Lu Xiaopeng and a few classmates were dumbfounded.
"What is this? Could it be some peculiar-looking Demonized Beast?!"
"Or maybe it's a creation of black technology? Has the era of robots arrived?!"
"Can black technology produce such advanced robots? Look at those two Iron Skin Monsters, their movements are very smooth, with no fixed trajectory, and their arm joints are extremely flexible. This is far more advanced than the robots being developed before the apocalypse. Even if many new materials have been discovered and certain technologies have rapidly advanced, creating such robots is still impossible... So there's only one truth, it must be some ability user's power!"
"Ability user!"
Someone gasped.
Ability users were extremely rare, almost legendary. Some survivors had never even heard of ability users!
The special abilities possessed by ability users were either powerful or bizarre, covering all aspects.
The existence of these abilities seemed to naturally break the coffin lids of scientists; no matter the ability, it seemed anything was possible.
If it was the masterpiece of an ability user, they felt it was not hard to accept.
...
Dusk was like water.
The vacation resort had an air of revitalization, and as Lu Xiaopeng walked along the road, he occasionally saw some busy survivors, but more often, those amazing Puppets.
After being discovered by the survivors here and revealing their identity, Lu Xiaopeng and his classmates decided to stay for a while.
The reason was simple: here, they could work in exchange for food.
In an apocalyptic world where food was extremely scarce, it was already quite good to get returns for their efforts. And when they learned that the pay wasn't just sufficient rations, but even the possibility of getting meat if they performed well, their eyes widened, and they involuntarily licked their lips.
In the past, life was hard, and food was limited; getting full was an impossible luxury.
Lu Xiaopeng thought that must be the reason he hadn't been able to defeat that Demonized Wolf.
He was incredibly excited for the upcoming dinner time, and for the sake of food, he worked tirelessly, carting dozens, if not tens, of chips of gravel, and by now had gotten used to the routine.
In the small plaza in front of the villa area,
In the center stood a lifesize bust of an Ancient Greek woman, with unique stylistic curves of Ancient Greece.
However, Lu Xiaopeng's attention was not on the bust, but rather on the piles of stones in front of it, forming small mountains.
The originally empty plaza now seemed somewhat crowded and chaotic.
Lu Xiaopeng saw other survivors, those were the "old-timers" of the Sanctuary.
He stepped forward and greeted them, asking, "Do you know why we are moving these stones?"
The survivor, also pushing a cart of gravel, shook his head. "Not sure, but why do we care? As long as we have food and drink every day, it's pretty good."
He recognized Lu Xiaopeng as the newbie Awakener and thought for a moment, "Maybe Director Tang plans to build something, who knows, but Director Tang surely has his plans."
"Could it be to build a dirt wall, which isn't bad, at least it feels safer. But a dirt wall won't stop many Demonized Beasts unless it's a real city wall. I hear large Sanctuaries have built city walls that are very safe."
"Yeah." The survivor also sighed, "But, building city walls for a large Sanctuary costs a lot of manpower and resources, plus various large machinery. Small Sanctuaries can't even think about it. We can only use what's available and build a simple defense line at most."
"Don't worry, with Director Tang and several top experts around, ordinary Demonized Beasts can't threaten the Sanctuary."
He comforted Lu Xiaopeng, the Awakener.
"Top experts..."
Lu Xiaopeng was curious.
He hadn't seen Director Tang but had seen a hulking man like a tower, who gave him a strong sense of oppression. It was said this man was Director Tang's strong right hand, but he had no idea how strong he was.
Despite this, Lu Xiaopeng remained concerned about the Sanctuary's security.
This place had previously encountered a Demon Tide attack, so wouldn't it face a Demon Tide again?
Would there be danger when resting at night?
Director Tang and his team were powerful, but the Sanctuary itself lacked defensive fortifications and had no alert capability.
He voiced his concerns, but the survivor just smiled, "One night, we faced a Demonized Beast attack, and guess what happened? The expert brother descended from the heavens, stomping the Demonized Beast to death, even instantly killing an assassin-type Demonized Beast lurking nearby."
"Director Tang once said, as long as you stay inside the villa area, safety can be guaranteed. I didn't believe it before, but now I do. Of course, I wish the Sanctuary could build a defensive line against Demonized Beasts, but with our current manpower, we can only take it slow."
Lu Xiaopeng nodded. This was indeed the predicament of the Sanctuary. For now, the best hope was to use these stones to construct a more stable dirt wall.
At this moment, a shout came from the villa area's entrance.
Chen Haiping walked out from inside, holding a megaphone, "Attention everyone, now all of you move beyond the yellow line. I repeat, everyone move beyond the yellow line!"
Lu Xiaopeng was stunned for a moment and looked at the ground. There was indeed a yellow line that stretched from the edge of the plaza at the villa area's exit, extending to both sides, seemingly enclosing the entire villa area.
What's going on?
...
Castle, top-floor balcony.
Tang Yu leaned against the rail, feeling the wind blowing.
Standing here, with the dim light of dusk, he could overlook the entire villa area.
The castle was no longer the previous two-story, miniature model. Upgraded to a level-two castle, it not only had a larger area but also five floors, looking majestic.
What Tang Yu cared most about was not the change of the castle but the scope of the Territory.
The level-two territory centered around the castle, covering over half of the resort below and extending directly into the northern mountains above. Through the territory map, Tang Yu could even see the other side of the mountain cliffs, dotted with red points marking enemies, likely Demonized Beasts within the mountains.
The forest was more dangerous, not only with Demonized Beasts but also pre-apocalypse animals, animals affected by the red mist and Demonized, but also a few unaffected, surviving through brutal competition and undergoing mutation into Mutant Beasts.
Additionally, post-apocalypse, the flora grew wildly, and extraordinary phenomena continuously emerged. Even if some strange dangerous places appeared, Tang Yu wouldn't find it odd. Conversely, the more complex and unpredictable the place, the more likely good things might appear, such as the Source Crystal Mine Wang Tai discovered by chance, located in the mountains.
He also sent Luo Zhe and Eileen to explore the forest, concluding that the forest had far more Demonized Beasts than outside, coupled with complex terrain. Mining that Source Crystal Mine still had a long way to go.
"Now, let's focus on developing the Territory."
Even with high-end combat power, the present Territory could only ensure day-to-day safety.
Just days ago, it faced a Demon Tide attack, and Tang Yu worried about the possibility of facing another Demon Tide.
Currently, the Territory had few buildings, mainly ruins and debris, less than the poorest small Sanctuary, not to mention developing into the state a Territory should be.
Tang Yu opened the attributes panel, his gaze falling on the construction of a defensive building—the city wall.
"It's time to show the tip of the iceberg of the Territory."