Chapter 58: Safe Zone (First Update)

“Ah… ah…”
Qian Li retreated in fear, unable to contain her terror. The young man before her was far too frightening—how could anyone be so terrifying? He was like the Dragon Emperor himself, his entire body radiating an aura so dreadful that she was paralyzed with fear, her legs giving way beneath her.

“Heh… You didn’t expect this, did you? Our boss may look like he’s only at the second tier, but his strength can’t be measured by tiers alone.”
Zeng Hongsen sneered at Qian Li. Just moments ago, they had been so arrogant, even wanting their own people to block the fifth-tier zombie. They were practically courting death.

“Go to hell!”
Qian Li swung her laser cannon toward Zeng Hongsen and his group, determined that even in death she would drag some down with her. Unable to defeat the formidable second-tier youth, she could only target the others.

“Boom…”
The laser cannon grew hot, firing at Zeng Hongsen and his companions.
But in the next instant, the cannon malfunctioned—Luffy’s dragon aura melted it into slag. Even the woman herself was reduced to ashes. Attempting to kill those he had painstakingly nurtured was a death sentence.

Luffy ordered Zeng Hongsen to dig out the crystal core from the fifth-tier zombie, clean it, and hand it over. Then he turned and walked downstairs.
“Keep clearing zombies until every last one in this building is gone,” he commanded, not even looking back.

Zeng Hongsen led his people up to the eleventh floor, clearing zombies floor by floor.

Luffy went downstairs, and soon every zombie in the building had been eliminated. Among them were second and third-tier zombies, yielding a total of thirty thousand crystal cores.
Zeng Hongsen, naturally, had killed the most zombies and collected the most cores—no one else came close.
Then came Ma Bi, Zeng Shuna, and others.

Luffy exchanged their crystal cores for body-tempering fluid and weapons, then went to sleep.
But as they neared the safe zone, Luffy grew so excited that he couldn’t sleep, feeling somewhat speechless at his own restlessness.
He sat on the bed and began to cultivate, as dawn broke.

Luffy got up, brushed his teeth and washed his face, and after breakfast, led everyone toward the safe zone of Nine Continents City.
Along the way, any zombies blocking their path were slain, their crystal cores harvested.

When they reached the outskirts of the safe zone, they saw tall barbed-wire fences all around, electrified.
In the distance, zombies foolishly rushed the fence, only to be electrocuted into blackened corpses, smoke rising from their bodies.

Luffy stood nearby, unmoving.
He crouched, picked up a stone, and threw it over the top of the fence—no electricity.
All they needed was to jump over.
Of course, they could also go around to a nearby gate, but entry there would be troublesome: they’d have to undergo a physical examination to check for infections, and their identities might be discovered.
So the best option was simply to jump over.

“Just jump over,” Luffy said, leaping first.
The three-meter-high barbed wire was no challenge for him.
The others, strong and capable, followed suit and jumped over safely.

They attracted the attention of two guards, who pointed their guns at them.
One guard asked warily, “What are you doing?”

“We’re here to enter,” Luffy replied.
In a flash, he knocked out each guard with a hand chop, then dusted off his hands and walked away without a backward glance.
“Let’s go!”
“Alright.”
Luffy led his group forward.

He exchanged some clothes for them to change into—after all, entering the safe zone in battle armor would immediately mark them as members of some organization or as outsiders, drawing unwanted attention.
Luffy stored his armor and Thunder Sword in his spatial ring.
Zeng Hongsen and the others packed their armor and weapons into their backpacks, which they had found outside and now used for storage.

As they walked ahead, the possibility of meeting their parents made Luffy very happy.
Of course, he was also eager and excited to meet Qin Bailin.

The safe zone still boasted restaurants, shopping malls, factories, and farms—without these, survival would be impossible.
This safe zone was only the size of a small town within Nine Continents City, and various powers operated here.
Luffy knew of the Li and Wang families, but not the rest.

They continued forward.
Zhao Liying looked around curiously, while her sister, Hua Qianyu, was equally intrigued.
“Sis! I want ice cream!”
“Alright, let’s get some. Do you all want any?”
Zhao Liying, carrying some cash, smiled.

“Yes, definitely!”
Ma Bi and Zeng Hongsen replied joyfully.

“Oh!”
Zhao Liying turned to Luffy, “Do you want one?”
“Do as you like.”
Luffy shrugged, impatient to see Qin Bailin and his parents, though he still needed to arrange accommodations for the group.

Zhao Liying walked over, poised and elegant.
Her sister was petite and cute, leaving the ice cream vendor dumbfounded—he never expected to meet a national goddess here. He was visibly excited.

“Goddess, what would you like?” the young vendor asked with a smile.
“Ice cream!”
Zhao Liying smiled, so beautiful the vendor was entranced.

“Alright… alright, how many?” he asked.
“Thirty-nine.”
Zhao Liying counted the group and replied.

“Okay, only one brand, one each.”
The vendor held up his middle finger.

“Three hundred yuan?”
Zhao Liying was stunned by the price, but she handed over three hundred-yuan bills.

“Uh… Goddess, not that currency. It’s one crystal core—the kind you dig out of zombies or wild beasts,” the vendor explained, surprised. “Are you just in from outside?”

“Yes, but I don’t have any crystal cores,”
Zhao Liying said, speechless at the unexpected change in currency.

“One crystal core, right?”
Luffy stepped over, tossed a crystal core to the vendor, and took an ice cream to eat.
Luckily, he still had ten thousand crystal cores unexchanged with the system; otherwise, they’d be left without resources, facing starvation.

“One hundred crystal cores each—find a place to stay nearby!”
Luffy handed each of them a hundred cores, then turned and walked ahead.
“I have something to do. I’ll contact you later. Remember to be cautious in everything you do, and keep your guard up.”

“Yes!”
Zeng Hongsen and the others nodded, heading forward, all excitedly surveying their surroundings. None expected the currency to have changed to crystal cores.

Luffy moved ahead, and his satellite phone rang—it was Qin Bailin. He answered at once:

“Where are you? I’m already back. I’ll come pick you up. Your parents miss you dearly.”
“Oh, I’m already in the safe zone. The development here is quite unique,”
Luffy said, glancing around.

“Of course. With Dr. Huo here, everything is different. I’m driving out now. I’ll pick you up nearby.”
Qin Bailin replied calmly.

“I’m in front of a place called Dongming Fish Noodle Eatery,”
Luffy said, eyeing the sign curiously.

“Got it, I know where it is. I’ll be there soon.”
Qin Bailin said, then hung up.

Luffy entered the eatery and ordered a bowl of Dongming fish noodles.

(End of chapter)