97: Pre-departure arrangements, a war for the entire clan

Chu He's voice was calm and indifferent, yet it carried an unquestionable authority.

The members of the Wild Rhino Mercenary Squad looked at each other, and for a moment, no one dared to answer.

The impact of this mysterious man who had appeared out of thin air and was suspended in mid-air was simply too great for them.

Ultimately, it was Fire Fox, the captain, who braced herself and stepped forward.

She leaped down from the war chariot, suppressed the pressure coming from the depths of her Soul, looked up at Chu He, and asked in a heavy voice, "I am the captain of this squad, Fire Fox. From which shelter is Your Excellency an expert? What business brings you to the hunting grounds of our Shelter No. 7?"

She deliberately mentioned "Shelter No. 7," hoping to use the power behind her to intimidate the opponent.

After all, Shelter No. 7 was one of the top ten large survivor bases on this Wasteland, with a population of over three hundred thousand and a powerful S-Rank Expert presiding over it.

However, Chu He's reaction disappointed her.

"Shelter? Hunting grounds?" A playful expression appeared on Chu He's face. "Since when did this land become yours?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Fire Fox's curvaceous and explosive figure and the fully armed mercenaries around her, before saying indifferently, "I have just arrived in this world and need a guide. Looking at you, you should be very familiar with this place."

"Now, I give you a choice."

"Submit to me, become my servants, and help me understand this world. Or..."

Chu He's voice suddenly turned cold.

"Die."

As the word "die" left his mouth, a bone-chilling killing intent instantly enveloped the entire convoy.

All the mercenaries felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar; their blood was nearly frozen. At this moment, the energy guns in their hands felt like mere fire sticks, providing not a shred of security.

Fire Fox's face turned pale instantly.

She could feel that the other party's killing intent was serious.

If she dared to say a single "no," in the next second, all of them would be erased from this world!

Arrogant!

Simply too arrogant!

Fire Fox had struggled for survival on the Wasteland for over a decade, meeting countless vicious thugs and high-and-mighty S-Rank Experts, but she had never seen someone so overbearing and unreasonable!

With his first words, he wanted all of them to submit as servants!

The pride in her heart made her want to resist.

But logic told her that in the face of absolute strength, any resistance was futile and would only bring destruction.

"Isn't Your Excellency... being too overbearing?" Fire Fox gritted her teeth and said with difficulty, "We are people of Shelter No. 7, and our director is an S-Rank Expert!"

She was still making a final struggle.

"S-Rank?" Chu He sneered, as if he had heard a hilarious joke. "Are you referring to that ant who is equivalent to the Early Nascent Soul Stage?"

"Even if he were standing here now, This Seat killing him would be as easy as slaughtering a dog."

Early Nascent Soul Stage? Ant?

Fire Fox was completely bewildered.

She had no idea what the other party was talking about.

But she could hear the disdain for S-Rank Experts coming from the marrow of his bones.

Could this person be... an existence beyond S-Rank?

The legendary... SS-Rank?

As soon as this thought emerged, the last bit of resistance in Fire Fox's heart completely collapsed.

In the Wasteland, power was everything.

Faced with a terrifying existence that might surpass S-Rank, submission was not shameful.

"I... we..." Fire Fox spoke with difficulty, preparing to choose submission.

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

"Go to Hell! Monster!"

A young mercenary, perhaps unable to bear this humiliating pressure or wanting to prove himself before the captain, actually let out a roar and pulled the trigger.

In his hands was a specially modified, highly powerful Gauss Sniper Rifle.

An Armor-Piercing Bullet flickering with blue electricity crossed the hundred-meter distance at a terrifying speed several times the speed of sound, shooting toward the center of Chu He's forehead!

"Don't!" Fire Fox let out a horrified scream.

But it was all too late.

Under everyone's terrified gaze, the Armor-Piercing Bullet, capable of piercing through alloy steel plates tens of centimeters thick, stopped eerily the instant before it touched the center of Chu He's forehead.

It stayed perfectly still in mid-air, as if time had been frozen.

Chu He didn't even lift an eyelid.

He just glanced indifferently at the young mercenary who had fired.

In the next second, with a "bang," that mercenary's body exploded into a cloud of blood mist without any warning.

He didn't even have time to scream.

Immediately after, Chu He reached out two fingers and gently pinched the Armor-Piercing Bullet suspended in mid-air.

He examined it and commented, "Crude craftsmanship, chaotic energy—trash."

After saying that, he lightly rubbed his fingers together.

The Armor-Piercing Bullet made of ultra-high-strength alloy was easily crushed into powder like clay, slipping through his fingers.

Dead silence.

The scene fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone was scared witless by this inconceivable scene.

Crushing a Gauss Armor-Piercing Bullet with bare hands?

Making a living person explode into blood mist with just a look?

Was this something a human could do?

This was a god!

This was a devil!

Fire Fox was trembling all over, not from fear, but from lingering terror.

That shot just now had almost sent them all to Hell!

She no longer had any hesitation; her knees buckled, and with a "thud," she knelt on the ground.

"My Lord... spare us! We... we are willing to submit!"

She buried her head deep in the dust, her posture humble to the extreme.

As she knelt, the remaining living mercenaries also snapped out of it, tossing aside their weapons and scrambling to kneel, kowtowing like pounding garlic.

"My Lord, spare us!"

"We are willing to serve you like cattle and horses!"

Looking at the crowd kneeling below, Chu He's face showed no emotion.

He slowly descended from mid-air, walked in front of Fire Fox, and looked down at her.

"You, what is your name?"

"Re... replying to My Lord, I am called Fire Fox, my real name is... Anya." Fire Fox answered with a trembling voice.

"Anya?" Chu He nodded. "From today on, you are This Seat's first servant in this world."

"Raise your head."

Anya (Fire Fox) did not dare to disobey and tremblingly raised her head.

Chu He extended a finger, a faint golden light glowing at the tip, and lightly tapped the center of her forehead.

"This Seat bestows upon you a Divine Soul Restriction. If you dare to harbor even a hint of betrayal, your Divine Soul will be destroyed in an instant, and you shall never be reincarnated."

A golden light instantly sank into Anya's forehead.

Anya felt as if an indelible mark had been branded deep within her Soul; her life and death were now entirely in the hands of the man before her.

She felt a bitterness in her heart, but more than that, it was a sense of resignation as the dust settled.

"Yes, Master," she replied respectfully.

"Very good." Chu He nodded with satisfaction. "Now, tell me everything about this world."

"The distribution of your forces, the most valuable resources, and... where the strongest person in this world is, or rather, where the Luck is most concentrated."

Having subdued his first servant, Chu He's path to conquering this world had officially begun.

His first step was to find the "protagonist" or the "Child of Destiny" of this world.

Because that was often where the world's Luck converged.

And plundering Luck was one of the primary purposes of his trip.