The Rocky Plains

At 4 a.m., Han Ke woke up groggily.

The arduous daily labor was tiring, but for Lu Fan's sake, Han Ke had no complaints.

Han Ke was going to quietly go to the bathroom to wash up, but she found that Lu Fan's room door was open and his bed had already been made, neat and clean.

Han Ke paused, never expecting that Lu Fan would also wake up this early.

"Little Fan, you're up already?" Han Ke called out, but received no response.

Soon, Han Ke found a letter left by Lu Fan on the living room coffee table. Opening it, she recognized the familiar handwriting.

"Aunt, I'll be going to the Stone Plains these next few days, you wait for me at home. Don't worry, I'll be fine. When I come back, I'll make sure you live a good life!"

Looking at the words, Han Ke vaguely felt like she could see Lu Fan's resolute face.

"This child… How can he go to the Stone Plains alone…" Even though Lu Fan didn't want Han Ke to worry, seeing this letter, her heart still clenched.

In her view, Lu Fan must be wanting to go to the Stone Plains to level up, to strive for the college entrance exam and get the chance to do dungeons and earn money.

This made Han Ke feel quite guilty - if only she had chosen a combat profession initially, then the burden wouldn't all be on Lu Fan's shoulders…

…

At this pre-dawn time, the sky was still dark, only a faint glimmer of dawn on the eastern horizon.

Lu Fan sat on the suburban bus, eyes closed, resting.

On the bus, apart from the driver, there were more than a dozen people, seemingly all level 10 or above profession changers, likely going to the wilderness to level up or collect materials to sell.

The purpose of these suburban buses was precisely this - to transport people to the wilderness. Of course, with fierce beasts roaming the wild, these buses wouldn't go too far, stopping around fifty li outside of Jianghai City.

Nevertheless, it at least spared the monster hunters the effort of walking there themselves.

Finally, the suburban bus stopped at the terminal station. There was a simple outpost here, guarded by a dozen or so level 10-ish combat profession soldiers, protecting the safety of this terminal.

This was the furthest frontline before entering the wilderness. Going deeper into the Stone Plains, there would be no more soldier patrols.

If one encountered actively aggressive beasts, fighting would be the only way to survive.

Lu Fan got off the bus with the other material hunters. The group basically didn't interact at all, scattering in different directions towards the deeper parts of the Stone Plains after disembarking.

On the bus, there was a group of material hunters who had tried to recruit Lu Fan, but he had declined.

Firstly, the material hunters were a mixed bunch, most being old hands who had endured the wilderness, capable of killing and looting without qualms. Lu Fan didn't want to associate with this group.

Even though it was very dangerous for Lu Fan to traverse the deeper Stone Plains alone, it was still less dangerous than going with them.

Additionally, Lu Fan was here to excavate the treasure map, which didn't align with the material hunters' path.

After getting off the terminal station, Lu Fan, carrying his newbie machete, proceeded according to the treasure map's coordinates, soon entering the central area of the Stone Plains.

By now, the sun had risen, and the scenery of the Stone Plains could be fully seen.

It was very similar to a place called the Black Great Plains on Lu Fan's previous Blue Star.

The land was vast and open, with jagged rocks, and some areas with vegetation reaching nearly a person's height.

Occasionally, herds of level 7 monsters like giant gazelles and level 8 monsters like giant antelopes could be seen passing by.

These beasts were not the actively aggressive type, so as long as Lu Fan didn't provoke them, he wouldn't run into trouble.

However, Lu Fan soon encountered the first obstacle on the Stone Plains - a Blood Grey Fox.

This creature was at the top of the food chain, and naturally harbored the intent to attack Lu Fan, a human.

Lu Fan directly used his Identification Skill on the opponent, instantly revealing its attributes.

Blood Grey Fox: Actively Aggressive Monster

Level: 10

Strength: 15

Agility: 31

Spirit: 10

Endurance: 14

Skills: Blood Thirst (Attacking enemies can restore 10% of self's blood energy)

Blood Frenzy (Can rapidly attack enemies twice)

A level 10 monster, equal in level to Lu Fan. Looking at the attributes, it seemed to be a high agility type, but its strength and endurance were quite average.

In a direct confrontation, Lu Fan should have a slight edge.

However, this was because Lu Fan, as an honor student at Three Meridian Academy, had very high individual attributes. For an average level 10 student, their attributes would be around 10 points each, and they would have no chance of surviving an encounter with this Blood Grey Fox.

Now, the Blood Grey Fox was already tailing Lu Fan, ready to attack at any moment. Lu Fan naturally wouldn't wait passively, drawing the newbie's longsword from his back, planning to resolve this nuisance first.

One Blood Grey Fox was fine, but if he encountered other actively aggressive monsters, being surrounded by them, Lu Fan feared he might end up dying in the wilderness before even reaching the treasure map's location.