Chapter 112: The Plan

Gunie naturally would not take the initiative to elaborate on his own methods and strength.

When George looked at Gunie,

Gunie naturally looked back at George.

The two of them stared at each other for over a minute.

In the end, George was the first to yield.

"Let me speak first!"

"I am very fast and also very agile. You can think of me as a powerful warrior with an assassin's sensitivity, and I am top-tier in both aspects at the seven-star level."

As George spoke, Gunie listened attentively.

"Indeed, this guy's methods are extraordinary. I could already tell a bit from that time in the snowy night when he struck and killed that fourth-rank shadow assassin with a single blow."

"I also have some means and abilities to resist the attacks of the Death God Beast."

"I can hold off the Death God Beast for a while."

Hearing this, Gunie couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly.

"If you can hold off the Death God Beast for a while, that would be excellent."

As a spellcaster, what Gunie feared most was such a powerful creature charging up to him.

Since George could hold off the Death God Beast for a while, that would give him ample time to unleash his spells to the fullest.

"I have cultivated a very powerful explosive spell that can be used for ambushes."

"I also have an extremely powerful cutting spell with formidable power, which should be able to sever the Death God Beast's wings in a short time."

"Moreover, my spellcasting frequency is very high."

George's explanation was very general.

And Gunie's was even more general.

"This Death God Beast is not easy to deal with. When it's time to use your powerful moves, don't hold back," George said seriously.

"Don't worry. As long as you can hold off the Death God Beast up front, my spell output will ensure that the Death God Beast knows what it means to be bombarded with saturation spells," Gunie replied calmly.

"That's good," George nodded solemnly.

Then George looked up at the sky, pondered for a moment, and then turned his gaze back to Gune.

"It's about time now. We can enter the hunting layer and set up in advance."

"Mm." Gune nodded lightly.

With Gune in tow, George once again activated his ability.

The shadowy world before Gune's eyes twisted rapidly, the scene dreamlike and illusory, until after a moment the view coalesced again.

What met his eyes was the deep space—the "Hunting Layer."

It was as dark as the depths of a gloomy dark forest, and a dark, oppressive force swirled around.

Even with Gune's extraordinary talent for source resonance, his vision only extended a hundred meters or so; beyond that, he could only make out faint dark outlines.

Gune, whose talent was strong enough to directly see faint source energy, was not without advantage in this dark, oppressive "Hunting Layer."

If a powerful creature did appear, it would inevitably cause source fluctuations.

Even from a considerable distance, say two or three hundred meters away, Gune could still detect and lock onto it immediately.

George, on the other hand, could only spot it within a hundred-meter visual range.

Feeling the dark, quiet environment, Gune pondered silently.

"A dark, oppressive world, everything hidden in the depths of darkness. Every creature walking in this world is both hunter and prey."

"Truly a world of hunters."

As he mused, Gune looked around, his vigilance growing stronger.

"This mysterious pressure is a normal phenomenon in the deep world." George's voice was very faint now.

As if afraid to disturb the slumbering beast in the depths of darkness.

As he spoke, George silently deployed a nullification interference barrier.

Only after the nullification interference barrier was fully constructed did George breathe a sigh of relief.

"Wait here. I'll sneak over to check on the Death God Beast's status and set up the nullification barrier."

"Remember, don't step outside this nullification interference barrier, and don't make too much noise. If the Death God Beast detects us, all our efforts will be wasted." George cautioned before leaving.

"I understand." Gune nodded.

He turned to look at the deep, dim environment beyond the nullification interference barrier.

With a leap, George vanished into the depths of darkness.

Gunie immediately activated his Source Power Vision and looked around.

However, Gunie did not see any trace of George.

"It seems that Source Power Vision is still not effective against masters of concealment like this, but it should be fine for larger creatures."

"After all, the larger the body, the harder it is to conceal. Creatures as massive as dragons never take the path of hiding their form."

After scanning the surroundings, Gunie sat down cross-legged on the spot.

In the silence, Gunie quickly blended into the dark, oppressive environment of the Hunting Layer.

Even without the Interference Nullification Barrier, relying solely on perception, one would find Gunie indistinguishable from the surrounding mud and stones.

After the two rebirth transformations in the Flesh Fortress cave last time,

Gunie gradually became aware of the many advantages of powerful Transcendent talents.

Whether it was the speed of comprehending Rune Mysteries,

or the compatibility with Transcendent equipment,

or the special Source Power Vision that could see Source Power,

or his current extraordinary ability to easily merge with the surrounding environment,

none of these were things ordinary Transcendents could achieve.

As he pondered, Gunie opened his system space and entered the Adventure page.

Earlier in the Shadow Layer, while adapting to Source Power, spells, his physical body, and Transcendent blood, he had quietly opened the system's Adventure page.

But there were no adventure events.

Now, in this deeper layer of the Shadow World, the Hunting Layer,

when he opened it, he saw the same empty expanse.

"Adventures aren't everywhere," Gunie murmured softly.

"I've heard... before the great sea routes were opened, when pirates ran rampant on the seas, they hid vast treasures on mysterious seas and islands—even crates of gold stacked like mountains. Many legends remain, and some can even be traced."

"It is said that hundreds of years ago, the evil dragon 'Komodo,' which ravaged the southern continent for a long time, notorious for its heinous deeds across the entire Oya Continent and fond of devouring young boys and girls, fled to the depths of the ocean after being defeated by a dragon-slaying hero."

"As far as I know, that 'Komodo' loved collecting treasures."

"Also..." Gunie rubbed his temples slightly.

"If possible, I need to find some seeds of the 'Sea Demon Tree' used by the pirate ghost ships and plant them in my planting space."

"It is said that when the Sea Demon Tree grows to a sufficient age, it can bear 'Deep Blue Source Crystals.'"

"These Deep Blue Source Crystals are treasures that expand the Source Pool more effectively than Red Giant Spider Crystals."

"And each Deep Blue Source Crystal used slightly increases the recovery rate of Source Power in the Source Pool."

"When enough Deep Blue Source Crystals are used, one will find that a faint stream of Source Power continuously flows into the Source Pool, an effect even better than holding the Silver Feather Staff."

"This is a naturally powerful recovery ability."

"It is said that when many powerful spellcasters exhaust their Source Pools, it takes several days or even ten to fifteen days to fully recover their Source Power."

"But if I use enough Deep Blue Source Crystals, once the recovery speed catches up, infinite Source Power is not a dream."

"However, the Sea Demon Trees have been mostly destroyed by those pirates. I wonder if I can find any Sea Demon Tree seeds."

"If I could find seeds of an 'Elite Sea Demon Tree' or even a 'Sea Demon King Tree,' that would be even better."

Gunie had collected and mastered a great deal of information about the ocean recently.

He had long planned that after finishing his research on Rune Potions,

he would definitely go to sea to enhance his strength while also trying to complete his first pot of gold.

As someone from an industrial information age,

the roar of steam machinery deeply stirred Gunie's nerves.

This also made Gunie eager to use his abilities to establish his own steam machinery factory to earn more profits.

Gunie could clearly see that in the future, the steam mechanization and industrialization of the entire world was an inevitable trend.

He could monopolize the refinement of some top-tier Rune Potions.

At the same time, he could industrialize some conventional Rune Potions.

Refining Rune Potions alone would only yield small quantities.

How could that compare to the pleasure and richness of a machinery factory operating day and night, with thousands of laborers working to earn profits for him?

Although capital exploitation carries original sin, no one would refuse it, and Gunie was no exception.

Now was the best era for pioneering steam machinery.

No one would cede their interests to Gunie, so he had to do his utmost to get a piece of the pie.

To partake in the cake of this era's Transcendent industrialization, he must have initial startup capital.

And the deep ocean of distant voyages was a safe place for Gunie to use the system to obtain his first pot of gold.