Anger from Geng Jun

"Are you sure the fighting outside has stopped?" Geng Jun pressed himself against the inside of the Security Door, listening intently.

"That is correct, Lord Geng Jun. It has indeed ended."

The four Gnolls stood behind Geng Jun. The Gnoll leader with part of one ear missing answered.

His tone was certain.

"It seemed they went from upstairs to downstairs, then from downstairs back upstairs, making a full circuit."

Momit the Gnoll twitched his ears twice.

A trace of gravity appeared on his face as well.

"How many people were there?" Geng Jun asked with a frown.

"Judging by the footsteps, there seemed to be quite a few. At least fifty or so," Momit the Gnoll replied.

"So many?!" Geng Jun's eyes widened slightly.

"Yes." Momit's voice grew even more grave. "I also heard the clinking of chainmail and shields blocking attacks. They should be at the level of the Human Regular Army."

In the Spiritual Realm, Human soldiers capable of wearing chainmail could no longer be classified as cannon fodder.

They were proper soldiers held by the various lords!

Momit reached up and touched his damaged ear, and the bloodshot in his eyes became increasingly savage.

But he quickly suppressed it.

"Was it Shen Mu from the seventh floor?" Geng Jun asked.

"Probably not." Momit hesitated, then gritted his teeth and said, "But judging by the sounds, it seems only that guy from the seventh floor could have done it. After all, only he has the loyalty of the Human Militia."

Thinking of those Human Militia, who appeared to be holding weapons and standing in a Spear Phalanx, Momit was merely wary of them.

He was not actually afraid.

A group of farmers still wielding Long-handled Sickles, without even a scrap of armor—if not for the cramped terrain inside this Apartment Building—

Out in the wilderness—

He and his three Gnoll companions could have covered each other and charged right through them, slaughtering them at will and enjoying their fresh flesh!

It was only because they Gnolls were forced to shelter under the protection of humans from another world.

Otherwise, they would be repelled by this world's rules.

They would return to that lightless Space-Time Seal, where even their souls were imprisoned, and sink into eternal ruin!

"Then who could it be?" A hint of wariness appeared on Geng Jun's face.

A group of strangers actually dared to wander through his Apartment Building in the middle of the night, during the time when Gray Fog Permeates most heavily.

Their intentions were unknown.

Whether they were friendly or hostile was unknown as well.

It truly made him extremely vigilant.

After the chaotic footsteps outside had completely vanished, Geng Jun's expression became even graver.

Because he could tell.

Those fading footsteps had ultimately gone straight upstairs, rather than heading down and leaving the apartment building.

Besides, the footsteps had first appeared from upstairs, slowly moving downward.

Then they had left the apartment building.

"Could it really be that guy with Human followers?"

At that moment, Momit suddenly spoke. His pink tongue slid over his row of sharp teeth.

As a Gnoll, his hearing was sharper.

Even though he was extremely unwilling to believe it.

Still, amid his hesitation, he voiced his guess. "Could he have gotten lucky, obtained a Space-Time Mark, and gained the loyalty of an entire Human force?!"

"...Perhaps." Geng Jun was briefly stunned, then revealed a look of envy.

At present, many possibilities pointed toward Shen Mu.

And this explanation—that he had obtained a Space-Time Mark and gained the loyalty of an entire Human force—was the only reasonable one.

Geng Jun and the forty-odd ordinary people on the third and fourth floors, roughly eleven or twelve families, had all lived there for at least several months.

Thus, he knew very well that their usual lives had been those of ordinary people.

During the day, they went out to search for food or worked as laborers for certain factions, doing all kinds of odd jobs.

At night, they returned home to hide.

There was no future in it.

That was also how most ordinary people lived now.

Perhaps, if it were not for the fact that the more people gathered within a small area, the more likely they were to trigger the Necromantic Rules and bring down greater numbers of more terrifying Undead Monsters—

These ordinary people would likely have been captured by those with ill intentions and used as free labor.

After all, even the government had collapsed. Those in power had all been replaced by experts who possessed Spiritual Realm Marks.

The laws and morals of the past had completely shattered.

Without the threat of the Necromantic Rules, who would care about nonsense like fellow countrymen?

"But do not worry, Lord Geng Jun. If you can gather some more Spiritual Realm Crystal Core Fragments, our Wasteland Ribs Tribe will still have many strong Gnolls who will come to follow you."

Momit slowly spoke, confidence filling his tone. "In the Spiritual Realm, we who live on the wastelands have always been the foremost enemies of those Human kingdoms and duchies! To resist us, they have no choice but to build many fortresses along their borders! That alone proves the strength of our Gnoll tribe!"

That was why Momit looked down on those militia who were clearly armed farmers.

"Mm, I know." Yet Geng Jun merely grunted and said nothing more.

Instead, he continued listening quietly by the door.

Only after confirming that there was truly no movement outside did he return and sit down in his seat beside the fire.

He merely listened to Momit's words.

After all, Geng Jun had graduated from college on Blue Star. He had joined the debate club in school and had even been a boss after graduation.

Naturally, he viewed matters rationally.

If Gnolls were so formidable, why did they live in barren, impoverished wastelands with such harsh conditions?

Why not live on the fertile plains occupied by Humans?

Were they unwilling?

Or unable?

"What a joke." Geng Jun snorted coldly to himself.

Of course, he did not show such feelings.

After all, these four Gnolls were Spiritual Realm Creatures who followed him. He still needed to rely on them when facing Undead Monsters.

"Based on the timing, how long until the Black Tide?" Geng Jun suddenly asked.

"About one month," one of the Gnolls answered.

"About one month..." Geng Jun's expression turned somewhat ugly. "Then I really do need more Gnolls to help."

"Beneath the apartment building, there should be Undead Monsters that have condensed Space-Time Crystal Core Fragments." Momit rested a claw on his curved blade, his green eyes fixed on Geng Jun. "My lord, how about we try killing our way in?"

"Just us?" Geng Jun scoffed at the suggestion. "The Underground Parking is so large. Who knows how many Undead Monsters are inside?"

Just four Gnolls and himself, an ordinary man whose strength had merely increased somewhat after receiving the Gnolls' blessing.

Once they went in, they would probably never come back out!

"Aren't there also those people from Diesel Company?" Momit grinned savagely. "You came from there anyway. If you go back and admit your mistake, would those former colleagues really ignore you? You were one of their shareholders before, after all..."

"Bang!" Before Momit could finish speaking, Geng Jun slammed his palm down on the table beside him.

He directly cut Momit off.

"Alright, alright, Lord Geng Jun. I should not have brought that up." Momit began apologizing helplessly.

For someone as savage and cunning as him, it was something that should have been impossible.

But he had no choice.

He knew perfectly well.

The secrets of Diesel Company were Geng Jun's sore spot.

Sure enough, after slamming the table, Geng Jun looked at him coldly and said, "I told you, I left because I could not stand those people from Diesel Company."

"I understand, but my suggestion truly was for your own good, my lord."

Momit tilted his head.

"You do not need to make decisions for me." Geng Jun raised a hand, signaling that he did not need to say any more. "Even without them, I will find a way to gather more Space-Time Crystal Core Fragments."

"Of course. We believe in you, Lord Geng Jun." The Gnoll smiled, though the light in his green eyes continued to flicker uncertainly.