34: Chapter 34 Bai Li

The deafening roar of engines echoed through the narrow, long tunnel.

The Red Wolf Tank crushed the last of the darkness and burst out of the tunnel exit.

The view ahead suddenly opened up, and the blinding light made Lu Yuan instinctively squint his eyes.

A thick, grayish-white mist hung before him like a heavy veil, enveloping the entire space, and the air carried a bone-chilling dampness.

Spread out before him was a super parking lot so massive it felt oppressive.

As far as the eye could see, the cracked concrete ground was covered in mottled parking lines.

The horizon was completely swallowed by the dense fog, making it impossible to see the distant boundaries.

He could only vaguely sense the sheer scale of the place; there were tens of thousands of parking spaces packed together, a scale more than ten times larger than the highway service areas of first-tier cities in the real world.

Lu Yuan glanced at the radar screen, his brow furrowing slightly.

The massive red army that had been following the tank had drastically thinned out.

Lin Zihao, who had been sticking to his tail like a piece of dog-skin plaster, had also completely vanished.

One by one, the surviving combat vehicles drove into the parking lot. Once they came to a stop, many players pushed open their doors and stepped out.

A desolate, cold wind carrying the mist blew past as everyone looked around.

Exchanging glances, every face was etched with confusion and unease.

Right then, a cold, synthesized mechanical voice suddenly boomed over the empty grounds.

"Ding! Congratulations to all survivors for successfully completing the novice stage challenge."

"Current Location: Cross-District Hub Service Area."

"A brief diversion mechanism will be implemented in the current area. Some players have been teleported to other parallel camps."

"Warning: This area is an Absolute Peace Zone."

"All forms of violent behavior are prohibited. Violators will be—Obliterated on the spot!"

"All players will have twenty-four hours of absolute safety for rest and reorganization."

"Material exchange and point consumption functions are now open within the service area. Good luck to everyone."

As the system's voice gradually faded, the deathly silent parking lot finally erupted in cheers of survival.

Lu Yuan locked the tank and walked alone toward the massive building in the center of the parking lot.

It was a service hall that felt like a relic from another era.

Large patches of the exterior wall had peeled off, exposing graying red bricks. The heavy glass doors were coated in a layer of dusty grime. The overall style was reminiscent of an old 1990s bus station.

Pushing open the heavy doors, the sight inside created a strong sense of dissonance.

Though the hall was dilapidated, its interior was surprisingly vast.

Rows of neon-lit vending machines were lined up neatly against the walls, and steam was even rising from the warming trays of a self-service cafeteria.

From weapon repair stations to rest pods, all kinds of supplies and facilities were available.

However, the place was eerily quiet.

There were no servers, no chefs, and no staff members at all.

In the massive space, there was only the faint hum of machinery running.

It was hard to put a finger on what was unsettling, but there was a bizarre absurdity to it that made one feel very uneasy.

It wasn't until the players from District C-72 began trickling in behind Lu Yuan in small groups that this dead 90s-style hall finally gained a bit of lively human presence.

Lu Yuan had his hands in his pockets and was about to walk toward a supply vending machine.

At that moment, the other set of double doors directly opposite the hall was slowly pushed open.

Lu Yuan's footsteps paused slightly as he looked up.

The person leading the way was a woman.

She wore a black trench coat with a stiff texture over a pure white V-neck shirt, paired with a slim-fitting black short skirt.

The outfit perfectly outlined her breathtakingly hot figure. Her natural cold elegance and pride made her look like an empress presiding over her realm.

And at her side, a massive Mechanical White Tiger followed her.

The white tiger's metallic claws made a crisp clacking sound on the tiles, and its deep blue mechanical eyes emitted a terrifyingly fierce light.

Behind the woman, a group of female players followed in an orderly fashion.

The looks they gave the woman were filled with undisguised awe.

Lu Yuan stood at one end of the hall, and the woman stood at the other.

Across the empty hall, their gazes collided with a silent boom.

The woman's eyes were exceptionally cold, carrying a detached 'keep away' indifference.

Lu Yuan's gaze was as calm as water, yet it held a sharpness forged from slaughtering through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Almost simultaneously, they both noticed the ID tags floating above each other's heads.

It was a pure black color that could only be formed by killing an unknown number of people.

[C-1 Bai Li - Black],

[C-72 Red Wolf - Black],

The two pure black IDs were incredibly striking in this peace zone.

The air seemed to freeze at that moment.

Lu Yuan looked at the Mechanical White Tiger and the woman's cold, proud face, while Bai Li stared at the young man opposite her, whose aura was as steady and deep as an abyss.

Both their gazes were equally sharp and equally dangerous.

In that brief moment of eye contact, the exact same thought popped into both of their minds at the same second:

"This person is definitely a ruthless character who shouldn't be messed with."