"Command center report, this is crew 8633. We've discovered a river below our current position.

The river flows from south to west, with a width of approximately 20 meters as shown by the rangefinder. Relevant images have been submitted. Please respond upon receipt."

"Received, please continue exploration. Over."

Disconnecting the communicator, Yao Rong yawned a bit wearily and asked Yu Guanghui:

"Old Yu, how many rivers is this?"

Yu Guanghui scrolled through the records on the electronic screen, answering:

"This is the eighth one. Its direction is different from the previous ones, confirming it as an undiscovered river.

It's just hard to tell if its upstream or downstream areas might be recorded and reported by other crews."

Upon hearing this, Yao Rong showed a hint of indifference:

"The people on the exploration team are very skilled. They can easily distinguish through data comparison whether it's the same river or not, so we don't need to worry about these things."

Yu Guanghui nodded and stopped speaking.

By this time, it had been over half a day since they departed from the base.

Their exploration distance had now reached nearly 200 kilometers, exceeding their first flight — the one where they discovered the beast tide — by over a hundred kilometers.

During this exploration mission,

the exploration module consisting of one civilian and one military helicopter discovered over seventy high mountains with a land area exceeding 40,000 square meters, seven continuous mountain ranges, and eight rivers wider than five meters.

Plus three cities of varying sizes.

Since records of these three cities could be found on the map provided by Wei Mansion, the helicopters didn't specifically fly over the cities for sampling.

They simply recorded the positional information from afar and flew around them.

However, according to the tower's messages, another exploration team has discovered an unrecorded new town.

The new town has a population of about three thousand, located roughly 130 kilometers from Chixian City.

With the assistance of a steward from Wei Mansion, the exploration team managed to meet the ruling family of the town and gathered some basic information.

Additionally, the exploration team reached a small-scale trade agreement with the town in the name of Wei Qiangsheng, with supplies to be delivered by the next batch of helicopters.

As for the monster encounter, Yao Rong's exploration team indeed came across a reckless flying beast.

According to the steward from Wei Mansion,

the flying beast was roughly a medium first-tier, with a crocodile-like face and a wingspan approaching two meters, roaring as it charged at the crew.

And then... that was the end of it.

After a greeting from two missiles, this monster successfully reincarnated.

"Toot toot toot—"

When the helicopter flew over a plain, Yao Rong suddenly remembered something and said to Yu Guanghui:

"Old Yu, wasn't it also on a plain where we encountered the beast tide last time?

With the armed helicopter's assistance this time, at least we won't have to worry about dropping explosives."

Yu Guanghui nodded, just about to say something when suddenly the voice of Zhou Pingnan, the fellow armed helicopter pilot, came through the communicator:

"8633, this is 5053. Approximately 500 meters to my right front, there's a group of refugees, roughly 200 to 300 people. Should we proceed with a coordinated landing?"

Upon hearing this, Yao Rong and Yu Guanghui immediately perked up and quickly entered work mode.

Yao Rong first picked up the military binoculars and looked carefully in the direction Zhou Pingnan mentioned.

He saw indeed, as said, many tattered refugees gathered at that location.

These refugees were congregated at the foot of a small hill, with no signs of any cover or shelter around.

Clearly.

This was a temporary stop during an escape.

Additionally, Yao Rong noticed.

There were quite a few cooking pots among the refugee group, perhaps they brought enough dry rations during their escape.

This was not surprising at all.

Some refugees, while fleeing, passed by grain stores or warehouses and decided to shoulder a few bags of rice since they had cultivators covering their retreat from the beast tide.

After assessing the refugees' situation, Yao Rong immediately responded:

"5053, this is 8633. My aircraft agrees with coordinated landing."

Considering the two helicopters only had a total of five crew members, there might be certain safety hazards when encountering a large group of refugees — including jealousy over our resources, for example. Hence, before departure, the command center specifically devised a coordinated landing plan.

The so-called coordinated landing,

refers to the protocol where, when encountering refugees, the civilian helicopter lands first, while the armed helicopter lowers a rope ladder to deploy the steward from the crew to the ground to liaise with the refugees.

After this, the armed helicopter will maintain a hovering state at about 500 meters to ensure the safety of ground personnel.

With a distance of 500 meters being quite close, the helicopter quickly flew over the group of refugees.

"Toot toot toot—"

The sudden appearance of the helicopter caused a certain degree of commotion among the refugees on the ground.

However, perhaps because they had seen cultivators perform sword flight, the refugee group only moved closer together, without any signs of scattering in panic.

A moment later.

Yao Rong's crew landed smoothly and met with the steward from the Wei Mansion.

Then, the steward named Wei Boquan took out a jade slip and infused it with spiritual power.

With a clang.

A seventh-level dog... ahem, the crest of the Wei Mansion appeared above Wei Boquan's head.

He then picked up a loudspeaker, stood twenty meters away from the gathered refugees, and shouted to them:

"Fellow citizens, I am Wei Boquan, a steward from the Wei Mansion in Chixian City. The two magical artifacts you see here are new flying ships crafted by the Wei Mansion.

We mean no harm, so please do not be anxious!

We will give you some time now, please elect four individuals who can represent your will. We have some matters to discuss with you."

The refugees looked at each other, emitting a murmur of discussion, dirty and haphazard.

About five or six minutes later, four representatives chosen by the refugees slowly emerged from the crowd.

The four representatives were three men and one woman, and although their clothes were somewhat wrinkled or tattered, their overall appearance was much better than the average refugee.

It was clear to see.

These four people, regardless of status or ability, were the outstanding ones among this group of refugees.

Once they came forward.

Wei Boquan exchanged a glance with Yao Rong and, seeing Yao Rong nod in agreement, stepped forward and said:

"Greetings, I am Wei Boquan, and these two beside me are also stewards of our Wei Mansion.

Judging by the direction you traveled from, you must be from Wenqin City, correct?"

In response to Wei Boquan's inquiry, one of the four, a stocky man, nodded:

"That's right, we are fleeing from Wenqin City. This time, Wenqin City... sigh..."

Wei Boquan heard this and showed a hint of sympathy on his face.

Not long ago, he too had witnessed the fall of a city and understood what a desperate situation it was.

Then he sighed and said:

"Since you are refugees, I will be frank with you.

Chixian City received strong reinforcements during this beast tide and utterly annihilated nearly ten thousand invading monsters, including all second-tier great monsters.

The city is now preparing to expand and renovate, and there are many places where manpower is needed.

Therefore, our mansion has sent us stewards to recruit refugees. Would you be willing to come to Chixian City?

Oh, and do not worry about food; as long as you work earnestly, you will be fully fed each day!"

Wei Boquan did not attribute the defense of the city entirely to the Wei Mansion.

After all, many witnessed the siege, and the appearance of the hares was no secret. The refugees would learn about it once inside the city.

In any case, the hares declared themselves to be from the Wei Mansion's main family and would remain stationed here long-term; there was no need for the Wei Mansion to cloak itself in a self-constructed frail halo.

However, after Wei Boquan finished speaking.

He and Yao Rong's crew felt a bit puzzled.

Upon hearing the words 'ample food supply,' the four men in front of them did not show overly excited expressions.

They were certainly delighted, but not to the point of ecstasy.

If such a scene appeared in some novels, readers might comment on this chapter with the phrase, "Delighted, but not completely ecstatic."

Ahem...

Normally, the refugee's need for food exceeds that for clothing and shelter.

Yet, when it came to news about food, these four people's reactions seemed somewhat subdued.

Yao Rong did not delve too deeply into it—perhaps they truly were not lacking in food?

The four of them whispered among themselves.

Then, the same plump man spoke again:

"Steward, could you provide us refugees with sufficient lodging?

And will the job positions be guaranteed for the long term?"

Wei Boquan had been briefed with much information before setting off, so he immediately replied:

"We will arrange some accommodations for you; although they may not be brick and stone houses, they will be infinitely better than the usual wooden huts and thatched roofs.

Regarding job positions, rest assured, there will be enough work for you for several years—provided you live that long."

Upon hearing this, the plump man's eyes revealed a hint of joy, then he hesitated for a while and slowly said:

"Steward Wei, there is another matter we need to discuss with you..."

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