Chapter 115: The Stronghold

Copper Fortress.

Lang Sheng, who had always been a homebody surviving on takeout, stepped out of his house for the first time in ages. As he emerged, the door across the hall opened, and a young woman stepped out carrying a basket. They shared the elevator down to the ground floor. The young woman huddled in the corner, looking timid, occasionally casting curious glances at him. Lang Sheng caught her in his peripheral vision and noted she was reasonably attractive, but he felt only disdain. He was well aware of the intimidating presence his hulking physique projected. What he found pathetic was that if she felt threatened, why not just retreat back into her room? Was it a matter of saving face, afraid to offend a neighbor? Little did she know, that hesitation was the most dangerous thing of all. Mortals were merely mortals, destined for a lifetime of misfortune. If he had managed to survive this long, it was only because he had turned into a "good" person.

"Um, sir, are you the former Fortress Master?" As they reached the lobby and stepped out together, the young woman suddenly gathered her courage to ask.

Lang Sheng stared at her coldly. "I am. What do you want?"

"No, no, I just wanted to thank you." The young woman pulled a hot breakfast from her basket and held it out to him. "You haven't eaten yet, have you? I brought this for my brother, who's on night patrol, but please, take a portion."

Lang Sheng didn't reach for it. He glared at her, turned on his heel, and walked away. *Thank me for what? Improving your welfare slightly? Hah, when I was being bullied in the plaza, I didn't see any of you step up or even offer a moment's delay to help. In the end, I had to rely on the System.*

Today, the System had brought him two more surprises. He was destined for greatness, not to be a common mortal. He didn't need the emotions of the weak; they would only make him vulnerable. He kept his head high, refusing to hide his presence, and strode out of the apartment building. The young woman watched his retreating figure, then followed him out cautiously.

Just then, a young man yawned as he hurried back toward the building, brushing past Lang Sheng. "Hey, sis, why are you out here? Didn't I tell you to stay inside if there's nothing important?" The young man nudged her back toward the entrance.

"The environment is much better now, I was thinking about going out to find some work."

"No, absolutely not. Even though the people from Starry Sky are decent, there are still thugs around. They've just taken over and aren't familiar with the situation. It's too dangerous for you to be out alone."

"I just saw the former Fortress Master," the young woman said, offering no resistance as she stepped back into the elevator.

"Oh, that guy? He lost his power a long time ago. I heard some people are looking for trouble with him, coveting the wealth he kept after selling the fortress." The young man paused, suddenly alert. "He lives in our building?"

"Yes," the young woman replied.

"This won't do. We're moving today. It's lucky I have the day off," the young man said decisively.

Had Lang Sheng witnessed this, he might have understood how this pair of siblings had managed to survive in the apocalypse.

***

At the iron mine.

Fan Bei finished his breakfast in his tent and began to meditate cross-legged. Dabai placed the Orchid by the tent entrance to soak up the sun, tasking it with keeping watch for its master, before sneaking off to wander through the camp.

The morning at the iron mine was peaceful. Most people were catching up on sleep, with only a few standing guard or patrolling. Occasionally, those who couldn't sleep lay on their blankets, gossiping.

"How many did you manage to farm yesterday?"

"Bad luck. I killed over 50, but only got 3 drops."

"Hah, that is bad luck. I killed 40 and got 9."

"Damn, your luck is insane. That’s a 20 percent drop rate."

"Heh, I have a trick."

"What trick?"

"Pay me 100, and I’ll tell you."

"Tell me the trick first, and I’ll pay after I test it."

"As if. Do you think I'm still as stupid as I used to be? You still owe me dozens of silver coins from before and keep dodging it. You've got some nerve. Is this fun for you? You're absolutely shameless."

"What do you mean? I've only been dragging my feet for a month."

A fight broke out in the tent.

Dabai listened to the sounds of the scuffle with great interest. Soon, a man wearing a uniform marked "Starry Sky" approached.

"No fighting allowed here!" The patrol officer, holding a rifle, used his bayonet to pry open the tent flap and barked at them.

"Damn, you guys are overstepping! You managed the mining, and we let that slide because it's too messy to fight anyway. Now we're just settling our own business, and you're going to interfere with that too?"

"How can we not? Everyone else is trying to sleep, and you're making a racket!" the patrol officer said harshly, looking exhausted—it was clearly not yet his time to rotate off duty.

"Bastard, who gave you the authority? We never agreed to let you run things!" The men in the tent, fueled by rage, puffed out their chests.

*Bang!* A shot rang out, passing through the tent fabric.

"The gun gave us the authority!" the patrol officer snarled.

"You Starry Sky people are too overbearing!" The voices in the tent dropped significantly, the heat of their anger dampened by the sound of the gunshot. They had guns too, but they hadn't drawn them.

The patrol officer looked at them with utter contempt. "Overbearing? You call this overbearing? What a joke. Our President is someone capable of annihilating a 'Tyrant-level' evil entity! Don't you know the King of Savagery from the North was killed by our President last month? If we were truly overbearing, we wouldn't have let you come within a mile of this place!"

By now, a small crowd had gathered outside the tent, whispering.

"Those two look like fools from some remote settlement; they don't even know that, yet they dare to provoke Starry Sky."

"Exactly. Haven't you noticed? Even big trade guilds like Silver have tacitly allowed them to maintain order. They haven't sent anyone to interfere here at all."

"They're maintaining order for now, but once there are more people, they'll probably start charging fees."

"That's inevitable. Once this place becomes a proper hub, Starry Sky will definitely establish a base. The other guilds have already accepted that."

"Sigh, let's farm as much as we can while this gold mine is still free."

"Too bad the drop rate is so low, and the evil spirits aren't easy to kill. We have to stop and meditate to recover after killing a dozen or so. We can only kill a few dozen a night, and they only drop a few ore shards."

"That's not bad at all. Before, a single ore shard only sold for 30 to 100 silver. Now it's at least 100, sometimes even over 500. One night of farming equals two years of income for a normal person."

"I heard the price is starting to drop again. It's down to 5.75 silver per point; it was up to 6 earlier."

The men in the tent, hearing the bystanders, fell silent, trembling. They were indeed from a remote settlement and hadn't heard of the Starry Sky Guild’s reputation. However, a title like "King of Savagery" sounded like something only those hidden, powerful entities could possess—humans didn't have the guts to give themselves such names. The fact that the opposing President could kill such an existence far exceeded their expectations, leaving them completely at a loss.

"Alright, since it's your first offense, I'll let you off this time. Learn your lesson: keep a low profile here, and keep your hands to yourselves." After the lecture, the patrol officer dispersed the crowd and continued his rounds.

Dabai watched the spectacle, slightly disappointed that no real fight had broken out, and then trotted away.