"This question is simple." Sun Hang took out a pistol, snapped it, and said, "Just get rid of those useless bastards."

"Are you crazy?" Ye Jiu gave Sun Hang a sidelong glance.

"Not crazy," Sun Hang replied, "I usually call this method efficient."

"Even if Dubhe Tower is backing you... damn, I don't even want to talk about those people anymore. The more I mention them, the angrier I get. I'm really afraid that I won't be able to resist grabbing a gun and blowing them all away." Ye Jiu slapped his own head hard, the clash between his gauntlet and helmet making a sharp "clang" sound.

"Damn it, sooner or later, I'm going to catch your madness and become a lunatic too," Ye Jiu muttered.

"You're pretty crazy already," Sun Hang sized him up, "You wanted to fight me the moment we met, must be feeling itchy."

"You could call me a martial arts fanatic!"

"I didn't see the martial arts, just the fanatic," Sun Hang's middle finger flicked up instantly, "Kids like you, even after being cured, still drool."

"Pfft... Hahahahaha." Wang Xiyi, who hadn't been very vocal, suddenly burst into laughter, clutching her stomach as she kept waving her hand at Ye Jiu, saying, "Sorry, I don't mean to laugh at you... just... couldn't help it... it's too funny... hahahahahaha I'm dying of laughter..."

"Damn!" Ye Jiu sent a small stone on the ground flying with a kick, "I'm not on the edge of madness recently from those old guys' constant nagging, finally got an opportunity, of course I need to let off some steam..."

Before he finished his words, the small stone he kicked flew, rebounded off the rock wall and the dome a few times, and finally hit his helmet with a crisp sound.

"Not much damage, but quite the insult," Sun Hang commented.

Wang Xiyi laughed even harder, and even the usually composed Candle Dragon couldn't help but have a slight smile on his face.

"Damn it." Ye Jiu stomped the stone that had fallen back to his feet into powder, "Laugh all you want, but Sun Hang, you have to find a way for me... Two hundred, no, a hundred people. The Field Operations Department needs at least a hundred operatives just to barely fill the gaps, whatever it takes, you've got to find me a hundred cattle and horses, by any means..."

"Shouldn't there be people to recruit from the reinforcements from other city-states?" Candle Dragon suggested.

"Tried that, as soon as I poached a few, the leaders of their org would call up to curse me out," Ye Jiu smiled wryly, "They even threatened that if I dare poach again, they'll just send over cleaning staff next time."

"A sweeper is great; haven't you seen those martial arts novels, where the humble sweeping monk is always the most badass in the whole temple?" Sun Hang laughed.

"I'm not kidding with you," Ye Jiu stomped his feet in anger, "You damn well give Laozi some seriousness!"

"Alright, alright." Sun Hang restrained his laughter, "I've got an idea... there's a place that surely has plenty of potential recruits, the only issue is you'd need to train them from scratch... but I guarantee, these people will be way more dedicated than your current subordinates."

"Where?" Ye Jiu immediately asked.

"The refugee camp on the outskirts," Sun Hang replied, "It's filled with young people who've lost their loved ones and are displaced, harboring fear and hatred towards bizarre creatures, pessimistic and bewildered about the future... If you go to them and offer a chance for revenge against those creatures, and even a chance to join legendary organizations like Dubhe Tower... what do you think they'll do?"

"Hiss..." Ye Jiu couldn't help but suck in a cold breath, "Now that you mention it, it does make some sense... except for the training issue..."

"The comprehensive talent training base will be completed soon. Then, you can have them perform some simple tasks while taking time to engage in systematic training at the base... Trust me, the best soldiers are those trained in actual combat."

"There's a second half to that sentence," Candle Dragon said, "Which is the soldiers who didn't make it through the combat training all died."

"Oh right, speaking of death, there's one more thing." Sun Hang patted Ye Jiu's shoulder, "If those orphans die, you can save a fortune in compensation, you know."

"Damn... how do you say something so cold with that 37-degree mouth?" Ye Jiu was dumbfounded for a moment, looking at Sun Hang with some astonishment as he spoke.

"Because when I first woke up, that's how you all treated me," Sun Hang said expressionlessly, "Whether in a war between men or a war between people and bizarre creatures, human lives are just consumables... or in other terms, human lives are a form of currency, and only those decision-makers who calculate carefully and make the most of every cent can tip the balance of victory in their favor."

"That's how it is," Candle Dragon nodded, saying earnestly, "Even for us, it's the same, just that our value is a bit higher than ordinary people's."

...

...

Tianfu City, West City, Refugee Settlement Zone No.6.

Amongst a jumble of blue and yellow tents emblazoned with "Disaster Relief," a disheveled middle-aged woman sneaked around with a few kids, carefully avoiding the City Defense Guard soldiers patrolling the camp outskirts. She bypassed two large communal heating towers being watched over, then hurriedly ducked into a nearby rubble field.

This field of debris was once an old neighborhood built ninety years ago. In the Dragon Rock Fortress incident, the buildings, which had long outlived their usage lifespan, collapsed like paper models... Fortunately, before the neighborhood became ruins, most of its residents had already evacuated to the open space outside, with only a few unlucky or less mobile people getting trapped in the debris.

The middle-aged woman did not wander aimlessly among the ruins; she purposefully headed towards a pile of rubble, picked up a piece of tile from the ground, and began digging into the debris.

Soon, she unearthed a bronze statue of Bodhisattva Guanyin from the wreckage.

As she mumbled "Sin, oh sin," she carefully lifted the statue with both hands and placed it primly on the ground, proceeding to bow down before it.

Meanwhile, her children stood not far away, dumbfoundedly watching their mother's actions.

"What are you standing there for? Quickly, come bow to Bodhisattva Guanyin!" the woman turned around, sternly urged the kids, "Your father has not woken up for almost a month, surely he's offended the gods in heaven! You must hurry and bow to the Bodhisattva and pray for her protection..."

She didn't notice the oldest boy was not following along with the younger kids, instead stealing away to sift through another heap of rubble—foraging with a clear goal: food, clothes, shoes, and any usable everyday goods. Each item found was carefully brushed clean of dust and tucked into the woven sack tied at his waist.

"Your mom and siblings are all praying to Bodhisattva, won't you go join them?" An enchanting female voice suddenly wafted down from above, making the boy surprisingly stop and look up.

He held his breath in astonishment.

He had never seen such a beautiful woman in his life.

Not even the celebrities on TV could compare to this woman sitting atop the ruins.

Her long, snow-white hair and equally fair skin glowed under the moonlight like a softly luminescent moon, hardly belonging to the mortal realm.

"Won't you go join them?" the woman asked again, her clear voice like wind chimes. "Or do you not believe in gods?"

"I... I don't believe," the boy took a deep breath and replied.

"But your mother seems to believe deeply in it," the woman inquired further, "Look, she even cut herself to dig out that statue."

"If gods truly exist in this world, why would they let my family suffer such disasters... and why would they allow those people to die so inexplicably?! Why has this world gone to such a terrible state, yet they're too lazy to intervene?"

The boy became more and more irate as he spoke, involuntarily clenching his grimy fists: "If asking for Bodhisattva's blessing actually works, then why, despite my mom chanting every day, has dawn not broken?! Why won't my dad wake up?!"

"Have you ever thought about it, why should gods be obliged to look after mortals?" The woman's gaze moved from the boy to the ants crawling by his feet, her scarlet lips parted, "The fate of mortals, what does it have to do with gods?"

The boy was stunned, staring at this moon-like beautiful woman, repeating dumbly, "The fate of mortals, what does it have to do with gods..."

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