"Holy shit, bro, these crystals on its back are good stuff!"

Qin Ziwu hurried over, holding a basketball-sized crystal in each hand. They glowed faintly in the dim light.

Qin Ziwen took one.

The small orb of light from his Home floated up beside him, displaying a notification.

[Level 1 Marvel] Earth Spirit Source Stone (Can be socketed into a mineral vein resource point)

He took the other one, and the orb displayed the same notification again.

He then thought back to the clusters of crystals, large and small, that he had seen on the Giant Rock Dragon’s back.

Qin Ziwen’s breath hitched.

’How many Source Stones must there be?’

’Is this Giant Rock Dragon some kind of Marvel wholesaler? The AAA Marvel supplier, Brother Long?’

Suppressing his excitement, Qin Ziwen said to his brother, "Go get all the Source Stones off it first, then get a count."

"Okay." Qin Ziwu turned and left. Qin Ziwen looked at the two Earth Spirit Source Stones in his hands; they were so large that he had his hands full just holding them.

The hunt for the Giant Rock Dragon today had been an unprecedented haul.

Not only had he ascended to Extraordinary through the Third Gear, but he had also obtained a one-of-a-kind Miracle Card.

Not to mention all the other Function Cards and Marvels.

This was probably the value of the only Third Gear hunting target on the current map.

Just then, the Home’s orb of light delivered another message:

[All challenge tasks for the current map have been completed. Traversal countdown initiated: 71:59:59]

"I knew it." Qin Ziwen’s brow furrowed. ’Completing all the tasks starts the traversal countdown. I’ll know for next time.’

But even without the countdown, today was already their twenty-fourth day in the Gobi Desert.

The third traversal in three days would put them at their twenty-seventh day in the Gobi Desert.

Compared to the thirty-day total time limit, this was only three days early. If they hadn’t completed the hunt today, the Extraordinary mission would have failed.

’When we get to the next map, anyone who finished their tasks this late probably won’t be a particularly strong competitor.’

At the exact moment Qin Ziwen received the message, countless Lords of the Homeland, no matter what they were doing, received the same notification at the same time.

"The last task is complete."

"What was the task?"

When they opened the Hunting Celestial List and saw that the Level 3 Task at the very top—hunting the Giant Rock Dragon—was marked as complete.

Countless people were stunned.

In the Oasis, Wang Sheng, who was overseeing the relocation of supplies, saw this and a relieved smile spread across his face.

"HAHAHAHA!"

He couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

’Thank goodness, thank goodness I surrendered early!’

Elsewhere, Cao Biansheng, who was polishing his weapon, suddenly sat bolt upright. He rubbed his eyes and carefully confirmed the big word "Complete," sighing in sincere admiration, "Fucking awesome!"

Others might not have known, but he knew the inside story.

And because he knew, he was even more shocked.

Because the Chairman had gone to complete his mission to ascend to Extraordinary!

And since the Giant Rock Dragon was now shown as successfully hunted, it meant the Chairman’s mission to become Extraordinary had, in all likelihood, succeeded!

He couldn’t even begin to imagine how difficult that mission must have been.

And the Chairman, who had managed to ascend to Extraordinary through such a trial, had now transformed to what new level of power?

Whether others felt envy, jealousy, or fear was of no concern to Qin Ziwen at that moment.

Because he was busy examining the Spoils of War from his victory.

[Function Card] Level 1 Insight, [Function Card] Level 1 Anchor Connection, [Function Card] Level 1 Anchor Connection.

Besides Insight, the other two Function Cards were both Anchor Connection.

The remaining Healing Card was an Internal Injury Healing Card (Small).

At the bottom of the chasm, everyone was still busy. The Giant Rock Dragon’s head, the crystals from its back, and its hard bones were being dismantled piece by piece.

But while the Giant Rock Dragon’s hide was extremely tough, it wasn’t intact. The crystals growing on its body had taken the place of skin, riddling the otherwise complete hide with holes of all sizes.

Furthermore, the remaining portions were severely damaged by the burning gasoline, leaving very little usable material.

According to Chen Pi, only a very small portion of the damaged hide was preserved well enough to be used.

It was barely enough to make a few small items like gloves, hats, or boots. As for Leather Armor, that was out of the question.

"These holes... they didn’t grow naturally from inside its body?" Qin Ziwen was a little surprised.

Chen Pi shook his head. "Replying to my lord, it doesn’t feel like they grew naturally from its body. It seems more like something parasitic on its skin."

He paused for a moment before adding in a low voice, "Your subordinate observed that where the crystals connected to the flesh, the muscle tissue was shriveled and atrophied, the vital essence and blood depleted, as if it had been squeezed dry... as if something had drained its life force."

Hearing this, Qin Ziwen froze, his gaze involuntarily turning toward the cave where the Giant Rock Dragon had laired.

He glanced at the pitch-black sky and decided to investigate tomorrow.

***

After everyone returned to the Gated Community, the news of Qin Ziwen breaking through to the Extraordinary realm spread like wildfire that very day.

When the news got out,

the Alliance Association and the Student Union received the bombshell news that shook the entire Gated Community at almost the same time.

Of the three major powers in the Gated Community, the chairman of the Qin Alliance was the first to become Extraordinary.

And it wasn’t just him; his Recruiter and his pet had also become Extraordinary. One family now monopolized three Extraordinaries.

The difference in power was obvious to anyone with eyes.

When Huang Tao heard the news, he had mixed feelings. It was the sense of loss that comes from watching an acquaintance suddenly make it big, then rocket ahead, leaving you further and further behind as the gap between you widens.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to catch up; he just didn’t even know which direction to run.

Sitting alone in his room, he sighed to himself. ’It had to be you. You became Extraordinary so fast. I bet the next person in your Qin Alliance is close, too.’

Suddenly, an idea struck Huang Tao. ’Maybe I could give him a gift to congratulate him on becoming Extraordinary.’

’Even though we’re not in the same Alliance, that doesn’t mean we can’t be on good terms.’

’Besides, we don’t have any bad blood between us, and we share a "bond of comrades." Another friend is another path forward.’

Previously, Huang Tao might not have thought this way, but as the gap between them grew, he had gradually come to accept the reality of the situation.

In another room, Zhang Bo was first ecstatic upon hearing the news, then relieved. ’Thank God, thank God. I might have been a little late getting on board, but it’s not like I’ve missed my chance.’

But then his thoughts took a darker turn, a shadow crossing his face. ’That dog Zou Jianghe definitely has people watching me. He’s been distant ever since I got back from the Qin Alliance. He and Huang Tao went out last time and didn’t even ask me to come. That guy... he hasn’t gotten suspicious of me, has he?’

’But you’re too simple-minded. The Gated Community is only so big, and there are only so many people in the Alliance. You can’t hide everything from me. Chairman Qin has made his breakthrough. I have to go give him a gift.’

Zhang Bo went to his Salt Well in the backyard. Looking at the structure, which had already been upgraded to a Level 2 building, he wondered, ’My Salt Well is Level 2 now, too. Why is the quality still not as good as his? Could it be that his building isn’t a Salt Well?’

Finally, Zhang Bo sighed, took out ten jin of green salt from a nearby cabinet, thought for a moment, and then took out another item from a different cabinet, carefully putting it away.