In the early morning, deep within the remote wilderness outside Yacheng.
The night was deep, with high winds beneath a dark moon.
Amidst the rolling hills, which should have been utterly desolate, temporary chain-link fences and barbed wire had been erected, hung with "No Trespassing" signs.
Faintly visible were newly built watchtowers, their cold searchlights sweeping through the trees and brush.
Yet inside this heavily guarded zone—resembling a military installation—there was no actual base. Instead, it was completely empty, choked with overgrown weeds, with nothing more than a haphazard scattering of vehicles from various places parked in the open clearing.
Vaguely, they formed a ring around a single fissure at the center.
Like a rent torn open in the void, the twisting, writhing rift hung suspended in midair. No matter which direction one looked from, it seemed to face them directly.
Faint light radiated from behind the fissure.
The overlap of the Border Realm was steadily intensifying.
In a few more hours, the passageway would likely open for good.
Precisely because of this, tension was steadily rising within the modest confines of the camp. Had personnel from the Security Bureau not been on site to monitor things, two factions might have already come to blows.
No matter where people went, they naturally banded together.
In barely more than a day, word of the imminent opening had spread like wildfire. Celestial Chosen seeking blessings or wealth had flocked in droves.
For wild Celestial Chosen, every intersection of a Border Realm was a grand occasion and an opportunity for advancement; few were willing to let it slip by.
There were even plenty who had rushed in from outside Haizhou, traveling in haste and coated in dust.
All just for the first taste of the broth!
For the Security Bureau, the location of this Border Realm was a colossal headache… If it had shifted just a few dozen kilometers to the north, south, east, or west, jurisdictional responsibilities would have been clear-cut. Instead, it sat right on the boundary between two provinces, stranded in no-man's-land right between Yacheng, Chaocheng, and Yecheng.
On top of that, it was merely a temporary intersection with a limited lifespan, hardly worth substantial investment. Manpower was already stretched thin due to the Quancheng Catacombs. After endless buck-passing between the various parties, only three or four monitors had been sent out. With duties so vaguely defined, everyone simply washed their hands of the matter; as long as people didn't start brawling right under their noses, they counted it as a success.
As for what happened after entering… everyone would have to rely on their own abilities.
As time ticked by, the crowd swelled.
At the very front, closest to the fissure, the party that had claimed the prime position was none other than the motorcade from Chaocheng. Inside an RV, Kong Qingyan's gaze swept across the crowd.
A disheveled, middle-aged man wrapped in a blanket like a vagrant; a burly, bronze-skinned man looking entirely unremarkable; a glamorous woman whose striking looks drew countless peeking eyes; and finally, a mud-splattered off-road vehicle.
In the driver's seat of the SUV, an elderly woman with white hair calmly rested her elbow on the window frame, watching the disorder in the clearing. Noticing Kong Qingyan's gaze, she casually tipped her felt hat and nodded in greeting.
Kong Qingyan looked away.
"Too many people here have unreadable backgrounds," Kong Qingyan said, turning to Lou Feng beside her with an instruction. "Once you head inside, be cautious in everything. Follow Mr. Slan's commands in all actions, understand?"
"Understood."
Lou Feng bowed his head respectfully, then turned to the full-bearded man beside him. "We'll be counting on you shortly, Mr. Slan."
"Haha, think nothing of it." The weathered, sun-bronzed man placed a hand over his chest in a formal salute. "Rest assured, Mr. Lou. The Knights of Homecoming will serve you and ensure everything goes smoothly."
Behind him stood a dozen or so fully armed figures with grim expressions, hands clasped behind their backs, scars crisscrossing every inch of exposed skin.
This Border Realm did not permit Celestial Chosen above the Metamorphosis rank to enter, leaving Kong Qingyan no choice but to wait outside. To guarantee Lou Feng's safety and ensure this excavation went off without a hitch, she had spared no expense to hire the Knights of Homecoming from the Mid-Continent's Red States as escorts.
These wandering knights loyal to the Red King were all followers of the Swarm, unified under a singular matrix and a higher Calling. When prepared, they faced even vastly superior numbers of enemies and monsters without breaking a sweat—genuine war machines through and through.
Lou Feng smiled and was about to speak when his expression suddenly froze. A faint trace of pallor crept onto his face, and he whipped his head around, on high alert. "What is that sound?"
The Knights of Homecoming exchanged glances. Slan strained his ears, but amidst the blustery wind and the clamor of arguing voices, he heard nothing out of the ordinary.
If anything, there was only a faint, steadily approaching… chug-chug?
Wait, chug-chug?
Lou Feng's heart instantly leaped into his throat.
*Putt-putt-putt-putt-putt—*
At the outermost checkpoint, a beat-up little moped rolled in over the muddy path, spewing black exhaust as it sputtered along.
"This should be the place, right?"
The young man riding in front flipped up his helmet's visor, glancing around curiously.
Revealing the very face that made Lou Feng's eyes nearly split with fury, the dread suspended in his chest finally turned to absolute despair.
Ji Jue!
It wasn't just Lou Feng; plenty of others had also noticed this latecomer whose whole vibe clashed violently with the rest of the crowd.
Everyone else traveled in rugged off-road vehicles and luxury RVs, while the truly prominent arrived directly aboard airships. Even the humblest among them brought a little minivan—at least those were sturdy, practical, and spacious.
Yet here you were, riding a beat-up moped that looked like it had been poaching fares outside a train station, trekking all the way across hills and streams. Never mind being splattered from head to toe with mud—did your backside not ache?
What was more, the moped, his hands, and his back were piled high with all sorts of bags and parcels.
It wouldn't have been a surprise in the slightest if he set down a thermos and started peddling instant noodles right then and there. A few onlookers even showed a belated look of realization.
*Oh, right!* Who knew how much longer until the Border Realm opened? With so many people standing around waiting, wasn't there bound to be demand? These were all well-off Celestial Chosen; setting up a stall here could make a fortune! At the very least, it would keep the trip from being a total waste, wouldn't it?
A few Celestial Chosen were already clutching their wallets, intending to ask what he was selling in a bit, while others began pondering where they could fetch a cart for next time…
"Whoa, so many people."
The person behind Ji Jue took off their helmet and leaned forward, revealing a tender, lovely face that looked around with curiosity. "Aside from family meetings when I was little, I've never seen so many Celestial Chosen gathered in one place."
It was none other than the member from the Yacheng Security Bureau's Beishan Section.
An Ran!
In the entire Beishan Section, he was the only one who had any need for the Border Realm.
Lao Zhang was up there in years and had long lost his youthful ambitions; these days at the Security Bureau, he just lived a leisurely, health-conscious life, using his fists in the Second Operations Division to talk sense into blind fools.
As for Tong Hua, though she seemed a bit unhinged, she was still the Fourth Young Miss of the Tong family. In Yacheng, the Tong family held up half the sky; a single twitch from them made the ground shake. From the moment she was born, even a golden spoon wasn't good enough for her mouth. Her older brother, Tong Shan, was the director of the Yacheng Security Bureau's First Operations Division, responsible for the safety of all key figures. If she truly wanted to delve into an instance, she was a tycoon employer in her own right, with countless people clamoring to serve as her bodyguards; why would she ever come to a place like this to fight over scraps?
Furthermore, with Ji Jue and An Ran teaming up for the run, Wen Wen felt entirely at ease.
Though An Ran had never slipped up on the job and completed every mission flawlessly, the environment he grew up in meant the kid was always missing a screw in his head. He had little common sense and hated going to school. Ji Jue, on the other hand, was another matter; whether he could fight was beside the point, but he had rolled around in the gutters since childhood, had seen everything under the sun, and had more sly tricks up his sleeve than anyone.
Putting the two together made for a complementary pair.
Even though An Ran was a Celestial Chosen of the White Stag Path, he had no strange temperaments. He was quiet, gentle, and as obedient as a potted plastic flower.
Along the way, Ji Jue had occasionally forgotten that this younger brother, who looked so much like a pretty girl, was only thirteen or fourteen. Yet he was already Rank 5, having stepped into the Metamorphosis rank—a powerhouse capable of thrashing several Ji Jues with one hand tied behind his back.
At that moment, after glancing around the area, An Ran reached out and gently tugged on Ji Jue's sleeve. "Brother Ji Jue, someone's watching us. It feels like they're plotting something really bad…"
Ji Jue followed his line of sight, immediately spotting Young Master Lou standing tall above the crowd with his striking presence. After their gazes locked for a split second, Lou Feng's face turned livid, and he looked away.
"Ah, he probably has a grudge against me…" Ji Jue scratched his head awkwardly. "Sorry, Xiao An, getting you dragged into this."
"It's fine, don't be afraid."
An Ran nodded, promising solemnly, "Brother Ji Jue, I'll protect you!"
*Ah, such thoughtful, heartwarming care and such a reassuring promise.* Ji Jue was so touched that little pearls of tears nearly spilled from his eyes. "Thanks a bunch, then."
Yet after inching forward a bit on the moped, he felt gazes converging on them from every direction—wary, chilling, or dripping with malice.
He couldn't help but freeze.
Why were so many people glaring at him so viciously? Had he committed some heinous atrocity?
*Wait, that makes no sense. Today's my very first time leaving the beginner village, alright?!*
*I haven't even done a single quest—how is my faction reputation already in the gutter?*
Could it be that the outside world and the relations between Celestial Chosen were really this brutal?
"Careful, Xiao An," Ji Jue murmured. "Looks like a lot of people have their eyes on us."
"Ah, they probably have a grudge against me."
From the back seat, the boy hugging the mountain of bags replied with utmost obedience. "The eyes of that guy in front, I think I poked them blind back then…
"The one over there seems to be a colleague from Lihua District. He mocked me for being a sissy once, so Sister Wen beat him into the hospital for six months, and later I accidentally stabbed him. And that one behind us, I think I killed his younger brother. He ran so fast back then that I couldn't catch him—what a pity. Once we enter the Border Realm, let's see if there's a chance…
"It's fine, don't be afraid!"
The boy's youthful face was the picture of earnestness as he promised once more, "Brother Ji Jue, I'll protect you!"
Ji Jue's face twitched violently. Several times, he opened his mouth, only to stop.
It was the exact same sentence as before, so why on earth couldn't he feel touched anymore?!
*Turns out you pull way more aggro than I do!*
He desperately wanted to turn around, cup his hands, and ask what kind of monstrous big shot Brother An Ran truly was.
Then, recalling the background of the An family that Wen Wen had described, he suddenly felt that everything made complete sense.
This was barely the tip of the iceberg…
Chapter 60