Chapter 123: The Birdcage

The advantage of long-range attacks was obvious; the people from Yi Zhong didn't even need to get close before they were almost completely wiped out, leaving only one or two who helped two or three lightly wounded companions and fled far away.

But several people were still left behind.

Chen Mu didn't bother with those matters; seeing the enemy scatter, unable to pursue, he also shouted for everyone to keep moving.

Because of the earlier incident, Chen Mu became wary, fearing being followed, so he deliberately took a detour along a route he had never used; when he was about to reach the storage room, he paused and hid for a while, and only after confirming no one was behind did he properly head home.

Wei Dalei was dragging the cart at this time, his expression unchanged.

On the contrary, Lu Shanshan and Xue Xu, who had probably never walked such a distance continuously before, were a bit fatigued.

All told, they had spent almost the whole day on the road without rest.

Because the return route looped several times, it was already getting close to evening.

Home.

Today it was Zhu Hao's turn to stand watch on the watchtower; from afar he saw several people approaching and immediately warned everyone, while Dong Junwei and the others promptly got ready.

Because Chen Mu had said before leaving that this trip might take several days, nobody expected them to return so early; when Zhu Hao made out who was coming, he practically tumbled and crawled out.

The watchtower now, compared to before, has been improved further; the most obvious change is that a smooth stainless‑steel pillar has been erected, reaching all the way to the ground.

It was like a firefighter sliding down a pole; to make it easier for those on duty to get down, Chen Mu spent a long time fabricating this device.

Relative to the current human size, this project is actually not small, but fortunately the difficulty is not great; it just takes effort.

Anyone who needs to slide down only has to wrap something around their hands to avoid friction burns, and given the present circumstances, the friction is actually not strong.

Guys usually just use their shirts, while girls use the cotton threads from a towel.

The only problem is that this height still poses a significant psychological challenge for humans; but after a few tries, even someone like Zhao Xiao Yan can now slide down quite skillfully.

After all, this is completely different from sliding down from an 80‑meter height before.

Of course, this only makes descending easier; climbing up remains just as laborious, and the elevator still hasn't appeared.

Everyone was a bit puzzled by Chen Mu's group arriving, but after going out to greet them and seeing the huge container truck, they understood.

The flatbed cart they had taken out earlier had already been discarded by Chen Mu, who had Wei Dalei completely wreck it before throwing it into the roadside green belt.

"You guys came back so fast; where did this vehicle come from?" Dong Junwei stepped forward, lifted her head to look, and asked doubtfully.

"We seized it." Chen Mu laughed.

"Seized?"

"Yeah, from the Yi Zhong side."

"You went to scout that quickly?"

"No, just good luck; I won't say more—I opened a gap in the gate and got the vehicle inside."

A few minutes later, a passage wide enough for a truck appeared on the gate.

After Wei Dalei dragged the truck in, everyone gathered around it, curiously inspecting.

"Ausing's simulation model car?" Tang Jing looked at Chen Mu.

"What? Your dad also does that kind of thing?"

"What?" Tang Jing blinked in surprise.

"Haha, nothing." Seeing He Ying's warning glance, Chen Mu promptly backed down and asked, "You also know about this model car?"

"I've seen it described online, but never the actual object; the workmanship is indeed exquisite."

"Even with today's human size, viewed from this angle it still looks incredibly realistic; no wonder it's a luxury toy worth thousands."

"People hadn't seen a complex object of their own size in a long time; this truck instantly brought everyone back to the former world, as if they had never shrunk."

"While everyone examined the model car, they also listened to Chen Mu and the four others take turns recounting what had happened today."

"When they heard that the storage room they had previously visited was about to be emptied out, they all felt a pang of regret."

"Tang Jing, meanwhile, was clearly more interested in the conflict between Qingbei and Yi Zhong, asking, 'That Song Yu seems to be a high‑ranking member of Qingbei.'"

"How so?"

"Given the raid on Yi Zhong, if such an operation fails the loss would be considerable; Qingbei wouldn't entrust such a big matter to an ordinary member, and I suspect that Qingbei's sudden strike this time isn't simply aimed at hitting Yi Zhong—it must have a clearer objective."

"What objective?"

"For example, the cargo being transported by the convoy."

"You wouldn't be suggesting..."

"Everyone turned their gazes back to the container truck."

"Combat‑type ability users are inherently scarce; according to your description, the two guards' strength is nearly on par with Da Lei, and there aren't many such people among the hundred‑odd members of Yi Zhong, so they couldn't possibly equip every vehicle with that kind of defense."

"But why did they place this vehicle at the rear of the convoy? Shouldn't it be guarded in the middle?"

"Perhaps it was to confuse them?"

"Yi Zhong had long been prepared for Qingbei's attack; from this angle, that possibility indeed exists."

"But they still underestimated Qingbei's strength, ultimately throwing all their force into the frontal battlefield, which is how we managed to seize it."

"What do you think is inside?" everyone asked, growing ever more curious.

"A Gundam?"

"I guess it's the Zero Model."

"Hurry up and open it to have a look."

"Wait a minute—what if a bunch of zombies come out?"

"Damn, you've watched too many movies; there's no apocalypse in this world."

"..."

"Amid the chatter, Chen Mu had already opened the container door; before his eyes lay a series of huge wooden crates, but because the interior space is extremely large and deep, only the items near the outside could be made out."

"Wei Dalei first lifted the two prisoners out."

"What should we do with these two?"

First think of a way to lock them up, then after a while ask them about their situation at Yi Zhong.

These two were previously knocked out by Wei Dalei; they have now woken up, but because their whole bodies were tightly bound by Chen Mu, even their mouths were sealed, leaving them only able to lie on the ground at anyone's mercy.

"Is it okay to tie them up like this?" Dong Junwei asked.

"How?"

"Won't they suffocate? The earliest we can interrogate them is tomorrow." Dong Junwei looked at the lower half of the two people's faces being bound, as if they were wearing a metal mask.

"It's fine, I left an air vent." Chen Mu said.

He Ying said: "They can still roll around like this; who knows where they might end up rolling by tonight."

"That's true..."

Chen Mu pondered for a moment, then had Wei Dalei fetch a stainless steel spoon.

First he made a steel plate, then placed one of the people on it.

Chen Mu placed both hands on the steel plate.

The next moment.

Iron rods suddenly sprang up, slowly lengthened, then bent upward, finally converging at a point.

A bird-cage-shaped iron cage appeared.

The person from Yi Zhong half lay there, watching wide-eyed as a prison cage formed, himself trapped inside; he who usually showed no expression finally revealed surprise in his eyes.