Chapter 147: The Big Dark Lass

"Mission accomplished, equal to death. You have obtained 100 time coins. Passengers may choose to return immediately or continue developing side quests!"

"The latest response time must not exceed any teammate! Otherwise, the corresponding time coins will be directly deducted!"

[Sacrifice successful, Quest Two completed.]

[Reward obtained: Building Module - Vehicle Factory.]

The sudden, cold mechanical voice, along with the words "Mission Accomplished" that abruptly appeared on the Red Alert interface, left Gao Ning slightly stunned before a surge of joy filled his heart.

Indeed, in this world, they, the time-travelers, were the true world anomalies.

He hadn't expected a Vehicle Factory to be awarded; this was truly a generous gift!

Gao Ning felt tempted. He couldn't help but think of Zhang Shaolong and Ye Zimei; what if he tricked them here as well and casually sacrificed them too...

Gao Ning shook his head. He couldn't do that; it lacked too much moral bottom line, since they were teammates after all!

However, he would gladly accept their opponents for himself.

Originally, Gao Ning had no intention of meddling in others' business. After all, every mission was a process of growth. As long as his teammates weren't facing life-and-threatening danger, Gao Ning intended to let them thrash about on their own, stepping in only when they truly couldn't hold on anymore.

Yet, upon discovering this fact, Gao Ning couldn't help himself. This was a genuine, tangible world anomaly.

Such things were impossible to acquire this easily in other worlds, and Gao Ning was still lacking quite a few building modules.

Things like barracks, shipyards, a battle lab, alongside superweapons—these were all in high demand.

Wait, a battle lab...

A flash of inspiration struck Gao Ning's mind. This was the Republic of China era; Einstein was still alive, as was Tesla. These might just be world-class scientists.

He would inevitably travel through various worlds to complete missions in the future, and these people simply could not be let go.

Gao Ning made up his mind: as soon as dawn broke, he would dispatch a team to England immediately.

Having established a foothold and figured out the basic situation, Gao Ning would personally make a trip over, construct the vehicle factory, choose a pitch-black, windy night for a direct frontal assault, and pack up all the world-class scientists to take them away.

As for whether they would be obedient or cause a fuss about seeking death, that was easily resolved for Gao Ning. Although he hadn't unlocked Yuri yet, he would unlock him sooner or later.

A single mind control session, and regardless of what you were thinking in your heart, your body would honestly and obediently get to work!

Gao Ning chuckled softly, pulling a large batch of grizzly bear troops back into his body.

Perhaps he had used a bit too much force; he had prepared a bit too thoroughly today, not expecting the opponents to be so fragile. He had actually anticipated an exciting, epic battle.

Tomorrow, he would just toss the grizzly bear clan into the Greater Khingan Mountains. That boundless mountain range and deep primitive forest could officially be declared as his private backyard from now on.

Thinking about it this way, Gao Ning felt a little excited.

After dealing with the dessert that had suddenly delivered itself to his doorstep, Gao Ning set off overnight, heading straight for Old Gold Gulch!

Spring was fast approaching, the weather was gradually warming up, the river ice was thawing, and the gold-panning miners were beginning to get back to work.

It was just a pity that this year, nobody knew where the original gold vein had shifted. After running about for nearly a month, not a single speck of gold dust had been discovered. Many people were disheartened and loudly clamored about leaving.

Yet, despite the talk, the number of gold prospectors didn't seem to decrease.

There was only a single tavern at the gold mine. On the surface, this place served as a spot for them to eat, drink, and pass the time, but in reality, it was an intelligence outpost planted by bandits. The proprietress was an aging woman whose alias was "Big Black Girl." She was resourceful, warmly hospitable, and had a rather fiery personality.

Therefore, she easily integrated among the miners. Whatever plans or thoughts the miners had, they didn't hide them from Big Black Girl, which allowed her to frequently gather crucial intelligence.

It was already pitch black. After finishing their drinks, the miners had all staggered back to their tents in a haze.

Big Black Girl finished tallying her accounts and prepared to blow out the lamps and go to bed.

To her surprise, the door curtain was lifted, and two people walked right in, one after the other.

The leader was dressed in a fur coat that shone with a greasy black luster. He had fair skin, a well-proportioned figure, and carried the demeanor of a young master in his every stride and movement.

The person behind him, however, was extremely eye-catching: twelve feet tall, with broad shoulders and a wide chest, he was a giant of a man built like a door panel.

His muscles were knotted and intertwined over his bone structure like the roots of an ancient tree, layered upon layers. No one would doubt that a single blow from his massive fist could kill a man.

The big man wore a tiger-skin felt hat. Despite the freezing weather, his chest was bare, revealing a solid, robust abdomen. His upper body was clad only in a tiger-skin vest, while his lower body consisted of black silk lantern trousers. His deer-skin long boots hugged his feet silently, and the thick, black belt tied around his waist had a long tail that covered half of his dagger.

A thick scarf was wrapped around the big man's neck, concealing more than half of his face and leaving only a pair of cold eyes exposed.

Under the dim candlelight, Big Black Girl failed to notice that the big man's skin had a faint bluish tint. She was too busy being astonished by his height and the duo's attire, standing frozen in place without speaking for a long time.

Gao Ning had traveled continuously for over a week and finally arrived near Old Gold Gulch. First, using guard dogs and spies, he mapped out the surrounding bandit positions, and then launched a blitzkrieg, surrounding them in one fell swoop and completely wiping them out.

Having eliminated any worries in his rear, Gao Ning brought along a slightly disguised Mutant Beast, and on a pitch-black, windy night, patronized the tavern that had frequently appeared in the plot.

Gao Ning chose a table and sat down. The Mutant Beast stood silently behind him with its arms crossed, motionless and mute like a statue.

Seeing that the proprietress was still in a daze, Gao Ning wore no particular expression. He leisurely retrieved a crystal tobacco pipe, over a foot long and crystal clear from head to toe, from the brocade pouch at his waist, tapped it gently against the table, and said indifferently, "What? Guests have arrived and nobody is going to greet them?"

Big Black Girl snapped back to reality like waking from a dream, hurriedly piling a smile on her face as she walked over. "Honored guest, look at how full of aristocratic aura you are—it completely blinded a commoner like me! Young master, you must be a VIP. This attire, these movements, coupled with a bodyguard built like an iron pagoda—one can tell at a glance that you're no ordinary person.

"However, everyone here is just a wretched gold-panning coolie. Did a noble person like you come to a place like our shop by mistake?"

Gao Ning glanced at her and smiled. "A bit interesting. Sharp-tongued, bold, and meticulous. No wonder you act as an insider for the bandits!"

Big Black Girl stepped back in fright, terror flashing in her pupils.

"You..."

"Don't be nervous. I'm neither a government official nor a gold prospector, just another bunch of horse thieves who enjoy preying on other thieves!"

Gao Ning looked at her with a half-smile. "The bandits of Western Pass were uprooted by us. Half of the thousand-odd men were killed, and the rest were incorporated. You are the only one left who might be able to inherit the title of chief. How about it? Do you want to avenge your old masters?"