Chapter 2636: A Soldier Or a Bandit?
Chapter 2636: A Soldier Or a Bandit?
Another two months passed after news of Yuan’s presumed death spread throughout the military.
Because of the incident, the Scorpion Squad had become one of the most hated squads in the entire military and was constantly harassed and bullied by other soldiers, particularly those aligned with General Mei.
At first, almost no one was willing to stand up for them. However, as time passed, more and more soldiers from General Gu’s side began stepping in to protect them.
Whenever someone confronted the Scorpion Squad, the encounter almost always devolved into a heated argument or outright brawl.
Although Yuan was still a new soldier, he had already earned a favorable reputation among his peers, largely because he frequently helped others during gathering missions—work that most soldiers considered tedious and burdensome.
However, the Scorpion Squad couldn’t care less about the situation or being targeted. They were simply relieved that Yuan had not returned to the city, as that could spell their end.
Meanwhile, in the Black Zone, Yuan had been hunting Void Specters nonstop, continuously increasing his Eternal Essence.
Though for efficiency, he did not simply wander the Black Zone killing Void Specters. Whenever he would encounter a tunnel, he would enter it and clear it alone, as the Elite Void Specters and Unknown Crystals found inside granted the most Eternal Essence.
One day, purely by coincidence, Yuan entered a tunnel that was already occupied by another group of soldiers.
The moment he sensed their presence, he concealed his own. However, rather than leaving, he decided to clear the tunnel before they did.
Fortunately, the tunnel branched into numerous paths, allowing Yuan to easily avoid the other group, slip past them unnoticed, and reach the end long before they could.
After defeating the Void Guardian at the end of the tunnel, Yuan absorbed all of the Eternal Essence contained within the Unknown Crystals before swiftly making his way out, leaving the other soldiers completely unaware that someone had beaten them to their destination.
Several days after Yuan secretly cleared the tunnel, the soldiers finally reached the end, but to their shock and puzzlement, the Void Guardian was nowhere to be seen.
"What the heck? Where’s the Void Guardian?"
"Did someone already clear this tunnel?" another soldier wondered aloud.
Although it wasn’t unheard of for two groups to enter the same tunnel without realizing it until they reached the end, the soldiers quickly dismissed that possibility. If another group had truly arrived before them, the Unknown Crystals should have been harvested as well, yet every single one remained untouched.
"Don’t tell me that this tunnel was created without a Void Guardian?"
"This would be an unprecedented event if that were the case!"
In the end, the soldiers decided to document the unusual occurrence before harvesting the Unknown Crystals and leaving the tunnel.
They then hastily returned to their city to report the discovery.
In the third month of wandering the Black Zone, Yuan had his second encounter with soldiers from another city.
Although Yuan could have easily avoided the soldiers, he decided to see for himself whether encounters with people from another city were truly as dangerous as the Ironwoman had warned.
"What the—?"
The soldiers froze the moment they saw Yuan. While encountering someone alone in the Black Zone was surprising enough, what shocked them even more was the insignia on his uniform.
"Am I seeing things, or is this guy a corporal?"
"He’s definitely a corporal."
"What is a corporal doing out here alone—"
"Look around him! There are Unknown Ores everywhere!"
However, their curiosity about Yuan’s presence vanished the moment they noticed the countless Unknown Ores glistening across the ground beneath him.
The soldiers exchanged glances, greed flickering in their eyes.
A moment later, one of them turned toward Yuan and shouted, "Kid, if you don’t want any more trouble than you’re already in, leave those Unknown Ores alone!"
Yuan calmly responded, "If you want the Unknown Ores, go ahead and take them."
Without a word, the soldiers immediately went to gather the Unknown Ores into their storage cube while Yuan quietly watched them.
Suddenly, one of them approached Yuan with a cold smile and said, "While we’re at it, hand over all of your belongings."
In his eyes, the only reason Yuan would leave behind so many Unknown Ores was that his storage cube had already reached its capacity, leaving him with no way to carry the rest.
"..."
"Are you a soldier, or are you a bandit?" Yuan asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Who the hell gave you permission to question me?" the soldier frowned. "I will not ask again. Hand over all of your belongings!"
Yuan shrugged and said, "The only thing I have is this minigun. You can have it if you want."
"You dare mess with me?! Do you have a death wish?!" the soldier shouted, believing that Yuan was deliberately mocking him.
"So you’re not only a bandit, but a murderer as well?" Yuan asked with an indifferent expression. "Which city are you from? So I know when to stay away from your people the next time I encounter them."
The soldier trembled in anger before lunging at Yuan with killing intent.
"There won’t be a next time!"
Seeing this, Yuan released a disappointed sigh.
The next moment, a tremendous amount of Eternal Essence erupted from Yuan’s body.
Although the soldiers were unable to sense the energy itself, they immediately felt the atmosphere around him change. In an instant, Yuan’s entire presence became completely different—far heavier and more imposing than before.
"What—"
Before the soldier could even react, his head vanished from his neck.
The soldiers who had been busy collecting the Unknown Ores abruptly stopped and turned toward Yuan. However, the moment they saw their companion hovering before him without a head, they froze in stunned silence, struggling to comprehend what they were even looking at.
"C-Captain Hong!"
The soldiers eventually snapped out of their daze and cried out loud, their eyes wide with shock and disbelief.