Level 5?
Su Wan frowned slightly and slowly withdrew her mental power.
She was only at the Level 4 Mid Stage right now, still two minor stages and one major realm breakthrough away from Level 5.
Based on her experience, to advance to Level 5, she would probably have to kill a Level 5 Ability User.
There wasn't even a single Level 5 expert in all of Panshi City.
Who knew how long she would have to wait to break through to Level 5.
The ring felt heavy in her hand, and Su Wan enjoyed turning it over and playing with it.
Since she couldn't activate it for now, it made for a nice little trinket.
Su Wan turned the ring over in her hand as she pondered other matters.
Just then, the system's prompt rang in her mind.
【Ding! Detecting that the periodic disaster “Death Tide” is about to arrive.】
【Estimated arrival time: 5 minutes.】
【Please make defensive preparations, Host.】
Su Wan stood up and walked over to the window.
Under the gloomy sky, a greyish-white mist was slowly surging on the distant horizon.
“Central Hub, during the Death Tide, keep all entrances and exits sealed, and maintain the energy shield at maximum power.”
【Command received.】
Just as Su Wan finished speaking, Central Hub's voice rang out again.
【Master, the gate guards have sent an urgent report.】
【Three people have arrived outside the gates of Terminal Station, requesting entry into the shelter to escape the Death Tide.】
【The energy monitoring instruments at the gate indicate that all three individuals are Level 4 Ability Users, and their energy fluctuations do not match those of local Panshi City Ability Users.】
【The guards dare not let them in without authorization and are requesting instructions on how to proceed, Master.】
Su Wan's brow twitched slightly.
Level 4 Ability Users?
And three of them at once?
She knew that on the surface, the only Level 4 Ability Users in Panshi City were Pei Su and Shen Han, whom she had already brought under her control.
Even the Butcher she had killed was only a temporary operative sent by the Dark Department.
These three were definitely not from Panshi City.
Without hesitation, Su Wan extended her mental power like an invisible net toward the gates.
Her perception clearly caught the three figures.
Leading them was a robust man in his forties, wearing a dark brown beast-hide coat, with a simple, ancient-styled short blade hanging from his waist.
Level 4 Mid Stage.
The woman standing on his left was Level 4 Early Stage.
The young man on his right was also Level 4 Early Stage.
Su Wan was inwardly startled, marveling at how powerful they were.
It seemed she still had seen too little of this world.
She had always thought that Ability Users were rare, and high-level ones were even scarcer.
This was likely only because of the environment she was in.
It seemed she needed to take over Panshi City as quickly as possible, and then find an opportunity to see the world beyond.
She withdrew her mental power.
“Central Hub, make the arrangements. I will go meet them in person.”
【Yes, Master. The watchtower is ready.】
Su Wan turned and walked out of Room 102, crossed the corridor, went down the stairs, exited through the side door of the main building, and walked along the stone path inside the perimeter wall toward the watchtower near the gate.
The watchtower was one of the facilities built during the Cold Wave. Located about twenty meters inside the main gate, it was a five-meter-tall square tower.
The tower walls were thick, and its top featured a semi-enclosed observation platform surrounded by a waist-high protective wall. It shielded occupants from the wind and snow without obstructing their field of view.
Su Wan climbed to the top of the watchtower. Standing behind the protective wall, her gaze pierced through the wind and snow to fall upon the three figures outside the gate.
Han Meng and the other two spotted her at almost the exact same moment.
Three streams of mental power reached toward Su Wan almost simultaneously.
Their movements were very subtle, carrying a probing intent, wanting to gauge the strength and background of this young woman.
But the moment their mental power touched the invisible energy membrane surrounding Terminal Station, it was as if they had slammed into an invisible wall, bouncing back silently.
The expressions of all three changed slightly at the same time.
Han Meng's pupils contracted slightly.
The mental power of the three of them could not even get close to her.
This meant that either this woman's strength was far superior to theirs, or the entire shelter was enveloped in some kind of high-level protective barrier that they could not comprehend.
Whichever the case, it proved that the woman before them was far more unfathomable than she appeared on the surface.
Su Wan's voice drifted down from the watchtower, clear and distinct amidst the wind and snow.
“Where do you come from, and what business brings you to my Terminal Station?”
Though Han Meng was startled and suspicious, his face remained calm.
He cupped his hands in a respectful salute toward Su Wan.
His manner was neither servile nor overbearing—neither arrogant due to his formidable strength, nor submissive because he was asking for a favor.
“My lady, the three of us come from Glory City, and we are members of the Azure Blade Gang.”
“We were originally heading to Tianshu City to execute a mission assigned by our gang. We happened to be passing by when we unfortunately ran into the Death Tide. We would like to take shelter here for a moment and will leave as soon as the Death Tide passes.”
“We hope you will forgive us for any disturbance.”
Su Wan's gaze slowly swept over the three of them.
Glory City was a place she had heard of. It was a B-class city located three hundred li east of Panshi City, similar in scale.
And Tianshu City was something she had seen in the system's database. It was the nearest A-class major city to Panshi City, highly renowned throughout the entire Yongming Province of the Dawn Federation.
Gang members from a B-class city traveling to an A-class city for a mission sounded plausible enough.
However...
Su Wan felt that something was slightly off, yet she couldn't put her finger on it.
But on second thought, no matter what their goal was, once they entered Terminal Station, they would be on her turf.
On her home ground, let alone three Level 4s, even if five Level 5s came, they wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble.
Seeing the Death Tide's mist rapidly closing in on Terminal Station, Su Wan waved her hand downward.
“Open the gate. Let them in.”
The gate slowly opened.
The guards inside stepped aside to clear the path. Han Meng and the other two exchanged a glance, then stepped into Terminal Station.
The heavy alloy gate slowly closed behind them, making a dull, heavy thud.
Su Wan climbed down from the watchtower and waited for them at the bottom.
Han Meng led Liu Ying and Bai Shumo forward, stopping in front of Su Wan.
“Thank you for your accommodation, my lady,” Han Meng said, cupping his hands in a polite tone.
“May I ask how much the three of us need to pay to take shelter from the Death Tide here?”
Su Wan replied casually, “One thousand Star Coins per person. You may leave as soon as the Death Tide passes.”
Han Meng's brow twitched slightly, and the corner of Liu Ying's mouth twitched as well.
One thousand Star Coins per person meant three thousand for the three of them.
In Glory City, staying at the finest hotel for a night only cost around a hundred Star Coins.
This price was indeed not cheap.
But Han Meng did not argue. He nodded and said, “That is only fair.”
He pulled out a dark grey metal card and handed it to Su Wan. “This is a stored-value card accepted in Glory City. There are three thousand Star Coins inside.”
Su Wan took it, glanced at it, and handed it to the robot behind her to process.
“Please follow me.” She turned and walked toward the main entrance of the main building.
Han Meng and the other two exchanged a look and followed her.
The moment the doors to the main building were pushed open, a wave of warm, dry air rushed over them, forming a stark contrast with the bone-chilling cold outside.
All three of them paused in unison.
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