47: Chapter 47 A New Secret World

Hearing Gu Changming's words, Qin Lie was momentarily stunned before a look of joy appeared on his face.

Right, the materials were right there in the Secret Realm. Since those people wouldn't let anyone sell materials to him, he could just go in and get them himself.

"Alright," Qin Lie immediately agreed. "That's the fastest way; there's no need to wait for others to bring them out."

Of course, there was one thing he didn't say.

Even if those teams came out and had niyuan steel among their materials, they might not sell it to him under the pressure from those people.

So, entering the Secret Realm to obtain the materials himself was faster and more convenient.

Gu Changming nodded.

He didn't make this suggestion entirely for the other man's sake. On one hand, it was to ensure nothing went wrong with his weapon upgrade; on the other, he could take this opportunity to enter the Secret Realm here and see how things were. Perhaps there would be some opportunities.

"But before we enter the Secret Realm, we need to prepare. The environment inside... is a bit different," Qin Lie said. There was still a level of danger inside the Secret Realm; if they rushed in without any preparation, they might end up dead.

"I don't need to prepare," Gu Changming said.

Qin Lie looked over in surprise, but then he remembered that Gu Changming had killed the Shadow Devourer for that shadow crystal core himself, and he understood.

Indeed, with such strength, there was no need for much preparation. Or rather, he was always prepared for battle.

"Mhm." Qin Lie nodded and continued, "There's also the matter of personnel. The Secret Realm here has a team requirement; there must be at least four people. We only have two right now, so we definitely can't go in."

Gu Changming gave an "oh" of understanding.

It had been the same when he was looking for a "Mimic Beast" contract; he had to join a team to enter the Secret Realm.

Qin Lie picked up a backpack and said, "Give me some time. I'll find some other candidates. If all goes well, we can head in this afternoon, grab the materials, and come back out. It won't take too long."

Gu Changming didn't ask further and simply replied, "Alright."

After closing the shop, Qin Lie left first.

Seeing him leave, Gu Changming glanced around before his figure also quickly vanished into the cluttered camp.

...

In the afternoon, at the team assembly point outside the Secret Realm entrance.

As Gu Changming approached, a quick glance revealed Qin Lie's figure.

He was standing with five fully armed men, seemingly communicating about something.

All five wore thick metal armor and carried broadswords or war hammers. They looked like a team that frequently entered Secret Realms, though the quality of their armor and weapons left something to be desired.

As Gu Changming drew near, Qin Lie noticed him and walked over quickly to meet him.

"You're here," Qin Lie greeted.

Gu Changming nodded and, without asking anything, followed Qin Lie back to the five men.

"We're all here; the last person has arrived," Qin Lie said, stepping aside to introduce Gu Changming to the five.

The man standing at the front raised his eyelids and sized Gu Changming up. He was about thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, with a buzz cut, a square face, a shallow scar on his left brow bone, and a burly build. He was the captain of this team.

Qin Lie turned to Gu Changming and introduced them at a slightly faster pace: "This is the escort team I found. This is Captain Zhang Zhenhai."

Hearing this, Gu Changming gave Qin Lie a somewhat surprised look.

He had thought Qin Lie would just find two random people to meet the minimum requirement of a four-person team, but he hadn't expected the man to hire an entire team for escort.

Noticing Gu Changming's surprised expression, Qin Lie explained, "The location of the niyuan steel is quite deep. It might not be safe enough with just the two of us, so having them escort us will be much safer."

Gu Changming nodded to show he understood and didn't say much.

He naturally had no objections; after all, it wasn't his money being spent.

Suddenly.

Zhang Zhenhai spoke, his tone unreadable—whether it was curiosity or testing:

"I heard... you killed a Shadow Devourer?"

Gu Changming turned his head and glanced at Qin Lie beside him.

You really tell people everything.

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Qin Lie's face as he explained in a low voice, "I said your strength is quite high, so the escort points could be a lot cheaper..."

Gu Changming withdrew his gaze, looked at Zhang Zhenhai, and replied flatly, "Just good luck."

"Good luck," Zhang Zhenhai repeated, grinning.

Then he turned his head and exchanged a look with several of his team members.

It was unclear what that smile meant.

But Gu Changming clearly felt some sensory discomfort.

Zhang Zhenhai didn't seem to care about Gu Changming's reaction and patted his heavy breastplate. "Alright, everyone's here, let's head out."

Everyone followed the team ahead and lined up outside the Secret Realm entrance.

The number of people at the entrance wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either.

They waited for about half an hour before finally moving to the front.

The Secret Realm entrance before them wasn't grand, about the size of a single-story house, appearing as a slightly fluctuating, bluish-green mirror-like light curtain.

After waiting quietly for another three or four minutes, the soldier by the entrance nodded to Zhang Zhenhai, signaling they could enter.

"Keep close," Zhang Zhenhai said in a low voice, taking the lead and stepping inside.

Gu Changming stayed at the back of the team and only stepped in after they had all entered.

The familiar, brief sensation of dizziness hit him.

Immediately after, his vision blurred, and before it could clear, a strong sense of suffocation suddenly seized him.

The air inside didn't seem very good...

Gu Changming immediately held his breath and waited.

The dizziness and blurred vision quickly faded, and the scene before him became clear.

Gu Changming also quickly looked around.

This was yet another world completely different from Earth.

The sky was an oppressive leaden gray, with neither sun nor moon in sight.

As far as the eye could see were endless "mountains" piled high with various unrecognizable metal wreckage and technological waste.

Twisted alloy skeletons, shattered crystal panels, thick or intricately tangled pipelines, strangely half-melted components... everything was covered in a thick layer of ash and rust, forming a vast and desperate ocean of metal junk.

Seeing this, Gu Changming understood why the primary output of this Secret Realm was metal blocks.

This Secret Realm likely connected to some wasteland world, or perhaps it was like a giant graveyard that had been completely hollowed out and then used as a dumping ground for technological dregs.

While Gu Changming was quickly observing the environment, Qin Lie, beside him, gently nudged his arm.

Gu Changming turned to look and saw Qin Lie handing over a simple respiratory filter mask while pointing to the identical device already on his own face, signaling for Gu Changming to put it on as well.

Gu Changming nodded slightly, took the mask, and fastened it over his nose and mouth.

After putting it on, although the mixed smell of metal corrosion and chemicals in the air didn't completely disappear, his breathing at least became smooth immediately, and that suffocating feeling was gone.

Gu Changming turned his gaze to Zhang Zhenhai's team. They had long since put on their respective breathing masks or respirators, and their weapons were already drawn, ready for battle at any moment.

Zhang Zhenhai was looking down at a simple map in his hand, comparing it with several distinctive metal junk mountains nearby to quickly identify their orientation.

"This way." He put away the map and pointed toward a narrow "path" on the left. "Let's go."