Return to the Base City

Northern Military Region of Jiangnan Base City, Rest Stop Base.

The sun had just risen.

Quite a few squads returning from the Wilderness Zone gathered at the base gates. Many warriors bore injuries, and some who were seriously hurt had to be supported by their teammates.

Many warriors with bulging backpacks wore smiles on their faces. It seemed their haul of Monster materials had been substantial.

Seeing these warriors, the material dealers who had long been waiting at the base entrance surged forward, handing out business cards and exchanging greetings, making the morning lively and noisy.

"Old Zhang, you did pretty well this time."

"Eh, not bad. We killed two beginner Beast General level Wind Shadow Leopards."

"Then you must've made over ten million this time. Not bad."

"Haha, not bad, not bad."

Warriors who knew one another discussed their respective gains, and cheerful laughter occasionally rang out from the crowd.

After returning alive from the crisis-ridden Wilderness Zone, where monsters were everywhere, and entering the supply base within humanity's sphere of influence, their taut nerves finally relaxed. Many warriors could barely wait to exchange their materials for money and enjoy a good rest.

"Eh, it's the Golden Spear Squad. Looks like they ran into trouble this time."

Someone spotted the four members of the Golden Spear Squad—Xia Zhi, Qin Feng, and the others—at the entrance. Xu Kui's left arm was bandaged, while the others were injured as well.

"Look at how full their backpacks are. Even if they ran into trouble, they still made it back alive with so many materials."

"Every one of their backpacks is stuffed full. How much did they make?"

Indeed, even though Xu Kui's left arm was bandaged, all four of them, including Xia Zhi, had their backpacks packed to the brim.

"Old Qin, you made quite a haul this time. Don't forget, if you have good materials, you can sell them to our military district!"

When the gatekeeper saw Qin Feng and the others approach, he waved them through and called out.

"Don't even mention it. Damn it, we ran into a monster pack riot. We risked our lives killing dozens of ordinary monsters, but only got one Beast General level monster. We lost big this time." Qin Feng cursed.

"Running into a monster pack riot and getting everyone back alive is already pretty good. Beast Soldier level monster materials are still worth money in large quantities," the gatekeeper said.

"My brother's injury can't wait. We're going to rest briefly, then head straight back to the Base city. We've had such rotten luck this time that we need to rest for a while before coming out again."

After dealing with the gatekeeper's small talk, Qin Feng and the others avoided the material dealers crowding around them and hurried back to their squad's small building.

Over the past two days of travel, with Monster materials worth billions or even tens of billions on them, everyone had been on edge.

Only after they entered did the weight in their hearts finally lift.

Both the Base city and the military district had government and military backing.

The supply base was also a small area designated by the military district, with its safety and other matters under the military district's responsibility.

No matter how deep the enmity between warriors, they would not dare fight one another inside the military district. The consequences would be disastrous.

Not to mention fighting or killing over wealth. Returning here meant entering a safe zone with laws and rules.

After taking refreshing showers and changing into clean clothes, they boarded a train back to the Base city that afternoon.

"The train is about to arrive at the station. Passengers getting off, please prepare your belongings."

The recorded voice of the train attendant echoed through the carriage. With a swish, the carriage doors opened.

"Let's go!"

Qin Feng, Xia Zhi, Liu Yan, and Xu Kui exited the station one after another.

"We're back."

"Finally, we're back in a human city."

The shopping streets around the train station were prosperous, and the streets were packed densely with pedestrians.

Jiangnan Base City's Main urban area had a population of over one hundred million. Train stations were often the noisiest and liveliest places in a city.

Looking at the scene before him, Xia Zhi felt equally shaken.

It had only been seven or eight days since his first trip to the Wilderness Zone.

Yet the cities in the Wilderness Zone were desolate and ruined everywhere, with huge numbers of monsters occupying them.

Every moment required extreme caution, with nerves constantly taut. Any slight carelessness could bring enormous danger.

Only in the Base city! Only after returning to the safe Base city!

Could he truly relax. Xia Zhi could feel that even his mind and soul were exceptionally at ease.

"The Base city, humanity's last stronghold."

A hint of realization arose in Xia Zhi's heart. Even for the sake of this safe haven of human society, warriors with greater strength truly should step forward!

I can easily hunt ordinary Beast Soldier level monsters and even kill beginner Beast General level monsters with ease. But for ordinary humans, even armed, facing a Beast Soldier level monster would be extremely dangerous.

Why did the nation and society grant warriors special privileges?

Why did the entire world encourage warriors to hunt monsters?

Because the more monsters they hunted, the safer humanity's Base cities became.

Seeing the other squad members calling home, Xia Zhi also called his family. He told his grandfather, Xia Dahai, that he had returned to the Base city and was now handling some matters in the Main urban area. He would be home very late that night, so there was no need to wait for him.

After ending the call, the group boarded an HR Alliance vehicle that had been specially arranged near the train station to pick up warriors.

Sitting in the large, comfortable business vehicle, Qin Feng said to Xia Zhi, "Among the major domestic powers, the HR Alliance offers the highest purchase prices. If we want to sell for a high price this time, we should go to the HR Alliance."

"Looks like you warrior lords made a huge haul this time. Our HR Alliance can definitely offer you a satisfactory price! Do you have anyone you know? I can make an introduction."

The driver in the front seized the chance to promote his services.

"No need. We've already made arrangements," Qin Feng refused.

"There are plenty of managers responsible for purchasing within the HR Alliance. This time, we're meeting Old Fang. Usually, he only takes deals worth over one hundred million."

"I heard Old Fang is a member of the Fang family within the HR Alliance, and his status is fairly high. More importantly, he has a good reputation and keeps his mouth shut," Liu Yan explained to Xia Zhi beside her.

A moment later—

The specialized vehicle drove directly to the entrance of the HR Alliance Mall's main hall.

"You must be Mr. Qin Feng. Manager Fang is already waiting upstairs."

A delicate-looking woman with short, ear-length hair that made her appear shrewd and capable stepped forward with a smile.

Inside the first-floor hall, quite a few warriors were talking near the bar.

When they saw the Golden Spear Squad's bulging backpacks and watched them being led by the short-haired woman straight toward the VIP elevator, they all cast envious and jealous looks their way.

As the Jiangnan Base City headquarters of the HR Alliance Mall, the entire building was extravagantly luxurious.

Most ordinary people had never entered the building even once in their lives.

The VIP elevator was reserved for clients making transactions of over one hundred million Huaxia Coin. Most warriors would never have a chance to ride it even once in their lives.

The first floor of the HR Alliance Mall building was for welcoming guests and resting.

The second floor housed an ultra-luxurious restaurant, while the floors above were where the mall's goods were sold.

The higher the floor, the larger the transaction amounts, and the VIP elevator could go directly to the fifteenth floor and above.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened, and the Golden Spear Squad entered.

The woman stood at the elevator entrance, pressed "21," and held her pupils up to the scanner.

Access granted. Welcome, Miss Liu.

"Manager Fang is waiting for you all on the twenty-first floor," the woman surnamed Liu said with a smile.

Xia Zhi and the others nodded and followed her into the elevator.

The VIP elevator rose swiftly without stopping at all. With another ding, the elevator doors opened. They had arrived at the twenty-first floor of the HR Alliance Mall building.

The editor said that although this promotion had not brought in many new bookmarks, reader follow-up had been pretty good, and there would be more promotions in the future.

Thank you all for your support! Thanks to big supporters like Ant for giving more than a dozen recommendation votes every day, and thanks to readers like Fat Otaku and Bu Qingyi for always supporting me! My sincere thanks! Without you, I really couldn't keep going. Updating every day really is exhausting.