Pamir Plateau.
Kongur Tagh.
"Loki is here?!"
At the temporary outpost atop the mountain, Baili Pangpang's eyes went wide in shock after hearing An Qingyu's account. "Holy shit!"
Cao Yuan's expression beside him also turned grave. "Where's Qiye? Is he okay?"
An Qingyu sat cross-legged on the ground, clipping his caveman-like nails as he answered, "I didn't see him in the Kunlun Void, but Commander Zuo and Mr. Lu are hunting Loki together now. Nothing should happen."
Hearing this, the other three present all breathed a sigh of relief.
Only a few hours remained until the final day of the recruits' crossing of the Pamir Plateau. All the recruits who had not yet been eliminated had entered the last stretch. Once they crossed the final few kilometers, they would begin climbing Kongur Tagh.
Jiang Er and the others, who had been responsible for the earlier sections of the route, had also returned to the temporary outpost on Kongur Tagh. Only Shen Qingzhu remained at the summit, overseeing the final checkpoint.
"But it's already been several days. Why hasn't Qiye returned yet?" Baili Pangpang's face was still full of concern.
"The situation in the Kunlun Void is far more complicated than we imagined. Maybe he encountered some opportunity in there." Recalling the Peach Banquet where the immortals had gathered, An Qingyu spoke calmly.
"The recruits' assessment is about to end. If Qiye doesn't return to take charge, things could get troublesome."
"Right, what about those eliminated recruits?"
"They're still volunteering at the border defense company." Baili Pangpang peeled an orange segment, stuffed it into his mouth, and sighed.
"Who knows how many of them will come around after all these days..."
Great Xia's western border.
Kayush Border Defense Company.
A bone-piercing gale howled in from the end of the barren