Today, let's be passionate, asking for monthly tickets, is there any, is there any? ... The rest stared blankly at the monsters, their upper bodies severed. They had seen Ye Chen being chased by the monsters and assumed he was a rookie skilled only in running. Who knew that with one turn and a single slash, those monsters were all crippled. "Did you see that?" "His blade, it seems, didn't even touch the monsters." "Good heavens." These few men looked at the monsters, their bodies cleaved open yet still snarling and writhing on the ground. They could hardly believe what they were witnessing was real. They had seen powerful people before, but never anyone so utterly absurd. Injuring someone from a distance? Damn it, did they think this was some Wuxia fantasy? Yet, how else could they explain what lay before them? The group exchanged bewildered glances, utterly lost.

They naturally wouldn't know that once a human's body reaches level 100, it undergoes a metamorphosis to a certain limit, generating inherent force (qì lì).

"Roar..." "Hiss hiss." The bodies of the dog-monsters and the python-like creatures were severed by the invisible force (qì jìn). Since they were reanimated corpses, they wouldn't truly die unless their heads were crushed, and they continued to snarl and crawl on the ground.

Ye Chen paid no further attention to the things writhing toward him. He turned, his eyes cold as he faced the man who had spoken earlier. "What month is it now?" His voice carried an inherent, unstated authority.

The man shivered and instinctively replied, "The... the sixteenth of May."

Hearing this, Ye Chen let out a silent sigh of relief. When he entered that mysterious subterranean world, it had already been May. Calculating from that, only about half a month had passed, which wasn't too long. Most likely, when the mysterious power had solidified his body, it had frozen his very thoughts, making him unable to perceive the passage of time.

Ye Chen nodded slightly, then retracted his blood-red war blade. With a casual flick of his wrist, the blade transformed into a stream of crimson light, condensing onto his finger, morphing into an exquisite little ring.

During the plundering of the monsters, his rune space had been exposed anyway, so he no longer cared about concealing it. He glanced at the group of people, said nothing more, and walked directly toward the distant Base City.

The others watched Ye Chen's receding back in astonishment. After a moment, one of them gasped, "He... he seems to be that Ye Chen?" "Hmm?" Hearing that name, everyone present suddenly— ...

Ye Chen hadn't walked far through the wilderness on the hillside before the towering walls of the Base City came into view. At the magnificent city gate, numerous small hunting teams, arrived from various locations, milled about in twos and threes, whispering among themselves. Some teams, carrying monster carcasses, were high-spirited, chatting and laughing heartily. Other teams, however, carried an air of heavy silence, permeated by sorrow and desolation.

Ye Chen didn't look around much and walked straight toward the city entrance. Suddenly— "Brother Ye!" A voice called out from afar behind him, sounding quite familiar.

Ye Chen turned his head and saw a young man running toward him from a distance. He was clad in animal hides, carried a battle saber strapped to his back, and had a TAC-50 rifle slung over his shoulder. His face was sharply chiseled, framed by thick brows and large eyes, making him quite handsome.

"Thunder God?" Ye Chen looked at the man before him in surprise, not expecting to meet him here.

Gu Xinghe smiled faintly. "I just caught a glimpse of your silhouette from afar and thought it looked familiar; I didn't expect it to really be you. It's been a while. Looking at your gear, it seems you just returned from the wilds?"

Ye Chen nodded.

The smile on Gu Xinghe's face slowly faded as he fixed Ye Chen with a gaze tinged with melancholy. "You shouldn't have returned. After the battle at Nine Dragons Mountain, you became a city-wide wanted subject. The moment you enter the Base City, you'll face an onslaught."

"Wanted?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow.

Gu Xinghe sighed softly. "When you saved me, I advised you. With your talent, you absolutely could have made a name for yourself in the Base City, becoming a General, perhaps even a High Commander. That way, you could have supported the city, saved more people, and collectively fought the monsters to defend human territory."

"But..."

"I never imagined things would escalate to this point, where you and the Base City would end up as adversaries," he lamented.

Ye Chen's expression remained unchanged, calm. "Is it just because I took those two monster corpses that they issued a warrant for me?"

Gu Xinghe nodded. "The Base City hasn't finalized its stance on you; they only stripped you of your General rank, essentially drawing a line. But those Guilds are different; they hold deep grudges against you. They jointly issued the warrant, swearing to have you return the monster corpses, or they will hunt you to the end!"

Ye Chen merely uttered an "Oh," and said no more. A warrant? If he had any reservations before, now, they were completely unfounded.

Seeing Ye Chen's completely unconcerned expression, Gu Xinghe gave a wry smile, understanding his temperament. He said helplessly, "It's a good thing I got here a step earlier, or you would have already entered the city. Although the leaders of those Guilds are despicable for making such audacious demands over such a trivial matter, their subordinates are just following orders." The implication was that Ye Chen shouldn't kill indiscriminately; everyone was acting under compulsion.

It's all for survival...

Ye Chen glanced at him. "You look much stronger since I last saw you."

Gu Xinghe smiled faintly, a hint of relief in his eyes. "During my last mission escorting over a dozen of my men to kill monsters in a great mountain range, we were surrounded and fell into grave danger. I ducked into a mountain cavern, and out of sheer desperation, I inadvertently ate a strange green grass. Suddenly, my strength surged, and I broke through the encirclement later."

Ye Chen nodded slightly. Everyone had their own fortunate encounters. He then said, "Let's go," turning to walk toward the Base City.

Gu Xinghe started in surprise, then exclaimed in alarm, "You're still going to the Base City?"

"Why wouldn't I go?" Ye Chen asked, puzzled.

Gu Xinghe was momentarily stunned, feeling as if he'd asked an idiotic question, but he still explained, "The entire city has a warrant out for you now. If you go in, aren't you walking right into a trap?"

Ye Chen said, "Oh."

Gu Xinghe waited a moment, but with no further response, he nearly spat blood. He had said so much, yet it felt like he had said nothing at all!

Just then, Ye Chen suddenly raised his hand and pinched his face a few times. A series of "crackling" sounds echoed, and when he lowered his hand, a flat-nosed face with small eyes was presented to Gu Xinghe.

"This is..." Gu Xinghe stared at the utterly plain face before him, momentarily bewildered. One moment it was devastatingly handsome, and now it had completely transformed?

Ye Chen said casually, "It's nothing. Once your physical conditioning is stronger in the future, you can do it too." Changing one's appearance wasn't actually that difficult; there were many methods. Ordinary people grimace by moving skin and not bone. His face-shifting involved moving bone and not skin. With his level of physical constitution and exquisite control, he could make his ears swivel at will, stick his tongue out to lick his nose, or even misalign the bones within his body to alter his physical shape.

"Let's go," Ye Chen said, turning and walking away.

Gu Xinghe stood frozen for a long time, watching Ye Chen’s completely altered appearance, before giving a bitter smile. Except for the consistent coldness in Ye Chen's eyes, every other feature had changed so much that even a familiar person would fail to recognize him at first glance.

The two walked toward the Base City.

At the city gate, several rows of soldiers stood guard. One of them, with a cold expression, was questioning the passing hunting teams, checking their entry credentials. Suddenly, his eyes flickered, and spotting Gu Xinghe and Ye Chen approaching in the distance, his eyes lit up. A smile spread across his face as he stepped forward to greet them. "This subordinate greets Great General Gu!"

Ye Chen was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected that in such a short time, Gu Xinghe, based purely on the aptitude of a common man, had reached the rank of Great General. It was important to remember that Gu Xinghe wasn't an evolved human, nor had he been actively promoted; he was truly a grassroots commoner.

Gu Xinghe’s expression was distant, imbued with an air of authority. He nodded slightly and walked into the Base City. He had seen this kind of salute too many times; he was long accustomed to it and didn't say much.

Ye Chen followed him in. "Wait!" The soldier quickly reached out to stop Ye Chen, his brow furrowing. "Show your entry permit!" Although Ye Chen and Gu Xinghe walked together, in the soldier's eyes, how could someone dressed in rags, unable to even afford animal hide armor, be the friend of Great General Gu? Furthermore, Ye Chen and Gu Xinghe had exchanged no words on the way in; both were taciturn men.

Ye Chen frowned slightly. During his recent monster plundering expedition, he hadn't brought his General's token.

Seeing that Ye Chen didn't produce his entry permit after a long pause, the soldier showed a hint of contempt. "If you don't have an entry permit, pay the fee. The Base City has limited space and cannot accommodate too many useless people."

Ye Chen glanced at him. "He is my friend," Gu Xinghe turned around, a hint of gloom in his eyes, and said sternly to the soldier.

"Ah?" The soldier froze, then his eyes widened as he looked at the shabbily dressed Ye Chen. He wondered if his ears had deceived him. A friend of a Great General couldn't even afford worn animal hide armor?

Ye Chen didn't spare the soldier another look and walked straight into the Base City, falling into step beside Gu Xinghe. The surrounding hunting teams saw Gu Xinghe's distinguished status and quickly gave way.

"Truly dogs judging people by their appearance," Gu Xinghe sighed.

Ye Chen said calmly, "Such people exist everywhere."

Gu Xinghe nodded. "No matter how respectful he is to me, I won't give him anything. Pretending to be important is utterly meaningless."

Ye Chen offered no comment and did not continue the conversation.

At the edge of the Base City was a large wall plastered with numerous announcements, attracting a crowd. Ye Chen's gaze sharpened, and he spotted a large square piece of paper, one zhang wide on each side. It featured a portrait of a man, with several lines of small text detailing his crimes below: This person is named Ye Chen, who has slaughtered his own kind, killed Yun Shaojing—the strongest man in the Base City—and plundered the resources of the major guilds, deliberately opposing humanity and placing the human race in dire peril. Here, I, Long Zhixiang, Wu Hao, Zhu Qing, and 108 other guild leaders, jointly issue this warrant. Anyone providing intelligence on this devil will receive a substantial reward A