After scaling the walls of Shangjing City, Ji Mingzhu found himself still pursued by dozens of mechas, a testament to Xie Cang’s fervent desire to capture him.
Unfortunately, the outcome was bound to leave Xie Cang disappointed. The speed of the Phoenix Redeemer was astonishing. Once it breached the city walls, it entered the wilderness. In such unimpeded terrain, capturing Ji Mingzhu became exceedingly difficult. After a brief pursuit by the Calamity Control Bureau’s mecha unit, they could only watch as Ji Mingzhu, piloting the pink mecha, raced farther and farther away, disappearing from their sight in the blink of an eye.
Ji Mingzhu had already left the scope of Shangjing City. Further pursuit was clearly impossible. Upon hearing this news, Xie Cang, once again, felt powerless and furious. He slammed the table forcefully, cursing Ji Mingzhu in his mind, hoping a group of Calamity-class Aberrations would catch him in the wilderness, devouring both him and his mecha.
On the scanning radar of the Phoenix Redeemer, the red dots representing pursuers gradually disappeared. Ji Mingzhu waited in place for a while, not seeing any other mechas.
Finally, he had managed to escape.
Ji Mingzhu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glancing at the remaining energy of the Phoenix Redeemer—53%. It was still sufficient. This time, he didn’t squander energy recklessly like before, only activating overclocking once or twice. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the remaining energy would be enough to reach Yangyuan City.
Ji Mingzhu surveyed the surrounding environment.
This was his first time in the wilderness. While he had cleared the remnants of Aberration incursions around Shangjing City with the Calamity Control Bureau before, he hadn’t ventured too far. His activity range remained near Shangjing City. Now, the place he found himself in was a true wilderness.
The air carried a damp and muddy odor. The surroundings looked desolate, resembling a desert with minimal vegetation.
Desolation was an understatement for the barren land. Some debris was scattered around, and Ji Mingzhu noticed a dark spot not far away. Piloting the Phoenix Redeemer closer, he cleared away the topsoil, revealing a corner of the roof of a brick and tile building.
This place seemed to have been a village once, but it had been abandoned for too long. Cement and debris crumbled at the slightest touch. Covered with a considerable amount of sand and gravel, it had turned into a desert-like scene, burying the original village underground.
While Ji Mingzhu observed the surroundings, not far behind, several protrusions suddenly appeared on the ground, as if something was lurking beneath. They silently approached the direction of the Phoenix Redeemer.
“Axiu, is there any signal here?”
“I can’t detect any public or satellite signals,” Axiu tried and quickly responded.
In the wilderness, there were too many aberrations, and the mixed force fields of various creatures of different levels had a significant impact on the surrounding magnetic fields and signals. Even satellite signals were challenging to capture. No wonder people said the wilderness was dangerous. Even the Calamity Control Bureau’s mecha unit dared not enter rashly. In case something happened on the way, they wouldn’t even be able to send out a rescue signal.
It seemed that contacting Yao Guang and Tian Ji was temporarily impossible.
Ji Mingzhu sighed, preparing to head towards Yangyuan City. Although the Phoenix Redeemer was fast, it had no energy supply now. Even though the mecha had a solar energy collection device, its effect was limited. Ji Mingzhu needed to reduce the mecha’s energy consumption, slow down the speed, and estimate that it would take three or four days to reach Yangyuan City.
“Whoosh—”
Suddenly, several shadows several meters long shot up from the ground behind the Phoenix Redeemer. Several sandworm-like aberrations emerged, opening their mouthparts. The densely packed sharp teeth inside aimed at the joints of the Phoenix Redeemer!
Swoosh—
A cold blade flashed through the air. The Undying Slash sprang out like lightning, and in an instant, several sandworm-like aberrations had already lost their heads, and blue blood flowed on the ground.
The danger level in the wilderness was beyond imagination. Although these ‘sandworms’ were only terrifying-class aberrations, they usually lived underground, making them highly concealed and adept at ambushes. They were even nicknamed ‘underground assassins.’ If a regular transport team encountered such a situation, it would inevitably lead to chaos. If not handled well, there was a risk of complete annihilation.
However, these ‘sandworm’ aberrations had met their match today. Ji Mingzhu’s reaction speed was invincible. Even without detecting their presence in advance, the moment they appeared, Ji Mingzhu had already counterattacked. His actions were swift and decisive, without a word wasted.
Ji Mingzhu casually returned the Undying Slash to the blade gate. Without looking at the aberration corpses on the ground, he found the direction and controlled the Phoenix Redeemer to move towards Yangyuan City.
…
In the wilderness, a team of dozens cautiously moved along the route.
Yao Guang and Tian Ji sat in the back of the vehicle, observing the surroundings.
After the Calamity Control Bureau’s mecha transport unit cleared the route of aberration remnants, the number of aberrations on this route was noticeably reduced.
“Along the way, one could still see many scattered aberration corpses, indicating they had recently died. The air faintly carried the scent of blood.
Yet, in such a wilderness, the strong smell of blood paradoxically brought a sense of security. Aberrations have extremely keen instincts in the wild. The odor from the corpses of high-level aberrations on this route served as a clear warning, discouraging nearby aberrations from approaching.
Occasionally, one could see some aberration figures, but they were not in groups; most were low-level aberrations coming out for hunting. This transport team had several mechas leased from a financial group. They might not be effective against high-level aberrations, but they were quite efficient in clearing out some cannon fodder.
“I wonder if Tian Shu was successful,” Yao Guang’s expression showed some concern. “I hope he hasn’t been captured by the Calamity Control Bureau.”
Tian Ji appeared much more relaxed. “For others, it’s hard to say, but for him, you don’t need to worry at all.”
He was one of the earliest people to meet Ji Mingzhu after his awakening. Regardless of memory loss, Ji Mingzhu was still Ji Mingzhu. Tian Ji didn’t believe that the Calamity Control Bureau, with their abilities alone, could capture him.
While the two were chatting in the vehicle, on the other side, someone with malicious intent had already set their sights on them.
“Is what you said true?”
A man with a scar on his face frowned and confirmed, “The power core of the mecha… Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?”
“I won’t make a mistake.”
A slender man with caution in his eyes glanced in the direction of Yao Guang, then whispered, “When that young man with white hair bent down just now, I saw it. At least it’s a B-level power core, maybe even an A-level…”
The scar-faced man fell into contemplation.
The slender man had a background in mecha maintenance, having worked in a mecha repair factory for a certain consortium for a period. His words carried a certain credibility.
Yao Guang and Tian Ji had paid to hitch a ride with the transport team run by the black market organization. The rules were simple—pay the money, and they wouldn’t inquire about anything else. Given Yao Guang’s generous payment, the scar-faced man speculated that he might be a technician in trouble, seeking a new life in another satellite city after getting into some kind of trouble.
The tattooed man, accompanying the youth with white hair, looked like a formidable individual, emitting an intimidating aura. Possibly a bodyguard or a similar role…
Though people in the black market engaged in dubious activities, there were still rules. The scar-faced man initially didn’t want to get involved, take the money, deliver the people to their destination, and be done with it. However, if the other party possessed a high-level power core, things might be different.
The scar-faced man’s heart stirred, and he couldn’t help but feel a burning excitement in his gaze.
If it were a B-level power core, he wouldn’t take the risk. However, if it were an A-level power core… that was something even the wealthiest conglomerates couldn’t easily obtain.
If he could get his hands on it, he wouldn’t have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of his life.
“Boss, think about it,” the thin and weak man, seeing the scar-faced man showing interest, couldn’t help but add fuel to the fire. “We are in the wilderness now, no one is watching, and their destination is Yangyuan City. They must have stolen the core from somewhere, which is why they entrusted us to escort them to Yangyuan City for refuge. Do you think someone like them might have a powerful background?”
The scar-faced man’s eyes flickered, “I’ll think about it again…”
After a pause, he added, “Take the chance to get a closer look and confirm the exact level of the power core.”
If it really was an A-level core, taking a risk like this would be worth it.
“The two people in front are watching us,” Yao Guang suddenly said.
Although he was young, having come from the Netherworld Organization and executed many dangerous missions, his intuition for crisis was extremely keen.
“Hmm,” Tian Ji calmly responded, “I know. Let’s have a meal first.”
If even Yao Guang could sense it, Tian Ji could naturally detect it even faster.
Yao Guang took a bite of the dry rations in his hand, “Are they trying to kill and rob us?”
“Normal.”
People in the black market lived by the sword and were accustomed to a life without rules. As long as there was enough profit, they would act like wolves smelling blood. With Yao Guang offering them a substantial amount of money, even if there was a risk of being caught by the Calamity Control Bureau, they would boldly take on the task. If there were greater benefits, having other motives was entirely normal.
In the isolated wilderness, where there is no stable peace, no law, and no enforcement, greed and evil thoughts thrive unchecked.
“That guy,” Yao Guang gestured with his eyes to a thin man not far away who had been looking towards them. “He just came over once and kept looking into the car. Did he notice our power core?”
“Probably,” Tian Ji whispered, “His middle and ring fingers have calluses on the second joints, and there are cracks on his knuckles. His clothes carry an indelible smell of machine oil, indicating he’s involved in mecha maintenance work.”
However, they probably didn’t know that Yao Guang was carrying an S-class mecha core. Even the most elite mecha repairmen might never have seen such a thing, let alone ordinary people.
An S-class core is many times more precious than the rarest A-class core. If they knew it was an S-class mecha core, they wouldn’t need to probe like this; they would just rush in recklessly to snatch it. Even if it were a Cataclysm-class aberration, they would dare to take the risk.
“Hey, buddy.”
While Yao Guang and Tian Ji were exchanging low conversations, the thin man nearby suddenly approached.
He offered a cigarette to Tian Ji with a friendly smile. “Care for a smoke?”
Cigarettes and alcohol were both hard currency in the black market, even more valuable in the barren wilderness. The cigarette the thin man offered was already a bit wrinkled, indicating he was reluctant to part with it even though he didn’t smoke it himself.
“No, thanks,” Tian Ji refused with a smile.
“Oh, really?” The thin man chuckled knowingly. “No problem, no problem. Smoking or not, we can still be friends.”
In the next moment, the thin man’s gaze paused as he watched Tian Ji take out a cigarette case plated with a layer of gold from his pocket, then pull out a beautifully crafted cigarette that looked like a work of art, and lit it.
Tian Ji blew a smoke ring. “Yours are too cheap; I can’t get used to it.”
The thin man: “…”
After scaling the walls of Shangjing City, Ji Mingzhu found himself still pursued by dozens of mechas, a testament to Xie Cang’s fervent desire to capture him.
Unfortunately, the outcome was bound to leave Xie Cang disappointed. The speed of the Phoenix Redeemer was astonishing. Once it breached the city walls, it entered the wilderness. In such unimpeded terrain, capturing Ji Mingzhu became exceedingly difficult. After a brief pursuit by the Calamity Control Bureau’s mecha unit, they could only watch as Ji Mingzhu, piloting the pink mecha, raced farther and farther away, disappearing from their sight in the blink of an eye.
Ji Mingzhu had already left the scope of Shangjing City. Further pursuit was clearly impossible. Upon hearing this news, Xie Cang, once again, felt powerless and furious. He slammed the table forcefully, cursing Ji Mingzhu in his mind, hoping a group of Calamity-class Aberrations would catch him in the wilderness, devouring both him and his mecha.
On the scanning radar of the Phoenix Redeemer, the red dots representing pursuers gradually disappeared. Ji Mingzhu waited in place for a while, not seeing any other mechas.
Finally, he had managed to escape.
Ji Mingzhu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glancing at the remaining energy of the Phoenix Redeemer—53%. It was still sufficient. This time, he didn’t squander energy recklessly like before, only activating overclocking once or twice. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the remaining energy would be enough to reach Yangyuan City.
Ji Mingzhu surveyed the surrounding environment.
This was his first time in the wilderness. While he had cleared the remnants of Aberration incursions around Shangjing City with the Calamity Control Bureau before, he hadn’t ventured too far. His activity range remained near Shangjing City. Now, the place he found himself in was a true wilderness.
The air carried a damp and muddy odor. The surroundings looked desolate, resembling a desert with minimal vegetation.
Desolation was an understatement for the barren land. Some debris was scattered around, and Ji Mingzhu noticed a dark spot not far away. Piloting the Phoenix Redeemer closer, he cleared away the topsoil, revealing a corner of the roof of a brick and tile building.
This place seemed to have been a village once, but it had been abandoned for too long. Cement and debris crumbled at the slightest touch. Covered with a considerable amount of sand and gravel, it had turned into a desert-like scene, burying the original village underground.
While Ji Mingzhu observed the surroundings, not far behind, several protrusions suddenly appeared on the ground, as if something was lurking beneath. They silently approached the direction of the Phoenix Redeemer.
“Axiu, is there any signal here?”
“I can’t detect any public or satellite signals,” Axiu tried and quickly responded.
In the wilderness, there were too many aberrations, and the mixed force fields of various creatures of different levels had a significant impact on the surrounding magnetic fields and signals. Even satellite signals were challenging to capture. No wonder people said the wilderness was dangerous. Even the Calamity Control Bureau’s mecha unit dared not enter rashly. In case something happened on the way, they wouldn’t even be able to send out a rescue signal.
It seemed that contacting Yao Guang and Tian Ji was temporarily impossible.
Ji Mingzhu sighed, preparing to head towards Yangyuan City. Although the Phoenix Redeemer was fast, it had no energy supply now. Even though the mecha had a solar energy collection device, its effect was limited. Ji Mingzhu needed to reduce the mecha’s energy consumption, slow down the speed, and estimate that it would take three or four days to reach Yangyuan City.
“Whoosh—”
Suddenly, several shadows several meters long shot up from the ground behind the Phoenix Redeemer. Several sandworm-like aberrations emerged, opening their mouthparts. The densely packed sharp teeth inside aimed at the joints of the Phoenix Redeemer!
Swoosh—
A cold blade flashed through the air. The Undying Slash sprang out like lightning, and in an instant, several sandworm-like aberrations had already lost their heads, and blue blood flowed on the ground.
The danger level in the wilderness was beyond imagination. Although these ‘sandworms’ were only terrifying-class aberrations, they usually lived underground, making them highly concealed and adept at ambushes. They were even nicknamed ‘underground assassins.’ If a regular transport team encountered such a situation, it would inevitably lead to chaos. If not handled well, there was a risk of complete annihilation.
However, these ‘sandworm’ aberrations had met their match today. Ji Mingzhu’s reaction speed was invincible. Even without detecting their presence in advance, the moment they appeared, Ji Mingzhu had already counterattacked. His actions were swift and decisive, without a word wasted.
Ji Mingzhu casually returned the Undying Slash to the blade gate. Without looking at the aberration corpses on the ground, he found the direction and controlled the Phoenix Redeemer to move towards Yangyuan City.
…
In the wilderness, a team of dozens cautiously moved along the route.
Yao Guang and Tian Ji sat in the back of the vehicle, observing the surroundings.
After the Calamity Control Bureau’s mecha transport unit cleared the route of aberration remnants, the number of aberrations on this route was noticeably reduced.
“Along the way, one could still see many scattered aberration corpses, indicating they had recently died. The air faintly carried the scent of blood.
Yet, in such a wilderness, the strong smell of blood paradoxically brought a sense of security. Aberrations have extremely keen instincts in the wild. The odor from the corpses of high-level aberrations on this route served as a clear warning, discouraging nearby aberrations from approaching.
Occasionally, one could see some aberration figures, but they were not in groups; most were low-level aberrations coming out for hunting. This transport team had several mechas leased from a financial group. They might not be effective against high-level aberrations, but they were quite efficient in clearing out some cannon fodder.
“I wonder if Tian Shu was successful,” Yao Guang’s expression showed some concern. “I hope he hasn’t been captured by the Calamity Control Bureau.”
Tian Ji appeared much more relaxed. “For others, it’s hard to say, but for him, you don’t need to worry at all.”
He was one of the earliest people to meet Ji Mingzhu after his awakening. Regardless of memory loss, Ji Mingzhu was still Ji Mingzhu. Tian Ji didn’t believe that the Calamity Control Bureau, with their abilities alone, could capture him.
While the two were chatting in the vehicle, on the other side, someone with malicious intent had already set their sights on them.
“Is what you said true?”
A man with a scar on his face frowned and confirmed, “The power core of the mecha… Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?”
“I won’t make a mistake.”
A slender man with caution in his eyes glanced in the direction of Yao Guang, then whispered, “When that young man with white hair bent down just now, I saw it. At least it’s a B-level power core, maybe even an A-level…”
The scar-faced man fell into contemplation.
The slender man had a background in mecha maintenance, having worked in a mecha repair factory for a certain consortium for a period. His words carried a certain credibility.
Yao Guang and Tian Ji had paid to hitch a ride with the transport team run by the black market organization. The rules were simple—pay the money, and they wouldn’t inquire about anything else. Given Yao Guang’s generous payment, the scar-faced man speculated that he might be a technician in trouble, seeking a new life in another satellite city after getting into some kind of trouble.
The tattooed man, accompanying the youth with white hair, looked like a formidable individual, emitting an intimidating aura. Possibly a bodyguard or a similar role…
Though people in the black market engaged in dubious activities, there were still rules. The scar-faced man initially didn’t want to get involved, take the money, deliver the people to their destination, and be done with it. However, if the other party possessed a high-level power core, things might be different.
The scar-faced man’s heart stirred, and he couldn’t help but feel a burning excitement in his gaze.
If it were a B-level power core, he wouldn’t take the risk. However, if it were an A-level power core… that was something even the wealthiest conglomerates couldn’t easily obtain.
If he could get his hands on it, he wouldn’t have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of his life.
“Boss, think about it,” the thin and weak man, seeing the scar-faced man showing interest, couldn’t help but add fuel to the fire. “We are in the wilderness now, no one is watching, and their destination is Yangyuan City. They must have stolen the core from somewhere, which is why they entrusted us to escort them to Yangyuan City for refuge. Do you think someone like them might have a powerful background?”
The scar-faced man’s eyes flickered, “I’ll think about it again…”
After a pause, he added, “Take the chance to get a closer look and confirm the exact level of the power core.”
If it really was an A-level core, taking a risk like this would be worth it.
“The two people in front are watching us,” Yao Guang suddenly said.
Although he was young, having come from the Netherworld Organization and executed many dangerous missions, his intuition for crisis was extremely keen.
“Hmm,” Tian Ji calmly responded, “I know. Let’s have a meal first.”
If even Yao Guang could sense it, Tian Ji could naturally detect it even faster.
Yao Guang took a bite of the dry rations in his hand, “Are they trying to kill and rob us?”
“Normal.”
People in the black market lived by the sword and were accustomed to a life without rules. As long as there was enough profit, they would act like wolves smelling blood. With Yao Guang offering them a substantial amount of money, even if there was a risk of being caught by the Calamity Control Bureau, they would boldly take on the task. If there were greater benefits, having other motives was entirely normal.
In the isolated wilderness, where there is no stable peace, no law, and no enforcement, greed and evil thoughts thrive unchecked.
“That guy,” Yao Guang gestured with his eyes to a thin man not far away who had been looking towards them. “He just came over once and kept looking into the car. Did he notice our power core?”
“Probably,” Tian Ji whispered, “His middle and ring fingers have calluses on the second joints, and there are cracks on his knuckles. His clothes carry an indelible smell of machine oil, indicating he’s involved in mecha maintenance work.”
However, they probably didn’t know that Yao Guang was carrying an S-class mecha core. Even the most elite mecha repairmen might never have seen such a thing, let alone ordinary people.
An S-class core is many times more precious than the rarest A-class core. If they knew it was an S-class mecha core, they wouldn’t need to probe like this; they would just rush in recklessly to snatch it. Even if it were a Cataclysm-class aberration, they would dare to take the risk.
“Hey, buddy.”
While Yao Guang and Tian Ji were exchanging low conversations, the thin man nearby suddenly approached.
He offered a cigarette to Tian Ji with a friendly smile. “Care for a smoke?”
Cigarettes and alcohol were both hard currency in the black market, even more valuable in the barren wilderness. The cigarette the thin man offered was already a bit wrinkled, indicating he was reluctant to part with it even though he didn’t smoke it himself.
“No, thanks,” Tian Ji refused with a smile.
“Oh, really?” The thin man chuckled knowingly. “No problem, no problem. Smoking or not, we can still be friends.”
In the next moment, the thin man’s gaze paused as he watched Tian Ji take out a cigarette case plated with a layer of gold from his pocket, then pull out a beautifully crafted cigarette that looked like a work of art, and lit it.
Tian Ji blew a smoke ring. “Yours are too cheap; I can’t get used to it.”
The thin man: “…”
