Perhaps the gunshot really had served as a deterrent, for during the rest of their patrol, Yang Wenqing’s group did not encounter any more demonic beasts.
When the three-man team finished sweeping the two-kilometer fan-shaped sector and returned to the edge of the forest, they found that the other teams had also completed their missions and were returning one after another. The outline of the camp had already begun to take shape.
In the clearing, two-meter-high folding metal fences had been set up in a ring, forming a simple defensive line. Basic reinforcement runes were engraved across the surface of the fencing, and several sturdy canvas tents had also been pitched. The largest of them was clearly the command post. In the center of the camp, a portable rune generator was operating, supplying power to several searchlights hanging high overhead.
The members of the First Squad and the logistics personnel were still busy further refining the defensive details, such as laying simple early-warning traps outside the fence and erecting communication antennas.
Just then, the members of the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Patrol Squads also arrived, and the camp, which had been somewhat quiet before, immediately became lively.
Each squad settled into its preassigned area under the guidance of the logistics personnel. After that came receiving dinner rations and checking equipment.
“Setting up camp in the middle of the night. Who knows what the higher-ups were thinking.”
As they settled down, Ye Yong grumbled irritably.
Zhu Lin gnawed on his field rations as he said, “What else could they have been thinking? My guess is the leaders got too deep into their meeting, it ran overtime, and that delayed the assembly by several hours.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a streak of light flashed across the sky and stopped above the camp. The glow faded, revealing a flying shuttle—the very same one that had been parked in the rear courtyard of the Public Security Office. Then it began descending slowly.
Once the flying shuttle had stabilized on the ground, Director Wang Ren jumped out of the cabin, followed by the communication members from the various patrol squads. Sister Liu from the Second Squad was among them as well. As soon as they appeared, they immediately began working around the command tent, clearly setting up communication devices.
After dinner, Yang Wenqing remained in a corner of the Second Squad’s encampment, practicing his boxing. Everyone else had long since grown used to it. His diligence was something even the director had heard about. It was just that most people were not optimistic about him, though there were also quite a few waiting to see when he would advance to the Qi Refining stage.
At eight o’clock in the evening, Xiao Liang returned from the meeting in the command tent. He glanced at Yang Wenqing, who was seated in meditation in the corner, then walked over and said, “Rest early. Tomorrow will be a full day.”
Yang Wenqing had already awakened from his meditative state when the captain approached him. Hearing his words, he nodded obediently, then got up and walked into the tent assigned to him.
The tents were assigned by group. Li Ming and Zhou Kun were also seated in meditation. Hearing footsteps, they opened their eyes at the same time. The three of them chatted casually for a couple of sentences, then each began tidying up his own bedding. Before long, they had fallen into a deep sleep.
Before daybreak the next morning, Yang Wenqing had already gotten out of bed. When he walked out of the tent, he found that some people were already doing morning exercises in the distance. Among them was the middle-aged man he often saw in the small courtyard. He was Kong Yu, a senior guard of the Sixth Patrol Squad, and he had persisted in cultivating like this for ten years.
The others who persisted in cultivation were young people like Yang Wenqing. Their family circumstances were all similar to his, and they all hoped that one day they could succeed in Qi Refining and change the fate of themselves and their families.
At some point, the rosy glow of dawn had climbed onto the clouds at the edge of the sky. At that moment, everyone in the camp, including Director Wang Ren, was carrying out their daily morning training.
Suddenly, a mechanical alarm rang out from the center of the camp. The six captains immediately stopped training, then began barking orders for their subordinates to put on their gear. Ten minutes later, they began assigning tasks.
The area assigned to Yang Wenqing’s three-man team was thirty kilometers south of the camp. This had been arranged the previous night by the director and the six captains.
…
Dawn light was faint, and a damp, chilly mist permeated the forest.
Yang Wenqing, Li Ming, and Zhou Kun cautiously advanced south according to their assignment. The deeper they went, the taller and denser the trees became. The concentration of spiritual energy in the air seemed higher as well, but it was not particularly stable.
When the three of them had advanced to roughly the twenty-kilometer mark, they discovered several small paths that had clearly been deliberately cleared, as well as crude markers piled together from beast bones and stones.
“Careful. There may be gathered yao creatures nearby,” Li Ming warned at once, experienced as he was.
No sooner had his voice fallen than a sharp screech suddenly rang out from the thicket ahead. Immediately afterward, dozens of figures sprang out from the trees and underbrush, half-encircling the three of them.
“They really are yao creatures!” Zhou Kun’s gaze turned cold.
Most of these yao creatures retained bestial characteristics. The leader was an exceptionally tall wolf demon. It walked almost upright, its entire body covered in grayish-blue fur. Its wolf head was savage, its fangs exposed, and its sharp claws gleamed with a cold light. In its hand, it held a thick bone club.
Around it were seven or eight companions with the same wolf heads and human bodies, though slightly smaller in size. Besides them, there were also several lizard-like yao creatures covered in dull scales and wielding stone spears.
“Grr!”
The leading wolf demon let out a threatening growl, its scarlet eyes fixed tightly on the three of them, filled with wildness and a desire to kill.
“Clear them out!” Li Ming wasted no words and directly issued the combat order.
“Awooo!”
Seeing that intimidation was ineffective, the wolf demon leader released an attacking howl. Its bone club carried a foul wind as it pounced first toward Li Ming. At the same time, the yao creatures behind it roared and launched their charge.
The three of them simultaneously activated the protective formations on their wrist guards. In an instant, a pure white ring of light formed, protecting all three of them within.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The guns in Li Ming’s and Zhou Kun’s hands opened fire first. Bullets whistled toward the charging yao creatures, but these yao creatures were far tougher than the rotting-claw jackals from before. Unless they were hit in vital areas such as the eyes, it was difficult to kill them with a single shot. Moreover, they knew how to use the trees as cover.
Yang Wenqing’s eyes were sharp. He saw a lizard demon use a tree trunk to leap up, attempting to throw its stone spear at Zhou Kun from above and to the side.
“Bind!”
Yang Wenqing threw out a talisman paper for the Body-Binding Curse, striking the lizard demon in midair with precision. The lizard demon’s body stiffened, and its throwing motion twisted out of shape. The stone spear skewed off course and stuck into the ground nearby. Zhou Kun reacted extremely quickly, turning his muzzle and blasting its head apart with a bang.
At this moment, the wolf demon leader had already charged to close range. Its bone club smashed heavily against the barrier, causing it to shake violently as its light dimmed considerably.
“Cover me!”
Li Ming gave a low shout. He held his gun in his left hand and drew his longsword with his right. Spiritual energy poured into the blade as he prepared to engage at close quarters.
Yang Wenqing understood immediately. He rapidly locked onto the wolf demon leader and pulled the trigger without hesitation. But this time, the target of his shot was not the wolf itself—it was the ground one step in front of it!
“Explosive round!”
Yang Wenqing shouted a warning to his companions.
A violent explosion rang out immediately afterward. What he had fired was an explosive round, and the powerful shockwave and flying fragments from the blast sent the wolf leader’s body flying backward.
Li Ming, however, had already pushed the protective barrier’s power to the maximum the moment Yang Wenqing gave his warning. The impact only made his body sway slightly. Immediately after, the longsword in his hand turned into a streak of cold light, stabbing straight toward the throat the wolf leader had exposed while frozen rigid!
“Pfft!”
The longsword pierced through with perfect precision.
The wolf demon leader let out a shrill, miserable howl. As the longsword was drawn out, its massive body crashed to the ground.
With their leader slain, the remaining yao creatures instantly fell into chaos. Some fled into the dense forest in terror, while others threw themselves forward even more madly.
“Wipe them out!” Li Ming ordered coldly.
The three of them worked together seamlessly. Gunshots and the glow of spells flashed once more. Having lost their leader and organization, these yao creatures were soon exterminated one by one.
After the battle ended, the surroundings were in a complete mess, permeated with the smell of gunsmoke and blood.
Following the routes by which some of the yao creatures had retreated, the three of them soon found the tribe where the yao creatures had gathered. It had been built beside a small stream, and most of its structures were tents made from beast hides.
At the center of the tribe stood a crude altar piled together from shattered stones and beast bones. Enshrined on the altar was a section of spine about one chi long. Its entire body had an eerie white-jade texture, with faint streams of light turning within it, as though it were absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth on its own.
“This thing can sell for quite a bit. I heard the City West Public Security Office obtained three pieces last year while clearing out yao creatures.” Li Ming circulated the spiritual energy in his body and turned his gaze toward Yang Wenqing and Zhou Kun, a slight smile on his face.
Yang Wenqing and Zhou Kun also looked at that section of spine. This thing was the remains of a cultivator, and a great cultivator at that. The remains had already cultivated into a spiritual object and could serve as the formation eye for gathering spiritual energy.
According to the regulations of the City Defense Bureau, this object now counted as their spoils of war. They had the right to decide how to handle it.
As Li Ming spoke, he had already picked up the cervical vertebra. He said, “What a marvelous feeling. This place has always had these things dug up by yao creatures. I’d guess that a very long time ago, it was a battlefield. It’s just that when those seniors cleaned up the battlefield, they took away all the good treasures and left behind only a ground full of corpses.”
“What does it feel like?”
Zhou Kun asked impatiently.
Li Ming smiled faintly and handed the cervical vertebra to Zhou Kun.
Zhou Kun had only held it for a second before shaking his head and saying, “It’s equivalent to a convenient spirit-gathering formation. It’s just that the spiritual energy it gathers hasn’t been refined. If we used the spiritual energy it gathered to cultivate, we’d be finished sooner or later.”
As he spoke, he handed the cervical vertebra to Yang Wenqing.
The instant Yang Wenqing took it, irrepressible joy appeared on his face. But his joy was completely different from Li Ming’s and Zhou Kun’s, because his Golden Core world could rapidly refine and absorb spiritual energy.
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