The old man stood up with a grimace, his hands instinctively rubbing his sore buttocks, his whole body hunched over.
Judging from this posture, it's obvious that he twisted his waist.
"Quick, help me to the stool!" the old man shouted, his voice filled with pain.
Yu Xiangnan was silent for a moment, then said, "...Okay, I'll help you over there. Tell me the clues."
Upon hearing this, the old man was taken aback at first, but since he was currently being held by Yu Xiangnan, he couldn't immediately get angry, and the expression on his face instantly became somewhat complicated.
After struggling for a while, he pursed his lips and muttered, "So young and already full of bad ideas, all he's learned is how to take advantage of others... Fine, once I sit down, I'll tell you everything I know, stop dawdling!"
Yu Xiangnan then stepped forward, took the old man's arm, and half-helped, half-dragged him to the stool.
The old man plopped down, let out a long sigh, and the pain on his face lessened slightly.
"Can you talk now?"
Yu Xiangnan sat down opposite him and stared at the old man.
The old man raised his hand and pressed his temples. Then, he extended his mechanical prosthetic arm and slowly took out a crumpled tobacco pouch from his pocket, pinched out a pinch of tobacco, and put it into the dark pipe.
He struck a match, took a deep drag, and exhaled a thick smoke ring.
Smoke filled the space between the two men.
"Let me catch my breath." The old man deliberately kept everyone in suspense, took a few more puffs of his pipe, tapped it on the sole of his shoe, and finally spoke, "What brings you, young lady, to find clues about Aeonalloy?"
Yu Xiangnan only replied with six words: "It's complicated, hard to say."
The old man stopped asking questions and continued, "This metal isn't just a special metal. To put it simply, Aeonalloy is a universal metal. I can tell at a glance that none of the people who came to me before were in this line of work. I really can't understand what they wanted to do with this metal."
"But for us who are obsessed with tinkering with ores and making weapons, Aeonalloy is an extremely rare and precious material that is worth its weight in gold."
He paused, a hint of fanaticism in his eyes, and continued, "The equipment made from it is unparalleled in terms of hardness, toughness, and all other aspects. I was once fortunate enough to see a light blade forged from Aeonalloy. With a light swing, it could cut through an alloy steel beam. Moreover, it has the property of self-repair. As long as it is not completely damaged, it can be restored to its original state after a period of time."
The old man then changed the subject: "However, Aeonalloy is not so easy to find. Over the years, countless people have gone to search for it and never returned."
Yu Xiangnan paused for a moment, then pressed on, "Could you tell me the physical characteristics of the people who contacted you before?"
The old man looked at her, a meaningful smile on his face.
"Hahaha, it seems you already have a guess in mind."
His hearty laughter was still echoing in the air when suddenly his expression changed, and his laughter stopped abruptly.
It turned out that laughing had aggravated his sprained back.
The old man clutched his waist tightly with both hands, his face contorted in pain, and he kept moaning.
"Ouch, ouch, my back, I twisted my back!"
Yu Xiangnan was completely bewildered, wondering whether he should step forward to help, when he saw the old man getting angrier and angrier. He suddenly grabbed a laser gun from the side and fired a shot at the rubber duck that had tripped him.
"Gah—"
In an instant, a blinding beam of light flashed, and the poor rubber duck instantly turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared without a trace.
Yu Xiangnan's lips twitched slightly.
"......"
Poor rubber duck.
After a while, the old man straightened up, adjusted his mechanical prosthetic limbs, and his expression became more serious: "I cannot disclose the client's information; that's the rule. However, since you possess the Golden Badge and have gained the recognition of the power of metal, I can reluctantly reveal a little information to you."
"In the last three months, three players have contacted me, inquiring about the whereabouts of the special metal. One is from Lanize, one is from Mudi, and I don't know the identity of the third one."
"I'm not sure..."
"I don't know, I just don't know."
Okay, okay.
Yu Xiangnan didn't ask any further questions.
If it's Mudi Star, it should be Luopin, Lanize Star... If Buya also obtained the Gold Badge, could it be her?
Before Yu Xiangnan left, the old man added one more sentence.
“Aeonalloy is located in the abandoned mechanical fortress at the border of Sector 023 and Sector 024. The fortress is situated on the edge of the Death Dunes, surrounded by deadly quicksand. Even if you enter the fortress, the traps inside are enough to kill you instantly.”
Yu Xiangnan paused, waved his hand, and left the alley.
She chose to temporarily withdraw from Zone 023.
Judging from the timeline, she had been staying in Zone 023 for over a week. By this time, Blue Star's rest period had ended, and the next round of survival dungeons had begun.
However, since her level has reached 72, the Survival Dungeon has been added to the list of dungeons and is no longer mandatory for her to participate, so she still has plenty of time.
Now, all Blue Moon players have been forcibly pulled into the survival instance, so she can't even enter the public map and can only stay in her own territory...
The planet Lanize is still inaccessible using the Time-Space Scroll.
If we can encounter Boa in District 023, we might not only find the answer to the question of the special metal, but also the matter of the Ranize Holy Land.
Thinking this, she collected all the experience points and Journey Points she could in the domain, listed a few items on the player online trading platform, organized her card album, and entered Zone 023 again.
After some investigation, they arrived at the border between District 023 and District 024.
A scorching sandstorm swept over me, and before my eyes stretched an endless expanse of shifting sands, churning and rippling under the blazing sun, creating layers of golden waves.
In the far distance, a mechanical fortress stands out abruptly, completely out of place in this desolate desert.
The fortress's surface was covered with complex pipes and neon lights, and on the outer wall, huge mechanical gears turned slowly, emitting a deep and rhythmic rumble.
The surrounding quicksand surged like a raging tide, constantly crashing against the foundation of the fortress.
Yu Xiangnan observed the churning quicksand beneath his feet, paused, and did not rashly step onto it.
Without a doubt, once you step into this quicksand area, you will struggle and sink deeper and deeper, and the hope of getting out will become increasingly slim.
After a brief moment of thought, she made a decisive decision to change her mode of travel, switching from land to air.
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