Chapter 79: The Blow

Chapter 79: The Blow

Strictly speaking, this was the second time the Northern District had faced a setback due to Xu Qingran.

The first time was before Xu Qingran returned.

The Northern District, with its large area and population, had always boasted about having the most efficient and disciplined military guards in Shangnan Continent, considering itself the strongest region. When Chen Jianguang sent people to investigate the situation in the Western and Southern Districts, those from the Northern District went out with a haughty and mocking attitude, expecting to see the two districts suffering unbearably under the torment of the demon hordes.

To their surprise, the situation outside was better than they had expected.

The scouts outside had only told them that the Southern and Western Districts had been in close contact with the new colonel in recent months, cooperating closely and showing signs of allegiance. They hadn't mentioned that the military guards of both districts had undergone a drastic change in temperament and attitude, as if they had been completely transformed.

They were no longer lazy and apathetic.

Several severely affected disaster zones that were nearly encroaching on residential areas had been cleared beyond the buffer zones. According to the original plan, if the Western and Southern Districts were willing to submit to them and become vassals of the Northern District before they seized resources, they would be happy to help them in return after taking the resources.

However, when they made their demands at the military district, they were ignored.

So they bypassed the intermediate steps and directly sent troops to seize everything they could.

The Northern District military guards, now armed, were still waiting to see the 'traitors' suffer.

Now, it was they who had become the 'joke.'

Neither Chen Jianguang nor the scout said another word.

In the distance, the sound of military equipment being transported in carts echoed, sounding like a mocking laugh.

The spoils of war suddenly lost their appeal.

The scout thought for a moment and added, "I heard this is a tactic by that colonel to win over the people."

"First, he struck the Southern and Western Districts, and now that both sides are short on supplies, he seized the opportunity to offer these benefits... It's likely his next target is to tempt our Northern District."

Chen Jianguang quite agreed with this view.

In the past, there had been colonels who came to negotiate with the Northern District with such chips. However, they weren't as capable as Xu Qingran and couldn't actually deliver the goods. Those despicable fellows were mostly just bluffing, and only the fools from those two small districts would fall for it.

Now, Xu Qingran had successfully subdued the Southern and Western Districts with supplies and firmly controlled the military power of the Eastern District.

So, following the usual pattern, their next target would be the Northern District.

Chen Jianguang snorted, "Even if he has supplies, our Northern District isn't so easily swayed."

The Silver Dragon officers are all crafty old foxes; they've been deceived before and vowed never to serve the Silver Dragon Battalion again! When that new colonel comes to negotiate with the Northern District, they will certainly give him a hard time.

They are eager to see the new colonel make a fool of himself in the Northern District.

·

Xu Qingran allocated the newly added reinforcements from the Silver Dragon Battalion to various districts based on their current needs.

He addressed the manpower shortage in the Western District.

He accelerated the cleanup progress in the disaster areas of the Southern and Eastern Districts.

As for the Northern District—

"Colonel, the military guards of the Southern and Western Districts have finally officially unified with the Eastern District, now under your management and arrangement."

The window glass was wiped clean.

Xu Qingran held a potted orchid in his hands and placed it on the windowsill. Sunlight streamed through the window, falling on the purple-blue orchid and also gently touching the man beside it, lightening the color of his eyes slightly.

Behind him was Deputy Mao, who had just knocked on the office door and entered after receiving permission.

Xu Qingran's new office building was now complete.

Today was his first official day moving in to work, and he received numerous new office supplies and decorations from his subordinates. The orchid he had just placed there was a gift from a guard in the East City camp who had once angrily destroyed his old office building.

It was said to be a competition-grade orchid grown by the guard's family.

Xu Qingran wasn't sure if it was genuine, but he quite liked it and decided to place it on the most prominent windowsill.

The room's air conditioning was set to a comfortable level.

Deputy Mao stood in front of Xu Qingran's desk and asked respectfully, "Is our next move to subdue North City?"

Xu Qingran glanced at the orchid a few more times, then turned to Deputy Mao and said, "Subdue North City?"

"Why bother with them? Didn't they declare they wanted independence and to sever ties with Shangnanzhou? Since they are so confident in their abilities and have managed North City quite well, let them fend for themselves."

Xu Qingran chuckled lightly.

"We don't need the military strength of North City now."

North City is the strongest among the four cities of Shangnanzhou, but it has reached its limit.

Otherwise, they wouldn't still be grappling with the devil groups within the city after so many years. Now, it is they who truly need help, not us.

Deputy Mao was stunned, not expecting that after Xu Qingran had been so dominant in Shangnanzhou for so long, and now with North City on the verge of collapse, he would choose not to subdue those rebellious troops despite holding the upper hand?!

Xu Qingran pulled out a chair and sat down, starting to open his computer to check the pile of official documents uploaded to the system during his absence.

While waiting, he said, "Moreover, they looted the military camps of South and West Cities right under my nose. Even if they only took away our trash, it was still a very rude act."

"So, it won't be easy for them to obtain new military supplies from me."

Deputy Mao listened to his calm words, pursed his lips, and worriedly said, "But unifying the four cities is the primary task for the Shangnanzhou colonel's evaluation."

If Xu Qingran couldn't achieve this, no matter how well he handled the other three cities, he might still struggle to stand firm in Silver Dragon's eyes.

After a pause, he added, "And we've requested so many supplies from Silver Dragon this time. If we don't include North City, by the time the next batch arrives, our small warehouse might not be able to hold all the excess stock."

"Too much?" Xu Qingran retorted, "I'm afraid it won't be enough to go around."

"Besides Shangnanzhou, I also have some supplies to allocate to Xiananzhou."

Deputy Mao: "?!"

Xu Qingran smiled faintly.

He had previously discussed unified cooperation between Shangnanzhou and Xiananzhou with Feng Huan, Feng Yao's second sister, after the previous aid mission ended.

Although Xiananzhou is also unstable, the main issue lies in the conflicts caused by the local residents' disdain for the military personnel.

The current colonel of Xiananzhou is an elderly man. His management of Xiananzhou is laissez-faire, only intervening in major decisions, while internal city management is mostly handled by Feng Huan.

Feng Huan came to see him that day, speaking with a probing attitude.

They were impressed by him, which led them to change their minds and agree to the request for support from Upper Nanzhou. After the support ended, they received positive reports from the troops sent to Upper Nanzhou about the current state of the region and Xu Qingran's capabilities.

They then reached out to him directly, saying, "When we met before, you mentioned that you were considering securing resources for Nanzhou."

"Anyway, our colonel has made his stance clear. He has always been unable to manage Nanzhou effectively. If you can also bring benefits to Lower Nanzhou, Lower Nanzhou will act as a subsidiary, following the task plans arranged by your Upper Nanzhou."

"Our conditions are simple: to restore Nanzhou to its former glory."

The Lower Nanzhou army is more compliant and follows the orders and arrangements of their superiors.

Xu Qingran's negotiations with them went quite smoothly, and after enduring long periods of suppression, the guards there also admire strength. Some of the men have personally witnessed Xu Qingran's capabilities and have extra confidence in him, so when Feng Huan and others proposed this idea, the majority had no objections.

Thus, the matter was quickly resolved.

Nanzhou's affairs are being managed systematically.

Soon after Xu Qingran's return, the technicians arranged by Mo Chengfei came to install networks throughout the city. Network coverage was extended to all areas except the disaster zones, and even mobile phone signals and major TV channel connections were adjusted.

Nanzhou's military headquarters will undergo renovations.

Urban checkpoints will be upgraded to more intelligent systems, and small trains will also have their routes re-planned. If Nanzhou can fully eradicate the devil groups in a few years, they will consider applying to the camp for high-speed rail construction.

Xu Qingran had the finance department record these accounts one by one.

Once he cleans up Upper Nanzhou, he can rightfully request reimbursement for these 'maintenance' costs from the camp.

In the months since his return, he has been busy with these affairs in Nanzhou.

Including arrangements for residents, certain hazardous housing areas will need to be demolished and rebuilt into apartments that can better accommodate so many people. Not only does this save land space, but the shared expenses are minimal, ensuring that the residents of Nanzhou have enough places to live.

Next is the assistance in improving the local economy of Nanzhou.

The people of Nanzhou have endured hardship for a long time, and with insufficient resources available externally, most of them are skilled in farming. First, they will ensure a stable food supply for all Nanzhou residents, and then further realize breeding as more space becomes available.

Xicheng residents excel in sewing and weaving crafts, some of which are even unique traditional crafts here.

Now that they are starting this, they will have something to promote in the future.

Companies affiliated with the Mo and Qi families will soon establish factories here, not only to increase production but also to provide employment opportunities for the people of Nanzhou.

After helping the responsible personnel lay the foundation, Xu Qingran began to join the military department in the cleanup work.

Ma Biao and his team have been diligently searching for source crystals of Class I devils in areas 3 and 5 during this period. Seeing that the progress was almost done, Xu Qingran took over the final command work and led them to eliminate the overlords of these two areas.

With new tools and troops, the cleanup operations became significantly faster and more efficient.

During this period, Lin Xuan also led his army from the southern half of Nancheng and finally completed the cleanup of area 10. Earlier, with Xu Qingran's assistance, they killed the Class I overlord in area 10, and now the devil groups there have been successfully dealt with!

"Nancheng area 10... Ah, my hometown was here before my family moved to the Fairy Star System!"

After the cleanup of area 10, they worked tirelessly to construct power stations along the borders to defend against devil groups.

After this period of cooperation and working together, the original military personnel in Nancheng have established good relations with the dispatched reinforcements. Mainly because most of them were once Tianlong people, they do not have exclusion or disdain towards them, making it easy to get along.

"It's okay, once we follow the colonel to retake Nancheng, we can bring our families back to visit!"

At the same time, in areas 3 and 5 of Nancheng, they successfully killed the overlords that had been locked on for a long time.

The safety of the surrounding residential areas has been further guaranteed, and Ma Biao couldn't help but shed tears in front of a group of people. The troops who have fought alongside him for years finally see hope and are overjoyed.

The guards from other star systems, with their rich experience in victories, were even calmer than the locals.

They just remarked: "To be honest, if it weren't for the news of Young Master Xu's troop deployment this time, we would have almost forgotten that our empire still has the Tianlong system."

"The land of South Continent is quite small compared to other larger habitable planets. I didn't expect that after so many years, no area has been successfully cleared?"

"Indeed, apparently, the Silver Dragon officials rarely report news related to Tianlong. Before coming here, I never expected that in this era, such a terrible environment would still exist!"

In the end, the situation in various star systems is dire, surrounded by enemies on all sides, and the empire's human resources are very limited.

So they had to choose to abandon the worst one.

It is said that the 100,000 people Mu Ziyu allocated to Xu Qingran this time were already the limit.

There might be a new batch of supplies coming later, but Mu Ziyu warned that the camp could not allocate more personnel to him for the time being. These people are even meant for the entire Taiyue Star. In the future, if Xu Qingran stabilizes the South Continent and other continents encounter trouble, he will need to be ready to coordinate troop support at any time.

Xu Qingran had no objections to this.

But in North City, there were some minor grievances.

—Several months have passed, why hasn't Xu Qingran come to the negotiating table yet?!

The land border of North City is right next to West City.

Their station is located on a high slope, overlooking a large area of West City, and they share a wide and long river with West City.

So the scenes seen from the watchtower every day are either the West City military guards driving their majestic and domineering combat vehicles and mechas, practicing the use of new military weapons in the open countryside. Or they are driving brand-new sea ships and war boats, patrolling and testing firepower on the other side of the river.

Sometimes they would deliberately fire psychic missiles in the direction visible from the North City watchtower, towards the sky or the sea, with a blatantly provocative attitude.

It made the people of North City feel deeply frustrated.

Even during this period, the news they received from scouts outside the city consisted entirely of—

The cleanup progress of a certain district in South City has reached 50%!

The warlord of a certain district has been killed!

A certain district has been completely cleared, defense points have been established, and it has been reclaimed by humanity!

Or the warlord of a certain district in West City has been successfully tracked down!

A major Class I threat in a certain district has been killed under the command of the new colonel!

All good news, and regardless of scale, the name of that new colonel is always mentioned in the news.

They also heard that even Lower South Continent is now collaborating closely with him and has reached a cooperative relationship! At some point, half of the military power of Lower South Continent has fallen into his hands, and the reinforcements from both sides can be freely mobilized and arranged, greatly improving the efficiency of clearance.

"It is said that the colonel brought back a lot of food supplies from other places, and the residential areas in other parts of South Continent are also developing very smoothly."

"The high mountain areas of South City have even been reclaimed and are ready to grow tea."

"It is said that the richest group in Silver Dragon is coming to build factories and prepare for production and research... the legitimate kind!"

"And—"

"Enough!"

The guard who came to report was abruptly interrupted by Chen Jianguang before he could finish his words.

The people standing in front of him were so frightened that they held their breath.

They didn’t dare continue reporting the news.

Chen Jianguang was now seething with resentment towards Xu Qingran.

Months had passed, and while he’d taken care of every other part of South Continent, even Lower South Continent, he hadn’t so much as glanced at North City!

What was this young new colonel playing at?

Did he think so little of their North City?

Yet, people are always so contradictory.

Chen Jianguang’s army refused to submit to Silver Dragon. Yet, they watched others on the same continent enjoy abundant resources while they were stuck using leftovers—even defective castoffs.

They couldn’t help but feel a sense of betrayal from the other regions of Upper South Continent.

—They had all agreed to resist together, but now they were kowtowing to the enemy for a little benefit!

Chen Jianguang sat in their temporary military tent and barked at someone, "Call Ma Biao."

"I want to hear what he has to say—and what South City’s brothers are thinking now."

The subordinate hurried off to carry out the order.

Chen Jianguang wasn’t originally from North City—he was a South City man.

Ma Biao was his distant cousin. They’d joined the military around the same time, and both were top talents in Upper South Continent, which cemented their bond.

When Chen Jianguang led troops to garrison North City, preparing to dig in against Silver Dragon, he had also invited Ma Biao to join the North City army.

Ma Biao, worried about his family in South City, turned him down. They hadn’t seen much of each other since, but for the sake of Upper South Continent’s harmony, they still kept in touch.

Chen Jianguang was a man of principle.

Back when Ma Biao’s position was shaky, and his own city’s army questioned and refused to cooperate, Chen Jianguang stepped in. Using the North City military’s authority, he pressured the dissenters, securing Ma Biao’s position.

The messenger soon returned.

Hesitating, his face was grim.

He frowned, his voice booming: "Well? What did Ma Biao say?"

The subordinate’s voice was barely above a whisper: "Ma, Major Ma didn't say much, just praised the new colonel from Upper South Continent."

He mentioned that Xu Qingran was a 3S-level spiritualist.

And that he was an exceptionally rare D-type.

He praised Xu Qingran’s source crystal detection skills, calling him unlike other colonels—someone truly dedicated to Upper South Continent.

Finally, he earnestly suggested that North City consider cooperating with the new colonel.

Chen Jianguang’s face flushed with anger again.

...Even Ma Biao had been bought over! He was now somewhat interested in this new colonel he had never met, but the man went against the grain, not intending to win over North City, and he couldn’t possibly lower himself to contact the other party.

Feeling depressed, suddenly a guard who had been with him for a long time mustered the courage to speak.

He said, "Brother Chen, actually... we refused to submit to the Silver Dragon Battalion because they looked down on us, didn't treat us like human beings, and even wanted to exile our homeland. Over the years, all those colonels and generals have been incompetent, only wanting to use us to gain accolades."

"But from our recent observations, this new colonel from the Silver Dragon Battalion is clearly different from those who did nothing before."

Chen Jianguang held back his temper and asked in a displeased tone, "What exactly are you getting at?"

The man braced himself and said, "What I mean is, if the new colonel genuinely wants to improve and manage the South Continent well, shouldn't we also cooperate...?"

He left the rest unsaid, but the meaning was clear.

The other guards present also seemed lost in thought.

Indeed, their earlier protests against the city lockdown were mainly to make a statement to the faction.

Putting that aside, they are still part of the Silver Dragon Battalion after all. Now that a colonel who seems to meet their expectations has finally come along, why are they still holding out?

The more they thought about it, the more they were at a loss.

Chen Jianguang sat on the stool in a commanding posture, with his hands resting on his legs, fists slightly clenched.

He didn't scold the guard who brought this up but instead fell into deep thought and conflict.

He knew what they said was right.

He was angry because it was rare to have a new colonel who seemed quite strategic, but this colonel took care of all regions except North City, leaving them stuck here in frustration.

Besides, since they had previously made bold statements against the Silver Dragon Battalion, if they now took the initiative to reconcile with the new colonel, wouldn't that be a slap in the face for North City?

Chen Jianguang had once trusted the well-dressed, dignified high-ranking officials of the Silver Dragon Battalion. In his eyes, the badges on their uniforms represented supreme achievements, worthy of admiration.

Yet, it was these very people who privately looked down on the soldiers who worked hard for them.

They even practiced regional discrimination, looking down on the impoverished people stuck in Tianlong.

Who knows if this new colonel is just pretending?

Once he gains North City's trust, he might turn around and boast about his achievements, using them as tools for self-validation.

While Chen Jianguang was silently pondering, someone rushed in from outside to report military matters.

"...Colonel Chen, we have set up a perimeter around the large object that fell in the 18th District's Tian Guang Mountain."

This referred to the large rock that had suddenly fallen from outer space into the 18th District of North City three days ago.

It was about a kilometer in diameter and landed right on Tian Guang Mountain, where the power station was located. That station was the largest power plant in the 18th District, supplying electricity to many areas and preventing the approach and invasion of devil hordes.

"The large rock is currently inactive, and the detectors have not detected any signs of life. However, its landing site is right at the Tian Guang Mountain power station, and parts of the 18th District are currently experiencing power outages. Tian Guang Mountain is also temporarily in a state of lost defense..."

Although the probability is low, if the devil hordes detect this vulnerability and attack, that area might not be able to withstand it.

The main concern is the large object from the sky. In this era, any unidentified object falling from the sky, even if it's just an ordinary meteorite, could potentially bring about a terrible disaster.

Unfortunately, the large object that fell cannot be dealt with in a short time.

As for its outer layer, relevant personnel need to collect and study it to determine its composition. Additionally, they must prevent the possibility of extraterrestrial life forms inside. If it's just an ordinary meteorite, that's fine, but if there's something inside...

Given the current state of North City, they might not be able to defend against it.

"Quickly send more personnel to repair the power station, as fast as possible! Ignore that thing for now, repair as much as you can around it!" Chen Jianguang ordered.

He felt another wave of anxiety.

...Looks like I need to figure out a way to push East City.

·

Things in the Southern Continent were settling down.

Xu Qingran had recently visited the Lower Southern Continent, leading the local guards to take out a few Class I overlords.

He left the rest of the cleanup to the troops.

After finishing the more pressing matters, he had been resting these past few days, living a surprisingly chill life.

Since he couldn’t sit still, he drove a large vehicle produced by the Mo Group, starting from the East City, passing through the South City, and heading towards the West City, using it as an excuse to check things out. He wanted to see if the guards were doing their jobs and how the daily lives of the residents were.

The underground parties in the West City had been cleared out by Su Wenxu and his team, and things were a lot safer now.

In the inner cities not yet invaded by Class IV devils, the nights felt more alive, and he even saw them starting to set up night markets in the bustling areas.

Xu Qingran hadn’t been to a place this lively in ages, and he couldn’t resist stopping to take a look.

The crowd was bigger than he expected, and from their accents, about half of them were from the South City.

With the East, South, and West Cities now unified, people were moving between cities more often.

Additionally, the border checkpoints had installed smart identity detection systems, so guards didn’t have to check everyone by hand anymore, making the process faster and more convenient. More people were coming and going now. He even encountered some South City guards who had just finished their shifts and hadn’t had time to change their uniforms.

These were the guards he’d roughed up before.

Upon seeing him, they snapped to attention, straightened their backs, and stammered, "C-Colonel, we've already finished today's shift..."

"I know," Xu Qingran waved his hand, his tone surprisingly calm. "Just act like I’m not here."

With that, he walked alone into the crowd.

The West City night market was dirt cheap.

A handful of star coins could get you a bunch of snacks here.

Xu Qingran carried bags of food, took out his phone, snapped a photo, and texted Shen Tingyu: "Next time you come, I'll take you here."

Shen Tingyu didn’t reply right away.

Xu Qingran wasn’t bothered.

He remembered that dog Shen Tingyu had mentioned a few days ago that he was representing the Golden Wing Battalion on a pain-in-the-neck mission, somewhere thousands of light-years away from the Kayan Empire, to help the empire collect important protective energy magnets.

Xu Qingran had only heard about this in passing and didn’t fully understand it.

He knew the Kayan Empire had devices around its borders to repel most alien species, and these devices needed those energy magnets to work with the machinery. Collecting these things seemed to be a routine task for both battalions.

After sending the message to Shen Tingyu, Xu Qingran put away his phone.

At the same time, thousands of light-years away, in an underground cavern on a shattered star.

A phone on the jagged rocks lit up out of nowhere.

A notification popped up on his phone, saying, "Your boyfriend has sent you a message."

Not far from it, a man dressed in dark golden military uniform slightly lowered his head, his azure eyes still faintly shimmering with psychic energy.

His gaze seemed startled by the message on the phone, the ripples it stirred dispelled the strange light deep within, refocusing his gaze. Then, a faint red light flickered in his eyes as he tightened his grip on the short knife in his hand, turned around, and forcefully severed the tail with a blade that had deeply pierced his shoulder.

Some connection attempting to establish itself with him abruptly broke.

Shen Tingyu was located in a stone chamber.

Glowing night crystals around him faintly illuminated the darkness. Deep within, an exceptionally large yellow-black creature clung to a wall covered with crystals. Its body, seen from a distance, had skin resembling snake scales, with a very flexible lower body that spread out like a large octopus, tightly clinging to the wall.

However, the upper body resembled a mechanical dragon head with sharp teeth, rigid and fixed in form, unable to stretch and contract like the lower body.

It also had nine thick, long tails resembling pythons, the soft ends of which could become incredibly sharp and hard when striking non-liquid objects. They could even bypass all psychic defenses, directly piercing the target's flesh.

This was a Class X devil.

A high-level devil capable of rivaling 3S level and Type E users.

The one before Shen Tingyu had already had eight of its tails severed by him.

Fortunately, its ninth tail found an opportunity to injure him.

As Shen Tingyu severed the ninth tail, it emitted a strange, music-box-like cry.

Shen Tingyu first picked up the phone that had fallen during the fight, glanced at the message, and tenderness arose in his eyes as he regained clarity.

Then, with his uninjured hand, he raised the psychic gun, channeled his maximum psychic energy, and fired a shot at the devil on the crystal wall.

A beam of psychic energy, as fine as a spider's silk, deftly passed through the gaps in the Class X's body, hitting the source crystal inside, which was as small as grains of sand. The powerful force penetrated the source crystal's shell, shattering it completely.

Another chaotic howl sounded.

Before disappearing, it stared intently at the man in front of it, his beautiful blue eyes reflected in its crystal-clear, emerald green eyes.

It saw him slightly open his mouth, his voice deep: "In this lifetime, you will never control me."

As his words fell, the Class X devil before him instantly crumbled into dust.

The surroundings quieted once more.

In this desolate place, Shen Tingyu's expression was cold and emotionless as he walked to the wall covered by the Class X devil, reached out, and plucked a small stone embedded in the crystal wall.

About half the size of a fist.

After finishing, he pressed the earpiece by his ear: "I've got the item, I'm coming out now, clear a path for me."

A reply came immediately from the other side: "Yes, General!"

Letting go, he picked up the phone again.

Unlocking the screen, he entered Xu Qingran's chat box, stared at the photo and the brief message he had sent for a long time, and a faint smile unconsciously crept into his eyes.

"Shen Tingyu: Okay, I'm waiting."

When the message came back, Xu Qingran was standing in front of a stall at the night market.

A young woman by the stall was busy with business, while he was making eye contact with a girl in front of the pot.

After a moment, the girl frowned and asked, "Sir, care for some mixed noodles?"

Xu Qingran smiled.

The girl who was brandishing a knife to kill just six months ago was now wearing an apron, selling mixed noodles here.

"Oh, our hero!"

The woman next to her, after seeing off her last customer, turned around and saw Xu Qingran. Her face lit up with surprise.

She was among those he and Shen Tingyu had rescued in a military district in West City.

If he recalled correctly, she was from the same village as the girl beside her.

"Ya Ya, whip up a bowl of potato noodles for the Colonel!"

"Colonel, hold on, I'll throw in a pancake and some skewers, on the house!"

The recent transformations in South City were remarkable. The residents had already heard by word of mouth about the actions of Xu Qingran, the new Colonel.

The military guards had even set up large LCD TVs at various rest stops and checkpoints, displaying his photo and bio, showcasing his identity and accomplishments. Every new plan and development was accompanied by a wave of publicity about him.

Now, the residents of South City practically revered him like a deity.

"Charge the usual," Xu Qingran said, "I'm not strapped for cash, I just want to see you all prosper."

After all, when South City thrives, he'll benefit.

The woman gazed at the bustling night market and sighed, "West City's environment is fantastic now!"

"We have homes to live in and no longer fear ambushes or kidnappings. We're truly grateful, so this time, take it as a thank-you from our village!"

"It's all homegrown, nothing fancy!"

Xu Qingran listened and didn't refuse this time.

As he left with his things, Ya Ya suddenly caught up.

After hesitating for a few seconds, she took off the hairband with a bow she was wearing and handed it to him, saying, "Here, this is for you."

Xu Qingran raised an eyebrow and said, "Why are you giving this to me? I have no use for it."

But the girl said, "You've been eyeing it for a while."

"I think you want to give it to someone."

Xu Qingran was taken aback.

Thinking to himself, E-types indeed have terrifying insight.

He said, "I did tell myself that I would get a new bow for someone, to replace the dirty one she couldn't bear to throw away."

"But she's no longer here."

Xu Qingran smiled, his face not showing any sadness: "So, you keep it."

Ya Ya asked him, "Was she your sister?"

"Yes," Xu Qingran admitted.

Yaya lowered her head, furrowed her brow, and pondered for a moment. After readjusting the headband, she said to him earnestly, "It's okay, I can be your other sister."

Xu Qingran's smile faltered for a moment: "...?"

He chuckled and glanced at her stand: "What about your family then?"

Yaya replied, "I don't have a family."

Her face showed no trace of sadness, as if she were calmly recounting someone else's tale: "I've been an orphan since birth. The people here in West City took me in."

Xu Qingran went quiet.

Ultimately, he decided not to take Yaya with him.

As he left the night market, the streets were eerily quiet.

While passing through a West City checkpoint, he bumped into Chen Bin again.

Chen Bin looked like he was just about to get off work. He had initially planned to light up a cigarette, but upon seeing Xu Qingran, he silently dismissed the idea.

"Kid, fancy meeting you here again," Chen Bin said with a smile.

Recalling that Chen Bin was from North City, Xu Qingran asked him, "Heading home? If it's on your way, I can drop you off."

Chen Bin didn't refuse and loaded his gear into the car.

On the way, Xu Qingran chatted with him about North City-related matters.

As they entered the West City area overrun by Class IV devils, the very place he and Shen Tingyu had passed through before, Xu Qingran remembered their encounter and inquired, "By the way, you've been in West City for almost a year. Do you know why the Class IV devils here are so fearless of humans?"

Chen Bin looked baffled by the question.

Hesitating, he replied, "They... aren't scared of people?"

"Yeah, last time we were driving..."

Xu Qingran abruptly cut himself off.

Even though it was the same area, the Class IV devils' behavior today was markedly different.

Unlike last time, when they had fearlessly leaped onto the car one after another, this time, they hastily scattered upon encountering the electrified protective vehicle, behaving timidly, much like in other districts.

Chen Bin waited a moment but, hearing no continuation from Xu Qingran, prompted, "What happened last time?"

Xu Qingran stayed silent for a long while before calmly replying, "Nothing much. Maybe I was just exhausted from driving and seeing things."

Chen Bin didn't press further.

The car fell into silence, and suddenly, Xu Qingran's phone rang.

He had to pull over to the roadside.

Glancing at his phone, he saw it was a call from the East City military base.

He answered and asked, "What's wrong?"

A call at this hour surely meant something was up.

Sure enough, the staff member on the other end immediately cried out, "Colonel Xu, it's bad!"

"Deputy Officer Mao... he's been kidnapped by people from North City!"