Return

"Cao Bing, you can leave now! Circle around the city and rendezvous with the squad in the forest outside! Be careful!" Captain Yan Ying's voice came through his earpiece. Cao Bing glanced at the two men, who had already withdrawn from his field of vision. He solemnly answered, "Yes," then carefully left his hiding place.

Small Forest Outside the City

"Captain, we really struck it rich this time!" The burly Xie Hongxin whispered excitedly to Yan Ying, his face flushed red. If he had not remembered that they were in the Wilderness Area and needed to stay cautious at all times, he would have been shouting already.

"Mm, I didn't expect the Flame Crystal Leopard to evolve in the end either." Yan Ying, whose expression was usually unchanging, now wore a faint smile.

No one had expected the Flame Crystal Leopard to evolve. At the brink of death, that Peak Advanced Beast General monster had unleashed its life potential and broken through directly into the Beginner Lord realm, evolving into an "Amethyst Flame-Pattern Leopard."

A Beginner Lord and a Peak Advanced Beast General might only be one step apart, but their values differed by several times over. Moreover, the corpse of this Amethyst Flame-Pattern Leopard was practically free loot.

An Advanced Beast General normally sold for around fifty million to five hundred million. A high-grade one like the Flame Crystal Leopard could fetch at most eight hundred million to one billion. Of course, that was the high price it could command in the HR Alliance; within Limitless Martial Arts, it could sell for no more than eight hundred million.

But a Beginner Lord was different. The moment a monster became Lord level, its value surged by more than double. Especially a Lord-level Monster with a rare bloodline like the Amethyst Flame-Pattern Leopard—even within Limitless Martial Arts, it could sell for around two billion, along with a huge amount of contribution points. In the HR Alliance, it could fetch at least 2.5 billion.

So this time, Cao Bing and Yan Ying's group had truly hit the jackpot. It was no different from picking up 2.5 billion for free.

What was more, the Amethyst Flame-Pattern Leopard was only the smaller prize. There was still an enormous fortune they had yet to collect—the unregistered bank card said to hold the wealth accumulated over ten years by a peak War General.

"Captain!"

"Captain, it's done!"

Two voices rang out at once. The first belonged to Cao Bing, who had returned to the squad in time. After circling out of the ruined city, he had slipped into the forest where they were rendezvousing and successfully found them by following the marks left by the Divine Arrow Squad.

The second voice belonged to Guan Yong. After taking away the islander named Meichuan, he had been ordered by the captain to interrogate him alongside Fang Ye for information about the bank card.

Judging from things, it had gone quite smoothly. It had only taken a short while to get it done.

"Cao Bing, you're back!" Yan Ying looked at the returning Cao Bing and nodded with a smile. Then he turned to Guan Yong. "How did it go?"

"Very smoothly. That guy was spineless!" Guan Yong curled his lip disdainfully, seeming bored by how easy the interrogation had been.

"Where is he?" Yan Ying asked coldly.

"Buried him." Guan Yong shook his head indifferently. How could they possibly leave a witness alive after doing something like that?

"Buried him..." Cao Bing's heart trembled. He had known long ago that the islander would not survive, but he had not expected Guan Yong to say such words so casually.

"Good." Yan Ying nodded. "Pack up the materials and move out. Let's try to reach the supply base before dawn!"

Everyone nodded, quickly packed their things, and left.

Although Cao Bing was still somewhat dazed, he did not ask anything. He followed the squad closely as they retreated toward the supply point.

On the road

Cao Bing and Guan Yong continued serving as scouts, clearing the way ahead.

Fang Ye slowed slightly and moved closer to Captain Yan Ying.

"Will Little Cao be all right?" Fang Ye quietly asked Yan Ying.

"He has to go through this sooner or later. Learning the cruelty of the Wilderness Area early won't do him any harm!" Yan Ying replied in an icy tone.

"You know that's not what I mean." Fang Ye shook his head, his gaze falling on Yan Ying's tense face.

He clearly saw Yan Ying's body tremble slightly, though Yan Ying quickly concealed it.

"There's no need to tell him! Hatred is both a driving force and a curse!" With that, Yan Ying ignored Fang Ye and quickened his pace by several degrees. Clearly, there were some matters he did not wish to bring up.

"Ah, I'm getting old." Fang Ye sighed and said nothing more.

After Cao Bing's squad returned to the Sixth Supply Base, they each went back to their rooms to rest under Captain Yan Ying's orders.

The string of events earlier had left Cao Bing feeling somewhat unsettled.

As a result, he had been rather silent on the way back.

But now that he was lying in bed, his mood relaxed considerably.

"So this is what the Wilderness Area is like! Even humans can't escape killing each other!"

There was unavoidable confusion in Cao Bing's eyes.

He even felt some disgust toward the profession of a Martial Artist.

But in the next instant, he cast those thoughts out of his mind.

"Whether it's killing or fighting, I'll have to experience it eventually!"

"I can't say Uncle Yan and the others were right! But I definitely can't say they were wrong either!"

"This world is simply like this! The strong are respected!"

"This is still only Earth. Once I enter the vast universe, the rules will become even colder and more merciless!"

"Who would care about the weak? Even the five great giants of the universe would not judge the strong for the sake of the weak—unless you possessed extraordinary capital!"

"So in the end, it's because I'm still not strong enough! Whether in strength or in spirit, I'm far too lacking!"

Having sorted out some of his thoughts, Cao Bing finally fell into a deep sleep. His nerves had been taut the entire time he was in the Wilderness Area. Now that he had returned to the base, he naturally needed to rest properly.

Early the next morning, Cao Bing climbed out of bed and began training.

It was a habit he had developed over many years. Since he was in a safe area, there was even less reason to let up.

"Little Cao, come over. The captain called for an assembly!"

"Coming!" Hearing Uncle Xie's call, Cao Bing immediately sheathed his blade.

Inside the private small living room rented by the Divine Arrow Squad.

All the members of the Divine Arrow Squad had already gathered there.

"Captain!" "Uncle Yan!"

"Mm." Yan Ying nodded to the two of them, then began speaking.

"By the usual rules, Shengnan and I sold all the materials from yesterday's hunt. Next, we'll divide the money. Of course, the Amethyst Flame-Pattern Leopard is too valuable to get a good price here, so we'll sell it after returning to the HR Alliance."

As he spoke, Yan Ying took out a notebook from his pocket.

Cao Bing could not help feeling excited. He knew that Yan Ying and Song Shengnan had gone to sell the materials yesterday.

This was the first time he had earned money through hunting, so naturally, he was eager to see how much of a share he would receive.

"Captain, just tell us. Even without the Amethyst Flame-Pattern Leopard and that windfall, this haul is no worse than what we used to bring in!" Xie Hongxin laughed heartily, mouth wide open.

If the small living room had not been soundproofed, people outside would probably have heard him.

Yan Ying shot him a fierce glare in annoyance!