The relocation of Panshi City went even smoother than expected.
Zhao Wuji issued orders in his capacity as the City Lord. With the coordination of the City Defense Force, the Research Institute, and Panshi Company, and after five days of intense, around-the-clock work, the entire city of nearly seventy thousand people was completely relocated to Terminal Station.
As the final batch of residents received their room keys in the apartment buildings, Su Wan stood on the top floor of the main building, overlooking the brightly lit cluster of buildings below.
Terminal Station now had a population of nearly eighty thousand.
With rows of buildings standing side by side and streetlights illuminating both sides of the roads, this place was no longer just a shelter.
It was a city.
A city that belonged to Su Wan.
And Su Wan herself had achieved another breakthrough during the relocation of Panshi City.
She was now at Level 4 Late Stage strength.
Now, she was only one Level 5 Ability User away from reaching Level 5.
The day before the Death Tide was due to arrive, Zhao Wuji received an encrypted communication in his study.
Sitting behind his desk, he finished reading the message, stood up, and headed toward Su Wan's room.
“Master, someone from the Zhao family has arrived,” Zhao Wuji said, bowing slightly as he stood at the doorway of Room 102. “Our request for resource aid has been approved, and the guard force has dispatched a squad leader to lead the team here.”
“This person is a Level 5 Mid Stage expert named Zhao Feng. He belongs to the third squad of the Zhao family's Yongming Province guard force, and is a minor leader from a branch family.”
Zhao Wuji's voice was steady, but an imperceptible trace of complexity flashed deep in his eyes. “He is here to deliver the supplies and will probably stay in Panshi City for a day or two.”
Su Wan nodded, keenly catching the fleeting look of abnormality in Zhao Wuji's expression. “Why? Is there something wrong with this person?”
Zhao Wuji fell silent for a moment, then shook his head slightly, finding it a bit hard to explain. “It's not that there is a problem with Zhao Feng himself, but rather that all Ability Users above Level 5 within the Zhao family are...”
“...extremely overbearing and arrogant. They are incredibly rude and look down on sent-out branch members like me.”
“And they certainly won't show respect to anyone else...”
“They are naturally respectful and obedient to the direct line of the Zhao family, but to the exiled branch lines... especially the City Lord of a minor C-class city like me, they have never shown any respect.”
“Master, if Zhao Feng happens to show disrespect to you when he arrives, I hope you... will not be angry.”
As Zhao Wuji spoke, a murderous intent flared in his eyes. “When the time comes, I will definitely assist you with all my might to execute Zhao Feng!”
So Zhao Wuji was worried that Zhao Feng would be disrespectful to Su Wan.
Su Wan, however, did not care. After all, from the moment Zhao Feng set off, he was already destined to be a dead man.
“It's fine. Just let him come.”
Zhao Wuji bowed his head slightly, lowering his voice even further.
“Master, although Zhao Feng is only a guard squad leader, he is still someone dispatched by the Zhao family. If he dies in Panshi City for no apparent reason, the clan will definitely investigate.”
Su Wan nodded, gesturing for him to continue.
“As far as I know, the family has a fixed investigation process regarding the deaths of dispatched personnel.”
“If the cause of death is unclear, or if the circumstances are too suspicious, the clan will send people down to verify.”
“At that point, the existence of Terminal Station will inevitably be exposed. With our current strength, we are not yet ready to handle an investigation from the Zhao family.”
Zhao Wuji looked up, his gaze meeting Su Wan's. “Therefore, Zhao Feng cannot die mysteriously. He must die under reasonable circumstances.”
Su Wan caught his drift. “You mean...”
“Zhao Feng dying in battle against an Aberrant would be the most logical explanation,” Zhao Wuji said, his voice calm and steady.
“The reason I gave in my report was also that there were signs of high-level Aberrant activity in the Non-Safe Zone, requesting reinforcement from the family.”
“The Zhao family won't care about the life or death of a mere guard squad leader, but they do care about their reputation.”
“If Zhao Feng dies while fighting a high-level Aberrant during a mission, the clan will only record it as a standard casualty of war and won't look into it further.”
Su Wan felt that Zhao Wuji's reasoning was sound, but the problem was that there really weren't any high-level Aberrants in this Non-Safe Zone that could pose a threat to a Level 5 Ability User.
At least, not within the range that Terminal Station could currently scan.
Ever since Terminal Station killed those thousands of Rot-Walkers and decapitated that Level 4 Rot-Walker, the number of Aberrants in the surrounding area had plummeted.
The tenants formed squads to hunt down scattered Rot-Walkers every day, and the news they brought back was all more or less the same.
The outer perimeter of the Non-Safe Zone was incredibly clean. Even mutated beasts were rarely seen, let alone anything that could threaten a Level 5 Ability User.
Su Wan's gaze drifted involuntarily toward the window, looking in the direction from which the Death Tide surged.
She thought of the colossal behemoth that moved slowly deep within the mist.
Every time the Death Tide descended, she could perceive its existence through her mental power.
Across the grayish-white mist and over a distance of several kilometers, she could only see a faint outline, massive as a mountain, slowly shifting.
She had not yet been able to see its full form.
But every single perception sent an instinctive chill deep into her heart.
Once she killed Zhao Feng and advanced to Level 5, perhaps she would be able to see it more clearly.
If she really couldn't find an Aberrant to take the blame when the time came, then in the worst-case scenario, she would just have to pin Zhao Feng's death on that entity.
Su Wan withdrew her gaze, looked back at Zhao Wuji, and nodded slightly. “You have a point.”
“But right now, the most important thing is still the advancement of my strength.” She paused. “Let's kill Zhao Feng first...”
Zhao Wuji bowed slightly. “Understood. Then, as for what comes after...”
“I will handle what comes after,” Su Wan said, looking out at the gray skyline. “After I advance to Level 5, I will personally make a trip into the Non-Safe Zone.”
That afternoon, in the sky above the ruins outside the gates of Terminal Station, a ripple of energy silently tore open, as if an invisible hand were ripping apart the sky.
Three figures stepped out of the ripple.
The leading man was about thirty-five years old, tall with a square face. His narrow eyes tilted upward slightly, carrying an innate arrogance.
He wore a suit of deep black standard-issue battle armor, with the Zhao family crest engraved on his shoulder guards, and a long alloy blade hanging from his waist.
He released his Level 5 Mid Stage aura without any restraint, pressing down heavily on the surrounding area of dozens of meters like an invisible mountain.
Behind him followed two people, a man and a woman, both at Level 4 Late Stage. Wearing the same standard-issue battle armor, they followed behind Zhao Feng with expressionless faces.
Zhao Feng walked up to the gates of Terminal Station, slowing his steps slightly. His gaze swept carelessly over the four-meter-high concrete perimeter wall and the tightly shut alloy gates.
Two City Defense Force soldiers stood on either side of the gates, their backs straight, staring straight ahead.
Yet the gates remained firmly closed, showing no signs of opening immediately.
Zhao Feng's brow furrowed.
He had already walked such a long distance, from the edge of the ruins all the way to the main gates, yet Zhao Wuji had actually not led anyone out to welcome him.
Shouldn't a branch family member exiled to a minor C-class city be waiting early at the gates, bowing respectfully, upon seeing someone dispatched by the main clan?
Rate on N.U.
