Chapter 37: An Encounter with an Acquaintance! The Blue Roulette Appears Once More!

Footsteps.

Based on Jiang Yi’s experience, he could tell just from the sound—those were human footsteps. Furthermore, the person walking through this darkness did not seem to be stumbling blindly. The footsteps sounded steady, as if the owner could clearly see through the surrounding gloom.

Just as he was thinking this, accompanied by the increasingly clear footsteps, a voice suddenly emerged:

"Jiang Yi? Is that you, Jiang Yi?"

The voice was very close, less than ten meters away. Yet, from Jiang Yi's perspective, he couldn't see a shred of light. Never mind ten meters; he couldn't see a single thing within even ten centimeters of his vision. And yet, in the same dark environment, the other person could see him and had even accurately identified him.

Having been reborn, Jiang Yi naturally guessed the reason. However, he feigned surprise on the surface and called out toward the voice:

"Li Shoude? Is that you, Li Shoude? Can you see me?"

The footsteps grew closer and stopped only about two or three meters away from him. While Jiang Yi remained vigilant in his heart, his expression was one of relief and delight at encountering a familiar face.

Li Shoude’s voice also sounded joyful and excited as he took the initiative to explain:

"Yes, it’s me. I can see you! The polar night environment of this beast world is not just ordinary darkness. In a place like this, even if you carry glow-worms or other lighting tools, they won't emit any light. However, there is a magical fruit that can help players see in this environment."

As he spoke, Li Shoude reached out and took Jiang Yi’s hand. The gesture was not aggressive, and Jiang Yi did not resist. He soon felt Li Shoude place a cool, smooth fruit into his palm.

"This fruit is called 'Inner Clarity.' Eat one, and you’ll gain two hours of night vision. I’ve ventured through other beast worlds with a death squad before, so I always keep some of these on me."

"Though, this fruit isn't particularly rare; it usually grows in most beast worlds with a polar night environment. The principle is much like in martial arts novels—where there are poisonous snakes, there is an antidote within seven steps. Eat this 'Inner Clarity' first; once you can see clearly, everything else will be easier."

When Li Shoude was with Luo Shan’s team, he had always acted like a simple, honest man who avoided trouble. His attitude toward Jiang Yi now was filled with the excitement and warmth of one fellow townsman meeting another, and his words were dripping with goodwill.

Jiang Yi, who was ostensibly on his first trip to a beast world, appeared to have no suspicions and ate the "Inner Clarity" fruit.

Along with the cool sensation, there was a hint of spiciness. Simultaneously, a burning sensation surged in his eyes, but he could indeed see his surroundings now. Although it wasn't as clear as seeing in broad daylight, his basic ability to distinguish objects was restored.

Jiang Yi played the part of a rookie using the fruit for the first time, looking amazed and pleasantly surprised: "This is so magical! It actually lets you see in the dark!"

Li Shoude smiled kindly. "Haha! Since the doomsday game arrived, have there been any shortage of magical things? Once you grow stronger, your horizons will broaden as well!"

"Oh, right!" As he spoke, Li Shoude’s expression shifted, as if he had just remembered something. He looked at Jiang Yi with surprise, scanned him up and down, and after a moment of careful consideration, lowered his voice:

"Little Jiang, tell Uncle Li the truth. When I saw you use that shoulder throw on that kid Zhang Peng earlier, your movements were incredibly clean and efficient. Do you have some martial arts training that you’ve been hiding?"

Jiang Yi continued to feign the role of a novice, but he didn't answer immediately, instead cautiously asking in return: "Why does Uncle Li ask this all of a sudden?"

"It’s nothing complicated. It’s just that on my way here... I discovered a blue wheel!" Li Shoude deliberately lowered his voice, but his tone could not hide his excitement. "It’s just a pity that there’s a beast guarding the area near the blue wheel! I’m too weak on my own, and I don't have the hundred years of lifespan required to spin a blue wheel, so I gave up on it. But now that I’ve run into you, I think if the two of us work together, we might find a way to get our hands on it!"

He continued to persuade him: "Based on my experience in the death squad, blue wheels are already quite precious. And generally speaking, the wheels scattered throughout beast worlds are of higher quality than the ones dropped by monsters we kill during normal encounters! If we can secure that wheel, it would be quite a gain!"

Jiang Yi remained calm internally, but he acted exactly as Li Shoude hoped, appearing tempted. Still, he didn't agree immediately, looking at Li Shoude with a conflicted expression: "But even if we get that blue wheel, there’s only one... and there are two of us..."

"That’s easy to settle!" Li Shoude said breezily. "Let’s discuss it as we go; the place is very close from here!"

Jiang Yi didn't decline and followed Li Shoude toward the northwest of the polar night plains. After walking for about a few minutes, Li Shoude pointed to a tall, barren tree and said:

"Look at that tree! In that bird's nest—is that blue object a blue wheel?"

Jiang Yi followed his gaze and, sure enough, saw a blue wheel sitting inside the bird's nest.

Ordinarily, wheels found scattered in beast worlds are items dropped after a beast dies. In a beast world like the Qin Lake, the beasts are generally of very low rank. The fundamental reason for their low rank is their bloodline. Low bloodlines mean low intelligence. Low intelligence means they cannot speak or take on human form. These low-level beasts do not know how to handle the Fate Wheels, so they leave them scattered about. Therefore, in the early days of the apocalypse, players often found these scattered Fate Wheels in many low-level beast worlds.

However, the situation is different in high-level beast worlds. Those beasts with noble bloodlines are known as the Beast Race. The Beast Race can use Fate Wheels to draw prizes just like human players!

In fact... the reason beast worlds are later referred to as "Realm Battlefields" is because human players discovered that those high-bloodline beasts are not only as intelligent as humans but are also born with an initial lifespan far exceeding that of humans!

A human infant has a lifespan of at most a little over a hundred years. But some Beast Race infants are born with lifespans reaching tens of thousands of years!

Thus, as the doomsday game progressed, when human players finally stepped onto the true Realm Battlefields, they realized too late that... the Human Race was actually at the very bottom of the food chain among all the myriad races!

However, that was a story for a year into the doomsday game. As for the current Jiang Yi, after his gaze swept over the blue wheel in the bird's nest, he asked Li Shoude curiously:

"I see the blue wheel, but I don't see any beast guarding it, do I?"