Zhongshan had been hollowed out, with its interior transformed into a vast space filled with modern facilities, leaving hundreds of evolutionaries in awe.
Teams of evolutionary soldiers marched by, carrying standard steel knives, creating a strange blend of the modern and the ancient.
As the strength of evolutionaries increased, ordinary firearms became less effective than cold weapons. Furthermore, many armories were destroyed, and the fact that they could equip standard steel knives already indicated that the Penal Camp was extraordinary.
Lu Yin and others were escorted to a massive square, surrounded by a circle of evolutionary soldiers. There were also many female soldiers watching them solemnly.
Above the square, more than ten meters high, was a layer of transparent glass, revealing another vast space inside.
At this moment, a few men and women stood near the glass, laughing and looking down.
"I wonder if we can recruit anyone useful this time. Even if they can't reach the human level, they shouldn't be too bad," a middle-aged man said in a muffled voice.
"Don't get your hopes up too high. It's not that easy to reach the human level. The few human-level captains in this team have already been assigned by Lord Xing. You and I didn't get any," a coquettish woman beside him said discontentedly.
"It's not impossible. Protecting tens of thousands of survivors from such a distance to Jinling is not easy. I have high hopes for these people. Don't let them all go to me," a young man on the other side said with a smile.
"Stop dreaming. See how Feng Hong arranges it. He's the instructor this time, and he'll definitely take the biggest share," the middle-aged man said.
These people were all ten-thousand-man commanders of the Penal Camp. There were 80,000 registered evolutionaries in the Penal Camp, and only those who reached the Earth level could become ten-thousand-man commanders. In Jinling, reaching the ten-thousand-man commander level made one an absolute overlord, second only to Lord Xing Zhoushan.
To the millions of survivors in Jinling, Lord Xing was rarely seen, and the ten-thousand-man commanders were like gods.
"I heard that Snow Maiden under Lord Luo is coming to Jinling to spar with us. Who plans to go up?" the coquettish woman suddenly asked, looking at the others with a smile.
The others remained silent, showing no intention of responding.
The coquettish woman laughed softly, "It's said that Lord Luo declared Snow Maiden to be invincible at the Earth level. Are you really not interested in seeing for yourselves?"
The others still said nothing.
The coquettish woman smiled and stopped talking.
Luo Sheng Bai Xue, standing atop a snowy mountain, established the Blue Camp. Though she was one of the Seven Sages alongside Lord Xing Zhoushan, her status was even higher than Zhoushan's.
To outsiders, the Seven Sages of China seemed equal in status, but only a few knew the truth. The Seven Sages were divided into the top three and the lower four, with Luo Sheng Bai Xue being one of the top three, while Zhoushan was among the lower four.
In the square, each evolutionary underwent a check-up, primarily because many viruses had mutated after the apocalypse, especially the zombie virus, which was difficult to treat. The Penal Camp had to ensure that none of the evolutionaries were infected with the virus, as it was very dangerous.
Soon it was Lu Yin's turn.
As the nurse preserved his blood sample in a vial, she began to fill out his personal information. Lu Yin's eyes flickered. He exerted force with his legs, his figure suddenly becoming blurred. The next moment, he returned to normal, and no one noticed, except that the blood in the vial changed color slightly, seeming to take on a hint of purple before quickly returning to normal.
"Lu Yin, right? Please wait a moment. It will be done soon," the young nurse said with a smile to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin nodded, "Thank you," and then moved to the other side.
After some time, nearly five hundred evolutionaries were all checked without any issues.
After a while, a middle-aged man in a dark military uniform approached. As he neared, an aura of pressure arose, and all the evolutionaries looked at him in surprise.
The ground cracked, and energy swept across, shocking all the evolutionaries.
"Earth level, a shockingly strong Earth level," someone exclaimed, and all the evolutionaries looked at the middle-aged man with fear and envy.
The middle-aged man stopped about ten meters away from Lu Yin and the others and said loudly, "My name is Feng Hong, a ten-thousand-man commander of the Penal Camp. Now, I'll ask once: if any of you don't want to join the Penal Camp, you can leave."
Hundreds of evolutionaries looked at each other, and then some began to step out.
Though the Penal Camp was powerful, it required acceptance of discipline, and many people who had never been soldiers were unwilling to join. Lu Yin was among those who didn't want to join.
Nearly two hundred evolutionaries, close to half, did not want to join the Penal Camp.
Feng Hong looked at those who didn't want to join and said indifferently, "Joining the Penal Camp not only ensures your safety but also allows you to bring your family to the vicinity of Zhongshan. You will receive energy crystals for cultivation every month and can learn combat skills taught by Lord Xing."
"What are combat skills?" someone asked curiously.
Feng Hong replied coldly, "Techniques that allow you to exert two hundred percent of your power are combat skills. Lord Xing's combat skill is the Storm Slash, which can hardly be blocked by anyone in the world. You must have seen it."
The evolutionaries' eyes lit up with excitement. They had indeed seen it—a single slash that destroyed mutant vines, cracked the earth, and changed the weather. It was incredibly powerful.
"Can we learn the Storm Slash?" someone asked expectantly.
Feng Hong said coldly, "Anyone can learn it as long as they get Lord Xing's approval."
Upon hearing this, the evolutionaries who were about to leave hesitated and gradually returned to the original group. Only fewer than fifty people, including Lu Yin, truly intended to leave.
Feng Hong waved his hand, "Take them away."
Soon, nearly fifty evolutionaries were taken out of Zhongshan.
Lu Yin glanced back, knowing that this place would not remain peaceful for long.
Outside Zhongshan, many survivors and even evolutionaries had gathered. As Lu Yin and the others emerged, they were surrounded.
"Brother, do you need to buy a property? You can come to me; the price is fair."
"Brother, need a guide? Don't look at me like that. There are too many zombies and monsters outside Jinling. Without a guide, you could easily get surrounded."
"Brother, need weapons? Sharp battle knives, sturdy long spears, we have everything. If you want firearms, we have those too. Buy a few grenades for self-defense."
...
"Do you have a map?" Lu Yin asked.
A shifty-eyed evolutionary immediately came over, glancing fiercely around to scare off competitors before carefully taking out a map. "Brother, this map is ten crystals."
Lu Yin raised an eyebrow, "Ten? Are you crazy? A map for ten energy crystals? Do you know one energy crystal can make an ordinary person evolve?"
The shifty-eyed evolutionary whispered, "Brother, this is not an ordinary map. It details the locations of powerful monsters and zombies outside Jinling. You don't want to get surrounded as soon as you go out, right? This concerns your life. Isn't your life worth ten crystals?"
Lu Yin laughed, "Three at most, no more."
The shifty-eyed evolutionary readily agreed, "Alright, we're friends. Take the map."
Lu Yin felt he had been scammed; it was too easy. But he didn't mind. He reached into his pocket, took out three rice-sized white crystals, and handed them over. The shifty-eyed evolutionary, eyes gleaming, took the crystals and whispered to Lu Yin, "Brother, as a token of our friendship, take this. No need to thank me," and handed him a round pill before turning to leave.
Lu Yin looked at the pill with a strange expression. He recognized it; it was an aphrodisiac.
After the apocalypse, many plants mutated, and peacetime drugs were outdated. Drugs made from mutated plants were more effective. Lu Yin had seen the effects of this aphrodisiac on others—it was potent. But such pills were rare and worth far more than three crystals. Where did this guy get it?
Lu Yin didn't think much of it and casually threw the aphrodisiac away. He glanced around and walked toward the outskirts.
Studying the map, Lu Yin's gaze settled on a barren hill in the southern part of the city, "Hope there are clues there."
At the top level of Zhongshan's interior space, a large conference room was filled with people. The top seat was empty. To the left, the first seat was occupied by a man with a scar on his face in military uniform. To the right, the first seat was taken by a beautiful young woman with glasses. Most people present were ten-thousand-man commanders of the Penal Camp.
After a while, Zhoushan entered the conference room and naturally took the top seat. He scanned the room, finally looking at the girl with glasses, "How's the plan?"
The girl adjusted her glasses, "Preliminary estimates suggest it will take at least two months to expand the Jinling settlement. Combat personnel losses might reach two to three thousand. If we aim to incorporate all of Jinling from peacetime, the losses could triple."
Zhou Shan frowned, "The settlement must expand. The journey northward has been fairly smooth, and within a few months, we should be able to connect to the Eastern Capital. Once the entire country is connected, reclaiming our territory will be much easier. We can't fall behind and let others mock us."
"Saint Xing, we just received news that a heavenly-level powerhouse, Ku Seng, has emerged in the Brahma Kingdom," the scar-faced man suddenly said.
Everyone was shocked. There are only seven heavenly-level powerhouses in all of China, which shows how difficult it is to achieve. Unexpectedly, the Brahma Kingdom has produced one.
Zhou Shan's eyes narrowed, "Ku Seng? Check his information. Logically, no one else should be able to break through to the heavenly level within a year."
"Yes."
"Anything else?" Zhou Shan continued to ask.
The scar-faced subordinate, an evolver, was about to speak when his eyes suddenly went blank, staring out the window. The others followed suit, also staring blankly.
Zhou Shan abruptly turned around and looked out the window, his eyes narrowing.
In the sky, dozens of meteors streaked down, trailing long flames as they tore through the sky. One of the meteors was heading toward Jinling and eventually crashed to the south of the Jinling settlement, causing the ground to shake.
At that moment, countless survivors and evolvers saw this scene. The meteors in the sky were as splendid as fireworks, fleeting in an instant.
Outside Jinling City, Lu Yin, who was following the map to the barren hills south of the city, also saw it. At this moment, the meteor that crashed outside Jinling City was not far from him.
The violent air blast swept the sky, dispersing the clouds, and the ground cracked inch by inch.
Lu Yin kicked away the steel frame that was falling toward him, fixed his gaze to the south, thought for a moment, and quickly rushed over.
In Jinling City, Zhou Shan soared into the sky, wanting to rush south but was stopped. "Saint Xing, countless zombies are attacking the city walls."
Zhou Shan turned his gaze eastward, seeing a dense mass of zombies wandering over. Jinling City was already sealed, and many survivors were still trapped outside, crying out in despair.
Zhou Shan, holding a giant axe, flew outside the city and slashed at the ground, cutting countless zombies. "Open the city gates, let them in. I'll guard."
To the south of Jinling City, at the meteor crash site, smoke and dust shot into the sky. A massive pit extended for kilometers, conical in shape. At the bottom was a white sphere, two meters in diameter, emitting white smoke, with the surrounding air distorted.
Lu Yin approached the pit, hiding in an abandoned factory nearby. Through the wooden boards, he looked at the white sphere, his eyes changing slightly. Although he had some guesses, he was still unprepared for its appearance, "I didn't expect it to come earlier than I anticipated, a spaceship."
A soft sound came as the white spaceship's hatch opened, a hand reaching out and pausing. Then, a young man stepped out of the spaceship, short hair, wearing white light armor, and combat boots. He slowly walked out of the spaceship, looked up, stretched, "So tiring. A trial is a trial, but choosing such a far place and making us fly here ourselves, really disgusting."
After speaking, the young man took out a short knife from the spaceship and then a watch-like device which he put on his left wrist. He pressed it, and beeping sounds echoed. The young man's gaze sharpened, looking toward Lu Yin's direction, "Who's there?" he said, leaping up and slashing with the short knife, the massive strike cutting the factory in half.