Earth, China, Xicheng District.
Despite its small size, Xicheng District was far from being an unimportant district for China. In fact, the number of politicians, businessmen, and important people in this district was easily comparable to that of all districts in Beijing.
In the past, Xicheng District was the playground of humanity. However, it changed along with the awakening of the world’s mana that eventually caused this playground to be taken over by zombies and mutant beasts.
Fortunately for the humans there, the president of the country, Xuanyuan Wentian was not only a man who was seated in his position by family legacy but proved to possess wit and strength worthy of a leader.
With lightning speed, Xuanyuan Wentian managed to secure most of the humans who survived the initial mana wave and in just two months managed to build approximately 3 large bases throughout the district.
Because of how high and secure the walls seemed to be, the humans living inside under a partially recovered governmental system gradually began to forget how terrifying the world had become. Except for the occasional sound of gunshots on one of the four walls, the survivors went on with their lives as if nothing had happened; teenagers attending classes, adults going to work, returning home after a long day, going to sleep, waking up the next day and repeating the routine all over again.
However, everyone noticed that lately, things didn’t seem to be as quiet as usual.
Inside a bar crowded with noisy people, a man of about 35 looked around cautiously before whispering to his drinking companion, “Hey, have you noticed? Something really weird is going on lately.”
“Mm? What thing?” The other man asked, confused as he refilled his tankard. This was one of the little luxuries he could afford, even if the beer wasn’t as good as it used to be.
“The number of troops in the Law Enforcement Office lately has decreased quite a bit. There aren’t as many police officers on the streets anymore.” Said the first man. He took a gulp of his beer and continued in a low voice: “Do you remember my cousin? The arrogant and fastidious one.”
“Hmph, how could I forget that bitch who became arrogant because after spreading her legs for a high-up in the Law Enforcement Office she managed to sweet-talk him.” The second man snorted. “She used to be as meek as a lamb, afraid to do anything wrong. But ever since she managed to become that Officer’s concubine her nose always points to the sky as if she were a queen.”
“Well, let me tell you, things are not like they used to be for her.” Said the first man in a serious voice: “Last night, this cousin of mine knocked on the door of my house and she looked quite desperate. Her hair was a mess and she looked like she hadn’t eaten properly for at least a couple of days.”
“How is that possible? Hah! She sure was thrown out into the street!” The second man gloated as he banged his tankard on the wooden table.
“No, nothing like that.” The man from before shook his head and continued, “According to my cousin, the Officer who was supporting her didn’t return after several days of being called to the front for a mission, and today the main wife of the guy got the news that he had been killed in battle.”
“Hmph, I imagine that little bitch got kicked out of the house by the little fucker’s wife. She gets what she deserves!” The second man nodded. “However, I don’t understand what this has to do with the reduction of cops on the streets?”
“Well… This is just a rumor, but from what I heard it seems that the army troops and soul evolvers are being pushed back by a human army that suddenly appeared from the north.” Whispered the first man in a low voice, fearful of being heard and punished, “Many are saying that things are bad for our army so the higher-ups were forced to move the policemen into battle because many soldiers have been killed.”
The second man’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this.
This type of conversation was taking place at various points around the base. Even without rumors spreading, all the survivors began to realize the lack of police officers as crime had skyrocketed tremendously in the last few days.
In a dank alleyway, a small figure smiled faintly like a little imp as she looked at the worried faces of everyone passing by. Her delicate body swayed gently and in an instant she disappeared without a trace of her presence.
…
About 60 kilometers away in a northerly direction from the main base of the faction under the name of New China, a military camp had been set up with at least 600 large modified tents.
In the main tent, two beautiful women were chatting in low voices while a girl who looked to be about 6 or 7 years old was reading a small fantasy book with a little girl on the cover and seven small dwarves.
Everyone would be surprised to learn that despite their apparently similar ages, one of them was the mother of the other.
Just then, a series of footsteps sounded from outside the tent and before the approaching person had a chance to say anything, the woman with the highest rank spoke.
“Come in.”
Cai Jingyi gently moved the leather cloak to the side and entered the tent without saying much more before giving the surroundings a quick glance.
It had been over two months since Bai Zemin had disappeared, and during those two months there were many things that had changed.
The Transcendent faction now ruled almost the entirety of Beijing under the leadership of several capable generals and except for the six districts to the south that were in the hands of Xuanyuan Wentian’s faction they were the hegemons among the humans in the capital. In fact, several of the troops were slowly beginning to expand into other cities, making their way through seas of zombies and mutant beasts.
At first, Shangguan Bing Xue had been careful and like Bai Zemin would pause for several days after conquering a base to ensure that the power was firmly in her and the faction’s hands. However, as the weeks passed, Shangguan Bing Xue became more and more cold to the point that her entire existence automatically repelled anyone who tried to approach her.
Not only did she become increasingly cold but also much more aggressive. Now, Shangguan Bing Xue did not even wait for her bases to be settled before launching an attack on a new base, accelerating the process of conquest enormously but at the same time not laying a firm enough foundation for the Soul Record to recognize those territories as part of the Transcendent faction.
Of course, there was much opposition at the beginning. However, Shangguan Bing Xue had become increasingly ruthless to the point where the current her was not much different from Bai Zemin in the past. As for this change in her attitude, the new members of the faction thought it was normal but only the older members knew that she started to return to her old self from when they were in the university after Bai Zemin disappeared.
Of course, Shangguan Bing Xue was not the only one who had changed; everyone did.
Bai Shin, however, was possibly the one who had changed the most during this time.
The little girl who appeared to be 3 years old had grown physically after her level had risen from 55 to 87 over the past few months. She was still a very sweet and lovely child, but this was only to those especially close to her, otherwise her personality was cold like Shangguan Bing Xue’s and bloodthirsty like Bai Zemin’s to her enemies.
“…And that’s how things are at the enemy base.” Cai Jingyi culminated after giving a rough summary of the information she had managed to collect after sneaking into the base located 60 kilometers southward.
Shangguan Xinyue looked at her daughter and asked calmly, “Bing Xue, what shall we do now? Wait or attack?”
If they waited just a couple more days, the enemy base would probably collapse from within judging from the way things were going. If it was in the past and with Bai Zemin here, Shangguan Bing Xue would definitely have decided to wait as it was the logical thing to do. However, she had a great thirst for revenge in her heart and every day that passed without receiving news from Bai Zemin made her hate for the man who was her father increase to the point where she thought she might lose her mind soon.
Shangguan Bing Xue stood up and her whole aura suddenly changed. Even the usually smiling and fearless Cai Jingyi took a step back as a flash of fear shone in her eyes.
No one had noticed it before or perhaps they had become too used to it, however, Cai Jingyi gradually came to realize that when Bai Zemin was around Shangguan Bing Xue was much more ‘sociable’ and ‘gentle’ so to speak. However, the current Shangguan Bing Xue was not much different from that cold and indifferent woman in college who made it difficult for Cai Jingyi and anyone else to even look her in the eye.
Shangguan Xinyue followed her daughter’s movements, and seeing her pull out a small futuristic-looking pistol from the drawer attached to the table she couldn’t help but frown slightly, “Bing Xue?”
Bai Shilin also noticed the movement and quickly stood up. Her eyes sparkled with joy and she asked innocently, “Mom, are you going to kill the bad guys? Shilin wants to go too!”
The cold expression on Shangguan Bing Xue’s face melted in an instant as she looked at Bai Shilin and her voice was so soft that any man would feel his legs weaken if they heard it.
“Shilin, be obedient and wait here. Mom will go finish off the bad guys who drove your dad away and come back soon, okay?”
“Oh…” Bai Shilin immediately went flat like a balloon upon hearing that she couldn’t go finish off the bad guys. However, she nodded obediently and smiled, “Mm! Okay, Shilin will do what mom says.”
“Good girl.” Shangguan Bing Xue gently stroked the young girl’s platinum hair, much to her delight. This chapter is updated by ReadNovelFull.com.
After a moment of affection, her expression turned ice cold as she walked to the outside of the tent and said in a flat voice, “Cai Jingyi, mother. Get the troops ready to enter the base tonight. There will be no opposition by then.”
Shangguan Xinyue sighed. She did not argue with her daughter’s choice and instead nodded, “All right, just make sure to be careful. Even if it’s you about to break into the Third Order, that man does possess a truly terrifying attack power not to mention that you’ll be alone.”
Shangguan Bing Xue said nothing, she was about to walk off when Cai Jingyi’s voice made her footsteps stop abruptly.
“By the way, something I forgot to mention is that I might have news about Bai Zemin.”
Shangguan Bing Xue’s body suddenly shivered, it was as if a lightning strike had struck her. She turned with the speed of a ghost and her eyes stared at Cai Jingyi with an intensity that frightened her.
This was probably the first time in two months that Shangguan Bing Xue showed such emotion, even when she was with Bai Shilin or her mother it was incomparable to this time.
If Cai Jingyi had to describe the current Shangguan Bing Xue…. She was like a person whose soul had returned to her body.
However, the young assassin did not dare to delay her words as she noticed that from Shangguan Bing Xue’s body, there was a light mist of frost beginning to slip out.
” I- I… actually, it’s not exactly about Bai Zemin but it’s about a new loyal follower.” She hastily explained.
“A new loyal follower?” Shangguan Bing Xue muttered under her breath, not taking her eyes off Cai Jingyi as if she feared that she might disappear the next instant.
She was naturally aware of Bai Zemin’s skill, what surprised her was something else.
“This new Loyal Follower is clearly not from this world, but he is definitely human.” Cai Jingyi sighed in relief and added with a smile, “Miss Bing Xue, it seems that our leader is also causing quite a commotion in the other world. Who knows, he might even be aiming to conquer it.”
“Conquer another world…” Shangguan Bing Xue recalled that distant night when she and Bai Zemin chatted about their goals, she remembered when he said with a serious expression that he aspired to become the most powerful existence in the entire universe.
“Considering we’re talking about that man…. It’s quite possible…” She nodded, but in her heart, she couldn’t help but feel anxious.
What would happen if Bai Zemin decided not to return? How long would it take him to conquer the other world? Even for someone like him, conquering an entire world where he didn’t know anyone should take at least 2 years at the very least, right? Although Shangguan Bing Xue knew that Bai Zemin was not the type of person to abandon his loved ones, logic was often hard to stand up against a trembling heart.
However, something that made her smile was the fact that for the first time in two months she had just heard news about him. As long as Bai Zemin was alive, Shangguan Bing Xue would definitely find him no matter where he was.
Seeing the beautiful smile on her daughter’s always cold and indifferent face, Shangguan Xinyue couldn’t help but smile to herself.
Cai Jingyi sighed in her heart as she saw the drastic change in personality. Shangguan Bing Xue herself did not seem to be self-conscious, but when a woman as cold as ice like her smiled like that at the mere sound of a guy’s name… Even someone inexperienced like Cai Jingyi knew what this meant.
In fact, Shangguan Bing Xue had noticed something some time ago and it was the fact that she was becoming more and more competitive even with her good sister Wu Yijun regarding the faction’s tasks. However, she did not give much importance to this matter for now and focused mainly on the process of conquest since she remembered Bai Zemin telling her that one of the requirements for him to become a Second Order soul evolver was the possession of China.
As if suddenly alive once again, Shangguan Bing Xue turned around and ordered in a decisive voice, “Organize the troops to break into the base in 5 hours, I will finish everything in an instant.”
That man was surely accomplishing great things in the other world, Shangguan Bing Xue didn’t doubt it for a moment since he was the one they were talking about.
She couldn’t fall behind, she needed to hurry and show him that she could have his back at all times.
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