Brother Hammer was in combat. His attacks were methodical and unvarying. His movements did not look flashy, nor did they inflict exaggerated damage. In comparison, the battle waged by Xu Qingqiang, who had transformed into a demon, was far more spectacular. If that failed, there was still Captain Xue, who was being chased and struck by the Royal Jellyfish; watching his narrow escape was quite entertaining.
One minute later, Wei Huan suddenly snapped back to attention, realizing that his gaze had unknowingly shifted away from Brother Hammer and completely ignored him. Looking back at Brother Hammer's battle, his results were actually considerable. The Royal Jellyfish he was relentlessly hacking at was already riddled with wounds on its back, and he had severed two of its tentacles.
Yet, let alone Wei Huan's wandering gaze, even the Royal Jellyfish, which was being relentlessly chopped, seemed to have forgotten the presence of the guy behind it. It focused entirely on whipping Captain Xue.
Captain Xue yelled, "Ouch! Seriously! Damn it! Did I dig up your ancestral grave? Why are you only chasing me?"
Wei Huan was speechless. He suddenly realized that having a low sense of presence had its own benefits.
The Royal Jellyfish crashed down with a thud. Captain Xue, battered and limping back, muttered, "Damn it, do Farmers have a naturally built-in taunt ability? So many Undead nearby, yet it chased me! Oh, my aching back!"
Brother Hammer silently sheathed his axe, claiming neither credit nor fame, and walked humbly in the middle of the formation. After returning to the carriage, he immediately dove back into the kitchen.
Wei Huan was speechless once more. This was genuinely bizarre.
Also, was Captain Xue's talent simply having a face that begged for a fight? If so, meeting Brother Hammer in the vast sea of humanity was truly an unparalleled combination.
Having witnessed the spectacle, Wei Huan decided he needed to pay more attention to his crew members. Perhaps he could still unearth a few hidden talents.
After traveling a short distance further, noon arrived. The system sent a confirmation message: as long as they reached the 80-line, they could choose to teleport, counting as a last-minute pass into the Tier 5 world.
Wei Huan suspected that the 122 people might be members of the Battle Race, but there was nothing he could do. He could not contact the outside to intercept them right now. All he could do was complete his own challenge as soon as possible and see if they would appear outside the gate later.
Both Wei Huan's and Yake's carriages were Tier 5 vehicles, capable of traveling in the deep sea. The harsh environment of the assessment road would not affect their speed. According to the planned schedule, shortly after dawn on the second day, Wei Huan finally reached the finish line again.
At this point, the waves were surging, cresting up to 200 meters high, gradually transforming into a world-edge environment. The rising tide was slowly engulfing the island. The already limited sea surface area was being churned by the wind and waves. Salty seawater turned into torrential rain, the large drops "pattering" against the protective shield, occasionally sparking purple electric arcs.
"We're leaving," Wei Huan said, connecting with Yake via video communication.
Yake bowed and thanked him once more. "Thank you. I'm lucky to have had you on this journey."
"I told you, no need to be polite. It was just a transaction." After saying this, Wei Huan shifted his gaze to the finish line, which was not far ahead. "Go on."
Once again, they crossed the finish line. This time, completely and utterly, the entire vehicle passed through the banner and then vanished from this world.
---
The view ahead blurred. When their senses returned, they were greeted by clear blue skies and calm seas. Behind them, the sea surged, and beneath their feet, the sand was soft. Ahead, the forest was lush and verdant. A tranquil, crescent-shaped bay, like a picture from a magazine, appeared before them.
More than ten vehicles were parked on the beach, all uniformly displaying the insignia of the Daxia Azure Dragon Legion. Upon seeing them emerge, all the vehicles moved closer simultaneously, and a communication channel was opened.
Wei Huan accepted the video call. The person who appeared on the screen made his spirit lift, and his back instinctively straightened. "Uncle Mu."
The person on the screen was none other than Mu Dehao. After more than half a year, they were finally meeting in the Challenger World for the first time.
Mu Dehao looked Wei Huan up and down, then broke into a hearty smile. "Good, good, good. It's a relief you arrived safely. A relief indeed!"
Wei Huan nodded, unable to hide his excitement. In truth, every time Wei Huan and Mu Zhong ventured onto the assessment road, it was an ordeal for their parents and elders. Although their safety could be monitored via the beacon, given the danger level of the Challenger World, it was normal to be safe one moment and suddenly die violently the next.
This time, Mu Dehao had repeatedly inquired about the beacon status of Wei Huan and Mu Zhong at the Azure Dragon Legion's Challenger Hall. Mu Dehao, who was busy leading the world development and couldn't leave his post, had only been able to forcefully endure his worry and continue his duty.
It was not until noon yesterday, the unified teleportation time after the assessment road opened, that the Azure Dragon troops waiting to meet them personally witnessed three carriages teleport out. However, before they could step forward to inquire about the situation inside the world, those three carriages instantly exited the Challenger World, giving them no time to talk.
Wei Huan had not emerged. He always came out ahead of time, sometimes a day or two early. Even when he did not leave early in the Tier 4 world, those who left at noon would clarify the situation inside, preventing those waiting outside from worrying. This time was different. Wei Huan had entered the Challenger World at great personal risk. To prevent accidental injury, the Azure Dragon Legion had spent a fortune on public advertisements, meaning the situation was unprecedentedly grim.
After waiting for ten whole days, when the unified teleportation time arrived, not only did Wei Huan not appear, but the three carriages that did emerge said nothing and instantly vanished from the spot, returning to the time rift. How could this not cause worry and wild speculation? Mu Dehao had immediately dropped his work and rushed over, leading to the current scene.
The Commander of the Legion coming personally to meet them—no one could find fault with a father's heart filled with concern for his family.
Only Yake, who emerged shortly after, frowned when he saw this familiar scene. He recalled how his own auxiliary carriage had been won over by the powerful elite through marriage arrangements. It seemed this power game was present everywhere.
Out of politeness, Yake contacted Wei Huan and Mu Zhong to say goodbye. Mu Zhong invited him to recuperate at the Azure Dragon Legion base.
Yake said, "Aglis is waiting for me. I'll visit the Azure Dragon Legion when I have time next. Here are the 200,000 points I promised. Until we meet again."
"Goodbye," Mu Zhong smiled, watching him depart.
Xu Qingqiang suddenly remembered something. "My buffet!"
Mu Zhong paused, remembering that the "buffet" he referred to was the Platinum Magic Flute. "Is it absolutely necessary? I can trade with him directly," Mu Zhong asked.
Xu Qingqiang pursed his lips. "Since you put it that way, I can't very well say it's absolutely necessary, heh-heh. Actually, I don't really need it. Rather than spending points on that broken flute, you should hurry up and call that fat thief back."
Mu Zhong chuckled. "Alright, I'll contact him right away." Then he stood up. "But Wei Huan and I need to go report now. Can I ask someone else to do it?"
"Sure, sure." Xu Qingqiang thought for a moment and added, "I don't need to go too, right?"
"If you're willing."
"No thanks. I'm not good at dealing with officials. You two go ahead. Nothing will happen here. I need to get some proper sleep."
Hearing this, Wei Huan, who was about to leave, asked him, "Did you find a way to accelerate your advancement? What benefit has the attribute growth given you?"
"It's made me much stronger, I suppose," Xu Qingqiang said. "But a method for accelerating Sequence advancement is probably not that simple."
Wei Huan felt a little disappointed, knowing that constantly looking for shortcuts was counterproductive. Cultivation had no fast track; only solid, steady advancement could lead to greater achievements.
After parting ways with Xu Qingqiang, Wei Huan and Mu Zhong went together to Mu Dehao's command carriage. Captain Xue, representing the Azure Dragon Legion, and Mu Han, representing the Mu family, also went with them.
Mu Dehao was a Sage, but only at the Arch-Mage level. His work kept him busy, leaving no time for cultivation. This was the result of seven and a half years of being a Challenger, reaching this level only with great effort and assistance. However, his command carriage was Tier 5, and its protective shield, outer shell, and external crash bars had all been upgraded to Tier 6. The focus was on being exceptionally sturdy to protect the leader.
The carriage also housed many powerful individuals, currently boasting 22 Sequence 5 warriors, with the rest queued up for advancement. But like Wei Huan's carriage, Mu Dehao, as the logistics director, carried more non-combat support personnel—primarily excellent talents from various fields such such as military science, architecture, economics, and management.
A quarter ago, Mu Dehao had led a large troop contingent through the Tier 5 assessment, similarly guarded by two thousand vehicles. These were both vehicles that needed to be upgraded and sent to the front line and protection for the Legion's Chief Administrator, who was not skilled in combat.
Mu Dehao did not linger at the exit. After meeting them and introducing his trusted subordinates to Wei Huan, he ordered the return trip. He was busy, and taking time to wait there was purely an act of paternal love.
Watching Mu Zhong smoothly walk with the high-priced prosthetic limb he had acquired, seeing his healthy, handsome son standing before him again, Mu Dehao's eyes grew a little red. It had been more than three months since father and son had last seen each other.
However, Mu Zhong's mind was elsewhere for the moment. He stopped Mu Dehao. "Wait, Commander Mu, don't leave yet. I just wanted to confirm, did you see two carriages teleport out yesterday?"
Mu Dehao nodded. "Three carriages."
"Arrange for a few vehicles to keep an eye on them. We suspect they might be the fugitive carriages."
Mu Dehao raised an eyebrow. After Mu Zhong's explanation, his brow furrowed. "The War Race's reach has finally extended to the Tier 5 world?" Then he looked outside the carriage window. After leaving the large island, they were driving over the ocean. The scene looked calm, but monsters could appear at any moment.
His expression then relaxed, and he smiled. "But this is the Tier 5 world, the one that gave everyone so much trouble. It's too difficult to establish a foothold and build a city here."
Wei Huan also adopted a listening posture. Regarding the Tier 5 world, he had only heard rumors in his previous life that building a city on a sea island was somewhat difficult because...
"Because Daxia has a large population, the cities we build require a large land area. However, large islands are occupied by powerful monsters. The cost we must pay to conquer an ideal island is beyond imagination. What we are currently building is less a city and more a series of strongholds. Pioneer Corps are like this; the development space is restricted by the combat power of the monsters."
Wei Huan nodded. He knew about this, and in his previous life, it had restricted Daxia for over a year before they secured an ideal stronghold. There was one particularly regrettable incident: an island with excellent geography and a large area, which was called Atlantis City after its completion in the previous life, was initially claimed by Aosam. Aosam collaborated with the Elder Race of the Tier 5 world to jointly develop that island, which is why it was named Atlantis City. It was precisely because Aosam successfully cooperated with the Elder Race that other countries believed the Elder Race could be trusted, leading to humanity suffering a great setback at the hands of the cunning Elder Race.
But currently, humanity had only just reached the Tier 5 world and did not have excessive ambition for large islands. Given their current combat strength, they were more inclined to occupy small sea islands. Small sea islands and the area within a 20-nautical-mile radius of them became the territory of the occupier. The reason for the 20-nautical-mile limit was simple: it was the maximum range that the advanced AI could scan. It was impossible to control anything further, so there was no need to occupy it.
The biggest benefit of occupying a small sea island, aside from securing a stronghold, was that the resources spawning around the stronghold were automatically deemed the occupier's property. If anyone crossed the boundary, it was considered an act of war.
Mu Dehao patiently and thoroughly shared his knowledge and plans for the Tier 5 world with them, holding nothing back. Wei Huan listened carefully. The world described by Mu Dehao had quite a few discrepancies from his memory. However, he figured that harsh real-world conditions forced changes, just as a seed had to twist and grow to overcome the pressure of a massive rock. Humanity's upward plan could not remain entirely static.
While they were talking, the Steward AI on the command carriage announced, "Commander Mu, we have arrived at our destination."
Had they arrived so quickly? It seemed like only half an hour. It appeared humanity's pioneering progress in the Challenger World was indeed very slow.
Wei Huan looked up at the projection screen hanging above the main hall and saw that they had indeed reached an island. The island was about 800 square kilometers in area, with three large mountains in the middle, each about 2,000 meters high. The rest was rolling hills and lush green trees, looking largely undeveloped.
The Azure Dragon Legion's base was built at the foot of one of the outer mountains. The location was excellent, allowing them to better resist the sea wind and utilize the terrain to construct city walls and a defense system, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Wei Huan was not an expert in this area, but after a quick glance, he looked at the other features.
The construction of this supply point was nearing completion. The city's interior was about the size of 18 football fields, and there were likely structures underground. Many vehicles were seen moving in and out of the underground parking garage entrances. There were few buildings on the surface; most were bases for weapon platforms. In the Challenger World, survival outweighed comfort. Before they could better withstand the beast tides, the surface was reserved for military use only.
A city like the Azure Dragon City in the Tier 4 world could be built as a fusion of high-technology and futuristic fantasy because humanity could live there in complete safety. The comparison highlighted the difficulty and hardship faced by the Tier 5 Pioneer Corps.
The command carriage returned to the base. Many people ran out from the surface duty stations or the underground city's elevators, waiting on the parking apron. They wore uniform attire, stood in neat rows, and crucially, a glance showed that virtually everyone was at Sequence 5. High sequences had a deterrent effect on lower sequences. Although it was hard to describe, a Sequence 4 would instantly sense that a Sequence 5 was stronger than themselves. Even Wei Huan, who could realistically take down all of these people, was initially affected by their presence. However, sequence was one thing, and actual combat power was another.
The carriage door opened. Mu Dehao walked ahead and then gestured for Wei Huan to follow closely. Wei Huan glanced down at the Azure Dragon medal on his chest, confirmed that the military uniform illusion was active, then quietly took a breath and followed Mu Dehao. He had intended to stay half a step, or even a full step, behind, but Mu Dehao walked two steps and waved him forward, so Wei Huan understood he was meant to walk alongside him.
They walked to the front of the line. Just as they drew level with the first person in the line, a loud, resounding command was shouted: "Salute!"
With a sharp "swish," a perfectly synchronized military salute. Everyone fixed an enthusiastic and emotional gaze on Wei Huan.
Mu Dehao smiled. "They've been anticipating your arrival for a long time. While you were in the Assessment World, your news was the top trending topic in our Pioneer Corps. Everywhere you went, you could hear people worrying and anticipating. Now that you're here, you've come home. You should rest well later. I'll arrange a gathering so you can all meet up."
Wei Huan nodded. He knew that everything Mu Dehao said was true. He had met many of these people at the Azure Dragon Legion base on Blue Star. While he hadn't spoken to every single one, Wei Huan had always sensed their goodwill, and their fondness and respect for him were genuine. A place like the Legion was tedious, difficult, and dangerous, but only when immersed in this environment could one discover how straightforward and pure they were. Wei Huan liked it; he liked it very much.
Thus, they walked past the queue that welcomed them and arrived at the elevator entrance. This design somewhat resembled the Battle Race's setup, but the standard city-building procedure in the Challenger World was actually to first build a perimeter, then construct the underground city, and finally expand from underground to the surface.
The elevator descended to the first basement level. Stepping out, the space was brightly lit. The parking garage housed a seemingly endless number of vehicles. The vehicles were neatly organized into different zones, leaving a wide road in the middle that could accommodate 10 vehicles driving side-by-side. On both sides of the main road, six-story buildings stood neatly. Wei Huan knew these were the structures of the underground city, and they also served as the support columns for this subterranean level.
People could be seen on the streets and inside the buildings. Unlike a city in the real world, this felt distinctly like a military camp. People moved with serious expressions and hurried steps. Everyone seemed to be moving with a purpose; not a single idle person was visible.
Mu Dehao intentionally chose to walk so they could observe the city environment. However, after walking a short distance, his adjutant took a call and whispered a few words in his ear. He said regretfully, "We'll continue the tour later. Let's head back to the office building first. Too many things require my attention. Once I've had enough rest, I'll arrange for someone else to show you around."
Wei Huan said, "I don't need rest. You can assign me a task directly."
Mu Dehao was momentarily surprised, then smiled. "Even if you don't rest, the people in your carriage need to. After experiencing life and death, your family will also worry."
Wei Huan knew Mu Dehao meant well, but he still said, "I will arrange for them to take turns resting. I don't need to rest." He paused, his gaze sweeping over Mu Dehao and Mu Zhong's faces. He did not say the words out loud, but the two people he looked at understood: his most important family members were right here, and he did not need to go anywhere else.
Mu Zhong smiled as he looked at Wei Huan. Wei Huan smiled back and took Mu Zhong's hand, threading his fingers through his. When Mu Zhong shyly tried to pull away, Wei Huan gripped his hand tighter. Then, he looked at Mu Dehao, whose face was full of fatherly warmth.
This was the first time Wei Huan had so clearly and firmly displayed their relationship in front of an elder. Mu Dehao was truly gratified by this. He had initially sought out Wei Huan because of the prophecy, which indicated that only he could save his son, leading to the awkward request for marriage. But now, all his worries were gone. Seeing the sweet relationship and successful lives of the two young men made him happy from the bottom of his heart. He thought that when he went home, he would have to praise his wife well. Oh, he missed his wife.
Watching his children show affection in front of him, Mu Dehao simply smiled and said, "If you won't rest, then at least join me for a drink of water and sit for a while. Let's go."
Wei Huan nodded and led Mu Zhong forward. Mu Zhong's ears were a little red. What kind of decorum was this, a Colonel and a Lieutenant Colonel holding hands? But, but... Unconsciously, they walked the entire way, until they reached the Pioneer Corps Office Building, where their hands finally separated. Their palms were sweaty. When they pulled apart, the heat felt sticky, and the tightly locked knuckles made a soft "click" sound as they used a bit of force.
The Pioneer Corps Office Building was the largest and most central building in this underground city. It was built around the support columns, creating a spacious, rectangular "ring-shaped" space with many rooms. The clerical staff of the Challenger World Pioneer Corps were not numerous, so everyone had a large office area. Mu Dehao's office was on the sixth floor, accessible directly by elevator. The upper floors were silent, seeming almost empty, but when the elevator door opened on the sixth floor, they immediately saw over a dozen people waiting outside the door, all with anxious expressions.
"Commander Mu, my matter..."
"Commander Mu, you're finally back..."
"Commander Mu, there's a problem with the pioneering in Sector B3..."
Wei Huan and Mu Zhong were instantly shoved aside by the crowd, and Mu Dehao was immediately surrounded by the group, practically carried into his office against his will. A massive crowd filled the office, all scrambling to report their work first. Wei Huan and Mu Zhong exchanged glances. Finally, their eyes fell on the sofas outside the office, and they simply sat down.
Soon, they discerned the essential information from the chaotic voices. There were three main points. The first was an accident during the island's development. Someone had died, or an emergency retreat meant a mission could not be completed. The second was the discovery of a large island. After the small resource points on the island were developed, a Gold-level ruin remained. Daxia organized a Pioneer Corps to go, but they ran into Aosam's Pioneer Corps. Neither side would yield, and they had been in a standoff for a week, with conflicts escalating due to minor verbal disputes between the warriors. The third was that the construction of the other two strongholds had all suffered various accidents, preventing the construction work from continuing. Crucially, there had been warrior sacrifices, which was the most unbearable part.
Wei Huan felt a strong anticipation for all three of these points, hoping he could take on a mission, confident he could complete it. However, Mu Dehao solved all the problems piece by piece and sent everyone away without ever inviting Wei Huan inside. Being a newcomer, Wei Huan found it difficult to speak up, so he waited for over an hour until Mu Dehao finally walked out of his office. Looking at the two of them, he said, "Don't worry, these are common occurrences. This is just my job. Everyone is used to it."
Wei Huan knew pioneering was difficult, but he still frowned. "Do people die often?"