Chapter 1217: Real and Fake Merchants, Confused Contestants!
"This canyon is even more difficult than the Earth Fire Desert!"
Su Mo raised his eyebrows and understood immediately after browsing the detailed description of the terrain below.
Although the Earth Fire Desert is difficult, there is no link that directly tests the contestants' performance in a short period of time.
As long as you can buy enough drinking water and food directly from the merchants in the first stage without saving points, the test is more about persistence.
But this Rolling Stone Canyon is different, and it tests the contestants' upper limit in a short time.
A 15-kilometer canyon needs to be cleared within 15 minutes, so the speed needs to be maintained at at least 60 kilometers per hour.
Even if the terrain in the canyon is downhill all the way, it is still a big and thorny problem.
It is not surprising that the difficulty is one star higher.
On the other side.
Qi Jie and the other four have also chosen their rewards, which are also the first item that must be selected and the fifth item with the largest discount coupon.
At this time, looking at the information displayed in the manual, the four were a little dumbfounded.
"Someone is actually faster than us. I wonder who he is."
"This is too abnormal. One kilometer per minute. Even aliens can't rush through, right?"
"It seems that we need to use tools. I wonder if our sand board can go downhill at this speed."
"Why don't you try it? Anyway, you can teleport back if you are about to fail."
Xi Ruyue suggested quietly, which immediately caused Guan Mao and Zhang Jun to shake their heads.
Although the fruit forest at the end of the canyon looks very tempting, the four-star difficulty is higher than the Earth Fire Desert.
The two of them thought that they were lucky to be able to walk here. If they wanted to challenge the canyon as a first-timer, it would be a bit rude.
But at this moment, there was a noise coming from the oasis in front.
Looking back, they saw three figures walking slowly in the small path leading to the interior.
The one who arrived one step earlier than the five people
was actually a human!
"These three people are so fast. What are their origins?"
Qi Jie was secretly shocked.
Little did they know that the three people on the opposite side were also shocked at this time, surprised that there were five people coming together.
And the one standing in the middle seemed familiar.
Wait
"That's. Su Shen!" Unable to help but exclaim, the three people hurriedly quickened their pace and walked out.
As the most promising favorite to win the main competition.
Before the departure, the major territories repeatedly reminded their contestants that as long as they met the human Su Shen, they would just follow him closely.
Even if they couldn't eat the most delicious "meat", it would be an opportunity that others would envy to drink some soup!
When they arrived at this oasis in the morning, they didn't see any signs of biological activity. They thought that the human Su Shen had already passed through the canyon and went to the terrain behind.
Unexpectedly, the final result was that they arrived first, a few points faster than Su Shen.
"Everyone is advocating that Su Shen is terrible, and in this comparison, we are not bad."
With a trace of pride in his heart, the leading man walked out with a smile.
Although he did not try to climb up the ladder like an ordinary person and try to make friends, he still maintained enough respect.
After all, a person's reputation is like a tree's shadow.
Although they were slightly ahead, they were not ahead by much, and they were still trapped in the oasis and could not move forward.
Maybe Su Mo had the tools to pass the canyon, and they still had to rely on him.
"Lord Su Mo, I didn't expect to meet you here!"
"I am Gong Manting, the deputy lord of Changgong Territory.
Gong Manting's personal image is somewhat similar to that of a Jianghu Ranger.
He has a burly body, like a small mountain, and his exposed skin is tanned by the sun, like a piece of hardwood polished by time, full of texture.
His eyes are bright and firm, revealing a hint of the breath of a superior, but not a sense of superiority.
In addition, his short and rough hair, which stood up like a steel needle, is similar to the one next to him. Two ordinary-looking men standing together are obviously more eye-catching.
But Gong Manting?
Never heard of it.
Su Mo knew about Changgong Territory. It was originally located in the west of the New World, not far from Longqi Territory.
Later, as Longqi expanded several times, Changgong naturally joined it and became Changgong City.
But this Gong Manting, Su Mo did not find such a person in the memory of the future ruins.
Presumably, either he died early due to some accident, or his strength was not ranked in the wasteland.
"Hello, Lord Gong."
Su Mo nodded gently, still acting kind but not losing his sense of distance.
"I didn't expect you to be so fast. It's only the seventh day that you have crossed the desert."
"No, we are just a little lucky. We just arrived a little while ago."
Seeing that Su Mo was not as aggressive and strong as the rumors said, Gong Manting breathed a sigh of relief.
"You have worked hard on the journey. It's cool in the oasis to cool down. Please!"
"Please! "
Along a trampled tree-lined path, the group walked into the center.
Gong Manting walked in front to lead the way while chatting about their experience of crossing the desert.
"My two brothers are also from the Changgong territory. When we first arrived in this desert, we were lucky enough to be grouped together, saving points to buy contact symbols to find the location.
When we bought items from the merchants in the first stage, we originally planned to buy one tent per person, but there was only one on the sales list, so we took the risk and bought it twice. Unexpectedly, in addition to tents, we also got really good things. "
After walking a few more steps and pointing to the three large kites hanging on the tree, Gong Manting laughed.
This time the main competition gathers all the top players among human beings.
It's both a good thing and a bad thing.
Their complete caution and strength allow these people to allocate their physical strength and points very rationally.
But the price is the loss of some adventure opportunities.
Not to mention using points to refresh in the first stage, even those who bought water did not dare to buy an extra bottle.
"Since we won't really fall to death anyway, we simply transformed the big kite we bought into a low-altitude hang glider."
"As long as the wind direction is right, we can fly two hundred kilometers in one day."
Speaking of this, Gong Manting changed his tone.
"Lord Su, how did you get here? It seems to me that you didn't use this kind of gliding tool. This journey was extremely hard, wasn't it?"
Further inside the oasis is an open space that the three of them simply cleared inside the center.
Three lonely tents stood in the middle, with a small, unfinished fire in the middle.
"It's really hard work. We came all the way from the ground."
Soma answered truthfully.
Although the opponent was skating in the sky and they were skating on the ground, compared to the level of difficulty, the latter was indeed more difficult.
"To be able to walk so fast on the ground, it seems that Lord Su's methods are better than ours.
Gong Manting seemed to be flattering in a quiet way, but in fact, there was an uncomfortable sense of pride in his words, as if he was saying clearly to the audience in the sky:
Although the human Su Shen's methods are clever, they are not bad at all, or even stronger.
In response, Sumo frowned and did not refute.
It is true that these three people got there first, so it is normal to be a little proud.
"By the way, you have also received the prompts from the game. Those of us who arrived first can choose any three of several rewards. In addition to the must-select Rolling Stone Canyon information, I recommend choosing fresh water and bread."
Gong Manting kindly reminded: "The merchants over there are selling some high-priced goods, and the cheapest ones cost a thousand points. It is better for us to save some points and use them in the back terrain. Even if we really pass If you can’t go to this canyon, you can just buy it when you exit.”
Discover water sources and oasis in challenge tasks, and a total of 300 points will be awarded.
After three nights in a row without getting lost and crossing the entire desert, I earned another five hundred points.
In addition to the 900 rewards for successfully surviving two disasters, as well as the daily mission rewards for seven days.
As long as they can reach the border of the desert, the contestants are destined to earn more than 2,000 points in the competition.
Putting aside some of the money spent, having one thousand to one thousand five hundred in hand is a reasonable range.
Coupled with the bonus coupon, you can purchase even products priced at 2,000 points.
"Of course, if we can cross the canyon today, the fruit trees at the end should be edible."
"Then you don't have to choose food and fresh water. You can make more money by choosing points and coupons."
Gong Manting told the truth, but his understatement made Qi Jie and the others unhappy.
It’s only half a day ahead.
If they had not chosen to rest, they would have reached the edge of this terrain long ago.
Why are you still pretending now?
"We only have two rewards." Qi Jie replied angrily.
"Only two items?"
Gong Manting was a little surprised and quickly reacted:
"Then the top ten should be able to choose three rewards, right?"
"Don't worry, the three of us have chosen food and fresh water. If you are short of it, we are willing to sell some to you at the price of the fourth-stage merchants and 50 points lower, as if we are making friends."
Stage 4 businessman?
Doesn’t that mean you have to sell a bottle of water for 100 points? Seventy points for a piece of food?
The corners of Sumo's eyes twitched when he heard this. The fresh water he sold to the foreign tribe was only fifty points a share. Who expected that someone would sell it to him for double the price?
And also in the comforting tone of making friends?
"We have water and food, thank you." Qi Jie stood in front, his tone becoming a little cold.
He could see that Su Mo was feeling a little unhappy now, but he took it out immediately due to his bad feelings.
"Is there water and food?"
Gong Manting was experienced in the world for a long time, but now he felt a little confused when he felt the change in the other party's attitude.
Along the way he met many contestants, some of whom were even willing to exchange two hundred or more points for fresh water.
Now in order to make friends with Sumo, he is willing to sell it at a discount of 100 points.
No matter how I spoke, I felt like I had offended the other person.
Could it be that the other party wants to buy it at the price of 50 points from the first-stage merchant?
Gong Manting's expression changed, and finally he said angrily:
"Well, you must be tired after all the way here, so we won't interrupt your rest first!"
"Forget about the plants and springs in the oasis, you must also know about it."
With two subordinates, the three of them turned towards the tent camp and continued to deal with the unfinished small fire.
Although the water from the Earth Fire Spring is not drinkable, it is fine for other things.
Taking advantage of the ample time now, they plan to use spring water mixed with soil to bake some pottery, and try to see if they can distill the spring water to remove the side effects.
"Let's go over there."
Su Mo turned his head and looked around, pointing to the side of the oasis that was closer to the Rolling Stone Canyon.
This oasis covers a vast area, and the open space in the center alone is twice as large as the previous oasis.
There are also many water points inside, but the spring point on the side of the canyon is the largest, so it is natural to occupy it first while there are fewer people.
"Brother Gong, they didn't occupy the central position, but went to the remote place over there."
Gu Wei hurriedly whispered as he saw that the few people were out of sight.
Gong Manting was already a little depressed, and he turned his head and looked twice, and felt more and more that Su Mo was deliberately avoiding them.
"Don't think too much, maybe we arrived early and stole the limelight, which made Su Shen unhappy."
Gu Honghai, who was concentrating on stirring the mud, also raised his head and looked twice, and then comforted him, which immediately caused the two to nod frequently, and they felt a little bitter in their hearts.
Who doesn't know that the human Su Shen is the undisputed first in any disaster competition, big or small.
It would be fine if no one saw it now, but there were probably hundreds of millions of viewers watching the main event. Their stealing of the limelight might be a disaster rather than a blessing.
"After you finish baking the stove, take out two bottles of water. I'll go apologize to Lord Su."
Gong Manting seemed to have a spit stuck in his throat, and he couldn't help but spit it out:
"But I never thought that the first person in the human race would be so narrow-minded. It seems that the rumors outside are a bit false."
"Brother Gong, be careful with your words!"
Gu Honghai stretched out his muddy hand and pointed upwards without showing any expression.
The three of them shut up immediately and concentrated on baking the stove.
About half an hour later, when it was a little dark, Gong Manting got up.
The three of them chose fresh water, and there was still a lot of water left, a total of five liters.
He took out two small bottles and filled them up. Gong Manting gritted his teeth and tore off about 300g of bread with his hands.
"The three of us will go together. You two should stop talking nonsense later."
"Okay."
Both Gu Wei and Gu Honghai brothers have rare routes and are smart. They naturally know the pros and cons at this time.
Although they are a little depressed, the three of them still forced themselves to comfort themselves and walked towards another fire in the oasis in the dark.
"Their pomp is much bigger than ours!"
Before they got close, the hot and bright flames came from the gaps in the treetops.
The crackling sound of the explosion continued, illuminating half of the sky in the oasis.
Gong Manting looked helpless and glared at Gu Wei who was talking:
"The trees in this oasis can't be burned in a month or so. It's okay for them to like a big fire."
The small fire of the three people was obviously not good enough in front of the big fire.
Guessing that Su Mo might deliberately use this to suppress them, the three of them raised their legs silently.
However, when they walked out of this small section and came to an open place,
Everything in front of them made the three of them stunned at the same time, and their raised feet also froze in mid-air, somewhat at a loss.
Near the underground fire spring, a house appeared at some point.
There were three straw huts on the side of the house, one side was next to the wall of the room, and the other side was half open to the outside.
Looking inside through the open part, there were small beds made of processed reeds, which looked more comfortable than their windproof tents.
And the crackling and exploding sound heard just not far away was not the sound of the fire burning.
"The fire is too strong, hurry up and bring the pot over, it will be burnt in a while!"
Xi Ruyue was busy holding the iron pot, and there was a mouth-watering smell of oil coming out of it.
It turned out to be oil cakes!
Gong Manting widened his eyes and showed an incredible expression.
There were seven or eight yellow cakes in the iron pot tumbling up and down, making crackling sounds with the oil temperature.
After Guan Mao brought an empty small basin of water, Zhang Jun took out all the oil cakes with a few chopsticks.
The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and saw Gong Manting standing not far away like a wood merchant.
"Hey, why are you here?"
Guan Mao was a little confused, but he still greeted him habitually.
Su Mo and Qi Jie had the confidence not to react to Gong Manting, the deputy lord, but that didn't mean they could.
Walking in the wasteland, who doesn't want to have more friends?
"What does this guy call you?"
"Oh, my name is Guan Mao, from the Chihuo Territory." Guan Mao looked strange, turned around and pointed at Zhang Jun: "That's my buddy, Zhang Jun, we are from the same territory."
"She is Xi Ruyue, from the Mengyue Territory, we are all independent people."
"Independent people? You are not Lord Su's"
"No, we also met Lord Su in the first stage and followed him all the way."
Without the slightest idea of pretending to be powerful, Guan Mao said "honestly".
He knew very well that the three people's current behavior had shocked Gong Manting.
There was no point in pretending.
"This is what Lord Su ordered us to do. He and Brother Qi went to explore the canyon over there."
"We just need to finish making five frames of oil cakes before he comes back, and each person will be rewarded with five cakes."
What?
Five cakes as a reward?
Gong Manting was shocked, but the Gu brothers next to him swallowed their saliva involuntarily.
"Your pot, oil, and raw materials"
"Sorry, Lord Su has a request for this, we can't tell you." When it comes to materials, Guan Mao hurriedly shook his head and refused.
It's not a question of whether or not to dare to say it. In fact, even they don't know where the materials come from.
Noticing the change in Gong Manting's expression, Guan Mao thought for a moment and added:
"But if you want to eat, Lord Su said yesterday that we humans can directly buy the goods at the lowest discount."
"Buy goods? Are you selling to the public?"
Gong Manting's drooping eyelids twitched suddenly, and a gleam of light shot out of his eyes.
Compared to the black bread, it is obvious that this oil cake is more appetizing and hunger-relieving.
"I don't know the price."
"Oh, the price is cheap, one cake is 10 points, and you can buy five." Guan Mao laughed.
As for the sale of goods, Qi Jie has given the three people certain authority.
Although unlike those alien races who want to make money, they can't make much difference from selling to humans.
But on the bright side, they don't need to pay a high cost for buying goods.
And as long as the sales data is ideal, are you afraid that the righteous Brother Qi will not give them a little profit?
Having already gotten familiar with Qi Jie's personality, Guan Mao continued to introduce enthusiastically:
"We not only sell oil cakes, we also sell fresh water, and the price is even cheaper now than before."
"A bottle of water only costs 30 points, as many as you want!"