Along with his already decent agility, he was confident he could conquer a tree!
When he reached the tree, he grabbed it forcefully. His tremendous strength allowed his fingertips to dig into the bark!
With another leap upwards, his moves were like a seasoned free solo climber, and he easily scaled the tree!
Shen Bing exclaimed in awe, "So awesome!"
Ning Shu asked, "Yao Yao, does he have this kind of skill?"
Jiang Yao shook her head, "I'm surprised too!"
Shen Bing suddenly thought of something, "Hey girls, let's spread out a hammock in case he falls we can catch him!"
"Good idea!"
"Gotta hold the hammock with your hands, don't pinch the mesh with your fingers!"
"Got it!"
Back to Lu Zhe, after climbing about 15 meters up, he finally saw the thing!
Despite bracing himself mentally, he still felt like throwing up!
This was a freaking dead body!
An actual, honest-to-goodness dead body!
The dark skin had become leathery, tightly wrapped around the bones. The white teeth were exposed, looking exceptionally sinister and terrifying in the flickering firelight!
What kind of person would end up in a place like this?
And how did he die?
He had to get to the bottom of this!
Lu Zhe took a deep breath to calm himself, then began to carefully observe!
Most of the flesh on the skeleton had dried up or been eaten away by bugs and birds, exposing large areas of white bone.
Next, Lu Zhe noticed a small hole on his forehead!
Gunshot wound?
That was likely the cause of death!
He wore tattered uniforms with a ratty backpack, the original color unrecognizable!
Many areas were encased in tree resin, preventing decay in those spots!
Impossible to identify the country, but as long as it wasn't a compatriot, he didn't care.
Looking closer, a rusted long gun was slung over his shoulder, and a rucksack on his back!
The bag was covered in sticky resin!
The resin may have helped preserve something inside!
But it was hard to examine up here, best to get it on the ground!
Lu Zhe yelled down, "Stay clear, I'm bringing it down!"
"Bringing what down?"
"It's a mummy!"
"What??"
"Lu Zhe, are you joking?"
"Stop blabbing and move away so I don't hit you!"
Shen Bing and the four girls quickly ran away!
Lu Zhe heaved the mummy down along with the backpack and a chunk of tree bark!
Screams erupted from below: "Ahhh it's a ghost!"
"No ghosts here, I'm coming down!"
Lu Zhe shimmied down the tree trunk.
"What is this thing??"
"I told you, it's a mummy!"
Another round of shrieks from the girls.
Shen Bing was braver, she shined the torch around, "It really is a dead body!"
She examined closely, "Can't tell which country from the outfit!"
Lu Zhe pointed to the small hole on its forehead, "This bullet hole means he was shot dead before he fell. His parachute got caught in the tree."
"Let's see what else he has."
Lu Zhe picked up the long gun.
The barrel was badly corroded with rust, the stock mostly rotted away leaving just half.
Ning Shu remarked, "Hey this looks a bit like the legendary Type 38?"
Shen Bing took the gun and tried the bolt, it didn't budge, completely seized by rust.
She said, "Should be from 70 years ago. Too bad it's too degraded to use, otherwise it would've been great for us!"
"Wow, your knowledge is so extensive!" Ning Shu said admiringly, then asked, "Anything else?"
Lu Zhe searched the body, finding a handgun and 20cm paratrooper knife on his waist!
Similarly, without proper maintenance, the handgun was badly corroded and unusable.
But the paratrooper knife was hugely valuable. The plastic handle was encased in resin but intact. The blade had a sheath, and only light rust - clearly made of superior steel, still extremely sharp even without sharpening!
Additionally, on his lower back was a Type 30 bayonet!
The Type 30 was very different from modern bayonets. Attached to a gun it was a bayonet, but seperated it was a good medium-sized knife.
It was about 50cm long total, with a 37cm blade and 12-13cm handle, plus a hand guard, locking ring and sheath.
Some rust but very serviceable after some sharpening.
Lu Zhe swung the knife, it felt great in his hand - for his current situation, simply premium survival gear!
He also had an ammo pouch, but bullets were spoiled by moisture.
Two grenades - likely duds now.
Lu Zhe placed them carefully aside to avoid accidental detonation.
Next, the backpack.
Paratroopers carried full marching kits, this was the key find!
First thing he saw was an M18 helmet hanging off the pack, very sturdy without ventilation holes for integrity.
Maybe due to climate, he only wore his cap when jumping, no helmet.
Now covered in resin, the helmet was unblemished - Lu Zhe was psyched, "Friends, we've struck gold!"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
