Chapter 89: Inquiry

Early morning, when the work bell rang out across all parts of the Territory, a large number of laborers groggily climbed up from their wooden bed boards and shuffled out of their shabby huts, merging into a human tide that surged toward the various factories.

Unlike the weariness of past days, with an extra hour of sleep and an increase in their food rations, most laborers were noticeably more energetic than before, and there seemed to be a little more hope in their eyes.

Only when they passed the high-hung corpse in the center of the Territory did their faces suddenly turn pale. They didn’t dare look at it more than once and quickened their pace away.

In a certain corner, upon learning that Chen Chong had led people out of the Territory before dawn, the five Awakeners—Zhang Long, Gu Jun, Qian Xu, Sun Yimao, and Wang Qianlie—had gathered together, staring at the corpse on the hanging pole in silence.

Zhang Long broke the silence first, hesitantly asking, “What do you think that person… went out to do?”

“We had better not ask too much about such things, that way we can live longer.”

Gu Jun shook his head and said self-deprecatingly,

“Whatever, whether it’s the Blood General or this one, as long as we can keep on living, what difference does it make whose dog we are? And from what I see of this one’s measures, he seems much more merciful than the Blood General, which is a blessing in disguise, isn’t it?”

The other four present immediately fell silent.

In times like these, surviving indeed depended on clinging to the strong. They knew that without a Transcendent holding the fort, a gathering place would be utterly incapable of handling the endless threats and would quickly fall apart.

Looking up at the gruesome corpse of the Blood General high above, Sun Yimao sighed mournfully, “The widely known and notoriously ferocious Blood General met such an end. Life is truly unpredictable. Did he ever think he would die at that person’s hands?”

“Who’s to say he didn’t?” Qian Xu let out a breath, his eyes still carrying a hint of fear and disbelief. “I’ve been thinking about it all night and still can’t figure it out.”

Actually, it wasn’t just him; the other four had also spent the night tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Although their contact with Chen Chong had been brief, they all knew he was an Initial Awakener brought back by the Blood General, with very little strength. Yet this overlooked character had suddenly bared his ferocious fangs, displaying extraordinary power to forcibly kill the Blood General, shocking everyone’s eyes.

Unlike the ignorant laborers and other underlings, every one of them knew that even though the Blood General’s death involved an element of ambush, the fact that Tie Shan and Li Bao were killed instantly upon confrontation fully demonstrated that Chen Chong’s strength had definitely reached the level of a Transcendent!

This was the fundamental reason they had no thought of resistance, and it was also what they couldn’t figure out. Given their experience and understanding, they simply couldn’t comprehend how Chen Chong had rapidly soared from an Initial Awakener to the level of a Transcendent.

Could it be that Chen Chong had deceived everyone from the very beginning?

Just as the five were standing in silence, the faint rumble of an engine was heard, followed by a commotion near the Territory gate.

That person has returned!

Hearing the faint disturbance, Gu Jun and the other four shivered, exchanged glances, and hurriedly scattered.

If the new leader found them gathered together privately, they’d be in serious trouble. They didn’t want Chen Chong to misunderstand that they were plotting something.

However, they hadn’t gotten far before several underlings, sweating profusely, came running and found them individually, relaying the message:

“Captain, the leader commands you to go to the manor at once to see him!”

…

“The leader is back, the leader is back!”

Under a gloomy, overcast sky, amid the loud shouts of the guards at the gate, three off-road vehicles, trailing dust, drove into Crimson Territory. Under the awed gazes of everyone, the convoy stopped at the manor entrance, and Chen Chong got out and walked into the mansion’s living room.

Along the way, he had repelled several waves of vicious-looking Radiation Species and arrived at the abandoned service area Tie Shan had mentioned. He didn’t find any message from Qiao Jun and ultimately returned to the Territory empty-handed.

Chen Chong didn’t think Tie Shan was deceiving him. The guards he had brought were all previously direct subordinates of the Blood General and Tie Shan, and they had followed the Blood General to the service area more than once, so they were very familiar with this route. The lack of a message was most likely because Dawn Gathering Place hadn’t officially acted yet. He just needed to wait patiently.

For Chen Chong, although he was extremely eager to launch a bloody revenge on the base, his training time had been too short, and his current strength was nowhere near the level of ignoring everything. Therefore, without Dawn Gathering Place taking the lead, he would never be the first to charge in.

Thinking of this, Chen Chong returned to the training room, took out two maps, spread them on the table, and carefully compared them.

One of them was naturally the map he had brought out from the base and given to the Blood General, and the other was a map he had found in the Blood General’s study.

Comparing the two, the Blood General’s map was actually more detailed and comprehensive, clearly marking most of the ruins, resource points, and dangerous zones haunted by Radiation Species within a radius of over a hundred kilometers from Crimson Territory.

Besides these, the map also roughly indicated the locations of the other two survivor gathering places, forming a triangular layout: Dawn Gathering Place, and another, further away, called Black Furnace Camp. The distances between each other were at least over a hundred kilometers. The ones closest to the base were undoubtedly Dawn Gathering Place and Black Furnace Camp, which were less than 200 kilometers apart.

In Chen Chong’s view, for Dawn Gathering Place to launch a strong assault and capture this base, they would need quality over quantity in manpower, and they would also have to deploy vehicles. So before the official operation, they would inevitably send out an advance team to scout the safest route through the Wilderness. This would be the method with the fewest losses.

“Leader, the five captains are waiting in the living room.”

Just at that moment, the Steward’s voice came from outside the door. Chen Chong put away the maps, walked out of the training room, and came to the living room, where he saw Gu Jun and the other four standing and waiting respectfully.

Chen Chong sat down imposingly in the tiger-skin chair and looked at the five. “Let me ask you, what do you know about the situation at Dawn Gathering Place?”

None of the five Awakeners, including Gu Jun, still knew about the base’s matter until now. The Blood General had probably not revealed it to anyone except his trusted confidant Tie Shan to prevent leaks, but for now, Chen Chong didn’t plan to let them know either. Most of Chen Chong’s understanding of Dawn came from Lin Kun, and he still needed to learn more.

The five exchanged glances. Though they didn’t understand why Chen Chong was asking this, they immediately answered,

“Leader, Dawn Gathering Place has a population almost double ours. Their leader, Long Ying, is also a Transcendent who has unlocked his Gene Lock, and he has over a dozen Awakeners of varying strengths under his command. Their overall strength is very formidable.”

“And they have quite a few skilled craftsmen there, as well as several precision lathes, so their weapons and equipment are a notch above ours.”

One Transcendent, over a dozen Awakeners… their overall strength was indeed far superior to Crimson Territory. Taking down the base wouldn’t be difficult for them.

His eyebrow raising as the thought flashed by, Chen Chong continued asking,

“So, what do you know about this person Long Ying’s strength?”

What does he intend to do?

The five’s hearts stirred slightly. Gu Jun thought for a moment and said,

“Long Ying is a somewhat legendary figure. Both his strength and his methods are extraordinary. He single-handedly built the entire Dawn Gathering Place, and his prestige is extremely high. Although I’ve never seen him personally, I’ve heard the Blood General once encountered this Long Ying in the Wilderness and seemed to have suffered a significant loss, so the Blood General always held a grudge. From this, it appears Long Ying’s strength is even greater than the Blood General’s!”

Stronger than the Blood General… that suggests this Long Ying might be a Mid-order Transcendent based on his Life Field. I just wonder who would be stronger between him and Diris?

Chen Chong quickly made a mental note and waved his hand, saying,

“Alright, you’re dismissed!”