*Boom—* The moment the Notorious Dullahan unleashed that devastating slash, Jiang Yu didn’t even have time to check the outcome.
Carrying Chinatsu over his shoulder, he rapidly ducked into a nearby spatial fissure.
Back at the scene, a somewhat disheveled Miles walked out of the smoke and dust, gripping his greatsword.
He scanned the area, but the young man was already gone.
Needless to say, he had fled.
“My word, that slash just now was incredibly fierce.
Even a Notorious Ethereal’s strongest attack is only about this level.
I wonder which faction trained that guy.
When I get back, I’ll have the old fogeys look into him and see if we can recruit him.” Jiang Yu, who had already left the Hollow, naturally had no idea what Miles was planning.
He casually dealt with two guards patrolling the Hollow exit, found a military vehicle, and placed the hostage on the back seat.
Then, he pulled out his canteen and fed her some coconut milk.
Seeing that it was the very canteen Jiang Yu used himself, Chinatsu adamantly refused to drink from it.
In the end, Jiang Yu had to pinch her cheeks and force a mouthful down.
“Look at the situation we’re in.
Just make do with what we have,” Jiang Yu grumbled as he steered the car.
“Hmph, villain.
I just find you disgusting,” Chinatsu snorted from the back seat, her dainty nose twitching as she turned away, refusing to acknowledge him.
Jiang Yu didn’t care.
He tossed the canteen into the back.
Drink it or don’t, he wasn’t going to baby her.
Looking through the rearview mirror, Jiang Yu was somewhat surprised to see that the hostage had already recovered.
It was hard to believe she had been half-dead just an hour ago.
Her physical constitution was impressively strong.
He noticed a small jade amulet hanging from her neck; that was probably the protective ward Sean had mentioned.
The car wound its way up to the surface.
The sky was still pitch black.
He didn’t dare take the same route back.
Any random pursuer could match him in strength; if he ran into their main forces, he would be in grave danger.
His Haki made him tough, but he wasn’t thick-headed enough to charge into an entire rebel army on his own.
So, relying on his excellent sense of direction, he decided to bypass this area and loop around to enter the Inner Ring.
He switched on the headlights, stepped on the gas, and the car sped off into the dark.
*** He drove for an unknown amount of time until a sliver of light appeared on the horizon.
Ahead, a settlement resembling a small town came into view.
But why were there so many oil wells here?
Could there be oil extraction near the Inner Ring too?
As for whether he had driven in the wrong direction—impossible!
His old nickname “Navigation Guy” wasn’t for nothing; his sense of direction was incredibly sharp.
As his long-tense nerves finally relaxed, a wave of exhaustion washed over him.
After a day and a night of non-stop fighting without a single break, even a man made of iron would be worn out.
But now was not the time to rest.
Under the dual debuffs of drowsiness and fatigue, he forced himself to stay alert and parked the car not far from the town ahead.
He took off the rebel soldier’s combat uniform and threw it into the trunk.
Walking to the rear door, he peered through the misted glass.
On the back seat, Chinatsu was fast asleep, clutching the canteen.
Her long eyelashes fluttered, and a bit of color had returned to her small face, though her stomach kept rumbling loudly.
Her overall recovery seemed quite good, making him even more certain that this girl was by no means ordinary.
Looking around at the surroundings, there was nothing but a vast wasteland, bizarrely shaped cacti, and Hollows.
Was this really New Eridu?
He didn’t remember any place like this in the Inner Ring.
It couldn’t be that he had actually ended up in the Old Oil Well Zone, right?
No way!
Absolutely impossible!
Taking Wuming, he walked alone toward the small settlement nearby.
He had no idea where his rations had been dropped.
He was starving right now and needed to find some food first.
Before he even reached the settlement, the roar of motorcycle engines echoed from within.
A moment later, two motorcycles roared out of the settlement.
The two riders were shouting something excitedly, but it was too noisy to make out.
He only caught snippets like “new route,” “we Overlords,” and “making another fortune.” These two were likely bikers from the Outer Ring.
The roar of motorcycle engines continued to echo from the settlement, and several more bikes rode out, though none sped as fast as the first two.
Jiang Yu stood by the roadside to let them pass, taking the opportunity to observe the convoy.
The person in the center was a burly middle-aged man with a chest as broad as a French-door refrigerator.
There were Thiren and humans following beside him.
The middle-aged man noticed Jiang Yu standing by the road.
The motorcycle came to a halt at a safe distance.
Jiang Yu took a cautious step back, his hand lightly gripping the hilt of his sword.
Judging by the man’s formidable aura, he was likely not someone to be trifled with.
However, Jiang Yu had no grudge against them, so there was no reason for them to attack him.
Yet in this godforsaken post-apocalyptic setting, anything could happen.
If a fight really broke out, what would happen to Chinatsu sleeping in the car?
While his mind raced, the middle-aged man with the French-door chest burst into hearty laughter.
“Don’t be nervous, young man.
Looking at how road-worn you are, you must have run into some trouble.
Lacie, grab some supplies for him,” the burly man barked, waving a hand to a Fox Thiren nearby.
“But Boss Pompey, the remaining supplies are just enough to get us back to camp,” the Fox Thiren girl replied.
“It’s fine.
Give him a portion.
This kid needs these supplies more than we do.” Seeing her boss had spoken, the Fox Thiren girl had no choice but to get off her bike, grab a portion of supplies from the truck behind them, walk over to Jiang Yu, and hand them to him.
Jiang Yu didn’t take them.
He just warily stared at the man named Pompey.
He could clearly sense that with the exception of Pompey, none of the others could last a single round against him.
Seeing that the young man didn’t appreciate the gesture, the rather pretty Fox Thiren girl set the supplies on the ground.
She flicked her fluffy fox tail, muttered “ungrateful,” and went back.
Pompey didn’t find Jiang Yu’s attitude strange.
Instead of blaming him, he appreciated the young man even more.
Only this kind of person could survive long in a world like this.
And only by surviving long could one carve out their own domain.
Pompey smiled.
“I am Pompey, kid.
If you ever run into trouble in the Old Oil Well Zone, you can come find me.” Leaving behind this highly inviting remark, the convoy sped away.
Watching the departing convoy, Jiang Yu let out a long breath.
Wiping the sweat from his palms, he picked up the supplies from the ground.
The pressure from that middle-aged man just now was indeed intense, even though he could tell the man was holding back his aura.
Giving supplies upon their very first meeting—to be fair, this big guy was actually a pretty decent fellow.
He opened the supply box; inside was fresh water and some food, likely prepared before they left their camp.
Wait…
the Old Oil Well Zone?
Refusing to believe his bad luck, he headed into the small settlement with the supplies in hand.