319: Xingyun Squad, Cheng Zijun

Ever since the Xingyun Squad arrived at Zhenhai Pass to fight against the sea beasts, nothing had gone smoothly.

They repeatedly encountered situations with faulty intelligence and powerful sea beasts appearing unexpectedly, causing the squad to suffer heavy losses one after another.

Cheng Zijun naturally knew that someone was orchestrating everything behind the scenes.

As for who it was, Cheng Zijun had known for a long time; who else but the Xuanhu Pharmaceutical Group, who had forcibly conscripted them to Zhenhai Pass, could possess such methods?

A month ago, the number of sea beasts at Zhenhai Pass drastically increased.

The Qiongzhou Official Safe Zone issued a death order to all major forces within its Safe Zone, demanding that each family dispatch a certain number of Talent Users to accompany the army and resolve the sea beast menace.

Groups, families, and gangs would naturally not sacrifice their own Talent Users to fill this void, so they captured other Talent Users without backgrounds to fill it instead.

The Xingyun Squad was one of them.

Although the squad had four Level Three Talent Users and the other three were top second level Talent Users, just a step away from advancing to Level Three, they were like ants before the Xuanhu Pharmaceutical Group.

A banquet was held, inviting over fifty Talent Users, including the Xingyun Squad, but they were secretly poisoned with a spiritual toxin, leaving them no choice but to comply.

Although the other party promised to give them an antidote and release them after the sea beast disaster ended, a month had passed, and the sea beast disaster had not only not weakened but had intensified.

Six or seven out of ten of the fifty-odd people who were coerced into coming had already died.

Cheng Zijun clenched his fists, regretting his powerlessness, only able to watch his teammates die one by one, and even unable to protect his own shelter item!

Yes, upon entering Zhenhai Pass, their Shelters were forcibly confiscated, supposedly to keep them safe from falling into the hands of the sea race.

However, once they were out of their hands, getting them back was almost impossible.

If they didn't 'voluntarily' unbind them, they could refuse, but the very next day, those people would be assigned to the front lines of battle against the sea beasts.

In short, wherever it was dangerous, they were sent, and they wouldn't last long before dying.

It wasn't that no one resisted, but here at Zhenhai Pass, the lowest were second level Talent Users, and there was also an army entirely composed of Talent Users.

These people, without any backing, simply had no right to contend with them.

To survive, they could only kill sea beasts.

Killing a certain number of sea beasts would allow them to reclaim their Shelters and apply to return to the Safe Zone.

As for not killing enough, they would kill until they died.

Cheng Zijun deeply regretted persuading his captain to come to the Official Safe Zone, saying that the Official Safe Zone was reliable.

If he hadn't insisted on coming, things wouldn't be like this now, with some dead and some injured...

His eyes were filled with remorse, but it was all too late.

Even all the contribution points from killing sea beasts had been exchanged for an antidote to resolve his spiritual toxin.

The purpose was to allow him to escape, but how could he leave? He couldn't go.

Cheng Zijun left the miscellaneous courtyard, preparing to go to Bluestone Plaza, where numerous hunted sea beast carcasses were piled up.

Some parts of the sea beasts' bodies were also treasures; after purification and decontamination, they could be forged into extraordinary weapons or even used to make potions.

However, processing carcasses didn't mean there was no danger.

Some sea beasts might not be completely dead, potentially reanimating and retaliating in their death throes, which could even result in powerful Level Three Talent Users dying on the spot.

Moreover, handling sea beast carcasses and having close contact with contaminated flesh would constantly expose one to high levels of contamination, causing significant harm to oneself.

Therefore, many Talent Users preferred to hunt sea beasts rather than process their carcasses.

This also led to the fact that processing sea beast carcasses yielded generous contribution points.

In addition to the daily 50 basic contribution points, an additional amount of contribution points could be obtained for each treasure extracted from a sea beast's body.

Before he reached Bluestone Plaza, several people suddenly blocked Cheng Zijun's path.

"What do you want to do?" Cheng Zijun became vigilant.

"What do we want to do? Hehe, it's very simple." The leading Chicken Coop Haired Big Guy picked his teeth, "I heard you've been dissecting beast carcasses at Bluestone Plaza these past few days and earned quite a few contribution points, right?

I don't need much; you just need to hand over half."

"I risked my life for that; why should I give it to you?!" Cheng Zijun's face turned grim.

"Oh, why? Let me tell you, kid, everyone on this street is under our control!

If you don't hand it over, do you believe I'll make sure you can't even pick up trash?"

The Chicken Coop Haired Big Guy flicked the toothpick in his hand, and it plunged deep into the bluestone floor, disappearing from sight.

"You're openly robbing us! Aren't you afraid the officials will find out?!" Cheng Zijun's veins bulged on his forehead, his fists clenched tightly.

The several big guys in front immediately burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha, where did this inexperienced kid come from, so foolish."

"Looks like he doesn't understand the rules, so perfect, let us teach him the rules properly!"

"Officials? Oh oh oh, what era is this, and you're still talking about officials to me?

Do you know why I can make a living here?"

After laughing, the Chicken Coop Haired Big Guy's eyes instantly turned vicious: "Three Cats, Two Dogs, go get him!

Beat him up first, then teach him the rules!"

"Yes, Big Brother!"

"What are you doing?!" Cheng Zijun was only nineteen this year.

According to the timeline, the apocalypse happened when he was a freshman in college.

Later, he joined the Xingyun Squad formed by his seniors and was well protected.

Although he had already witnessed many dangers, being openly robbed in an officially governed area still shocked him.

"What are we doing? Hehe, kid, let me give you some brains.

You're lucky to have met my Big Brother today; we're just giving you a beating.

In the future, you better be more observant, or you might lose your life, hahahaha."

A fierce punch came, accompanied by flames.

Cheng Zijun's expression changed, and he quickly dodged.

These two were both Level Three!

"Heh, still daring to dodge, hit him hard!" Three Cats leaped up, and a whip kick instantly struck Cheng Zijun's back.

Then, like a ghost, after Cheng Zijun landed, his foot was already on Cheng Zijun's head.

"I remember you're dragging three other useless people around, right?

Hand over five-tenths of your daily contribution points obediently as protection money; otherwise, you understand."

Three Cats sneered.

Blood oozed from Cheng Zijun's mouth, and he suppressed his anger, "I, I'll give it."

"That's right, as long as you're obedient and honestly hand over your contribution points, won't everyone be at peace?

Haha, we've become friends through fighting.

Don't worry, little brother, you won't pay these contribution points for nothing.

If anyone dares to cause trouble on our turf, they'll have to ask my Big Brother if he agrees.

No matter who you offend outside, once you're on Bluestone Street, you're one of us!"

Two Dogs quickly stepped forward to help Cheng Zijun up, laughing heartily, completely devoid of his previous ferocity.

Cheng Zijun's heart stirred.

If it was really like this, then it wasn't impossible, but he quickly abandoned the idea.

He was truly foolish to believe these people's nonsense.

"This is half of the contribution points from the past few days."

He handed over some strangely shaped coins, each with a value of 10.

"Kid, remember to come back every night and hand it over at the street corner." Three Cats tossed the contribution point coins in his hand, chuckling.

Cheng Zijun walked away silently.

"Wait."

Suddenly, a shout came from behind.

"What else do you want?" Cheng Zijun clenched his fists, clearly thinking it was the same group of people calling him.

But when he turned around, he saw those big guys also turn their heads, looking in another direction.

It was a man in white casual clothes, carrying a Tang Blade, with a strange insect wriggling in his hand.

"Who are you, new to Bluestone Street?" The Chicken Coop Haired Big Guy narrowed his eyes.

Tang Ping ignored him, sizing up Cheng Zijun: "You have Xiao Ling's aura on you.

Do you know Wang Lingling?"

Instantly, Cheng Zijun's alarm bells rang: "You, you're from Xuanhu Pharmaceutical!"