The little boy nodded his head as if he understood.
"But why do I have to go to the Extreme Martial Arts School? I… I don't want to be left alone there…" He was reluctant, on the verge of tears.
Before doomsday, the teenage boy was not yet in Junior High School. He was at the age of innocence and romance. But he encountered an outbreak of disaster. Both of his parents were killed… Mustache man is the boy's only surviving family.
Nearby, the faces of survivors carrying bags wrapped in old woolen coats… smiling stiffly at the passing by hunters. Occasionally, when they were able to sell a bottle of water or a packet of food, they could reveal a heartfelt smile.
Moustache man had seen this. It was the same for everybody.
No one had it easy.
The Moustache man knows better, if it weren't for the Tree Shade Shelter, ordinary survivors could only live in a muddle, and one day they will starve to death. There's no chance of survival even if you work hard.
Hunters seemed noble—hunting demonic beasts in the wild. But often, most hunters were killed in the wilderness.
Until the appearance of rune weapons, the hunters finally could have the upper hand against demonic beasts with the same Awakening Stage as theirs.
He included.
If he didn't take the chance to follow the military to Lindong and then went to Tree Shade, he would still be an ordinary mercenary regiment leader. Faced with the persecution of the big forces in the shelter, he could only lower his head and swallow his anger.
But now, the Stormwind Merchant Group ranks in the top five among all unofficial forces in Hengcheng!
Moustache knows that everything comes from strength.
The Moustache man squatted. Due to the cold temperature, white breath came out of his mouth. He softly looked at the little boy. "Little Hu, you're very talented. Only at the Extreme Martial Arts School, this talent of yours can be transformed into strength. Your mother entrusted you to me, so I have to provide you with the best environment."
"Hengcheng also has a martial arts school. Isn't Hencheng a large shelter and Tree Shade a medium shelter?"
"Tree Shade is different." Moustache shook his head slightly. He knew about his nephew's worry and fear. The doomsday was dangerous. And this was the first time his nephew ever went away, the first time he lived in a strange environment. It's only natural if he didn't see any familiar faces around.
However, in doomsday, a lot of teenagers, or even children, had learned to survive alone.
Mustache man didn't want to spoil him any longer. He changed his expression. "Little Hu, you have to learn to be strong. Uncle can't protect you forever, you know. Didn't you say you want to grow up as a strong person? If you study at the Extreme Martial Arts School, I'm sure you'll be a strong person soon."
"Didn't you want to learn uncle's cultivation method? The reason why I didn't teach you is… the Extreme School had a better cultivation method. If you work hard, you will have access to these advanced cultivation methods. Stay in school and study well. Maybe in a few months, you will be able to surpass your uncle."
The mustache man did not expect his nephew to understand at once.
After he finished, he stood up with his cigarette butt in his finger and, out of habit, wanted to throw it away. But he paused slightly as if he remembered something… he looked around and quickly took a few steps, and flicked the butt into a trash can nearby.
There's no littering penalty at the outpost, but if he doesn't develop good habits, he will walk out from the Tree Shade with a pile of tickets.
After resting for half an hour, the Stormwind Merchant Group set off once again.
...
In the wilderness, all around them were full of weeds taller than adult men. Trees in the distance were lush green. Dilapidated buildings were full of green vines crawling. The river in the distance was clean…
The only difference was the road that has been repaired.
The road potholes and cracked places have been poured with asphalt and leveled. As far as the eye can see, there were no scrap vehicles. The weeds growing out from the cracks in the road were also cleaned up.
After the Creekwood Outpost, the caravan didn't need to open the road for the trucks. Every few hundred meters, a black tower stood on the roadside.
The mustache man exclaimed, "The last time I came, the road was not yet finished. The Tree Shade development progress is really too fast."
The road was smooth. They didn't encounter a demonic beast on the way. The caravan's speed is also much faster than before. In just more than an hour, the Tree Shade shelter appeared on the horizon.
"That's…" Little Hu exclaimed.
The tall city wall in the distance coiled like a black dragon, covering half of the sky.
In front of the black wall was a golden field—a lot of survivors pushing hand-held harvesters, weaving through the rice fields.
Moustache man was stunned.
'Harvest, huh?'
'They looked pricey!!'
He started to plan to transport a batch of grain back to Hengcheng.
The truck slowed down and moved slowly as the stream of people returning from their outings converged on the main road leading to the city gates.
As they got closer, everyone seemed as small as ants at the foot of the city walls.
It was a miracle in the history of architecture.
The people who came to the Tree Shade for the first time stared in awe and couldn't move their gaze away.
Even the Moustache man who had seen it several times was still marveled, "Little Hu, this wall is much more spectacular than Hengcheng, right?"
The walls of large shelters were built with reinforced concrete with bunkers and turrets on top. It's magnificent. But compared to the black walls with black rocks linked together without any gap… the Hengcheng walls can't be compared to this.
The city wall of Hengcheng was more like a patchwork stretching from east to west. Obvious welding marks on the steel plate outside of the wall were visible. But the Tree Shade wall looked natural.
The city gate was large enough to accommodate more than a dozen trucks in a parallel. Unlike most large shelters, the gate was completely open, which only opened a small gate that can barely allow a vehicle to pass.
Moustache man looked up.
The majestic wall was 10 meters taller than when he arrived half a month ago.
Demonic beast waves won't be able to pass such majestic walls.
In front of the city gate, the survivors were hurried to make their way.
Hunters returned from their outings.
Newcomers coming to the Tree Shade looked like pilgrims. Some were in rags, some were well-dressed, and some were stained with dried blood.
Most were on foot. A few were coming with cars, jeeps, heavy trucks, armored vehicles, all-terrain vehicles… all sorts of vehicles were visible.
Even the unruly hunters in large convoys followed the flow of people to enter the city. They didn't dare to cause any trouble.
After entering the city, the crowds spread out.
Ahead was the most prosperous area of the shelter, the commercial area. The Stormwind Merchant Group's convoy turned to the left and followed the road to a large parking lot. Here was the parking lot provided by the shelter for foreign merchants to unload their goods.
As far as the eyes can see, there were already many vehicles parked here. Mostly modified trucks like the one their Stormwind Merchant Group had, with a thick layer of steel plates on the outside of the car and conical corners welded on the front of the car.
There were patrols in the parking lot… No, now they should be called the Guard Corps hunters… patrolling back and forth to ensure safety and order. At least, the Moustache man had never heard any Merchant Group in the parking lot had lost something.
After the truck stopped, Moustache commanded his members to move some goods from the truck.
Suddenly, his nephew showed a panicked look, pointing to the distance. "That… what is that?"
Moustache man looked in the direction. A monster with a deer-like appearance several times larger than the normal size appeared in their field of vision.