My blood regeneration is 100 million points faster

Early the next morning.

Xia Zuo cleaned up and found Mars, who was tending herbs in the castle's backyard. After saying hello, he transformed into a gas cloud and floated out of the city.

The snake cave we are going to today is far away from human habitation. Without a map to guide you, no one would be able to find it under normal circumstances.

After Xia Zuo left the city, he drifted for more than an hour and stopped on a low mountain. He walked around the mountainside for a while, found the right direction, and went deep into the shadows of the trees.

There is a clearing here with obvious traces of human activity.

Xia Zuo first searched around the open space several times, and then walked for a while along the mountain road that he had walked on foot.

After confirming that there was indeed no one here, no ambush, and no elemental light, he returned to the clearing and showed himself.

Xia Zuo reached under the cloak, adjusted the position of the air nozzle of the leather bag, took out a black potion and poured it into his mouth.

Three seconds later, the colorful scene in front of him turned into a monotonous scene of black, white and gray.

The message from Goldfinger came to my mind:

Successfully take the night vision potion (skilled level) and obtain 1 layer of night vision effect, which lasts for 1 hour. For each layer of night vision effect, the field of vision in a dark environment is increased by 2 meters, and the field of vision in a low-light environment is increased. 10 meters. The experience will be calculated when the night vision effect ends.

Night vision potion is a must for this mission. Because venomous snakes are afraid of light, using fire lighting will scare them.

Xia Zuo adjusted to the night vision screen and turned into a gas cloud again, floating towards the cave not far away.

The burrow was buried under the trees at the edge of the clearing, concealed by a camouflage of leaves and turf.

Xia Zuo tested the turf camouflage, maintained the gas cloud form and ignored the obstruction of the camouflage, and passed directly through the sparse camouflage gap.

A dark cave appeared in front of him. The smell of earth mixed with a damp and dark atmosphere filled the narrow cave.

To the left when you first enter the cave, there is a metal sign on the dirt wall.

There were obvious rust marks on the surface of the brand, but it did not prevent Xia Zuo from identifying the words on it and confirming that he was not in the wrong place.

The gas cloud floated diagonally downward along the winding tunnel at the speed of a normal person walking.

About a minute later, the sound of dripping and splashing water came from the depths of the cave.

After turning a hand-cut and reinforced right-angle bend, the slope turned into flat ground, and the dirt ground turned into a water-stained stone ground.

The main body of this snake cave is an underground lake with dark water.

On the smooth ground beside the lake, dozens of slender black shadows curled up, unaware of the gas clouds passing overhead.

Xia Zuo floated to the surface of the water in the center of the underground lake. He first stared at the dark lake for a while, then looked around, searching for any suspicious signs.

This underground lake is very shallow, and the bottom of the lake has been transformed by the resident mage of West City.

The connection between the bottom of the lake and the underground river is blocked by a metal wall two meters behind. Only special small openings connect the water bodies on both sides of the wall. Venomous snakes will never wander away from there.

If there really was a problem with the underground metal wall...then all the poisonous snakes here should have escaped long ago.

Xia Zuo floated around the wall of the cave and confirmed that there were no other secret passages except the tunnel from which he came.

He set his sights on the iron cage on the shore.

Inside the cage was poisonous snake feed—a large pile of meat pieces, with a lot left untouched.

He floated over, got into the iron cage, carefully examined the quality of the feed, and had a clear clue in his mind.

Snake feed is made from meat, including chickens, ducks, frogs, and mice.

Venomous snakes generally do not like to eat eggs.

The same goes for the poisonous snakes here.

But there was no egg foam in the feed in front of me. It shows that the maker was not careless enough to add the eggs.

Then the problem is meat.

Snakes like to eat the meat of roosters and ducks. If the meat of hens and ducks is used, it will seriously suppress the snake's appetite.

Xia Zuo cast a detection spell on the feed.

The feedback information shows that the completion rate of these feeds is only 61%, which is just passing grade.

So the appearance of these feeds looks no different than standard venomous snake feeds.

But the ingredients are definitely not up to par.

If you are not an alchemist, it will be difficult to tell whether the feed in front of you is good or bad. Not to mention the Fighters Guild members who help out with the errands.

In summary, the abnormalities in the snake cave may be caused by the feed.

Xia Zuo floated outside the cage and quietly transformed into a human form. After taking some feed samples, he transformed into a gas cloud again and left.

Outside the cave.

Xia Zuo found a shady place to sit down.

After the effects of the night vision potion wore off, he set off and drifted towards the town. Otherwise, the night vision picture is too bright under sunlight.

The feed in the snake cave was obtained by the mercenaries from the feed store designated by the school.

The entire feed supply chain can be traced back to the source of meat products.

Following this thread, Xia Zuo spent an afternoon visiting all the farms that provide meat raw materials for feed stores.

It's approaching evening.

He floated out from the third farm.

If there were expressions in the gas cloud form, he felt that his brows must be ugly.

The meat raw materials are no problem.

In order to stably supply high-quality feed to Snake Cave, the feed store specifically requires farms that supply meat to separate a separate area to raise roosters and ducks.

Before slaughtering chickens and ducks, there will be a dedicated person to sort the chickens and ducks.

During the slaughtering process, separate personnel will be assigned to be responsible only for roosters and ducks.

In the entire process of raising, slaughtering and transporting meat raw materials, each step will be confirmed twice.

The probability of error is 0.

The source of the problem, then, is obvious.

The mercenaries sent by the Warriors Guild to take care of the snake cave tampered with the feed.

The Warriors Guild and Starry Night Academy have cooperated for many years. Xia Zuo suddenly realized that it was hard to accept that he had doubts about the Warriors Guild...

Then he came around the bend.

The problem is not the warrior guild, just the mercenaries.

Regardless, one must dig deeper. Have reasonable doubts, be careful to verify, and don’t reveal anything.

Xia Zuo found a deserted alley, lowered his head and flipped the mechanism pick on the secret message ring. After receiving the secret message permitting the search, he turned into a gas cloud again.

The personnel responsible for feeding and collecting venom glands are fixed and all are locals.

Xia Zuo compared the information in the file bag and visited all the residences of all relevant people before nightfall that day.

It has to be said that Tivanas Wind Movement is too strong in detection.

After Xia Zuo confirmed that there was no one in these people's houses, he floated in directly to search. You don't even need to meet the real owner, you can completely grasp the other party's situation.

Tonight's survey results show.

These four mercenaries who were responsible for taking care of the snake cave secretly raised venomous snakes.

This is a clear violation of the kingdom's laws - civilians can keep venomous snakes, but they must first obtain a permit.

The four mercenaries stole the baby snakes from the snake cave in batches, made their own feed, and raised them in another cave outside the city.

The abnormality at the adenosine collection point was caused by an accident.

When they buy meat for feed, they often get the wrong type of meat, resulting in a lot of hen and duck meat mixed into their homemade feed.

The person in charge of making feed in this group accidentally knocked over the waterproof bag of snake cave feed and mixed two feeds of different qualities together.

Since it was difficult to tell the difference in feed based on appearance alone, the four of them had a heated argument and simply put down enough feed into the snake cave, praying not to be discovered by the mage apprentices from the school.

Before this accident, the number of venomous snakes in the snake cave slowly decreased, but it was always above the warning line set by the school.

After the unexpected outbreak, the reproduction rate of venomous snakes in the Snake Cave dropped sharply, their numbers quickly fell below the warning line, and the venom glands they produced decreased sharply, which attracted the attention of the resident mage.

Tonight, these four mercenaries were not at home.

Or absconded.

Or, he was taking care of the poisonous snakes in the cave where they were kept privately.

Xia Zuo was able to fully understand the incident because the person responsible for making the feed managed the account books of this mercenary team.

Bookkeepers have the habit of using their account books as diaries.

There are not only expenditure data in the account books, but also many complaints and complaints.

Xia Zuo returned to the castle and reported today's search results to Mars.

Mars put down the watering can and scissors in his hands, stared at the herbs in urgent need of pruning in front of him, frowned slightly and thought for a moment before saying:

First go to the cave where the four mercenaries keep venomous snakes privately. Try not to do it yourself. I will gather good soldiers to help you.

Okay, wait for my news. Xia Zuo turned into a cloud of gas and floated out of the city.

…

Starting from the southwest gate of West City, drive along the road for 5 kilometers. On the back of the first hill you encounter is the cave where private venomous snakes are kept. To this end, four mercenaries rented a carriage for a long time.

The description recorded in the mercenary account book is very vague.

But Xia Zuo found the exact location without much effort.

The two old carriages were parked deep in a dense forest. The packhorse rested quietly against a tree.

It seems that this group of mercenaries did not abscond.

Xia Zuo floated into the carriage.

There are clutter piled here. A coarse cloth bag for wrapping feed, two shovels for digging holes, two logging axes, bits and pieces of clothing and rations, and a bucket of water.

The feed in the coarse cloth bag was full and looked stale.

This group of mercenaries did not come here for food tonight.

Xia Zuo floated into the ceiling and floor of the carriage and took a look.

There is no mezzanine in this compartment, so there are no weapons to hide.

He turned into a human form, drank a night vision potion, and then used the wind movement again.

The entrance to the cave where the poisonous snakes are kept is in the bushes directly in front of the carriage.

The entrance to the cave is also camouflaged with leaves and turf.

Xia Zuo slipped through the turf camouflage and floated in the narrow tunnel.

The air in the cave was worse than the snake cave in the academy. I really don't know how those four mercenaries were able to stay underground for so long.

There was a faint light coming from the corner at the end of the tunnel.

Xia Zuo floated closer and looked inside carefully.

This is a crude basement dug by hand, with wood cut into stakes to support the soil, and a wooden floor covered with moss.

The light in the basement comes from the alchemy lantern hanging at the end of the basement.

Four mercenaries were squatting by the pool, whispering in low voices while handling the poisonous snakes with leather-gloved hands.

A long sword, a short axe, a short bow and a long knife. These weapons are a burden in the narrow basement. They are leaning quietly against the wall on the right side of the entrance. The mercenary only has a short dagger next to him.

Xia Zuo cast a detection technique on the mercenary's figure, confirmed that the mental attribute value of the four people did not reach 9 points, and then floated towards the mercenary confidently and boldly.

A mercenary with thinning hair shrank his neck, Hey, guys, do you feel a little cold? Why is there a gust of wind blowing from behind?

The mercenary looked at the dark doorway, put down his work, walked to the door and looked at the hole diagonally above. It was also dark there.

He touched his sparse hair in confusion, and then realized that the leather gloves were stained with venomous snake mucus, and a sour smell emanated from the top of his head.

What the hell!

Shh, keep your voice down. A short and thin mercenary turned around and made a silent gesture.

He stood up and looked at the size of the fluorite in the alchemy lantern, Move faster. It's at least night now. We have to set off before dawn, otherwise we won't be able to reach the village in the west in time.

Jia Shi, is the buyer you contacted reliable?

The mercenary who spoke had short, lean hair.

He put the venom gland in his hand into the barrel next to him, I mean, if that guy leaks out about raising venomous snakes privately, all four of us will suffer.

The three mercenaries looked at the short and thin mercenary, and all four of them stopped working together.

The short and thin mercenary known as Jia Shi was silent for a moment and said:

“Guys, do you want these vipers to go to waste?

Okay. I admit, I can't confirm the details of the buyer, nor do I know why he wanted to buy the venom glands. He came to the door himself. If you are worried, we will destroy the cave and bury these venomous snakes in it. Underground.

Those coppers we wasted... let them be! As long as we can find other jobs, we can always make the money back.

The short-haired mercenary waved his hands repeatedly, We shouldn't throw away these venomous snakes that we have raised so hard. Selling their venom glands will make us feel better.

He paused and said in a low tone, What I'm really worried about is not the buyer, Jia Shi. You should know that there is something wrong with the snake cave we take care of, but no one from the school has come to question it yet. Don't you think it's strange?

According to the mercenary profession, the four of us should have been taken into the dungeon by the guards to await trial.

The short-haired mercenary's words made the other three people's brows jump.

Jia Shi glanced at the poison glands in the barrel, Are you saying that actually people from the academy have been paying attention to us for a long time. The reason why they haven't taken action is because... they want to catch the buyer?

Ah this...

Xia Zuo was stunned when he heard this.

It was obvious that Mars was delayed for more than a day in order to pick up his juniors in the north. How could he become the assistant to the resident mage and plan to fish for big fish for a long time...

Having said that, Xia Zuo does have this idea now.

Within the kingdom, a license is required to buy and sell poison glands.

People who sell poison glands privately may only do it for money, but the purpose of buying poison glands privately is definitely not simple.

Then what should we do now... Jia Shi hesitated. He glanced around the dim scene in the basement, feeling increasingly uneasy.

The short-haired mercenary gritted his teeth and said, I have an idea.

The other three looked at him.

Let's take away all the venomous snakes and venom glands here, and go to the Warriors Guild tonight to confess our mistakes. Tomorrow, we will catch the buyer with the other mercenaries in the guild!

I agree! I don't want to go to jail! a mercenary next to him said loudly.

The mercenary who smeared the snake mucus on his head suddenly clapped his hands and said, I agree too!

Jia Shi looked at the venom glands in the barrel, then looked at the few venomous snakes left at his feet, and said in deep thought:

Let's hand over the venom glands and venomous snakes to the Warriors Guild, and then spend some money to make up for the school's losses. Finally, catch the buyer... That's it!

The four people quickly cleaned up the basement and returned to the ground together with people, buckets, snakes and weapons.

The dumbfounded Xia Zuo was caught off guard by the reversal of the plot in front of him.

No, what the hell is going on? !

He hurriedly floated back to the ground and watched with dumbfounding as the four mercenaries boarded the carriage, waved their whips and drove towards the town.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait...

Return from the lost path + take advantage of others + make meritorious deeds?

Xia Zuo returned to his human form in the shadow of the tree, holding his forehead helplessly.

He thought there would be a conflict tonight, but he never thought it would end like this...

Xia Zuo turned on the [Location] switch on the secret message ring, identified Mars' location, and floated towards West City at full speed.

Due to the gas cloud form, most of the alchemy items will be temporarily ineffective, plus it is getting late and the visibility is not good.

He had to stop and use [Position] from time to time to confirm the direction and avoid going in the wrong direction.

About half an hour later.

Xia Zuo found Mars who was still taking care of the herbs.

After listening to what the other party described, Mars said in amazement:

I didn't expect that such a dramatic change would occur after dealing with the anomaly in the Snake Cave a day or two late.

Xia Zuo took out his pocket watch and looked at it. He estimated that it would take a while for the four mercenaries to arrive in the city, so he helped Mars deal with the backlog of raw materials in the backyard.

Later in the day.

A letter floated down from the fifth floor of the castle and fell into Mars' hands.

He shook the letter and looked at it, shook his head and said helplessly, I have another job. Tomorrow I have to follow those mercenaries and catch the guy who bought the poison glands privately. Do you want to go with me?

Mars then added:

You get 70% of the reward points. The premise is that you must catch that guy and don't let him escape. Otherwise, you will have to spend time looking for his whereabouts.

Xia Zuo pondered for a few seconds, then calculated the return time, Okay, count me in.

There is another chapter at 6:10