Supply Base

Several hundred miles north of Jiangnan Base City lies a military region—the very same Northern Military Region that Luo Zhe and his peers visited during their martial artist practical examination.

This time, the Fire Hammer Squad is heading to County-level City 0201 in the Wilderness Zone, and the Northern Military Region's outpost happens to be the closest point to that city.

"Rumble—" The train slowly came to a halt at the military station.

One after another, fully armed martial artists stepped off the train—over twenty in total. Seven of them naturally clustered together, led by their captain, Gao Feng. This seven-man squad was none other than the Fire Hammer Squad, here to carry out a mission in the Wilderness Zone.

As soon as he stepped off the train, Luo Zhe was immediately drawn to a towering iron structure, some fifty or sixty meters high. The light emitted by the high-powered searchlight at its summit was clearly visible even in the bright daylight.

"Surprised, aren't you?" Chen Gu walked up from behind, patted Luo Zhe on the shoulder, and pointed at the tower with a grin. "In the entire Huaxia Nation, and even across the world, every military region designates a special area as a martial artist supply base, specifically for us to rest. These bases almost always build a lighthouse like that. It symbolizes lighting the way home for us martial artists."

Luo Zhe nodded, his gaze lingering on the tall iron tower, unwilling to look away.

The martial artist supply base was located within the military region, consisting of quiet little buildings set in a very pleasant environment.

Since the Fire Hammer Squad had added two new members, an officer at the supply base waved his hand and assigned them a three-story building with the code 'E6'. As long as the Fire Hammer Squad remained at the base, this building was theirs to use.

The officer at the supply base was clearly an old acquaintance of the Fire Hammer Squad. He patted Gao Feng on the shoulder with a smile, "Old Gao, how long do you plan to hunt this time? We're old friends who have worked together many times; if you get your hands on any good loot, you must sell it to our Underground Alliance. I guarantee you'll be satisfied with the price."

Gao Feng laughed heartily and punched the man on the shoulder. "Sure thing. If we get our hands on anything good, I'll definitely save it for you."

"Hurry up and get us some lunch; we're starving."

At first, Luo Zhe was a bit surprised—how could this burly man in a military uniform be part of the Underground Alliance? It wasn't until Chen Gu explained it with a smile that Luo Zhe finally understood.

Although many of the service staff within the supply base wore military uniforms, they were actually drawn from the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, the Thunder Martial Arts Hall, the government military, and the Underground Alliance. They served as support staff while also purchasing precious monster materials from the martial artists to make a little profit on the side.

This supply base wasn't very large, as the Northern Military Region was only a minor one, and there weren't many powerful wilderness cities nearby. Since the cities only contained sporadic Beast-General-level monsters, powerful martial artist squads generally didn't care to come here.

Elite War-General-level squads like the Fire Hammer Squad usually appeared at supply bases attached to major military regions like the Southeast Military Region. Their main purpose in coming to this Wilderness Zone was to give the two newcomers a chance to practice and help them adapt to the rhythm of life and combat in the wild.

No one is born a powerhouse; even the strongest martial artists must endure countless battles to adapt to this cruel wilderness world.

After eating their fill, the Fire Hammer Squad quickly located the three-story building marked 'E6'. A key with a chip swiped across the lock, and the door to the building swung open.

"Lie down and get some sleep; I didn't sleep well last night."

As soon as he entered, Chen Gu quickly dropped his two large iron cases, hopped onto the sofa, stretched, yawned, and sprawled out lazily.

Luo Zhe and Luo Feng found this strange, but Gao Feng and the others were unfazed. It was just Chen Gu's habit, which he jokingly called "sleeping better on the supply base's sofa."

Heaven knows if he had just exhausted all his energy at home the night before.

"If you need to rest, do it now. We set off officially tonight, so everyone needs to be sharp," Captain Gao Feng instructed.

Iron Spear Zhang Ke and the twin brothers of the Crescent Moon Blades all nodded in agreement, clearly familiar with the rules, and headed straight to the second-floor rooms to rest.

In contrast, the two newcomers, Luo Zhe and Luo Feng, were at a loss. To prepare for today's trip to the Wilderness Zone, both had gone to bed early the night before, so they were still full of energy.

Sleep? That's only possible if you can actually fall asleep!

This was their first mission in the Wilderness Zone. Their blood was boiling, their hearts were racing, and they were so pumped with adrenaline they could have done a backflip on the spot!

And now, they were being told to go to sleep!?

Chen Gu, resting with his eyes closed on the sofa, spoke up suddenly, "You two, go find a room upstairs and relax. Don't be so nervous. Keep a level head."

"The reason we leave at night is that it's the end of August, the hottest time of the year. If we trek with hundreds of kilograms of gear in this heat, we'll suffer heatstroke before we even kill a single monster. It's cooler at night, making the travel much more comfortable."

Luo Zhe scratched his head; he was indeed feeling restless.

This was his first mission in the Wilderness Zone! He knew that once he walked out the gate of the supply base, he would be in the wild. But this feeling of being right on the doorstep, yet having to wait, was truly frustrating.

Seeing that the two still had no intention of resting, Chen Gu didn't say anything more. After all, he had been the same way after becoming a martial artist and heading out on his first mission; it would get easier with time.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Luo Feng's gaze sharpened. Through the floor-to-ceiling window, he spotted a figure in the supply base. "Brother Chen, look, isn't that Zhang Zehu?" Zhang Zehu's condition was clearly poor; he was wrapped in bandages, with bloodstains faintly seeping through, and was evidently recuperating in the supply base.

Hearing this, Chen Gu immediately opened his eyes, stood up, and turned to look in one fluid motion. "Right, that is Zhang Zehu!"

"Hey!" Chen Gu walked to the door and shouted triumphantly, "Mountain Opener, what happened to you? You were fine last time we saw you, how did you end up like this in the blink of an eye?"

Luo Zhe curiously walked to Chen Gu's side and leaned out to look. He saw that Zhang Zehu was tall and burly, and combined with his terrifying appearance, he gave off the vibe of a peerless, ferocious beast.

This wasn't the first time Luo Zhe had heard the name Zhang Zehu, but since he hadn't participated in the negotiations at the beginning of the month, this was his first time seeing the man in person.

Looking at his fierce, murderous expression—as if he wanted to swallow Chen Gu whole—he looked every bit the villain. Much like the twins Yang Shu and Yang Lin, who had been jealous of his good looks, if this were a TV show, he looked like the kind of trash who wouldn't survive three episodes.