Chapter 69: Intelligence and Incident

At this very moment, over a hundred kilometers away from the Crimson Territory.

The land was vast and empty, devoid of any green. The wind howled past, kicking up sand and stones that drifted across the barren wilderness.

Looking down from above, one could faintly see a shattered highway buried under sand and gravel, intermittently cutting through the wilderness. In the middle section of this broken road lay a small ruin, which appeared to have been a highway service area before the Cataclysm.

This place was only fifty kilometers from the Dawn Gathering Place. For Scavengers in the Territory, it was also a rare safe point. However, at this moment, several patched-up off-road vehicles were parked within the ruins, and over ten fierce-looking thugs were vigilantly patrolling the perimeter.

It was the Blood General’s convoy and his underlings.

Inside a half-collapsed office building, light streamed in. The Blood General stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance, as if quietly waiting for something.

“General, Qiao Jun is here.”

Tie Shan’s respectful voice sounded from behind. Then, with the sound of footsteps, Qiao Jun’s figure emerged from the shadows. His expression was numb as he bowed slightly and said,

“General.”

The Blood General turned around, a smile on his face.

“Qiao Jun, you look well. I gave you so much time; you must have obtained accurate information by now, right? After all, for your sake, I’ve been feeding and housing your teammates in the Territory quite well, which has wasted quite a few of my resources.”

Hearing that his teammates were safe, Qiao Jun breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, then hesitated and said, “The Long Ying leader has already approached me.”

“Oh?”

The Blood General’s scarlet eyes immediately lit up.

“Did he reveal any specific plans to you?”

“Not yet.”

Qiao Jun shook his head.

“The base’s information is under lockdown. The Long Ying leader thought I didn’t know. His explanation to me was that he planned to gather a few reliable Awakeners in the Territory, led by him, to open up new supply route exploration. But I feel this is likely just a cover story. His real intention is probably to have us Awakeners form a vanguard squad first, to scout out a safe route to the base, confirm its exact location, and then mobilize personnel for either a direct assault or a sneak attack, striving to take the base at the lowest cost.”

The Blood General raised an eyebrow and chuckled lowly, “So, what you’re saying is, they don’t have a detailed map and need Long Ying to personally go out and explore a relatively safe route before making a move?”

Qiao Jun smiled bitterly. “That’s right. The Wilderness is fraught with dangers. Lin Kun and his group fled all the way, and only five people were left when they reached the gathering place. The rest of the escaped prisoners all died on the road. Now, Lin Kun and the others can only mark the base’s location; we have to explore the safe route ourselves.”

Unlike Chen Chong, Lin Kun and the other prisoners did not have a detailed map. They had relied entirely on memory and immense luck to barely make it through the Wilderness to the gathering place. Knowing the base’s location alone wasn’t enough. The Wilderness was perilous, and the Dawn Gathering Place was nearly 200 kilometers from this mysterious base. To mobilize combat personnel for a long-distance operation at the lowest cost, they needed to chart the least dangerous route in advance.

“Indeed, it’s Long Ying’s style, cautious enough.” Having roughly understood Long Ying’s plan, the Blood General nodded with satisfaction. “Then when does your vanguard squad set out?”

Qiao Jun said, “I don’t know, but I guess it’ll be within the next couple of days. Once the route is scouted, it should be time to move against the base.”

“Qiao Jun, you’ve done well.”

A strange light flickered continuously in the Blood General’s eyes.

“Once this matter is settled, I will reward you handsomely!”

Qiao Jun lowered his eyelids, his eyes full of bitterness.

He knew the Blood General’s plan perfectly well; it was nothing more than waiting to ambush them like a mantis stalking a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. However, he was afflicted with the Bloodline Gu, his life and death no longer his own. On top of that, his teammates, who he had been through thick and thin with, were all controlled by the Blood General. He simply had no choice.

“Alright, this information is of great significance. You’ve worked hard.”

Walking past Qiao Jun, the Blood General patted him on the shoulder and said unhurriedly,

“Qiao Jun, a wise bird chooses the right tree to perch on. Don’t worry, whatever Long Ying could give you, I can give you even more in the future!”

Qiao Jun raised his head and forced a smile. “Thank you, General.”

“Let’s go!”

The Blood General was fully satisfied. With a grand wave of his hand, he took Tie Shan and left.

…

The sky grew overcast as evening approached.

Having received the intelligence, the Blood General was elated and proud. He didn’t return to the Territory immediately but instead had the convoy sweep another lap around the Wilderness, harvesting a considerable amount of scrap metal and Radiation Species corpses. Then, as the sky darkened, he returned to his Territory with a full load.

The sound of vehicles rumbled noisily. Wei De and Lu Kai, who were wandering around the various factories, heard the news of the Blood General’s convoy returning. They waited for a full half hour, but Yin Hu still did not appear.

“What… what’s going on?”

Even as slow as they were, the two faintly sensed something was wrong. They hurried to the factory where the convoy rested and refueled. Seeing a driver from the convoy wiping a car window, they quickly shouted at the top of their lungs,

“Hey, Big Mouth, where’s our Squad Leader Yin Hu? Why don’t we see him?”

The man they called Big Mouth was a short, chubby young man covered in oil stains. He turned his head upon hearing them and saw Wei De and Lu Kai, then asked strangely,

“What are you two idiots talking about? I’m not from your Supervisor Squad; how would I know where Squad Leader Yin Hu went?”

Wei De and Lu Kai were stunned. “You mean our squad leader didn’t go out with the General this morning?”

Big Mouth was even more baffled and sneered, “You two haven’t been daydreaming and seeing things, have you? The General only took Boss Tie Shan and a dozen or so brothers out today. There was no Squad Leader Yin Hu at all!”

Wei De and Lu Kai’s expressions changed. They realized they had made a rather foolish mistake, and cold sweat instantly broke out all over their bodies.

Something had happened!

…

A short while later, inside the Blood General’s luxurious estate.

Allowing four voluptuous, exceptionally alluring women to strip off his dust-covered blood-red military uniform while they themselves were naked, the Blood General revealed his extremely lean and muscular body and the terrifying tumor on his chest. He leisurely lay down in the bathtub.

The four alluring women diligently massaged the Blood General’s scalp, hands, feet, and other areas, causing him to sigh in comfort involuntarily.

In this wasteland world, this was undoubtedly a dreamlike life. And all of this was built upon his formidable strength.

“General, there’s a situation!”

But the Blood General had not enjoyed it for long before he heard Tie Shan’s hurried footsteps and grave voice quickly approaching, arriving at the door of the bathing hall.

Hm?

Lying in the bathtub, the Blood General didn’t move and said lazily, “What is it now, disturbing me again?”

“According to a report just now from two supervisors, Yin Hu has gone missing!”

Swish!

The Blood General, who had been enjoying with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open, his eyes filled with a fierce, blood-deep, intense look of violence!