161: Momoyama Shouyama Bear

"You're Zhang Hong, right? Come up the mountain with us too."

The voice reached Zhang Hong's ears from outside the barrier of light.

As Tang Ping and Zhang Xile left, the light barrier also disappeared.

The giant peanut was placed into the Shelter by Tang Ping, and the three of them rode the Great Emperor Moth away from the spot.

The people around them could once again see the area, but now, it was empty, with nothing there.

"Wasn't the Chief Steward just here?"

"Nonsense, if not the Chief Steward, who else could it be!"

"What do you guys think that big, fuzzy creature was?"

"How would I know? But I do know that woman is probably going to get rich."

"I know that person. Her name is Shang Wan. She has a younger brother trailing after her and is even worse off than me, moving stones by the city wall." The woman next to her spoke with envy in her eyes.

"It's her, I know her too."

"I heard she was dragged underground by a monster back then. I really don't know how she managed to tame the monster and make it her own."

"Hehe, we should keep our distance from her in the future. What if that monster loses control and harms people?"

"I say, she should be thrown outside the Tianfu Base. If that big monster goes berserk, who knows how many people will die!"

"That's not good, I think that big monster is quite well-behaved and cute!" A person who looked like a female college student timidly spoke up for Shang Wan.

This immediately made several people around them unhappy.

The woman in the red fur coat crossed her arms and sneered, "What, if something happens, will you take responsibility?" She sized up the girl, then scoffed again, "You, still thinking of speaking up for others, you should clean yourself up first. A woman without a woman's appearance, dirty and disgusting."

The girl immediately lowered her head even more. She also moved stones with Shang Wan, so of course, it was impossible for her to keep herself looking good. At this moment, her clothes were tattered, her body covered in dust, her hair was a mess, and her hands were full of blood blisters. She looked like a beggar, but... isn't this the apocalypse? The girl was also confused, how could this woman still be dressed so beautifully? Doesn't she have to work?

Being called disgusting by so many people, the girl felt an immense sense of grievance and inferiority. Tears rolled down uncontrollably. Not long ago, she was still her parents' precious darling, but her father got lost, and her mother even lost a leg. If it weren't for Tianfu Base picking her and her mother up on the way, they would probably be dead by now.

As she thought, Si Rongrong wiped away her tears with her sleeve. She still had to earn contribution points to exchange for immortal grass. Thinking of the immortal grass, she clenched her fists, her mother's leg might still recover.

Si Rongrong hunched her body and left, looking very disheveled. She even felt that the people around her were looking at her with strange eyes. Her appearance was too terrible, like she had crawled out of the dust. A month ago, she was still a girl who loved beauty and cleanliness very much.

"Tsk, what a waste of that face, to end up looking like this." The woman in the red fur coat pouted.

The woman next to her, who was also elegantly dressed, had a hint of sympathy in her eyes: "Alright, alright, it's not easy for a young girl. Don't speak ill of her anymore."

"You still have the mood to sympathize with others."

"Let's go, everyone go home and find their mothers."

"Time to work!"

"Damn it, why don't I have such good luck?"

"Brother Wu, you are handsome, tall, mighty, and dashing, and you're experienced. Why don't you give it a try? If you manage to trick that woman, won't you become rich later?"

"Keep it low-key, low-key." The man called Brother Wu, chewing on a cigarette, looked like a swaggering ruffian. Although he said that, his deep eyes were already darting around in his mind. With just those eyes, he didn't know how many young girls had fallen for him.

The people around dispersed. As the Tianfu Base became more populated, all kinds of people mixed together. The good, the bad, the black, and the white, all stirred into a pot, enacting one tragicomedy of the apocalypse after another.

At this moment, Zhang Hong looked at Peach Mountain with hesitation, his eyes clearly showing fear. Evidently, the fear of Peach Mountain, stemming from the tragic fates of those who had trespassed, had deeply ingrained itself in people's hearts.

"Hey! Zhang Hong, what's wrong with you?" His companion next to him nudged Zhang Hong with his arm. This was the person who had been crouching at the cave entrance earlier and hadn't gone down with Zhang Hong.

"N-nothing." Zhang Hong felt anxious but also a rising anticipation. The voice just now wasn't the Chief Steward, but it was definitely someone of extraordinary status in the Tianfu Base. He glanced at the fiery peach blossom mark on his palm, then found an excuse to leave and head up the mountain.

After entering Peach Mountain, he inevitably became nervous. Although only a few days had passed, the fear of Peach Mountain had already deeply ingrained itself in people's hearts.

Those who ran out from inside were either mad or foolish, and each looked incredibly miserable. Some had half their faces like they had been splashed with sulfuric acid, some had lost their eyes, some had lost an arm, and even more never came out again.

In short, no one came out whole.

No one looked at this mountain with the eyes of an immortal mountain anymore. Although everyone knew there was immortal grass in the mountain, they only dared to work honestly, accumulate contribution points, and hope to one day exchange for it.

Now, Zhang Hong stepped into this mountain.

Just as he was at a loss, a strangely shaped giant hornet flew over. This hornet looked as if it were carved from gold.

Zhang Hong immediately tensed up.

Soon, a Black Bear emerged from the misty forest, which resembled a fairyland.

Whoosh! Zhang Hong instantly swung a long spear from his hand! Just as he was about to defend against the giant Black Bear, he heard a young, immature voice.

"You're Zhang Hong, right? You're lucky to have been noticed by the leader. You performed well this time. Come up the mountain with me."

The Black Bear emerged from the misty forest, revealing a young man sitting sideways on its back. It was Meng Ziyi, who had previously awakened the A-Rank Talent - Spirit Taming. In the past few days, he had successfully tamed a Black Bear.

Moreover, this Black Bear was a Pollution Beast, not a gentle mutated beast from Peach Mountain.

Zhang Hong swallowed. The Black Bear in front of him was on all fours, but its height was taller than him standing! Especially, this Black Bear's head strangely grew a pair of stag antlers!

"You, you are..." He cautiously asked.

Meng Ziyi glanced at him, not answering: "Hurry up and follow."

The trees on Peach Mountain grew very densely and were very tall, but under Meng Ziyi's lead, the two of them did not ascend the mountain slowly.

After more than twenty minutes, Zhang Hong noticed that the towering trees around them gradually thinned out. After his gaze cleared the last large tree, his pupils instantly dilated, and he finally understood why Peach Mountain was called Peach Mountain.