"Mm."

His tone was flat. The old man seemed ordinary.

But with a slight lift of his hand, the very earth began to break down. Specks of yellow sand rapidly converged like a thin, brown snake, gradually coiling around the neck of the expert from the City Defense Department.

Then, the old man clenched his fist.

CRACK!

Just like that, an expert lost his life, eyes wide as he died on the spot.

Seeing this, the approaching warlord lowered his head slightly, his expression growing even more respectful.

"The intel was bad."

Suddenly, the old man shook his head and said, "This team didn’t find the target."

"Also, there was an Elite Level who was quite sharp. He led his people and fought his way out early on. He’s probably from one of Ring City’s martial arts gyms."

"Oh?"

The warlord’s face grew solemn upon hearing this, a hint of surprise in his expression.

’Old Mo actually missed?’

’And the intel was bad...’

As he was thinking, the old man turned his head, his expressionless gaze fixed on a more distant area.

"But it doesn’t matter."

"I already know the target’s location."

...

「Black Water Town」

That day, the last rays of dusk spilled across the square, stretching the shadows of the people there long and thin.

A discarded oil drum, split in half, sat to one side like an iron basin. Dry firewood burned freely within, erupting into a large plume of fire.

Amidst the crackling and popping,

the people from the settlement gathered in the square finally felt a trace of warmth, and the vigilance on their faces began to fade.

"Looks like this trip has been pretty smooth so far."

Chen Xiao remarked quietly from the side as he looked at the neatly arranged convoy of vehicles.

Lu Chao watched the scene in silence, nodding slightly as his gaze reflected his surroundings.

It was a sizable clearing with flattened earth covered by a layer of fine sand and gravel. Located in the center of Black Water Town, it resembled a public square.

A row of low walls enclosed it on two sides, with a few short, concrete barracks standing off to one side. Much of the convoy’s living supplies had already been unloaded and placed at the barracks’ entrance.

Potable water, self-heating meals, and even common tools like pliers and shovels...

The supplies were piled high as mountains. Hundreds of Black Water Town’s residents had come after hearing the news. They either murmured amongst themselves or lined up to approach the barracks, register their names, and receive their share.

Everything was going more smoothly than Lu Chao had imagined.

After the City Defense Department had handled the negotiations, the leader of the Black Water Town settlement had personally accompanied them and quickly arranged everything.

Looking over now, he could see the man leading several sturdy young men armed with guns, his face filled with gratitude as he repeatedly thanked the members of the convoy.

He shook hands with them one by one, and finally, he even walked up to Lu Chao and gave him a sincere bow.

"We’ve really troubled you, young man."

The settlement’s leader was a gaunt, middle-aged man with a face full of wrinkles and stubble, wearing a brown jacket that was worn shiny with age.

As they shook hands, Lu Chao could feel the rough skin of the man’s palm, covered in scratchy grooves and lines.

Lu Chao nodded calmly and watched as the man went on to thank the other members of the convoy.

He felt an inexplicable sense of peace, and at the same time, data from his intuition surfaced.

Ten points of Life Energy.

In fact, looking around at all the people from Black Water Town, he couldn’t find a single combatant among them.

"For these people, having enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear is all that matters."

"On top of that, they have to pay regular tribute to the warlords to avoid being slaughtered."

Chen Xiao shook his head, sighing with emotion.

Lu Chao fell silent at his words, his gaze shifting to the barracks where the supplies were being distributed.

Captain Yang and the others were on guard nearby, and the elite soldiers of the Mechanical Violence Team stood with their guns ready, preventing anyone from causing trouble or trying to snatch the goods.

And there, in the center of the crowd distributing supplies,

besides the people from the City Defense Department, stood a young woman dressed in an exquisitely tailored, off-white fleece coat, wearing fluffy earmuffs and a pair of clean, tall boots.

She had an oval face, clear eyes, and delicate, gentle features. Standing about five-foot-nine, she looked to be around twenty years old. Her long, loose golden hair seemed to radiate warmth in the firelight.

She didn’t say a word the entire time, just stood quietly to the side, watching the settlement’s people receive their supplies with a complicated expression. Occasionally, she would step forward to lend a hand to the elderly or children who had trouble moving.

Behind her stood a gray-haired, middle-aged man in a suit, standing motionless like a loyal security guard, his vigilant eyes scanning their surroundings.

Lu Chao could vaguely sense that the City Defense Department personnel were unusually warm toward her. Someone even went up and advised her to rest in the car, but she refused with a shake of her head.

"Who’s that?"

Lu Chao frowned slightly, puzzled.

’The convoy is made up of drivers, the elite squad escorting the supplies, or combatants like us.’

’So what’s their deal?’

"You mean Miss Su?"

Chen Xiao was taken aback for a moment before he understood. He leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "My aunt’s husband told me she has some serious connections. Apparently, she was recently given special admission into the Inner Court of Ring Academy."

"She donated a lot of the supplies for this aid mission... but I never expected her to actually come out of the city with us."

’Oh?’

’Ring Academy’s Inner Court?’

Lu Chao was slightly stunned, and a little surprised.

By now, he was no longer the clueless, ordinary sanitation worker he once was, so he naturally understood what this implied.

As Ring City’s only institution of higher learning, it was one of the cradles that produced humanity’s elites.

Ring Academy was not as simple as it appeared on the surface. It was divided into an Outer Court and an Inner Court.

The Outer Court, as its name suggested, had the largest number of students. After graduation, they could easily find work in the Patrol Department, the Political Affairs Department, or with corporate giants. While outstanding, they were still within the realm of the ordinary.

The Inner Court, however, was different. Rumor had it that it accepted fewer than a hundred students each year.

To get in and graduate successfully, one not only needed to bear enormous expenses but also demonstrate exceptional performance in theoretical knowledge or on a Superpower Path and pass a series of assessments.

Most of these super-elites would go on to enter special government departments like the Superpower Bureau or apply for core positions at Lianwei Heavy Industry and the Biotechnology Company.

He had even heard a rumor that the famous Ruan Hui was a graduate of Ring Academy’s Inner Court.

"No wonder."

His confusion dissipated, and Lu Chao didn’t ask any more questions.

The group quickly finished handing over and distributing the supplies. Seeing that it was getting late, they decided to stay the night in Black Water Town.

Following the arrangements made by the settlement’s leader, they took their folding cots and settled into a few of the nearby concrete barracks.

"I’ll sleep here. Let’s leave this spot for Captain Yang and the others."

As night fell, Chen Xiao found a spot against the wall. Lu Chao nodded without objecting.

Out in the wilderness, one had to remain vigilant at all times.

Because of this, they had to take turns standing watch tonight to guard against any surprises, which was why only the two of them were in the room at the moment.

As for Captain Yang, he was outside on watch with Wang Shisong. The two of them would have to relieve them in the middle of the night.

"Speaking of which, this is only my second time outside the city."

"The last time was the truly dangerous one. We ran into an Elite Level Mutant Beast... This time has been fine, though. If nothing goes wrong, we should be able to head back tomorrow."

Chen Xiao said suddenly, his voice tinged with relief and emotion.

Lu Chao followed his gaze and glanced at the night sky outside the window.

This was his first time in the wilderness, and everything he saw was completely different from what was inside the city walls.

It wasn’t just the people, the land, or the Mutant Beasts...

Even the moon was different.

Looking out, he could see a night sky dotted with countless stars and a bright white moon hanging high above—a sight rarely seen within the city.

Subconsciously, his mind began to drift, and he thought of the world from his past life.

What’s more, even though he had only been out of the city for a day, which wasn’t long, he found himself thinking about his old friends back in the city. He wondered how Brother Hao and Yuanqing were doing.

He then glanced down at his smart wristband.

There was no signal at all—another feature of the wilderness. The only way to communicate over long distances was with a satellite phone.

Instantly, the night outside seemed to thicken like ink, growing even darker.

Lu Chao and Chen Xiao ended their idle chat, planning to get some sleep and recover their strength for their watch shift in the middle of the night.

"Huh?"

However, just then,

Lu Chao’s eyes narrowed. He suddenly felt the ground begin to tremble slightly.

Before he could even process it,

a commotion erupted outside the barracks, and the sharp, piercing sound of a whistle cut through the night.

"Enemy attack!!"

"Everyone, on alert!!"