Forbidden Zone of the Human Race

Xiang Ning stood up and rubbed his sore backside as he continued to smile goofily. “I’m Xiang Ning, and she’s Fang Rou. We’re here for training. May I ask why you are alone? Where are your partners?”

Refugees typically traveled in groups to increase their chances of survival. They would also usually have some kind of weapon purchased from the safe zones to temporarily incapacitate the ferocious beasts if they were being hunted.

“I am Alia. My partners… they are all dead.”

Xiang Ning and Fang Rou exchanged glances. “Sorry to hear that.”

“It’s alright, thank you for saving me. If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead too.” Alia tried to force a smile. “Are you all here for training?”

“Yes, we are. How’d you enter this area? Didn’t you receive any notifications?” Fang Rou was puzzled. Usually, all of the necessary paperwork and announcements would have been settled if an area was designated for training.

“Because I was left with no choice but to try reaching the nearest fortress. Everyone else died….” As she said that, she tidied her disheveled hair. For the first time, both Xiang Ning and Fang Rou saw her beautiful face, even though it was covered in dirt and mud.

“I see, but the closest fortress is at least fourteen kilometers away. Do you need help?” Fang Rou said.

The higher-ups within Fortress Three saw this in real time and were already making preparations. A few moments later, Xiang Ning’s communicator rang. “Xiang Ning, I command you to stay where you are and protect her at all cost! We’ve sent out an extraction team.”

In just two minutes, a fighter jet appeared before them. Two tier five martial artists disembarked and walked toward them.

Xiang Ning’s eyes widened as he saw the fighter jet, it was a ninth-generation Fierce Eagle fighter jet, capable of traveling at speeds up to Mach 8. But it was a shame it was the older model. The newest model, the tenth-generation Fierce Eagle fighter jet, was capable of traveling at Mach 20 and would have arrived at their location in a split second.

“Good day. I’m an officer from Fortress Three, you can call me Tie Xiong. My partner’s name is Mu Feng. May I ask how you entered this region?” He was asking Alia as if it was an interrogation.

Both Alia and Fang Rou were taken back by his tone.

“I apologize, but this is the command of Instructor Lei. Even though training’s been going on for a week, we have yet to see any refugees entering this region through our surveillance.”

Everyone understood what they meant. They were afraid that Alia had purposely concealed herself in the region and had a different agenda. Alia stuttered, trying to explain herself as both officers warily reached for their weapons.

Alia saw their movements and quickly composed herself. “I’ll talk! I was hiding underneath a bunker for almost half a month. I ran low on food and water, so I had to venture out.”

Me Feng didn’t miss a beat. “Where’s the entrance?”

Alia brought everyone to her hidden place and pointed at a sewer. “It’s underneath here.”

Mu Feng nodded and jumped into the sewer without hesitation. He reappeared after a few minutes, but his expression had softened. It seemed that Alia was speaking the truth.

“We apologize, Miss Alia, but we had to do it for the sake of everyone’s safety.” Both of them, as tier five martial artists, were paying respect to a normal human. It was a very rare scene to see.

Alia nervously waved her hands. “No no, I understand.”

Fang Rou and Xiang Ning both heaved sighs of relief. They couldn’t decide whether Alia was lucky or not, being hunted by ferocious beasts just as she came out from her hiding place, but she had been saved by them.

“Miss Alia, would you like to remain in the wilderness, or would you like to follow us into the safe zone?” Tie Xiong asked.

“Uh….” She hesitated.

Tie Xiong immediately reassured her. “We’ll ensure your safety and arrange everything. Refugees are our closest allies and have saved us more than once, so we’ll never forget their sacrifice and contribution.”

Alia nodded after she was certain they wouldn’t harm her.

Xiang Ning, however, was quite puzzled. A great contribution to the military? What did the refugees do?

Alia was promptly escorted to safety. Fang Rou explained to Xiang Ning about the refugees. “Refugees might be weak, but they’ve significantly contributed to our understanding of the wilderness.”

“The first and greatest contribution is their exploration of the wilderness. They’re capable of surviving in the brutal wilderness and can weave through areas with many ferocious beasts with ease. They’ve also discovered many precious resources in the wilderness and learned to harness them. There have been countless martial artists that were poisoned, but saved thanks to their knowledge of the herbs in the wilderness. They’re the main supplier of antivenom herbs”

Xiang Ning finally understood what Tie Xiong had meant. That was a significant contribution!

“The other important quality of refugees is that almost all of them are suitable to become a pure scientific inventor!” Fang Rou emphasized this.

“Pure scientific inventor?” Xiang Ning knew what a scientific inventor was, but a pure scientific inventor? He had no idea.

Fang Rou nodded as she explained, “They usually don’t possess strong Mental Powers, but their creativity and innovation are out of this world! Because they were born and raised in the wilderness, their train of thought is vastly different to us, who grew up in protected cities.

“To summarize, most of them are extremely talented individuals, especially those that can put up a fight. They’re almost always sought after in the safe zones.”

Fang Rou and Xiang Ning continued their journey as she gave him a lecture on the valor and wisdom of refugees. In short, refugees may be weak, but every single one of them were highly sought after.

“A refugee is a treasure, in terms of intelligence and innovation. They bring great wealth to the people residing in safe zones,” Fang Rou explained. Xiang Ning almost thought that she was a spokesperson for the refugees, with her knowledge and how much she revered them.

“Alright, we should be almost out of this area.” Fang Rou finally noticed her surroundings. “Hm?” she paused as she saw Xiang Ning’s back.

“What’s wrong?”

“Don’t move, let me see what this is.”

“Alright.”

Thirty seconds later.

Fury Points +5

Xiang Ning was puzzled. Why did he suddenly earn Fury Points? And it was so little. If he knew who it was he would have tried to squeeze out at least ten times as much.

But just as he was thinking about that, Fang Rou handed him the paper that she had torn off his back [1] She didn’t even wait for him as she continued walking.

1. Yeah, no idea what the paper says or who wrote it. ☜