Forbidden Zone of the Human Race

“Thank you and please come again!” Xiaoqi bowed lightly as both Xiang Ning and his sister left the shop. She hadn’t expected that two customers, who she thought were just looking, to immediately buy a set of top-tier armor. And it was a set of top-tier armor with the best settings, too, so they had spent a total of four million and three hundred thousand dollars, earning her a huge commission. Not many customers purchased Mk. 3 armor; sometimes there wasn’t even one in a month.

“Sister Wang.…”

“Well, customer is king. We must do our best to serve every customer who walks in, it doesn’t matter if they can afford it or not. We don’t know who’ll become rich in the future, anyway, they might think of our shop in the future,” sister Wang solemnly said.

“You’re right, sister Wang.” The new staff member hurriedly nodded.

…...

Today was the happiest day of Xiang Xiaoyu’s life, as well as her brother’s way of compensating her for the past few days. To be honest, he had a huge revelation, too. If he continued in school, it would require at least half a year to attain tier two, seven-star. He had no choice, because no one would be willing to fight him one-on-one. He had just defeated Hanwu Academy’s best fighter, so anyone who challenged him would be stupid. The fastest way to elevate one’s cultivation was through combat. But where would he go to fight?

Hanwu Academy? They wouldn’t even let him through their gates.

He had gone to the Thunder Dojo the past two days as well, but his opponents were too reasonable; none of them had the I-will-kill-you attitude he needed. It was worrying, and he had started missing Fang Hao…

However, he still had some returns, learning a lot about scientific inventions aboard the Chaos from Dong Qianyi. Since he had displayed talent in dimensional calculations, they ventured in that direction. It was just what he needed, too. He had been looking for an excuse to push progress in dimensional technology. Now that he had one, all he had to do was push all the credit to Dong Qianyi and Alia in the future.

After dinner, the siblings sat together watching crystal television and eating mooncakes. Xiang Xiaoyu’s legs swayed as she sat on the stool, obviously in a good mood.

Suddenly, a piece of breaking news played on the screen.

“Breaking news, just in. Tranquil City’s forts in the front lines have been broken. Tranquil City’s Fortresses One, Three, Six, and seven more are currently under heavy siege by large hordes of beasts.” The screen changed to a video of a dense swarm of angry beasts attacking the metal fortresses. One of the fortresses was exactly the one Xiang Ning had visited during his wilderness activity—Fortress Three!

“This is a public service announcement. The city urges every martial artist and spiritual cultivator of tier two, four-star and above to come to the front lines and aid in the battle from today onward. Further details will be posted on the Marsh City forum.”

Xiang Ning had heard a little about this battle, since he always passed the berserk beasts whenever he entered the research facility. These days, some of the beasts inside had turned irrational. Xiang Ning asked Alia for the reason.

Alia was well-versed with their behavior, so she offered an explanation. “The Octoviolet Silversnake is regaining its powers and it seems to have had an effect on the other beasts, who turned even more violent and bloodthirsty.”

Xiang Ning had anticipated that this day would come, just not so soon. Suddenly, he had an idea. Since he was running out of methods to break through and was lacking in Fury Points, the beasts would be a great source.

Common tier two beasts could only be killed by two or three equal-tiered human martial artists working together. One-on-one fights could result in a hefty price paid by the human side, and if they were a more difficult species like a Night Cat, there was a chance the human would be killed. But since these beasts were so easily angered, wouldn’t they be a great source of Fury Points?

Xiang Ning’s heart raced at the thought. The temptation was too strong; he had to go.

“Brother, you’re all going, right?” Xiang Xiaoyu’s voice pulled him back to reality.

Xiang Ning nodded. It made sense, because he had noticed their afternoon training sessions becoming more intense. They rarely used to train with tier two beasts, but now half the training sessions were against them. This was why they started the special training in the first place, right?

“Well… be careful.” She hung her head so he couldn’t see her face.

He grinned, stroking her hair. “Don’t worry.”

Neither of them dwelled on the topic, because she understood that her brother couldn’t remain by her side forever. If he wanted to become stronger, he could never stay in Marsh City. Xiang Ning understood why she was worried, too, but he couldn’t always be there for her. They both needed to grow. The kid had always been resilient anyway, only showing him her vulnerable side.

Since it was a special occasion that day, the other researchers had gone home to celebrate with their families. Xiang Ning didn’t visit the research facility, either, so he accompanied his sister for the night.

The next morning, he prepared breakfast and didn’t wake her up, letting her sleep in. He left the house and headed toward the tunnel in the mountain. Today, he intended to speed up the making of the dimensional ring.

There were no distractions today. Despite coming a few times, Xiang Ning would always stop somewhere in the battleship and watch another staff member at work. Being a technician used to be his dream, after all.

He smiled, then walked deeper into the ship, methodically cleaned his body, and put on his work clothes. With his white robes, he indeed looked like a researcher.

“Hey, Little Ning’s here,” chuckled Old Jin. He had just arrived as well, and was turning the machines on.

“Good morning, Old Jin. You’re early, as always.” Other than Dong Qianyi and Alia, Xiang Ning was closest to Old Jin.

“Come take a look at this data, too. I think I’ll encounter some problems if I keep using this method. Tell me whatever bold ideas you have. I’m old, and my thinking isn’t as wild as yours anymore. Only the young are more flexible in the mind.” Old Jin loved Xiang Ning, and their personalities were compatible. Xiang Ning was different from his other students because he was bold enough to say what he thought, which injected a breath of fresh air into his boring researcher’s life.

Xiang Ning agreed, then was about to walk over when another person passed him. It was Wang Jiayan, who huffed coldly then left for his workstation.

Xiang Ning rubbed his nose. He still respected Wang Jiayan, since he was a true researcher. Xiang Ning didn’t know anything other than some knowledge of space and dimensions, nor was he fluent in their technical jargon, so he completely understood Wang Jiayan’s hostility after his ‘religion’ had been trampled on. Xiang Ning felt like he was the one doing the trampling, so he worked hard. If he didn’t know something, it was time to watch and learn.