Chapter 3: Arrival

Zhongshan was hollowed out, revealing a massive space inside, filled with modern facilities that left hundreds of evolvers in awe.

Groups of evolver soldiers walked by, carrying standard steel knives, blending modern and ancient elements in a peculiar way.

As the strength of the evolvers grew, conventional firearms became less effective, and with many weapons depots destroyed, equipping standard steel knives proved the sophistication of the detention camp.

Lu Yin and the others were guided to a vast square surrounded by evolver soldiers, and many female soldiers watched them solemnly.

Above the square, more than ten meters high, there was a transparent glass layer, revealing another massive space inside.

At this moment, near the glass, several men and women were laughing and watching below.

"I wonder if we can recruit some useful people this time. Even if they don't reach the person level, they shouldn't be too weak," a middle-aged man said in a low voice.

"Don't be too optimistic. It's not easy to reach the person level. The team's captains have already been arranged by the Saint of Xing. None of us got one," complained a coquettish woman next to him.

"It's not impossible. It's not easy for them to protect tens of thousands of survivors and come to Jinling from such a distance. I value these people a lot. Don't let all of them go to me," a young man on the other side said with a smile.

"Don't dream too much. Let's see how Feng Hong arranges it. He is the instructor this time, and the main leaders have probably been assigned by him long ago," the middle-aged man said.

These people were all Wanchang (Ten Thousand Generals) in the detention camp. Among the eight thousand evolvers in the camp, only those who reached the Earth level could become Wanchang. After reaching Wanchang, they were absolute overlords in Jinling, second only to the Saint of Punishment.

For the hundreds of thousands of survivors in Jinling, the Saint of Punishment was rarely seen. Wanchang was like gods to them.

"I heard that under Luo Saint's command, Snow Woman is coming to Jinling, and there will be a showdown with us. Who do you guys plan to send?" the coquettish woman suddenly asked, smiling at the people around her.

The few people remained silent and did not intend to respond.

The coquettish woman chuckled, "It is rumored that Luo Saint declared Snow Woman invincible at the Earth level. Are you guys really not interested in witnessing it?"

Still, no one spoke.

The coquettish woman smiled and stopped talking.

Luo Saint Bai Xue, standing tall in the snowy mountains, founded the Blue Camp. Although she was listed as one of the Seven Saints alongside the Saint of Punishment Zhou Shan, her status was higher than Zhou Shan's.

The Seven Saints of China appeared equal in status to outsiders, but only a few people knew that they were divided into the Upper Three Saints and the Lower Four Saints. Bai Xue, Luo Saint, was one of the Upper Three Saints, while Zhou Shan, Zhou Saint, ranked among the Lower Four Saints.

In the square, each evolver underwent inspection mainly because, after the apocalypse, many viruses mutated, especially the virus of zombies, which was difficult to treat. The detention camp had to ensure that all evolvers were not infected with the virus, as it could be dangerous.

Soon, it was Lu Yin's turn.

Watching a vial containing his blood placed aside, a nurse began filling out his personal information. Lu Yin's eyes flashed, he exerted force in his legs, his figure suddenly blurred, and in the next moment, it returned to normal. No one saw it clearly, but the color of the blood in the vial changed slightly, as if it carried a hint of purple but quickly returned to normal.

"Lu Yin, right? Please wait a moment; it will be quick," the young nurse smiled and said to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin nodded, "Thank you," and walked to the other side.

After some time, nearly five hundred evolvers were all inspected without any issues.

Soon, a middle-aged man in a dark military uniform walked over. As he approached, a pressure emerged, astonishing all the evolvers.

Creak!

The ground cracked, and a powerful force swept through, shocking all the evolvers.

"Earth, Earth-level powerhouse!" someone exclaimed, and all the evolvers looked at the middle-aged man with fear and envy.

The middle-aged man walked about ten meters away from Land Hidden and others, and said loudly, "I am Feng Hong, the Wanchang of the detention camp. Now I will ask again, if any of you are unwilling to join the camp, you can leave."

The evolvers looked at each other, and then some began to leave.

Despite the camp's strength, many people had never served in the military and were unwilling to join. It was normal. Land Hidden was one of them.

Nearly two hundred people chose not to join the camp, which was close to half.

Feng Hong looked at the evolvers unwilling to join, saying indifferently, "Joining the camp not only ensures safety but also guarantees the protection of your loved ones. You can bring your family to the area around Zhongshan, receive energy crystals for cultivation every month, and even learn combat skills taught by the Saint of Punishment."

"What is a combat skill?" someone curiously asked.

Feng Hong said coldly, "Techniques that allow you to unleash 200% of your strength. The Saint of Punishment's combat skill is Storm Slash. Few in the world can withstand it. You should have seen it."

Excitement filled the eyes of all the evolvers. They had indeed seen it—a single slash annihilating mutated vines, causing the earth to crack, and a display of immense power.

"Can we learn Storm Slash?" someone asked hopefully.

Feng Hong replied indifferently, "Anyone can learn it, as long as they gain the approval of the Saint of Punishment."

With these words, the evolvers became excited. They had all witnessed the incredible power of Storm Slash.

"Is it going to be taught this time?" someone asked.

Feng Hong nodded, "Yes, the Saint of Punishment will personally instruct."

With these words, those who had originally intended to leave hesitated and gradually returned to the group. Among those who truly wanted to leave were only less than fifty people, including Lu Yin.

Feng Hong waved his hand, "Take them away."

Soon, nearly fifty evolvers were escorted out of Zhongshan.

Lu Yin looked back, knowing that this place would soon be in turmoil.

Outside Zhongshan, a crowd of survivors and evolvers had gathered. When Land Hidden and the others came out, they were surrounded. "Brother, do you want to buy some property? You can find me, and the price is absolutely fair."

"Brother, need a guide? Don't look at me like that; there are too many zombies and monsters outside Jinling. Without a guide, you might easily get surrounded."

"Brother, need weapons? Sharp knives, sturdy spears, and even firearms are available. Buy a few bombs for self-defense."

...

"Do you have a map?" Land Hidden asked.

A sly-looking evolver immediately approached, first scanning the surroundings fiercely, scaring away his peers, then carefully took out a map. "Brother, this map is only ten energy crystals."

Lu Yin raised an eyebrow, "Ten crystals? Are you crazy? A map for ten crystals? Do you know that one crystal can make an ordinary person evolve?"

The sly-looking evolver whispered, "Brother, this is not an ordinary map. It details the concentration of powerful monsters and zombies outside Jinling. You wouldn't want to be surrounded as soon as you go out, right? This is about your life, isn't your life worth ten crystals?"

Lu Yin chuckled, "At most three, no more."

The sly-looking evolver readily agreed, "Okay, you're my friend. Take the map."

Lu Yin felt like he was being swindled, but he didn't mind. He reached into his pocket and took out three small white crystals the size of rice grains, handing them to the evolver. The sly-looking evolver took the crystals with excitement, then approached Land Hidden and whispered, "Brother, seeing how generous you are, I'll give you something. No need to thank me." After that, he handed a round pill to Land Hidden and left.

Land Hidden looked at the pill with a strange expression. He recognized it—it was an aphrodisiac.

After the apocalypse, many plants mutated, and the medications from the peaceful era were outdated. Medications made from mutated plants were more effective, and this aphrodisiac was something Land Hidden had seen others use. Its effects were absolute, but it was also very precious. If sold, it would be worth much more than three crystals. Where did this guy get it?

Land Hidden didn't think too much about it. He casually threw away the aphrodisiac, looked around, and walked towards the outer city.

Carefully studying the map, Land Hidden's gaze swept over the surroundings and finally settled on a desolate mountain in the south of the city. "I hope there are clues here."

Inside the top-level space of Zhongshan, a massive conference room filled with people, the top seat empty. On the left side sat a man with a scar on his face, wearing military uniform, and on the right side sat a beautiful girl with glasses. Most of the people here were Wanchang of the detention camp.

After a while, Zhou Shan entered the conference room and naturally sat in the top seat. His gaze swept across everyone, finally looking at the girl with glasses. "How is the plan going?"

The girl pushed her glasses and said, "Preliminary estimates suggest that expanding the gathering area in Jinling will take at least two months. The loss of combat personnel may reach two to three thousand. If we want to include the entire territory of peaceful Jinling in the gathering area, the loss will be tripled."

Zhou Shan frowned, "The gathering area must expand. The road to the north has gone smoothly, and it will connect with Beijing in a few months. Once the entire country is connected, it will be easy to reclaim the territory. We cannot be weak; we cannot let others mock us."

"Saint, we just received news that a Heaven-level powerhouse, Monk Ku Seng, was born in Tianzhu (India)," the scar-faced man suddenly spoke.

Everyone was shocked. Heaven-level powerhouses were only seven in all of China, showing how difficult it was. Unexpectedly, one was born in Tianzhu.

Zhou Shan's eyes narrowed, "Monk Ku Seng? Check his information. It is impossible for anyone to break through the Heaven level within a year."

"Yes."

"Is there anything else?" Zhou Shan continued to ask.

The scar-faced man raised his hand, and just as an evolver was about to speak, his gaze suddenly became dull as he looked out the window. Others followed suit, staring blankly outside.

Zhou Shan suddenly turned around, looking out the window. His gaze narrowed.

In the sky, dozens of shooting stars fell, trailing long flames across the sky. One of the shooting stars headed towards Jinling and eventually fell to the south of the city, causing the earth to shake.

At this moment, countless survivors and evolvers witnessed this scene. The shooting stars were like fireworks, dazzling for an instant and then disappearing.

Outside Jinling, as Lu Yin followed the map to the southern mountains, he also saw it. The shooting star that fell outside Jinling was not far from him.

The violent air wave swept through the sky, dispersing the clouds, and causing the earth to crack.

Lu Yin kicked away the steel bars and iron frames heading towards him, gazing towards the south. After a moment of contemplation, he quickly rushed over.

Inside Jinling, Zhou Shan soared into the air, wanting to fly towards the south but was stopped. "Saint, countless zombies are attacking the city walls."

Zhou Shan turned his gaze to the east, where a sea of zombies roamed towards them. Jinling was already sealed off, and many survivors were still locked outside the city, screaming in despair.

Zhou Shan held a giant axe and flew towards the city walls. A single strike cleaved through countless zombies, "Open the city gates, let them in. I will guard."

In the southern part of Jinling, where the shooting star had fallen, a massive crater with smoke rising into the sky covered an area of thousands of meters. At the bottom was a white spherical object with a two-meter diameter emitting white smoke, and the air around it twisted.

Lu Yin approached cautiously, hiding in an abandoned factory not far from the crater. Through a wooden board, he looked towards the white spherical object, his eyes slightly changing. Although he had some guesses, seeing it in person was still unexpected. "I didn't expect it to come earlier than I estimated. A cosmic spaceship."

With a light sound, the spaceship's cabin door opened, and a hand reached out. After a pause, a young man walked out, short hair, wearing white light armor, stepping on combat boots, leisurely walking out of the spaceship. He looked up towards the sky, stretched, "Really tired. A trial is a trial, but choosing such a distant place and making us fly over ourselves is truly disgusting."

After speaking, the young man took out a short knife from the spaceship, as well as a wrist-like device, put it on his left wrist, touched it, and made a beeping sound. The young man's gaze condensed, looking towards the direction of Lu Yin, "Who's there?" Saying that, he leaped up, pulled out the short knife, and made a horizontal slash. The massive slash cut the factory in two.

 "Who are you?" The young man shouted as he landed, his eyes fixed on Lu Yin.