5:00 PM, Gold Coast, Mountain Kingdom. The crescent moon, half-hidden beneath the clouds, slowly poked its head out. The afterglow faded, and the sun drifted toward the distant mountainside. The clouds served as a curtain, blocking most of the intense heat while the twilight of a setting sun diffused across the town.
This was in the southwest corner of Shenzhou, located in Central Asia, one of the world’s most important geographical crossroads.
Due to its unique location, poverty shrouded the area. The local average income was terrifyingly low, reaching an unimaginable depth.
Because of poverty, they were weak, and it was precisely this weakness that bred chaos.
The chaos was such that even the Tianyou Federation was unwilling to manage this place. The great powers were all entangled in their own schemes and did not want to intervene here, so over time, it became a lawless zone of the federation.
People here worshiped firearms and idolized tanks and cannons, but these toys were only useful against people; they were barely sufficient to deal with Weiyi.
In this environment, all sorts of Weiyi sprouted from time to time. People rarely cared about conflicts between humans, but the struggles between humans and Weiyi forced the federation to intervene.
After all, this was a human gathering place, so the federation stationed a Hunter Unit here to defend against the disasters brought about by emerging Weiyi and other mysteries.
This meant that regardless of what happened between civilians and warlords here, they would never involve the Hunters. After all, no one wanted to test their luck against a Weiyi.
It wasn’t even a matter of being able to win or not, it was just… very ominous.
Yellow sand flew through the air. Because of the construction of the town, trees were cut down in large quantities. Subsequently, gold mines were discovered nearby, ushering in a gold rush. A large amount of gold created local warlords, and the areas around the Gold Coast began to desertify.
As Gu Lian stepped out of the woods, she was surrounded by nearly 10 children near a small stream, chattering away in a language she did not understand.
These children were begging. Whenever someone like Gu Lian, who did not have Black Skin, appeared, they would come to beg and try their luck.
“Get the fuck out of here, Little bunny!”
In this place, English and the local language were the most common, while the languages of other countries were not used.
Gu Lian narrowed her eyes, and a dangerous aura began to emanate from her body. Seeing that the situation was not good, the children began to scramble in a panic.
In the chaotic crowd, a child with slightly parched skin caught Gu Lian’s vision and slowly reached for the zipper of her backpack.
After reaching in to fumble for a moment, the boy hiding behind the crowd had a drop of sweat on his forehead, but an excited smile gradually rose on his face.
Soon, after the Little Boy felt a bulging item in the bag, a faint smile appeared on his face.
He gently grabbed the item, but as he was about to withdraw his hand from the backpack, a pale hand seized the boy’s wrist, causing his expression to freeze.
“Are you dying?”
Gu Lian tilted her head slightly, red light flickering in her exposed crimson eyes.
The rest of the children saw that the situation was bad and scattered. Soon, only Gu Lian and the Little Boy were left on the shore.
“What’s up? A mute?”
With a light wave of her hand, the boy was dragged in front of Gu Lian. She looked down at him with her crimson eyes. The boy began to shiver all over, cold sweat dripping from his back uncontrollably.
“It seems that you have no value.”
Her five fingers spread, and 5 sharp spikes popped out from her fingertips. Gu Lian raised her hand, fingers curled, while her other hand pressed firmly against the boy. She then retracted her blade and struck like lightning.
“Don’t kill me, don’t kill me!”
The boy screamed, subconsciously closing his eyes and shielding himself with his arms. Under the fear of death, his body shook like chaff.
“???”
After a few seconds, the anticipated pain did not arrive. The boy opened his eyes in confusion. The hand blade had stopped right in front of his chest, the 5 sharp spikes pressed tightly against his skin. Meeting his gaze were eyes that were completely scarlet in the center of the pupils.
“I can talk, you see I can talk.”
After the boy said this, sweat dripped down his cheek. He could be certain that the person in front of him was someone who killed without blinking.
Gu Lian released the hand she had been gripping. The boy quickly pulled back and retreated several steps. Clutching the War-ready Food he had grabbed, he reluctantly placed the item on the ground.
Just as the boy was about to leave, his vision blurred. Gu Lian stood in front of him again, her fingers curled and pressed against the boy’s chest. The 5 sharp tips pierced his clothes and lightly scratched the skin, a trace of blood spreading on his garment.
“I… I…”
The boy’s lips turned white. The terror between life and death made him drop to his knees with a thud, blood and sweat quickly soaking his entire body.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Gu Lian retracted the spikes from her fingertips and looked at the boy. She squatted down and pressed her palm against the boy’s head.
“You have two choices now. The first one is to die right here.”
“I choose the second one!”
Without any hesitation, the boy swallowed his saliva. He was clever and knew the current situation. The fact that the other party hadn’t killed him immediately meant there was something she needed, and she likely needed him.
“The second one, you act as a guide and take me around this place.”
“Okay, I… I am very familiar with this place.”
After Gu Lian stated the second option, although the Little Boy’s body was still shaking, his tone at least sounded much calmer.
“That’s fine. Pick that up, and then lead me to the Tavern nearby.”
Gu Lian stood up and began to walk forward. The Little Boy took a few deep breaths, stared at the War-ready Food beside him, swallowed his saliva, grabbed the food, and followed her.
—
Five minutes later, Gu Lian pushed open the door of a tavern, and a wave of heat hit her, mixed with the smell of alcohol and low-quality tobacco.
A circular bar sat in the center of the tavern. The paint on the wood was peeling off. Around it were a few wooden tables where thugs sat in groups of 3 to 5. The tavern was not spacious to begin with, and with these thugs, it appeared crowded and noisy.
“Hahaha, deal, pay up, pay up!”
“Bullshit, are you trying to cheat?”
A man with disgustingly yellow teeth slammed a handgun onto the table, his slimy saliva visible on his yellowed teeth.
“I am cheating, you got a problem with that?”
The thug who was placing the bet looked at him with disdain, unbuttoning his own shirt to reveal 2 handguns tucked inside.
“Why don’t you guys just fight!”
A drunken thug laughed loudly, completely content to watch the chaos. Others were slumped over the tables, sleeping, still clutching large bottles of booze.
Gu Lian arrived at the bar and lifted two dead-drunk thugs by their collars, tossing them aside. The two men just smacked their lips and continued to sleep, only gripping their empty bottles a bit tighter.
Sitting on a stool, Gu Lian pinched a small segment of a Gold Bar from her backpack and placed it on the table. Under the dim light, the Gold Bar emitted a dark yellow glow that was enticing to look at.
“Boss, bring out some meat, you understand?”