Reincarnated as a bamboo rat, it begins its extreme survival struggle.

"Tell me what the departure ceremony is this afternoon?"

"The music academy is closed this afternoon because a joint force composed of the church and the city guard will be leaving the city today for the City of Bones. The departure ceremony is this afternoon, and the teachers of the music academy have to attend."

Chapter 150 Departure Ceremony

"The departure ceremony is about to begin, Mr. Bell, would you like to go and take a look?"

"Let's go see the huge crowds."

The departure ceremony for the church and the city guard was arranged outside Cangxing City, on the official road leading directly to the bamboo forest.

Unlike the free-spirited adventurers who can pack their bags and set off at any time, the city guards and the church are much more disciplined.

The city guards and church members lined up on both sides of the main road. The city guards were led by a general in silver armor, with Amat, a red-haired man, standing beside him as his deputy.

Standing at a distance, Bell glanced over and found that the city guards who had set out to fight numbered more than two thousand, with an average level of around ten. The squad leaders were at level twelve or thirteen, and the regimental commanders who managed the squads were at a slightly higher level, but not by much.

Among the two thousand-strong city guard, only the general in the silver armor was a level 20 expert.

'However, judging from this guy's attributes, he probably can't beat Julianne, and the vampire standing next to him can likely take him down too.'

Although the general's level is as high as level 20, his individual attributes are not very high, belonging to the lower category among those of the same level, and the skills he possesses are not powerful enough.

For ordinary adventure groups and adventurers, the average level and high-level combat power of the city guards are absolutely overwhelming.

However, compared to another group at the departure ceremony, the average level of the city guards was actually weaker.

The number of church members standing on the other side of the official road was far less than that of the city guards, totaling less than three hundred.

But these three hundred men were not to be trifled with. They wore rough linen clothing, their expressions were calm and resolute, and their auras were as one. Even the city guards who trained together every day could not unify their auras like these church priests.

The average level of church pastors is as high as level twelve, which is higher than that of the city guards, and their individual attributes are in no way inferior to those of city guards of the same level.

'The city guards focus on quantity in terms of production capacity, while the church focuses on quality...'

He simply categorized the city guards and church pastors into two groups, and he paid special attention to two people in the church pastor team.

One was an elderly pastor dressed in a black robe. He was the leader of the church's pastoral team and had an individual level of twenty-two. Although he looked quite old, his hair and beard were meticulously groomed, and his muscles had not atrophied. Instead, they made his robes bulge.

Church pastors generally look like this, each one with explosive muscles all over their body, wearing signs indicating "Master of Fighting" or "Master of Staff Techniques".

At the front of the church pastors' procession, there was a man whose face was obscured by his robes, standing next to the pastors' leader.

This person attracted many curious glances, but he was very well hidden, and no one knew what he looked like under his robes.

Even when Bell used [Information Insights], he could only see a few entries.

[Unknown Target]

Race: human

grade:

Occupation: [Nun]

Bell only gleaned this information from her: the nun's robes possessed extremely strong counter-surveillance magic, and she was quite powerful.

It possesses a permanent mental defense.

The reason why Bell paid special attention to this mysterious person was because of her individual level, which was presented in ranges, a situation that Bell had never seen before.

After all, individual rankings are rigid and don't fluctuate arbitrarily.

"What does this mean? Does it mean I can switch levels to gain stronger power when needed? No, wait, if it's about switching forms, why isn't that vampire named Amat in this state..."

The fluctuating level piqued Bell's curiosity, and he guessed that this situation was most likely related to the profession of "Nun".

However, without actual research, Bell also finds it difficult to conduct in-depth analysis, as he is currently quite unfamiliar with the church as an organization.

"By the way, isn't the departure ceremony about to begin?"

"It should be soon, after all, we still need to reach the outer edge of the bamboo forest before nightfall."

Not far from Edu and Bel, there was a group of relaxed adventurers. They were supposed to be part of the departure ceremony, but most of them were used to being idle and didn't want to stand at attention on either side of the road. They stayed far away and did whatever they could to be comfortable.

There are about twenty or thirty adventurers here, all of them skilled adventurers, and their levels were generally around seventeen or eighteen. They come from various professional guilds and large adventure groups.

Julianne, the beast tamer director whom Bell had met at the Hunter's Guild, was also here. However, she was more interested in the fire-chewing hyena that had just joined her than in this departure ceremony. She was actively interacting with the fire-chewing hyena, making it attack her.

The fire-chewing hyena had only been with her for a few days, but its size had increased rapidly; it was now twice its original size, and its fangs had grown in. It was clear that Julianne had taken good care of it; her position as a member of the Beast Tamer Council wasn't for nothing.

After watching for a while, the departure ceremony officially began and proceeded at an astonishing speed.

The purpose of Cangxing City organizing this departure ceremony was to stabilize the atmosphere within the city, to instill confidence in the city's residents, and to deter the increasing number of outsiders in the city.

The mayor of Cangxing City publicly stated that they would completely resolve the issues of the Bamboo Forest and the newly emerged Skeleton City, transforming the area back into a low-risk or even safe zone.

This is a major event that Cangxing City has rarely undertaken in recent years, drawing immense attention from the city's inhabitants, as well as from adventurers and staff from other cities within Cangxing City.

Cangxing City's stance is that it welcomes any adventurer to the Bamboo Sea to jointly develop and explore the City of Bones. However, anyone who takes this opportunity to cause trouble within Cangxing City and disrupt its internal order should consider their own strength.

"You can go now. See you in the bamboo forest."

The departure ceremony lasted about half an hour. After the ceremony, Julianne, who was in the first tier among the strong individuals present, was the first to leave.

With one hand she gripped the scruff of the fire hyena's neck, and with the other hand she grabbed upwards and caught the golden eagle's claws, turning it into a tiny black dot in the sky.

With the Golden Feather Eagle by her side, she possesses unparalleled mobility that many skilled fighters present could only envy. In the sky, Julianne doesn't need to consider the terrain at all, and can reach the bamboo forest in just over half an hour.

Meanwhile, the city guards and church pastors present had to run errands and travel long distances, fully demonstrating the advantages of having a mount.

Chapter 151 Advanced Markets

"After this departure ceremony, our business will be even better before the New Year."

"There should be a lot more quests in the guild square, and we'll have a good job to do before the New Year."

"Oh, right, notify the pharmacy to work overtime to rush out the medicine!"

……

After the departure ceremony, Edu walked among a group of middle-aged men who had come to watch the event.

This was Bell's request. Now that his physical and mental strength have increased, he can hear the surrounding information more clearly and receive all kinds of information.

Bell, perched on Edu's shoulder, further amplified his senses with his mental power, allowing him to hear even more of the conversation.

The departure ceremony may seem like just a formality with no real significance, but once this signal is released, it will bring a new round of economic growth to Cangxing City.

The logistics costs for the city guards and the church after entering the bamboo forest were not small. Unlike ordinary adventure groups, they would not have one person take on multiple roles, fighting, repairing equipment, and being responsible for logistics.

Before the city guards and the church set off, a large number of low-level adventurers had already received the missions to transport supplies from the city guards and the church.

The rewards for missions issued by the city guards and the church are slightly higher than those for similar missions on the market. This slight premium is what makes adventurers scramble for these missions.

The goal is to have a large organization like the City Guard quickly gather a large number of low-level adventurers, and then select the best of them to create a list of executive members whose quality is slightly higher than average.

Transporting supplies, returning resources, escorting the wounded, building positions...

Various tasks will appear in the adventurer circle of Cangxing City in a short period of time, and will spread from the adventurer circle to all walks of life.

At times like these, merchants who have stockpiled a large amount of supplies should be happy.

However, due to the repeated attacks by thieves on the warehouses of merchants storing ordinary goods during this period, many merchants sold off their stockpiled goods at low prices, hoping to use the money to have a good New Year.

Suddenly, the city guards and the church launched a large-scale operation to purchase various basic supplies, leaving the merchants who had sold off their supplies in advance furious and frustrated.

For merchants, earning less is equivalent to losing money, especially when the prices of goods they recently sold at low prices rise rapidly. When this happens to them, it's worse than killing them.

Listening to these professionals from all walks of life, who were quite sensitive to first-hand information, talking about the departure ceremony, Edu suddenly had a feeling of 'Damn it, they need to use their brains.'

"Let's go, let's check out that new market that's only for mid- to high-level adventurers."

Once the crowd watching the departure ceremony at the city gate had mostly dispersed, Bell quickly identified his next target location.

Still deep in thought, Edu followed Bell's instructions and quickly made his way to the so-called new market in the east of the city.

Actually, this place isn't new; it's been around for many years.

But compared to the old markets that were organized by convention, this market, which only served mid- to high-level professionals, seemed very deserted and lacked the feeling of being crowded with people shoulder to shoulder.

"this

"Sir, a service fee of three copper coins is required to enter the premium market."

Upon arriving at the entrance of the new market, a well-dressed waiter bowed slightly to Edu, who was about to enter. Only after Bell paid did the waiter begin to explain the situation and rules of this so-called high-class market.

"All vendors and shops in the upscale market promise to provide better service, but we also ask that you, as an patron, remain discreet and undisturbed."

The waiter stepped back, letting Edu in.

This so-called upscale market is much smaller than the old market where the Edu family lives. Unlike the old market, which stretches across several streets, this one resembles a circular shopping mall with three floors to explore.

In the basement of the upscale market, there is a VIP exhibition area storing special items, where only shop managers can lead buyers down.

Compared to the old markets where stalls were scattered haphazardly, the shops and stalls in the upscale market are exceptionally well-organized, showing that they have been meticulously planned.

The entrance fee also prevents situations where one stall is selling magic potions while the next stall is selling fruits and vegetables.

After all, selling low-end goods in a high-end market is a pure loss.

"Here is a tourist map of the upscale market, showing the shops on the first to third floors."

Standing in front of a sign, Bell and Edu studied it intently.