Lin Ran pondered, touching his chin, "So that's how it is..."
This world, known as Lan Xing, contained many forbidden zones and secret realms. Within some of the larger forbidden zones, spatial rifts existed. The other domains connected by these spatial rifts were where the alien races resided. According to incomplete statistics, there were nearly a hundred known spatial rifts on Lan Xing. The alien races, belonging to various species, numbered in the dozens. They were typically ferocious and brutal, often hunting humans without provocation. At times, they even harbored thoughts of organizing massive armies to invade Lan Xing. It was only due to humanity's years of development, advanced technology, and numerous powerful individuals that they had been repelled time and again.
As for beast tide city-sieging incidents, Dragon Country alone had experienced no less than ten thousand such events, big and small. Dozens of the most formidable beast tides had inflicted immense losses upon the besieged cities and their defending soldiers, resulting in countless tragedies. Every time Lin Ran perused relevant information, his heart was filled with awe.
After the young lady completed all the necessary procedures and registered Lin Ran. He thanked her with a smile and left the mission hall, opening his personal status panel. This panel differed from the student ID card that displayed his student number and credits.
[Name: Lin Ran]
[Gender: Male]
[Current Identity: Citizen of Dragon Country, Special Admittee of Qing Jing Yan Yun University, Class of 3077]
[Identity Code: 306002290000835671]
[Awakener Rank: One]
[Combat Power: 4400]
[Operator Level: F]
[Military Rank: Corporal]
[Hunting Points: 0]
[Merit Points: 0]
Students admitted as special students to top-tier universities were directly granted the rank of Corporal in the Dragon Country military. This was another significant privilege for special admittees of top-tier universities. To further advance their military rank, they would need to pursue a path within the military.
Thinking this, Lin Ran glanced at his student ID information again.
[Name: Lin Ran]
[Gender: Male]
[Student Number: 30770625000001]
[Department: None]
[Class Rank: 1]
[Credits: 1500]
These two panels, combined, formed the most crucial components of Lin Ran's current information. Specifically, credits, hunting points, and merit points were paramount. After all, these three were currently the most vital channels for Lin Ran to acquire cultivation resources. Without them, his cultivation path would stagnate, and nothing else could improve. Therefore, having more of these was always better. By undertaking campus missions at Yan Yun University, there was a good chance he could improve all three simultaneously.
Let's first see what missions are available in the mission system! Leveraging his dual identities as a special admittee of Yan Yun University and an F-level operator, Lin Ran successfully connected to Yan Yun University's mission network and began scanning the available tasks. As an F-level operator, the highest level of mission he could undertake was limited to D-level, and he could only accept a maximum of three at a time. Thus, Lin Ran's attention was primarily focused on D-level missions and above.
Soon, he selected three missions and chose to accept them.
The first mission was:
[Mission Name: Hunt the Horned Rhino]
[Mission Level: D]
[Mission Objective: Locate an adult ferocious beast, the Horned Rhino, in a forbidden zone or natural secret realm. Hunt and kill it, then retrieve its heart, hide, and horn for mission completion.]
[Special Requirements: A video of the Horned Rhino hunt must be submitted as proof of personal completion. (Note: The recorded video must be taken after accepting the mission and before its expiry to be valid.)]
[Mission Intel: Possible locations for the Horned Rhino include the first level of Black Dragon Abyss, the outskirts of Yunmeng Marsh, and the foothills of Fulong Mountain Range.]
[Mission Deadline: August 15, 3077]
[Mission Reward: 350 Credits, 10 Gold-tier One-time Magic Energy Item Vouchers]
The second mission was:
[Mission Name: Find Luminous Stone]
[Mission Level: D]
[Mission Objective: Locate the mineral Luminous Stone in a forbidden zone or natural secret realm and bring back 5kg.]
[Special Requirements: A video of the Luminous Stone excavation must be submitted as proof of personal completion. (Note: The recorded video must be taken after accepting the mission and before its expiry to be valid.)]
[Mission Intel: Possible locations for Luminous Stone include the first level of Black Dragon Abyss, the first level of White Bone Cave.]
[Mission Deadline: August 20, 3077]
[Mission Reward: 300 Credits, 10 Gold-tier One-time Magic Energy Item Vouchers]
The third mission was:
[Mission Name: Harvest Nirvana Mushroom]
[Mission Level: D]
[Mission Objective: Locate the ingredient Nirvana Mushroom in a forbidden zone or natural secret realm and bring back 500g.]
[Special Requirements: A video of the Nirvana Mushroom harvest must be submitted as proof of personal completion. (Note: The recorded video must be taken after accepting the mission and before its expiry to be valid.)]
[Mission Intel: Possible locations for Nirvana Mushroom include the first level of Black Dragon Abyss, the outskirts of Yunmeng Marsh, and the Rotting Forest.]
[Mission Deadline: August 10, 3077]
[Mission Reward: 400 Credits, 15 Gold-tier One-time Magic Energy Item Vouchers]
These three missions not only offered substantial credit rewards but also shared a significant commonality: a shared mission location – Black Dragon Abyss. Black Dragon Abyss was a long-established forbidden zone near Qing Jing, consisting of nine levels, with increasingly powerful ferocious beasts lurking deeper within. Legend had it that below the ninth level of Black Dragon Abyss lay a mysterious tenth level, where a terrifying black dragon resided. It was this legend that gave Black Dragon Abyss its name. However, few believed it.
Lin Ran was also planning to head there to hone his skills and expend his gene-modification fluids, aiming for as much improvement as possible before the Freshman Competition. Additionally, he could complete missions to earn credits and kill ferocious beasts to gain hunting points. If he had the chance to encounter any alien races, he might even earn some merit points. This would be a multi-faceted gain.
As it was late, he decided to further refine his skills in the villa's training room. He would depart in the morning. With his plan formulated, Lin Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief and drove back to the villa.
...
The next day, having made all preparations, Lin Ran packed everything into his Soul Ring and began his journey on his hoverbike. Black Dragon Abyss was not far from Qing Jing city. Traveling through underground tunnels, at the speed of this top-tier hoverbike, it would take about one to two hours to reach. Furthermore, with the guidance of the biological chip's map network, he wouldn't get lost.
Soon, Lin Ran drove to the armed fortress at the entrance of Black Dragon Abyss. Armed fortresses were typically found at the entrances of many large forbidden zones. Firstly, they served to prevent ferocious beasts from inside from breaching outwards and attacking nearby cities. With an armed fortress, even if a large-scale beast tide erupted from within the forbidden zone, it could at least buy some time. During this period, the Dragon Country's military would arrive to suppress the rampaging beast tide. Secondly, they provided a place for Awakened individuals venturing into forbidden zones for hunting to trade, resupply, and form teams. This greatly facilitated the Awakened. This had also given rise to a profession of 'professional hunters' who specifically ventured into forbidden zones to hunt and sell the hides, flesh, and materials of ferocious beasts.