If Zhang Yanhang wasn't suffering from senile dementia like the Meixi Sect, he remembered that this warm current should represent an increase in defensive power, and judging by the width of the warm current, it was a substantial increase in defensive power.

According to Zhang Yanhang's past experiences, this Leviathan Core should have boosted his defensive power by about thirty-five percent, which was more than a one-third increase—its effect was tremendously apparent.

With this thirty-five percent increase in defensive power, Zhang Yanhang even felt that he might be able to block the normal attack of a Fourth Tier One-Star Lord Monster, the Molten Fire Demon, using only his Energy Shield.

After all, even after Technique Immunity had reached its Original LV.MAX, it had only increased his defensive power by 40 percent. Now, a single Leviathan Core, obtained through a daily chance encounter, was almost catching up to Technique Immunity·Original LV.MAX, which he had just improved by spending three million Soul points.

Of course, this calculation couldn't really be taken at face value, as the defense bonus for Technique Immunity was merely an added benefit; its main enhancement was to the Shield Value Limit, which was the most important.

But overall, this Leviathan Core, obtained through a chance encounter after Zhang Yanhang's promotion to Third Tier, proved its worth as the first Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure he received. Multiple Choice had once again forcefully proven that if one's Rank could keep up, it was indeed awesome.

"I remember when I was at Second Tier, I would occasionally trigger multiple chance encounters in one day. I wonder if this feature will still be available after my promotion to Third Tier."

Although he had just consumed a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, the insatiable Zhang Yanhang soon began to move randomly, creating opportunities for the next chance encounter.

However, it was somewhat regrettable that after half an hour of flying, even when crossing South Korea to reach Guangdao and starting to survey the local temperature, he failed to trigger any chance encounter.

After flying for half an hour, Zhang Yanhang felt that trying to trigger a chance encounter in this manner was unreliable and might still be futile even after crossing the Pacific Ocean.

Therefore, Zhang Yanhang quickly abandoned the idea of trying to trigger a chance encounter and decided to head home and lie in bed to wait. After all, if a chance encounter was really feasible, it would trigger no matter what he was doing, even if he was sleeping.

With this thought, Zhang Yanhang opened several consecutive Teleportations and teleported straight back to Xingfuli District.

...

October 29, Thursday, the fourth day after the Double Ninth Festival, and also the first day Zhang Yanhang had left the Ashen World. At 1:30 p.m., in Qin Island City, Xingfuli District, unit 505, bedroom.

Already lying on his bed and having played with his phone for a while because he wanted to trigger a chance encounter through online shopping, Zhang Yanhang had to admit: TikTok was really a time sink. Furthermore, he hadn't managed to trigger any more chance encounters; and lastly, the host who did live-commerce, although not great at selling, did put on a fairly good show. It was a pity he got banned right after biting a lighter.

"I remember that the last time the Transmission Channel to the small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalagu opened, it was around four-thirty p.m. So, if I calculate that it opens half an hour earlier each time, then the Transmission Channel to the small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalagu should open at four p.m.

"And now it's already one-thirty in the afternoon, which leaves me with just two and a half hours left."

Zhang Yanhang felt that he probably didn't have anything he needed to take care of in these two and a half hours, so, barring any surprises, he could only lie in bed to pass the time. As for going to class? Attending class was out of the question as playing hooky was also a job, and he needed to persist until the end.

"I wonder, do I have any preparation work to do?"

Zhang Yanhang racked his brain but felt that there was no preparation work necessary since he had fought in so many areas and the number of Monsters he had defeated had climbed to six figures. He was already skillful enough and needed no preparation.

Even if there was any preparation needed, it could only begin after entering the Ashen World, such as the initial area reconnaissance. This preparation definitely needed to be done because only after surveying the area could he formulate a subsequent clearing plan.

Having a clearing plan was truly essential for him; otherwise, blindly charging ahead and slaughtering everything in sight could lead to missed targets and affect the requisite 100% completion for the Ashen Treasure Box.

Moreover, since the amount of Ash Source in the Ashen Treasure Box was mostly linked to the Evaluation Level, and he urgently needed a large amount of Ash Source for Rank promotion, it would ultimately affect his Rank promotion.

For such a chain reaction where one link leads to the next, Zhang Yanhang always preferred to ensure the first step was done correctly to prevent a vicious cycle from causing disastrous consequences later on.

"Forget it; since there's no preparation work to do, I'll just rest for a while. Even though I'm self-employed and working for myself, I can't really treat myself like a beast of burden. After all, today's efforts are for a better future, not simply for the sake of working hard."

While he had temporarily escaped the rat race, Zhang Yanhang anticipated that he would definitely spiral into competition once again among the retired crowd in that absolute red ocean after his retirement, since people often become more competitive with age. Mainly because getting used to competing when young, not competing when older would feel uncomfortable.

He believed that the low-paid janitor who calmly mopped the floor in the men's restroom epitomized this, leaving no space for retired old men to take up such jobs.

...

October 29, Thursday, the fourth day after the Double Ninth Festival, and also the day Zhang Yanhang returned from the Ashen World, as well as the day he was about to enter the Ashen World. At 3:58 p.m., in Qin Island City, Xingfuli District, unit 505, bedroom.

Still lying in bed, Zhang Yanhang silently initiated a teleport after sensing that the transmission channel to the small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalaguli was about to open, transporting himself to the sofa in the living room of Apartment 702, Unit 3, Building 6 in East River District. He had always liked to lie on this sofa to receive teleportation; it had become a fixed teleportation point, you might say.

"The transmission channel to the small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalaguli will probably close at midnight, which is zero o'clock, and the opening time of the transmission channel is two minutes after four o'clock in the afternoon, so theoretically, I have a total of eight hours available to use.

If I can clear the entire area within eight hours, I can return to the Main World today, but if not, I'll have to stay in the Crimson Iron Ore Vein for five consecutive days."

Thinking about the possibility of staying for five days, Zhang Yanhang sent a message to his academic advisor asking for leave first, to avoid being reported missing by the school for skipping classes for a week without explanation.

Although he had established some connections with the relevant departments, there was no need to bother Zhou Muxi with this sort of thing. As for skipping classes, it was fine to miss a day just to make up for what he had missed in college life, but skipping too much could easily lead to expulsion, which was absolutely unnecessary, considering he had worked hard to get into school.

Of course, compared to staying in the Ashen World for five consecutive days, Zhang Yanhang was quite confident about clearing the entire area within eight hours.

After all, he had advanced in rank, and his movement speed had significantly increased, reaching twice the speed of sound, so his hunting efficiency should greatly improve compared to when he was at Second Tier. Perhaps he could clear an area of one square kilometer in a minute.

However, the specific situation needed detailed analysis to determine the answer; how much time it would take to clear completely would only be known after he explored further.

As Zhang Yanhang was contemplating, a Time Pause abruptly occurred, and a familiar, yet not so familiar, text option box appeared in front of him, triggered automatically by the transmission channel.

"Would you like to enter the Ashen World?"

"Option One: Yes (Immediately enter the Ashen World through the transmission channel in front of you. In your previous cleanup, you not only cleared out all the Crimson Iron Ants in the small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalaguli, but you even cleared out all the monsters that spawned again. Still, this did not satisfy you.

You remember previously digging a tunnel to go to a new area beneath the small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalaguli. Now, you feel it's time to return to that underground tunnel, heading to the new area to hunt monsters. Compared to the weak First Tier Crimson Iron Ants in the small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalaguli, you believe that only high-level monsters in the new area can provide sufficient gains for you.)"

"Option Two: No (Although the transmission channel is right in front of you, you, who are suddenly feeling a wave of work fatigue, have lost interest in it. Instead of going to hunt in the small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalaguli or the new area beneath it, you think it's better to do something more meaningful.

Even though you haven't found something more meaningful yet, that doesn't stop you from abandoning the idea of going to the new area beneath the small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalaguli to hunt monsters. Moreover, after you make this decision, you quickly find truly meaningful activities to get involved in.)"

"Option Three: Prepare a bit more (With seven hours and fifty-nine minutes left before the transmission channel closes, you realize there is still plenty of time and think you might as well prepare a bit more. However, after some thought, you find there isn't really anything that requires preparation.)"

So there you are, not knowing what to do with yourself, thinking maybe you can spend this time doing something meaningless yet amusing, like starting a live stream chewing on a lighter, and once you get banned, then you can use the transmission channel to head to the small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalagu and enter the new area beneath it to hunt monsters.]

"The three options this time, well, the first one is quite normal, but the other two are pretty pointless. I mean, the second one talks about doing something meaningful, but in the end, it doesn't say what that meaningful thing is. Could it be opening WeChat to order a cup of new tea for delivery?"

If it was really new tea, that'd be fine, but Zhang Yanhang couldn't quite stomach the idea of 'new tea' that who knows how many people had already chewed over, much like the guy he encountered before who had 'Safe Travels' tattooed on his butt. It wasn't just a matter of not accepting it; he was actually a bit disgusted by it.

"And as for the third option, it's even more unnecessary. If it's already described as meaningless, why bother doing it? Plus, I've got this feeling that if I pursued that option, it might end up revealing too much."

Zhang Yanhang felt he needed absolutely no preparation.

"I choose Option One, yes, to enter the Ashen World immediately."

Zhang Yanhang was too lazy to dawdle anymore in the Main World. Better to head to the Ashen World right now and start hunting monsters. After lying in bed for hours, he was full of energy and desperate to let it out.

When Zhang Yanhang made his choice, his vision suddenly went black, then instantly turned red, and then he found himself dumped on the far from sturdy ground of the very familiar C-shaped tunnel in the small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalaguli.

For the Zhang Yanhang of the past, the crimson iron ore from the Crimson Iron Ore Veins might have been very tough, especially the first time he came here, when his all-out effort could only chip off a layer of stone skin. But for him now, while the vein might not exactly be called foamy dregs, it wasn't that much better either.

After all, he had been able to mine directly with his fists even before his promotion to Third Tier, and now after reaching Third Tier, it was even less of an issue. He even thought that some of the weaker tunnels, those that were only about ten to twenty meters thick, might take less time if he just charged through rather than going around.

But to be honest, if Zhang Yanhang continued to clean out the small Crimson Iron Ant Nest now, he really didn't need to think about detours. He could just continuously unleash Death Wave, considering the small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dala Gu only spanned a total area of forty square kilometers.

With a coverage area of 1.13 square kilometers per Death Wave, if he didn't overlap them at all, he would probably only need about thirty-five uses to clear out all the Crimson Iron Ants in the entire small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalagu.

But not overlapping them at all wasn't very realistic, so he thought it would be more normal to use forty Death Waves to clear the entire small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalagu.

And forty Death Waves would consume less than one-tenth of Zhang Yanhang's physical strength, which was definitely worth it to save several hours of time.

Zhang Yanhang remembered that the last time he came here to clear out the respawned monsters in the small Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalagu, it took him about seven and a half hours. If he didn't use Death Wave this time and just hunted normally, he estimated it would also end up taking quite a while.

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