“After you go back, apply to recruit new soldiers from the commoners in the Outer City and the vagrants in the Ruin Zone, using the heavy casualties and lack of manpower as an excuse,” Su Wan continued to Feng Mu. “Pei Su is currently worried about his lack of troops, so he will most likely agree.”
“This way, there will be a logical explanation for the vacancies left by those who wish to stay.”
“And the soldiers you want to take back can use the recruitment as an excuse to bring their family and friends in to settle down.”
Feng Mu’s eyes lit up slightly.
“Also...” Su Wan lowered her voice even more.
“You need to aggressively promote the Terminal Station in the Outer City.”
Feng Mu straightened his back even more.
“Publicize how good the living conditions are at the Terminal Station, how warm the rooms are, how abundant the food is, and how complete the medical supplies are,” Su Wan said, emphasizing every word.
“Let them know that the Terminal Station doesn't require a resident ID, taxes, or dealing with the attitude of the City Defense Force. As long as they sign a contract, they can have a safe place to live.”
“Spread the word about how well the commoners from the Outer City are living now at the Terminal Station.”
“The more people the Terminal Station has, the better its development will be.”
“The commoners of the Outer City and the vagrants of the Ruin Zone are the Terminal Station’s greatest resources.”
“Only by drawing them in continuously can the Terminal Station truly grow and expand.”
Feng Mu listened quietly, fell silent for a moment, and then slowly nodded.
“This subordinate understands.” His voice carried an unprecedented certainty. “Once I return, I will definitely spread the Terminal Station’s name far and wide.”
“I will let all the commoners in the Outer City know that there is a place in this world where they can live like human beings.”
Su Wan nodded, her gaze falling outside the window.
“As for the casualty list...” Feng Mu asked tentatively.
“Decide that yourself,” Su Wan said calmly. “As long as the numbers are reasonable and not too exaggerated, Pei Su won't suspect anything.”
Feng Mu straightened his posture and gave a solemn military salute.
“This subordinate will definitely not fail your expectations, Master!”
He paused and asked again, “Master, when should I depart?”
Su Wan looked at the gloomy, gray light outside the window, then at the date circled in red on the calendar.
“After the Death Tide passes,” she said.
“Once the Death Tide is over, take the soldiers who want to go back and return to the Outer City.”
“As for now... focus on preparing for the arrival of the Death Tide,” Su Wan said.
“Yes, Master.” Feng Mu took his orders, turned, and left the room.
Feng Mu turned and left the room.
...
Deep within the Non-Safe Zone, amidst snow-covered dead wood and vines, that massive, two-and-a-half-meter-tall body still lay quietly on the snow.
Three people stood beside the corpse, not saying a word.
Leading them was a robust man in his forties. He was built like a tank, with broad shoulders and a thick back, a square face, thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a short beard on his chin.
He wore a dark brown hide coat, its lapels covered in ice, snow, and dust. A simple, ancient-looking short blade hung from his waist, its scabbard carved with dense runes.
His Level 4 Mid Stage energy fluctuations were steady and heavy, like a silent mountain.
His name was Han Meng, the Deputy Gang Leader of the Azure Blade Gang from Glory City, located three hundred miles east of Panshi City. He was also the leader of this tracking operation.
Standing to his left was a woman in her early thirties. She was tall with a cold expression, her narrow phoenix eyes slanting upward slightly, exuding a sharp, fierce aura.
Two short daggers were tucked into her waist, their blades gleaming with a faint blue, icy light.
Though she possessed Level 4 Early Stage strength, her sharp aura was not at all inferior to Han Meng's.
Her name was Liu Ying, the leader of the Azure Blade Gang's Assassination Hall, specializing in tracking, stealth, and assassination.
Standing on the right was a young man in his late twenties. He had a lean build and a fair complexion, looking like a frail scholar.
In his hand, he held a black wooden staff about half his height, its head set with a fist-sized, pale green crystal.
Also at the Level 4 Early Stage, his energy fluctuations were completely different from the other two, carrying a drifting, feminine quality.
This was Bai Shumo, a guest elder of the Azure Blade Gang. He was not an Ability User, but rather a rare curse master.
The three of them stared at the disemboweled corpse on the ground, their faces so dark they looked like they could drip water.
Han Meng crouched down, pressing his rough palm against the Rot-Walker’s chest, feeling the residual warmth of the massive body.
After a moment, he stood up, his voice low and hoarse. “It has been dead for less than four hours.”
Liu Ying snorted coldly, walked to the side of the corpse, and fixed her gaze on the dense puncture wounds.
She lightly ran her finger along the edge of a wound, narrowing her eyes.
“Gunshot wounds,” she said, her voice cold as ice. “It wasn't done by any weapons we carry, nor is it standard-issue equipment from any of the factions in Glory City.”
“It was an energy pulse weapon,” Bai Shumo spoke up, his tone refined and scholarly.
He crouched near the corpse’s head, his black wooden staff resting beside him, the pale green crystal at its tip glowing faintly.
“There are no burn marks or tearing around the edges of the wounds. An energy pulse directly pierced the Energy Core.”
He paused and looked up, a flash of sharpness crossing his seemingly gentle eyes. “Furthermore, it was hit multiple times in rapid succession. Otherwise, the power of a single energy pulse alone wouldn't have been enough to kill it so quickly.”
Liu Ying’s brow furrowed even tighter.
“This fellow was a Rot-Walker on the verge of evolving to Level 5...”
“Although we chased it for a month and its strength deteriorated to the Level 4 Early Stage, it still shouldn't have been something just any Level 4 Ability User could kill.”
She cast her gaze toward the ruins shrouded in wind and snow. “Panshi City... is just a small C-class city. Since when did they have someone like this?”
Han Meng remained silent, merely staring at the corpse with a shifting expression.
The three of them had been chasing this Rot-Walker for an entire month.
From the Non-Safe Zone outside Glory City all the way to the Non-Safe Zone outside Panshi City, they had crossed hundreds of miles of ruins and wilderness.
This Rot-Walker had been discovered deep in an Old Era ruins within the Non-Safe Zone of Glory City. At the time, it was curled up in a secret chamber on the lowest level of the ruins, gnawing on a mummified corpse that had been rotting for who knew how many years.
On the finger of that mummified corpse was a ring.
It had taken the Azure Blade Gang’s intelligence network three months to discover that the ring was far from simple; it was highly likely a key.
A key that could unlock the core area of a large Old Era ruins.
It was rumored that the ruins hid top-tier technology data and energy cores from the Old Era, enough to elevate a C-class faction's strength to B-class or even A-class in a short period of time.
The gang leader had issued a death order to obtain that ring.
But by the time they rushed to the ruins, the mummy had already been completely devoured, and the Rot-Walker had fled.
It seemed to have sensed that someone was tracking it, so it fled all the way west, passing through several Non-Safe Zones and ultimately entering Panshi City’s sphere of influence.
Rate on N.U.
