41: Chapter 41 The Missing Squad
"Hello, I'd like to submit the information we've collected!"
Inside the Wasteland Secret Realm camp, in front of the makeshift office.
Lin Mo and the other two stood at the front desk and handed over a form detailing their encounter.
"Please wait a moment, I need to verify if this information has already been reported."
The woman in uniform at the front desk took the form and began to flip through it with a smile.
When she saw phrases like "blue tentacles that are silent during the day but active at night" and "capable of mimicking human voices to hunt humans."
The smile on her face gradually faded, and her brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
"Are you sure this information is accurate?" She looked up at the three of them, her tone filled with disbelief.
"Absolutely true."
Lin Mo deliberately showed a look of lingering fear. "You can send people to verify it. To tell you the truth, we almost didn't make it out of that area last night."
Lin Mo still felt anxious thinking about crossing the border back to the sandy area this morning.
He had expected to be pursued by the tentacles again.
Unexpectedly, those blue tentacles that had surged like a tide last night had completely vanished during the day, leaving not a trace behind.
That was the only reason they were able to return to the camp smoothly.
The woman in uniform quickly explained, "Don't misunderstand, little ones. I don't mean to doubt you; it's just that this news is extremely important for our outpost."
She suddenly lowered her voice and said with a grave tone, "I might as well tell you that five squads have already gone missing in that area. Now, it seems likely that it's related to the blue tentacles you encountered."
Upon hearing this, the hearts of Lin Mo and his companions sank.
"Five squads?"
Lin Mo pressed, "What level of strength were they?"
"They were all teams sent by the academy for holiday missions. The team leaders were all above the Fourth Rank, and the members were all at least Second Rank. They have been out of contact for three days."
The woman in uniform's expression was grim.
This matter wasn't necessarily catastrophic, but it wasn't trivial either; it would be very troublesome if not handled well.
Oh my god... Could the things that were mimicking cries for help last night actually be the voices of these missing squad members?
Lin Mo, Lu Mengmeng, and Niu Dachun exchanged glances, seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
"I suggest the authorities send high-ranking Soul Masters to investigate first."
Lin Mo said with a serious expression.
"Those tentacles are definitely not simple. It's best to list that area as a restricted zone and prohibit Awakeners from entering."
"You make sense. I will report this to my superiors immediately."
The woman in uniform nodded and then pointed to the form. "As for the information you provided, it cannot be rated yet. We have to wait for the investigation results before we can determine the reward merit points."
"Of course, if you are in a rush, I can give you a B-rank rating for 500 merit points right now."
"There's no rush for the merit points. It's enough if we can warn everyone to avoid the danger."
Lin Mo shook his head. He cared more about preventing anyone else from following in their footsteps.
The woman in uniform looked at them gratefully. "Then thank you, little ones. If the investigation results confirm your report, the authorities will likely provide additional rewards."
The three of them didn't say anything more and turned to leave the office.
The sunlight in the camp was a bit blinding.
Lin Mo stretched, his joints making a series of soft pops. "Let's head back and see if the admission letters have arrived. If everything goes as planned, we won't be coming here starting tomorrow."
"Mhm! I'm going to the East Sea with my old man the day after tomorrow!"
Lu Mengmeng stretched just like him, her loose combat uniform stretching tight.
Lin Mo clicked his tongue at the sight, muttering to himself: This girl looks like a little potato, but I didn't expect her to be so filial. She really does have a baby face...
"Alright then,"
He coughed lightly to divert his attention.
"When we get back, we'll sell the materials we brought, split the money among the three of us, and from tomorrow on, we can play and travel as we please."
"Yay!"
The three of them walked out of the Secret Realm with their arms around each other's shoulders. After returning to the city, they headed straight for the East District market.
Deep in the market, in a shop called "Yizhen Pavilion," sandalwood incense drifted in the air.
An old man with white hair, dressed in a Tang suit and wearing reading glasses.
Was holding a few beast fangs and a horn on the counter, examining them closely, occasionally exclaiming, "Good stuff! This hardness, this luster... it's at least from a Sixth Rank exotic beast."
"Old man, give us a price. If it's fair, we'll sell it."
Lin Mo and the others had originally thought these were only Fifth Rank materials, so when they heard it was Sixth Rank, they were overjoyed.
The old man took off his glasses, wiped the lenses with a velvet cloth, and shook his head with some regret:
"The horn and teeth are indeed good material, but unfortunately, they aren't fresh enough; the energy within them has dissipated too severely."
He paused and quoted a price, "I can only purchase these at the price of Fourth Rank exotic beast materials at most."
"Fourth Rank?" Lu Mengmeng was anxious. "But you just said these were Sixth Rank!"
The old man explained slowly, "Girl, exotic beast materials rely on 'vital energy.' When Sixth Rank items are left like this, most of the energy has dissipated. Compared to fresh Fourth Rank materials, they are far less useful."
He pointed to the fine lines on the horn. "Look at the dust in these cracks; they've been buried for at least a hundred years. Being able to pay the Fourth Rank price is already quite generous."
Lin Mo rubbed his chin. The old man made sense.
It was stuff they had picked up for free from the Sand Sea battlefield anyway.
They didn't know how long it had been sitting there, so getting a Fourth Rank price was already pretty good.
"Deal, we'll take your price."
He agreed readily.
The old man smiled and was about to have someone weigh the items and calculate the payment.
"Here, I have over a dozen more sets. You can buy these as well."
The old man in the Tang suit watched as Lin Mo and Lu Mengmeng pulled out another pile, and the corner of his eye twitched.
Good heavens, did these three kids rob an exotic beast graveyard?
"Ding, your account has been credited with 65 million..."
Hearing the notification of the funds arriving.
The three of them happily split the money and then went shopping.
Lu Mengmeng and Niu Dachun only bought some soul crystals and potions for cultivation.
But Lin Mo needed to buy many things.
Various exotic beast blood essences and medicinal herbs.
This trip to the Secret Realm made him discover a fatal weakness.
That was his lack of Soul Power endurance.
He needed to concoct a pill to restore Soul Power.
Therefore, he quickly spent all of his share of the money.
Each of them walked out of Yizhen Pavilion with bulging backpacks.
"Let's go, let's go have a good meal tonight!"
Lin Mo waved his hand, and the three of them laughed and joked as their figures gradually disappeared into the crowd of the market.
That evening.
Lin Mo returned to his rented apartment.
"System AI, help me generate a pill recipe that can instantly restore Soul Power."
[Prompt received: Restore Soul Power, pill recipe... System AI is about to generate a reasonable pill recipe for you based on existing pharmacological knowledge. Estimated time: one minute...]
Over the years, it was fortunate that Lin Mo had read a lot of this world's pharmacological knowledge.
It took less than a minute.
[Based on pharmacological knowledge, the current options that meet the requirements are: Primary Soul-Restoration Pill, Intermediate Soul-Restoration Pill, Advanced Soul-Restoration Pill... Note: The pill recipes generated this time have not been verified.]
"Huh? System AI, did you change your personality? You actually learned to add notes."