LRAB Chapter 36 The Mysterious Garden of Eden
Chapter 36 The Mysterious Garden of Eden
The emerald light faded, and the teleportation platform beneath their feet disappeared.
In its place, there is a lush green meadow.
The sunlight streamed down from above, warm and pleasant, carrying the sweet scent of flowers and grass, and the air was unbelievably clean.
At the end of the road was a small town, with wisps of smoke rising from its chimneys, symbolizing that...
people.
Men and women in linen robes walked in twos and threes on the street. Some were elderly people leading children, some were carrying baskets to shop, and some were sitting in front of their doors basking in the sun and taking a nap.
Everyone wore a gentle smile, and when they saw the first squad appear at the town entrance, they even waved to them.
Zhao Leiguang slowly lowered the two shields he had raised.
He turned to look at the teleportation coordinates behind him, then at the idyllic pastoral scene before him, his expression quite interesting.
"...Did we go to the wrong place?"
Shen Xinglin rode on his warhorse, gripping and loosening the Thousand Changes Handle in his hand repeatedly. His horse, however, was much more honest than he was, its ears constantly perked up and its hooves pawing restlessly at the ground.
Wen Yue held the World-Destroying Thunderbolt crossbow, its muzzle pointed towards the town. Her finger rested on the trigger, but she hesitated to pull it—opposite her was an old woman smiling at her.
Xiao Qianyu's gaze swept over the area above the town, and she brought up the Secret Realm panel.
[S-Rank Secret Realm: Garden of Eden]
[Recommendation Level: 50]
[Difficulty of the Secret Realm: Extremely Difficult]
Drop quality: Grade A to Grade S
[Current Area: Outer Ring - Pastoral Town]
"I definitely didn't go the wrong way." Xiao Qianyu put away the panel and gripped the Red Lotus Goddess Spear tightly.
But she did not order an attack.
The entire squad fell into a strange state of stagnation.
Su Yunqing walked over and squatted down next to a little girl. The little girl was about seven or eight years old, with two pigtails, holding a bunch of wildflowers in her hands, and smiling up at Su Yunqing.
"Sister, are you a new traveler?"
Su Yunqing's hand froze in mid-air. As a healer, she was naturally sensitive to signs of life. This little girl did indeed have signs of life; she had body temperature, she was breathing, and she could even smell the sun-kissed scent of milk on her.
It looks exactly like a real person.
"...Lu Yan." Xiao Qianyu turned around.
Lu Yan stood at the very back of the group, his Eternal Scepter planted firmly on the ground as he observed the movements of the "residents".
The elderly woman's stride was consistent. The woman carrying the basket wiped her sweat every thirty seconds, the movements identical.
The old man dozing at the door appeared to have his eyes closed, but his breathing rate had remained unchanged since the first squad appeared.
"monster."
"They're all monsters. There's not a single living person from one end of town to the other. Let's fight them quickly."
Zhao Leiguang opened his mouth and glanced again at the little girl who was smiling at Su Yunqing.
"But--"
Lu Yan interrupted him, "Something's not right here. Let's make our move before they change."
Xiao Qianyu no longer hesitated.
She gripped the Crimson Lotus Goddess Spear in her right hand, the tip pointing downwards, and stepped forward with her left foot, lowering her center of gravity. The skill icon for "Flash Strike" lit up on the system panel.
She identified the nearest "resident"—a middle-aged man wiping a table by the roadside.
With a flick of his wrist, a compressed stream of flame shot out from the tip of the spear.
Then she disappeared.
The next instant, a burst of white light exploded behind the middle-aged man wiping the table.
His body was severed in two, and before he could fall to the ground, it turned into countless data fragments.
Xiao Qianyu's figure appeared where the fragments had dissipated—but only for less than 0.3 seconds.
The chain effect of "Flash Strike" has been triggered.
Upon eliminating the first target, the skill automatically locked onto the next unit within a 15-meter radius. An old woman was smiling.
Xiao Qianyu's figure disappeared again. A dark red arc of light flashed behind the old woman, and she shattered, exploding in white light.
The third one. The fourth one. The fifth one.
Zhao Leiguang stood still, his head turning left and right following the dark red afterimage. He gave up on the eighth turn because he couldn't keep up at all.
The "residents" along the street finally reacted. Their kind smiles didn't disappear, but their bodies began to surge towards Xiao Qianyu. Some opened their mouths, revealing three rows of inward-pointing, barbed teeth. Others swelled, their linen robes tearing to reveal deformed bodies covered in white scales.
The little girl who smiled at Su Yunqing turned her head back, her smile still on her face, but her neck had turned 180 degrees.
Su Yunqing instinctively took two steps back.
But they didn't have time to do anything more.
The moment Xiao Qianyu made her move, Lu Yan activated all his auras. The Scepter of Eternity lit up, and golden buff ripples spread outwards in concentric circles, covering the entire team.
The moment all the buffs were fully stacked, Xiao Qianyu's stats doubled.
The Crimson Lotus Goddess Spear is a weapon tailor-made for "Flash Strike". With a base stat of 1100, doubled attack power, and full critical hit and fire damage, the single-target damage of each Flash Strike exceeds the single-hit output of her "Crimson Storm" ultimate skill.
This skill has no cooldown.
As long as there is another lockable target within the range, the chain will not be broken.
Dark red arcs of light wove a crazy net across the town's streets.
None of the monsters that had just revealed their true forms could withstand a single blow.
Seven seconds.
From the moment Xiao Qianyu launched her first flash attack until the last monster was reduced to fragments, a total of seven seconds elapsed.
The entire street was deserted.
Then the fall began.
Lu Yan's pre-set filter activated immediately, filtering all junk equipment below Grade A into energy crystals for recycling. Energy crystals could be exchanged for cash, though in relatively small amounts. This filter had already thoroughly screened everything.
But what remained still left everyone dumbfounded.
The ground was covered with orbs of light. Golden, orange, and a few emitting a dark purple glow. They were densely packed, stretching from one end of the street to the other, covering the entire ground. Each orb contained a piece of physical equipment, waiting to be picked up.
The system logs are scrolling wildly—
[Rank A - Sword of Judgment x4]
[Rank A - Watcher's Armor x7]
[S-Rank Stormbringer Longbow x1]
[Rank A - Holy Shield Fragment x12]
[S-Rank Aurora Robe x1]
……
The scrolling speed is so fast that the content of each line is invisible to the naked eye, but every few lines a dazzling golden "S" will pop up.
Zhao Leiguang squatted down, picked up a golden ball of light at his feet, and opened it.
A Grade A heavy armor appeared in his hand. It was well-made and had runes flashing. It was a level better than the main armor he had used for the past six months.
If this item were sold in an outside trading house, it would fetch at least five million.
There are at least thousands of such orbs of light on the ground.
He then picked up a dark purple orb of light from the side.
[S-Rank Earth Guardian Leggings]
"..."
Zhao Leiguang lifted the leg guards, examined them three times over, and then slowly turned to look at Lu Yan.
Lu Yan was squatting on the ground, nonchalantly putting things into his storage space, his movements almost like rummaging through discounted items on a supermarket shelf.
Wen Yue walked over to his side and silently helped him pick them up. Her storage space was relatively large, and she was efficient. The two of them squatted silently among the S-grade equipment orbs scattered on the ground, the scene quiet yet eerie.
Shen Xinglin's warhorse nudged a ball of light on the ground with its nose. The ball rolled two meters away and collided with another ball of light, and the two rolled together.
The horse snorted, probably because it was in the way.
Su Yunqing stood there, still holding the Gift of Yao Guang in her arms, her expression complex. Having been a healer for so many years, traversing countless secret realms, the best loot she had ever seen was an A-grade staff; the entire team was so excited they almost burst into tears.
The ground is now littered with A-grade and above items, and there are even several S-grade items, rolling around like they're free.
She suddenly felt that all the hardships she had endured over the years had been redefined by something.
"This is just the first wave of mobs in the outer area." Lu Yan stood up, dusting off his knees. "There are still elite monsters and a boss inside."
Zhao Leiguang stuffed the S-grade leg guards into his storage space, and his legs felt a little weak when he stood up. Not from fatigue, but from the stimulation.
"Brother Yan," his voice was a little unsteady, "tell me the truth, after we finish this secret realm, shouldn't we completely equip the entire Huaxia Legion with new gear from head to toe?"
Lu Yan thought for a moment.
"Take another look, your kid's gear is all set."