Chapter 79: An Uninvited 'Guest

The western suburbs of Suchen were an abandoned industrial park.

This place had once been Suchen's largest heavy-industry zone; even after the apocalypse had fallen for a year, the air here still reeked of rust from corroding steel and the stale smell of oil.

The ground beneath their feet was cracked concrete and weeds, with occasional mutant rats scurrying through the abandoned pipes, adding a touch of desolation to this dead land.

"City Lord, what are you doing?"

Han Ya's voice sounded from behind Lin Yue, her eyes filled with a hint of puzzlement.

Lin Yue turned around, a faint smile playing on his lips,

"I plan to stay in Suchen for half a year, and this place will be our temporary base for that time."

Upon hearing this, Han Ya grew even more puzzled.

She knew Lin Yue's purpose for coming to Suchen, so Han Ya assumed they would head straight to Suchen's three major shelters after arriving.

At the very least, they should find a resource-rich area to settle in; what else could this place offer besides scrap metal?

Lin Yue seemed to see through her thoughts.

He offered no explanation, merely gazing at the complex terrain outside and giving a soft command.

"Black Tortoise, 【All Things Return to the Ruins】."

The next second, the ground around Black Tortoise began to writhe.

An abandoned factory slowly sank, while several nearby furnaces shifted silently; within just a few minutes, a U-shaped valley that blended perfectly with the surrounding environment had formed.

Black Tortoise's massive body slowly sank into it, the highest point of its shell exactly level with the tops of the ruins on either side.

From above, nothing abnormal could be detected.

At that moment, Wang Gongtou, who was directing the survivors' work, saw this and his mouth fell open, unable to close it for a long while!

Lin Yue's lips curled in satisfaction; this was the true terror of the 4th-level 【All Things Return to the Ruins】—it could not only decompose, but also reshape.

"Old Wang, immediately organize personnel to use the steel and concrete from the ruins to construct a camouflage layer and an initial physical defense perimeter outside the city."

Lin Yue issued the order via the walkie-talkie.

"Understood, City Lord! I guarantee we'll complete the mission!"

From the other end of the walkie-talkie came Wang Gongtou's excited voice.

"Han Ya, put the guard on first-level battle readiness, conduct nonstop patrols twenty-four hours a day, and report any sign of movement to me immediately."

"Yes!"

As Lin Yue's orders were issued one after another, the just-parked Xuanwu City instantly transformed into a high-speed precision machine.

All the residents were busy at their respective posts, tense yet orderly.

Their faces showed no panic or unease; instead, they held infinite hope for the future and an almost blind trust in their city lord.

Lin Yue nodded in satisfaction and turned his gaze toward the distance.

Through the thick smoke and dust, he could faintly see several weak lights flickering in the direction of Suchen's city center.

That should be the location of the three major shelters spoken of by Zhang Zhiguo.

Suchen Refuge, Heavenly God Group, Deep Blue Matrix……

Lin Yue's lips curled with a playful arc.

He liked this feeling full of the unknown and challenge.

He had no rush to contact any of them, after all his knowledge of the three factions was only superficial, and he didn't know what they were actually like.

Yet he ultimately underestimated the presence of this Black Tortoise, the 'Primordial Earth Vein Black Tortoise'.

Even though he had made Black Tortoise conceal its aura to the utmost, the moment it entered Suchen's territory, the three major shelters of Suchen detected it!

Even more, the three major shelters specially convened a battle meeting for Black Tortoise, nearly bringing out heavy weapons.

……

Meanwhile, in the area about twenty kilometers outside Xuanwu City,

three well-equipped Special Forces Squads were silently advancing from different directions toward the abandoned industrial park where Xuanwu City was located.

They were the elite of Suchen's three major shelters, sent on orders to scout, make contact, and even… covet.

"Everyone stay alert; we are about to enter the area of the industrial park."

"Suchen Refuge" Special Forces Squad captain, Ye Lang, came through the tactical earpiece with a low voice.

He wore a special camouflage combat uniform, his face smeared with paint, and his high-precision reconnaissance telescope was locked firmly on that distant stretch of industrial wasteland.

"Heavenly God Group" Special Forces Squad captain "Yingzi", clad in a black lightweight exoskeleton forged from special alloy, flickered in and out of the ruins' shadows like a true ghost.

"Deep Blue Matrix" Special Forces Squad captain "Zhizhe", a cultured middle‑aged man, was now fully focused on operating a high‑precision reconnaissance drone.

Behind them, thirty fully armed soldiers moved in tactical formation, carefully weaving through the broken walls and ruins.

The three squads each had their own characteristics and methods.

But at this moment they shared a single goal: to uncover the origin and strength of that 'unknown target'.

Under the orders of their respective captains, the three squads sped up, cautiously infiltrating the central area.

"Captain, something abnormal has appeared ahead!"

From Ye Lang's communicator came the hurried voice of a scout.

"We… we seem to have seen… a building!"

"A building?"

Ye Lang found it strange—wasn't seeing a building in the industrial park quite normal?

Nevertheless, out of trust in his subordinates, he raised his binoculars.

But the next sight made his hand gripping the binoculars tremble violently, almost dropping them to the ground!

"This… this is actually real!"

Almost at the same moment, Yingzi and Zhizhe also cried out in astonishment!

Before they arrived, the leaders of each refuge had already told them the situation here, but when they actually saw it with their own eyes, they were still utterly shocked!

After a brief shock, Ye Lang was the first to regain his composure.

He swallowed hard, forcing down the shock in his heart,

「Accelerate forward! 」

After the three Special Forces Squads entered the park, they were astonished to find that there wasn't a single Mutant Beast here.

You should know that even the most terrifying level-4 Mutant Beast discovered so far in Hangcheng, the terror crocodile, has a few other kinds of Mutant Beasts in its territory.

This inevitably made the three Special Forces Squads regard the Black Tortoise with even greater importance.

……………….

Inside the abandoned industrial park, Xuanwu City's command room.

Lin Yue was pointing at a newly planned area, discussing with Wang Gongtou the next step of the city's construction plan.

「Old Wang, look, the irrigation system of the agricultural zone—we can make use of the remaining underground pipe network, which would save a lot of resources. 」

Wang Gongtou, wearing reading glasses, kept nodding his head in front of the sand table.

「This idea is good, City Lord; this way, the growth time of our first batch of crops can be shortened by at least one-third! 」

He was about to delve into the pipe material issue when he noticed Lin Yue's words suddenly trailed off.

「Heh, you're really quick. 」

Suddenly, Lin Yue's mouth curled into a smile:

「Old Wang, let's discuss the details of the city plan later! 」

Wang Gongtou first stared, then realized,

「Has the refuge in Suchen discovered us? 」

「You guessed correctly. 」

Lin Yue nodded,

「Moreover, they've already sent people over—they're right outside the city! 」

He turned and walked toward the door of the command room,

「Come on, Old Wang, let's go meet our【guest】 together! 」

PS: New book, please urge updates and collect!