At dawn, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Lin Yi got up and left his tent.
He still headed toward the Old Department Store Building, intending to meet Zhang Weidong first.
The armed police soldiers patrolling along the way stopped as soon as they saw him, snapped to attention, and saluted. Their eyes held the same respect as before.
However, Lin Yi keenly sensed that beneath that respect lay a trace of unease, even a hint of awe so faint it was almost imperceptible.
He understood.
The news that his Source Energy level had reached 2,000 had probably already spread throughout the armed police force.
These soldiers were the people in the settlement who had the most contact with Abyss Beasts and Source Energy, and the deepest understanding of them.
They knew all too well what a Source Energy level of 2,000 meant.
This seemingly young officer had far surpassed the bounds of conventional understanding in terms of individual strength. He was powerful enough to rival, or even surpass, those despair-inducing Leader Rank Abyss Beasts.
In other words, the man before them could easily tear through the entire settlement, slaughter people at will, and then leave without a care.
It was much like facing a ferocious tiger that wasn't locked in a cage. It was an instinctive wariness toward a creature from an entirely different level.
Lin Yi wasn't surprised. In his previous life, when he had stood at the pinnacle of Blue Star, he had long since grown accustomed to such looks.
There was nothing laughable about it. Being wary of the strong was nothing to be ashamed of. Even he himself had been extremely cautious when facing Star Vortex Rank and Star Domain Rank beings after entering the universe.
So Lin Yi merely nodded in greeting,