The desert stretched flat and boundless. Looking across the ground, there was almost nothing but sand and earth; even where stones appeared, they were small and etched with the weathering of countless years.
Sparse vegetation cast decay and thriving life into the very same space and time.
Several lizards of varying sizes, peculiar shapes, and bizarre colors crouched on roadside rocks. Rolling their wide eyelids, they calmly twisted their heads in the moonlight to watch the passersby.
Behind them, long trails of petal-like footprints lingered on the sandy ground.
Wen Jifei, Rusty Sister, He Tangtang, and Zhe Qiuhong glanced first at the lizards, then turned to look at Wu Xu. Lately, they had been studying and badgering Wu Xu to admit he was some kind of lizard.
After all, who told him to be able to regenerate? Just like how Han Qingyu could shed his skin, making him a snake. In short, both of them were cold-blooded animals.
"Your relatives," He Tangtang whispered.
Wu Xu gave him a glance and turned his head away with utter coldness.
Pre-dawn. A curtain of night.
The soft rustle of boot soles crunching on sand.
A road scored with ruts stretched ahead.
A party of seven, each carrying a wooden case of varying size and clad in black or gray trench coats and jackets, hoods pulled low over their faces, silently marched along the route designated on their desert map.
Even though it seemed one could travel through just about anywhere here.
Knowing eyes were watching them from the darkness as they approached the city, Han Qingyu followed the rules strictly. Newly arrived and their combat capabilities impaired, they needed a buffer period and had no wish to draw unnecessary attention for the time being.
"Looks like we're here," Wu Xu said, stopping at the lead.
Looking forward, the outline of a distant city emerged in the moonlight.
It appeared to be rather large, likely capable of housing tens of thousands. Most districts lay shrouded in darkness at this hour, yet a few spots shone bright with lights—white, red, and green lamps.
Among the jumbled silhouettes, Han Qingyu spotted Chinese-style tiled roofs, Western church-like structures, and even circular buildings... In this city, even the architectural styles were a chaotic mess devoid of rules.
Meanwhile, in a corner on the outskirts of the city.
"That them? Xiaoyong, take a look." Inside a garbage truck modified from a heavy-duty truck, Qian Daofeng sat in the driver's seat, nudging Ao Yong with a tilt of his head.
Ao Yong sat up at once and squinted into the distance.
"Should be. This bunch actually looks like they've got some grit. Might even be able to get by. Look, Brother Daofeng, one of them's in full armor."
"Is that so? Let's hope. Probably everyone who first comes to the City of Iniquity thinks they can get by," Qian Daofeng said with a sigh as he started the engine.
In the few years they had spent here, they had seen far too much death—including many whom they had driven out to pick up just like tonight, only for word of them to vanish shortly after.
"Let's go. Time to say hello. The Heavenly King covers the earth tiger."
Qian Daofeng spun the steering wheel, and the heavy garbage truck rolled out from the shadows.
...
The heavy truck pulled across their path. Han Qingyu and his party came to a halt.
The exchange of passwords was brief. As long as the timing matched and they confirmed they hadn't met the wrong people, neither side needed to know more about the other.
To Ao Yong and Qian Daofeng, the people before them were merely another batch of ordinary folks fleeing to the City of Iniquity. More accurately, another batch of castaways from the hidden world of source energy.
With so many people, there wasn't room inside the cab. Ao Yong gave up his seat to Zhe Qiuhong and climbed onto the truck roof with the rest.
The truck started up, turning around to drive toward the city.
"This truck looks pretty expensive, doesn't it?" Wen Jifei looked around, taking the initiative to strike up a conversation.
By garbage truck standards, this was undeniably a luxury model.
"Yeah," Ao Yong nodded, continuing with the air of introducing the city. "Actually, you can find or pick up any luxury car you want around here. Drag the corpses out, toss them aside, wipe off the blood, and that car belongs to you."
The reaction on the roof was completely calm. Wen Jifei merely nodded.
*Seem calm enough. They've probably seen some blood.*
Making his initial assessment of the group, Ao Yong swept his gaze past the scar on Han Qingyu's face and then past the full-armor warrior without lingering, and went on:
"Still, money isn't worth much here. I mean, US dollars work, but they don't get you very far. Keeping your belly full day after day is actually harder than finding a nice car."
As he spoke, he looked toward Wen Jifei, appearing somewhat concerned.
"Don't worry, we're loaded," Wen Jifei replied with a confident grin.
Before leaving, they had Azure exchange all the millions Young Master Shiheng had left them into US dollars and transfer them over.
Not worried about flaunting wealth, Wen Jifei reached directly into the inner compartment of his backpack, covertly observing Ao Yong's expression and reaction, treating this as a test... only for his own expression to suddenly freeze.
"Ahem... Guess where our checks went?!" Wen Jifei asked.
"Didn't you put them away?" He Tangtang asked back.
"I did, didn't I!" Wen Jifei pulled his hand out and opened it flat. His palm was soaking wet, covered in a handful of mushy pulp.
The backpack had been waterproof, but somewhere along the line, an unnoticed tear had been sliced into it. Water had poured inside, soaking all the clothes within, and the checks had been reduced to shreds. The darn things turned out not to be waterproof after all.
"Fuck your uncle!" That was several million. He Tangtang cursed on the spot.
Then Han Qingyu turned around, an expression of sheer heartbreak on his face, and kicked Plague Chicken. "Fuck your uncle."
Rusty Sister followed suit and delivered a kick of her own, chiming in, "Fuck your uncle too."
Wu Xu turned to glance at Wen Jifei, then turned back.
*Are they putting on a show? They were so calm when hearing about bloodshed just now, and this is way too convenient,* Ao Yong thought, watching with cold detachment.
True or false, he was growing annoyed. In reality, picking up fellow countrymen was fine, but what they feared most was having countrymen latch onto them, freeloading off their food and drink.
"Actually, what's truly valuable here are source energy blocks or metal blocks. If you have several dozen source energy blocks and the strength to hold on to them, you can live like kings here from now on."
Ao Yong spoke up again, an expectant look in his eyes.
Yet the group across from him showed zero reaction.
*So they don't have source energy blocks or metal blocks either.* How could Ao Yong know Han Qingyu's trait of prizing source energy blocks over his own life? He immediately concluded and thought to himself, *We're doomed. We're completely doomed, Brother Daofeng. They're going to sponge off us.*
By now, the truck had entered the city.
The vehicle jolted forward as the people on the roof rode in silence.
*Do these folks have any clue about the situation at all? Or do they know and decided all along to leech off us?*
Ao Yong thought helplessly.
How could he know that this group had originally come with a peak super in tow, intending to throw their weight around like lords? Consequently, they hadn't bothered to learn much about the finer details of survival and safety beforehand.
"Ahem!" Coughing into his hand to draw their attention as they were nearing their destination, Ao Yong had no choice but to break the silence.
"Look, as things stand, if you've got no money and no source energy blocks, you won't be able to stay in a safe haven inn."
"Is that really expensive?" He Tangtang asked.
"Yeah. One room is a tenth of a standard source energy block per day. Minimum booking of ten days. There are seven of you, so you'd need at least two rooms. So you see..."
Han Qingyu turned his head. "What happens if we don't stay in one?"
"..." *So they really don't know a damn thing!*
Ao Yong's tone grew grave. "You'll die very easily. Sorry, I don't mean to jinx you, but think of every newcomer here like a sheep wandering onto the grasslands... This place is bloodier than the wild. Fresh faces get targeted by plenty of wolves."
"And if we stay? Is it safe once we're in?" Rusty Sister asked.
Hearing the voice from inside the iron armor for the second time, and realizing that the full-armor warrior in this group was actually a young girl, Ao Yong softened his tone slightly.
"I wouldn't say a hundred percent safe... Maybe seventy percent. Normally, as long as faction clashes don't break out and you don't run around recklessly yourselves, nobody's going to storm a safe haven inn to slaughter people. Standing behind every safe haven inn here is someone from the top ten of the assassin rankings."
Hearing that, Han Qingyu nodded, his brow furrowing. It looked like they would have no choice but to spend those two source energy blocks.
Chapter 425