Only then did Lu Cai realize that one of Yu Xingyan's abilities was the ability to soothe people's emotions. This also explained why the two-knife boss didn't immediately attack Lin Mansen at the gas station; it was all thanks to Yu Xingyan's miraculous influence.
And the fact that he had initially confronted Yu Xingyan upon waking up was also their arrangement—they felt that even if Yu Xingyan couldn't get any information out of him they wouldn't likely kill him.
Lu Cai wondered if Yu Xingyan might be a Buddhist disciple.
Only the great warriors of Buddhism would constantly try to influence the world.
He was so absorbed in his thoughts that Feng Li, now the new driver, glanced at him and asked subtly, "Are you absolutely sure there's still a monster left in the village?"
Honestly when Lu Cai once calm and composed mentioned this to her in a serious tone after getting in the car her first reaction was to ask:
Are you the monster you're talking about?
Lu Cai came out of his trance and nodded. "I assume there's one left but I haven't seen it so I can't offer any more specific clues."
Feng Li's slender fingers clenched the steering wheel anxiously. For a moment she couldn't tell whether Lu Cai was serious or just teasing.
She shifted her gaze to the rearview mirror. Behind the lens, a wild wolf as tall and muscular as two grown men was visible. The giant wolf was powerful and majestic, its dark brown fur billowing in the wind as it ran looking like a happy dog being walked by its owner.
Lu Cai hadn't made any other move since getting in the car. Everyone seemed to have forgotten that Lu Cai still had a magic-suppressing ring on his foot.
Perhaps Lu Cai had truly forgotten but Feng Li feigned confusion. After all, she was human and if she wanted to survive she had to avoid any possible risks.
If Lu Cai really was a monster.
Was he really going through all this trouble with them?
If it really was a monster it was the scariest thing Feng Li had ever seen in her life!
Feng Li muttered in a muffled voice, "I know. I've already sent them a message; they'll be careful, but you."
Lu Cai calmly glanced in the rearview mirror, "Speed up! The car behind us is about to hit us."
Feng Li practically spat out a mouthful of blood.
Get this straight!
If she wasn't trying to scout the enemy, why would a Team A member come here and drive for someone?!
She slammed the accelerator feeling a bit frustrated. Lu Cai glanced at the distance until it was safe again then slowly said, "I'm in a hurry to get back so please hurry."
Is that human language?
Feng Li knew she wasn't the type to inspire protectiveness but any human being should at least be polite, right?
But when she thought of Lu Cai's indestructible body and how he could kill the master of a wild wolf even with the magic-suppressing ring on him, what could she do?!
Of course we chose to speed up!
Whether we're a mule or a horse we'll know when we get to the base.
*
The dark matter explosion thirty years ago was incredibly sudden. From what the older generation has said it happened in the blink of an eye like Thanos snapping his fingers.
It doesn't matter if you don't understand what Thanos is. After all, today's cultural consciousness is far less developed than it was thirty years ago. No one knows so just treat it as a sudden demonic arrival.
In that instant every living creature on Earth sensed the impending danger. It was a highly subjective feeling but it became a shared consensus.
The geomagnetic frequency was disrupted and the temperature fluctuated between absolute zero and boiling point. Seeing is believing became a joke as someone witnessed a phantom monster suddenly appear in the empty space of the neighbor's living room only to vanish without a trace the next moment. The next day the entire family was gone.
People who had clearly not been exposed to radiation died of cancer in the blink of an eye and children born after normal prenatal checkups were born with deformities. A series of other unexpected events occurred.
In just one week the Earth's population plummeted from 8 billion to 1 billion.
The remaining humans experienced riots, famine and war and ultimately fewer than 500 million remained.
The Human Alliance was formed during this most difficult time protecting humanity in massive hastily constructed fortresses regardless of nationality or race and stratified by region.
That's what's now called the base.
China, a vast land rich in resources, has after supporting various parties built three large human bases within its borders according to its capabilities for humans to settle.
Lu Cai came from the Northern Base and was now being driven to the Central Base by Feng Li and her group.
The pickup truck slowly drove into a long minefield. Barbed wire fences made the surrounding area a high-risk zone where any monster attempting to enter would be severely injured. Beyond the minefield was another area of intense radiation dissipation.
Although this place wasn't comfortable for humans to pass through, if a monster infected by dark matter rashly entered it would explode with a bang.
Feng Li watched Lu Cai nervously.
Lu Cai sat in the passenger seat propping up his chin. The tedious long journey didn't bore him; instead, it helped him to recharge his batteries though he was a little sleepy.
He slowly opened his mouth and Feng Li's eyes widened instantly.
Then she saw Lu Cai yawn.
Feng Li: "..."
That's it?
Lu Cai suddenly turned his head and looked at her, causing Feng Li to shudder. She almost slammed the car into the security booth and asked hurriedly, "What's wrong?"
"That wild wolf shouldn't be able to take this route. What arrangements have you made for it?"
Lu Cai didn't forget that the wolf was an important "Dragon Witness," and nothing could go wrong.
Feng Li breathed a sigh of relief. "We've arranged for it to be sent to the Supervisory Department. We'll return it to you after it's cleared."
That assumes Lu Cai is also okay but there's no need to say that.
Lu Cai nodded, feeling that it was similar to the rules at their northern base.
The authorities didn't completely ban the domestication of extraordinary creatures or even some monsters. This was probably similar to traditional Chinese culture. Unofficial creatures were called yokai and once a monster was recognized and officially registered it became an extraordinary creature within the official system.
His master's phoenix bird would also be a monster to ordinary people. It was incredibly ferocious whipping people with its tail at every turn. Wasn't that more infuriating than a monster?
But his master had previously been a highly paid senior advisor to the foundation. How could a senior advisor's summoned beast be called a monster?
That phoenix had suddenly become the guardian statue of the Northern Base Foundation, a golden statue of a truly majestic figure.
So, for now Lu Cai applied this procedure to the wild wolf to ensure it could continue to stay by his side. Later after he had discussed this with his master and fellow disciples he could try the same process with Zeshia.
The prerequisite was to ensure Zeshia's safety.
After this thought Lu Cai had safely passed the numerous inspections outside the base. The next step was to enter the base for a one-on-one manual inspection.
Feng Li's jaw dropped!
Facing the prosecutor approaching them Feng Li squeezed his hand tightly.
"Say it again. He's really a human being. A normal human being?"
The prosecutor struggled to pull his hand away from the 5'8" tall Feng Li and replied earnestly:
"Yes, Captain Feng he's a human being, a young man the kind you could have sex with right away."
Lu Cai who was walking behind them paused at this then continued walking forward.
He saw someone he knew.
Seeing someone familiar in a distant base gave Lu Cai a rare moment of relief and he felt less impatient for the series of inspections that lay ahead.
"Junior Brother Qin."
Lu Cai's calmness stood in stark contrast to Feng Li who was nearly paralyzed by the revelation. Qin Tao, the one being addressed as Junior Brother Qin, laughed heartily and threw his arms around him.
"Good boy Junior Brother Lu! I couldn't believe Captain Feng's report of picking up a young man named Lu Cai. Aren't you at the Northern Base? Why did you come all the way here?"
Qin Tao had learned a few moves from Lu Cai's master so he barely ranked last in their sect. But because he was actually older than Lu Cai he always addressed Lu Cai with a half-joking, half-taunting "little."
Lu Cai usually didn't object but would have given him a few more smacks in the face during the next duel. This time in response to Qin Tao's warm embrace he politely took two steps back.
I appreciate it, nothing more is needed.
Qin Tao couldn't help but laugh, becoming increasingly certain that this was his Senior Brother Xiao Lu. Several of the team members following him hurriedly followed suit and greeted him.
For a moment the base entrance was filled with a flurry of "Hello, Senior Brother Xiao Lu!"
The fierce and righteous demeanor was unmistakable like bandits paying respects to their superiors.
Feng Li and Lin Mansen, who had just been carried out of the car, both showed shock!
Qin Tao had been transferred from the Northern Base to the Central Base six months earlier. Due to his exceptional abilities he had quickly been promoted to the Executive Team A. His prestige and status were even surpassing Team A suggesting he was on the verge of entering the management ranks.
According to the current hierarchy this meant Qin Tao would soon have considerable influence within the Central Base and everyone knew it.
But seeing this shrewd Qin Tao actually calling Lu Cai "Senior Brother" and even personally helping Lu Cai remove his anklet she felt like she was dreaming!?
"Captain Qin, is he really your senior brother?"
Yu Xingyan, young but courageous and more approachable than most couldn't help but whisper a question.
Qin Tao glanced back at Yu Xingyan, smiled and nodded. "Yes, he's a skilled fighter at the Northern Base, even better than I am. It's just that Master and Senior Brothers keep a close eye on him and rarely let him travel this far."
After saying this ignoring the increasingly panicked expressions on everyone's faces he turned to Lu Cai, "Young Senior Brother Lu, you haven't told me how you got here yet. I heard they found you in a fishing village by the sea?"
Lu Cai pursed his lips, speechless and ultimately replied, "It's hard to explain."
He couldn't lie in front of so many people but if he had time he could tell Qin Tao privately.
Until this moment, Lin Mansen who had managed to stay conscious despite his serious injuries finally couldn't handle this dimensionality reduction attack anymore and pounced again.