Chapter 866: Yuan Feng

Outside the Yingshan Safe Zone.

A force of over a thousand, the Awakened Ones unit with blue shoulder patches on their arms, hurriedly headed into the city.

Outside the city, the numb-looking survivors stared in surprise at this city defense unit.

Panicked, the leader of the Awakened Ones looked even more grim and unsightly.

The crowd, unaware of what had happened, whispered among themselves, some worrying that a large horde of corpses might be approaching.

Muddy water splashed as pairs of military boots stepped into puddles, charging into the city garrison.

"Commander Xiao, what happened..."

Following closely behind a middle-aged person, the deputy of the city defense army anxiously looked at his superior.

Half an hour earlier, they had been preparing outside the city to carry out a mission, clearing out a surveyed gas station.

As the most lucrative outdoor operation, Xiao Tianming uncharacteristically led his men back in haste, as if something major had occurred.

"Everyone, be on alert! Whatever it is, I'll explain after I come out!"

He had no time to explain to his subordinates.

Xiao Tianming took a deep breath and rushed straight to the Safe Zone leader, heading for the lord's mansion of Yuan Feng.

Though called the lord's mansion, it was actually the office building that originally belonged to the tourism bureau of Yingshan County.

Compared to the other concrete buildings inside the Safe Zone, this luxurious building that existed before the apocalypse was naturally regarded as a residence for the high level.

A button identical to the one on Xiao Fei's cuff was clenched in his palm.

The button was an emergency communication prop, with no other function and not high grade.

Its sole effect was to send a video message to any player within an hour without consuming energy, with a highlighted alert.

Put simply, this was what he left for his son Xiao Fei to call for help in an emergency, and incidentally to see what was happening on the scene.

Having a son late in life, after the apocalypse his wife and family all died miserably in the mouths of zombies.

As his only living relative, Xiao Tianming naturally valued his son immensely.

Even though he knew exactly what mischief this kid was up to outside, he turned a blind eye.

It was nothing more than killing, arson, playing at torture and murder, taking ordinary survivors as amusement.

Actually, there wasn't much to it.

With the apocalypse erasing laws, most powerful Awakened Ones basically acted this way.

Some even more perverted sorts built their own gathering places, recruiting only the opposite sex for their own pleasure and consumption.

As a high-level figure in the Safe Zone, he had seen this sort of thing many times.

In a situation where no one could restrain them and morals had collapsed, the dark side of human nature surged forth like a flood.

As long as Xiao Fei didn't provoke those few big shots, he could help clean up any mess he made.

He had an entire Corpse Hunting Squad team following him, and in his view, as long as they didn't encounter high-level mutants, his son should come to no harm.

But he never expected that not long ago, Xiao Fei had sent back a grim report.

Seeing Xiao Fei's limbs crushed to pieces, and inside the carriage the suspected killer still eating hot pot, he felt his anger nearly overwhelm his reason.

He wanted to kill those bastards and throw that worm-like convoy entirely to feed the zombies!

If Xiao Fei's message hadn't repeatedly mentioned the enemy's abnormality, he would have already led men to slaughter them.

This group of mysterious outsiders possessed at least three individuals of Second Level strength.

Among them, the bald strongman was extraordinarily powerful, wiping out the entire Corpse Hunting Squad with a single glance.

Although the Corpse Hunting Squad was only average in strength, at least half of them were Awakened Ones.

Even with his Second Level Peak strength, he might not be able to achieve that in such a short time.

Suspected to be Second Level Peak, even Third Level...

Moreover, they were dual-system Awakened Ones skilled in combat.

Furthermore, upon seeing Lin An take out that tank, his heart was filled with even greater shock.

Being able to possess space equipment of this level, they could hardly be weak.

Without further thought, he had already marked Lin An and his companions as dangerous in his mind.

Anger aside, Xiao Fei's miserable state made him wish he could kill those bastards right now.

But, having survived to the present after the apocalypse and sitting in the position of Safe Zone City Defense Commander, he was no impulsive fool.

Second Level Peak is still manageable.

Gathering a large force of the city defense army could possibly kill them, but the cost would be too great.

Every soldier and trooper is the foundation of his foothold in the apocalypse.

If they were Third Level...

Reason returned, and he forcibly suppressed the anger rising in his chest.

Upon noticing Xiao Fei's message indicating the other party cared greatly about Heiyu, a strange thought involuntarily arose in his mind.

Too many doubts,

The other side killed the members of the Demon Hunting Squad, but did not silence Xiao Fei to prevent him from talking.

They openly brought people over, and the route clearly showed they were heading for the Safe Zone.

Behaving this way, could it merely be a show of force to intimidate him, or perhaps they didn't want to offend him too severely?

After all, since no one was killed, there was still room for reconciliation.

That brat Xiao Fei, though usually mischievous,

but after being caught, he was clever enough to pin the Heiyu matter on the two from Yuan Feng, thereby clearing himself.

This meant that if the other side really dared to start a conflict, their primary target would not be him.

If the two sides truly went to war, it might actually turn out well for him.

After thinking it over, Xiao Tianming simply stopped thinking about it further, only planning to report this message upward.

Regardless of what the other side's purpose is, letting Yuan Feng and them face off is the best!

Even if the other side might be third level, he would not be so stupid as to act before clarifying things, no matter how much he hates.

Empty underground building complex.

Xiao Tianming lowered his eyes and followed respectfully behind a youth in casual clothing.

Just as he caught sight, in his peripheral vision, of several armored vehicles crushed into balls in the distance, his eyelids twitched.

When he had just come in to report the news, he had personally seen the other side not using any skills, training bare-handed.

With one punch he smashed through the thick defensive armor, and in just a few seconds he forcibly crushed a ten-ton tank into scrap metal.

Such pure power is shocking to behold.

Is mere physical strength comparable to a full-force strike from a second-level Awakened One...

His head lowered even further, Xiao Tianming's original strange thoughts sank deep into his heart.

Clearly only one level apart...

But this terrifying physical strength—could it possibly allow a single person to slaughter a second-level Awakened One?

After the apocalypse, the gap between people is truly growing larger and larger.

"Could it be a peak second-level? Or perhaps also a third-level?"

"Awakened Ones coming from across the region, are they targeting us? And they even directly killed the patrol team?"

Hearing Xiao Tianming's mournful words, this Yingshan's strongest, third-level Awakened One Yuan Feng raised his eyebrows, a flash of coldness passing in his eyes.

Especially when the middle-aged man said that the other side likely came because of Heiyu, he couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

"Really, any cat or dog dares to come here and act recklessly!"

Regarding the news Xiao Tianming mentioned that the other side might be third-level, he didn't really believe it.

The reason is simple.

Although after the trial ended, the Huaxia war zone saw a large number of third-level Awakened Ones emerge, most of them are in the various military regions, holding high positions and power.

Being able to bring a small team over without notifying or contacting him... could only be an unofficial force.

But he clearly remembers that among the non-military third-level Awakened Ones who survived the trial, there are only that many people.

These existences are none other than the leaders of the major forces, the nearest of whom are four to five thousand kilometers away!

A force leader, a powerhouse reaching third-level, coming here for no reason? No matter how you think about it, it's unlikely.