Business

Zhang Tie searched frantically outside for any trace of Shabalina and her group. He searched for several hours without finding a single lead, but neither did he see any of the tragic scenes he had feared. That let his overheated mind cool down a little.

As the saying went, concern bred chaos. Once Zhang Tie had completely calmed down, he returned to the camp.

The atmosphere in the camp was still oppressive. By now, virtually everyone who had gone out that day had returned, and they all knew what had happened. No one had expected the Tribal Alliance's advance party to suffer such a disaster—a squad of twenty had been wiped out in the blink of an eye. Many found it hard to bear, and angry roars rang out from time to time throughout the camp.

Zhang Tie did not feel he owed the Tribal Alliance any responsibility. Thus, he did not share their gut-wrenching grief and fury over what had happened today. In his eyes, that wiped-out tribal squad was no different from the Prospectors he had encountered these past two days who had also been killed—they were all reminders of the undercurrents surging beneath the surface underground.

"Have Shabalina and the others returned?" Zhang Tie grabbed someone and asked.

"They're back!"

The moment he heard that, Zhang Tie quickened his pace and headed for the section of tents where Shabalina and her women's corps were stationed.

When he arrived and saw Shabalina in her purple leather armor, Zhang Tie's heart finally settled back into his stomach. Shabalina was fine. There were more than a dozen wounded among her women's corps, but none of their injuries were serious. When Zhang Tie saw Shabalina, she was cleaning and bandaging the wounds of several of her women.

"What happened?"

"We ran