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墨書 Inktalez
The flames of the Inferno engulfed the central area of Han Sui City Gathering Place, as if hell itself had descended. The dancing demons consumed everything in their path. The Ice King's piercing screams echoed throughout the Gathering Place, his powerful resentment rising and falling with each roar.
Zheng Yifan had been watching him from the outskirts of the Inferno. Inside, he felt like an incongruous block of ice, moving slowly and awkwardly. If he could have transformed into a gaseous form, he would have surely escaped. Unfortunately, in his quest to kill Luo Yaoyang, he had transformed into his final form, gaining the strongest affinity for ice elements, but losing his chance to flee as events unfolded so rapidly.
If Zheng Yifan wanted to confront him, he still had to overcome a few hurdles. However, Zheng Yifan was not one to follow conventional paths; sensing the gap between them, he immediately used the Inferno to bury him within.
As for his Shooting Skill, it was utterly useless. The Ice King's body was incredibly hard, barely melting even in the flames. Moreover, his Silver Spear was currently causing constant disturbances for the Ice King, making it difficult for him to escape from the Inferno.
Of course, this was merely Zheng Yifan's strategy. In reality, the Ice King could not escape; his feet were already beginning to melt, and his body continuously emitted a chill that countered the heat waves around him.
Yet compared to such abundant fuel, the cold air he produced felt like an ice cube dropped into magma—melting in an instant. Perhaps due to insufficient oxygen, the burning was not rapid; however, the Ice King had no hope left. Every time he attempted to lift a leg, a shield would slam against him, causing him to stumble.
Thick smoke obscured his vision, preventing him from seeing Zheng Yifan outside. But he knew who was responsible for this predicament.
It was futile. He had no capacity for rebuttal.
The fire raged for three nights, turning the ground into a translucent hue. The Han Sui City Gathering Place had vanished, leaving behind nothing but ruins—or perhaps not even that; it could only be described as a blank slate where the ground had sunk over half a meter.
Zheng Yifan could no longer find any trace of the Ice King; perhaps he had completely melted away. Only some crystalline remnants on the ground might contain what was left of that Crystal from his mind.
But it no longer mattered; Zheng Yifan truly lacked the confidence to locate that Crystal again.
The bodies within the Gathering Place had turned to ash without needing any further handling. All survivors were outside the Gathering Place setting up tents filled with blankets.
This was a gift from Hope Gathering Place.
Of course, it was all on credit. They would need to repay their debts over a long period ahead; with an interest rate of one-tenth of a percent, it was quite low—merely a prompt for them to settle their accounts quickly.
Everyone needed to work for Zheng Yifan. Now that it was freezing cold, they donned thick clothing and rode on newly assembled metal houses on wheels to search for supplies, which they could find in the Gathering Place. Half of what they gathered would go towards settling debts, while the other half could be exchanged for food. Everyone was busily engaged in their tasks.
More and more self-organized groups were forming, all aiming to acquire more resources and currency from the Hope Gathering Place.
Zheng Yifan pulled out a simplified version of the Exchange List from the Gathering Place. The prices were three times that of the Hope Gathering Place, and the items on the list were so scarce that they barely allowed for survival.
Yet, this was already their best gift; many even began trading. Several house vehicles collectively purchased whatever supplies they could afford to buy and sold them in other Gathering Places. They exchanged these for Essence Fruits and Zombie Crystal s, then returned to trade for more supplies.
They would gain double the profit. This was enough to take risks. Moreover, with the landscape frozen solid and snow just around the corner, everyone wanted to stockpile supplies before winter truly set in.
This included fuel and building materials.
The Han Sui City Gathering Place needed reconstruction; only the best among them would qualify to live in the Hope Gathering Place, which felt like a sanctuary to them. Almost every Survivor from the Han Sui City Gathering Place filled out an application to join the Hope Gathering Place.
Of course, the Han Sui City Gathering Place had now been renamed Wilderness Gathering Place; it had truly become a wasteland. Zheng Yifan planned to make this place his trading hub, connecting all Survivors south of Ruiguan, starting from Wilderness Gathering Place. As for those north of the river, that would have to wait until Zheng Yifan conquered Hansui City.
Everything was bustling with activity; nearly everyone was busy. The only one who seemed relaxed was Zheng Yifan himself. In battle, he could charge ahead without hesitation, but when it came to daily management, he felt little interest. His team had developed sufficiently on its own, and the management system was sound enough that he didn't need to micromanage.
As for the Two Major Legions, they had been cooped up in the Gathering Place and were turning green with impatience. Finally, they received good news: all members of the Suicide Squad led by Li Ning had passed their tests and entered the Hope Gathering Place to reinforce the Two Major Legions. Each of these individuals had proven themselves capable; at least they did not flinch in the face of battle. However, there hadn't been much fighting; their role was primarily to clean up after battles.
The former Han Sui City Gathering Place had vanished into thin air; its two most powerful factions had completely disbanded.
Zheng Yifan walked slowly through the ruins, watching as two stone-rolling vehicles ground over the surface. These were vehicles recently repaired in a hurry—products of the apocalypse—designed for better leveling capabilities. Behind them, an automatic road-paving machine was laying down paths for future plans regarding the Gathering Place. Meanwhile, trench-digging machines were operating to perfect underground pipelines; there were no setups here to lure or slaughter Zombies—only pre-setting positions for future walls.
All planning was handled by professional teams, and manpower from Hope Gathering Place continued to expand.
What thrilled Zheng Yifan most was that many of these people were former elites from Hansui City. They possessed a good level of education and management experience; occasionally, a few specialized talents even left him drooling with excitement.
The designer had assembled a team of over a dozen people, all originally professors from the Architecture Design School of Han Sui University.
There were countless other teams as well. Of course, Zheng Yifan had not forgotten to form an accounting team for himself, specifically tasked with examining whether his team in the real world was misappropriating funds or damaging company property.
"Report, Leader! We have discovered something!" Li Ning ran up to Zheng Yifan and saluted.
"What is it?" Zheng Yifan adjusted his clothes and looked at Li Ning. All matters had reached a conclusion, and he could finally return to the Hope Gathering Place for some relaxation. However, he still needed to make a trip to the Solar Photovoltaic Power Station project, which was already giving him a headache just thinking about it.
"Leader, we found a dungeon in the southwest direction of the Gathering Place. It holds some prisoners, but the vast majority have been confirmed dead. Only one person is still alive!" Li Ning reported.
Zheng Yifan frowned. The southwest direction of the Gathering Place was one of the hardest-hit areas during the great fire in Han Sui City. Although it wasn't directly affected, the wooden buildings above were highly flammable and burned for an entire night before extinguishing themselves. How could anyone survive in a dungeon there? Was it a rat?
"Let's go! We need to see this poor Fellow who has been locked up," Zheng Yifan said, intrigued, even forgetting about the beautiful Li Li for the moment.
It wasn't that he had suddenly developed lustful thoughts; rather, it was his appreciation for beauty that made him reluctant to destroy it.
Ahead lay a desolate landscape. The ground was covered with crystalline formations; sand and stones had melted into glass-like structures, and ordinary soil had crystallized as well. Not to mention the houses that had extensively used glass materials.
As Zheng Yifan walked further, the ground gradually returned to normal, slowly moving away from the central area of the fire and entering the residences of those in power within the Gathering Place.
This area was typically inhabited by leaders of mercenary groups or important figures within the Gathering Place. It also included places where Luo Yaoyang's subordinates hid their significant missions.
However, all Zheng Yifan could see were ruins. The beauty had turned to bones, reduced to nothing but ashes or scattered fragments of pale bones.
Having witnessed so much destruction, Zheng Yifan no longer felt the same fear he had when he first arrived in this apocalyptic world; he faced death with calmness now.
"Right here!" Li Ning pointed out.
Zheng Yifan looked closely at the charred ground beside him, where the remnants of a wooden building could be faintly discerned. Just three or four meters to his right lay the street. Amidst the dark scorch marks on the ground, there was one particularly unusual piece: a warped iron plate that had been burned, revealing a pitch-black void beneath it.
Softly, he could hear voices coming from within, along with a distant flash of light.
"Boss! Old Hou and the others are down there interrogating that kid. He's just a reckless fool, acting like he's lost his mind. Stay away from him; even if you're not afraid, you don't want to get snot all over your pants," Li Ning said, seemingly still shaken as he forcefully pulled open the large door made of iron plates.
It was a massive staircase measuring two meters on each side. The environment below was quite spacious, as if it had been excavated long ago, showcasing some characteristics of ancient architecture. Zheng Yifan learned from Li Ning that this place used to be the ancestral hall of the village where the granary was located; this was indeed beneath the ancestral hall.
It was likely a place where clan members imprisoned criminals.
The prison had an imposing atmosphere about it. As they descended slowly, torches were already lit along the walls, supported by brass brackets that held the large torches steady without any sign of shaking. It was hard to believe these brackets were at least several hundred years old.
Continuing downwards, they descended eighteen steps until they reached a spot about four or five meters below ground level. Upon entering, they found themselves in a narrow tunnel with cleverly placed ventilation holes that allowed fresh air to flow in without revealing any outside light.
This was quite rare beneath a fire scene. Zheng Yifan hadn’t noticed any ventilation holes above ground.
Moving forward led them into a large stone chamber where various torture devices hung on the walls. The wooden implements had long since rotted away, leaving only metal remnants behind.
However, Zheng Yifan discovered several sturdy remnants among them, showcasing an array of torture devices far more complete than what he had seen in Old Hou's house.
He recognized many items he had seen in movies; occasionally glancing at them felt surreal as if he were finally witnessing their true forms.
Wooden Donkeys, iron maidens, stocks… whatever one could imagine was almost certainly present here.
What surprised Zheng Yifan most was finding some torture devices that were typically associated with Western countries.
"According to Old Hou, these torture devices date back to the Ming Dynasty. Those Western devices were brought back by Old Eunuch Zheng during his voyages abroad. I have no idea how they ended up here," Li Ning casually kicked a few of them as he spoke.
The one that was kicked was the Wooden Donkey, which was indeed well-made and crafted from excellent materials. The outer layer, covered in dried blood and dust, crumbled away, revealing some decayed skin underneath. Yet, the interior remained sturdy; with a little tidying up, it wouldn't be hard to restore its former glory.
Unfortunately, Zheng Yifan had lost interest. This item was likely Old Hou's collection, and in the entire Gathering Place, only this old eccentric would be interested in it.
"Child, let's be honest. Grandpa Hou doesn't like children who tell lies. Introduce your Superpower and explain why you're here," Old Hou continued to press. When Zheng Yifan entered, his ears perked up, and he nervously turned around.
Upon seeing Zheng Yifan, Old Hou immediately smiled and nodded in question.
"Wow! I didn't expect you to have activated your Superpower already, Old Hou. Looks like you've been raking in quite a bit at Hope Gathering Place!" Zheng Yifan teased.
Old Hou's cold sweat instantly broke out: "Leader, you can't wrong me, Old Hou! I've been diligent and responsible; all of this Military Merit was earned through my efforts during work hours. I've actively participated in the army's operations, and our interrogation work also earns Military Merit. That's how I cleared all my Military Merit and even gained quite a bit of wealth to exchange for this A-Level Essence. I swear on my conscience that I absolutely did not take any shortcuts to redeem it!"
Old Hou was practically in tears; even an Oscar-winning actor would pale in comparison to his performance. The tragedy of Dou E couldn't hold a candle to his plight.
However, Zheng Yifan wasn't buying it at all and simply walked forward slowly.
"Stop pretending. I don't care about you; I just asked casually. Look at all this nonsense you're spouting—if you don't get to the point soon, you won't have a share in future upgraded Essence!" As soon as Zheng Yifan revealed his trump card, Old Hou immediately reverted to his original demeanor, wearing a flattering expression.
"Leader, the Superpower I've evolved is perfect for me; it's definitely a good thing." Old Hou extended both hands, staring intently at them in front of Zheng Yifan.
It took a full two minutes before they gradually began to see Old Hou's Superpower. (To be continued)
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