Damn it! Let’s smash the darkness together!
Chapter 203 - 21: Setting Out, Warrior Gu Lishi and Xu Shu (Second Update 5k, Completion of 10k per Day, Subscription Requested)_3

Chapter 203: Chapter 21: Setting Out, Warrior Gu Lishi and Xu Shu (Second Update 5k, Completion of 10k per Day, Subscription Requested)_3

In the basic setup, depending on the responsible direction, there were mainly three armed forces.

The first was the city’s police department, which primarily managed people; the second was the garrison responsible for city defense. Although monsters couldn’t enter, they never let their guard down, staring out from atop the walls at the monsters in the mountains and seas every night.

The third, naturally, was the patrol team responsible for the wasteland outside the walls.

These three armed forces were all structured with teams of 12, comprised of 1 Transcendent and 11 ordinary soldiers.

Clearly, the number 12 was pervasive in every corner of this world.

Meanwhile, in the mid-level between the grassroots and the high-ranking officials, there was a relatively spacious assembly—the Pioneering Team.

The composition of the Pioneering Team was quite complex and wasn’t just people from the Judgement Department; or rather, 90% were not.

The promotion network frequently recruited for the Pioneering Team, led by the Judgement Department, launching pioneering missions and requesting the city’s Transcendents for assistance.

In this era, there actually weren’t any ’wild Transcendents’; strictly speaking, all Transcendents belonged to the Astronomy Association—after all, without the Promotion Drive, one simply couldn’t become Transcendent.

However, the mighty power of a Transcendent ultimately belonged to the individual. Once someone became a Transcendent, it was impossible to control them with the iron-fisted methods used on ordinary people, and trying to do so would only backfire.

The Astronomy Association also adhered to Lie Zhenzi’s philosophy, primarily promoting the ’Human Alliance struggle’ and didn’t forcibly manage Transcendents. After all, if Transcendents wanted to contribute or enhance their power, hunting monsters was the only way, no coercion needed.

As the saying goes, underneath a broken nest, there are no whole eggs.

Almost every person was a warrior fighting for all of humanity from an ’objective’ perspective.

Every Transcendent made contributions to the continuation of their species, more or less.

Therefore, Transcendents were relatively free—provided, of course, that you had enough potential.

If you only had the white Curse Seal, a "low-level" Transcendent with a maximum potential of 12th level, these individuals had to be strictly managed, being placed in the garrison, patrol teams, and the like.

Weakness itself was a sin, and this wasn’t just a saying, but something that permeated all aspects of life.

Even for Transcendents, those of white level could only dominate over ordinary humans.

If they went to external battlefields, they were purely seeking death, cannon fodder at best, able to do only some minor cleanup work in the wasteland.

Only Transcendents with a green grade Curse Seal or higher had enough potential, ensuring they could reach the Second Rank, forming the absolute backbone of the Human Transcendent Alliance—under doomsday conditions, humanity could only follow an elite path. The masses strategy wasn’t feasible, because no matter how many people there were, there couldn’t be more than the monsters.

On today’s date, November 24th of the New Calendar Eighteenth Year, as a level 15 First-tier newbie, Xu Shu stepped through the doors of the Judgement Department for the first time.

He boldly presented his Transcendent identity symbol, explained his purpose, and was led by the clerks to their back door to be handed over to the staff inside.

Near the rear door inside the Judgement Department, which in fact faced towards the Star Tower, there was a moderately sized square.

People arriving by plane from other regions could see this square immediately upon exiting.

Beside it hung large banners with inspiring phrases such as "Human Glory Forever!" "Fire with passion, penetrate deep behind enemy lines!" and "Drive them out, leave none behind!"

This place had a nickname: Pioneering Team Formation Square.

As for inside the Star Tower, where everyone was anonymous not knowing each other’s identities, it was commonly known as the private club—a place for private face-to-face transactions.

Area D8B3 wasn’t a frontline major area and didn’t have as many people.

The time was still early, and thus only about a dozen groups of people were gathered at the vast square, each clustered around clearly delineated outdoor stone seats.

Some groups had as many as seven or eight people, while others had only three or four, all of them busy operating the "Promotion Network" interface just as inside the Star Tower.

Next to each group, there usually stood a young policewoman, though there were a few men too, each holding a folder in their hand, waiting at their side like attendants.

At that moment, at the service desk nearby, the group of young policewomen on standby saw Xu Shu being brought in. After exchanging a few words with the clerk at the front desk, one of the sweet-faced policewomen, not yet twenty, approached and asked politely but cautiously,

"Sir, are you planning to cross the border to pioneer? Xiao Lin is at your service."

These young clerical police officers were the ones Melanie referred to, the Judgement Department’s personnel helping with the Pioneering Team Formation.

All were quite capable, each with strong administrative skills.

Had Xu Shu successfully been admitted to university back then, he might have had the chance to be one of them.

Not just the Judgement Department, but also several other peripheral clerical positions in various places under the Supervision Bureau were staffed by talents from universities within the city—of course, only the most ordinary ones. The truly ambitious students surely aimed to enter the Astronomy Association.

As the saying goes, "Be learned in literary and military arts, supply the emperors and the Wang family," and in this era, the true emperors were naturally—the Transcendents!

Back then, failing to enter university, he could only engage in cheap labor, not even qualified to be looked at by these people;

Now, returning from the Wasteland, his identity cleansed and rising rapidly, he had become someone they had to please deferentially, even able to do whatever he wanted to them for a small price if he wished.

Thinking about this, Xu Shu couldn’t help but smile.

In this crisis of the apocalypse, it was indeed true that strength determined status.

Xu Shu stood for a while, observing and then asked, "How can you help me?"

Hearing this, Clerical Officer Xiao Lin knew he was a newbie, but she didn’t dare to be negligent and gently inquired, "Sir, how should I address you? What is your profession? Based on your profession and needs, Xiao Lin can help you find a suitable team."

A nickname...

Now that his identity was cleansed, his real name on the identity card definitely couldn’t be concealed here, nor was there a need to hide it.

And since he was forming a team, either the [Real Name] or [Nickname] had to be made known to his teammates.

Perhaps go anonymous? However, anonymity naturally led to suspicion among teammates which was undesirable.

The nickname ’Tai Chu’ was something he wanted to keep hidden for important uses.

Therefore, if he didn’t want others to guess he had another nickname and thereby leave a loophole, perhaps letting his current real name be seen as a nickname by others?

This seemed feasible... As for the Astronomy Association, they would probably think the nickname I chose was Xu Shu, heh...

After a moment’s thought, Xu Shu responded, "Xu Shu, First-tier Warrior, and the nickname... Gu Pan. You can call me Gu Lishi."

As soon as he spoke, the whole place fell silent.

Everyone suddenly looked over, whispering among themselves, then some incomprehensible phrases like "Iron Armor Barbarian Bull, Steel Rhinoceros lying low," and remarks such as "there’s a murderous look between this Gu Pan." Many women quietly gossiped, "So, he’s that huge muscle tyrant, Gu Pan~".

For a time, the people at the square burst into lively discussions, filling the air with mirthful chatter.