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"Luo Zhe."
"Sir, I'm here."
The voice was deep and powerful. As the words were spoken, a tower-like strong man approached from a distance. His steps seemed slow, but his speed was fast. In no time, the man walked behind Director Tang and slightly bowed.
The strong man stood two meters tall, with brown crew-cut hair, dressed in black heavy armor, and carrying a great sword as tall as himself. His helmet was held at his side. As he approached, an enormous oppressive force weighed heavily on Chen Haiping.
Chen Haiping's pupils narrowed.
This oppression wasn't due to an aura; from Luo Zhe, he still could only sense a faint aura. However, this oppressive force stemmed from the momentum, a momentum possessed only by those who had emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
This suffocating Blood Evil Qi assaulted his nerves, making his scalp tingle.
He recalled his years in the military, the special unit soldiers he had seen, those who had truly been to war and killed. Chen Haiping had felt such a ferocity from those men, but now, compared to the tower-like strong man before him, it paled into insignificance!
This was undoubtedly a super expert!
...
The tavern had one free summoning opportunity each day, usable in the morning or evening. Yesterday, Tang Yu only summoned an ordinary D-level adventurer, so he didn't sign a contract. However, this morning, he summoned Luo Zhe.
With an A-level aptitude preceding him, Luo Zhe's C-level aptitude was not considered good. Nevertheless, what Tang Yu valued was Luo Zhe's strength.
He did not know how many layers the Awakening Tier had; he only knew that the Awakening Tier was approximately divided into three levels. The first level was the Foundation Realm, from the First Layer of Awakening to the Fifth Tier of Awakening, which was the current strength of the followers that the tavern could summon, and the second level was the Body-shaping Realm.
Luo Zhe had once been a master at the Peak of the Body-shaping Realm. In theory, Tang Yu shouldn't have been able to summon such strength, but Luo Zhe was seriously injured in a battle against the Black Tide, reducing his strength to the Fifth Tier of Awakening and leaving him disabled, never to return to the battlefield.
Until he was summoned here, under the power of the contract, Luo Zhe's injuries healed. Although his strength remained at the Peak of the Foundation Realm, breaking through to the Body-shaping Realm was very simple for him.
Years of injury suddenly healed, and Luo Zhe's momentum erupted uncontrollably. Tang Yu, having the contract connection, didn't feel uncomfortable, but Chen Haiping bore the brunt of it.
His face was pale, yet his eyes glinted with excitement. You could see a hint of impatience on his face.
He was eager to learn the techniques against the Demonized Beasts, wasn't he?
...
A convoy arrived at the entrance of the resort.
Two off-road vehicles and a minibus.
The car doors opened, and figures disembarked. These people were well-equipped, holding firearms, wearing bulletproof vests. As soon as they got out of the car, they dispersed immediately, keeping a lookout around.
Wang Tai got out of the car, followed by his two direct-line subordinates.
As he looked at the nearly ruined resort, Wang Tai's heart bled once more.
Before the apocalypse, he was a major boss, and this Green Shadow Resort was his property. When the apocalypse broke out, he just happened to be nearby. With privately stashed firearms and a group of loyal subordinates, Wang Tai quickly formed a team and gradually developed the resort into a sanctuary.
However, a single Demon Tide wiped everything out!
Fortunately, he still had the chance to make a comeback... Wang Tai approached the middle-aged man, his face beaming with a smile, "Captain Han, we're quite close to that Source Crystal Mine now, but the road ahead is mountainous and difficult. Do you think we should rest here for a while?"
Han Jing squinted, scanning the surroundings. It was indeed as Wang Tai described—a sanctuary destroyed by the Demon Tide. However, that wasn't his concern. He was only interested in one thing: whether the Source Crystal Mine truly existed.
The Source Crystal Mine was the information provided by Wang Tai.
After the apocalypse, Earth's dramatic changes brought many new phenomena. The Source Crystal Mine was one of them, a vein rich in Source Crystals. Even mining a small part of it would surpass hunting hundreds of Demonized Beasts, a temptation Lin Wei couldn't resist.
Han Jing, having served Lin Wei's interests for over a decade, understood his boss's thoughts. He pondered briefly, "Second squad, scout the nine o'clock direction, third squad, scout the three o'clock direction, the others, remain on standby."
The remaining personnel surrounded the vehicles, setting up guard.
Wang Tai gazed into the distance, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.
He was obviously aware of the value of a Source Crystal Mine; if the sanctuary still existed, how could he hand it over? Fortunately, he managed to gain some benefits, Wang Tai's gaze shifted, pondering how to retrieve what he had hidden in the villa without anyone's notice.
At this moment, the third squad, having just left, unexpectedly returned, two of them clutching two terrified survivors.
"What's going on? How can there be survivors here?" Han Jing asked.
Wang Tai shook his head, indicating he didn't know. He was equally surprised!
...
Wang Zhou and another survivor trembled as they faced the big men surrounding them.
They had only come to gather usable supplies after the Demon Tide. Suddenly, so many armed brutes appeared, each one fierce and unyielding. They didn't dare to resist and were caught right away.
"Speak up, who are you? Why are you here? What are you doing? Tell me everything honestly, got it!"
A team member pointed a gun at them, questioning loudly.
Wang Zhou paled, and the other survivor was even more lifeless, his pupils dilated, limbs twisted as if scared senseless, "Heh... hehehe... hehe."
Seeing the big man about to shoot, Wang Zhou somehow summoned up the courage and knocked out his companion, "Wait, wait, wait! I'll speak. He's a fool, I'm the normal one, I'll say."
He calmed his mind and quickly began, "We're survivors from the Green Shadow Sanctuary..."
"Survivors? Tell the truth! The Green Shadow Sanctuary was destroyed by the Demon Tide long ago!"
Scared witless, Wang Zhou's face twisted like a pretzel, almost about to cry, yet he couldn't explain the bitterness in his heart, "We really are survivors from the Green Shadow Sanctuary, wait... let me finish. When the Demon Tide came, we hid in the underground storage room and luckily escaped."
Wang Tai frowned, stepping forward to inquire, "Hiding in the underground storage room? How long were you there, and didn't you encounter Demonized Beasts when you came out?"
"Hiding... we hid for about two or three days, then, starving, we came out. As for the Demonized Beasts, I don't know; when we came out, it was like this outside." Wang Zhou stammered.
These armed men were clearly not ordinary survivors, aggressive and unfriendly... Wang Zhou knew that even if he told the truth, his chances of surviving were slim. It was better to hide some key information in the hope that Director Tang would come to their rescue.
Whether Director Tang would save them, Wang Zhou wasn't sure. In the apocalypse, ordinary survivors were the least valuable, but rather than trusting that these armed men would spare them, he chose to believe in Director Tang, who had treated them well these past days.
Han Jing stood aside, listening to the ongoing interrogation, then glanced at Wang Tai.
"Are they survivors from your sanctuary, do you recognize them?"
Wang Tai shook his head, "Just a few ordinary survivors. I have no impression of them. If they were Awakeners, maybe I'd remember."
Han Jing pondered.
From the interrogation results, aside from these two, there were other lucky survivors, but their strength posed no threat. Still, out of caution, he instructed, "Take these two with us, and since there are other survivors, round up all these little mice."
...
Meanwhile.
Outside the castle, on an open field.
Having scoured around without finding any Demonized Beasts, Tang Yu returned alone.
As the number of Demonized Beasts decreased, the efficiency of hunting them had dropped significantly. Initially, several beasts could be encountered in a few minutes, but now searching for half an hour might not yield a single one, so he no longer followed the hunting team. Instead, he returned near the castle to find a place to train.
Awakeners needed training, especially after a significant increase in their own strength. To better control it, Tang Yu needed to spend some time training.
At that moment, his body assumed an exceedingly awkward position, the training suggestion given by Luo Zhe after being summoned that morning.
A preparatory movement for Combat Skills.
Suddenly, a notification appeared in his mind.
"Ding! Your people are in danger, please note..."
"Ding!..."
"Ding!..."
Tang Yu was dumbfounded.
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