Three Months of Progress

Autumn gave way to winter. More than three months had passed since the last joint assault on Chen Village Pig Farm, and now it was January.

During this time, Xingyan Group's base had been hit by two Beast Tides. The first numbered more than 150 beasts; the second was even more staggering, with nearly 300.

In the first Beast Tide, which numbered more than 150, four monsters appeared that were as powerful as Iron-Bristled Tusked Pigs and Unicorn Wild Boars. They were named Tiger-Striped Cat, Unicorn Mastiff, and Green-Crested Giant Chicken. There were two Green-Crested Giant Chickens.

During the second Beast Tide, the number of monsters that had surpassed a certain level of strength suddenly jumped to thirty-seven, and there were more kinds than before. There was even an exceptionally powerful monster resembling a Unicorn Mastiff, which was eventually named Unicorn Lion-Mastiff.

The base successfully held out against both Beast Tides. But during the second, the sheer number of monsters and their increased strength far exceeded expectations. The monsters broke through the outer defenses again and entered the base, costing it more than a dozen promising combatants.

The Exploration Teams sent out by Xingyan Group had already cleared out most of the villages surrounding the base.

A month and a half earlier, an Exploration Team had already explored the outskirts of Chuilong Town. But after observing the town's situation, the group's leadership decided to postpone further exploration.

Enormous monsters roamed Chuilong Town from time to time. They had mutated so severely that it was hard to tell what animals they had evolved from.

Based on their observations and records, the base's researchers judged that many of the monsters were stronger than any encountered in either of the two Beast Tides. As a result, the researchers established a ranking system for the monsters.

The three guards encountered earlier at the Pig Farm were now classified as early-stage, first-tier monsters. Such monsters were often highly mutated and had undergone a significant increase in strength.

The Pig Farm's leader boar, meanwhile, was believed to have reached the middle stage of the first tier. Monsters at this level were stronger or faster than those in the early stage, but had not undergone any major breakthroughs.

Of the dozen or so monsters found in Chuilong Town, even the weakest seemed to be on par with the leader boar. The strongest had apparently crossed another threshold, reaching what the research institute had designated as the second tier. The Unicorn Lion-Mastiff had been at this level.

And these discoveries had been made without the Exploration Team venturing deep into Chuilong Town. It was easy to imagine that even more powerful monsters lurked farther in.

After further discussions, the Exploration Teams' missions were changed.

One Exploration Team would focus on sweeping through the areas they had already explored and keeping the roads clear, so they could advance toward Chuilong Town quickly in the future.

The other Exploration Team would begin clearing a road to the county seat. Its orders were to proceed as slowly, thoroughly, and cautiously as possible.

Lin Chenxing's original logistics team was formally reorganized as the Third Exploration Team. It began clearing monsters around the base to reduce their numbers and weaken the Beast Tides.

These were only the changes outside the base. Inside, things had changed just as dramatically.

The second phase of the base, which had previously remained undeveloped, had now received its initial construction. At least the surrounding walls were complete, and several residential buildings had been built inside. But most of the homes were still low and single-story, since taller buildings could attract flying monsters.

That had been a hard lesson for everyone at the base.

A month ago, while an eight-story building was under construction, a worker was snatched away by a flying creature called a Red-Feathered Eagle. The building was still unfinished, and there had been no word of the worker since.

After that, a few flying creatures were occasionally spotted circling silently above the eight-story building.

So until the base had some reliable means of defending against aerial attacks, no more high-rises would be built.

In addition, eighty percent of the underground spaces and passageways they had discussed building were complete. Only some newly built sections in the second-phase area remained unconnected.

The most important feature of the underground complex—and the one the base had devoted the most effort to constructing—was a Martial Arts Arena. It occupied thirty percent of the entire underground area and was fully equipped with all kinds of training gear.

The group's strongest directors and members of the Elite Squad occasionally taught classes in the Martial Arts Arena, offering guidance to everyone training there.

The base now had a population of more than seven hundred. Each of the three Exploration Teams and the newly formed logistics team had twenty members. More than three hundred people, all without combat ability, handled the base's internal affairs. There were over fifty construction workers and nearly a hundred technical researchers. The remaining two hundred or so were divided into three groups, taking turns every four hours to guard various parts of the base.

In addition, more than a dozen people worked as full-time instructors at the base's Martial Arts Arena. They were heroes who had retired from the front lines of exploration and combat. All had suffered one injury or another and were no longer fit to return to the front.

Of those seven hundred or so people, fewer than a hundred had been rescued from more than thirty nearby villages and businesses. After the catastrophe, they had spent a long time hiding and moving from place to place. By the time they reached the base, many had lost the will to fight monsters. They only wanted to spend the rest of their lives somewhere safe. Only a few found their desire for revenge rekindled. Most of them joined the newly formed logistics team, hoping to eventually become members of an Exploration Team.

Over the past three months, the base had held two Martial Arts Tournaments. Excluding the directors and Elite Squad members, more than 230 people had taken part.

Based on the results, only the members of the three Exploration Teams and the other members of the Board of Directors could currently fight a first-tier monster alone, for a total of sixty-two people.

But when it came to second-tier monsters, no one could yet stand against one alone.

After all, it had taken six or seven people working together to kill the Unicorn Lion-Mastiff during the second Beast Tide, and their weapons had been almost completely destroyed in the process.

Since then, no one's strength had made any significant breakthroughs. No matter how the researchers at the institute investigated, they couldn't come up with a definitive answer.

The research institute had now restored a number of firearms using the materials they had stockpiled. It had also developed a new type of gun that fired bullets made from monster materials. The gun was named the Xingyan Gun Mark I, but it had to be reloaded after every shot, limiting its use to sniping and base defense.

To survive, the three Exploration Teams had to set out frequently, hoping to find a new way forward and save themselves.

He Qishun of the First Exploration Team had repeatedly tried to sneak into Chuilong Town, but he was usually blocked by large numbers of monsters that hadn't reached the first tier as soon as he entered an area. He had no choice but to retreat from the town again.

Under Lin Chenxing's leadership, the Third Exploration Team had also begun venturing deeper into the surrounding woods, searching for the rare treasures he had imagined finding. Unfortunately, they had come up empty-handed.

On January 27, the Second Exploration Team, which had been scouting a route toward the county seat, reached Huangkang Winery, eighteen kilometers from the base. An unexpected encounter there brought the base a new chance at survival.