74: Chapter 74 Chen Lin is pretending to be sweet, aren't you going to explode?!

...

As the convoy passed through the final gate connecting the High Wall to the Lower City, Chen Lin glanced upward through the car window.

The High Wall was a full eighty meters tall, its structure cast from concrete and Source Energy alloy, embedded with sensor patterns.

There was a guard tower every fifty meters, and the white beams of searchlights swept back and forth across the gray sky like a blind man's cane groping in the dark.

A man who looked like an officer walked up to Instructor Zhao Tieshan, and the two exchanged a few words in hushed tones.

The officer handed over a folder, which Instructor Zhao Tieshan flipped through and nodded.

The gate slowly rose.

The convoy filed in.

After driving for about another twenty minutes, the outline of An City finally appeared in full view.

This place was once one of the developed coastal cities.

Now, however, it was completely isolated by the High Wall, reduced to being part of the fallen zones of the Lower City.

Amidst the ruins, abandoned high-rises and collapsed skyscrapers were still faintly visible, telling tales of its past prosperity.

After the convoy passed through the High Wall, this desolate city was their first stop.

Fortunately, there were no exotic beasts lurking nearby, but the air was filled with an unpleasant odor, as pungent as the stench of a wild beast.

It is worth mentioning that after entering An City, there were no roads left for vehicles to travel normally.

The road was packed with empty vehicles left behind by those fleeing the city, completely blocking the way.

Everyone had to park and proceed on foot.

Human forces were up ahead to meet the people from Lixian Academy.

The leader was named Leader Tian Lin.

They belonged to the Federation organization and could be considered the only legitimate human force in the entire Lower City.

It was just that most of them carried an air of fierce brutality.

Ye Huang lowered his voice to explain: "The people here, except for a few leaders, are all the original survivors of the Lower City."

"The Federation wanted to set up a liaison point in the Lower City to keep track of the situation here, so they funded a group of people with money and supplies—these people right here. Of course, the major top-tier academies provided the bulk of the supplies, otherwise, they wouldn't be so polite to our Lixian Academy for no reason."

At this point, Ye Huang paused and added: "But the benefits are quite real; our Lixian Academy gets conveniences that other academies don't—as long as we coordinate well, we can come to the Lower City for training, and our safety is much better guaranteed than others."

Chen Lin frowned after listening: "Isn't this just a disguised form of paying protection money?"

"It's a bit like that." Ye Huang nodded.

At this moment, Wang Gu leaned in and asked curiously: "Then why don't the people of the Lower City leave this place?"

"If it were me, living in constant fear every day, afraid of exotic beasts and afraid of my companions stabbing me in the back, I would have had a mental breakdown long ago."

Ye Huang shook his head: "The people here probably want to return to a normal life every single moment."

"It's just not that easy."

"Most of those who come here have committed grave mistakes or have nowhere else to go."

"Who knows, the person being friendly with you right now might be a murderer or a serious criminal back in human civilization."

"Damn, doesn't that mean we have to sleep with one eye open?" At this moment, a voice suddenly cut in, and Gong Ling caught up from behind.

When Chen Lin saw him, his back prickled.

For some reason, he always felt that Gong Ling's gaze toward him was a bit strange.

Wang Gu and Ye Huang didn't think much of it.

To be honest, Gong Ling was talented and possessed impressive combat strength; since he took the initiative to come over and talk, it wouldn't be right to give him the cold shoulder.

The four of them followed the main group forward and soon arrived at the temporary stronghold.

It was a huge parking lot where the vehicles had long since rotted away, but the central area had been cleared, and tents were temporarily set up.

This was the stronghold of the Federation forces.

It was also the temporary camp for Lixian Academy for the time being.

Fortunately, the parking lot was large enough to accommodate the three hundred or so people from Lixian Academy.

There was nothing much to do on the first day in the Lower City.

Most of it was organization and preparation work.

The seniors of Lixian Academy were organized and helping to clear the ground, set up tents, and verify the headcount.

They were visibly busy.

Just like Senior Sister Ning Jia, after helping Chen Lin and the others, she didn't even have time to drink water before rushing off to work elsewhere.

"Senior Sister is really capable."

Wang Gu leaned in, watching Senior Sister Ning Jia's busy back, and couldn't help but exclaim.

Chen Lin turned his head and looked at him in surprise: "What do you mean?"

The tents were gradually set up.

Chen Lin, Ye Huang, Wang Gu, and Gong Ling gathered together; whether by intentional arrangement or coincidence, they were assigned under the command of Senior Sister Senior Sister Ning Jia.

For the upcoming operations, Senior Sister Senior Sister Ning Jia would be responsible for protecting the safety of these freshmen.

Of course, since all four of them were geniuses, it wasn't certain who would be protecting whom.

The sky gradually darkened.

Leader Tian Lin's men began to take out black cylinders and quietly place them in various inconspicuous corners.

Chen Lin keenly captured this scene.

"University student, what are you looking at?"

At this moment, a girl wearing a camisole looked at Chen Lin coquettishly.

Living in such a dangerous place all year round with nerves on edge, suddenly seeing a bunch of handsome university students was really attractive!

"What are you doing?" Chen Lin asked.

"Placing shielding devices."

The girl said with a smile: "Three hundred university students suddenly arrived at the stronghold; with such a strong human scent, if we don't shield it, the exotic beasts will smell it and come to slaughter us by the second day!"

As the two were chatting, a bald man with a scar on his face walked over.

He glared fiercely at Chen Lin.

He made a throat-slitting gesture, warned Chen Lin, and then unceremoniously pulled the girl away.

???

Chen Lin frowned.

Hey buddy, are you sick?

Who are you glaring at right off the bat?

He was just about to get up when Senior Sister Ning Jia, who was beside him, quickly pulled him back.

"Chen Lin, it's our first day here."

"Moreover, the people here have some mental issues, they do things in extreme ways, and they have a lot of hostility toward us who live behind the High Wall and in a safe world."

"Don't lower yourself to their level."

Listening to Senior Sister Ning Jia's words, Chen Lin clenched his fists, but eventually let them go.

After dinner, Instructor Zhao Tieshan announced the procedure for the upcoming Freshman Tournament.

In Chen Lin's words.

It was simple, just three words: Hunt exotic beasts.

For seven days, whoever hunts the most exotic beasts in the Lower City will be the winner!

Everyone will be equipped with a high-end recorder; just go all out and kill, the recorder will record everything throughout the process.

Of course, everyone here knew that the Lower City was far from being that simple.

This trip was definitely not just about hunting exotic beasts.

Many of the natives and murderers here were full of hostility toward people like them from inside the High Wall.

Therefore, compared to hunting exotic beasts, what one needed to be more wary of was the unpredictability of human nature and secret schemes.

After the matters were explained, everyone rested on the spot for the first day, and the second day would officially mark the start of the Freshman Tournament in the Lower City to compete for the first-place position!

The crowd dispersed, and everyone returned to their own tents.

The moon hung high in the sky, and most people had already fallen asleep.

However, on the side of Lixian Academy, four people crawled out of their tents on tiptoe.

They were masked and dressed in black.

The leader's eyes were like a lake, exceptionally clear.

Who else could it be but Chen Lin?

Chen Lin turned back and whispered: "Ye Huang, Wang Gu, let's go with what we planned; put the sack over his head, and kick him hard for me!"

"Anyway, there aren't many good people staying in the Lower City; for all we know, they're all murderers, so don't have any psychological burden."

"And you, Gong Ling, this is your initiation gift tonight. When we make our move and run, you hold down the space."

"Anyway, find a way to make sure no one finds out it was us, no problem, right?"

"Don't worry, leave it to me!"

Gong Ling patted his chest in assurance, his eyes full of excitement.

This is so f*cking exciting!

In all my life, this is the first time I've done something this outrageous in the middle of the night!

This novel feeling almost made Gong Ling feel like he was flying with joy.

After giving the instructions, Chen Lin took a deep breath, a ferocious smile appearing on his face:

Damn it, that bald scarred guy actually dared to glare at me!

Do you think I can tolerate you?

You acted sweet during the day, do you really think I, Chen Lin, have a good temper?

Brothers, let's do it!

As Chen Lin made a gesture, the four of them sneaked up to the The Scarred Man's tent.

The next second, The Scarred Man, who was sleeping while hugging the girl, suddenly saw darkness.

A sack was precisely placed over his head.

Immediately after, Chen Lin kicked him hard!

"F*ck! Who?!"

The Scarred Man felt the pain and instantly woke up from his dream.

But before he could finish speaking, his mouth took a heavy punch, and it hurt so much that he couldn't even let out a second wail!

[Ding! Detected The Scarred Man is terrified and paralyzed, thinking an enemy has come for revenge, Fear Value + 999]