Translator: AnubisTL
After a moment's hesitation, Wang Defa gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, and pulled a wristwatch from his pocket. He strapped it to his wrist and set a 55-minute countdown timer.
Then, he leaped from his hiding spot and sprinted toward the unconscious girl lying on the ground at the foot of the nearby slope.
He reached her side quickly.
As soon as he approached within a hundred meters, he felt a sudden, heavy thud in his chest, a dull, oppressive sensation.
Without wasting a second, he pressed the start button on the timer.
Then, he swiftly drew two vials of medicine from his pocket and plunged them into the girl's neck.
As the green liquid flowed into her veins, a faint flush of color returned to her cheeks, though her complexion remained slightly pale.
"Oh, dear."
Wang Defa glanced at the girl's badly injured legs. With no time to spare, he immediately pulled out bandages, hemostatic spray, and other first-aid supplies and began bandaging her wounds.
"Seriously, what were you thinking, coming to the wilderness alone?"
"Even grown men travel in groups of three to five, cautiously searching the wilderness together. And you, a girl, came alone?"
"Your strength isn't even that impressive."
"With such weak skills, why are you trying to act tough? You're just asking for trouble!"
He skillfully bandaged her wounds while muttering complaints.
After nearly four months of wandering the wilderness alone, he had long mastered basic wound care. His constant grumbling was simply because he was bored out of his mind.
He often talked to himself, forcing himself to speak every day.
It wasn't subconscious; he made a point of it.
He worried that if he went too long without communicating with other humans or using human language, he might forget how to speak it when he eventually returned to human society.
Unable to communicate with humans, he'd look like a wild man.
After all, no matter what, he would eventually have to return to human society.
His current solitary existence was just a means of survival. Once the Ten Thousand Races Arena ended, he would return to the human world.
Meanwhile, Chen Jiang...
They had already consumed twenty to thirty energy blocks.
After searching the surrounding area thoroughly, they found no trace of the player with the solitary wanderer innate ability.
Chen Jiang frowned slightly, standing on a hillside. After pondering for a moment, he turned to Li Hao and asked, "How's your mental power holding up?"
"Sufficient," Li Hao replied with a solemn nod. "We rested for nearly six hours after emerging from the underground, fully restoring my mental power to its peak. We've only used about a third of it so far."
"Hmm," Chen Jiang murmured, nodding briefly without further comment.
They were advancing in a circular, radiating pattern. As they moved farther from the light gate, the energy block consumption increased exponentially due to the expanding circumference.
But just then—
A voice suddenly echoed in their ears.
[Human Race Horn!]
[Player Liu Yiping: "Chen Jiang, I've found him. He's in Kindling City."]
"Found him?" Scar Dog's eyes flashed with disbelief and delight. "Just like that? I thought it would take more effort. Looks like it was effortless after all!"
"But why would the solitary wanderer return to Kindling City?"
Chen Jiang's eyes lit up with excitement. Without hesitation, he stepped through the phantom gate activated by Scar Dog and hurried toward the light gate, eager to welcome his own brother back to Kindling City.
Speaking of which, he remembered he had once been given the choice of an item called the squad token.
This squad token had an effect that allowed players within a squad to share their personal innate abilities.
If he had chosen the squad token back then...
Wouldn't he have been able to share the solitary wanderer's innate ability?
Unfortunately, he hadn't chosen it. Instead, he had opted for a space bracelet with a larger capacity. After all, to upgrade his turret to an even more absurd level with greater firepower, he needed a space bracelet large enough to store it.
Otherwise, both his mobility and flexibility would be severely compromised.
For him at the time, the three-star space bracelet was the optimal choice.
Even if he had chosen the squad token back then, it wouldn't have been particularly useful. Sharing Li Hao's or Scar Dog's innate abilities wouldn't have made much difference; he could still use them even without sharing.
Moreover, he remembered that sharing personal innate abilities through the squad token had limitations on both frequency and duration—only once per day, with a limited usage window.
Soon enough, Chen Jiang and his group were rushing toward Kindling City without stopping.
Of course, "rushing without stopping" was just a figure of speech. In reality, they barely walked a few steps, activating phantom gates along the way.
Almost immediately after Liu Yiping's human race horn fell silent, Chen Jiang and his group arrived at Kindling City.
The human guardian was already waiting for them at the light gate entrance.
"Chen Jiang," the human guardian said sternly, pointing to Wang Defa, who stood nearby, carrying a girl on his back, his face etched with anxiety. "This is the player with the solitary wanderer innate ability I told you about."
"He rescued a stranded girl from the wilderness and brought her back, intending to take her into the city."
"However, upon checking, the girl isn't registered in Kindling City."
"This means she didn't come from Kindling City."
"Based on preliminary assessment, we've tentatively identified her as a human player."
"However, human players entering Kindling City must display their identity panels and register their identities before being allowed entry. This girl is currently unconscious and unable to voluntarily display her identity panel."
"Therefore, she cannot enter the city."
"I see," Scar Dog nodded thoughtfully. "So, displaying the identity panel is mandatory for entry?"
"Yes," the human guardian replied with a stern expression, brooking no argument. "This is Kindling City's lifeline. With such a massive population, our enforcement squads can barely maintain basic order."
"Even maintaining basic security is a struggle."
"Therefore, we must conduct a preliminary screening at the entrance, paying particular attention to those with offensive innate abilities. We cannot allow human players with unknown innate abilities to enter the city."
"What if their innate ability is an evil god innate ability?"
"Evil god innate ability?"
"Yes. Just yesterday, we killed a player with such an ability. His talent effect granted him a roulette spin for every fellow race member he killed."
"He's incredibly difficult to kill. Before we captured him, incomplete statistics show he had killed at least 500 human players. And that's just the number of human player deaths in Kindling City over the past few days."
"Holy crap."
Scar Dog froze, a flicker of shock in his eyes. He murmured, "Your innate ability sounds... amazing."
"Amazing for antisocial behavior, right?"
"...So powerful."
"Tsk." Scar Dog shook his head, clicking his tongue. "But come to think of it, when we entered the city last time, no one asked us to register our identities."
"You were an exception."
"Got it."
Meanwhile, Chen Jiang strode to within a few meters of Wang Defa, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the man.
His hair was slightly disheveled but clearly trimmed. He looked weathered, almost feral.
"You want to save this girl?" Chen Jiang asked, glancing down at the girl cradled in the man's arms.
"Yes."
Wang Defa nodded anxiously and said, "This girl is severely injured. We need to find a player with a Healing innate ability to treat her immediately, or she won't survive."
"Even if she survives, she'll lose her leg."
"In the Ten Thousand Races Arena, losing a leg is practically the same as dying."
"Is she your wife?"
Chen Jiang gave the man a slightly odd look. Didn't this guy's innate ability make him a solitary wanderer? Why would a solitary wanderer have a wife?
Isn't a solitary wanderer's wife supposed to be his own two hands?
"No, I just saw her on the road."
"You're this concerned about a random stranger you saw on the road?"
Wang Defa paused, slightly taken aback. "You're right, that does sound strange. Well, I'll leave her here with you then. I'm heading out."
"Wait, why did I even want to save her? That's so weird."
"Farewell."
With that, Wang Defa turned and dashed toward the light gate in the distance, clearly determined to leave the area.
"Wait!" Chen Jiang called out, his voice tinged with a hint of annoyance. After a brief pause, he added, "I'm Chen Jiang."
"Chen Jiang...?"
At these words, Wang Defa, who had been sprinting toward the light gate, froze in his tracks. His expression shifted to shock as he turned to face Chen Jiang. "You're the top-ranked human player, the one who slaughtered hundreds of thousands of aliens in a single day?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Your innate ability is remarkable. I came here specifically to invite you to become my fifth teammate."
As he spoke, Chen Jiang wore a faint, almost imperceptible smile. Leaning on his Gentleman's Cane, he exuded the refined air of a noble young master.
His approach was carefully measured.
Wang Defa's innate ability was exceptional, and Chen Jiang was highly impressed. He didn't mind adopting a more conciliatory approach to secure him.
"Fifth teammate?" Wang Defa frowned, pondering for a moment before shaking his head. "No, thank you. My innate ability is that of a solitary wanderer. I can't stay with human players for too long. I appreciate the offer, though."
"I'll be leaving now. Farewell, until we meet again."
With that, Wang Defa turned and resumed his sprint toward the light gate without looking back.
However...
The very next second—
Wang Defa abruptly halted, his expression turning serious as he swiveled to face Chen Jiang. "I apologize for my earlier refusal. I would consider it an honor to become your fifth teammate, Chen Jiang. Is it still possible to join?"
Chen Jiang stared expressionlessly at Wang Defa, who stood not far away, and the massive three-meter-diameter cannon behind him. After a pause, he smiled again.
"Of course there's still time."
"Welcome, Wang Defa, to becoming my fifth team member."
"Thank you," Wang Defa replied, glancing back at the cannon barrel that could swallow his entire body. A flicker of fear crossed his eyes as he unconsciously swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly.
What else could he say?
Though he considered himself quite strong, he doubted his fist, less than ten centimeters in diameter, could block a cannon with a three-meter-wide barrel!
Seriously, why does a cannon with a three-meter barrel even exist?!
Is this even remotely reasonable?!
But then he remembered how frequently Chen Jiang's name appeared in global announcements, and suddenly everything seemed to make sense.
"Um, boss," Wang Defa began hesitantly, once Chen Jiang had calmed down. "My innate ability is 'Solitary Wanderer.' I can't stay with fellow race members for too long, or the ability will deactivate."
"I know. The limit is one hour, right?" Chen Jiang nodded and turned toward the gate leading to the world tree. "Come with us. We'll discuss the details later."
Soon, Wang Defa was brought back to the world tree by Chen Jiang and his group.
"Hey, hey, hey!"
Scar Dog continuously adjusted his walkie-talkie, then shouted at Wang Defa, who stood over a hundred meters away, "Can you hear me? Is the distance still affecting it?"
"No, it's clear now," Wang Defa's voice quickly replied through the walkie-talkie.
"Phew."
Scar Dog let out a relieved breath and turned to Chen Jiang. "No problem, Brother Jiang. As long as we stay beyond a hundred meters, there's no interference."
Chen Jiang nodded slightly before taking the walkie-talkie and speaking.
"So, if you spend more than an hour with either human or alien race players, your innate ability permanently deactivates, right?"
"Yes," Wang Defa's voice quickly confirmed.
"That means I have to end battles with alien race players quickly to avoid being dragged into a situation where my innate ability permanently deactivates."
"What if you leave just before the hour is up, then come back a few minutes later?" Chen Jiang suggested, proposing a simple exploit.
If you can't stay together for more than an hour, why not just take a few minutes' break every now and then?
"That won't work," Wang Defa replied.
"I can only spend up to an hour with fellow race members or alien race players twice a day. Exceeding that limit will still deactivate my innate ability."
"Understood."
Chen Jiang nodded lightly again. "What about mutated beasts?"
"Mutated beasts are fine. You can stay as long as you want."
Finally, Chen Jiang asked the question that concerned him most: "Every mutated beast you kill with any weapon is guaranteed to drop a one-star item, right?"
"No."
"Huh?"
Chen Jiang frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Only mutated beasts I kill with my fists are guaranteed to drop a one-star item."
"Useless."
Scar Dog sighed, plopping down in a chair with a hint of resignation. "If only mutated beasts killed with fists drop one-star items, what's the point? How much power can a fist have?"
"Uh..."
As if hearing Scar Dog's doubt, a slightly indignant voice crackled over the intercom.
"My fists pack quite a punch."
(End of the Chapter)
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