Situation

Impossible. How could this be a dream?

The air flowing through the small hole, the flickering candlelight inside the room, and the bone-chilling cold that crawled over his body like insects.

These subtle sensations were absolutely not something he could feel in a dream.

Zhang Rui continued watching outside.

By then, the person on the street had already gone far away, leaving only a faint point of light.

The world fell silent once more.

Zhang Rui stepped away from the opening and returned to his family.

"What happened outside?" Xu Wan asked worriedly.

"It should be fine." Zhang Rui soothed his wife's fears and helped her to the bed. "I'll keep watch tonight. You haven't recovered from your illness yet, so you need plenty of rest."

"But the noises outside..."

"That person caused them. He seems to be clearing out the Dark Creatures in the city."

When darkness descended, no matter how tightly sealed a fortress was, it would be infiltrated by darkness, giving birth to dangerous Dark Creatures.

Back when they were in Black Iron City, the city lord would issue orders for the Ability Users under him to clear them out.

However, most of those Ability Users were unwilling to put themselves at risk, so they usually only went through the motions. As long as no major trouble broke out, hardly anyone would thoroughly search for and eliminate all the Dark Creatures in the city.

Those darknesses that remained uncleared would occasionally emerge and reap the lives of ordinary civilians.

The long night finally passed.

Zhang Rui did not sleep all night. At daybreak, he immediately left the room and went to Lincon's courtyard.

Lincon happened to push open the door and come out just then. Seeing Zhang Rui standing hesitantly outside the courtyard, he said calmly,

"Is something wrong?"

Zhang Rui hesitated for a long while before finally telling him about what had happened last night.

"Did you sleep well last night?"

Lincon looked awkward. He coughed twice, and a rare trace of apology appeared on his face.

He had been a little worked up last night and had failed to hold back, so the commotion had become somewhat louder.

With his current physique and abilities, dealing with the lowest-grade E-Rank Aberration Disaster honestly posed no difficulty at all.

Yesterday, carrying a lamp through the darkness, he had cleared out nearly all the Dark Creatures along the entire street. Those ghastly things probably would not come knocking again anytime soon.

Zhang Rui's eyes were bloodshot, but he did not blush in the slightest as he lied. "Thank you for your concern, sir. We slept very soundly last night."

Lincon's tone softened. "My name is Lincon. You don't need to keep calling me sir."

Zhang Rui nodded, but did not change his form of address. He stood outside the courtyard with great respect. "Is there anything I can do to help you, sir?"

Ever since witnessing Lincon's abilities, Zhang Rui had known that if his family wanted to survive in Longwind Fortress, they could only rely on Lincon.

There was nothing shameful about the weak relying on the strong.

What he needed to do now was demonstrate his value to the man before him.

Lincon sat on a small stool nearby, narrowing his eyes slightly as he picked up a carving knife and tapped it rhythmically with his fingers.

He understood Zhang Rui's thoughts, and that was also what he wanted to see.

Lincon smiled. "What can you do for me?"

Zhang Rui gritted his teeth, as though he had made some kind of decision. "Whatever you want me to do, I will do it. As long as you can keep my wife and child safe, I would be willing to die for you."

[Character loyalty has reached 80. Subject qualification available.]

Lincon glanced at the panel from the corner of his eye and nodded slightly.

"What did you do before the darkness invaded?"

Zhang Rui answered honestly, "Before the disaster, my family had some connections, so I helped my father manage a company."

Huh... so he used to be a rich second-generation kid.

Unfortunately, this was no longer a peaceful era. The wealth and status of the old world could offer him no help in the apocalypse.

As for so-called money, it could not even be traded for a loaf of bread. It was too hard even to wipe his ass with.

Going from a rich second-generation kid to the lowest rung of Black Iron City, a courier constantly skirting the edge of life and death—such drastic ups and downs would be hard for anyone to accept.

Yet Zhang Rui looked remarkably composed. Even though he had lost everything he once possessed, he would not stop moving forward.

Sometimes, people did not live for the sake of living, but for survival.

The two talked for a while longer, mainly because Lincon wanted to learn more about the outside world from Zhang Rui.

As a courier, Zhang Rui knew far more than ordinary people.

At present, the strongest powers in the entire Jiangzhou region were Black Iron City, Flint City, and New River City, three cities controlled by powerful Ability Users.

There were also some small cities scattered around them, each housing relatively few people.

Most of these small cities were controlled by C-Class Ability Users, who barely possessed the ability to protect themselves. But when faced with a higher-level Black Tide, they would be breached in an instant, just like Shangmai City.

Of course, that did not mean there were no other settlements of survivors outside those cities.

In fact, quite a few people still lived amid the ruins of cities that had once been breached by Black Tides.

Some had built shelters before the disaster, stocked with ample food. Others merely struggled on in the darkness in small groups.

The denser the population, the easier it was to attract a Black Tide. Sometimes, having fewer people was actually safer.

This was a major reason why Lincon had been able to survive alone in Longwind Fortress for three years.

A Black Tide was far more terrifying than a single Weird Calamity or Anomaly Calamity.

After learning quite a bit from Zhang Rui, Lincon's gaze toward him softened considerably.

"When you have free time, help me clear out the ruins in the city. I plan to redesign the fortress's layout."

A trace of surprise flashed through Zhang Rui's eyes. From Lincon's single sentence, a vague guess arose in his heart.

He had roughly surveyed Longwind Fortress. Strictly speaking, it could only be considered a small city. If Lincon had no other plans, clearing out the ruins inside the city would not mean much. It would simply be a waste of time.

There was only one explanation that made sense.

"Do you intend to take in more refugees, sir?"

"Just planning ahead. After hearing so much from you, the situation outside seems quite bad. Someone might end up fleeing here for their life, just like you did."

Lincon gave Zhang Rui a meaningful look. The calmness in his eyes reflected the light refracted by the carving knife, as though he had foreseen the future.

Zhang Rui did not ask further. Just then, he heard Zhang Han calling out, so he took his leave.

Meanwhile, Lincon silently finished crafting a Shrine in the courtyard.

The panel appeared.

[You have completed a Fine Shrine. Shrine crafting experience +100. Longwind Fortress experience +50.]

[Longwind Fortress Guardian has advanced to level 5.]

[Binder: Lincon]

[Main Class: Longwind Fortress Guardian (Beginner Stage 5)]

[Talent: Lord]

[Abilities: Fine Shrine Crafting, Purification Rune, Reinforcement Rune, Infusion Rune, Xingyi Fist, Firearms Mastery]

[Secondary Class: Plant Cultivator: (Beginner Stage 6)]

[Talent: Seed Imprint]

[Abilities: Accelerated Growth, Plant Affinity]

[Strength: 42—Agility: 39—Spirit: 48—Charisma: 15—Reputation: 1083]

[Remaining Sunlight: 147]