Chapter 176 - 125: The Concept of Extraordinary Weapons! Outsiders in the Next Crossing? Survivors and the Ultimate Rating

Chapter 176: Chapter 125: The Concept of Extraordinary Weapons! Outsiders in the Next Crossing? Survivors and the Ultimate Rating

Chen Chong could naturally feel it...

"Thanks for all your hard work, everyone. I’ve said it before: for everyone on our team, rewards will be proportional to the effort you put in. Simply put, you get out what you put in. No one will get short-changed!"

"I don’t know the exact total weight of the snake meat yet, but I can make a decision right now. Every single one of you will get fifty pounds of meat!"

As soon as he said this, the members of the Fishing Club erupted in cheers.

They all started clapping wildly, their excitement off the charts.

Clearly, fifty pounds of meat far exceeded their expectations. The hardship of the previous night seemed trivial in comparison.

"Brother Chong is awesome! Brother Chong is brilliant! Brother Chong is the greatest!"

"We love you so much, Brother Chong! Fifty pounds of meat! That’ll last forever!"

"And it’s meat from an Extraordinary Creature! If we eat it, do you think we could become Transcendent, too?"

"Yeah! Didn’t you hear what Brother Chong and Brother Jun said last night? Eating the meat of an Extraordinary Creature has huge benefits. I don’t know if we’ll become Transcendent, but we’ll definitely get a lot stronger than ordinary people!"

"Damn right! I told you following Brother Chong was the right call! If it weren’t for him, how could we have killed the Unihorn Catfish to get our revenge? And when else would we get to eat the meat of a monster like the Blood-tooth Python!"

"From now on, whatever Brother Chong says, goes. If anyone at school dares to mess with Brother Chong, they’ll have to answer to me first..."

Chen Chong smiled as he listened to the Fishing Club members try to one-up each other with their exaggerated flattery.

There was a lot of meat on the Blood-tooth Python. He didn’t know the exact weight, but it had to be at least ten tons—a good 20,000 pounds.

Even after accounting for the bones, teeth, skin, and organs, there would still be at least thirteen to fifteen thousand pounds of meat.

The Fishing Club had just over fifty members. At fifty pounds per person, that added up to only 2,500 pounds—not even a fifth of the total haul.

It was what they had earned for their work.

Besides, he considered the Fishing Club members his own people. Though numerous, they were all ordinary humans. They might be useful back at school, but out here in the jungle, forget about Extraordinary Creatures—they’d have a hard time fending off even a moderately ferocious wild animal.

If each of them got fifty pounds of Blood-tooth Python meat, even if they didn’t become Transcendent after eating it, their bodies would be strengthened significantly. That would be a huge help in future operations...

Besides, the most important part of hunting an Extraordinary Creature wasn’t the meat, but the materials that could be used to forge Extraordinary Artifacts.

A pair of blood-fangs, a complete snakeskin, countless Snake Scales, and the bones...

He estimated that he could forge at least two or even more A-Level Extraordinary Artifacts, along with several B-Level and C-Class ones.

This was the most important part of the haul.

Once they were forged, he could distribute some of them to his subordinates, boosting their combat abilities...

Chen Chong pulled out two black Cards.

They were the Secret Cards he hadn’t had time to use back in the cavern.

Since everyone was present, it was the perfect time to look at them together.

Everyone here was one of his own people; there was no need to be secretive about the information the Secret Cards would reveal.

Besides, even if a secret wasn’t meant for everyone to hear, he would be the first to read it and could simply choose not to share.

Seeing the two Secret Cards, Zhong Fang and the rest of the Fishing Club felt their drowsiness begin to fade.

They knew, of course, that Secret Cards were a big deal. The two they’d gotten after hunting the Unihorn Catfish had revealed the time of the next transversal and provided information about Extraordinary Creatures.

Everyone was extremely curious to see what information these two Secret Cards would reveal.

As for Ning Yu, this was the first time she’d heard of Secret Cards, and her interest was immediately piqued by this novel type of Card...

[Card Type: Secret Card · Card Lore]

[Rating: B-Level]

[Description: Upon use, allows you to obtain advance knowledge of certain secrets.]

[Secret: Cards are rated and issued based on your daily harvest. Ability Cards only appear at C-Class or higher. Resource Cards, Building Cards, and Recruitment Cards can be found at all levels. However, upon reaching A-Level, all Cards will possess Extraordinary Traits. Extraordinary Weapons are one of the most important ways to increase your power, but once your Resource Cards reach A-Level, the drop rate for Extraordinary Weapon Cards will decrease significantly. It may be easier to obtain Extraordinary Weapons by using an Extraordinary Architecture, such as a Forging Furnace...]

"Extraordinary... Weapons?"

Chen Chong was taken aback.

This was the first time he’d ever heard of such a concept. ’So weapons can have Extraordinary Traits, too?’

’No wonder I’ve gotten so many weapon cards but never an A-Level one.’

’So that’s it. At A-Level, they stop being normal weapons and become Extraordinary Weapons, imbued with Extraordinary Power.’

’A Forging Furnace... Don’t I have one of those at home?’

At that thought, realization dawned on Chen Chong.

’I’ve been stuck in the wrong mindset.’

’I always assumed Extraordinary Artifacts were just accessories like rings, necklaces, and beads.’

’But weapons can be considered artifacts, too!’

’My Tang Blade got pretty banged up in the fight with the Blood-tooth Python. It’s covered in nicks and is practically useless now. When I get back, I’ll have to see if I can forge it into an Extraordinary Weapon.’

’If I can successfully forge an Extraordinary Weapon, my combat power will get a massive boost, just like the Secret Card said...’

When he shared this information, Ning Yu, Wang Biao, Xu Jun, and Zhong Fang were all astonished.

They were clearly floored by the concept of an Extraordinary Weapon.

"I thought it was just Extraordinary Creatures and Transcendent, plus Extraordinary Artifacts at most. I had no idea Extraordinary Weapons were a thing."

"Strictly speaking, an Extraordinary Weapon is just a type of Extraordinary Artifact. But I bet they’re incredibly hard to forge, right?"

"Man, I wish I had an Extraordinary Weapon. I’m still stuck with this crappy hatchet I got from a D-Class Card. Forget cutting people, I can barely chop a log with it."

"Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’re not even Transcendent, what’re we doing thinking about Extraordinary Weapons?"

"Yeah, I’m more interested in how Ability Cards only appear at C-Class or higher. Getting a C-Class rating is so hard; I usually only get D-Class. If I ever got lucky enough to get an Ability Card, I’d probably wake up laughing in my sleep..."

Chen Chong looked at the second Secret Card.

The first Secret Card had revealed information about Card drop rates and rank restrictions, along with the concept of Extraordinary Weapons.

But to be honest, it wasn’t that shocking.

’Hopefully, the second Secret Card will have more useful information...’

[Card Type: Secret Card · Transversal Information]

[Rating: A-Level]

[Description: Upon use, allows you to obtain advance knowledge of certain secrets.]

[Secret: The number of people who successfully survive a transversal is paramount. It is the second most important evaluation criterion, besides your monthly gains, and it affects your final Rating before each transversal. The more survivors you have, the more generous the rewards for that Rating will be. Additionally, new human survivors will be introduced after each transversal. If your group’s numbers are too low, you can attempt to seize territory and poach survivors from other groups to replenish your own...]

Chen Chong’s pupils constricted.

’This piece of information... is an absolute bombshell.’

"What? A final Rating before the transversal? And new people and buildings are going to show up?"

Everyone was completely baffled.

If the previous Secret Card had merely brought them a sense of surprise, this one left them in genuine shock.

The room fell deathly silent, everyone struggling to process the information from the Secret Card.

A member of the Fishing Club broke the silence.

"This is great! With more and more survivors, we can all band together for safety!"

As soon as he said this, everyone looked over at him.

Zhong Fang was exasperated. "Are you an idiot? You actually think this is a good thing?"

"President, what is it? Am I wrong?" the member asked, completely bewildered.

Aside from a few who grasped the true implications, most people were just as slow on the uptake as he was.

Zhong Fang was speechless.

But it was Zhang Meng, who was always happy to explain things, who spoke up.

"Buddy, this is not a good thing at all. You only heard the first part of the secret, not the second. Brother Chong just said that the final Rating is based on our gains *and* our numbers."

"Our school started with around two thousand people. It’s been less than half a month, and we’re already down to just over a thousand. By the time the next transversal actually happens, how many do you think will still be around?"

"If our numbers are too low, it’s going to hurt our final Rating. That’s true for us, and it’s true for every other group out there. So, do you think they’re going to smile and nicely ask to cooperate, or are they going to use force to storm our school and steal our people?"

...