4:00 PM Shenzhou Time, 10:00 PM Mountain Kingdom Time. It was the shift change hour at the main encampment.
By normal reckoning, each squad’s shift lasted two hours, after which the next squad would take over.
Each squad consisted of one hundred people, stationed at various key points throughout the main encampment, with at least four personnel guarding each area.
At the entrance to the main encampment, eight fully armed individuals stood before the gate, holding AKs leveled horizontally. Their posture was somewhat amateurish, yet carried a fierce aura.
Gu Lian walked directly toward the main encampment.
Click~
Two of the armed personnel shifted from holding their rifles to a ready stance, the safety switches clicking off with a crisp sound. Their meaning was clear: entry was not permitted now.
Tap~
Gu Lian retracted her stepping foot, took out the letter of recommendation from her bosom, and held it up. “(English) Friends, I have business and wish to enter the main encampment.”
“(English) A letter of recommendation?”
One of the guards, a bearded black man, walked up to Gu Lian and scrutinized it for a moment before raising his hand to signal the others behind him to put their safeties back on.
Click. The others all resumed their rifle-holding postures. The dim yellow light from the gate shone on Gu Lian’s face, two strands of hair swaying before her cheeks.
The bearded man only glanced a few times before speaking with an air of disbelief. “(English) My goodness, look at the time? Even with a recommendation, you need to consider the occasion, alright?”
“(English) Can’t you make an exception?”
Gu Lian took off her glasses, looking at him with a pitiful, tearful gaze. The tears glimmered under the light, refracting her crimson pupils, making them look like twinkling stars.
Seemingly struck by her appearance hitting just the right note of ‘moe,’ the bearded man’s mouth twitched. He turned and walked back toward the others, a conflicted expression on his face.
“(English) No. Rules are rules.”
“(English) My apologies then, I was being presumptuous.”
Putting her glasses back on, Gu Lian also walked toward the outskirts of the main base. Since she couldn’t charm her way past with her looks, and there was no better method at the moment, it was better to use this time to plan an escape route.
Walking through the outer perimeter of the main encampment, the contrast between here and the main base was like heaven and earth. If the main encampment was heaven, then the outer area was a hellish slum.
Every morning, a few bodies would inexplicably appear on the streets. Sometimes, when there were too many, they weren’t counted by the body, but by the pile.
Weaving through the muddy, compacted streets, Gu Lian silently calculated the precise time required for her movements.
Several gazes from the surroundings vaguely fell upon her. As long as they didn’t take actual action, Gu Lian truly couldn’t be bothered to pay them any mind.
The technology here was relatively backward. In the outer area, she didn’t see a single surveillance camera for most of the day. Compared to the almost all-encompassing surveillance network covering Shenzhou, it was like comparing a cold-weapon nation to one that had entered the second industrial revolution—utterly incomparable.
Moonlight shone down from above the alley. Without cloud cover or the obstruction of the advertisement boards common in prosperous towns, the alley was unusually bright.
Looking up, one could even see the twinkling stars, the brilliance of the Milky Way stretching far ahead. These were sights unseen in prosperous areas. But when people were so poor that even a full meal was a problem, how could they possibly be interested in scenery?
Gu Lian rolled up a small section of her sleeve and tapped a few times on the watch on her wrist. A satellite map was called up. She pressed her index finger on the center of the main encampment on the map—that was her destination.
Pinching the screen with her index finger and thumb, she zoomed in on the map. Gu Lian began calculating potential escape routes.
Just as Gu Lian was calculating routes, a somewhat low, dragging voice came from behind her.
“(English) Coming into my territory, aren’t you going to show some respect? You blind fool.”
Hearing this, Gu Lian, who was calculating routes, frowned slightly. She pulled down her sleeve and started walking forward. At a time like this, it was better to pretend she hadn’t heard.
“(English) Can’t you see me clearly?”
Bang!
A loud gunshot rang out. A bullet struck Gu Lian in the back, causing her to stumble forward a few steps.
The trench coat woven from bulletproof fibers dented inward slightly. Most of the bullet’s force was absorbed by the coat, but it still embedded itself into her flesh. A trickle of blood seeped out from within the clothing.
Gu Lian’s steps halted. Her left hand dropped, silently using her index finger and thumb to draw a dagger from her inner thigh. Since he had attacked her, it meant a fight to the death.
Either you die, or I perish.
“(English) Hey, hey! Throw me your backpack! Otherwise, the next shot will be aimed at your head!”
A man with a nose ring and bandages wrapped all over his body walked up behind Gu Lian, pressing the gun barrel directly against the back of her head.
“(Chinese) Was this really necessary?”
“(English) What did you say—”
Thud!
Before the nose-ringed man could finish, Gu Lian responded by throwing her head back in a headbutt, striking like a hammer against his hand. The distance between them was simply too close. The advantage of the firearm vanished the moment he entered Gu Lian’s close-quarters range.
“Hmph~”
With a grunt, the nose-ringed man’s gun-holding hand was knocked aside, and he staggered back several steps. Almost simultaneously, Gu Lian had already turned, reaching out to grab the arm holding the firearm.
Planting his foot heavily on the ground, the nose-ringed man’s eyes widened as he swung a fist down.
Gu Lian initially tilted her head slightly. The fist landed on her shoulder, causing her body to falter momentarily. Then, her left foot lifted, the tip of her toe kicking up a puff of dust.
Whap~
Her kicking foot traced a dark arc, viciously striking the nose-ringed man in the side. A muffled sound of impact erupted. The force of the kick directly sent the man kneeling to the ground.
In that same instant, Gu Lian closed the distance. She retracted her arm and swung an elbow out, carrying a sharp whistling sound of air, striking with precision at the man’s temple.
Thump! The nose-ringed man’s eyes rolled back, and flecks of blood flew from his gaping mouth.
“(Chinese) I told you it wasn’t necessary.”
Moving so fast she left an afterimage, Gu Lian twisted the arm she held, turned, and pressed her back against the man’s body, executing a powerful shoulder throw.
The man’s body flew into the air like a tennis ball pulled by a string, then landed with a muffled thud in the flying yellow sand.
Crack!
His arm bent at an unnatural angle. Swiftly seizing the pistol from the man’s hand, Gu Lian pointed the dark muzzle at his forehead.
“(Chinese) Farewell.”
Click~
The slide jammed against the frame. Gu Lian’s right eyebrow arched. Pressing the release, the pistol’s magazine slid out and clattered to the ground.
Looking at the empty magazine on the ground, Gu Lian tossed the now-useless gun aside. The sound of metal scraping against the knife handle was exceptionally crisp as she drew the dagger, flipping it several times in her slender, pale hand.
Thud!
The dagger cleanly pierced from the jaw up through the top of the skull. The thrust was swift, the withdrawal even faster. Blood sprayed from the top of the nose-ringed man’s head, a few drops splattering onto Gu Lian’s face.
Thump. The corpse fell to the ground. Gu Lian flicked the dagger, sending the blood on it flying, creating a semi-circular spray pattern on the wall and ground.
She re-sheathed the dagger in her thigh holster. Unless absolutely necessary, she didn’t want to use guns to solve problems. She only had eighty-four bullets left now. Ammunition would be crucial once she entered the encampment or if she needed to flee.
After finishing all this, Gu Lian raised her hand to wipe the blood from her face. But an intense itchiness spreading across her cheek made her involuntarily scratch it a few more times.
“So itchy… Are the mosquitoes in this damned place this venomous?”
Scratching her cheek repeatedly, Gu Lian’s expression gradually relaxed. The skin itch was genuinely baffling her. ‘Can Weiyi even get bitten by mosquitoes?’