Netherworld Retrograde
Chapter 373 - 178 Are you fucking done or not!

Chapter 373: Chapter 178 Are you fucking done or not!

After obtaining the necessary information, the sky was already gradually brightening.

The early sun cast its glow, illuminating the ruined wilderness, and also brought calm to the bustling gathering place.

Speaking of which, Li Yelai and the Little Mad King had been traveling all night.

But as Spiritual Ability Users, both of them were very robust and did not feel much fatigue.

On the contrary, it was the group from Red Dart Commerce who, after a wild night at the gathering place, were all in low spirits.

Even Xu Shi, with his thick skin, felt somewhat ashamed.

"It’s fine; just remember my arrangement," Li Yelai responded.

"Stay away from Mr. Night General, and if you see a monster, take a picture of it, right?" Xu Shi nodded, "I’ve already made arrangements, and I’ve also prepared the gold blocks."

Li Yelai was carrying four Taboo Items this time, including the Red Wanted Order. As long as one puts up a photo or portrait of the target and pays a certain bounty (gold blocks are best), one could hire Void Realm Creatures with the power of the Four Awakenings as henchmen.

Just in case, Li Yelai had Red Dart Commerce ready to capture the enemy’s appearance. The cost of this Taboo Item was not great, making it very suitable for dealing with such mysterious enemies.

"Be careful not to photograph our own people," Li Yelai reminded.

"Yes, we will be attentive," Xu Shi nodded in promise, adhering to the principle of self-preservation by asking and observing less.

Xu Shi watched Li Yelai get into the car but in the blink of an eye, he saw the Little Mad King suddenly appear in the passenger seat.

Xu Shi was startled, but Li Yelai was unsurprised and drove off from the gathering place.

Red Dart Commerce followed closely behind.

The convoy formed a long line on the desolate road, with mud and ash splashing up like spray.

Inside the gathering place, some ill-intentioned folks, seeing the size of the convoy, could only reluctantly retract their gazes.

And in the lead armored off-road vehicle, Li Yelai, holding the steering wheel, said, "This road is a rare smooth one, does the gathering place also repair roads?"

"Gathering places attract Scavengers and caravans to stop, and with more vehicles coming and going, the roads get flattened. So, rather than saying that gathering places are established next to trade routes, it’s more appropriate to say that gathering places create trade routes," the Little Mad King replied from the passenger seat.

Then, she began to eat in silence, holding an official special product of meat pies and jerky, quietly chewing.

It was called a special product because this meat came from Extraordinary Creatures, even from the Slaughter Insect Swarm.

It provided high nutritional value and could quickly satiate hunger, making it one of the essential foods for Ye Boshou on missions.

As for using food from the gathering place... there had been instances of Spiritual Ability Users getting knocked out by drugged food and turned into barbecued pork buns...

Thus, when outside, Spiritual Ability Users would always bring their own food or, at the very least, hunt animals in the wilderness.

Li Yelai had once heard that before the Calamity, there were abstract organizations like wildlife protection associations.

But after the Calamity, such organizations couldn’t possibly exist. Those Scavengers and caravans that had been besieged by wild beasts would want to smack them.

With humanity retreating into Giant Cities, the wilderness became the domain of wild beasts.

Li Yelai even spotted a pack of wolves chasing a leopard not far away.

With the wilderness environments being so favorable and the power of Spiritual Ability Users, they had no worry about food.

"Why not eat in the gathering place?" Li Yelai casually asked. There should have been time during the refit.

"People who eat with me would suspect I poisoned or drugged the food," the Little Mad King responded flatly, "My biological parents kicked me out of the house for this reason."

The curse of distrust made any connection with her suspect intentions and responsibility. Even if someone else was responsible, she would be the first one people suspected. Thus, whatever she did, she always tried to keep a distance from others. Perhaps her becoming the strongest assassin was related to her obsession with remaining undiscovered.

Li Yelai’s expression stiffened as he responded in a low voice, "I’m sorry."

"It’s nothing, teammate." The Little Mad King seemed to smile, consuming the last piece of jerky in her hand.

...

An hour later, Li Yelai saw the once-glorious great city.

For more than seventy years, it had stood silently on this land, silently narrating its past glory and vicissitudes.

The baptism of war left the city scarred, but even so, its former prosperity could still be glimpsed.

As they drove into the city, they were greeted by a scene of ruins. The buildings on either side of the street had long since lost their colors, while weeds and trees stubbornly sprouted among the rubble and ruins, adding vitality to the desolation. The soft breeze seemed to carry their whispers of time passing.

Li Yelai sighed. This city, even more prosperous than No.3 Border City, was thus abandoned, truly a pity.

As the vehicle moved on deeper into the abandoned city, Li Yelai saw signs like "Jiangxi Stir-Fry" and "Sha County Snacks," and also many charred vehicles. He saw remains of tanks and aircraft that no longer existed, as if a fighter jet had crashed into the city.

Going further in, Li Yelai saw a huge pit hundreds of meters wide and numerous giant slash marks—whole sections of houses had been cleanly cut by some sharp weapon.

"This is..." Li Yelai was amazed.

"At the beginning of the chaotic period, there was a human Supreme who wanted to establish a Giant City here, given the city’s good infrastructure and some necessary production lines. So, the last of humanity’s strategic forces were employed. Sadly, with the King of Restricted Zone’s intervention, all efforts failed. That Supreme died in battle..." the Little Mad King said, "But it also bought time for the establishment of other human Giant Cities."