Chapter 786: A Forsaken City
The few ancient warriors rushed out quickly and had the message delivered. However, Qin Feng felt that external help would be hard to come by.
This was a unique circ.u.mstance unlike anything seen before.
‘No wonder the Fettering Land was forsaken so easily and turned into a forbidden area.’
The place was too dangerous and the ultra beasts here were too ferocious. Unequipped humans had little chance in such a treacherous land.
Worse still, the strength of an ability user was greatly slashed here, making survival even direr.
Qin Feng started the car. He gave up on spreading the repellent powder and drove straight back to the city gate.
‘The Huaxia Alliance would probably give up on Chungluo City after this.’
Qin Feng knew he had most probably guessed it right. That was exactly what happened in his previous life, as his memory recalled.
***
In the meantime, there was indeed a heated debate on the outside world.
Among those that had come out, Jiang Haolin was perhaps the one with the most urgency. Together with a few other B-tiers, they had reported the latest situation to Regent Shang. Shang Han had immediately called for help but the response was scarce so far.
“The overlapping between different dimensions this time is extremely peculiar. How are we supposed to fight in there when the alien dimension would disable consciousness and internal strength?”
“That’s right. Everyone had seen what happened in there just now. We lost two valuable ancient warriors to a group of C-tier cats!”
“Honestly, there are not many ancient warriors that have B-tier parallel training in the entire Huaxia. Moreover, what if the next group of monsters were B-tier? Even B-tier ancient warriors wouldn’t survive then.”
Everyone was giving their opinions, which are mostly demoralizing.
They tried to highlight how difficult the situation was. But the reality was, n.o.body wanted to get dragged into trouble.
Jiang Haolin grew even more anxious. Chungluo City was not their home, so what happened to it was not their concern.
“There are still seven B-tier ability users inside the city. They are the elites of the Huaxia Alliance. We shouldn’t give up on them just like that!” Jiang Haolin pleaded. “Besides, we have General Qin to count on. With some extra help, we can definitely save everyone!”
These B-tiers did not recognize Qin Feng earlier. After they learned of his ident.i.ty, one of them immediately said, “How many people are like Qin Feng in Huaxia? He is a generational prodigy. In my opinion, we shouldn’t let Qin Feng take this much risk. He has the potential to grow into an S-tier apt.i.tude user in the future.”
“That’s right. It would be truly a great loss to Huaxia if anything happens to General Qin!”
These people commented insensitively.
They would not be this “rational” if the same thing were to happen to their city instead of Chungluo.
Jiang Haolin was infuriated listening to them. However, he did not dare to talk back because this had gone out of his hand as well.
One of the B-tiers, who sympathized with the concerned Jiang Haolin, suggested, “Our regent has done all she could. The emergency order has been sent out as well. No matter what, this is not an easy request but a life and death matter. I think you should contact the old duke of Chungluo. If the reward is lucrative enough, it might attract some help. Moreover, the old duke might have enough connections to bring in an ancient warrior with A-tier parallel training.”
Jiang Haolin was inspired by the idea. He immediately contacted the duke, Liu Chong.
Liu Chong was very old. He was currently aliased under an S-tier. He had not returned to Chungluo City for a long time.
Most of the residents in Chungluo had never seen him, nor did they know such a figure existed as their duke.
Jiang Haolin received Liu Chong’s reply only half an hour later.
“That’s too much trouble. Just abandon the city then.”
Jiang Haolin was stunned.
From Liu Chong’s perspective, this was a reasonable decision. Although he was the duke of the city, he had not been staying here for a long, long time. He had no sentiment for the city. It was developed by his subordinates without his involvement. Thus, he could not care less if anything happened to it. With his status, he could easily recruit other B-tiers and re-establish another city.
As for the six hundred thousand civilians inside Chungluo City, that was even less of a concern to the aloof duke.
The beginning of the A.C Calendar was not very different from an apocalypse. Human life was the least valuable thing in this era. In certain deprived areas, cannibalism was a common occurrence.
It was just one city and its people. This happened every year when the beast wave arrived.
n.o.body would have issues with Liu Chong’s decision.
But Jiang Haolin could not accept it. His wife was still inside the city. His comrades that had fought alongside him for seven to eight years were still struggling there too. He could not believe that the duke had given up on them just like this.
Instantly, Jiang Haolin resented Liu Chong for being such an irresponsible leader.
This was when a commotion erupted. Jiang Haolin immediately looked up.
From within the thin silver fog, an opening appeared and a convoy drove right out of the gate. There were at least four to five hundred people hurrying out under Qin Feng’s lead. They exited the city safely with the help of the repellent powder.
After escorting the people out of the city, Qin Feng did not stay and disappeared back into the fog immediately.
Jiang Haolin’s eyes slowly changed. He was touched and really admired Qin Feng’s action. In his mind, Jiang Haolin made a decision quietly.
‘I heard that General Qin already has a lot of B-tier apt.i.tude users working for him. He is also capable of hunting A-tiers. That’s not very different from an A-tier apt.i.tude user. Even Liu Chong can’t be compared to him. No matter what, I should try to join the Fengli Organization after this. The only concern is that they probably don’t need a subpar veteran like me.’
Qin Feng had no idea that his kind act would have moved the heart of an experienced B-tier ability user. He was still busy rescuing people.
The city was in chaos. That did not prevent the people living at the edge of the city from noticing Qin Feng’s car. Qin Feng gathered them and had them take the worn-out battle vehicle. When there were not enough seats, the citizens simply ran behind the convoy.
Their lives were in jeopardy now. They would grab on any straw that came into sight.
These people would be safe once out of the city.
Qin Feng drove back and forth several times. He escorted out around five hundred citizens each time. Dusk came when Qin Feng had only saved around two to three thousand people.
This was the first time Qin Feng felt a little despair after he was reborn.
However, he did not stop moving. Once again, Qin Feng returned courageously into Chungluo City.
Night had finally fallen. Inside the makes.h.i.+ft command center, it was getting even harder to monitor the current situation.
“We can’t see the situation clearly now.”
“Wait for a while more. General Qin has brought along a flare with him. He would set it off once he is out again.”
“It’s dark now. The flare would attract ultra beasts!”
“Any ancient warrior here yet?”
“Nah! Everyone who has heard the call either claimed that they are away or in the middle of a mission. All of a sudden, the ancient warriors in the Huaxia region have disappeared altogether!”
“Of course. Not that there are any benefits…”
“Shus.h.!.+”
Jiang Haolin sat dejectedly on the seat. He looked at the pitch-black screen emotionlessly. The drone immediately lost connection after entering the city. The drones could only wander outside but the returned transmissions were all blank.
Anguish slowly crept onto Jiang Haolin’s face.