Chapter Fourteen: Repelling the Enemy and Reunion

At the instant the arrow was shot, a murderous intent surged along with it, and the two immediately sensed it. They swiftly leapt away from their original positions, and Tang Zhen saw a slender black shadow rapidly streak past before his eyes—the arrow aimed to ambush him.

Fortunately, the speed of these two arrows was not too fast, giving them a chance to dodge. Yet, facing such a sudden arrow attack, Tang Zhen still broke out in a cold sweat.

Just the thought of an arrow piercing the heart sent chills down his spine.

Having evaded this treacherous ambush, the two simultaneously drew their weapons, standing back-to-back with cautious eyes scanning the surrounding grass.

At that moment, eight or nine figures leapt out from the grass, encircling them from all directions. The weapons in their hands glinted menacingly.

These men were also raggedly dressed, but compared to ordinary vagrants, their expressions were far more ferocious. In their eyes, a trace of greed shone as they regarded the two.

“Raider gang!” Qian Long said cautiously, his face showing a hint of alertness as he looked at the men before them.

Tang Zhen’s heart sank at the mention, silently cursing his misfortune.

The raider gangs of the wastelands were notoriously infamous, like rats everyone wanted to eliminate.

They acted without limits, doing as they pleased; killing for pleasure was routine, and cannibalism was even part of their grim menu.

Between many of the tower cities in this world, secret magical channels existed for communication, along with organizations akin to mercenary guilds. Through such networks, a wanted bounty list was issued, and the top ten most wanted individuals all hailed from these wasteland raider gangs.

Once captured, members of the raider gangs were almost certainly hanged, with few escaping justice.

Madmen beyond redemption, committing every conceivable evil!

This was the grim impression Tang Zhen had of the raiders, and now these bastards had set their sights on him.

A gentle breeze swept across the wasteland, and Tang Zhen vaguely felt a murderous aura lingering.

One of the raiders looked somewhat familiar; in a flash, Tang Zhen recalled having seen him before in a grocery store! At that time, he and Qian Long were counting brain beads, while this man seemed to be just standing nearby—now he realized this fellow had been spying on them.

It seemed this gang had long noticed them. After Tang Zhen and Qian Long left the vagrant town, these raiders had followed to rob them.

If the robbery succeeded, Tang Zhen and Qian Long’s lives would be in grave danger. They would never allow anyone who knew their identities to live; otherwise, once reported and recognized, they could no longer easily blend into the vagrant town.

Robbing the fat sheep in the vagrant town was a primary source of income for these raiders.

Unfortunately for them, they had picked the wrong people to mess with!

Since this fight was a matter of life and death, there was no room for hesitation.

Before the raiders could speak, Qian Long shouted fiercely, reached to his side, and swung out a sharpened, one-foot-long twisted steel spike.

The steel spike was heavy and solid, flying straight toward the raider at the front.

This large needle-like weapon had been strapped to Qian Long’s thigh sheath, ready to be drawn and thrown in sudden combat.

Weighing over a pound, this concealed weapon struck with great force, piercing directly into the raider’s chest.

Tang Zhen seemed to hear a soft “pfft...” sound as the spike penetrated flesh. The raider’s mouth twitched, his body convulsed uncontrollably, and he swung his arms in frustration before collapsing weakly to the ground.

After the successful strike, Qian Long moved swiftly, wielding his battle knife fiercely against the raiders.

His movements were agile and precise, controlling his strength with finesse. His leaps and dodges were fluid, and with his sharp weapon, he held his ground evenly against two enemies.

However, the enemy’s numbers were too many, and soon Qian Long found himself surrounded, the situation growing perilous.

Originally intending to draw his sword to fight, Tang Zhen dared not hesitate upon seeing this. He quickly pulled out his pistol from his waist, disengaged the safety, and fired rapidly at the three raiders rushing toward him.

He no longer sought to kill, only to intimidate them and provide relief for Qian Long.

Because the firing distance was so close, the raiders did not expect Tang Zhen to have a pistol, giving him the upper hand.

“Bang bang bang...!”

In an instant, the magazine emptied, and all three raiders were shot, collapsing bloodied into the grass.

The power of firearms was brutal. These three raiders died before they could even reach Tang Zhen.

The rapid gunfire and devastating lethality left the remaining raiders stunned and fearful as they stared at their fallen comrades.

They knew Tang Zhen’s weapon was a firearm, and an extremely expensive automatic one at that. Such a deadly tool was something they had only heard about. They never imagined these two “fat sheep” would actually possess one!

They were out of luck; these weren’t just prey—they were executioners of death!

Unanimously, the remaining raiders thought this, momentarily distracted.

Qian Long, bloodthirsty as ever, seized the opportunity to hack down one enemy and quickly regroup with Tang Zhen.

Tang Zhen’s first magazine was empty; he hastily pulled out a new one from his space pouch, fumbling nervously to reload.

Unfortunately, untrained and flustered, he failed to insert the magazine correctly three times, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

If the raiders charged now, they might have overwhelmed him.

Yet the raiders did not seize this fleeting chance. Just as Tang Zhen finally succeeded in loading the magazine on the fourth attempt, the remaining raiders turned and fled into the grass in disarray!

Though ruthless, they were not fools. They knew lingering and fighting further could cost them their lives. They had thought Tang Zhen was a mere fat sheep, but these two proved ferocious beyond expectation. This time, they had suffered a major loss.

When enemy weapons were this formidable, retreat was the only wise choice.

Watching the raiders flee in disgrace, the two exchanged glances and exhaled deeply.

After consulting the map and confirming the raiders had fled far away, Tang Zhen shakily holstered his weapon and cursed under his breath, “Damn it...!”

Qian Long plopped down on the ground, panting heavily from the exhausting fight.

After a brief rest and a quick check of his arm wounds, Qian Long stood and began searching the raiders’ bodies. As a notorious wasteland raider gang, these men might have carried many valuable items.

But luck was not on their side; these rogues were poorer than him. In the end, he only scavenged a few dozen brain beads and some scattered small items.

However, among the raiders’ discarded weapons, several looked quite good, and Qian Long collected them all.

Tang Zhen had little interest in these and urged Qian Long to leave quickly—he did not want to be caught off guard by a surprise counterattack.

After this journey began, the two became much more cautious. Tang Zhen never let go of his gun. Qian Long, curious about the firearm, asked a few questions and even fiddled with it before handing it back.

Tang Zhen had expected Qian Long to be fascinated by the gun but was surprised by his calm demeanor. Instead, Qian Long was deeply intrigued by cold weapons.

They pressed onward. Fortunately, the journey was uneventful after that. Avoiding monsters lurking around the abandoned factory’s perimeter, the two quietly entered a concealed underground chamber.

At the wooden board blocking the entrance, Tang Zhen whispered a passphrase to prove his identity.

A faint scraping sound followed, then a girl’s delighted whisper came from behind the board. The board was slid aside, revealing Murong Ziyan’s surprised and joyful face.

She stepped aside to let the two enter, then quickly replaced the board.

“Brother Tang, you finally came back!” Murong Ziyan said, grabbing Tang Zhen’s arm with a joyful smile.

A little girl nearby held half a biscuit in her hands and nodded eagerly in agreement.

Patting Murong Ziyan’s shoulder, Tang Zhen smiled and introduced Qian Long to her.

Seizing the moment when Murong Ziyan turned away, Qian Long winked at Tang Zhen with a knowing, mischievous expression.

Tang Zhen chuckled softly and turned away, ignoring him.

Resting to the side, Tang Zhen shared his plan to establish a tower city. Compared to Qian Long’s hearsay, Murong Ziyan, once the daughter of a tower city lord, surely knew more and could provide valuable advice.

Upon hearing Tang Zhen’s idea, Murong Ziyan was equally surprised. After her initial shock, she told Tang Zhen details about establishing a tower city that Qian Long had not mentioned.

Compared to Qian Long’s rumors, Murong Ziyan’s information was much more detailed and accurate.

It turned out that to build a tower city, besides the cornerstone, one also needed a brain bead from a level-six or higher demon monster!

In this world, once a wanderer reached level five, their combat strength hit a bottleneck. They could only advance to level six by making sacrifices at the tower city’s altar to gain divine power.

After receiving divine power through sacrifice, some gained the ability to cultivate martial arts, others to practice divine magic, but all became immensely powerful.

Both cultivators and monsters in this world had levels; a cultivator’s true level began after gaining divine power, and beyond level six, each new level multiplied their strength exponentially.

Monsters below level five were ordinary, but upon reaching level six, they could also gain divine power and become powerful demons. At this stage, the demon’s brain bead became extremely precious—usable for sacrifices or cultivation aid—and was rare beyond price.