The Direction of the City

"Commander, I think we've found something new." Glaz crouched down ahead and looked at the jeep parked in the distance.

"What do you want to do?" Zhuang Xiaolin asked.

"From what I can see, there are about seven of them. Every one of them is armed, and there's one person tied up in the jeep." As Glaz spoke, he pointed at the passenger seat.

"It's a woman. She has some kind of animal ears on her head. I don't know what animal they belong to, but it's definitely not any known creature on Earth."

After hearing Glaz's report, Zhuang Xiaolin fell silent. Though they could not understand each other's language, he could still tell that this group was most likely made up of kidnappers.

Could they be bounty hunters or something?

Probably not.

Judging by their clothing, they should be soldiers from Ursus.

Clearly, this was a premeditated kidnapping.

"Haa..." Zhuang Xiaolin closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Then he suddenly opened them and let out a deep breath.

"Glaz, provide cover from that position."

"Yes." A reply came through the earpiece.

"Frost, stand by on the left flank."

"Got it." Another reply came through the earpiece.

"Tachabka and Montagne, you two will handle the frontal assault."

"No problem!" A booming voice and a deep voice came through the earpiece.

"Mozzie and Rook, stand by on the right flank. Doc, be ready to provide rescue and replacements at any time."

"Copy!"

After issuing his orders, Zhuang Xiaolin took a deep breath. A silver-white Volcano Pistol appeared in his right hand.

In the instant his eyes closed and opened again, his pupils had turned crimson.

Eye of Death, activate!

In an instant, the entire world seemed to freeze. Zhuang Xiaolin could clearly feel the wind howling past his ears, the sandstorm before him lashing at the hem of his clothes, the weapon in his hand so tangible, and the distant enemies moving in slow motion.

Before long, red dots appeared exactly as expected, locking precisely onto the heads of the sentries. Some wore hats that obscured their faces, while others did not, with bear ears or some other kind of ears growing from their heads.

Bang, bang, bang...! Seven sharp gunshots rang out, and seven bodies fell. The moment Zhuang Xiaolin fired, one of the bodies seemed to react quickly, but it was already too late. Even though that person held something resembling a mage's staff, they were shot in the head before they could cast a spell.

Before the magical bullets infused with Tal'darim Power, these people were like sheets of paper. Aside from their pierced heads, their chests, limbs, and other body parts all bore signs of explosive damage.

The operators who had already been lying in wait were not surprised. Instead, they watched their surroundings with wary expressions. At any time, if you believed your commander was right, you had to trust him. Until he gave the order to stand down or return to position, you had to remain alert.

Threats were everywhere. They might burst out and take your life the instant you relaxed, or they might quietly circle behind you even while you were on guard and deal you a fatal blow.

"Glaz, are there any more people hiding?" Zhuang Xiaolin asked.

"No. The sand is blocking visibility pretty badly, but I can guarantee there are no enemies within two hundred to four hundred meters of here." Glaz replied, then continued scanning the surroundings.

"Frost, Tachabka, set traps and secure the perimeter. Everyone else, return to position and deal with the scene."

After giving the order, Zhuang Xiaolin quickly walked over to the jeep and opened the passenger door.

A black-haired girl with blue ears was thrown into the passenger seat, tightly bound. She wore a jacket on top, a short skirt below, and black stockings. Her mouth was sealed with tape, and her eyes were covered as well.

Ignoring the system notifications informing him that Eye of Death had risen to Level 2 and Death Roulette had risen to Level 2, Zhuang Xiaolin took out a dagger and cut away all the restraints on the girl.

"Where is this?" The girl who had just been freed was clearly still dazed. The wolf ears atop her head twitched, and Zhuang Xiaolin was so captivated by those moving ears that he could not look away. For a moment, he did not say anything.

It was not until the wolf girl finally came to her senses that she shoved Zhuang Xiaolin away. She backed up several steps with a guarded expression, climbed directly into the driver's seat, gripped the steering wheel with her right hand, and planted her foot on the accelerator, as though she would release the handbrake and flee the moment anything went wrong.

"Did Madam Sicily send you to capture me?" The wolf girl's eyes were full of vigilance. While watching Zhuang Xiaolin, she did not forget to observe her surroundings.

Outside the jeep stood people holding firearms. Nearby lay a group of fallen men, all dressed in suits and hats. A few had not been wearing hats—the bear-eared men from earlier. Their hats were clipped to their waists, and they wore Ursus military uniforms.

The wolf girl seemed to understand something and began confronting the people before her.

"Umm, listen, we mean you no harm. If you don't trust us, you can leave first," Zhuang Xiaolin said.

"We're only looking for a city and somewhere to settle down." After saying that, Zhuang Xiaolin paused before continuing.

"How am I supposed to believe you?" The wolf girl still did not lower her guard.

"My people are all around here, and I have a gun too. If we wanted you dead, the sniper in the distance would have killed you the moment you started struggling." Zhuang Xiaolin raised his hand in demonstration.

Texas watched Zhuang Xiaolin's gesture, somewhat confused about what he was trying to do.

But a red dot suddenly appeared on Texas's face. She did not react at first and even tried to cover it with her hand. By the time she realized what it was, cold sweat had already broken out across her body.

The operators who had been handling the bodies near the vehicle had also finished their work and began closing in on the jeep.

"We don't ask for much. Just take us to the city. We won't concern ourselves with anything else," Zhuang Xiaolin said, a meaningful smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

After speaking with Texas for a while, Zhuang Xiaolin had discovered that this world actually had Chinese—or rather, Mandarin.

Thinking back to the bear-eared people earlier, who had spoken something similar to Russian, Zhuang Xiaolin roughly understood a few things about this world.

Looking at the jeep, Zhuang Xiaolin guessed that the kidnapped person had most likely been taken from a city or somewhere else. In any case, they should be able to find supplies there. Even if it was not a city, they could still rest and resupply.

With that in mind, Zhuang Xiaolin smiled at Texas.

Under the "watchful attention" of nearly eight people around her, Texas ultimately agreed to Zhuang Xiaolin's request.

After all, Texas's sword was no longer in her hand. If it came down to fists, she could handle one against three, but with so many people carrying guns, she had to keep them steady if she wanted to get out alive.

After checking the location shown on the map, Texas stomped down on the accelerator and released the handbrake.

The moment everyone got into the vehicle, they were nearly thrown off balance by the sudden movement and hurriedly grabbed whatever they could. The jeep streaked through the endless yellow sand like a bolt of lightning.

About a day and a half later, the distant outline of a massive, towering city emerged before their eyes amid the boundless sandstorm.