Chapter 80: People from the Three Refuges Enter Xuanwu City

The western suburbs of Suchen, an abandoned industrial park.

"Suchen Refuge" special forces captain, Ye Lang, after separating from the special forces teams of the other two refuges, came here; now he is half‑crouched behind a collapsed wall, tightly observing the front with a high‑precision telescope.

The members behind him stood still like sculptures, blending with the surrounding broken walls and ruins; only the occasional flash of vigilant gaze proved they were alive.

However, Ye Lang's heart was not at all calm.

Too quiet.

Abnormally quiet!

This industrial park, after the apocalypse, was once a paradise for mutant creatures.

However, due to scarce supplies here, few survivors came to adventure, and gradually the mutant beasts also left.

But it's absolutely impossible for all of them to have left!

Yet they had sneaked in all the way; not a mutant beast, not even the shadow of a mutant rat, was seen.

It was as if some invisible force had thoroughly "purified" this area.

Ye Lang's gaze fell upon that "moving city".

Even from several kilometers away, its massive size still exuded a heart‑pounding sense of oppression.

Perhaps the changes here are related to it!

Just then, a faint electric sound came from the communicator beside him.

"Ye Lang, I am Yingzi."

A hoarse voice like metal scraping sounded,

"How's the situation over there?"

Ye Lang's pupils contracted imperceptibly.

Yingzi, the ace of the Heavenly God Group, a ghost‑like man, rumored to be able to merge with shadows and kill unseen.

"Everything is normal."

Ye Lang lowered his voice, speaking concisely.

"Normal?"

Yingzi gave a light laugh, his laughter undisguisedly mocking,

"This area doesn't even have a single mutant beast, and you call that normal?"

Ye Lang's brows knotted into a frown, but he did not retort.

"Zhizhe, how about you?"

Yingzi's voice sounded again, this time addressing another person.

"The analysis results are out."

A calm, emotionless male voice replied,

"Extremely trace energy particles linger in the air, matching none of the known mutant creatures' energy signatures in our database. Preliminary inference: not long ago, this place underwent a…… 'cleansing' we cannot comprehend."

Zhizhe, chief data analyst of the Deep Blue Matrix, a scientific madman who quantifies everything.

"Interesting."

Yingzi licked his dry lips, a flicker of hunter's excitement flashing in his eyes upon spotting prey,

"It seems our 'target' this time is even more interesting than imagined."

The three teams continued feeling their way toward Xuanwu City.

"Boom—rumble—rumble—"

Accompanied by a dull thunderous roar, the defensive wall made of scrap copper and iron and concrete slowly opened a huge gate!

Everyone in the three teams almost simultaneously halted their steps; although they didn't know what had happened, they could be sure they had been detected.

All members held their breath, awaiting the captain's order.

Whether to fight or retreat, they needed an answer.

Time passed second by second, the atmosphere oppressive enough to make one breathless.

"Heh..."

In the comms channel, Yingzi's signature light laugh sounded again, breaking the silence.

"Since the master has invited us, as guests, wouldn't it be impolite to keep hiding?"

He shifted his tone, carrying a hint of provocation:

"How about we go in and take a look?"

"Are you crazy?!"

Ye Lang's voice instantly dropped, laced with anger,

"We don't even know the other side's purpose, yet we'd rush in recklessly!"

"So what?"

Yingzi's voice was full of amusement,

"I'm actually growing more curious about this 'divine relic'."

"I object, the risk is too high!"

Ye Lang said firmly.

As the most elite captain of the Suchen Refuge, he must take responsibility for his team.

"Risk and reward coexist."

The ever‑silent Zhizhe suddenly spoke.

"Based on current data, I project that the target possesses an area‑clearing ability beyond our comprehension and has precisely locked onto our position. This proves its detection far surpasses ours. Given that, the opponent choosing to open the gate rather than attack directly means the probability of it initiating hostile action is under 30%. I agree with Yingzi's suggestion."

Even the most rational Zhizhe said this; if Ye Lang continued to object, he would appear cowardly,

"Good!"

The three squads stopped hiding, emerged from their respective cover, formed a triangle, and cautiously crept toward that huge gate.

The closer they got, the stronger the oppressive feeling of that steel city became.

However, the moment they crossed the gate and stepped into Xuanwu City, everyone was stunned.

Before their eyes, the scene suddenly opened up.

There was none of the expected chaos, filth, and crowding.

What did they see?

Broad, level roads crisscrossed the city.

Two-story buildings made of an unknown silvery-white metal were scattered in an orderly fashion, and… even some children could be seen playing and laughing on the clean streets!

"This… this how could it be possible…"

Behind Ye Lang, a young Special Forces squad member cried out in shock,

"I… I'm not dreaming, am I? Is this… is this really the apocalypse?"

They felt as if they had returned to before the apocalypse arrived.

Just as everyone was stunned to the extreme by this sight of the "wasteland divine trace," a gentle voice, transmitted through the amplification equipment, clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Gentlemen, since you've come, why not come in for a cup of hot tea?"

Everyone followed the sound and saw, not far away, a young man in casual attire standing with his hands behind his back, looking at them with a faint smile.

Ye Lang's heart jumped violently.

He could be certain that this person was the owner of this moving city.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the tumultuous waves in his heart,

"We are the reconnaissance team dispatched jointly by the Three Major Shelters of Suchen; we mean no offense! We only wish to meet you, sir."

Lin Yue looked at these three well-equipped squads before him, and felt not a hint of worry.

After injecting the two substances, the Super Soldier Serum and the Danger Perception Potion, he is now, compared to ordinary people, essentially a superhuman; even if a Special Forces Soldier King brandished a weapon before him, Lin Yue is confident that the other cannot harm him.

Lin Yue made a gesture of invitation, then turned and entered Xuanwu City.

In the City Lord's Manor, a reception hall that was simply decorated yet everywhere exuded extraordinariness.

The reception hall was spacious; all the members of the three major Special Forces Squads were not cramped here.

Although there were plenty of seats in the hall, only Ye Lang, Ying Zi, and Zhizhe sat on the sofa, their expressions complex as they surveyed everything around them.

On the coffee table before them lay a plate of fruit.

A plate of bright red, glistening with crystal-clear water droplets… tomatoes.

Ye Lang's gaze locked onto that plate of tomatoes, his Adam's apple involuntarily rolling up and down once.

He could no longer recall how long it had been since he had seen such… 'normal' food.

In their shelter, even a moldy piece of bread could cause two strong men to fight until their heads were bloody.

"Want a taste?"

Just then, Lin Yue walked in, pointed to the tomatoes on the table, and wore a harmless smile.

"I guess you haven't eaten this in a long time, right?"