69: Chapter 69 So Many Extraordinary Beings?

"Twelve Transcendent? Did I see that right?"

"Are they crazy! How can a survivor The Convoy have so many Transcendent? My entire The Convoy only has four!"

"I used to think the Dawn Convoy was just using their hovercars to put on a show, but it turns out they actually have real strength!"

Murmurs rose one after another; everyone's gaze toward Zhou Che and his group had changed.

Previously, some smaller The Convoys had secretly thought the Dawn Convoy were just upstarts with no real skills, but now, no one dared to think that way.

In the apocalypse, the number of Transcendent is hard power; having more people means more influence, and no one dares to provoke them easily.

Walking to the entrance of the Human Alliance base, Captain Ma Shangwu was counting heads with his subordinates.

When he looked up and saw Zhou Che leading his people over, his initially calm expression shifted slightly, and a hint of gravity entered his eyes.

He had previously thought the Dawn Convoy had at most five or six Transcendent; after all, they were just a small outsider The Convoy.

But looking now, there were a full twelve! Even if most of them were Sequence 1, this number was terrifying enough.

One must know, the strongest local The Convoy on the East Bank only had eight Transcendent. The Human Alliance squad here, including himself, only had fifteen.

For an ordinary The Convoy to actually have twelve Transcendent was completely illogical.

Captain Ma Shangwu muttered to himself; this Zhou Che and Captain Liu Ruyan were definitely not simple, he had underestimated them before.

Zhou Che noticed the shocked gazes of Captain Ma Shangwu and the people around him; the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, satisfied with their expressions.

"Bluffed them! They were indeed all bluffed!"

Who could have guessed that of the twelve Transcendent in their The Convoy, ten were Sequence 1 noobs, and only Luo Xi and Captain Liu Ruyan could actually fight.

But they had the advantage of numbers! As the saying goes, many ants can bite an elephant to death; based on this number alone, no one would dare look down on them.

Zhou Che remained calm on the surface, leading his people to stand aside, looking as if he had hidden depths.

The captains of other The Convoys gathered around, taking the initiative to greet Zhou Che and Captain Liu Ruyan, their tones more than ten times more polite than before.

Even the previously arrogant captain of the Campus Convoy smiled and offered cigarettes, calling them "Brother Zhou" and "Captain Liu" one after another.

No one wanted to offend a force with twelve Transcendent.

Captain Ma Shangwu gave a light cough, interrupting everyone's small talk. Everyone turned to look at him, and the scene instantly fell silent.

"I assume everyone is clear on the purpose of gathering you all here."

Captain Ma Shangwu spoke, his voice loud and clear, echoing throughout the base.

"We have already identified the mastermind behind the disappearance cases: it is an anomaly named the Devourer of Calamity."

"This anomaly can read minds, shapeshift, and grow rapidly. It is currently in its juvenile stage, which is our only chance to kill it."

"Once it continues to devour Transcendent and enters its growth stage, we will all die here."

"Gathering everyone today is to have us all join forces and search the entire East Bank perimeter. We must find the Devourer of Calamity and completely eliminate it so we can explore the main city with peace of mind."

As soon as he finished speaking, Brother Kun of the Trainee Convoy stepped forward, the first to break the silence.

"Captain Ma, we have no objections to hunting the anomaly, after all, it concerns everyone's lives."

Brother Kun frowned, voicing everyone's concerns.

"But the problem is, we've been searching for days and haven't even seen a shadow of this anomaly."

"It comes without a shadow and leaves without a trace, killing without leaving evidence. How are we supposed to search? We can't just search blindly without a goal, right?"

Once Brother Kun spoke, others chimed in.

"That's right, we don't even know what it looks like, so how do we kill it?"

"Our The Convoy previously sent people to search the perimeter, but we found nothing and almost lost another person."

"This thing can read minds and shapeshift; what if it sneaks into our team? If we end up fighting our own people, wouldn't that be even worse?"

Everyone spoke one after another, their faces full of anxiety and unease.

The characteristics of the Devourer of Calamity were too bizarre—invisible and intangible, and it could turn into what people feared most. Such an opponent was even harder to deal with than high-level anomalies that fought with open blades and guns.

Captain Ma Shangwu raised his hand to press down, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"We have already considered these issues."

Captain Ma Shangwu said.

"The upper echelons of the Alliance have already dispatched two Sequence 4 Transcendent to arrive overnight. They have specialized equipment to detect anomalies and can lock onto the general location of the Devourer of Calamity."

"Moreover, we have already developed a detailed search plan. Everyone will be divided into six squads, with each squad led by a Transcendent from the Alliance. We will divide the areas and conduct a carpet search of the entire East Bank perimeter."

"Each squad will maintain communication; once an anomaly is discovered, immediately signal, and everyone will provide support."

"Additionally, no one is allowed to act alone; you must travel in groups of at least three to prevent being picked off one by one by the Devourer of Calamity."

"As long as we work together and follow the plan, we will definitely be able to find and kill the Devourer of Calamity before dark today!"

Hearing that there were Sequence 4 powerhouses from the Alliance leading the teams, along with specialized detection equipment, the hanging hearts of the crowd relaxed a little.

Sequence 4 powerhouses were top-tier combat power in the entire Mountain City; with them in charge, the sense of security increased instantly.

Zhou Che stood in the crowd, also breathing a sigh of relief. With the main force of the Human Alliance carrying the burden and Sequence 4 powerhouses taking action, their The Convoy wouldn't need to rush to the front.

They could just paddle along with the main force and fill the numbers. Anyway, as long as they didn't miss out, they could keep their qualifications to explore the main city.

He turned his head to look at Captain Liu Ruyan beside him and whispered:

"When we split into groups later, let's try to be in the same group as Captain Ma Shangwu or the Alliance powerhouses. Don't act alone, safety first."

Captain Liu Ruyan nodded and replied in a low voice: "Understood, I will be careful."

Seeing that everyone had no objections, Captain Ma Shangwu immediately began dividing the groups.

He specifically split the twelve people of the Dawn Convoy into three different squads, calling it "balancing combat power."

Zhou Che knew clearly that Captain Ma Shangwu was guarding against them. He was afraid they would band together and also wanted to see the true strength of these Transcendent from the Dawn Convoy.

However, he didn't care; if they were split, they were split. Anyway, they were just paddling, it was the same in any group.

Soon, the six squads were formed, and each squad received its search area.

Captain Ma Shangwu took out the detection equipment and distributed it to the captains of each squad.

"Now, move out!"

Following Captain Ma Shangwu's order, the six squads left the Human Alliance base one after another, heading toward various areas of the East Bank perimeter.

A hunt for the Devourer of Calamity officially began.

And the Devourer of Calamity, hiding in the shadows, seemed to have sensed the scent of danger.

The aura that had been restless instantly retracted without a trace.

The entire East Bank perimeter once again fell into a bizarre silence. Only the rustling of the wind through the weeds signaled that a fierce battle was imminent.