In the evening, Su Yue, wearing a silk slip dress, was lying lazily across the sofa, entranced by the hit drama playing on TV.
After the show ended, she sat up, pulled the fallen strap back onto her shoulder, then picked up her phone from the side and sent a message to Lin Li.
Her message went unanswered, as if dropped into the ocean. Six or seven minutes passed with no response.
’What’s Lin Li up to? It’s been so long and he still hasn’t replied.’
Unable to wait any longer, Su Yue dialed Lin Li’s number, but an automated voice came through: "The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable."
"Huh?!!!"
’His phone is off?’
Unable to reach Lin Li, Su Yue ran her fingers through her hair, slightly annoyed.
BRRRING...
Just then, the phone in her hand suddenly rang. The caller was Wang Ling.
"Hello."
"Su Yue, you haven’t made dinner yet, have you?"
"No, why do you ask? Are you asking me out to dinner?"
"Heehee, you guessed it. My sister just called and said she’s getting off work a bit early today. We’re getting together for dinner tonight. Are you coming?"
Su Yue had originally planned to ask Lin Li to find a place to eat with her tonight. Now that she couldn’t reach him and her friend was on the line, she naturally agreed.
"Of course! Just give me the address, and I’ll get ready to head out now."
After hanging up with Wang Ling, Su Yue immediately walked back to her bedroom in her slippers.
A natural beauty, she didn’t need to spend much time on makeup. She simply brushed her hair, changed her clothes, and left for the restaurant.
......
「Spirit Realm, Dongwu City.」
The sun’s trajectory in this world was the same as on Blue Star, rising in the east and setting in the west.
’Blue Star is a sphere. Could the Spirit Realm be one as well, just like Blue Star?’
The sun had set. Once the last sliver of twilight vanished from the horizon, the land was plunged into total darkness.
Although Mutant Beasts roamed the wilds during the day, their numbers were far fewer than those that emerged at night.
Therefore, once the sun set and night fell, almost no one chose to travel through the wilderness. Unless they had a death wish, no one was foolish enough to venture out in the dead of night, risking an attack from a Mutant Beast at any moment while fumbling through the darkness.
RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE...
Under the cover of night, figures moved through the dense grass, their gleaming green eyes especially conspicuous in the dim light.
ROAR...
A Mutant Beast roared from the east, and another in the west immediately answered. The exchange was almost like humans singing call-and-response songs.
The sound of bestial roars rose and fell across the treacherous plains, accompanied by the rustling of trees in the gusting wind. The environment was undeniably terrifying.
The plains, filled with constant roars, were pitch-black. Separated by high walls, the world inside the city and the world outside were like two different worlds.
Before the sun had completely set, the streetlights in the city lit up one after another.
As long as they weren’t damaged, these Spiritual Energy-powered streetlights could provide continuous illumination for the city’s pedestrians.
On the bustling market streets, vendors hawked their wares energetically. The surging crowds stood in stark contrast to the dangers outside the walls.
Not far from the docks controlled by the Red Blood Gang, a figure stood in the woods.
The figure was a young man. He held an ice cream bar, eating it while gazing toward the still-bustling docks in the distance.
’The Red Blood Gang really is a pack of villains, just as they say. It’s already dark, but the docks are still busy.
The hours are long, and the foremen are quick to beat and curse the workers.’
Lin Li thought to himself, watching the Red Blood Gang foremen and the exhausted dockworkers who had barely had a break.
He had left his home in the afternoon and taken a horse-drawn carriage to this dock controlled by the Red Blood Gang.
After arriving at his destination, he found a suitable vantage point and began observing the Red Blood Gang from afar.
So far, Lin Li had been searching for an opportunity to infiltrate the Red Blood Gang.
He had originally thought that since the bustling dock was crowded with too many eyes, he would wait until after dark. Once the workers left for the day, he could then sneak in.
But to his surprise, the Red Blood Gang were truly black-hearted. After nightfall, they gave the workers a quick dinner and then forced them to continue hauling cargo.
Given the situation, Lin Li could only continue to wait for an opportunity. If they were planning on working through the night, his only choice would be to leave for now and return another time.
’Still, it’s unlikely they’d work all night. After all, these are just ordinary men. Their bodies couldn’t possibly handle it.’
Standing under the tree, Lin Li ate his ice cream bar, patiently waiting for an opportunity.
Time flew by. At 8:30 PM, just as his patience was wearing thin, Lin Li finally saw the foremen on the docks announce that everyone could go home for the night.
The workers, having toiled all day, looked utterly exhausted. They wiped the sweat from their faces with the damp towels hanging around their necks.
Then, in pairs and small groups, they departed. Those with families headed home, while the others went to rest in the dormitories provided by the Red Blood Gang.