This time, Bai Qiu didn’t immediately return A Yuan to the contract space card.
Instead, he let it follow behind the group and deal with any Dragonfang Soldiers that approached.
On one hand, this allowed it to gain experience and level up; on the other, it freed up the armed police.
They decided to carry the survivors themselves.
Including Wang Haoyu, the fifteen-member squad each carried one survivor, leaving only four survivors unaccounted for.
Bai Qiu and Zhang Shiyao exchanged a glance, then had the remaining survivors sit on A Yuan’s back, letting it carry them.
The four remaining survivors were the mother and daughter Bai Qiu had first rescued, along with two schoolgirls.
At first, they were quite afraid of A Yuan, but after seeing how obedient and docile it was in front of Bai Qiu—almost like a puppy—they gradually relaxed.
Once the survivors were settled, the task of clearing the path and hunting Dragonfang Soldiers fell to Bai Qiu and Zhang Shiyao.
This was a decision they had made together—waiting for the survivors to slowly walk back would take far too long.
Bai Qiu took out Fallen Dragon’s Bow, dark hellfire rising from his body as he leapt dozens of meters into the air.
Floating high above, the weapon roared as it devoured the incoming Dragonfang Soldiers!
Zhang Shiyao’s body shimmered with a cyan glow, and an identical copy of herself rushed to the front of the group.
Her arrows flew like interwoven streaks of light and shadow, silently eliminating monsters hidden within buildings.
From the sky, Bai Qiu could handle 95% of the monsters.
However, some were too close to the group for him to safely attack—Fallen Dragon’s Bow was too powerful.
Even its residual magical shockwaves could accidentally kill these low-level survivors.
Zhang Shiyao, on the other hand, was different.
She could use mithril arrows to take down elite monsters, or create ordinary arrows with magic to eliminate weaker ones—her damage was completely controllable.
As for the rear, after reaching level 24, A Yuan’s agility had risen from D to D++, making it faster than most people below level 20.
Keeping up with the armed police carrying survivors was effortless.
Occasionally, when a few monsters slipped through and neither Bai Qiu nor Zhang Shiyao could deal with them in time, A Yuan would simply puff its cheeks and spit out a stream of water arrows, eliminating the stragglers one by one.
Ironically, the survivors riding on A Yuan’s back were the most comfortable.
First, the ride was incredibly stable—not bumpy at all.
Second, since A Yuan had recently shed its skin, its body was at its most soft and springy, making it surprisingly comfortable to sit on.
The little girl even fell asleep on A Yuan’s back, soothed by her mother…
…
Before long, the group arrived near Safe Zone 2229.
Bai Qiu had A Yuan stop about fifty meters outside the zone.
“Good work, A Yuan,” Bai Qiu said as he descended from the air, looking at the obediently resting serpent.
After helping all the survivors down from A Yuan’s back, Bai Qiu began feeding it potions and raw meat.
The little girl was reluctantly pulled away by her mother.
Watching the affectionate interaction between A Yuan and Bai Qiu, she didn’t know who she should envy more.
After eating its fill, A Yuan voluntarily returned to the contract space card.
Bai Qiu looked at the group waiting for him and said, “Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s go.”
At that moment, Zhang Shiyao snapped her fingers.
The other “Zhang Shiyao” dissolved into a streak of cyan light and merged back into her body—her mastery over the Azure Light had clearly grown more and more refined.
After entering Safe Zone 2229, Bai Qiu activated his Sevenfold Arcane Crystallization Eyes, carefully observing every detail of the place.
He had to confirm whether this place was truly suitable for survivors to live in—or if it was just escaping a wolf’s den only to enter a tiger’s mouth.
Even if Wang Haoyu’s identity was real, Bai Qiu didn’t fully trust him.
It was never professions that were inherently righteous and kind—but people.
Just like how the credibility of the government nowadays was uncertain at best—who could guarantee that, without proper oversight, these people would still remain true to their original intentions?
Clearly, Wang Haoyu had already informed others in advance.
As soon as they arrived, a burly middle-aged man quickly walked over, bypassing the others and approaching Bai Qiu with a warm smile.
“Oh my, you must be Bai Qiu—the big shot that players keep mentioning in the cross-zone channel, right?
My name is Shao Dongyang, captain of the Armed Police Unit in XX City! For now, I’m acting as the person in charge of Zone 2229. Come, come, let’s talk inside…”
As he spoke, he gestured invitingly.
At that moment, the two schoolgirls who had been quiet until now stepped up beside Bai Qiu and timidly said, “Um… could you take us with you?”
Bai Qiu raised an eyebrow.
They should have already known he was Bai Qiu—after all, his name had been mentioned earlier at the criminals’ hideout.
So why were they only bringing this up now?
Were they trying to curry favor with him? Or were they… afraid of something?
Bai Qiu glanced at Shao Dongyang and said, “Give me a moment.”
Then he turned to the two girls and asked, “Why? Tell me—what can you offer me?”
“We…” They hesitated, exchanged a glance, then gritted their teeth and said in unison, “We’re willing to do anything! As long as you’re willing to take us in—we can cook, clean, do laundry… we can do everything!”
Seeing that Bai Qiu prioritized the survivors over himself, Shao Dongyang subconsciously frowned, but quickly relaxed again.
Caring about survivors—whether for him or for others—was actually a good thing.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Qiu said, “Alright. For now, you can follow her.”
He pointed at Zhang Shiyao.
Some things weren’t appropriate to discuss here.
“Let’s go, Captain Shao,” Bai Qiu said after settling the matter with the two girls.
…
The situation in Zone 2229 was quite complicated.
Its base consisted of clusters of unfinished high-rise buildings—several dozens of stories tall.
Unfortunately, they had no doors or windows installed, no interior construction, unfinished elevators, and even staircases without railings…
As a result, these buildings weren’t used for civilian or military purposes.
Only the ground floor had makeshift entrances, with canvas used as simple curtains.
Inside, a few large tents were set up, serving as resting areas for officers.
Aside from the Sacred Domain Black Tower, everything here looked desolate.
Whether soldiers or civilians, everyone lived in tents—laying down blankets, sheets, or straw mats directly on the floor to sleep.
In even worse conditions, some people would simply lay a thin sheet of transparent plastic on the ground, weigh down the four corners with a few bricks, and use it directly as a bed.
The conditions here were harsh and difficult—food, clothing, shelter, and transportation were all problems.
When Bai Qiu first came here, he had only taken a quick glance, unlocked the teleportation device, and left.
Now, with just a casual sweep of his eyes, the entire layout was committed to memory.
Centered around the Sacred Domain Black Tower, the military camp spread outward in the direction of the tower’s main gate.
There was sufficient spacing between each tent for military movement, and behind every tent, a trench had been dug to serve as a makeshift dry latrine.
All daily waste was directed through these trenches to the rear of the Sacred Domain Black Tower.
It seemed they were planning to develop some form of agriculture behind it.
Starting from nothing, they had managed to perfectly handle basic human physiological needs without disrupting daily life.
In that regard, Zone 2229 had done an excellent job.
Then there was the civilian layout.
Due to the large population, expanding outward away from the Black Tower to create more space and set up additional tents was a reasonable approach.
Except for small families of three who could stay together, each large tent housed about 8 to 10 people.
Naturally, men and women were separated.
Moreover, at regular intervals, there were military tents stationed nearby, along with many simple watchtowers, with soldiers rotating shifts in three time periods.
Protecting civilians while also imposing restraint and surveillance… that was understandable.
The only question was how well discipline was maintained.
Bai Qiu nodded to himself.
Overall, he was quite satisfied with the layout—this Shao Dongyang clearly knew what he was doing.
Arriving inside a large tent, Bai Qiu and Shao Dongyang were about to begin their discussion.
— The end of the Chapter–
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