Such a close young couple

After clearing out the Nightmare Flying Bat, the transport plane resumed stable flight.

The tense atmosphere inside the cabin had not completely dissipated; instead, it was tinged with a sense of relief at surviving a disaster and a deeper worry about the road ahead.

Kong Yan'er acted as if nothing had happened, putting on her signature bright smile again, leaning back comfortably in her seat, and even crossing her legs leisurely.

He turned his head, his gaze shifting between Luo Li and Castorice, finally settling on their still clasped hands, a playful smile curving his lips.

"Great job, bro..."

He nudged Luo Li with his elbow, lowered his voice, and said with a teasing tone, "To carry out such a life-threatening mission as ' Furnace Project,' and bring such a beautiful girlfriend along, your relationship must be pretty solid!"

I didn't see the girl even flinch during that little incident; her composure is amazing!

Luo Li felt Castorice's fingers twitch slightly, as if she was a little embarrassed, but she didn't let go.

He remained unfazed, even displaying a hint of self-satisfaction, and retorted, "That's right, my Castorice is very bold."

"Castorice? Oh my gosh~" Kong Yan'er rubbed her arms exaggeratedly, making a face that looked like she was being nauseated by the sweetness. "This nickname is too sweet! It seems I don't have to worry about being bored on the way here; I can be full just by eating dog food."

He joked, but his eyes remained sharp, as if casually glancing at Castorice's calm profile. There was no trace of shock in his deep purple eyes, only an almost indifferent calmness.

This is definitely not the reaction an ordinary girl should have.

"Little sister, have you seen this kind of scene before?" Kong Yan'er asked tentatively, her tone still relaxed, as if she were chatting casually.

Castorice raised her eyes, glanced at him, her gaze clear and ethereal, gently shook her head, and said nothing, simply turning her gaze back to the endless dark red sea of clouds outside the porthole.

Luo Li picked up the conversation at the opportune moment, explaining half-jokingly, "She's quite brave, and a bit... clueless, slow to react. She probably hasn't realized how dangerous it was just now."

He squeezed Castorice's hand, signaling her to cooperate.

Castorice obediently lowered her head slightly, her long eyelashes drooping to conceal the expression in her eyes. She cooperated with Luo Li's words, putting on a docile look of being slow to realize something and somewhat bewildered.

Seeing this, Kong Yan'er's eyes flashed with understanding, but her smile remained unchanged. Instead, she followed Luo Li's words and said with a smile, "I see! Then you'll have to be even more careful, brother. At the front lines, slow reactions will be a disadvantage."

He didn't delve any deeper, but instead began to vividly explain to Luo Li the various "common knowledge" about the "Ironwall" fortress, from which canteen had the best food, to which areas had the most frequent vampire activity, and then to several figures and forces in the base that should not be easily provoked. He also subtly mentioned again the need to stay away from the "Harvester" and their related areas.

His intelligence was clearly much more vivid and sinister than the standard manual distributed by the guild, causing Luo Li to frown slightly as he listened, gaining a more direct understanding of the brutality of the front lines.

"In short..." Kong Yan'er concluded, patting Luo Li on the shoulder. "Once we get there, we should keep a low profile and figure out the situation first."

If you have any questions or encounter any problems, you can come find me in the A-7 combat dormitory area.

I think you're a good buddy, so maybe I can protect you a little."

"Then thank you in advance, Brother Kong." Luo Li sincerely thanked him. Regardless of Kong Yan'er's purpose in showing goodwill, having another friend is never a bad thing in this unfamiliar front line.

The long flight seemed less unbearable thanks to Kong Yan'er's banter and intelligence sharing.

Finally, accompanied by a noticeable deceleration and a feeling of weightlessness as altitude decreased, the announcement came over the loudspeaker again. "Approaching the airspace of ' Ironwall ' Fortress. All personnel, please prepare for landing."

Through the porthole, the view below gradually became clear.

It was a massive fortress built upon steep mountains and ancient military fortifications.

The towering alloy walls are covered with energy turrets and firing ports, and are covered with claw marks of varying depths and charred explosion marks, silently telling the story of the fierce battles that have taken place here.

Inside the fortress, buildings stand in rows, but most are rugged in style and primarily practical. Fully armed soldiers and squads of superhumans can be seen hurrying by everywhere.

The entire fortress was shrouded in a faint protective aura composed of various energies, shimmering with a faint halo under the dark red sky.

A chilling atmosphere, a mixture of steel, blood, and gunpowder smoke, seemed to be felt even through the cabin.

Guided by the authorities, the transport plane landed smoothly in a designated airfield area inside the fortress.

The hatch opened, and air mixed with the smells of metal, dust, faint blood, and an indescribable energy field belonging to a large number of superhumans rushed in, invigorating the newcomers while also making them feel an invisible pressure.

"Come on, newbie, welcome to the ' Furnace '."

Kong Yan'er stood up, stretched her limbs, and still had a smile on her face, but there was a hint of the coldness of a veteran on the front lines in the depths of her eyes.

Luo Li and Castorice followed the crowd off the plane.

Base personnel in different uniforms immediately stepped forward to guide the group, verify their identities, and assign them tasks.

As a combatant, Luo Li was assigned to the C-12 combat dormitory area.

Castorice, under the "research assistant" status arranged by Lu Jingheng, was guided to the dormitory in Zone E where the researchers lived. The conditions there were relatively better, but the management was also stricter, and it was some distance away from the combat area.

"Tsk, so they're already trying to break up this couple?" Kong Yan'er watched the spectacle with amusement.

"Those old fogies at the base have absolutely no humanity."

The research institute clerk responsible for guiding Castorice adjusted her glasses expressionlessly. "That's the rule; unauthorized personnel are prohibited from entering the research area. Please come with me to complete the check-in procedures."

Castorice looked at Luo Li, his figure clearly reflected in her purple eyes. Although she didn't speak, Luo Li could understand the question in her eyes.

"Go settle in first," Luo Li nodded to her, her tone steady.

"I'll come find you after I finish my paperwork here."

"Keep communication open." He shook the personal terminal on his wrist.

"Um."

Castorice responded softly, glanced at him again, and then followed the clerk away. Her figure appeared particularly cold and lonely in the noisy and chaotic environment.

Kong Yan'er looked in the direction Castorice had left, stroked his chin, and smiled at Luo Li, "Don't worry, Zone E is very safe, much better than the pigeon coops where we roughnecks live."

"Come on, let me show you around and let you get familiar with the area. It would be embarrassing if you got lost on your own turf."

Luo Li withdrew her gaze, suppressed the discomfort caused by the separation, and took a deep breath of the cold, rusty air from the front lines.

"Okay, thank you for your help, Flight Attendant."

The C-12 dormitory area is located on the relatively outer perimeter of the fortress and consists of rows of low but sturdy alloy prefabricated houses.

The rooms are small, usually accommodating four to six people, and are basic, with only beds and storage cabinets.

Kong Yan'er seemed to be very popular. Along the way, many people greeted him with all sorts of names, such as "Team Leader Kong," "Brother Yan," and "Old Kong."

He responded to each question with a smile, appearing completely at ease.

He led Luo Li to the door of the dormitory assigned to them. There were already three people living inside, all of them tough veterans. When they saw Kong Yan'er bringing Luo Li in, they just glanced at her, nodded as a greeting, and then continued with their own tasks, wiping their weapons and organizing their equipment. The atmosphere was silent and oppressive.

"Here, you can sleep in that empty bunk."

Kong Yan'er pointed to an upper bunk near the door. "Put your things away, I'll take you to get supplies, and while we're at it, we'll take a look around the mission hall and show you what a real ' Furnace ' is like."

Luo Li quickly put away the basic supplies she received, mainly toiletries and a spare combat uniform.

Most of his belongings are in his Portable Space, so there's no need to worry.

Following Kong Yan'er out of the dormitory area, through several heavily guarded passages, they arrived at an incredibly spacious and bustling hall—the mission hall.

This place is infinitely more rugged and chaotic than the guild hall in Jiangcheng.

The huge holographic screen scrolled with dense mission information, ranging from the lowest level of clearing out scattered vampires on the outskirts of the fortress to the high-risk missions of infiltrating enemy-occupied territory for reconnaissance and eliminating specific mutant lairs. The rewards ranged from tens to tens of thousands of contribution points, but without exception, each mission was marked with a glaring casualty rate.

The air was thick with the smells of sweat, blood, tobacco, and an almost frenzied restlessness.

All sorts of superpowered individuals gathered here. Some were carefully selecting tasks in front of the screen, some were arguing loudly in a group, and some had just finished handing over tasks, still covered in undried blood and the smell of gunpowder, their eyes either numb or excited.

"See that?"

Kong Yan'er gestured with her chin towards the hall.

"This is the heart of the ' Ironwall.' Contribution points, equipment, promotion opportunities, and even how well the people you want to protect live all depend on risking your life here."

He casually tapped on a screen near them, which displayed a B-level mission: [Clear the "Bone-Corrosion Wolf Pack" in Blackstone Valley (assessed as a B-level pack, with at least one B+ level alpha wolf confirmed), reward: 2500 contribution points, casualty rate: 17%].

"This kind of job is considered a fairly standard 'lucrative job.' There are risks involved, but the rewards are also decent."

"But there are also many people vying for it," Kong Yan'er explained.

Just then, a commotion arose at the entrance of the hall.

The crowd automatically parted to make way.

A squad of soldiers, dressed in dark red uniforms with ferocious black fangs on their armbands, walked in expressionlessly.

There were only seven or eight of them, but each of them exuded a strong stench of blood and a cold, murderous aura, like that of a killing machine.

Wherever they went, the noisy hall instantly quieted down, and many people subconsciously avoided their gaze.

"The Harvester..." Kong Yan'er's smile vanished, her voice dropping to a whisper, tinged with obvious apprehension. "Why are these scoundrels in a public area?"

Luo Li's gaze instantly locked onto the group of "Harvester," and her heart tightened slightly.

Lu Jingheng's warning still echoed in my ears.

The team of "Harvester" headed straight for a special counter at the deepest part of the mission hall, where the highest-level and most dangerous missions were usually handled.

They exchanged a few words in hushed tones with the officer behind the counter, took a sealed metal case, and then turned and left silently and swiftly, amidst a throng of gazes filled with either awe or fear, just as they had arrived.

Throughout the entire process, they didn't glance at anyone else, as if the numerous superhumans in the hall were merely insignificant background figures.

"See that?"

Only after the "Harvester" disappeared did Kong Yan'er breathe a sigh of relief and smack her lips.

"Stay away from them, it's definitely the right thing to do. Getting targeted by them will never end well."

Luo Li nodded silently, deeply memorizing the image and aura of the "Harvester".

He knew that this Furnace, known as "Ironwall," was far more complex and dangerous than he had imagined.

But his and Castorice's journey has only just begun.

"Come on, I'll take you to try the 'special' nutritional paste from the front lines. I guarantee you'll never forget it!" Kong Yan'er smiled again, put her arm around Luo Li's shoulder, as if the solemnity from before had never existed.

Luo Li followed him, but her gaze involuntarily drifted towards the Zone E dormitory.

Castorice, how are you doing over there?