Forbidden Zone of the Human Race

Xiang Ning forced his messy, porcupine-like hair down while the girl thanked him profusely. Then, she stared at him without a word.

He was very confused. Why was she staring at him? “What’s the matter?”

“Uh, nothing, nothing. You’re Mr. Xiang, right? Please sign here, then you may retrieve your goods.” The delivery girl showed him an electronic tablet.

Xiang Ning put down his signature but grew more confused at her longing expression.

“Uh… um, could you give me five stars here, on this icon at the bottom?” she awkwardly chuckled, revealing her white teeth.

Xiang Ning froze and didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. Sure he would give her five stars, did he look like a person who held grudges? He slid the icon from one to five stars, turning her frown into a grin. It was pitiful because this was her first five-star rating this month!

“Thank you for your rating! Please follow me to retrieve your parcel!” It was obvious that the girl was now in a great mood.

Five minutes later, Xiang Ning watched the airship leave. It first rose shakily, then suddenly accelerated and left. He shook his head and turned, looking at the purchases he had made that cost him almost ten million dollars. He was left with only two million in savings.

That wasn’t a big problem though; it would still be enough for him and Xiang Xiaoyu to live like kings.

He savored the feeling of admiring the Windbreaker in the empty field. This windfall was something he wouldn’t have dared dream of three months ago. Now, it was in front of him. His life had changed so abruptly.

He stored everything else in the storage box on the side of Windbreaker.

A custom black knife sheath was wrapped around thirty Hunter Mk. 4 flying knives. He activated his mental power and they all instantly levitated, glinting coldly in the air. It was a grand sight. Tsk tsk, if he were to wield all thirty knives like this against a beast horde, wouldn’t earning money be so easy?

Although Xiang Ning was desperate to test Windbreaker out, his intuition told him to hide it, first. It was dusk and his sister would be home soon. Everything could wait till tomorrow.

…...

The next day, Fang Rou had brought Xiang Xiaoyu out for some fun, which saved Xiang Ning effort to explain to her. He sent Dong Qianyi another message, to which he received a stream of Fury Points in reply. He sent out a silent apology in his heart. I’m sorry, Master! Then, he rode toward the edge of the city on Windbreaker.

On the other side, after a day’s preparation, Wu Rui got on the earliest tank heading toward Fortress Three. Every thought bore Xiang Ning’s shadow as he clenched his fist. I must! I must surpass him! He watched the scenery outside zooming past him. Suddenly, he scrambled to look out, almost sticking his body to the window as his eyes fixated on something.

He privately cussed. Fuck! That’s Xiang Ning. Why does this bastard seem to be everywhere? He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, then squinted and saw Xiang Ning’s beaming smile beneath his transparent helmet. His lips moved and Wu Rui understood what he meant.

“Hey! What a coincidence!”

Wu Rui was speechless. This was ridiculous, how could he be here? Also, he was riding a Windbreaker for goodness’ sake! Wasn’t he supposed to be a part-time student? Shouldn’t he be more frugal with his spending?

The tank accelerated at full speed, leaving Xiang Ning far behind, quickly vanishing from his field of vision. Wu Rui felt constipated.

Next to him, a senior relative from the Wu family noticed his sour expression and smiled. “Nervous? Don’t worry. I, Second Uncle, was like you the first time I went to war. When we get to the battlefield, follow me and I’ll help you familiarize yourself with your surroundings.”

Wu Rui took a deep breath to calm his emotions, then smiled. “Thank you, Second Uncle.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

He should have expected it. He had read through Xiang Ning’s details before and knew that he was a brutal guy more powerful than he was. If he thought of going to the front lines to improve his cultivation, would Xiang Ning be willing to stay in Marsh City? He was shaking with excitement. Although there was a gap between their abilities, he could grow as fast as Xiang Ning. Now that they were both headed there, let the competition begin! Let’s see who improves faster!

Wu Rui’s second uncle noticed his shaking, clenched fists, and privately shook his head. Wu Rui was still too young for this, he must take good care of his nephew when it was time.

The tank traveled fast, arriving at Fortress Three within forty minutes. Wu Rui felt strange being in the place where he’d once had a conflict with Xiang Ning. Suddenly, an urgent alarm sounded.

Second Uncle Wu’s chest tightened. Standing next to Wu Rui, he said, “That’s bad. Three long and one short means there’s at least five thousand beasts attacking the fortress!”

“Wait for me here!” Then, he left in a flash, sprinting toward the tunnel that linked the fortress to the open wilderness.

“Second Uncle!” Wu Rui gritted his teeth, clenched his teeth, and charged out. The moment he stepped into the pitch-black tunnel where the only light source was a distant dot, the sound of slaughter echoed around him along with the angry cries of various beasts. His heart raced.

He activated the Wu family’s breathing technique and transcended the limits of light and darkness to feel the blood, mania, slaughter, and the dance between life and death.

“Third Brother! Keep an eye on the Tyrant Spider next to you!”

“Kill! Brother, I’ll be joining you soon!”

“You filthy animals!”

“Roar!” A Night Cat sprang from somewhere in the darkness, hurling itself directly at Wu Rui, a singled-out human. Wu Rui, who was still mesmerized by the chaos before him, only noticed when he felt the air pressure from the Night Cat’s pounce. It was a tier one, nine-star Night Cat. At the last moment, Wu Rui activated his Roaring Tiger Armor’s protective function and directly blocked its attack.

But he was thrown back into the air.

Wu Rui landed on the ground, tumbling a few times before he used the momentum to spring back to his feet. Retrieving his iridium rod from his back, there was a cold smirk beneath his helmet. “You filthy animal, you’ll die today!”

With his tier two, four-star abilities supplemented by the Roaring Tiger Armor, the Night Cat died within three moves. Wu Rui felt adrenaline coursing through his veins. He wanted to fight, to become stronger! Subsequently, he charged directly into the beast horde. Although he was only a tier two, four-star martial artist, the prowess he had displayed attracted glances from many people.

There was another unpleasant surprise waiting. A swarm of Savage Sand Rats had appeared in the blink of an eye, swarming from a small hill nearby.

“No! It’s a rat swarm!”

“Retreat!”

Despite their calls to retreat, they were blocked by other beasts!

“Dammit!”

“I refuse to be killed by rats!” Declarations of the refusal to die rang down the tunnel.

It was at that moment that a muscular silhouette appeared. Tens of flying knives levitating in the air shot at the rats, each of them coldly glinting in the light to the surprise of the panicking crowd.