High Martial: I Use Everything as Swords

’Was he getting greedy, wanting to split it evenly?’

’Or was he holding a grudge, thinking Han Feng had pocketed something better for himself?’

Wang Meng stopped rummaging through the items.

His gaze was fixed on the simple, ancient Jade Scroll. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Even if he couldn’t recognize its true worth, he could feel there was something special about it.

Its gentle luster and the faint, almost imperceptible pressure of its Spiritual Power all pointed to its value.

"Is this... a Cultivation Technique Jade Scroll?"

Wang Meng’s Adam’s apple bobbed. A primal craving for power flashed in his eyes.

But he quickly turned his head away.

His gaze returned to the pile of backpacks.

"Fengzi, you keep it."

Wang Meng waved his hand, his tone as casual as someone asking for a cigarette.

"You were the one who found that cave, and you were the one who opened the mechanism."

"And that Poison Smoke Array just now... If you hadn’t pulled me out, I’d definitely be down there keeping those unlucky bastards company right now."

"Being able to just pick up all these bags of stuff is already a blessing from the heavens. Add to that you being so righteous... this trip was totally worth it."

At this, he raised his head and grinned at Han Feng.

He revealed two rows of brilliantly white teeth that gleamed in the sun.

"A man has to know what’s right. If I started coveting the treasure in your hands, what would that make me? An ungrateful bastard?"

"Besides..."

Wang Meng suddenly lowered his voice and jutted his chin toward the sealed cave entrance.

"As for what happened down there, I, Wang Meng, will take it to my grave."

"When we get back, if the captain asks, we’ll just say we took out those mercenaries in a counter-attack and seized their supplies."

"Ancient ruins? What ancient ruins? Never seen ’em, don’t know nothin’ about ’em."

After saying his piece, he let out a goofy chuckle.

As if he’d just solved some major life crisis, he grabbed two pieces of Demon Beast Jerky and stuffed them into his mouth, his cheeks bulging as he chewed voraciously.

Han Feng looked at the big, brawny man, and the last bit of wariness in his heart silently dissipated.

In this wasteland world where a human life was worth less than a dog’s, meeting a partner who understood the score and had a moral bottom line was a stroke of luck.

’My momentary test of him seems petty in hindsight.’

’Still, better safe than sorry.’

Since Wang Meng had passed the test, this was a friend worth making.

"Alright. Since you’ve put it that way, there’s no point in me being fussy about it."

Han Feng said no more, pocketed the Jade Scroll, and sealed the deal.

"When we get back to the city, I’ll trade this for resources and treat you to the best ’Drunken Immortal Brew’!"

"You’ve got a deal!"

Wang Meng’s eyes lit up instantly, and he almost swallowed his saliva along with the jerky.

"That stuff is crazy expensive! I’ve been dying to try it!"

"Let’s go. Back to the safe point."

Han Feng stood up and stretched his slightly stiff neck.

The two began to redistribute their loads.

Even though Han Feng had the Void Stone, which was basically a cheat item, he had to keep up the act and play his part properly.

Fortunately, both of them had Physiques far beyond that of ordinary people.

Wang Meng tied three large packs together with rope and hoisted them onto his shoulder like a small mountain.

He also had two slung across his chest and carried his Giant Axe in his hand.

Han Feng shouldered two packs as well, carrying the bag with the most valuable metal Spiritual Materials in his hand.

「Half an hour later.」

On a cliff of the G-13 Floating Island.

Outside the cave safe point, Lin Qing, who was on guard duty, was focused on wiping a precision instrument in her hands.

Su Yue was leaning against the rock wall, Nourishing the Spirit with her eyes closed, her fingertips faintly tracing some kind of complex data model in the air.

Suddenly, a series of heavy, disorderly footsteps shattered the tranquility.

"Holy shit... Did those two go out to move a house or something?"

Old Liu, who was on watch, pushed up the tactical glasses on his nose, his mouth slightly agape, having forgotten to close it.

At the edge of his vision, two figures, almost completely swallowed by their packs, were staggering over from the direction of a rocky slope.

Han Feng, in the lead, was doing okay.

He had two bulging military packs on his back and a heavy bag in his hand, but his steps were still relatively steady.

Wang Meng, following behind, looked like a humanoid camel that had gained sentience.

The guy had three large packs tied to his back with rope, stacked like a human pyramid, with two more hanging on his chest.

He was carrying his Giant Axe in his left hand and even dragging a large bundle of Demon Beast hides with his right.

His entire body was bent into the shape of a bow.

With every step, the gravel under his feet made an overburdened "CRUNCH" sound.

"Quick! Give us a hand!"

Wang Meng started roaring from a distance, his voice filled with an irrepressible excitement.

"This is killing me! These damn rocks are heavy as hell!"

The few people in the cave hurried out, all hands on deck to help them.

When the backpacks, caked in mud and dark red bloodstains, were thrown onto the open ground in the center of the cave and their zippers were violently ripped open with a "ZZZZIP,"...

...the entire safe point fell into a strange silence.

"Holy fuck..."

Even Fan Jian, usually taciturn and known as the "Cold-faced Swordsman," couldn’t help but curse out loud.

"You two... did you raid some Mercenary Corps’s base?"

The open backpacks revealed not a messy pile of junk, but neatly sorted and stacked Hard Currency.

There were Tier Two Lower Grade Earth Crystals, each the size of a fist, gleaming with a deep brown luster.

There were bundles of Dragon Pattern Wood emanating a clean, elegant fragrance, clearly freshly cut.

And there was a whole stack of Iron-Backed Water Lizard Hides, obviously freshly skinned and in perfect condition...

A rough calculation suggested that the value of this pile of goods alone was probably equal to the total harvest of everyone else over the past few days.

It might even be double that.

"And this is after we tossed a lot of the bulky stuff."

Wang Meng chugged some water—GLUG, GLUG, GLUG—wiped his mouth, and pointed proudly at Han Feng.

"Fengzi’s Perception Ability is simply godlike. If there’s treasure anywhere, he can sniff it out from dozens of meters away, even through solid ground."

"When you’re with him, you don’t have to think about a thing. Just bend over and pick up the money, and you’re set!"

Su Yue adjusted her glasses, her gaze behind the lenses falling on Han Feng, filled with a mix of inquiry and complexity.

She had always been extremely confident in her data analysis abilities, able to deduce the potential growth locations of Spirit Plants from environmental parameters.

But compared to an illogical "Humanoid Treasure Detector" like Han Feng, her skills were like a primitive tribe’s knotted-cord records trying to compete with a supercomputer.

Just as everyone was gathered around the spoils of war, clucking their tongues in amazement, the light at the cave entrance suddenly dimmed.

Captain Zhang Hao was back.

He was covered in dust, and his combat suit had several new cuts deep enough to reveal bone. The military pack on his back was only half-full.

Clearly, his harvest for the day had not been ideal.

"What’s everyone gathered around for?"

Zhang Hao strode in with a grim face. When his gaze swept over the mountain of supplies on the ground, his pupils contracted sharply.

He took a few steps forward and crouched down.

He didn’t look at the Spiritual Materials, but directly flipped over one of the backpacks.

An emblem made of blood and flames immediately caught his eye.

"The Blazing Fire Mercenary Corps?"

Zhang Hao’s tone changed. The earlier surprise was replaced by a cold solemnity.

He whipped his head around, his gaze piercing straight at Han Feng and Wang Meng.

"You ran into that pack of Mad Dogs?"

The atmosphere in the cave instantly dropped to freezing point.

The Blazing Fire Mercenary Corps was infamous in the Outer City. They were a group of true desperados—vengeful, ruthless, and cruel.

Wang Meng instinctively glanced at Han Feng.

Seeing Han Feng’s expression was calm, he gave a slight nod.

Only then did Wang Meng puff out his chest and say nonchalantly, "We ran into them."

"Those sons of bitches are no good. They were trying to pull a fast one, tailing us and waiting for us to run out of steam before moving in for the kill and the loot."

"And then what?"

There wasn’t a ripple in Zhang Hao’s eyes; he just stared at him quietly.

"And then Fengzi spotted them, of course."

Wang Meng chuckled and slapped Han Feng on the shoulder.

"You think Fengzi’s Perception Field is just for show? He saw them crystal clear when they were still half a klick out."

"So we just played along, found a narrow spot, and led them right into a trap."

With that, Wang Meng raised a hand and made a clean, sharp slicing motion across his own neck.

"Five of those scumbags. Not one got away. Left ’em all for dead right there."

*HISS...*

A collective gasp echoed through the cave.

Two cultivators at the Body Tempering Realm had counter-killed five professional Mercenaries known for their ruthlessness, and one of them was even a genuine Third Layer Meridian Passage Realm Martial Artist?

Even though they had all witnessed Han Feng’s miraculous Spear Technique, this battle record was still beyond their imagination.

It was terrifying.

Zhang Hao gave Han Feng a deep look, with no doubt in his eyes.

He knew full well that Han Feng’s Perception Ability, which could only be described as a bug in the system, was an unstoppable battlefield radar in complex terrain.

Detecting the enemy first meant seizing the absolute initiative.

Combined with that terrifying Spear Technique capable of easily tearing through the defenses of a Tier Two Demon Beast, achieving a total wipeout when they had the element of surprise was not impossible.

He just hadn’t expected Han Feng to be so clean, so ruthless.

"What about the bodies?"

Zhang Hao’s voice was calm, as if he were asking about some trivial matter.