After leaving the tavern, Qin Ziwen went to spar with Du Yu at the training grounds.

On the sparring platform, he felt Du Yu’s oppressive presence more directly.

Across the platform, Du Yu stood with his spear in hand.

On his side was a military formation of eight men, led by Qin Ziwen himself and including Qin Ziwu, Cao Biansheng, Yuan Ming, Yuan Dajun, Wang Yun, Yang Cunshen, and Deng Guang.

The same formation that could hold its own against Du Yu for a long time just a few days ago was broken six times in three minutes today.

Du Yu’s great spear moved as if through an empty battlefield. If his strength was previously within the understandable scope of a historical figure, it had now reached the level of the inhumanly fierce heroes from romanticized epics.

It was becoming increasingly absurd.

The group drilled until eleven at night before returning to their respective homes to rest.

After washing up, Qin Ziwen was in bed by almost midnight.

Precisely at midnight, the familiar voice finally sounded in his ear.

"You have successfully survived for one week on the Gobi Map. During this week, you obtained a large number of Cards, successfully cultivated an Extraordinary recruited follower, and completed one Hunting Celestial List Level 2 Task... Comprehensive Score: 1845"

"Rewards granted: [Breakthrough Card] Extreme Breakthrough Card x2, [Function Card] Level 1 Insight x1, [Expansion Card] Height Expansion Card (Medium) x1, [Upgrade Card] Building Upgrade Card x1, [Expansion Card] Grassland Expansion Card (Large) x1"

Qin Ziwen patiently examined his rewards. They could only be described as bountiful.

Two Breakthrough Cards were equivalent to two tickets to becoming Extraordinary.

Then there was the Function Card, a medium Height Expansion Card, and a new type of card he had never seen before—an Upgrade Card.

The Upgrade Card was pure black with a single white upward-pointing arrow on its face.

[Upgrade Card] Building Upgrade Card: Can upgrade an Ordinary Building to an Advanced Building of the same type. Building Level -1.

He took out the Building Upgrade Card. The completely black card felt slightly heavy, like some kind of dark metal.

The card’s effect was terrifying. As everyone knew, the probability of obtaining an Ordinary Building was far greater than that of an Advanced Building.

He currently had two Level 3 Ordinary Buildings, but all his Advanced Buildings were still at Level 1, which showed just how difficult it was to upgrade them.

He just needed to raise an Ordinary Building to Level 6 or 7, then use the Upgrade Card, and he could instantly obtain a Level 5 or higher Advanced Building of the same type.

The later he used this card, the more value he could squeeze out of it.

As for the last item, the large Expansion Card.

A single card could basically solve the problem of large buildings taking up too much space.

A medium Expansion Card added a 50x50 meter area to the Home, while a large one added 100x100 meters.

That was a full ten thousand square meters—an area larger than a soccer field.

Although he had received fewer Cards overall, they were all high-quality.

Besides, there were other ways to obtain ordinary cards. He had acquired nearly twenty Cards from hunting this week, most of which were Ordinary Building Cards.

Qin Ziwen wanted to use the Extreme Breakthrough Card on himself, but after thinking about Du Yu’s three tasks, he hesitated and set the idea aside for now.

’If I accept it now, I’m afraid I won’t even be able to complete the Second Gear task.’

’At best, I’d only be able to complete the First Gear task, which is unacceptable to me.’

’I’ve seen better options, but I’d be forced to choose the worst. It’s obvious the potential from the First Gear task is inferior to the Second.’

’As for the Third Gear task... I might as well hope for the weekly settlement to give me something good someday.’

’Preferably a Card that could waive the requirements and complete the task directly.’

Then he took out the Function Card: Insight.

This was an old friend; the very first Function Card he ever received was Insight.

He crushed it and used it.

[Function Activated: Level 3 Insight]

[Authority has been increased. Current Authority: Level 3 Authority (2/8)]

[Level 3 Insight: Can be used on Card Buildings, Resource Points, Recruited Units, Humans, and Beasts to perceive their basic rules or attributes.]

Compared to Level 2 Insight, Level 3 Insight added the ability to inspect beasts.

’The only use I can think of for this is to more quickly identify superior individuals within wild populations. That would be pretty good if I plan on capturing and raising wild animals.’

Lying in bed, drowsiness washed over him, and he closed his eyes to rest.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, Qin Ziwen didn’t wake up until after nine.

He had been exhausted recently, leaving early and returning late, all while dealing with the heat of the Gobi Desert.

With Du Yu having completed his task, a weight was lifted from Qin Ziwen’s mind.

It was rare for him to sleep in.

At three in the afternoon, two new Car-Mounted Crossbows were successfully forged. With four Car-Mounted Crossbows now in his possession, Qin Ziwen’s confidence swelled.

Before beginning his expedition plan, he decided to first complete a nearby Hunting Celestial List task.

On a sand dune, Luo Gang pointed down at the pack of Gobi Desert Giant Lizards guarding a nearby altar.

"We’ve been watching this pack of Gobi Desert Giant Lizards for two days and noticed something interesting. While other animals have migrated due to the lack of water, these things have stayed put. We later found out why: they can dig. They find moist sand at the bottom of the sand layer and then bury themselves in it. Their skin can probably absorb moisture directly from the damp earth."

Down below, the four Car-Mounted Crossbows were lined up in a row. The core members of the hunting party were arranged in pairs, each stationed beside a crossbow.

The Car-Mounted Crossbows would be the core of this attack.

Next, Du Yu was responsible for flanking attacks and finishing off any survivors.

At the rear of the formation, students from the Student Union formed small groups of three. Armed with long spears and bows and arrows, they were responsible for providing cover and harassment. Others held up wooden shields, forming small shield walls.

They were not the main offensive force, but they would repel and delay the Gobi Desert Giant Lizards if the pack tried to swarm them.

As the winches turned, four men began to wind the Car-Mounted Crossbows.

They looked back at Qin Ziwen on the slope. Qin Ziwen raised his right hand, then swung it down.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

Four thick crossbow arrows, wreathed in a furious howl of wind, shot forth from the crossbow wagons.

One Gobi Desert Giant Lizard couldn’t react in time and took a bolt straight to the head, pinning it dead to the ground.

Another lizard’s abdomen was pierced through, nailing it alive to the ground.

Of the remaining two crossbow arrows, one snapped a Gobi Desert Giant Lizard’s tail, while the other grazed a lizard’s scalp before embedding itself in a cliff face.

The first volley: one dead, one heavily wounded, one lightly wounded.

The Gobi Desert Giant Lizards, which had been peacefully sunbathing on the ground, fell into a brief panic.

One terrified lizard scrambled away on its short, thick legs. After fleeing for a dozen or so meters, it noticed that its companions hadn’t moved and stopped awkwardly.

The pack of lizards raised their heads, searching for the enemy that dared to attack them.

Finally, they turned their heads and locked onto the humans several dozen meters away.

There were hardly any other animals nearby. The only suspicious ones were this group of humans who had appeared out of nowhere.

A dozen or so Gobi Desert Giant Lizards whipped their thick tails and charged toward the group.

While they were still on their way, the second volley was already upon them.

Two of the Gobi Desert Giant Lizards were struck as if by a sledgehammer, their bodies sent flying by the crossbow arrows. They rolled several times on the ground before falling still.

Faced with the assault from the crossbow wagons, the Gobi Desert Giant Lizards’ charge slowed for a moment.

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