The small knife fidgeted, saying, “That may be true for others, but it certainly won’t affect you. How could those native races possibly be your match?”
If Qian Ye had never seen the native races, he might have been fooled. However, after witnessing the strange woman’s abilities, Qian Ye knew that the native races might be a big problem. To say the least, any species capable of wielding void origin power was not to be taken lightly.
Qian Ye did not trouble the small knife further. He was just a lowly person, and troubling him would be futile. After today, Qian Ye believed he had given these people enough shock to make them abide by the rules. If they still refused to stop, Qian Ye wouldn’t mind killing a few in the dead of night to wake them up.
In the Neutral Zone, mercy was meaningless and would always be exploited.
After they had eaten their fill, Qian Ye completed his procurement. The most important item was a heavy-duty truck. It looked to be about half new, and after a thorough inspection, he found that some of its key parts were well-maintained. Satisfied, Qian Ye accepted the truck. On it were several large crates, some filled with various food supplies, others with machine parts, steel bars, alloy plates, and half a load of black stones as fuel.
Moments later, Qian Ye drove the heavy-duty truck out of the town. The truck’s engine groaned and shuddered, pulling the heavy body slowly forward, spewing clouds of steam at times. Such trucks were archaic designs from hundreds of years ago, long since phased out in the Empire, but they were ubiquitous and popular in the Neutral Zone.
Now Qian Ye understood why he often saw such antiques in the Neutral Zone. Despite its old and outdated design, the truck was simple in structure, stable in operation, and easy to maintain. Anyone, as long as they weren’t too stupid, could learn to maintain most of its parts at home after a few days, except for the engine.
In the harsh environment of the Neutral Zone, many advanced origin arrays simply couldn’t function. For instance, the renowned engines of the Empire’s top-tier warships struggled to start, let alone use their special abilities, in the Neutral Zone.
After Qian Ye left, the small knife hurried to see the town leader, a burly man known as Iron Bear.
Iron Bear sat in a recliner, basking in the scorching sun. In his left hand, he held a teacup, while in his right, he toyed with a dagger, which was smeared with blood, a rather incongruous sight.
The small knife approached Iron Bear and whispered for a while. Iron Bear’s thick brows twitched, and he said, “He shook you so badly with just an origin force shock that you almost vomited blood? That’s no small feat; he might be a war general.”
“War general?” The small knife was surprised and quickly asked, “Isn’t that the same as you, boss? This guy is a tough nut to crack!”
Iron Bear sneered and, with a grab of his right hand, crushed the dagger into a steel ball. The sharp blade didn’t even scratch his skin. Tossing the ball to the ground with a sinister smile, he said, “I’m an eleventh-level war general, not tenth. Besides, even if that kid is at my level, what of it? The generals of the Empire are all soft like they haven’t grown balls. The twelfth-level guy I killed last time wasn’t much, either.”
The small knife felt relieved and started to flatter Iron Bear. But Iron Bear glared at him, displeased. “If you spent more time cultivating, you’d be a war general by now instead of being this way. And I know all about your dirty business. Making money is fine, but don’t get me into trouble. Otherwise, finding sycophants isn’t hard.”
The small knife chuckled, unfazed, “There are plenty of sycophants, but not many who can also rely on a good sister.”
Iron Bear’s expression changed, and he glared fiercely at the small knife, “Don’t spread lies about your sister!”
Seeing the small knife nod in agreement, Iron Bear’s face softened. “You’re such a slippery rascal, wasting your talent.”
The small knife grinned, “My greatest dream is to take over from you when you retire. Why bother with all the hard work?”
Iron Bear snorted, “Tell me, what do you really want? Do you have your eye on that kid?”
“The woman with him is truly a gem!”
“Are you interested?”
The small knife shook his head, “No, she’s out of my league. Even touching her would be asking for trouble.”
Iron Bear nodded approvingly, “That’s better. Otherwise, I’d have to teach you a lesson for your sister’s sake. Enough chit-chat, what do you have in mind?”
The small knife thought for a moment and said, “Though he hides well, he’s still new here and cut down trees from the Black Forest. I can smell the unique wood fragrance from the Black Forest on him, meaning he’s cut down more than just a couple of trees. He might even be planning to build a wooden house. There are many fools like him. Let’s test him out.”
“You mean use that thing on him? Isn’t that a bit wasteful?”
The small knife said, “I feel there’s something odd about these people, and we can’t rest until we find out. Boss, think about it, there was no warning when they came, only that we should give them more territory. That’s not normal. Even if they didn’t detect his hidden strength, they should have given us some background information.”
Iron Bear pondered, then nodded slowly, “You have a point. Now that I think about it, it seems like they’re trying to trap us. Alright, let’s mobilize the beast herd and test him.”
“If he can’t handle the beasts and the native races, we can…,” the small knife didn’t finish, but made a throat-cutting gesture.
When Qian Ye returned to the cottage, dusk was falling, and the wind was getting chilly. The old truck took nearly three hours to cover the few dozen kilometers from the town to the cottage, leaving Qian Ye speechless. However, from another perspective, the truck had managed to travel through rough terrain without a single fault, which was impressive.
Beside the cottage were several bags full of large and small seashells caught by Zhujun. Since learning to use her nose, Zhujun had become more interested in fishing. Fortunately, she couldn’t swim very well, or she might have dived into the deep sea.
Nighteye sat outside the cottage, working on a stack of wooden planks, cutting and sharpening one end to make the basic components for a fence. She seemed to be planning to enclose two courtyards. The vampiric blade she was using was originally Qian Ye’s. A seventh-level vampiric blade used for cutting wood—if it had intelligence, it would have broken its own blade.
Seeing the planks being shaped in Nighteye’s hands, Qian Ye knew she had recovered a good part of her strength. With the high-grade blood crystals arranged by Song Zining, it would only be a matter of time before she fully recovered. But while physical recovery was easy, mending the soul was impossible. As new memories formed, Nighteye was gradually forgetting her past.
She could only remember a few crucial things, like Monro and Andua. These memories were embedded in her bloodline, unaffected by her soul.
After returning home, Qian Ye handed the truck and parts to the old man and worked with Nighteye to build the fence. With Qian Ye’s help, the construction was surprisingly fast. By nightfall, both cottages were enclosed within a fence, and Qian Ye even added a second floor to the cottage.
As night fell, Qian Ye called back Zhujun, who was still playing on the beach, and headed inside. When they entered the courtyard, Qian Ye suddenly noticed figures moving in the Black Forest. Recalling the day’s events, Qian Ye suspected it might be the native races seeking revenge for the deforestation. But the elemental shock attack was only effective by surprise, and with Qian Ye on guard, he could shield himself from most of the shock waves.
So, Qian Ye wasn’t concerned and called Zhujun back home. He knew the native races were likely vengeful and stubborn, and if he killed one, the trouble would be endless. Luckily, his chosen location was a fair distance from the Black Forest. If the native races dared to leave the forest and attack, Qian Ye would not hesitate to give them a painful lesson.
The figure did not leave the Black Forest but threw an iron can. The can flew hundreds of meters before landing and cracking, releasing wisps of white smoke.
Qian Ye frowned, pushed Zhujun into the courtyard, and followed her, closing the gate.
First, Qian Ye sent the old man to the basement. The old man, with his low strength, could be seriously injured if affected. Once the old man was safe, Qian Ye felt more at ease and leaped to the roof of the second floor, scanning the direction of the Black Forest from a high vantage point.
The white smoke spread rapidly, covering several kilometers in moments.
Soon, the earth began to tremble, and the Black Forest echoed with deep, savage roars. The sound suggested there were at least hundreds of beasts.
The beasts surged out of the Black Forest, a dark mass, heading straight for the area enveloped in white smoke. They became ferocious as soon as they entered the smoke. The newly built courtyard became the obvious target for their fury.
The beasts roared and charged out of the white smoke towards the small courtyard. Standing on the roof, Qian Ye’s face showed a faint, cold smile. He focused his vision and gazed at the distant Black Forest, knowing the real mastermind was still hiding in the forest.
Indeed, in his true vision, figures with void origin power appeared in the Black Forest, and a considerable number of native races had gathered.
Qian Ye’s cold smile widened, and he pointed to the horde of beasts, saying, “Zhujun, it’s time for a snack!”
“It’s for collecting ingredients!” Little Zhujun protested. She was very particular now, refusing to eat anything not cooked by Qian Ye. Not even the old man’s cooking was acceptable.
After her protest, her small figure crashed through the fence and charged towards the beast horde.
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