Chapter 425
When things started to settle down in the Beginner Village, Liu Gan led Zhang Sheng Li and the chosen few over to the Mountain Valley Laboratory. They would each receive one spirit essence from the twelve remaining souls so they could reach level 10.
After thorough consideration, the twelve candidates were Zhang Sheng Li, Wang De Cheng, Thunder Martial, Zhang Hua, Xue Jian, Hu Jun, Lee Miao, Zhou Jing Jing, Treadmill, Huang Wei Tao, Yuan Hong Jun, and Liu Hao. These were the people who made up Liu Gan\'s earliest crew, so they were considered trustworthy. The last four individuals were former enemies who had shown promise after the brainwashing.
""Should we leave a spot for Miss Lin Shi Ya?" Zhang Sheng Li asked Liu Gan.
"She\'s dumb like a pig, it would be a waste on her," Liu Gan shook his head.
"She\'s loyal, though," Zhang Sheng Li added. Zhang Sheng Li found out that Lin Shi Ya had met Liu Gan earlier in the game than he had, and all of the incidents that followed up to the present from Han Guang Ming. In the end, Liu Gan had saved Lin Shi Ya several times, which was more than he would do for a stranger.
"Yeah, Lord Liu you should reconsider," Wang De Cheng urged. From his point of view, this woman had the potential to be Liu Gan\'s partner, so how would he not save a spot for her?
"No, there\'s no need to save one for her," Liu Gan firmly shook his head.
Confirming Liu Gan\'s firm decision, Zhang Sheng Li and Wang De Cheng stopped trying to change his mind.
Although they had decided on twelve individuals, things didn\'t go according to plan. The gender of the souls in the storage had to match the gender of the individuals receiving them. The least expected news was that in Zhan Nan Shan\'s crew, there were three female souls. So aside from Lee Miao and Zhou Jing Jing receiving the souls, the last remaining essence had to be given to a woman.
However, Zhang Sheng Li and Wang De Cheng didn\'t have any suitable candidates in mind after consulting with Liu Gan one more time. The essence seemed to have been destined to be left for Lin Shi Ya.
***
After two days of continuous injections of essence, Liu Gan gained twelve 10th level players. The overall combat strength of the Beginner Village doubled with these new powers.
With Zhang Sheng Li leading these strong players in the Beginner Village, Liu Gan wouldn\'t have to worry about delegating tasks, especially with the mission of conquering all of Nin Jing City. Now, Liu Gan could focus on alternative missions, like an expedition to Evil Dragon Gulf.
Considering the danger involved at Evil Dragon Gulf, Liu Gan didn\'t take along any of the level 10 members. Instead, he opened it up to publicly accept volunteers from the village. He was going to accept several volunteers.
Following Liu Gan on his expedition came with pros and cons. As long as the volunteers listened obediently and acted diligently, then they would level up faster than anyone else. It would be a risky expedition, with them putting their lives on the line to reap the benefits. Yet, there were still a lot of players and survivors applying for the expedition to Evil Dragon Gulf.
It was possible that during this expedition, they could become familiar with Liu Gan. They might be the next to receive his seal of approval and be given chances for higher levels, just like how Zhang Sheng Li and the others from the prison compound were given a free pass to level straight to level 10 because those people had known Liu Gan earlier. If they could be like that, then their future would be set.
Even in this world, there were many types of people. Still, there were those who wouldn\'t risk their life for an adventure. But with 4000 villagers, there was bound to be someone who would use their life as a token.
There were several dozen people. To fairly choose the volunteers, the positions were raffled off. The chosen ten people would follow Liu Gan to Evil Dragon Gulf. With Zhang Sheng Li taking charge in the village, Liu Gan didn\'t have to worry about any civil unrest. This time, Liu Gan also took along Yin He and NaNa.
Even if he encountered a general-class monster, with Yin He and NaNa there, Liu Gan could contend against it.
During this time Yin He created a new and improved earpiece. This new earpiece was more energy efficient and had an improved range. The two could now communicate over two kilometers distance. When in actual combat, it would be more convenient to use.
After packing up their gear, Liu Gan set out with his new expedition squad. Along the way, there would be random surges of Black-Spot Variants. However, it wasn\'t a threat to the current group.
The northern district was huge. On foot it took two days and before they finally arrived at Evil Dragon Gulf.
Evil Dragon Gulf wasn\'t the original name, of course. Its original name was Moonlight Gulf. The name Evil Dragon Gulf was created by Zhan Nan Shan and Qiu Tao to ward off others. Moonlight Gulf occupied a huge region. In fact, they had already stepped into the territory. The region that Qiu Tao and Zhan Nan Shan designated it as dangerous and keep-off was the nest of the Evil Dragon.
The Evil Dragon\'s nest was a former Moonlight Gulf theme park. This theme park was comprehensively constructed, with multiple resting stations and entertainment facilities. Behind the nearby hill, there was an open range safari-themed zoo that stretched for dozens and dozens of kilometers.
This large type of comprehensive theme park had a grandiose front gate, but now even the gate was in ruins. The gate\'s frame had cracks at several places, with even the weeds growing rampantly through the cracks. The overgrowth gave off a feeling expected from a desolate region.
Now that humanity was gone, the care that was required to tend to the infrastructure was also gone. Once it was abandoned, traces of human presence would also erode away. In this state, it wouldn\'t take ten thousand years for nature to retake its land; it would only take the land several hundred years to be restored back to what it looked like originally.
***
Standing outside of the gate, looking in from the outside, there was a fog within the Moonlight Gulf. It gave off an eerie feeling. Even before they entered, they could feel a cold breeze blowing out from within.
It was quite chilly outside already, but standing by the gates, they could feel that it was colder inside.
Perhaps it was just a psychological reaction?
"Let us enter," Liu Gan said to his squad. He led the way as they walked through the front gate into the Moonlight Gulf Theme Park.
"Okay." The others didn\'t have any opinions. One by one, they followed Liu Gan\'s back, and walked into the theme park.
Passing through the front gate, the temperature on the inside of the gate was definitely a lot lower than the outside. The jackets they had on were suitable for the temperature outside, but not anymore. This bone-piercing chill was unbearable.
"Huh? Where did Vice-leader He go? Where did doggy NaNa go?" some members asked loudly as they looked around.
Liu Gan overheard the question and also looked around. To his surprise, Yin He and NaNa were really missing! That was strange, they were by his side when he was walking in. Where did they go?
Liu Gan retreated back to the front gate to look for Yin He and NaNa, but there were no signs of them. With his enhanced vision, he looked past the front gate to see that there was dense black fog beyond!