Only when the small blue anchor vanished did Qin Ziwen’s tense nerves ease slightly.

’That was a close call. They almost tracked me down and took me out.’

The other party had come knocking the moment the second map ended.

Connecting this to the tracing ability that had just been activated, Qin Ziwen had a good guess as to how they had found him.

’Their anchor connection was terminated, so their authority probably doesn’t exceed the scope of Level 4.’

After the small blue anchor disappeared, text continued to materialize from the Home’s small orb of light.

[Stage Type: Competition]

[Time Limit: 45 days]

[Objective: Both Gated Communities will complete Hunting Celestial List missions. At the end of the time limit, points will be compared. The victor may proceed to the next map. The loser will be stranded on this map.]

The word "Competition" glowed with a piercing, blood-red light.

Qin Ziwen read it over and over, his heart sinking.

This mission left almost no room for negotiation.

Failure meant being trapped on these islands forever.

Unless one side was willing to be left behind and live here.

[This is a Competition stage. There will be no Gated Community merger.]

[Gated Community Population Comparison: 2019 vs. 3511]

[Based on the point comparison from the previous map, the geographical locations of both Gated Communities have been adjusted.]

[Congratulations, esteemed Level 4 Authority: Lord of the Homeland. In accordance with your authority, you have received additional information about this map.]

Immediately after, the small orb of light before him projected three images.

The first was an aerial view. Looking down from above, one could see islands scattered below like stars.

From a distance, they looked like pieces on the great chessboard of the sea.

The second showed a forty-eight-story office building nestled in a forest. North of the building was a low-lying Urban Village.

On the building’s exterior, many glass panels and windows were shattered. Above the entrance to the first-floor lobby, two large words were printed: Hongding Mansion.

Within the chaotic Urban Village, telephone poles stood tall, but the wires and notice boards had been almost completely torn down. The walls were plastered with unsightly advertisements.

The third image was of a sandy deep-sea floor. A dense forest of pink coral was visible nearby, along with numerous raised mounds of dirt. Dark holes could be seen in the front of these mounds.

Where these holes intersected, pieces of wood had been fashioned into crude shelters, forming a picture of an underwater ecosystem.

In the distance, blurry dark shapes poked their heads out from the holes, their green-glowing eyes exceptionally unsettling in the deep sea.

The three images lingered for a moment before dissipating.

Qin Ziwen went to the rooftop of Building 8 and surveyed the surrounding islands, finally locking his gaze on an island to the east of the Gated Community.

Of all the surrounding islands, that one was the largest. It even had small mountains and was covered in dense forest. Based on the scenery from the second image, it was the most likely candidate.

On the rooftop, many people greeted Qin Ziwen.

Everyone had a smile on their face.

After greeting them back, Qin Ziwen thought about the scene from the second image. That was most likely where their competition was.

An office building plus an Urban Village.

The latter wasn’t so bad, but the former was a veritable pressure cooker.

Especially since the former was Jiang City’s famous Hongding Mansion.

As a Jiang City native, Qin Ziwen had heard of this well-known local building.

Rumor had it that this one building contained everything for entertainment and leisure: restaurants, retail, gyms, a movie theater, escape rooms and board game cafes, guesthouses, internet cafes, spas, small business studios, sole proprietorships...

He once had a friend who opened a small studio in Hongding Mansion.

When he visited at three in the afternoon, the line for the elevator stretched from inside the lobby all the way out to the plaza.

The foot traffic was terrifying.

The Urban Village was also a high-density residential area, yet the combined population of these two complexes was now just over three thousand people.

’Are they breeding Gu?’

He suspected that anyone who survived in those two buildings was a Gu King.

...

Zou Jianghe sat at the head of the table, flanked on both sides by the senior members of the Alliance Association.

However, compared to the Alliance Association’s leadership meeting during the second map, this gathering was noticeably more somber.

There seemed to be a few fewer people than last time.

"I know what you’re all thinking. Lately, everyone’s lost some faith in our Alliance Association. You think the Qin Alliance is better than us. They can hunt Tyrannosaurs, they can hunt Giant Rock Dragons, so that must mean our Alliance Association is inferior!"

The people below him fell silent.

Zou Jianghe rubbed the bridge of his nose and continued, "Yes, they’re ahead of us in some ways for now, but we have our own strengths. Their lead is built on Cards, but we have Cards, too. As long as we work hard, it’s not impossible to catch up.

If we lose faith in our own Alliance, then there’s no point in trying. We might as well surrender. Go on, everyone go join the Qin Alliance."

Zou Jianghe clapped his hands once, then leaned back in his chair.

Hearing Zou Jianghe’s words, no one in the room left.

Zou Jianghe was quite pleased by this, as if he had expected it.

He clapped his hands. "It’s not like we don’t have our own advantages. The Qin Alliance is strong, yes, but I have an ace up my sleeve."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the inner bedroom opened.

A group of people with long hair walked in, leading a pack of Single Claw Dragons into the living room that served as a conference room.

The quiet living room instantly transformed into a noisy, chattering farm.

Some Single Claw Dragons leaped onto the sofa, others lowered their heads to sniff around, and one even squatted in a corner to take a shit.

He Biao forced a smile. "Leader, is this your ace in the hole?"

"That’s right. Single Claw Dragons," Zou Jianghe said. "They’re agile, their sense of smell is stronger than a hound’s, and most importantly, they don’t eat much, making them easy to raise."

"Of course, I know you might not have much faith in the Single Claw Dragon. You think it’s weak, that its combat power isn’t high enough. But what about... this?"

Suddenly, one of the windows darkened as a swift black shadow flitted past outside.

Many people tensed up, their eyes quickly darting to the window.

Immediately after, heavy footsteps echoed from within the room.

A Desert Raptor, tail swinging, swaggered into the conference room.

The nearest senior member turned his head and saw a giant maw right in front of his face, scaring him so badly he nearly fell to the ground.

"Hahahaha." Seeing this, Zou Jianghe couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "Relax, it’s been trained. It doesn’t bite people now."

Sitting to one side, a flicker of hidden disdain flashed through Zhang Bo’s eyes.

’A Desert Raptor?’

’The Qin Alliance kills these things for fun. We’ve slaughtered them by the dozens.’

’Only Zou Jianghe would treat one like a treasure.’

’Guess he’s never seen what real power looks like.’

The tamed Desert Raptor walked to Zou Jianghe’s side, lowered its head, closed its eyes, and allowed Zou Jianghe to stroke its head.

"The Qin Alliance may have gotten stronger using Cards, but we can follow their lead."

"Besides, the Alliance Association has the most members right now. Our numbers are our strength. I know we have our shortcomings at this stage, but because we know where we’re lacking, we can improve. This isn’t just my Alliance Association; it’s everyone’s Alliance Association. I hope we can all work hard together and keep pushing forward."

...

...