Become the strongest in the world of gods through game experience

On the way, Zhang Xiaoyuan pondered a solution while collecting items that had not yet been unlocked in the encyclopedia.

The first reward for obtaining the encyclopedia is 50 items, but the next time it will most likely require 500 items to activate.

However, there aren't many valuable items on the outskirts of the Wind Plains; collecting more than 80 of the same type of item is the limit.

"Once you step into the forest ahead, you will officially enter the Wind Plains. The monsters you encounter will be much stronger, so everyone must be extra careful."

Ci Nianyun spoke up to remind her, but when she saw Zhang Xiaoyuan with her head down and brows furrowed, her expression immediately became unnatural.

The strongest monsters in the outer forest are only level 20, which can easily defeat a level 15 human-faced bear. Even a level 20 monster would be no match for Zhang Xiaoyuan.

"Hey human brother, may I see what you've collected?"

Seeing that Zhang Xiaoyuan had been collecting things along the way, Robin couldn't help but ask.

"Sure, but these are all my treasures. If you want to see them, you'll have to pay."

Zhang Xiaoyuan thought for a moment, took a step back, and said nervously.

Robin's lips twitched. "What are you so nervous about? I'm not going to steal from you. Besides, you're charging me to even look at you. You're more suited to be a businessman!"

"Alright, five copper coins. I was just looking at it, so don't try to overcharge me."

Moreover, prices have recently risen; five copper coins are now equivalent to ten as they used to be.

"Okay." Zhang Xiaoyuan happily put away the copper coins, getting 0.05 silver coins for free.

After saying that, Zhang Xiaoyuan showed Robin her backpack, which contained various items and materials that Zhang Xiaoyuan had collected.

"Wind-tail grass, bitter almond, firestone, orchid... are these the treasures you've collected?"

Robin glanced at it and looked at Zhang Xiaoyuan with a puzzled expression.

This isn't some kind of treasure; it's just trash that you can find anywhere on the grassland.

“Yes, these can temporarily increase your ability stats by a few points,” Zhang Xiaoyuan explained. “Do you want to buy them? I can sell them to you cheaply.”

Robin rolled her eyes at Zhang Xiaoyuan, ignored her, and continued walking forward angrily.

"Who do you think you are? Do I look like a rich, foolish person?"

"Unfortunately, I didn't get any money for free this time."

The activated encyclopedia entries will be permanently retained, rendering the items collected by Zhang Xiaoyuan useless. As for the 1 or 2 points of ability points temporarily added after use, they can be ignored.

After walking a few steps, Zhang Xiaoyuan noticed that the people in front of her had stopped.

"What's going on up ahead? Why has the forest withered?" Ci Nianyun's voice rang out.

Zhang Xiaoyuan looked up and noticed that the colors of the plants were divided into two categories.

The grasslands were lush and green, while the forests were withered and yellow.

"Sigh, that's why I came here—to investigate the truth behind the large-scale withering of plants."

Robin sighed.

"Oh, so the other places have withered too?" Zhang Xiaoyuan asked.

"That's right. More than half of the plant areas from Elf City to the edge of Wind Plains have withered. The withering has now spread here, and it may not be long before all the plants wither."

"This is a deadly threat to us." Robin frowned deeply.

“Perhaps the human-faced bear ran from the forest to the windy grassland for this reason,” Ci Nianyun analyzed. “But no matter what, we have to keep moving forward, otherwise we will only be eliminated and die in the end.”

"Have you found the reason for the withering?" Zhang Xiaoyuan walked to a tree, reached out and touched the bark. The bark fell off with a light touch, as if it had been dried for a long time.

"Not yet. Hopefully, those who go to other places to investigate will find the truth." Robin shook his head.

After a brief pause, the group continued forward; retreat was out of the question.

"Ow!"

Before the group had gone far, the howl of a monster suddenly rang out in the distance, followed by a black porcupine rushing out from behind a tree.

"The monsters in the forest are no lower than level 10, so be careful."

Ci Nianyun reminded her that she originally wanted to say "everyone," but when she thought about Zhang Xiaoyuan's strength, she decided against it.

Thinking of this, Ci Nianyun picked up her ice spear and thrust it fiercely at the porcupine.

She was blessed by the gods at birth, so she can't possibly be outdone by Zhang Xiaoyuan, who's only level 4. She's the strongest!

The porcupine felt the chill emanating from the ice spear and suddenly stopped. Its body shuddered, and the sharp quills on its back straightened. With a "whoosh," it shot towards Ci Nianyun.

"Captain, be careful!"

Ishida released his shield to block, but it was pierced by the porcupine's spikes after only a few hits.

Dangdang Dangdang!

Ci Nianyun had no choice but to raise her gun to defend herself, but this prevented her from getting close enough to kill the porcupine.

Over time, her stamina will be exhausted, and she will be unable to attack.

"Hey, aren't you going up to help?"

On the other side, Zhang Xiaoyuan poked Robin's backpack.

“I paid for this, there’s no reason for me to make my employer fight.”

Noticing someone poking at his bag, Robin took a step forward and looked warily at Zhang Xiaoyuan behind him.

"But besides the captain, you're the highest-ranking one."

"I see you're quite capable, you can help me out too."

The two bickered, but Robin just wouldn't budge.

"Isn't Yuan Ge strong enough to kill a level 15 human-faced bear with one punch? Why doesn't he go help the captain?"

Ishida glared angrily at Zhang Xiaoyuan, who was clearly the most capable one, yet she was slacking off on the side.

"Hey, this is called 'playing dumb to catch a tiger,' you know? You can't reveal your strength to outsiders. You have to deliver a fatal blow at the crucial moment. That's how you achieve a better effect."

Hou Mu covered Ishida's mouth to stop him from talking nonsense and pulled him aside.

"Hmph, I don't understand. If the captain is in trouble, I, as his teammate, should go up and help."

Ishida shook off Hou Mu's hand, glared at him, and stood behind Ci Nianyun with a firm attitude.

"Captain, although I am weak and can only withstand the porcupine monster's attack for half a second, I will never abandon you!"

As Ishida spoke, multiple shields materialized in front of Ci Nianyun.

"Hey, you're blocking my view. Go watch from the side."

Ci Nianyun was unable to dodge in time and was grazed by a sharp thorn, which cut her arm and caused some bright red blood to flow out.

"..."

Ishida, dejected, slowly retreated. "Hou Mu, do you think I'm very weak?"

"Do you want to hear the truth?" Hou Mu asked, pursing his lips.

“Yes, go ahead and say it. I can accept it.” Ishida nodded.

“You’re not just weak, I’m very weak, you’re extremely weak because you don’t even have any means of attacking,” Hou Mu whispered in Ishida’s ear.

Ishida felt his heart break once again.

"The captain is injured, everyone let's go!"

Seeing that Robin still refused to make a move, Zhang Xiaoyuan sighed. She still couldn't figure out Robin's strength.

We've wasted enough time on this porcupine; let's get rid of it sooner rather than later.

As Zhang Xiaoyuan attacked, he called on Hou Mu and the other man to join him. He didn't want Robin to know his true strength yet, so he wanted Robin to think of him as a level 4 newbie.

"If Brother Yuan goes up, we'll go up too."

Seeing Zhang Xiaoyuan rush forward, Hou Mu gritted his teeth and followed closely behind.

"Hey, didn't the captain tell us to retreat? Going up there will only make things worse." Hou Mu scratched his head in confusion.

"That was you. Didn't you see the captain smile even though he had a cold face when Zhang Xiaoyuan rushed up?" Hou Mu rolled his eyes at Shi Tian. "If it weren't for Brother Yuan pretending to be weak to take advantage of us, we wouldn't even have a chance to gain experience. We should cherish it."

Ishida felt as if his heart had been struck again. "So it wasn't that I didn't want help, it was because that person wasn't me..."