The Exile thugs

Only after entering the research station did they discover that opening the warehouse storing the Explosive Lance's head required solving a puzzle.

No wonder the Exiles hadn't opened the warehouse.

Apparently, not a single one of them could solve the puzzle to get it open.

Mimika took a look around the research station and easily found the key to solving it.

Fifteen minutes later, the warehouse doors slowly opened.

The Exile leader stared at the opening doors in disbelief, then silently gave Mimika a thumbs-up.

"Impressive!"

Mimika smiled. "This sort of puzzle isn't hard. It's like solving problems back in school. You just have to find the key."

"Oh, so that's how it works." The leader scratched his head.

"Didn't you ever go to school?" Mimika asked curiously.

"Heh, who'd become an Exile if they'd gone to school?" the leader replied frankly.

Listening to their conversation, Ling An nearly stumbled.

Honestly, the leader had a point.

Inside the warehouse, the Explosive Lance's head wasn't particularly large, but it was very heavy.

"This might be a little difficult to transport." Mimika thought for a moment, then suggested, "Why don't I contact Wuwu Logistics and have someone come move it? We might have to wait a little while, though."

As soon as she finished speaking, the leader and Yuni stood before her and Ling An with eager expressions.

Their faces practically screamed, "Pick me, pick me!" They were clearly itching to show what they could do.

"Ahem, I heard you saying you wanted to use this against that thing in the Flaming Sea?"

"That's right!"

"Good, that's great!" The leader clenched his fists. "I'll get the boys to help you carry it. You have to defeat that Tacet Discord in the Flaming Sea!"

He grew more excited as he spoke. With a wave of his hand, three or four of his men rushed forward without a word and hoisted the lance head onto their shoulders.

Ling An looked at Yuni in confusion.

Yuni chuckled softly. "We only settled here because we had no other choice. If you can defeat that Tacet Discord, the Flaming Sea might become habitable. Of course the boss is happy!"

Then she murmured quietly, "Who would want to become an Exile if life hadn't forced them into it?"

The Exile underlings carried the lance head out through the doors, grunting with effort.

Ling An pointed them toward the Eastern Foothills Research Station.

"Next up are the second and third research stations!" Mimika said excitedly.

This felt completely different from her old delivery work. Now she felt like an adventurer.

"The other research stations..." Hearing Mimika's words, Yuni hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Ling An noticed something was off.

Yuni's expression turned serious. "A gang of Exile thugs has taken over the other two research stations. They're not like us. You need to be careful!"

"Oh, don't worry! With Patroller Ling An here, we'll be fine!" Mimika planted her hands on her hips, brimming with confidence.

Hearing that, Yuni also looked at Ling An curiously.

Ever since learning that Ling An was a Patroller, she, her boss, and the others had been curious about him.

But given their own status, they hadn't dared to ask.

All they knew was that this cat seemed far from ordinary.

"In that case, I'll bring the remaining boys along to help. Once we get the other parts, we'll meet up with the boss at the Eastern Foothills Research Station."

Ling An nodded without objection.

He was more than happy to have people help carry things.

The second and third research stations were close together, and Ling An's group soon reached the area.

Sure enough, just as Yuni had said, a group of Exiles guarded the perimeter of the second research station. They looked considerably more vicious.

An Exile thug on lookout spotted them and immediately shouted, "Where'd you stray dogs come from? Get lost!"

Ling An frowned. That was awfully rude.

Apparently, even the Exiles had different factions.

"Huh?" One of the Exile thugs studied Ling An's group, then suddenly pointed at Yuni. "Isn't that the woman from those cowards who don't have the guts to kill or rob anyone? You're still alive?"

"Hahahaha!" The other Exile thugs laughed along with him.

"Never thought you'd make it out of the Flaming Sea alive. Talk about dumb luck."

Yuni's expression changed. "It was you!" she said incredulously.

"That's right. We saw you alone, knocked you out, and tossed you into the Flaming Sea to test how strong the pollen was. Didn't think you'd be that damn lucky."

The Exile thug called over his accomplices, and they surrounded Ling An's group, leaving no way out.

He curled his lip contemptuously. "And now you've come right back to us. You're not leaving this time!"

He waved his hand, and the other Exile thugs drew their weapons and closed in.

"Sigh..." A sigh rang out.

"Who's sighing?" The Exile thug looked around.

Ling An walked past Mimika and Yuni to the front, fixing him with an icy stare.

As expected, Exiles like Yuni were a minority.

Most Exiles were ordinary bandits who committed every kind of atrocity, from murder and arson to robbery.

"Have you killed a lot of people?"

"Holy shit, the cat talked!" the lead Exile thug exclaimed in shock. Quickly realizing he'd lost his composure, he hurriedly put on a vicious expression.

"What? Scared? We're nothing like these cowards. They're a disgrace to the Exiles' name. Beggars would be a better word for them."

Ling An turned to Yuni, who lowered her head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Indeed, compared with these thugs, her group had always been at the bottom of Guixu Harbor City's pecking order.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so easily ambushed, knocked unconscious, and thrown into the Flaming Sea.

Ling An turned back toward the lead Exile thug and extended a paw.

"Heh, want to shake hands, kitty...?"

Before the Exile thug could finish, a burst of purple flame engulfed him.

In just two seconds, before anyone else could even react, he had been reduced to a charred husk.

"Run! Run!!!"

One Exile thug shouted frantically and turned to flee.

But it was already too late.

Ling An had already sentenced them to death in his mind.

Streaks of purple flame shot out, leaving one blackened husk after another outside the research station.

"Patroller, leave one alive for questioning!" Yuni snapped out of her shock and hurriedly called out.

Ling An extinguished the last wisp of purple flame.

Good thing Yuni had reminded him in time. He'd nearly wiped them all out.

Yuni restrained the last Exile thug, who glared viciously at Ling An.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" Ling An asked curiously.

He had just killed so many of the man's companions, yet the man showed no fear.

"Afraid? You're just a Resonator. Our boss is a Resonator too. If he were here... Hmph!"

Hearing that, Ling An understood.

So they had someone backing them. No wonder they were so arrogant.

With the second research station cleared, Yuni and her remaining companions followed Mimika's lead and carried out the Explosive Lance's shaft.

Although Ling An's actions had frightened Mimika a little, she quickly recovered.

These thugs were nothing like Yuni and her companions. Even locking them up would be a waste of prison space.

As Yuni and her companions carried the shaft away, Ling An said to Mimika, "Let's go. On to the third research station."

The third research station was the research station in Guixu Harbor City closest to Jinzhou.

The Exile thugs' Resonator boss was probably there.

They brought their Exile thug captive to the third research station and walked all the way to its entrance.

Surprisingly, they encountered no resistance whatsoever.

Ling An stood at the entrance. The third research station's doors were tightly shut.

"Heh, just you wait. Don't piss yourselves when you meet our boss!" the captive Exile thug threatened smugly.

At that moment, Mimika also noticed something was wrong. "I smell blood."

Ling An looked down. A pool of fresh blood was slowly spreading out through the gap beneath the research station's doors.

The captive Exile thug apparently still hadn't realized how serious the situation was and kept rambling.

"Looks like the boss just had himself a little slaughter. Look how scared you are! Hahaha..."

Creak-

Before he could finish, the third research station's doors suddenly opened.

A man toppled out headfirst onto the ground, his face frozen in terror.

He seemed to have experienced something utterly horrifying before his death.

The sight sent the Exile thug into terrified convulsions. Trembling, he looked at the dead man and stammered:

"B-Boss!?"