The Post Sky Tipping Era
Chapter 44 - 35 The Backup Car

Chapter 44: Chapter 35 The Backup Car

This is the highway to the danger zone.

A vehicle is parked on the side of the road, engine turned off, lights out, waiting quietly.

Two people are sitting in the car, one is the driver and the other is a Cultivator of the Spirit Medium Realm, his name is Zheng Fei, responsible for picking up those who were part of this operation.

"Brother Zheng, let’s go back. It’s already so late; no one else is likely to return now. If we continue to wait here, we might encounter danger ourselves," the driver whispered, now the only car left stranded here, inevitably feeling apprehensive.

Zheng Fei shook his head and said, "No, Yang Yilong’s order is to wait until six o’clock. Moreover, as of now, more than ten Cultivators have gone missing in the danger zone. This is already a big problem. If during our wait, any Cultivators manage to escape alive and we abandon them, once the word gets out, who would dare to deal with the Yang family in the future?"

"In today’s world, the more powerful a Cultivator is, the more crucial their credibility and influence become because a Cultivator is a symbol in themselves. Once their credibility shatters, they will be shunned by the entire Cultivation Circle, making any future endeavors extremely difficult."

"Why is that? There are so many people who don’t honor their word in society today, and they aren’t ostracized," the driver expressed his confusion.

Zheng Fei looked out the window and smiled, "That’s because the law can control scoundrels, but it can’t constrain powerful Cultivators. Therefore, Cultivators must self-discipline so others will trust, respect, and even admire you, and be willing to answer your call. Tell me, would you rather follow someone whose word is as solid as gold, or someone who goes back on their word?"

"I think I understand. The higher one’s status, the more they care about credibility and promises, so an Emperor’s words are like imperial edicts," the driver realized with some clarity.

Zheng Fei stated, "That’s roughly the idea. So Emperors cannot afford to break their word either; once they set such a precedent, future edicts would become worthless scraps of paper, deprived of any effect. Yang Yilong previously said the operation ends at six o’clock; we must be responsible for picking up any retreating Cultivators until then. If we fail to do so, Yang Yilong’s words would be considered as nothing but hot air, trusted by no one and heeded by none."

"I never knew there was so much depth to it," the driver hadn’t realized the deep significance of such a minor act.

Then Zheng Fei sighed, "Although I also know that since no one has returned from the danger zone by now, the chances of anyone coming back are slim, most likely having perished inside... Wait, there seems to be a figure rapidly approaching us."

"I’ll get out and check. Be ready to start the car and evacuate at any moment."

After saying that, he immediately opened the car door and stepped out, swiftly leaping onto higher ground to survey the area.

"Who’s there?"

Zheng Fei called out in a low voice, asking for identification.

Fearing it might be some unclean humanoid Creature approaching in the dark.

"It’s me, Li Yi," the figure responded.

"Li Yi?"

Zheng Fei immediately recalled, then recognized, "Oh, it’s the Cultivator that was with Li Tao. I’m Zheng Fei, responsible for picking you up. What happened? Where are Li Tao and your companion Zhang Gao...? Hold on, something’s not right. What’re you carrying on your back?"

"Li Tao and Zhang Gao are dead, killed by a group of monsters at the outpost. I took the chance to flee amidst the chaos. Don’t be alarmed, what I’m carrying on my back is a strange tiger that I killed. I thought the prey might be worth some money, so I brought it back."

Li Yi was breathing slightly heavily at the moment. He had been carrying the corpse of the Fierce Beast on his back and finally managed to escape the danger zone and make it close to the security line.

"Killed a tiger? I see, that’s alright then, come on over," Zheng Fei relaxed and gestured for Li Yi to approach.

"What happened, why the caution?" Li Yi, with the Fierce Beast’s corpse strapped to his back, approached with a strong smell of blood and an air of ferocity about him.

Zheng Fei gave Li Yi a once-over and upon seeing the Fierce Beast on his back, was immediately shocked, "Wow, what you’ve killed isn’t a tiger at all, but a Fierce Beast Biao. Yang Yilong had already sent out a message saying that a decommissioned zoo in the danger zone housed several Fierce Beasts, overseen by an Extraordinary Creature. The Fierce Beasts included Biao, Mountain Demons, and Man-Bears. Later, he killed that Extraordinary Creature and could no longer deal with the remaining Fierce Beasts, which caused a rampage in the danger zone. That’s why we were on high alert."

"It seems the Biao referred to by Yang Yilong must be this one you’ve killed," Zheng Fei continued as he moved in to inspect the body of the Fierce Beast closely.

When he saw the distinct and deep Fist Marks and palm prints on Biao’s body, his pupils narrowed sharply.

The Fierce Beast had been beaten to death by bare hands and feet.

"Did you really kill it yourself? Incredible. Yang Yilong warned us that these Fierce Beasts were exceptionally powerful, and even those of the Spirit Medium Realm would become their prey. To kill one of these beasts, powerful weaponry and joint effort from multiple Cultivators would be necessary," Zheng Fei found it incredulous that an assistant who had been with Li Tao not only escaped from the danger zone alive but had also killed a Fierce Beast Biao with his bare hands. How could this be so astonishing?

Consider that many Cultivators from the Spirit Medium Realm had not returned this time.

"In a life-and-death situation, my body evolved under stress, and I found some principles in fists and feet that allowed me to counter-kill it," Li Yi put down the body of the Fierce Beast Biao, wiped the sweat from his brow, and explained, "I wondered why this thing was so vicious. So it wasn’t a tiger, but a Biao. I nearly got eaten by it."

"I see. Have you initiated as a Spirit Medium?" Zheng Fei then noticed Li Yi’s eyes gleaming brightly, revealing that he was a Cultivator at the Spirit Medium Realm, just like him.

But he was still puzzled.

A cultivator who had just entered the Spirit Medium Realm, even in a desperate situation, would find it extremely difficult to kill a Fierce Beast with his bare hands.

However, Zheng Fei did not ask further. He simply said, "Do you need help? I have a car for pickup. We can take you and the body of this Biao back to AnDing District. Rest assured, since you hunted it, we won’t take it from you. Who knows, we might even buy it at a high price."

"Okay, take me back now. I don’t want to stay here a moment longer. It’s too dangerous, and I encountered ghost soldiers and fierce ghosts on my way back. I was nearly targeted," Li Yi immediately said.

Zheng Fei’s eyelid twitched, "Ghost soldiers, fierce ghosts? Your trip was too perilous. But luckily, you only encountered ghosts. They don’t dare to leave their ghost realm because the energy field of the Earth has been contaminated. Be it fierce ghosts or ghost soldiers, once they leave the ghost realm, they would be polluted by the Earth. By then, they’d die without even knowing how."

Li Yi nodded, fully agreeing with him.

At that moment, Zheng Fei lent a hand, lifted the body of the Biao from the ground, and placed it onto the vehicle. He then continued, "But things aren’t absolute. If a fierce ghost possesses a human body, it can temporarily avoid contamination by having a living person’s body. Besides, some strong ghosts, if they have their own energy field, can also move around in a polluted world, but those are very rare exceptions, not the rule."

"All right, is that everything? Anything else?"

Hearing Zheng Fei say this, Li Yi started to regret not buying more things on Ghost Street. After all, he wasn’t afraid of the debt-collecting ghost coming to collect debts.

But now was not the time to think about that. He immediately said, "Just the body of this Biao, there’s nothing else. Let’s set off right away. We’re very close to the danger zone. It’s better not to stay long."

"Okay, I got it. Get in the car, we’re leaving now," Zheng Fei concluded, without further delay. He instructed the driver to start the car immediately.

The driver had been ready all along. He had been eager to leave this forsaken place. With the engine started and a deep press on the accelerator, the vehicle quickly evacuated with several people aboard.

On their way out, another car suddenly came driving towards them, heading back into the danger zone.

"Someone is still heading to the danger zone at this time?" Li Yi, resting in the car, became curious upon seeing other vehicles.

Zheng Fei explained, "That’s also a pickup vehicle arranged by Yang Yilong. As my car leaves, there will be another waiting at the same spot. After all, it’s a danger zone; we can’t have too many people gathered for pickup at once, it’s risky. Plus, you may not be aware, but aside from you, eleven cultivators have lost contact. And including the information about Li Tao and Zhang Gao’s deaths which you brought, it’s now confirmed that seven cultivators are dead."

"So many people had accidents?" Li Yi was shocked, "I thought it was just Brother Tao and us who were unlucky to encounter such dangers. I didn’t expect others to be in the same situation."

"Right? Yang Yilong is currently having a headache over this. And it’s not just you guys; Yang Yilong’s colleague, that girl named Qin Qing, was heavily injured. Several vertebrae were shattered. They are currently reaching out to major medical companies for treatment," Zheng Fei said, shaking his head and revealing more news.

"Qin Qing? You mean the girl with the green vertical pupils?" Li Yi inquired.

He had a vivid memory of the girl who stayed by Yang Yilong’s side. Brother Tao had even shared knowledge about vertical pupils because of her.

"Exactly her. They say she was injured trying to cover for Yang Yilong, nearly losing her life," Zheng Fei lamented, "Lucky for me, I’m just a bodyguard, in charge of the pickup. If I had gone into the danger zone this time, I might not have made it back either."

"You can’t blame us. Yang Yilong meant well for you guys. Before asking you to leave, he wanted you to join him for a trip to the danger zone to make some extra money. No one expected it to turn out this way."

After hearing about these events, Li Yi couldn’t help but be stunned.

Even Yang Yilong almost met his end in the danger zone. This trip was truly fraught with peril.

Thinking about it now, he was lucky to have come back alive.

"By the way, what kind of extraordinary creature did they hunt that was so powerful?" Li Yi curiously asked.

Zheng Fei replied, "We’re not sure yet, but the body has been brought back. We need to consult records and conduct an examination to confirm. However, even though they hunted, it was for naught. With such great losses and so many deaths, who knows how much money will need to be compensated? Plus, Qin Qing’s injuries will require a high treatment cost. It’s uncertain if the body of the extraordinary creature will cover the losses from this operation."

"We risked our lives for this mission. It’s only right that Yang Yilong bleeds some money and pays compensation," Li Yi stated.

Zheng Fei looked at Li Yi, who was covered in blood, and nodded, "True, money can be re-earned, but once a life is lost, everything is gone. But don’t worry just yet. After returning, take a shower, rest well, and have a meal. In a few days, the supervisor will discuss compensation with you. They won’t let you suffer any losses. However, since you were only injured, the compensation won’t be very high."

"I know, so I’m relying on this thing to make money. I’ve always heard that Fierce Beasts from the danger zone are worth quite a lot," Li Yi said, pointing at the carcass of the Fierce Beast in the vehicle.

"Rest assured, as I said before, Yang Yilong will definitely buy the body of this Biao at a high price. You can take my word for it," Zheng Fei said with a smile, treating Li Yi very politely. Not only because they were both cultivators in the Spirit Medium Realm but also out of respect for Li Yi’s strength.

Moreover, Li Yi hunting a Biao at this critical juncture was actually a good thing.

Only by making a significant purchase, could Yang Yilong’s reputation be salvaged from the damage incurred this time.

Zheng Fei understood this, and so did Yang Yilong, without a doubt.