14: vulture provocation

"Brother, are you okay?"

Zhou Keer rushed over at this moment, looking at the wound on Zhou Xing's shoulder, nearly bursting into tears.

"I'm fine, don't worry. This injury is nothing compared to what I've been through before."

Zhou Xing spoke with feigned ease. In reality, although the wound on his shoulder had been frozen,

a piercing, heart-wrenching pain continued to radiate from it,

keeping Zhou Xing's entire body in a state of constant tension.

Fortunately, the armored vehicle hadn't sustained much damage.

After flipping the car back over, everyone resumed their journey, and the atmosphere inside the vehicle became noticeably more relaxed.

Lei Lie, in particular, talked incessantly to the Zhou siblings about the situation at the stronghold, spittle flying everywhere.

The rest of the trip was fairly smooth, with no new pursuers.

Perhaps Divine Gene Company hadn't expected 'Doctor' to fail.

After all, according to the information they had, the strongest among them was only at the peak of Essence Circulation.

The car drove for a full four hours.

Just as the setting sun was about to vanish, they finally arrived at their destination.

"Is this The Watchers' stronghold?"

Zhou Keer looked at the dilapidated steel mill in front of her, her face full of doubt.

Everything before them exuded an aura of decay.

Moreover, Zhou Xing couldn't sense even the slightest ripple of energy.

"Welcome to Dragon City Stronghold."

Lei Lie had also relaxed a lot by now. He grinned and then parked the car directly in front of a brick wall that looked quite ordinary.

He bit his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the wall's surface.

Immediately after, a mysterious and complex pattern emerged.

"Buzz!"

Following the hum of mechanical operation, the brick wall split neatly down the middle, revealing a brightly lit passage.

Zhou Xing led his sister as they followed the two others inside.

The entrance behind them closed silently, leaving no trace that it had ever been opened.

At the end of the passage was a massive circular space.

In the very center, a broken sword measuring over ten meters high floated in mid-air.

Ripples of pale golden light radiated from it, revealing the broken sword's extraordinary nature.

[God-Slaying Weapon (Incomplete) detected.]

The system's voice rang out, causing Zhou Xing to stop in his tracks involuntarily.

"That was a weapon used by a powerful Watcher. It's said to have slain a semi-god level powerhouse from Divine Gene Company."

Lin Yue noticed his gaze and explained, "Even though it's incomplete, this weapon can still suppress divine fluctuations. Any detection methods from Divine Gene Company will fail here."

Nodding, Zhou Xing continued forward with Lei Lie and the others.

Along the way, people wearing various combat suits would occasionally cast curious glances their way.

Some greeted Lin Yue and Lei Lie warmly, while others stared coldly at the Zhou siblings.

A few of those gazes became overtly aggressive upon seeing Zhou Keer, making her feel very uncomfortable.

"Brother, I'm scared..."

Zhou Keer cautiously tugged at her brother's sleeve and spoke in a low voice with her head down.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here." Zhou Xing gently patted his sister's shoulder to soothe her emotions.

However, Zhou Xing's gaze instantly turned icy as he looked toward those unscrupulous figures.

"Dragon City Stronghold has a total of three main squads."

Lei Lie introduced them as they walked. "Our Sky Patrol Squad is responsible for reception, investigation, and elimination missions. We are the strongest of the three squads."

"Another is the Shadow Squad, responsible for reconnaissance and rescue. They aren't here right now."

"And..." His voice suddenly dropped, "The Black Vulture Squad. Their Captain, Vulture, has been acting more and more strange lately. You need to be on your guard."

As if to prove his words, a somewhat feminine-sounding voice came from not far away.

"Bringing two people of unknown origin into the stronghold? Lin Yue, Lei Lie, you two have broken the rules."

As the words fell, a sinister-looking, tall, thin man walked out slowly.

His black combat suit was embroidered with a pattern resembling a Vulture, and a playful smirk hung on his pale face.

His eyes constantly scanned the Zhou siblings up and down, as if locking onto prey.

"Vulture, the business of Sky Patrol doesn't need to be reported to you."

A flash of disgust crossed Lin Yue's face as she spoke coldly.

Vulture ignored her, his eyes continuing to linger on Zhou Keer. A flash of lewdness appeared in the depths of his eyes, which Zhou Xing keenly caught.

"Look at my sister one more time, and I won't mind gouging your eyes out!"

Zhou Xing shielded his sister behind him, staring at Vulture with overflowing killing intent.

"Hahaha, what a joke! You're a newcomer; who gave you the nerve? Lin Yue?"

Hearing what Zhou Xing said, Vulture laughed out loud with total disregard. The next moment, his gaze turned vicious. "It seems I need to teach you the rules here."

As he spoke, the aura of the late stage of foundation condensation erupted, surging toward Zhou Xing.

"Lin Yue, can I kill him?"

Zhou Xing looked directly at Lin Yue.

At this moment, his killing intent was almost impossible to suppress, and the temperature in the entire hall plummeted.

His sister, Zhou Keer, was Zhou Xing's absolute bottom line. The other party's behavior had already marked him as a dead man in Zhou Xing's eyes.

Vulture's smile stiffened, as if he hadn't expected Zhou Xing to dare to do this. His expression became even more sinister—

"Kill me? With just you?"

He suddenly took a step forward, his powerful aura pressing down on Zhou Xing like a great mountain. The surrounding air seemed to freeze.

"Vulture, you're looking for death!" Lei Lie had long been annoyed by the man. He let out a roar as his Iron Heavy Armor activated, his arms undergoing Metallization, ready to strike at any moment.

Lin Yue also instantly entered a combat state. Her expression turned cold as she pulled a transparent token from her bosom, ready to activate it.

Just as the two sides were about to clash—

"Enough!"

A deep, powerful voice rang out, causing everyone's movements to halt!

The crowd automatically parted as a tall, burly man strode forward.

He wore a dark gray Watcher uniform with a golden badge pinned to his chest, his face resolute.

"Captain!" Lin Yue and Lei Lie shouted in unison.

This person was the Captain of The Watchers' Sky Patrol Squad—Qin Yue, with strength at the peak of foundation condensation.

Upon seeing Qin Yue, Vulture's momentum weakened significantly, and his expression became extremely ugly.

However, he still forced a cold laugh. "Captain Qin, your people brought outsiders into the stronghold, breaking the rules."

"This person even threatened me and intended to kill me. How do you plan to settle this?"

Qin Yue stared at Vulture with eyes as sharp as knives.

The next second—

"Boom!"

Vulture didn't even see Qin Yue move before he was sent flying by a powerful force.

His body slammed heavily against a nearby wall, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"Rules?" Qin Yue spoke indifferently. "In this place, anyone can talk to me about rules, but you are the least qualified."

The entire area fell silent!

Vulture struggled to get up, the venom in his eyes nearly overflowing.

But he didn't dare to resist. After all, in the entire stronghold, aside from the Captain, Qin Yue was the only person he didn't dare to provoke directly.

There had already been considerable bad blood between the two sides.

If he provoked the man, he would definitely suffer for it.

Casting a venomous glance at everyone, Vulture turned and left...