The Whole Village Vanished

It was after four in the afternoon when Chen Jia Bao and his group finally arrived before Anshan City.

Looking at the thirty-meter-high city walls before them, Chen Guo Dong and the others were completely stunned.

Was this... Anshan City?

It was too magnificent, wasn't it?

Forget Chen Jia Bao—even Song Jia Bao couldn't be compared to this.

"Wait a moment and follow the procedure. Enter the city one by one, don't rush," Gu Ze said.

The registration was quick. Shortly after, a soldier led several Awakened down to guide them into the city.

Looking at the rows of high-rise buildings around them, everyone's eyes were filled with shock.

"Ha ha ha, is this your first time here?" one of the Awakened asked with a laugh.

The group was startled. Looking at the Awakened in front of them, they nodded instinctively.

These were Awakened!

And they were actually being so friendly to people like them?

In fact, it wasn't just the people from Chen Jia Bao; the onlookers around were also stunned.

In the past, when they entered, the Awakened here were always aloof and unapproachable. Even if they said a few words, their tone was ice-cold.

"Actually, once you've seen it enough, it's just like that. You'll get used to it slowly," the Awakened man laughed.

To ordinary people, he would naturally be too lazy to speak much.

But these people from Chen Jia Bao were different. This was Gu Ze's village, and Gu Ze had an unusual relationship with the Chairman. Being on good terms with Gu Ze meant benefits went without saying.

"No, no, no, this place is much better than where we lived in Chen Jia Bao," a man said hurriedly.

"That's right, that's right. Look at these roads, the tall buildings, and the restaurants. I feel like I've suddenly returned to a big city from ten years ago."

"Exactly. And that city wall—it must be over ten stories high, right? Forget high-level Fierce Beasts; even Elite-class ones could be blocked, right?"

"Of course."

The Awakened guide showed a hint of pride on his face. "Forget Elite-class beasts; even when a Beast Tide breaks out, it can hold its ground."

"Beast Tide!"

Everyone's eyes showed shock.

Their memories of Beast Tides were still fresh.

A short while later, the group was brought to a row of houses.

"This is where you will live from now on. Go in and take a look."

Seeing this, everyone's eyes lit up.

The furnishings in the rooms were somewhat simple, but they were very spacious.

Most importantly, this was a house inside Anshan City. Ten years ago, many of them wouldn't have been able to afford such an apartment.

"This will be... our home from now on?" someone asked in disbelief.

The others were stunned upon hearing this.

Yes, was this really going to be their home?

It felt like a dream.

"Of course it's your home."

"That's right. To be honest, quite a lot of you from Chen Jia Bao came this time. Many small camps only have dozens or a hundred people."

"Big brother," someone mustered the courage to ask, "Why did that Chairman Lord do this?"

"Yeah, such a good place, letting us live here for free. If we hadn't seen it with our own eyes, we wouldn't have dared to believe it even if we were beaten to death."

"Why?"

The Awakened man smiled and said, "Because our Chairman is a good man."

"Good? A good man?"

The group was stunned.

"Yes, once you've stayed for a while, you'll understand."

The Awakened man said, "We have to go pick up another group of people. Familiarize yourselves with the environment."

With that, he and his companions quickly left, leaving everyone looking at each other.

As the sky gradually darkened, all the people from Chen Jia Bao had entered the city.

Chen Fan also followed in the crowd, watching his father and the others enter the residential building.

His heart finally felt a sense of relief.

It was finally over.

To ensure the process went without a hitch, he hadn't gone out hunting all day, staying with the group the entire time.

"However, I still can't be careless. The real test has just begun."

Chen Fan looked into the distance.

He didn't know if it was because his mental power had grown stronger or for some other reason, but he had a premonition that the day the Beast Tide would break out was getting closer and closer.

When that time came, could Anshan City hold? And if it did, for how many days?

"I can only take it one step at a time."

He sighed softly.

"Let's go, we should head back too."

"Yeah, we're finally done helping. This is little brother Gu Ze's village; we should take more care of them in the future."

"Ha ha ha, no need for us to interfere; Gu Ze will look after them himself."

"That's true. But if there's anything we can help with, we should be proactive. Maybe we can catch the Chairman's attention."

As they spoke, several men laughed knowingly.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps rang out.

Several people came running up and then, with a thud, knelt before them.

Chen Fan, who was about to leave, stopped in his tracks upon seeing this.

"What are you doing?"

The leading Awakened immediately frowned and asked.

"Awakened Lord, my parents are missing! I beg you, please help me find my mom and dad, I beg you."

A young boy said, kowtowing repeatedly.

Behind him were several adults and one or two other children, also kowtowing.

"Your parents are missing?"

The Awakened man said, exchanging looks with his companions.

He thought to himself, *Your parents are missing, what does that have to do with me?*

"Yes, Awakened Lord. Not just my parents, but many people who came with us are gone too."

The boy wiped his tears.

"What?"

The Awakened men were startled.

"Little fellow, what did you just say? Many people from your camp are missing?"

"Yes, Awakened Lord. Uncle Cao, Uncle Qin, Aunt Zhao—they're all gone. I saw them yesterday, but today, everyone is gone."

The boy wept uncontrollably.

Several adults behind him looked at each other and also mustered their courage.

"Awakened Lord, we are from the Cao Family Camp dozens of miles away. We just moved in yesterday. But before today, the people in our camp seemed to have vanished into thin air. Except for us few, everyone else is gone."

"At first, we thought everyone had gone out for something, so we kept waiting. But we waited and waited until now, and there's no sign of them."

"Awakened Lord, we beg you, please help us."

After they finished speaking, they kept kowtowing.

In their hearts, they had summoned great courage just to come here.

"An entire camp of people... all missing?"

The Awakened men frowned deeply.

Was this real or fake?

They had been here for many years and had never seen such a situation.

"Fine, we know about this. Wait for us to investigate, and we'll find you."

The leading Awakened said.

"Awakened Lord, you... you must investigate quickly."

A woman pleaded.

So many people, in a single night, vanished without a trace. Just thinking about it made one's skin crawl.

Moreover, her residence was actually in the same area as everyone else's. She was safe today, but would she still be safe tomorrow? It wasn't certain.

"Are you teaching me how to do my job?"

The Awakened's tone grew cold.

"No, no."

The woman was immediately terrified, wishing she could bury her head in the dirt.

"We know about this. Go back and wait for an answer."

With that, the Awakened men walked away, whispering among themselves.

"Brother Dai, this is quite strange, isn't it? An entire camp of people vanishing overnight... it sounds like a supernatural event."

"Who cares?"

The leading Awakened said dismissively, "Isn't it just a few missing people? Anshan City isn't short of people right now."

"True. Forget it, we'll talk about it when we have time. We've been busy all day, let's go get a drink."

The people kneeling on the ground didn't dare look up for a long time. When they finally did, they looked at each other, their faces filled with fear.

Go back and wait for an answer?

When exactly would that answer come?

And those Awakened Lords hadn't even asked for their names or addresses. If they found something, how would they notify them?

To be honest, they somewhat regretted coming here.

If they had known this would happen, wouldn't it have been better to stay in their camp?

"What do we do? That place... should we go back and stay there tonight? If we go back, will we... will we also vanish like the others?" the boy asked, trembling.

"Where else can we go besides there? Don't worry, maybe we're overthinking it. Maybe everyone is playing a joke on us. They haven't vanished; they're just hiding on purpose. Maybe when we go back, everyone will appear?"

"Is... is that really true?"

"It should be, right?"

They comforted each other.

Just then, the sound of footsteps rang out, and a man with an ordinary appearance walked up to them.

"I heard what you just said. People from your camp are missing?"

"You... you are?"

They looked up at the cold face before them, and a chill instinctively rose in their hearts.

So... so terrifying, this man.

"Li Ping," Chen Fan said. At this moment, he had already changed into his Li Ping persona.

"Li... Li Ping?"

The name sounded very familiar to them.

Then, their eyes widened, their mouths hanging open wide enough to swallow a basket of eggs.

"You... you are Chairman Li of the Awakened Association?"

"Yes." Chen Fan nodded.

"!"

They were completely stunned.

They never imagined that the legendary great figure would be standing right in front of them at this very moment.

"Stand up. Tell me exactly what happened."

"Yes, yes."

The group immediately felt like drowning people catching a lifeline.

They didn't actually know if the person before them was truly Chairman Li, but if he said so, he likely wouldn't lie to them.

Most importantly, they had no other choice.