Chapter 103: Dealing With It

At that moment, Lin Kun and the other team members were already helping Long Ying out of the cafeteria and back into the ruined Experiment Hall.

The hall was full of severed limbs and broken bodies. The smells of gunpowder smoke and blood mixed together, stinging the nose fiercely. In the center of the hall, the bodies of over a dozen team members lay side by side on the ground, having already lost all signs of life. Around these bodies, Qiao Jun and other heavily wounded members had been given simple bandages. Their eyes were tightly shut as they leaned against the wall, groaning.

Hearing the noise coming from the corridor, two lightly injured members who had stayed behind to care for the wounded suddenly rushed to the window and craned their necks toward the corridor. When they saw Long Ying being supported at the front, they were overjoyed and shouted excitedly:

“The Chief! It’s the Chief and the others!”

“We won!”

At once, all the heavily wounded opened their eyes, equally ecstatic.

After that, Lin Kun was helped into the Experiment Hall by his subordinates. The first thing he saw were the dozen bodies laid out in a row in the center of the hall. His cheek couldn’t help but twitch. Then he looked around and saw Qiao Jun and his other capable subordinates, all heavily injured, straining to stand up and casting delighted glances his way.

“Chief, how did things go?”

Long Ying waved his hand and let out a breath. “The Transcendent named Diris is dead. All defensive forces within the base should have been wiped out. What are the casualties on our side?”

Everyone’s faces showed relief first, and they let out a long breath. Then, the two members responsible for tending the wounded sighed.

“Chief, Captain Li Jun and Captain Song Ming were hit by grenades at close range. Their injuries were too severe, and they couldn’t be saved. Besides them, fifteen soldiers are dead, and there are twelve seriously wounded, including Captain Xiong Ming and others.”

Hearing his subordinate’s report, Long Ying’s face turned grim. As he looked at each face on the ground, a flash of deep heartache passed through his eyes.

The vast majority of those who had participated in the operation with him were his personally trained and loyal men, practically like his own personal guards. However, this time they had been ambushed, suffering over fifty percent casualties, even losing two Awakeners. The losses were disastrous.

But he had no time to grieve. He immediately looked toward Xiong Ming, Qiao Jun, and the others, asking:

“How are you all? Can you still walk?”

The six remaining Awakeners were all covered in blood. They gave bitter smiles. “The knee tendons of a few of us were severed by a crazy woman who seemed to be a Transcendent. We can’t stand up. It’ll take at least a few months to recover.”

“That crazy woman was Katherine.”

Lin Kun’s eyes still held a trace of lingering fear as he explained to Long Ying:

“We don’t know what happened, but that woman was clearly just a weak researcher. How could she suddenly become so terrifying? If not for that big, burly man who appeared out of nowhere earlier, we probably wouldn’t have lived to see you again, Chief.”

Long Ying said in a deep voice, “He was the only one who entered the base?”

Lin Kun couldn’t help but be stunned. “We only saw him. It was like he appeared out of thin air. Chief, was he a powerful reinforcement you called in?”

“Of course not!”

The threat of Chen Chong still felt like a thorn in his back. But his group was a defeated force, and even a rapid retreat was impossible. Long Ying’s expression was dark.

“Didn’t you recognize him? That was Chen Chong, the one who led your prison break!”

Chen… Chen Chong??

Everyone present was instantly shocked, especially Lin Kun and Qiao Jun, who were completely dumbfounded. Lin Kun’s tongue even seemed to tie in knots as he said in disbelief:

“Chief, he was Chen Chong? The Chen Chong I talked about?”

Among these people, only Lin Kun had had long-term contact with Chen Chong. But no matter what, he could never connect the terrifying figure who had charged in earlier to the Chen Chong he knew. He had always thought Chen Chong had died in the Mist Zone while trying to draw Johnson away for them. He had never imagined Long Ying would say that the brutal man who appeared out of thin air was Chen Chong!

Long Ying nodded and ignored the stunned Lin Kun. His gaze discreetly swept over the shocked faces of every subordinate in the hall, as if searching for something.

Because Chen Chong appearing at the base at this exact time couldn’t be a coincidence. He strongly suspected one of his men was a traitor who had leaked the information, turning them into the mantis that stalked the cicada. But from his observation, every subordinate looked utterly shocked. He couldn’t see any clue in their expressions.

And having received confirmation from Long Ying, Qiao Jun’s heart was also in turmoil. He felt his mind was in complete chaos.

What was going on?

The place where I passed the message was only known to the Blood General. Why was this person the one who followed them to the base?

This Chen Chong had clearly been captured by the Blood General before. How could his strength be so terrifying now? And what about the Blood General?

This string of questions filled his mind, leaving Qiao Jun dazed and completely unable to find any answers.

Tap, tap, tap…

But at that moment, heavy footsteps sounded. Chen Chong’s figure appeared in the corridor. After quickly patrolling the entire base and confirming no guards were left, he had changed into a leather jacket from his backpack and returned to the Experiment Hall as well.

In an instant, seeing Chen Chong’s tall figure enter the Experiment Hall, everyone’s hearts tightened with nervousness. Long Ying took a deep breath and was the first to step forward, immediately stating his position.

“Chen Chong, thank you for your help this time. Without you, our casualties would have been even greater. The main enemy was also killed by you, so we choose to give up the entire base and all the spoils of war. They all belong to you.”

Give up all the spoils of war? Wouldn’t that mean they lost people for nothing?

Never expecting Long Ying would hand over the entire base, the team members were instantly shocked, their eyes widening. They also sensed something was off in the atmosphere.

Their Chief… seemed to be afraid?!

Facing Long Ying’s statement, Chen Chong narrowed his eyes and scanned the defeated soldiers present, remaining silent.

He naturally knew what the other party was worried about, and what he was considering now was how to deal with this group of people.

Kill them?

He wasn’t a murderous psychopath, especially since killing them brought him no benefits. Even if he killed Chief Long Ying here, and then went to the Dawn Gathering Place to slaughter everyone and seize their territory, it wouldn’t mean much to him.

The Crimson and Dawn territories were nearly two hundred kilometers apart, separated by a vast Wilderness. A complete population migration and merger was almost impossible, and the resources produced by one territory couldn’t support many more people. So, with such a distance between them, even if Chen Chong seized the Dawn Gathering Place, he couldn’t fully control it.

Especially for a training fanatic like him, cultivation and gaining greater power were the true path. The terms “Wasteland God” from the Blood General’s notes and “Human Demon” that Diris had mentioned kept lingering in his mind, representing the many dangers of this world he still didn’t know about. He had no extra time or energy to waste on anything beyond increasing his strength.

The Experiment Hall was dead silent; you could hear a pin drop. Under everyone’s gazes, Chen Chong remained quiet for a long time. Long Ying’s heart, along with those of his team, rose high into their throats, as if they were awaiting judgment.

“Everyone, don’t celebrate too soon.”

Finally, under their nervous stares, Chen Chong slowly raised his head, fixed his eyes on Long Ying, and revealed a smile like that of someone looking at a fat lamb ready for slaughter.

“You’re the Chief of the Dawn Gathering Place, right? What do you think your lives, and the lives of your subordinates here, are worth right now?”