Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

"You’re right." Su Chen agreed. "It feels pretty much the same to me."

"Back then, I used my knowledge of astronomy to confirm we’d left Earth. How did you figure it out so quickly?" Yan Ruoruo asked, turning her head to the side.

She was referring to their first meeting at the Bonfire General Store.

Su Chen could sense a hint of curiosity in her words and smiled faintly. "The answer is actually quite simple. The RV’s charging efficiency was beyond anything I could have imagined."

"I see," Yan Ruoruo said.

After that brief moment of curiosity, she fell silent, her expression as cold and distant as ever.

Following the map, and thanks to Su Chen having scouted the area on his way back that afternoon, they began to move quickly through the forest, wreathed in Wind Fluff, after a short walk to let their food settle.

「Ten-plus minutes later.」

They had already arrived at another fringe area of the city, a town under the jurisdiction of Qixia District.

The place was backed by a small mountain that connected to the distant, continuous peaks of Cyan Dragon Ridge, forming a natural, curved barrier.

In practice, although not particularly large-scale, it effectively blocked threats from external magical creatures. At the foot of the mountain, a massive construction project was underway. A section of rammed-earth wall, at least fifteen meters high, rose from the ground, its surface glowing reddish-brown in the evening twilight.

The walkway atop the wall was wide, and many figures could be seen moving about.

The surrounding clearings were piled high with severed giant logs. The once-lush border forest had been completely cut down, leaving behind large patches of exposed tree stumps.

"First, they bury tree trunks deep in the foundation as a framework, then cover it with the Earth Wall Skill, and finally use the Solidification Skill to completely reinforce it," Su Chen sighed.

This construction method was quite similar to the fortifications around their previous parking spot, but the scale was on a completely different level.

’Rune Magic is so convenient.’

Plus, there’s strength in numbers.

Large construction crews were still at work, and the humming of multiple cranes could be heard from a distance.

"That’s where East Gate 2 will be."

Su Chen pointed. It was the key location marked on the flyer’s map.

The city wall stretching along the eastern border was, of course, not yet complete. Several flat sections were just covered in building materials, with no fortifications erected yet, and the designated gateway was just a large pile of steel.

At this rate, Gate 2 would be finished in a day or two.

Several watchtowers on the periphery were already complete.

Seeing multiple teams returning under the cover of twilight, a person in plain clothes stood on a tower, shouting through a megaphone: "For your safety and the safety of your families, please do not return covered in spores. Make sure you get purified."

This was just a reminder; there was no arrangement for free purifications.

’On second thought, that wouldn’t be realistic anyway. They’d be too busy to handle it.’

Soon, Su Chen and Yan Ruoruo followed a crowd into the border town. They saw an excavator shovel gleaming with a cold light, clearly infused with Gold Element essence. Every time it dug into the ground, it was as effortless as a knife cutting through tofu.

A group of laborers on the construction crew were convicts.

After the apocalypse began, some people had taken desperate measures and committed various crimes. The prisons couldn’t hold them all, and with resources stretched thin, it was impossible to just feed such a large group for free. Labor in exchange for punishment and reduced sentences became the most practical solution.

Before long, the outline of an eastern Forward Base came into view.

It was the garrison for several assault battalions.

Occasionally, Thunderhawks and reconnaissance drones would skim over the forest.

A solemn notice board outside the walls was covered with the latest information: recruitment notices for talented individuals, educational materials about fungi like the Bloodthirsty Fungus and Mind-Confusing Fungus, and even promotional flyers for the first-ever Qixia Night Market.

One thing was for sure: many of the passersby were heading for the night market.

They merged into the crowd and walked along a main road for less than ten minutes, soon arriving at the entrance to a creative park.

There were even more people than they had expected.

There were actually two lines of people queuing outside the main gate.

"Damn it, you have to pay one Rune Essence just to get in? You might as well just rob a bank!" Some people had no idea what was going on; they had simply seen a line and rushed over.

They thought there was some kind of handout, but instead, someone was trying to take money out of their pockets.

In this day and age, Rune Essence was, without a doubt, the top hard currency.

If someone in the know took you down a small alley or up to the third floor of certain bathhouses, a single essence could guarantee you the time of your life—good food, good drinks, and even better entertainment.

"Hey, old man, thought they were giving out eggs? Go home and sleep it off," a young person taunted.

The creative park’s staff realized that a group of people had joined the line just by following the crowd without reading the signs. They immediately began announcing the entrance fee requirement for the first Qixia Night Market over a loudspeaker.

At this announcement, many people started cursing and left the line.

This sped up the line considerably.

After waiting for two minutes, Su Chen and Yan Ruoruo paid a total of two Rune Essences and entered the park smoothly. The entrance fee also came with a complimentary Purification Skill for each of them, obviously to prevent potential Parasite Bodies from mingling in the crowded area.

In addition, they were given a small night market guide booklet. You didn’t even have to bring it close to your nose to smell the strong scent of fresh ink.

Not a hundred steps into the park, a small line had formed outside a cake and dessert shop. Inside the display window, several three-tier cream cakes were decorated with berries.

In the apocalypse, a single bite of something sweet was a luxury. If the advertisements weren’t lying, these were high-quality, handmade cakes, kept in a cold chain from start to finish and made fresh to order.

The price was one Rune Essence for a two-tier cake. Whether that was fair was a matter of opinion.

To the left was another shop, the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, which advertised that it sold Rune Equipment. Its main flagship product was a homemade invisibility cloak.

"It’s a bit crowded."

Su Chen glanced over and instantly lost any desire to go inside.

Besides, this wasn’t why they had come.

"Let’s go check out the trading area first."

The entire creative park had been divided into three trading areas. In addition to strong guards posted for supervision, the venues were also equipped with surveillance cameras, allowing visitors to freely trade Rune Essences.

Su Chen led Yan Ruoruo to the nearest exhibition hall. To help people quickly find a match, staff at the entrance would give each person a sign to write down the Runes they wanted and the Runes they could offer in exchange.

The staff inside would enter the information into a computer to help you search quickly. Since it wasn’t networked, it couldn’t share data in real-time with the other two trading areas.

There was no helping it.

There were too many people.

Separating the venues into three locations to manage the flow of people had been the right decision from the start.

This exhibition hall alone had at least a hundred people in it.

’This is promising.’

Su Chen thought to himself. ’It’s not like just any riff-raff could get in.’ Moreover, the equipment worn and weapons held by many of the people in front of him were clearly emitting strong Elemental fluctuations. Their strength was definitely above average.

They were the pillars of the community, at the very least.

Several groups, in particular, were attracting a lot of attention. The way all eyes were on them made it clear they were likely well-known small teams in this border region.

"Brother Qiang’s squad has completely lost contact. Don’t tell me something really happened to them."

"No way. Their team composition is so strong, and they have three Rune Professionals. Besides, their team’s Summoning Warlock still owes me a case of beer."

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