"How long have they been missing?"
Xia Bai's face was terrifyingly dark. The mont she heard Xiao Min's report, a trace of bloodlust seeped into her voice.
"About fifteen minutes."
Though Xiao Min was the de facto commander of the Female Guards, when it ca to major incidents, she still had to follow Xia Bai's orders—like now.
Two Female Guard warriors had taken two youth soldiers to collect snow for drinking water an hour earlier, but they hadn’t returned on ti. Now, they were fifteen minutes late.
Fifteen minutes might not seem like much, but the Female Guards were nothing like the undisciplined, chaotic rcenary teams of the post-apocalyptic world. Cloud Peak had always operated under strict managent—Xia Lei, Xiao Hu, and Mo Ye had brought state-level organizational thods here, and after Guang Yao joined, military discipline tailored to the apocalypse was perfected.
This was one of the key reasons Cloud Peak remained powerful, united, and combat-ready.
The Female Guards were even more stringent. These won adhered to every rule with near-fanatical discipline, far more rigid than Cloud Peak’s other forces. Being fifteen minutes late wasn’t just a violation—even five minutes was unacceptable.
This was the rear of the human alliance’s camp, where mutant lifeforms were rare. The chances of an attack were slim. Even if so suddenly appeared, the missing team consisted of two seven-star evolved and two six-star youths. To subdue them silently would require at least two level-eight creatures, a level-nine, or a swarm of lower-tier mutants.
But if creatures of that level appeared, Xia Bai, Red Hair, and the others would have sensed them.
That left only one possibility: humans did this.
And here, the only humans were Pei Jia and his rcenary team.
"Everyone, search. Find them, no matter what."
That morning, the evolvers in the alliance’s rear camp witnessed sothing unexpected. The previously quiet Eastern squad suddenly burst out of their camp, teams of warriors rushing in every direction.
Soon, the entire human settlent was in an uproar.
Safrashenko was a squad leader in Pei Jia’s rcenary team, a trusted subordinate tasked with guarding an equipnt warehouse—stockpiled gear for evolved to replace damaged weapons during battle.
Of course, not for free.
The highest-grade items here were ten pieces of blue-grade equipnt, brought by the alliance’s leader, Akinas. Rumor had it he had an exceptional craftsman among his ranks, the source of these high-quality weapons.
Safrashenko guarded this place fiercely, especially those ten blue items—he’d have slept with them if he could.
He was cautious, but realistically, no one dared cause trouble here. Not only was Safrashenko a powerful seven-star evolved, and Pei Jia an eight-star—both n you didn’t want to cross—but those ten blue items belonged to Akinas. Who’d be stupid enough to steal from him?
So Safrashenko had it relatively easy.
Until today.
A squad of Eastern warriors stord into the warehouse.
Literally stord.
The gates and guards didn’t stop these won and teenagers.
Fifteen of them—ten won, five youths.
Safrashenko was furious. If not for the fact that these were Pei Jia’s "guests" (who paid daily protection fees), he’d have ordered his n to attack.
His face darkened as he barked at them to leave their gear and get out.
But the fifteen ignored him, scanning the warehouse, searching every corner as if looking for sothing.
That was the last straw. Safrashenko drew the twin shortswords at his hips and pointed them at the intruders, issuing a final warning.
"We’re looking for soone. Stay out of our way, or we’ll kill you."
A woman spoke coldly in English.
Safrashenko understood—his past job at a foreign trade company had taught him the language.
Looking for soone?
"There’s no one here!"
He swung a blade to block a woman from entering his private quarters—a non-lethal move, but it provoked an extre reaction.
"Scram!"
Her voice was sharp as a blade. The animal hides covering her burst apart, revealing sleek armor underneath. A slender, paper-thin sword flashed with blue light and sliced through Safrashenko’s weapon.
His green-grade twin blades shattered.
For a mont, he just stared at the remains of his beloved swords in disbelief.
The Female Guard warrior didn’t stop. She kicked him aside like trash.
Had Safrashenko aid to kill instead of block, she wouldn’t have used her foot—she’d have used her sword.
With their leader down, the guards should’ve attacked. But none of the hundred n moved.
Because they saw it, this woman was clad in over ten pieces of blue-grade equipnt.
The entire warehouse only had ten blue items.
And she’d just effortlessly defeated their strongest fighter.
So they stood frozen, letting the Female Guards search and leave unhindered.
Once they were gone, Safrashenko scrambled up and sprinted to Pei Jia’s command post.
He had to warn his boss—these Easterners were not to be trifled with.
Similar scenes played out across the settlent. The Cloud Peak forces, previously passive, now moved with deadly purpose. They tore through every corner, searching for their missing comrades.
Those who rely obstructed them—like Safrashenko—were spared with a warning.
Those who attacked? They were cut down without rcy.
The scent of blood thickened in the air.
When Pei Jia got word and rushed out, he found Xia Bai, Red Hair, and Old Man waiting in the town square.
As an evolved, he could sll the blood. Even without a full tally, he knew—he’d lost a lot of n today.
Rage burned in his chest. He cracked his neck—a prelude to violence.
Xia Bai and Red Hair watched coldly, utterly unfazed.
Only Old Man stepped forward nervously, unsure of Cloud Peak’s true strength.
"Our people are missing. We’re searching. We paid your protection fees, Mr. Pei."
He hoped to de-escalate things. If a fight broke out, even if Cloud Peak was strong, Pei Jia’s forces weren’t weak either. And behind him stood the entire human alliance—including the infamous Akinas.
Pei Jia knew exactly what had happened. He’d allowed it. These Easterners were rich, and he wanted a piece.
But he didn’t attack imdiately. Instead, he feigned outrage.
"There may be a misunderstanding, but your actions have enraged . Today, you will answer to
and my rcenaries. Otherwise—"
He smirked, pressing a hand to the ground. The earth cratered under his palm, leaving a perfect imprint.
Old Man’s n paled—the instinctive fear, weaker evolved felt toward the strong.
"Otherwise, what?" Xia Bai’s face was calm, but her hands itched for her scythe.
She was already worried about Ye Zhongming in Yakutsk. Now her people were missing. Patience wasn’t her strength.
"Otherwise—" Pei Jia’s eyes narrowed, but before he could finish, an explosion of combat erupted in the distance.
Both sides sprinted toward the commotion.
They arrived at a camp where nearly a hundred Female Guards and youth soldiers were besieging a barracks, battling over three hundred enemy evolved.
"Commander! Our sisters must be inside!"
A squad leader pointed to two mutilated mutant corpses nearby—the battle beasts of the missing warriors, their demon crystals gouged out.
Xia Bai’s vision turned red.
She was cold, but not heartless. This disappearance brought back painful mories—ones she refused to relive.
Her eyes darkened, her aura surging. Black wings burst from her back, shredding her hide to reveal sleek obsidian armor.
A scythe materialized in her grip. She shot into the air, aiming to bypass the fight and storm the barracks.
"Get back here!"
Pei Jia, startled by her transformation, lashed out—but before his elongated arms could reach her, a chill shot toward his neck.
He barely dodged as a crimson spear grazed his throat.
Red Hair stood behind him, silent, her weapon poised for another strike.
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