Chapter 19: Fang Shi
Jin Chow predicted the response from Liu Kai. 'After all, he is that kind of guy. When he sets his mind to something, it seems like he will not be thwarted.' Jin Chow thought to himself, recalling Liu Kai's earlier effort to save the lady.
"Do you ... maybe know his name? I'll be searching for that guy once I'm back in the Xennogian Monarchy." Jin Chow suggested.
"I don't know, all I know is his face," said Liu Kai. Suddenly, he recalled the old man's face, concerned as he moved him.
'Why did he look at me like that after I pushed him.' Liu Kai said to himself, while his gaze was focused on space.
Jin Chow muttered, "Brother Liu Kai. It's hard to meet someone you've just met by his ears. Please listen to me this time, don't go to Sheng Chan." He insisted, wishing he'd only listen to him this time. "I appreciate your generosity. Don't worry. I'm not going to be reckless again. And don't call me a brother." Liu Kai pounded Jin Chow in the head with an empty stick after he heard him use the honorifics.
"Awww." Jin Chow covered his head with both hands, in agony.
"Oho, is that painful? Try to do that again, and next time I'm going to hit you harder." Liu Kai intimidated him a bit playfully. Jin Chow pouted helplessly in front of Liu Kai.
"By the way, I'm so curious not to ask… Uh... How many were you in your squad?" Liu Kai looked away while asking the question.
"Ahhh… That's fine." Jin Chow answered. "My squad consisted of 10 people, including me. My squad is the fourth batch sent to this place to investigate." He smiled genuinely and explained.
"You said FOURTH?" Liu Kai gasped after hearing it.
"Yes." Jin Chow pushed his chest out and answered to show his confidence.
"What happened in the first three squads?" Liu Kai asked.
"Uhhh… That… I don't know. They gave each squad three months to investigate before returning. But no one returned. That's why the Monarchy sent another squad to follow up on the investigation. They are all monarchy knights who withstood difficult training inside the Monarchy." Jin Chow scratched his nose, not knowing what to say.
Liu Kai narrowed his eyes and tightened his lips after hearing it. He touched his chin with his right hand and remained silent. 'Did they all perished just like Jin Chow's Squad?' He thought to himself.
"You told me you are just a Knight apprentice. If the Monarchy is sending Knights to take care of the investigation, why did they include you?" Liu Kai raised his right eyebrow.
"Uhhh… That… They told me to tell that I'm a Knight already and gave me a medallion even if I'm not done yet with my training. I am the only Knight apprentice allowed to take part in the investigation because of my blessing." Jin Chow laughed awkwardly.
'That would make sense, considering that he is the only one remaining on his squad even if he's just a knight apprentice.' Liu Kai thought to himself.
"Did you receive the contract already?" Liu Kai suspiciously asked.
"Errr… No, but they said that they'd handle the paperwork while I'm gone, and by the time I'm back, they'll give me the contract." Jin Chow scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
"Do you believe them?" Liu Kai followed up.
Jin Chow lifted his head and, "Yes! That's the Monarchy, and they made an order to transfer my parents already before I left. That's what's important to me." He stated confidently.
Liu Kai gave him a weird look and threw the stick he was holding and stood up.
"Come on, let's continue our investigation." He ordered. Jin Chow lifted the rock from where he sat before and threw it at the fire to extinguish it.
They both continue to travel to the east.
Liu Kai and Jin Chow encountered multiple E-rated and D-Rated monsters in the next three days of their journey to the east.
Liu Kai checked his stats.
[Status Window]
Agility: 34
Power: 25
Stamina: 26
Mentality: 28
Durability: 24
Perception: 24
"I gained 10 points in almost all stats aside from 'Agility' and 'Power' after eating multiple D-Rated Monsters." He spoke to himself while looking at the screen.
'I'm not getting that many points from low-rated bugs despite eating nonstop.'
'But it's not bad. I'm still getting stronger. It's better than not gaining anything.'
'So, rate and eating a lot is a factor in earning points.' Liu Kai hypothesized.
They can't find anything aside from low-rated bugs throughout their journey. They have ran a lot of kilometers already during their journey, but they are still far from Sheng Chan.
Jin Chow suddenly stopped and said, "This place, we already arrived at Fang Shi."
Liu Kai stopped and listened to him. They looked side by side to observe their surroundings.
Fang Shi is the last country that was taken from human territories. It's the outset of their long and bloody journey.
"We need to slow down our pace and be more cautious about our surroundings. I think there's a lot of S-Rated Monsters lurking around here." Jin Chow suggested.
"High rated bugs can camouflage and conceal their presence. They are monsters that will kill without mercy and won't give you a chance." Jin Chow added. But Liu Kai already knew it. He knew a lot of things about animals since he's a kid. He knew how they think and what kind of monster they are.
Since they arrived at Fang Shi, the mood totally shifted.
Since they landed, Liu Kai felt uncomfortable. His 'perception' is substantially better than before, but he feels like he's blind inside Fang Shi.
His senses are dull, and he can't perceive anything apart. The only thing they can trust is their vision.
"I can't sense anything. How about you?" Jin Chow worriedly asked.
"I can't either. It's like our perception is being blocked by something that I can't identify." Liu Kai closed his eyes and tried to expand his 'perception,' but he can't sense anything at all.
'Tsk! This is going to be harder than I thought.' Liu Kai clenched his fist in annoyance.
Before the Great Catastrophe, Fang Shi stood at the top as one of the most significant countries in Xennog. It has prominent buildings all around the place, and the streets are full of businessmen who are walking in a hurry, catching up to important meetings. But looking at the roads right now, it turned into river channels of uncharted waters.
The topographic profile of Fang Shi was deemed the lowest compared to the rest of the countries. It was a wetland. Water plants—like lotuses, water lilies, frogbits, and other floras grew in profusion—could be seen; however, the plants' sizes were considered humongous compared to their usual sizes.
The water is shallow enough to flood the buildings halfway. Peering deeper into the turbid waters, vague enough to notice some cars could be seen underwater.
Noticing the trees, even bigger than the usual sizes, they sprang out from edifices and different infrastructures. Their roots infiltrated so deep inside the skyscrapers, hanging out on the streets. Vines were weaved and cascaded by the branches. Moss blanketed on every surface therein.
Liu Kai and Jin Chow are now on top of one of the buildings.
"So, this is the appearance of an abandoned country." Liu Kai stated.
Jin Chow can't believe that Fang Shi will look like this after the Great Catastrophe. He is just scanning the area with astonishment.
"This is beautiful." Jin Chow said, with gazed fixed in the entire area, standing at the building's edge.
"Nature is beautiful." He added.
Nighttime is coming, and they are planning to camp on top of the building, but...
KABOOM!!!
Liu Kai and Jin Chow fell from the top and sank into the water.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Nocturnal_Dreamer
Nocturnal_Dreamer Hi guys, this novel almost has 100K views. I'm so grateful to all of you for taking your time to read this novel. I'm glad ^_^
Shoutout to EmzByte13, Neil_Ads, Ss_PunisheR, and FeaR_Less for always voting and sharing their thoughts about this novel. Thank you so much. I'll do this to others again next time. Please continue to vote, and you can comment to share your thoughts.
500 votes = 1 extra chapter at the end of the week
600 votes = 2 extra chapter at the end of the week
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone