Ch. 296 - Garen Builds Last Whisper, Silenced and Tilted

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"Uh... credit is available, but only up to a five million limit."

The clerk's body trembled. He couldn't shake the feeling that Chen Shu's eyes looked like those of a starving wolf.

Was this really a VIP Gold Card holder...?

Chen Shu's eyes widened. "That's it?"

The clerk continued, "Additionally, VIP Gold Card holders receive a ten percent discount on all merchandise, and you can also reserve skills!"

Chen Shu said, "Reserve skills? Then keep an eye out for the skill [Thunder Explosion] for me."

[Thunder Explosion] was a Silver-rank Lord skill, and among lightning-element skills, it was exceptionally powerful.

Given his current balance, he could only afford a single Silver-rank skill for now.

If Tianhua Group reserved a skill for him and he couldn't pay when it arrived, his VIP tier would drop — he might even end up a Silver Card user.

Chen Shu handed over the diet plan and promptly left the Tianhua store.

There was no need to worry about Tianhua Group's credibility — they would never leak client information, let alone for a VIP Gold Card holder.

...

Early the next morning.

Fang Si called, telling him to come to Huaxia Academy.

"Today's the day we set out!"

Chen Shu's eyes flickered with eager anticipation as he silently hoisted his pack onto his shoulders.

Half an hour later.

An off-road vehicle departed from Huaxia Academy — same academy plates, but a different license number from Fang Si's.

Lu Zhining drove. Chen Shu sat in the passenger seat, while Fang Si and the other two sat in the back.

The four girls chatted cheerfully among themselves.

Suddenly, Chen Shu asked with genuine concern, "Senior Lu, Senior Ning — are your injuries all healed up?"

In an instant, the atmosphere inside the car fell dead silent.

Chen Shu, his face full of apology, said:

"That day, I was way too heavy-handed. I didn't realize just how big the gap between us really was."

"..."

Lu Zhining and Ning Qingyi turned their heads toward him. It was a textbook case of Garen building Last Whisper — armor shattered, voices completely silenced. [1]

"You — just shut the hell up!"

To preserve team harmony, Fang Si had no choice but to muzzle Chen Shu.

If this guy kept running his mouth, the team would probably fall apart before they even reached the dimensional space...

The entrance to [Living Wood Swamp] wasn't in the Capital.

It was in a small city nearby: Qing City!

The distance between the two was considerable, but thankfully a highway connected them.

One day's drive.

The five of them arrived at the outskirts of Qing City. Though it was just the edge of a small city, it still radiated prosperity.

"Finally made it!"

Ahead lay Hemu Town. The dimensional space's passageway was deep within the town.

"Huaxia Academy students, here?"

"They're all geniuses!"

"So envious... if only something hadn't come up back in my day, I would've gotten into Huaxia Academy."

"Something like what?"

"Didn't finish middle school..."

"Oh, give me a break!"

The beast tamers who'd come to adventure gazed at them, their eyes full of envy.

The gap between academy geniuses and ordinary social beast tamers was enormous — they weren't even in the same league.

Some Black Iron-rank beast tamers hadn't even maxed out their basic-tier potions.

When the soldiers at the town entrance saw the Huaxia Academy plates,

they didn't stop the vehicle, waving them straight through without any inspection.

The group parked the off-roader, opened the trunk, and pulled out their backpacks.

Qiao Yue said with a smile, "Junior Chen Shu, how come you're always carrying that backpack?"

"Where I go, the bag goes!"

Chen Shu declared, adjusting the pack on his shoulders.

"..."

"Hotel first!"

The five of them dropped off their luggage and grabbed a simple dinner.

Then they headed to the town's Beast Tamer Association to pick up some missions.

A beast tamer's income came not just from dimensional space materials, but also from hired missions.

"Any high-difficulty missions, bring 'em on!!"

Chen Shu, moving with the ease of a seasoned pro, waved his hand grandly, his eyes brimming with confidence.

"Hm?"

The beast tamers in the hall all turned to look, thinking some powerhouse had just walked in.

Chen Shu added, "Ones that require a deposit — don't bother showing me those."

"Tch~~"

The crowd shook their heads. So he was just a freeloader, purely trying to get lucky...

"You absolute..."

All four girls froze for a moment, then immediately began chatting amongst themselves as if Chen Shu didn't exist, doing their best to pretend they had no idea who he was.

Chen Shu hollered, "Seniors! Come check out these missions!"

The four of them shook their heads but had no choice but to come over.

The mission board displayed all kinds of tasks, but they were mostly designed for Black Iron-rank beast tamers.

Some missions even required Silver-rank beast tamers to complete.

[Mission Name]: Gather Heavenly Poison Flowers.

[Mission Difficulty]: Common-level.

[Mission Details]: Collect three Heavenly Poison Flowers. Must be kept fresh — harvesting date cannot exceed ten days. No deposit required!

[Mission Reward]: One million Huaxia currency.

The five of them went straight for the high-difficulty missions. Though they were all Black Iron-rank, their team's combat strength was monstrous — they could even hunt Silver-rank variant fierce beasts.

[Mission Name]: Capture Emerald Giant Frog Larvae.

[Mission Name]: Hunt Venom Scorpions.

...

The sheer variety of missions was overwhelming. In the end, Fang Si and the other three discussed it and accepted three missions.

Namely: [Collect Wood Green Seeds], [Gather Green Spirit Water], and [Hunt Variant Thousand-Vine Poison Tree].

Chen Shu, meanwhile, stayed silent, committing every Lord-type mission on the board to memory.

He didn't need to formally accept them. If he successfully hunted one, he could just bring the materials back and turn them in.

Given their current combat strength, a Silver-rank Lord was definitely beyond them.

But you had to have dreams — what if they came true?

Once they'd finished accepting their missions, the five of them left the Beast Tamer Association.

Early the next morning.

Chen Shu and the four girls, each carrying an oversized pack, headed toward the depths of the town.

The white mist still shrouded everything, making it impossible to see what lay ahead.

Thanks to their Huaxia Academy status, the five of them entered the mist without paying any fees.

"Chen Pi, eat this!"

Fang Si turned toward him and handed over a green pill.

"[Living Wood Swamp] has miasma. Even though Black Iron-rank bodies can resist it, there's still some effect. Swallow this antidote pill."

Chen Shu didn't hesitate, gulping it down immediately.

The five of them stepped into the space corridor. Their vision blurred, and in an instant, they found themselves in another dimension entirely.

Before Chen Shu even opened his eyes, the smell of rotting soil hit his nostrils.

It wasn't nauseating, exactly, but it was definitely unpleasant.

"Huh? What the...?"

Chen Shu opened his eyes. He was standing inside an enormous tree hollow.

"So this is a Spirit Suppression Army outpost?"

The space around him was completely empty — no people, no structures. Just a single wooden staircase leading upward.

"Let's go!"

The five of them made their way to an opening and exited the enormous tree hollow.

There was no sunlight in [Living Wood Swamp]. It felt as if time had been frozen at some misty early-morning hour.

Chen Shu turned to look back and saw a tree of unimaginable proportions standing before him — a pillar that seemed to hold up the sky. Its bark was riddled with countless openings, all carved by human hands, like windows.

Each opening was guarded by at least one Spirit Suppression Army soldier, their faces set in unsmiling severity.

The giant tree was divided into dozens of levels. The bottommost level was shared by adventurers, while the upper levels served as the Spirit Suppression Army's workspaces and living quarters.

All five of them were already highly experienced. They immediately began summoning.

"Roar!"

"Awoo!"

"Goo-gii!"

"Caw!"

[1] Garen Builds Last Whisper: In League of Legends, Garen's Q ability silences enemies (prevents them from using skills), while Last Whisper is an item that provides armor penetration. Chinese internet slang repurposed "破防" (literally "break armor") to mean "emotionally shattered/triggered." Thus: Garen building Last Whisper silences you while breaking through your emotional defenses — a two-hit combo of verbal devastation.