750: Is the claim that he ran out of money to run away just a rumor?

The atmosphere within the stronghold was somewhat gloomy.

The teammates' words were not without reason.

Compared to their lives, nothing else was important.

As part of the Prefecture Army, they needed to follow orders.

The Squad was currently ordered to continue guarding Baichi City; if the Fierce Ancient Ruins' power were to spread, they would undoubtedly be the first to be affected.

Running away now seemed like it might still be possible.

Amidst the gloom, Li Rui spoke up: "The situation is not yet clear, and running away now would be a bit rash. Of course, I won't stop you from making your own choices, but I just feel we could wait a little longer to see how things develop."

After speaking, Li Rui paused for a moment before adding softly: "Besides, where can we even run to? With our strength, we won't get very far. If we can't leave the prefecture, it's better to stay in the Prefecture Army; at least it provides an extra layer of backing, which is far safer than running around aimlessly."

As he spoke, he looked at the Squad members: "The above is just my personal opinion. If any of you want to leave, it's best to report it and go through the proper channels to withdraw from the Prefecture Army as soon as possible, rather than running off on your own."

After saying this, Li Rui fell silent.

The Squad members all began to ponder to themselves.

Cheng Fu quietly nudged Lin Yang's arm and asked via telepathic transmission: "Lin Yang, what are your thoughts?"

Lin Yang thought for a moment before replying via transmission: "I also think the Captain makes sense. Having the status of the Prefecture Army is like having built-in protection. If something really happens, there are superiors in the Prefecture Army we can rely on."

"If we run away on our own, not to mention whether we can actually escape, the risks along the way alone would be significant."

"Besides, we don't have enough yuan sand to take the Teleportation Array all the way out of Jidong Prefecture. Since we can't leave Jidong Prefecture, we might as well continue serving in the Prefecture Army; the higher-ups won't easily let the Prefecture Army get into trouble."

Cheng Fu nodded slightly: "I think so too. It's just that the yuan sand I've saved over the years has all been spent on cultivation. If I had enough yuan sand, running away would be the safest option."

Lin Yang didn't say anything more.

Cheng Fu's words hit the nail on the head.

It wasn't that he didn't want to run; it was that he didn't have the money to run!

The Prefecture Army's benefits were generous, but cultivation required money!

All cultivation resources had to be bought with money, and he hadn't saved much yuan sand.

It wasn't just him and Cheng Fu who were broke.

The Squad members were basically all in the same boat.

Being able to run would naturally be safer, but once the reality of the situation was laid out, the Squad members stopped talking about running away.

Running only a short distance was useless, and running far away required more money than they had for travel expenses.

Staying for the time being was the best choice right now.

"If only I had the strength of the Nie Kong Realm, I would have so many more choices."

A team member sighed.

Everyone nodded in deep agreement.

The Squad members were basically all at the mid-to-late stage of the Dao Fire Realm.

The rewards from their usual missions were all used to buy resources for improvement, and they were all working hard on their cultivation, hoping to reach the Nie Kong Realm as soon as possible.

Now, no one could scrape together a large amount of yuan sand to run away.

The stronghold fell quiet.

Since they couldn't run, all they could do now was improve themselves as much as possible.

Everyone began to cultivate.

Lin Yang was also cultivating, but not in deep seclusion.

The current situation was not suitable for deep seclusion.

A few days later, news regarding the Fierce Ancient Ruins, gathered by the Yun Family, Li Liping, Xin Hao, and Shi Jie, arrived one after another via messages.

Lin Yang read through them, but there wasn't much useful information; it was basically the same as what the Squad had already gathered.

Clearly, these were just common pieces of information.

Truly secret information was still hard to come by.

Li Liping said that although the Yuyu Sect was a large sect, his own status within it was currently limited, so he couldn't obtain more information.

Shi Jie and Xin Hao were in a similar situation, and they informed Lin Yang that the Xu Family and the Rong Family were considering relocating their entire clans, intending to leave the Baichi City area first.

Both of these families had Nie Kong Realm experts guarding them; while relocating the entire clan was difficult, it wasn't impossible, though they would have to abandon some people.

Even Yun Bu revealed to Lin Yang that the various major families within Baichi City were all considering relocating.

Although relocating the entire clan to another prefecture wasn't very realistic, they still wanted to leave Baichi City as much as possible.

It was too close to that Fierce Ancient Ruins, which made people feel very insecure.

Almost all the families around Baichi City that had the ability were considering relocating.

This news surprised Lin Yang, but upon reflection, it made sense.

"Is Baichi City going to become a ghost town?"

Lin Yang couldn't help but think, and observed the city.

The previously bustling Baichi City was becoming deserted at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"I wonder how the investigation by the big shots is going."

Lin Yang continued to cultivate.

Thus, more than half a month passed peacefully.

Li Rui's voice, tinged with surprise, came over: "Everyone, I've received the latest news. The superiors have initially investigated the Ancient Ruins and have not detected any dangerous power leaking out for the time being. Currently, it is still safe outside the Ancient Ruins."

This news made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

"Captain, is there any more detailed information? Like what exactly is going on inside the Ancient Ruins?" Cheng Fu asked.

Li Rui shook his head: "The specific situation is unclear."

After speaking, he lowered his voice: "According to rumors, the losses from this investigation of the Ancient Ruins were huge. It's said that some superiors paid a great price just to barely find out a little bit of information; the danger level of this Ancient Ruins is beyond imagination."

"Moreover, logically speaking, the power within this Ancient Ruins should be able to easily leak out and destroy the area. I just don't know why the power hasn't leaked, which is why it's still safe outside for now."

The Squad members looked at each other.

Lin Yang said: "Captain, do you mean that under normal circumstances, this Ancient Ruins should be leaking power?"

Li Rui nodded: "Yes, the power inside this Ancient Ruins is very strong. According to the superiors, there have been Ancient Ruins of a similar level that appeared before, and they basically all leaked power and destroyed the area. It's just unknown why this one hasn't."

"Then what do we need to do now? Can we evacuate from Baichi City?" Cheng Fu was very concerned about this question.

Li Rui shook his head again: "The superiors have not yet issued an instruction for us to evacuate from Baichi City."

"Alright." Cheng Fu sighed helplessly.

Li Rui looked at him: "It's safe now, what are you still afraid of?"

Cheng Fu pursed his lips: "Although it's safe for now, it's only temporary, right? Who knows if the Ancient Ruins' power will leak out later? Anyway, leaving early would put my mind at ease."

"That is true, but without instructions from above, we'll just have to wait." Li Rui smiled, signaling the Squad to continue cultivating with peace of mind, as this news would soon be announced publicly.

Not long after Lin Yang and his team received the news.

The situation regarding the Ancient Ruins' power not leaking out spread quickly.

The Baichi City area was still safe.

This news put many people in the Baichi City area much more at ease.

The hearts of the people had been restless these past few days; those who could relocate were preparing to do so, and those without the strength were filled with despair.

This news managed to stabilize many people's hearts again.

However, the information Li Rui could find out, others could also find out.

The news about how the Ancient Ruins should have leaked power but didn't for some unknown reason also spread quickly.

This made people feel uneasy and uncertain again.

The temporary safety left people feeling insecure once more.

Not long after, some major families finally began to relocate their entire clans.

Having such a terrifying Ancient Ruins right beside them could never truly put people at ease.

Those major families relocating didn't want to gamble.

With those leading the way, other families gradually began to relocate one after another.

Baichi City began to become increasingly deserted.

However, the Tiankun Sect and the Hongwei Sect still had no reaction.

As sect forces, it was even more difficult for them to relocate to other places.

After all, everyone in the entire sect needed to cultivate.

Cultivation required resources.

Where did the resources come from?

Territory!

Other cities already had local sects and clans that had divided up the territory.

If a large sect moved over without territory, it would be difficult for the sect to sustain itself.

Families could move to a new place and slowly manage it, but sects couldn't.

A sect had to have a mountain, and it had to be a good mountain.

But good mountains with excellent Dao Rhythm were all taken.

Therefore, sects faced more problems when relocating.

The Moon Shadow Sect also remained motionless.

Although the Moon Shadow Sect was in a semi-closed state, it still had some territory that produced resources.

If they moved away, they would likely face the risk of the sect dissolving.

The three major families in Baichi City also did not relocate immediately.

They had operated in Baichi City for countless years and had long since taken root there.

If they went elsewhere, they would quickly be reduced to ordinary families.

Although Baichi City had begun to decline, the three major families didn't want to leave easily unless it was an absolute last resort.

Of course, not relocating the entire clan didn't mean they wouldn't evacuate at all.

The elite disciples within the families were still evacuated to prevent the family from having no successors in case something happened to Baichi City.

And with all these evacuations, Baichi City could be called desolate.

Now, those who remained were just some ordinary families who lacked the strength to relocate or evacuate, as well as rogue cultivators.

The once bustling streets were now cold and empty.

The city, which was crowded not long ago, had become empty.

The contrast between prosperity and withering was too obvious.

Days passed by one after another.

Lin Yang's Squad, along with several other Squads, still had not received any orders to evacuate from Baichi City.

Furthermore, they had not received any new instructions for missions.

It was as if the higher-ups had forgotten about these Squads.

If not for the fact that their pay was still being distributed on time.

One thousand years, two thousand years, three thousand years...

For a full three thousand-plus years, no new missions were issued.

This had far exceeded the standby period.

"What exactly do the higher-ups mean? Why won't they let us evacuate, and why aren't they giving us new missions?"

One day, a team member couldn't help but find Li Rui, speaking loudly and with a hint of irritation.

Lin Yang glanced over; this person was Liu Ling, an old member of the Squad. Although they didn't have much contact in daily life, Lin Yang knew that Liu Ling's temper was quite good.

There were two other hot-headed guys in the Squad.

For some reason, today, Liu Ling was even more irritable than those two hot-headed members.

His voice caused the other members to stop cultivating and look at Li Rui together.

Li Rui was silent for a moment and said: "We don't have to go on missions, and our yuan sand and resource subsidies are being issued on time. This just allows us to cultivate in peace, so everyone shouldn't overthink it."

"But Captain, there are rumors outside saying that the reason we were left behind is because we were the first batch to get close to the Ancient Ruins and have been contaminated by some kind of power within it. So they aren't letting us evacuate to prevent that power from spreading from us and infecting more people."

"To a certain extent, we've become test subjects."

Liu Ling's voice was still very loud, even carrying a sense of anger.

Li Rui frowned: "Those are all rumors, hearsay; don't believe them easily."

"Then how do you explain our current situation?" Liu Ling retorted.

Li Rui's face darkened: "Liu Ling, you are usually steady enough, why are you so impulsive today?"

"Why don't you think about it? If it were true that because we were the first batch to get close to the Ancient Ruins and were contaminated by some kind of power, and that it would spread from us to others, and therefore they wouldn't let us evacuate, then how do you explain all those people who relocated and left?"

"Among those people, there were many who were also in the first batch to get close to the Ancient Ruins. If it were truly for the reason you mentioned, they would certainly have been stopped by the higher-ups, but didn't they leave freely?"

Liu Ling was stunned.

Li Rui continued: "Besides, leaving the Prefecture Army is free. If anyone in other Squads is worried, they can completely withdraw from the Prefecture Army and then leave Baichi City."

"If the higher-ups stopped them from leaving, that would prove it's not a rumor, but a fact."

"But the fact now is, why don't they leave? Why don't those guys spreading rumors try withdrawing from the Prefecture Army themselves?"

Liu Ling was still stunned.

Li Rui's tone softened, and he continued slowly:

"I can understand your feelings, and everyone's feelings right now, but it's obvious that someone is likely inciting people, wanting others to be the first to stick their necks out."

"For now, staying within the Prefecture Army is the choice with the lowest risk."

"Liu Ling, don't let yourself be used as a tool. If someone is inciting you, tell him to try withdrawing from the Prefecture Army himself, wouldn't he know then?"

Liu Ling fell silent.

After a long while, Liu Ling said: "Sorry, Captain, I don't know what came over me; I just got hot-headed and impulsive just now."

"It's okay, I understand." Li Rui waved his hand, not taking it to heart.

Lin Yang watched from the side, feeling that Li Rui's words made a lot of sense.

He was also a bit curious: what kind of person could incite someone as steady as Liu Ling to become impulsive?

Li Rui told Liu Ling to rest first, then turned to look at the others, saying: "You all should also steady your emotions. Since such rumors have come out, I estimate it won't be long before someone really can't help but incite people to withdraw from the Prefecture Army. When that time comes, we'll see the situation and then make plans."

"Alright, Captain." Everyone replied in unison.

Li Rui's prestige within the Squad was still very high.

Everyone had no objections and continued to cultivate.

Li Rui did not cultivate; instead, he left the stronghold and was out for a long time before returning.

Time continued to pass day by day.

This day, Lin Yang was still cultivating when Li Rui suddenly shouted to everyone: "Attention, stop cultivating for a moment. Several Prefecture Army soldiers from other Squads just applied to the higher-ups to withdraw together. Whether it's a rumor or not, we'll know soon."

Everyone's expressions perked up, and they all began to pay close attention.

(End of chapter)