Heading into the Wilderness

Among the three organizations, the Burning Fire Company and the Gray Mountain Group were roughly equal in strength, governing opposite sides of a river, barely qualifying as the "two poles" of the wasteland world.

As for the Floating Apocalypse, that organization was rather unique—it didn't operate on a corporate model, and its structure was quite loose.

For instance, both Burning Fire and Gray Mountain were highly centralized, with their own bases, industries, armies, and so on.

But the Floating Apocalypse was different.

It was more like a club of sorts, with branches set up in various human base cities, and its relationship with the two major companies was more cooperative than competitive.

It only accepted "Evolvers," not refugees, and had far fewer restrictions.

Any Evolver could apply to join, receive an identity badge, and become a "Wasteland Hunter."

In simple terms, they would venture into the wasteland on their own, kill Mutant Beasts, or dig up some "Relics" from the Old Era, selling valuable items to the Floating Apocalypse for payment.

They could also purchase supplies through this organization.

It sounded a bit like a "trading house" role, and occasionally, the Floating Apocalypse would issue exploration missions.

Overall, it offered an option for Evolvers who didn't want to join a big company and lose their freedom.

"So, you're a 'Wasteland Hunter' for the Floating Apocalypse? You're an Evolver too?"

In the room, Lin Tuo finished listening to Hua Xi's account, organized his thoughts, and asked.

At that moment, the young girl was chewing vigorously on a tough piece of dried meat, looking like she was struggling with it. She nodded at his question.

Not surprising.

It was precisely because she was an Evolver, naturally resistant to radiation, that she maintained a normal human appearance without deformities.

"What about those people outside? Why were they after you?" Lin Tuo asked again.

Hearing this, Hua Xi grew a bit angry: "They're a Scout Team raised by the Burning Fire Company. They wanted to steal my stuff!"

Then, probably because her stomach had some food now and she felt much better, she recounted the whole story.

In short.

A while back, while exploring a certain mountain range, Hua Xi had stumbled upon a cache of arms buried in a cave—likely leftovers from a war in the Old Era.

But she couldn't carry it all by herself, so she took a few samples, found the nearest Floating Apocalypse outpost, the so-called "Hunter's Home," and sold them.

She traded for a large, expensive backpack and planned to return to haul more back.

But she hadn't expected to be secretly tailed by people from the Burning Fire Company.

A Squad followed her into the mountains to rob her. In a life-or-death struggle, Hua Xi had to grab a batch of the arms and flee, killing a few of them and stealing a car to escape.

"Those soldiers are here to catch me," Hua Xi said indignantly. "If I weren't injured, starving, and out of gas, I'd have lost them long ago."

So that's how it was...

Lin Tuo's eyes flickered. He couldn't confirm the truth of her words for now, but it didn't matter much.

"So, you're saying you're the victim here."

"What else would I be?" Hua Xi snorted.

Lin Tuo smiled and said nothing, but he thought to himself that this girl, young as she was, had managed to escape from an entire Squad's encirclement—she was no simple character.

Then again, in this wasteland, without some skill and without clinging to a major power, how could anyone survive?

Thinking this, Lin Tuo sighed softly to himself.

"By the way, since you're an Evolver, do you have an Extraordinary Ability too? What is it?" After a brief moment of reflection, Lin Tuo suddenly asked out of curiosity.

Extraordinary Ability... That piqued his interest.

"I don't have one! I'm just a regular Evolver. Not every evolved human gets an ability." Hua Xi's clear black-and-white eyes flickered as she flatly denied it.

"Heh..." Lin Tuo looked unconvinced and was about to press further when he suddenly paused, turning his gaze toward the window.

Hua Xi also sensed something at that moment, perking up her ears.

Outside the window.

Not far away, a commotion seemed to be rapidly approaching. Lin Tuo stood up and peered through a gap, his expression shifting:

It was those soldiers and the refugees from the town!

Leading them was the Officer.

Lin Tuo was a bit surprised, thinking they should still be searching—there was no reason they'd tracked him here so quickly.

"They're coming, aren't they?" Hua Xi was panicking now, her expression tense. "That Officer leading them has a dog's nose—as long as he's close enough, he can smell my scent!"

Dog's nose?

An ability like enhanced smell?

Lin Tuo's mind stirred, but this wasn't the time for details.

Right now, on the street, those soldiers had already raised their rifles, aiming this way.

"The target is upstairs! Surround the place! Someone, follow me up!"

With the Officer's roar, the refugees wielding iron clubs quickly gathered around. Lin Tuo frowned—those refugees posed no threat to him, but the dozen or so soldiers were a different matter entirely.

These were over a dozen guns!

Lin Tuo's current combat power was far from being able to withstand thermal weapons head-on.

Moreover, they were likely all Evolvers too, their physical strength, endurance, and reaction speed far surpassing ordinary people. With their numerical and weapon advantages, they were enough to threaten Lin Tuo.

Even if this was just an Avatar, considering the shared state between the Avatar and the main body—one full, the other not hungry—Lin Tuo strongly suspected that injuries suffered by the Avatar would also be reflected on the main body.

Of course, he could also switch his consciousness back to the main body and go all out.

One punch, and not just these people, but the entire surrounding area could be destroyed.

But the situation wasn't that dire yet.

"Let's get out of here first." Making a quick decision in his mind, Lin Tuo turned around, glanced at the nervous Hua Xi, and said nothing.

He simply took out over a dozen grenades from his backpack and set them up.

Then, with one hand carrying the backpack full of ammunition and the other hoisting Hua Xi, who was tied up into a ball, he pushed open another window and leaped out.

At the same time.

Downstairs, the refugees raised a clamor. The sealed front door of the room was kicked open with a single blow, and several soldiers, armed with daggers and guns, rushed inside.

Then, they stared in shock at the small pile of grenades baking in the stove.

"Shit! Fall back!"

"Boom!!"

Amid the shouts of alarm, a violent explosion rang out. Chaos erupted on the scene—glass shattered, and flames rose with billowing smoke into the ink-blue sky above Mine Town.

Meanwhile, in the center of town.

Lin Tuo popped a few car tires with a steel pipe, then jumped onto another vehicle. After getting a bit accustomed to it, he said to the prisoner tied up like a zongzi and thrown into the back seat:

"Hang tight."

Then, he stepped on the gas, drove the modified car out of Mine Town, and sped straight into the wilderness of early morning.