Chapter 925

Huh?

Someone's coming!?

That voice sounds somewhat familiar.

Upon hearing the sound, the few people chatting inside the house glanced at each other.

Just as we were talking about going out, someone showed up!

Speak of the devil—among them, a middle-aged man rolling a dry tobacco cigarette flashed a pleased expression:

"Let's go! Go out and take a look!"

"You guys hurry and inform the town chief!"

The quiet town, as Yuan Feng's voice spread, instantly saw many survivors who had been staying indoors rush out.

The crowd was noisy; half curious, half excited, those walking out of the houses stared at the three figures outside the town.

"Really, someone's come! I've never seen them before!"

"Rescue team? From where? Are they the military!?"

"We can get out! We can get out!"

Unlike the survivors shouting from the east, among the crowd coming from the left, a few leading Awakened Ones stared intently and suddenly saw Yuan Feng standing behind Lin An.

"Huh!? Isn't that the kid from last time?"

"He's brought people over!?"

After thinking of something and muttering a few words quietly, a thin youth nodded heavily and darted toward the manor where the town chief was.

Not long after, the area outside the town was packed with a dense crowd, though everyone's faces showed an unhealthy pallor from lack of nutrition.

Yet they still seemed lively enough, appearing to have enough to eat.

A few seconds later, hurried footsteps came from behind the crowd; a middle-aged man hurriedly pushed through and looked with surprise at Lin An standing at the front.

But upon catching sight of Yuan Feng, his face flashed a somewhat unpleasant expression.

The power gap was too huge; vaguely, aside from Yuan Feng giving him a threatening aura, he sensed no psionic fluctuations from Lin An at the forefront.

Of course, without emitting an aura, given Lin An's attribute, even an ordinary Third Rank couldn't discern his exact strength.

"May I ask, are you here to rescue us?"

"Are you from the Tiannan Safe Zone, the Solar Alliance, or... the military's Faction: Long An!?"

After naming several factions, the so-called town chief, a Zero-Rank Awakened One, carefully observed Lin An and the others.

Many factions have taken on missions, but so far, aside from Yuan Feng finding them through the secret passage he guessed, Lin An is the first external faction they've seen.

Some were excited, some wary.

Looking at the crowd before him, Lin An gave a slight nod:

"Faction: Long An."

"Hand over the seeds, and I'll take you away."

Not wanting to waste words, Lin An casually sensed everyone's strength, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes.

It wasn't anything worth his attention.

Among the crowd before him, Awakened Ones were few, and all were Zero Rank, either power or physique types.

Only in the right-side crowd was there a student-like individual who belonged to the elemental type.

These Awakened Ones' physiques appeared transparent to him.

Surprisingly, their physiques were still decent, likely due to the effect of psionic crops.

"Faction: Long An! Are they from Faction: Long An!?"

"What is Faction: Long An? Is it that military faction? How far away is it?"

Two voices rang out; among the young survivors to the east, several youths' eyes lit up, and they looked rather excitedly at Lin An.

During the days they were trapped here, their only way to obtain information was through chat channels.

Seeing outside information each day, they naturally knew what Faction: Long An was.

That was a Safe Zone countless survivors wanted to join; overjoyed, they never imagined that the ones coming to rescue them would actually be Faction: Long An.

As for the elderly in the town, they couldn't really understand the information, merely vaguely recalling that Faction: Long An seemed to have been praised by the state, appearing to be military.

Unlike the crowd's clamor, the town chief stared blankly, forcing an unpleasant smile:

"Faction: Long An? That's the person sent by the high official who previously contacted me. Military? Then there's more to discuss..."

"But..."

"Just hand over the seeds? Speaking so bluntly?"

"Comrade, you must have had a rough journey, right?"

"You coming to save us is deeply appreciated, but we need to leave and also pack up."

"How about we all sit down, have a cup of tea, and chat?"

Speaking in circles, the town chief gave a leisurely apologetic smile, his gaze toward Yuan Feng full of vigilance.

He remembered this guy: wanting the seeds but unwilling to pay, and even trying to seize them by force in the end.

He said he'd take them out, but even if he were stupid, he knew before leaving that holding the seeds gave him leverage!

If it weren't for his ability to burrow underground and threaten to destroy the seeds, this guy would have almost snatched his seeds away!

This person is nothing but a bandit!

They stood opposed to each other.

Looking at the town chief with ulterior motives before him, Lin An's brows furrowed slightly.

It was not as he had imagined.

Logically, after arriving, this group, being able to leave, should have hurried to follow; yet they showed no urgency, and he could clearly see a flicker of greed in the eyes of the so-called town chief's Awakened Ones behind him.

Standing to the side, Yuan Feng sensed Lin An's impatience and sent a mental transmission:

"Lord Lin An."

"The last time I tried to take some seeds first, this bunch of old-timers opened their mouths like lions, demanding anything."

"Besides, the seeds must stay with them, and the planting must be done by them. We also have to arrange everything for them, guaranteeing they'll live well after they leave."

A flicker of coldness crossed Yuan Feng's eyes as he spoke, as if recalling that scene.

Lin An's eyes twitched slightly; he nodded without changing expression.

Guaranteeing safety, arranging livelihood—he had no objections.

After all, cultivating spiritual-energy crops, these people could also use them. They have experience; after Lin An takes the seeds, giving them some preferential treatment is not out of the question.

But, with them opening their mouths like lions, leaving the seeds in their hands? That's probably wishful thinking.

"You didn't take action?"

He asked softly.

As his words fell, Yuan Feng's face immediately showed a bitter smile:

"Lord Lin An, I had only just reached Second Level back then, and you couldn't have failed to notice—I'm a power-type; even if I acted quickly, if they stepped back a bit, destroying the seeds would still be possible. Especially that town mayor—his talent is special, he can instantly dive underground."

"So, worried that even if I got the seeds I couldn't hold onto them, I thought of coming back after reaching Third Level."

"Anyway, these people can't run away."

Understood.

Turning his head, Lin An looked at the wary town mayor and spoke directly, his expression calm:

"Speak, what do you want?"

Certain in his heart, the town mayor exchanged a glance with the crowd behind him, cleared his throat—he hadn't expected Lin An to speak so bluntly:

"Comrade, you're with the military, right?"

"We've been waiting for you forever!"

"Didn't the state say that the military must actively rescue trapped survivors? Still, your coming to save us is deeply appreciated."

"How about we discuss the seed matter after we get out?"

"After all, this is important; once we're out, we'll find experts to evaluate it. Not to say anything else—how many people can one mu of land save? Just by bringing us out, you're already contributing to the state; the higher-ups will surely commend you, right?"

He gave a dry laugh, the town mayor slipped his right hand into his pocket and clenched the mother seed tightly.

Wanting to get out is genuine, but since the ones who came are the "military," not negotiating a good price would be wasting the opportunity.

The seeds are so important—my future wealth and honor hinge on this...

In the silence, Mo Ling gave the town mayor, who was speaking in officialese, a strange look—even she could tell.

Seeing them arrive, these people instead weren't in a hurry to leave. After all, they've come this far—in the survivors' eyes, they surely wouldn't just show up and then leave, right?

As for these words, they merely meant that rescuing them was a given; the seed issue could be discussed later.

Chuckling lightly, the previously calm Lin An flashed a hint of mockery in his eyes toward the town mayor.

"The military? Discuss after we get out?"

"How so? Do you want to go back on the terms you discussed with Faction: Long An?"

"Just say it—what do you want?"

Hearing that, the town mayor startled, utterly missing the faint impatience and hint of killing intent in Lin An's tone; he cleared his throat and gave Lin An's attire a sidelong glance:

"Cough, comrade, you can't talk like that. I think… it'd be better to see your superior first."

"There are some things you can't decide on your own, right?"

No shoulder insignia, and so young.

In his eyes, Lin An was merely a minor figure; perhaps he entered through a secret passage, not necessarily having passed through Heiyu.

How could such a major matter be discussed with a mere youth?