As the vehicle traveled south, small stone tablets with the words "City 18, 223", "City 18, 224" appeared from time to time on both sides of the road.
These acted like boundary markers.
Li Shutong explained to Qing Chen that they were still in City 18 territory, and the 223 at the back are numbers for identification purposes.
When the sun went down, Qin Cheng suddenly said on the walkie-talkie, "It's getting late, and we're about to reach the entrance of the iron mesh in front of us. Get ready to camp."
Qin Yiyi and Qin Tong in the back of the car started to pack up.
The two pickup trucks drove off the highway. Qing Chen turned off the reader in his hand, and looked up to ask his teacher, "Why are the personality descriptions of these people deleted."
At this point, he had read through all the known plants and began to look at the information on important personnel provided to him by Lin Xiaoxiao.
Those materials were painstakingly collected by Lin Xiaoxiao, and they essentially contained all the important figures in the Inner World.
From the current president of the Federation, down to the mayor of the 18th city, and the chief of staff of the mayor's office. They were all included.
Qing Chen found that the mayor was more like a U.S state governor in the Outer World. The candidate was elected by the people and was not directly subordinate to the president, so the mayor would have great power.
Li Shutong explained in a low voice, "Do you remember what we said before? The outcome of the battle is determined by the ‘future', and cannot be calculated with the ‘past'. Everything in this world can change, especially people's minds, so it is up to you to find out what kind of people they are, and we will not provide you with a reference."
"Okay," Qing Chen nodded, "It's just to look at the problem from the perspective of development."
Li Shutong thought about it and said, "I like those words."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Shutong calmly looked around, as if he had found something.
Instantly, among the fallen leaves on both sides of the dirt road, more than a dozen people in auspicious suits jumped out.
Those people were draped in nets woven with hemp ropes, wrapped in dense branches and leaves tied to the meshes. They were extremely camouflaged.
Qin Yiyi and Qin Tong immediately went to get weapons when they saw these people, but it was definitely too late, they had already been exposed to the enemy's firepower.
Qing Chen suddenly stretched out his hand and pulled Qin Yiyi over, squatting behind Li Shutong with her.
Li Shutong glanced at the dozen or so dark muzzles outside, then turned to ask Qing Chen behind him, "At this time, shouldn't you demonstrate your bravery a little and stand in front of me or something?"
Qing Chen said calmly, "In that case, won't I be belittling you too much?"
"Seems to make sense," Li Shutong sat on the folding stool and nodded, "but I just feel that something is wrong. Xiaoxiao would always stand in front of me."
"I'm not as hypocritical as him," said Qing Chen.
The teenager knows very well. There was an essential difference between training and taking a bullet. That was a danger that he couldn't handle. This was the perfect time to let his Level S teacher be at the front.
Just think about it, what if a stray bullet hit him?
Frankly, Qing Chen also wanted to see how the demigods in this world were compared to firearms.
From what he could tell right now, Li Shutong didn't seem to be afraid of them.
At this moment, Qin Yiyi squatted silently beside Qing Chen, feeling the crook of her arm with the teenager's iron pincer-like palm tightly grasping her, preventing her from moving.
The girl looked at Qing Chen's face and didn't seem to care too much about those who ambushed them anymore.
She didn't even think about whether the uncle in front of her could protect them, nor how dangerous it would be in a moment.
She just pondered how this teenager would save her.
Outside the car, someone shouted, "Raise ya’ll hands high. That guy in the driver's seat, turn off the damn engine and get out of the car. Put your hands where I can see them. Roll up all y'all sleeves so I can see those mechanical limbs!"
The old man Qin Cheng carefully got out of the car and said, "Is Old Zhang here, is that you, Old Zhang? I am Qin Cheng!"
"Damn, how come it's you?" A middle-aged man walked out from the crowd with a gun in his hand, "You're early. Didn't we say to meet in a few more days? Alright, put the guns down."
Qing Chen was stunned when he heard this conversation, then he looked at Qin Yiyi who was beside him, "Who are these people?"
The girl who was usually like a wild cat felt the boy's gaze, and her face immediately turned red, "Ah? What?"
"Who are these people?" Qing Chen repeated the question.
Qin Yiyi came back to her senses and said, "The one in the front is Zhang Tongdan. They are people living in the wilderness, old acquaintances of my father, but these people are cruel and can't always be trusted."
At this time, Qin Cheng skillfully took out a bottle of antibiotics and handed it to Zhang Tongdan, "We are going to that place in the south this time. Here's our toll, let the brothers in the wilderness know and let us pass through. This is not part of our trade."
Zhang Tongdan put the automatic rifle on his shoulder and took the antibiotic from Qin Cheng's hand, "Sure, it's is the first time we've dealt with each other. The boss said that there are big fish in Zhizi Lake today, but I don't know if we can deal with them yet. You must have met them on the road, what happened to them?"
"We have met two groups of people, which group are you talking about, Old Zhang?" Qin Cheng asked.
"The one with more than 30 vehicles, and there is a first officer in the team who controlled more than a dozen drones," said Zhang Tongdan.
"That's the Autumn Hunting team," said Qin Cheng in a low voice, "Be careful, there must be experts among them."
"That's unfortunate, it's not like they're untouchable. If the boss comes in person, we might have a chance, but it would come at a great cost." Zhang Tongdan said as he glanced and looked towards the pickup truck.
He saw the empty iron cage and said, "What are you going to catch this time?"
"A falcon and a monkey, the buyer offered a high price," said Qin Cheng, "but our luck's so bad this time that we haven't even caught a glance of them yet."
Zhang Tongdan patted Qin Cheng on the shoulder and said, "None of us have it easy here."
With that said, he turned and walked toward the woods: "Come on, brothers, put…"
However, just after taking two steps, Zhang Tongdan turned around again and pointed his gun at Li Shutong, "Who is this old guy? And the boy next to him! They look like city people in this dress. We can't let outsiders know about our deal. What if they go back and report our whereabouts?"
A cold sweat broke out on Qin Cheng's forehead, but he saw Qin Yiyi suddenly hug Qing Chen's arm and said, "Uncle Zhang, this is my man, next to him is his father. We're all family from now on. They've never been to the wilderness before, so they're just here to visit."
The people around them started whistling. Zhang Tongdan laughed and scolded, "Okay, I see, the little girl has grown up. Qin Cheng, your in-laws seem to be very rich. Your family has close ties to the city people, right? "
Li Shutong thought about it, took out the Thor from the mountaineering bag behind Qing Chen, and threw it to Zhang Tongdan, "A gift for our first meet, if my in-laws are ever in danger in the wilderness, please lend them a hand."
Zhang Tongdan stared at the Thor in his hand, and then gave a thumbs up after two seconds of shock, "You have my words, boss! I, Old Zhang, am also a straightforward person. I promise that we won't take any toll on the Qin family within the next five years!"