Achieving Demon Godhood from Unlocking Talents

Behind him stood a girl with short, curly hair in a long, patterned dress. She bore a strong resemblance to him.

"When you killed that Water Beast earlier, I saw that you and your friends are quite skilled, Brother Lu."

The young man with the slicked-back hair struck up a conversation, asking with a smile, "Is this your first time in Red Maple?"

At his words, Lu Chao and his three companions exchanged glances. They weren’t too surprised.

Earlier in the voyage, the ferry had been attacked by a Water Beast.

Although United Shipping’s security team handled most of the threat, a few passengers still came close to being injured.

They had been in the right place at the right time, and had stepped in to save a few people. In doing so, they revealed some of their skills and made a brief acquaintance with the young man before them, Xu Fengling.

"That’s right. Are you also getting off at Red Maple, Brother Xu?"

Lu Chao asked with a nod, making small talk.

Xu Fengling smiled and pointed to the shelter city in the distance. "I grew up in Red Maple. It’s just that for the past few years, I was assigned to other city circles for family business."

"It’s rare for me to be back. I’ll be here for a year or two, and I don’t plan on leaving again."

He proactively steered the conversation, showing great enthusiasm.

Waves churned on the river’s surface as the group chatted on deck, drawing ever closer to Red Maple Shelter City.

"So, you’re all from Ring City."

Upon learning a bit about Lu Chao’s background during their chat, Xu Fengling seemed slightly surprised. The girl behind him, however, remained impassive. She seemed to have a colder personality and had barely spoken the entire time.

"I heard there was some unrest in Ring City recently. The great warlord Lu Shan was defeated and retreated his troops. Now he’s holed up in his military fortress on the upper Red River, too scared to show his face."

"Rumor has it his losses were catastrophic, and he was badly injured as well..."

He clicked his tongue in amazement. Lu Chao could tell the man was remarkably well-informed.

Just then, gasps of surprise rippled across the deck, caused by the churning river waves and the sight of the approaching Red Maple Shelter City.

The group paused their conversation and looked on as well.

Towering concrete walls shot up from the ground, soaring into the clouds.

Lu Chao could viscerally feel the sheer scale and grandeur of the Red Maple City Circle.

From its exterior alone, it was clearly several times larger than Ring City.

Each satellite city was at least the size of the entire Rhombus Ring City Circle, and there were four of them. They clustered around the main city district on all four sides, like stars arrayed around the moon.

Looking down the river channel, they could see the bustling high-rises and holographic projections within the satellite cities in the distance.

In stark contrast...

...Lu Chao pulled his gaze back to the riverbanks on either side, to the area outside the satellite city’s walls.

A sprawling expanse of concrete buildings and corrugated metal shacks stretched for several kilometers. Faintly visible were a few dilapidated neon signs and numerous scavengers dressed in tattered clothing.

This scene was entirely different from the other city circles he had seen on his journey.

"That’s the buffer zone."

As if sensing his confusion, the man named Xu Fengling followed his gaze to the riverbank and explained with a smile, "Before joining the Alliance Country, Red Maple was already the greatest power in the Southern Wilderness."

"All the surrounding settlements wanted to seek its protection, to escape the threats of warlords and Mutant Beasts. But because the requirements for residency are high and the screening process is strict, most of the wilderness dwellers chose to live outside the walls, which gradually led to what you see now."

’So that’s why.’

Lu Chao understood.

His past experiences in Ring City had made him keenly aware of the difficult plight of wilderness settlements.

The slightest lapse could lead to being slaughtered by a warlord or wiped out by a Beast Tide. A scene like this was, in its own way, a rare blessing.

Before they could say any more, the White Ash Ferry sailed on, passing through a channel in the shelter city’s wall and arriving directly inside Satellite City No. 4 of the Red Maple City Circle.

City Guard Army soldiers in camouflage uniforms were stationed at checkpoints along the riverbank, verifying the ferry’s information and conferring with a representative from United Shipping.

Lu Chao glanced over. A random City Guard Army captain was at the Peak Professional Level, and he even spotted two Elite Level leaders who were changing shifts.

Two steel watchtowers, each seven or eight meters tall, flanked the river entrance. They were riddled with firing ports and cannon muzzles, clearly manned by soldiers on duty, guarding against any Mutant Beasts from the water.

He looked to either side.

The streets were smooth, with asphalt and concrete roads stretching as far as the eye could see.

Tile-faced apartment buildings stood in dense rows, while skyscrapers with floor-to-ceiling windows rose up in the districts beyond.

People and vehicles flowed endlessly between the city blocks. Hover cars zipped through the sky, now and then landing on skyscraper rooftops or soaring over the port, leaving white contrails in their wake.

Ethereal holographic ads floated between the blocks, and neon signs glowed brightly. Farther in the distance, a massive glass canopy covered a district of opulent architecture.

He even saw massive elevators in some of the public squares, each one carrying nearly a hundred people as it rose from deep underground to the surface.

The scene was somewhat similar to the inner circle of Ring City, yet not entirely the same.

As Lu Chao and Zhao Yuanqing looked around, they also noticed many people of different ethnicities.

Finally, the ferry reached the port and came to a smooth stop.

Lu Chao got ready to disembark with his companions.

"Where are you headed, Brother Lu? How about I give you a ride?"

Xu Fengling offered with an enthusiastic smile.

Following his gesture, Lu Chao saw two black Sharp Light sedans parked by the road, with several suit-clad security guards waiting beside them.

However, to Xu Fengling’s surprise, Lu Chao glanced at his vibrating watch, where a message from the Superpower Bureau had just come in.

"Thank you for the kind offer, Brother Xu."

"But someone is already here to pick me up."

He politely declined. Though surprised, Xu Fengling wasn’t offended.

He simply smiled, handed over a business card, and they exchanged contact information.

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