More than a dozen terrifying demon beasts...
...had failed to last even a single minute against Xie Litang?
The way she sheathed her sword in this moment looked strikingly beautiful, yet it exuded an even more terrifying, imposing aura.
Her strength was definitely not that of an average demon beast hunter; she was likely above Ten-Star.
Even if someone like her joined the Department of Military Affairs, she would easily hold a mid-to-high general-grade rank.
Gulp.
The three survivors swallowed hard in unison. Their squad leader, Qi Tai, lowered his stance as much as possible and stammered, "S-Senior... thank you for saving our lives."
Xie Litang turned around and said calmly, "I didn't come here specifically to save you."
Her voice sounded surprisingly young, taking the three survivors aback.
However, no matter how young she was, she could still crush them effortlessly. They didn't dare slack off on their manners for even a second.
Xie Litang was currently wearing the Crane Whisper Battle Armor. This modern modular combat suit completely concealed her face, preventing them from recognizing her as the S-Grade wanted fugitive.
Besides, she was speaking the truth.
This squad had originally had six members.
She had only made her move after they were almost all dead.
First, she had zero interest in playing hero.
Second, fewer witnesses meant fewer loose lips.
Xie Litang stepped forward, the Crane Whisper Battle Armor clanking sharply against the ground, intensifying the oppressive pressure.
"I ask, you answer."
"Please go ahead, Senior! I will answer anything I know without reservation."
"Why did you come to Fumu City? Isn't this just an abandoned city?"
"Answering Senior... as you know, small squads like ours rely on hunting demon beasts to make a living. We bought information from someone in the Daoist Sequence who excels at reading qi. We originally planned to hunt a few beasts and head back. We never expected it to be so dangerous."
"Then consider yourselves lucky. If you hadn't run into me, you would've died without even knowing how."
Xie Litang pointed to several mangled demon beast corpses on the ground and continued, "Those three demon beast corpses are yours. Now leave quickly. Things aren't safe around here lately."
Qi Tai offered endless thanks, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and ventured to ask, "What exactly happened here?"
"A beast horde."
"What? A beast horde?!"
"What are you yelling about? It's likely just a small-scale beast horde, but even so, it's not something a squad like yours can handle."
"Understood, understood! I get it. Um... may I ask Senior's distinguished name?"
"Just call me Langmie."
"Understood, Miss Langmie."
Langmie was the alias Xie Litang had chosen when she registered her demon beast hunter identity.
As for her actual name, there was no way she would tell him, and Qi Tai wasn't foolish enough to press for details.
After collecting the demon beast corpses, they quickly scrambled away.
Xie Litang's reason for letting them leave was actually quite simple. The commotion in Fumu City was growing large, and for the foreseeable future, it would only get louder.
If she didn't come up with an excuse, the next ones arriving might be official forces.
Spreading news of an active beast horde would at least deter ninety percent of hunter squads from bothering her.
As for the remaining ten percent?
She would just wipe them out directly.
Xie Litang gathered the rest of the corpses on the ground into the storage bracelet on her wrist.
A turbofan hoverboard flew over rapidly. Stepping onto it, she headed straight back to the base.
With a wave of her hand...
...she unloaded all the corpses.
Bionic robots soon came over to cart the corpses away for butchering and processing.
Chen Linling popped open a can of iced cola, handed it over, and said, "Sis, even if you spread news of a beast horde, the authorities will still send people to investigate sooner or later."
Xie Litang took a sip of the cold cola, feeling thoroughly refreshed. "Doesn't matter. It's mostly just to keep those hunter squads from annoying us in this area."
"Sis, aren't you afraid of being encircled by a full army?"
"Haha, only if they actually have the strength to pull it off."
"But what if we get exposed?"
"Linling, your line of thinking is off. If our base keeps expanding like this, being discovered is bound to happen sooner or later."
Chen Linling parted her lips, her mood slumping. "Sis, I'm sorry... It's all my fault. If I hadn't built all this, we could've stayed hidden here without ever being found."
Xie Litang set her cola down and frantically tried to soothe her. "Wait, Linling, why are you suddenly getting so down? That's really not what I meant!"
"We can't hide in the shadows like fugitives forever, right?"
"I think Fumu City has great geography. It sits right in the middle of the one-thousand-kilometer buffer zone."
"If we can develop this place, it'll bring us endless benefits with zero downsides."
She paused briefly.
Xie Litang continued.
"Of course, I know it's going to be tough."
"We not only need to intimidate the demon beasts in the wilderness, but we also need to flex our muscles to the Human New Citadel."
"We turned our backs on human society, but we can't completely sever ties with humanity forever."
"This small-scale beast horde formed by the Five Immortals demon beasts is actually a prime opportunity."
Once the sisters talked it out, everything was cleared up.
Chen Linling let out a sigh of relief, her smile returning.
The two resumed their daily routine, though attacks by the Five Immortals demon beasts were becoming increasingly frequent.
Meanwhile, the situation inside the city had grown somewhat tense.
Even Yang Yiyi sent a message to inquire.
Evidently, after the survivors returned, they had made the news public.
Ding-dong.
"Miss Xie, I heard a beast horde might be forming over by Fumu City?"
"It's just a few extra Five Immortals demon beasts, nothing to worry about. I intentionally let them go back to spread the word."
"Are you sure you're fine?"
"I swear, it's really fine."
"That's good to hear. The stocks I bought recently dropped quite a bit because of this."
"Great Sales Rep Yang, you're not planning to ask me for compensation, are you?"
"No way! Miss Xie, you're my dearest friend and my biggest VIP client."
"It's not as exaggerated as you make it sound."
"Though speaking of which, how's your younger sister?"
"What about my sister?"
"Linling hasn't bought anything from me lately. When I asked her, it sounded like she's saving money?"
"We're out in the middle of nowhere. What is she saving money for? She can't even spend it out here."
"I wouldn't know about that. But jokes aside, Miss Xie, are you interested in making a big move with me?"
"What kind of move?"
"Use the news of the beast horde to manipulate the Jianghai City stock market?"
"How would that work?"
"I'll put together a proposal for you later with the details. You can take a look and see if you like it."
"Alright, I'll wait for your message. I'm going to check on my sister first to see why she's suddenly saving money."
Xie Litang hurriedly ended the conversation. Right now, she was far more concerned about her sister's physical and mental well-being. Linling suddenly saving money was highly unusual in itself.
Could she have been out in the wilderness for so long that she's starting to miss the neon lights and city life? And saving money might be so she has funds to spend once she goes back.
If that was her sister's genuine desire, Xie Litang would choose to respect and support it. Even if it costs tens of millions to buy my sister a new identity, I'd still consider it worth every penny.
Xie Litang knocked on the door to her sister's workshop. Chen Linling was still deep-diving on the net.
Upon learning of Xie Litang's concerns, Chen Linling didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Sis, you know me."
"I'm a massive shut-in."
"Here in Fumu City, I have food, drinks, internet access, and my favorite big sister."
"How out of my mind would I have to be to miss a place like the city, with its strict class hierarchy and massive wealth gap?"
That single word—shut-in...
...was worth a thousand words.
Rate on N.U.
