Chapter 837: Chapter 707: Survival Against All Odds
As Qu Jianlei was pondering, in a small town in the Celestial District, a sallow-faced middle-aged woman was arguing with someone.
The woman wanted to sell a laser pistol to exchange for some Nutrient Injections, but the other party was offering a very low price.
After all, it was just the beginning of spring, and it was normal for Nutrient Injection prices to rise.
But the woman wasn’t easy to provoke either; they argued for a long time, almost getting into a fight, before she begrudgingly accepted the exploitation.
The people around acted as if they didn’t see it, as such things happened countless times every day in the Celestial District.
It’s just as well it’s the Celestial District; in the resource-poor Profound Character or Earth District, someone might have died over it.
As for those gathering areas ranked even worse, there’s nothing more to say.
But everyone also knew that the woman was quite capable, having knocked down two robbers before.
This was a small town on the outskirts of the former capital, where the population wasn’t very mobile. If you lived here long enough, you’d naturally know who not to mess with.
The woman probably had some savings, but the supplies she exchanged each time weren’t much, not enough to attract the attention of major powers.
The woman took the Nutrient Injections and walked more than a kilometer, entering a mudbrick house.
The mudbrick house wasn’t big, totaling less than twenty square meters, with a bed inside, on which lay a pale-faced man.
"I’m back," the woman said as she closed the door, "Damn it, prices have gone up again."
Such mudbrick houses were the standard for the poor in the Celestial Two Residence Area, but it was better than living half-underground.
There weren’t many people who could afford those brick houses; at least they were rare in small towns, but more common in residence areas.
Just an ordinary couple living life together.
After closing the door, the man on the bed spoke, "Still no luck?"
"I managed to get some Nutrient Injections," the woman sighed, "Don’t know when this life will end."
The man didn’t respond for a while, then spoke softly, "Alright, it’s nothing."
The woman blinked and then asked softly, "Is someone really there? I didn’t sense anything."
"You have to trust a B-level peak," the man replied in an extremely weak voice, "You’re far from it."
The woman was startled and sighed, "I really wish I were A-level."
The man slowly shook his head, "Even A-level might be useless, that one who came back is formidable... they have the Supreme on their side."
"If he comes back, it would definitely help," the woman stated firmly, "If he can’t save them, he can at least seek revenge."
"They might not be dead," the man replied softly, "It’s crucial we protect ourselves."
"If he can’t save them, I’d rather kill old Ben myself," the woman replied earnestly, "I won’t watch him suffer humiliation!"
The man sighed softly, then raised his finger to his lips, "Shh, it’s happening again."
Upon hearing this, the woman stomped her foot hard and shouted, "When will this ever end!"
These two people were precisely Xiao Moshan and Flower Scorpion, whom Qu Jianlei couldn’t find after searching far and wide.
Both had Wind Attributes, with exceptionally strong Perception Abilities, and were highly skilled in concealing their aura.
Especially on the Garbage Star, they were living in constant danger and highly valued their Concealing Aura techniques.
Now hiding in a mudbrick house, even Qu Jianlei’s perception didn’t react, showing how high their concealment skills were.
Flower Scorpion was cursing and complaining, but she was essentially acting to avoid others’ attention.
Being one of the Four Capitals, the former capital had a naturally harsh atmosphere amongst the poor.
If there were harmony, others would find it suspicious.
Flower Scorpion, born and raised in the Wasteland, was playing her role quite naturally.
However, in the next moment, both of their faces changed because a loudspeaker sounded outside.
"All residents, listen up, identity checks will begin now. Those outside, return home quickly and don’t wander freely."
Flower Scorpion spoke with a dark face, "Why are they here again... it’s been less than a month, and they’re checking again. When will this end?"
Lying on the bed, Xiao Moshan spoke leisurely, "Choosing this place was a decision we both made."
They originally hid in the wilderness, but the search efforts of their adversaries intensified, making the wilderness extremely unsafe.
Instead, places closer to the city, where the population was denser, offered better concealment.
In addition, gathering information was easier, as they quietly tried to find out where Bentley and Terry were captured.
Xiao Moshan’s stance was clear: since they chose the city to hide, they must face the potential troubles head-on.
But soon after, his expression changed again, "Damn, they’ve changed people."
Although Flower Scorpion also had the Wind Attribute, her Perception Ability was much weaker, so she went to the door to watch after hearing this.
Many people did as she did; the City Guard told everyone to return home, but didn’t say they couldn’t observe from their doors.
She watched for a while, noticed the City Guard uniform, and slightly frowned, a glint flashing in her eyes.
But the glint was fleeting; if no one was staring at her, they wouldn’t notice it.
She glanced sideways at Xiao Moshan on the bed and murmured softly, "There’s gold trim on the City Guard’s collar."
"From Taikoo?" Xiao Moshan tensed slightly upon hearing this.
Among the One Capital and Four Capitals’ five major Settlements, Taikoo considers itself the natural leader, with identical City Guard uniforms but with gold trim on the collar.
The two have been hiding here for more than half a year. Most of the time, it’s the City Guard from Pre-Capital responsible for inspections.
Both of them had the identity of residents from the Celestial District. After a few encounters, the City Guards already had an impression of them and thus inspected them rather loosely.
During this period, there were also two inspections carried out by City Guard deployed from other regions to prevent possible corruption.
But overall, it was always thrilling without being dangerous.
Xiao Moshan is a long-term bedridden invalid, and Flower Scorpion didn’t go out, only working occasionally in the town and sometimes going to Pre-Capital.
Their lives were quite tight, so tight that they had to dip into their savings in a pinch, a common situation in the Celestial District.
However, this time, the City Guards responsible for the inspection were from Taikoo, which certainly wouldn’t be a small trouble.
Taikoo has always prided itself on dominating the Four Capitals. The residents there have always been arrogant, often stirring up trouble without cause.
So this time, it really wasn’t going to be easy to fool them.
Xiao Moshan slowly sat up from the bed, looking like he could be knocked over by a gust of wind.
He whispered, "If it really doesn’t work, we can only detonate a few explosions first and escape amidst the chaos."
Both of them were well-versed in hiding, especially since Clear Wind Shadowless Blade had been wanted for nearly twenty years, with numerous escape tricks up their sleeve.
Before moving into the small town, they had buried several firebombs in different directions outside the town.
Under the adobe house, there was also a hidden escape tunnel, but being both of the Wind Attribute, they couldn’t dig very far.
However, no matter how many tricks they had, once they were on the run, it would confirm them as suspects.
It had truly been very difficult for them to hide here and put down roots.
And the current wilderness was definitely not a good place to hide, but getting back into a town would be much harder than it is now.
Not to mention, those responsible for inspections were the City Guard, but at least two B-level people were stationed there, and occasionally an A-level would be present.
If a B-level is alerted, it will soon attract A-levels or even... the Supreme!
The number of stationed Awakened people was large, with many high in cultivation level, and clearly not from Central City or the Gorge.
Xiao Moshan speculated that the arrivals might be from a base or even... a higher echelon.
Whether the two of them could successfully escape was also unknown.
Anyway, the prospects were very bleak, but now... it seemed there was no other choice.
Xiao Moshan took a deep breath and slowly spoke, "Once it’s detonated, we’ll split up. I’ll go by ground, you take the tunnel."
"What are you joking about!" Flower Scorpion flatly refused, "You take the tunnel."
"Everyone knows you’re an invalid, faster than the wind at running, it’ll be obvious there’s a problem."
"You’re just a tiny B-level," Xiao Moshan cursed softly, "I’m at the peak of B-level, how long ago did you advance?"
Then he stated firmly, "Stop arguing, it was decided to go by my opinion from the start!"
Not long after, cries were heard on the street. Flower Scorpion opened the door to take a look, a serious expression on her face.
"The Three Hands family was taken away, and the Black Woodworker master and apprentice..."
Never mind the Black Woodworker, but the Three Hands have lived here for over ten years and had ties with the City Guard.
Otherwise, guys like them, who are dirty-handed, would have long ended up dead in a ditch.
The situation was extremely serious, yet Xiao Moshan instead calmed down.
A faint smile appeared on his pale face, "Nothing to worry about, at most just a death."
Before long, three City Guards arrived at the adobe house, asking with expressionless faces, "ID please!"
Flower Scorpion handed over two ID cards, full of terror, "The person on the bed is my husband, a lung condition..."
She looked terrified, but her right pinky finger twitched slightly, already poised for an attack at any moment.
One City Guard glanced at the cards, casually tossing them back, speaking disdainfully.
"Such junk, too easy to counterfeit. Move aside, we need to search!"
Flower Scorpion stepped aside, giving Xiao Moshan a subtle glance — if things were wrong, act immediately.
The tunnel under the adobe house wasn’t difficult to discover, both being of the Wind Attribute, they couldn’t use Earth Attribute techniques to cover it.
People digging tunnels or cellars was not unusual in the town, one of the self-preservation methods used by Wastelanders.
But if the other side deliberately made an issue of it, there was no reasoning to be had.
Fortunately, the adobe house provided cover, enabling them to quickly and stealthily kill the three, then... become fugitives.
At this moment, the ground shook slightly as if some tremor came from afar.
Flower Scorpion almost acted on impulse, but forcibly restrained herself.
Then she glanced at Xiao Moshan in surprise: Did you do this? Detonated?
A hint of doubt flashed in Xiao Moshan’s eyes, as he shook his head intentionally or unintentionally.
Don’t you know the power of our buried firebombs? This is clearly not it.
The three City Guards were also slightly startled, immediately followed by a radio sounding, speaking rapidly.
"An enemy attack has commenced, Squad Three, maintain status quo, others engage!"
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