Inside Man

As the entire conversation between Qi Yuan and Xue Shizong concluded, Wu Zhenhua also realized that he had simply missed the point, rather than being truly dim-witted.

Wu Zhenhua was extremely puzzled, "What's she trying to pull here?"

"It doesn't matter."

Qi Yuan, having lost his initial curiosity, no longer cared about her intentions. It wasn't worth making a special trip just for her.

If she wanted him to leave in anger, he'd do the opposite.

Thinking this way, his thoughts suddenly wandered. Actually, it made sense that villains could slip up unexpectedly. Like now, he wasn't taking Linda seriously at all.

His mind was focused solely on leveling up quickly and enjoying an easy life. He couldn't wait to fast-forward to achieving his goal, who would care about those minor details?

Reflecting on this, he couldn't help but think, a thousand-mile dyke can be breached by an ant hole. When they regroup later, if she's in the team, he'd better clarify things, lest he be caught off guard.

Wu Zhenhua and Xue Shizong agreed. They were just here to provide support, there was no need to get too involved in Bit Buddha Country's internal conflicts. Currently, all humans' goal was to work together to solve the monster problem, not to fight among themselves.

The three waited until everyone arrived, then set off for the assembly point.

As one of the allies, Bit Buddha Country received different support treatment compared to Sakura Island, which wanted to freeload but couldn't agree on a price.

Just one day after the call for help, support from the other four countries had arrived.

Apart from Smith pacing anxiously with furrowed brows, Jeanna, the Priest, and the armored man Smirnov were also waiting at the assembly point.

When calling for help, Bit Buddha Country had also shared the ins and outs of New York City's fall in advance. There was no need for complicated battle meetings; the SS-rank ability users could start fighting as soon as they arrived, saving a lot of time.

Their arrival drew the attention of the four SS-rank ability users, who all nodded in greeting to Qi Yuan's group.

The strength of this card revealed by Dragon Country far exceeded their imagination. He could easily kill an SS-rank cursed monster in the process of evolving, and they still hadn't seen his limits.

Who knew how many more trump cards Dragon Country was hiding.

When they returned to their respective countries at that time, they were immediately questioned by the higher-ups about Qi Yuan, and then informed the next day that the cleanup plan would be expedited, telling them to be prepared.

Although working with Qi Yuan made them uneasy, at least their lives weren't in danger when facing SS-rank monsters.

Qi Yuan nodded slightly in return.

His gaze swept around, successfully finding Linda near Smith.

She was biting her thumbnail, seemingly in an anxious state. Her thick, elaborate manicure made Qi Yuan wonder if her mouth tasted of nail polish. She looked more like someone going to a cosplay event than a warrior preparing for battle.

He opened his mental sensing, searching for Linda's thoughts among the crowd of mental voices.

"Qi Yuan still came, how can I delay things a bit longer..."

"Even after my provocation, he didn't question Smith. Has my behavior been seen through?"

"No, no... that shouldn't be possible..."

"Anyway, I've already notified them in advance. I've done more than enough, suppressing information from the slums, deliberately letting an ability user with no background take on the commission... If they can't even delay things a little, what's the point of cooperating?"

"Damn reporters!"

Linda's thoughts surprised Qi Yuan a bit. He had thought Linda had a grudge against someone, wishing for their death in this disaster, but he hadn't expected Linda to be an insider for the monsters.

No wonder New York City's progress in discovering the SS-rank monster's whereabouts was so slow; there was someone sabotaging from within.

Monsters and humans were opposing sides. Ordinary people might covet the abilities monsters could bring them, but what did Linda, a high-level ability user, want?

As an S-rank ability user, she was almost at the pinnacle of human power.

The pinnacle of human power...

A word was on the tip of his tongue, something that many of the most powerful rulers in Dragon Country's history had sought — immortality.

Combined with her elaborate dress and appearance, Qi Yuan quickly drew a conclusion in his mind.

She wanted eternal youth, an ageless face.

Assuming this was her goal, the monsters' abilities must be able to meet her needs.

Was it a time-based ability, or one with transformation capabilities? Or perhaps a fixed ability...

A bold hypothesis, no need for verification.

Everything would be clear when they met the monster.

As long as it wasn't a trap for him, Qi Yuan figured why not just look at the walkthrough as a player on easy mode?

With everyone assembled, Qi Yuan opened the door of the military off-road vehicle and sat in the back seat.

The vehicles started one after another, and the streamlined convoy quickly drove towards New York City.

After driving for a while, they could vaguely see New York City, with the smell of gunpowder and the sound of explosions in the air.

Compared to New York City, even Xiaosaka City could be considered peaceful.

This time, the people infected by the monsters still retained some consciousness. Apart from being more paranoid and crazy, they behaved not much different from normal people, reminding Qi Yuan of the chaotic scenes in Shen City.

But there was one important difference between New York City and Shen City. Although many public areas prohibited carrying guns, city residents more or less had a few guns hidden at home.

These weapons became the hope for New York City's citizens in the face of cults and terrorist organizations.

Thus, the flames of war ignited fiercely on this land.

...

"Damn government! Fuck the cults and terrorist organizations!"

Hiding his obese body behind a wall, Cocker looked through the window at the crowd running wild on the street.

They were now gathered together, circling around a certain building like hyenas that had caught a scent.

Cocker knew that building sheltered quite a few people.

Just yesterday, he had communicated with the survivors opposite through wooden boards with writing and hand gestures.

They told him that the radio station had broadcast good news: government rescue would begin within the next day or two, and citizens should hide at home and not go out.

Cocker sneered after hearing this. Buildings were no match for bombs and ability users, what use was hiding at home?

Did these damn higher-ups think all buildings were constructed with special materials?

"Bang bang bang—"

Seeing the cultists gathering below start to break open the door, the residents in the besieged building finally couldn't stay calm. They lay prone at the attic windows, sweeping the cultists below with semi-automatic rifles.

As the gunshots rang out, the cultists not only didn't scurry away to find cover, but instead revealed frenzied, excited expressions.

There are people!

They would soon become disciples of the great goddess!

The cultists attacked the building even more vigorously, completely disregarding the bullets and blood splattering around them.

Some cultists had their heads blown open by bullets, yet they acted as if nothing had happened, and the cultists around them ignored this.

"They're mad! These people have gone mad!"

Cocker stared wide-eyed in disbelief, muttering to himself.

A few seconds later, he suddenly came to his senses, "Got to leave quickly, can't stay here any longer!"

He moved his obese body downstairs carefully, sweat soaking the T-shirt on his back from nervousness.