Stronger with More Jobs

Chapter 569 - 264: The Killing Grounds Are Ready, Prey Enter the Arena!

The Glazed Light City in the early morning.

Like a giant glazed beast awakening from an icy slumber.

The massive city gates slowly opened with a deep rumble.

The biting cold wind, like a sharp blade, carried fine ice crystals as it rushed into the gate corridor, producing a sharp whistle.

The crowd that had been waiting in the plaza inside the gate, like a flood from a sluice gate, tightened their thick winter clothing, braced against the cold wind, and silently yet swiftly poured out through the gates.

They stepped onto the vast, deadly silent, and perilous icy expanse outside the city.

Fang Qingyu and his group of five were prominently among them.

However, they didn’t disguise their appearances as carefully as Shikong and Liu Hanyan did.

Fang Qingyu was still in his signature black combat suit, over which he wore a dark gray winter cloak. The hood was slightly lowered, covering half his face, only revealing a sharply contoured jaw and those molten gold vertical pupils that stood out even under the polar bleak daylight.

Wei Banmeng was as cold as frost, Lu Jiuyuan held a long saber like an ice sculpture, while Jiang Wei quietly followed by Fang Qingyu’s side, her small figure almost completely enveloped by the cloak.

The five exuded a steady aura, standing out conspicuously within the crowd.

Their target was clear.

The glacier sea area fifty nautical miles northeast of the old site of Ice Fortress.

Of course, most people leaving the city now had the same destination.

Some moved in small groups of three or five, speaking in low voices, their eyes warily scanning their companions.

Some were alone, silent, pressing on with their journey.

There were also a few small, well-equipped teams exuding a tough aura, clearly aimed at the so-called "Martial Saint Ruins."

Invisible barriers and vigilance were like transparent walls.

Dividing the crowd into small, independent circles.

Everyone maintained a not-too-distant nor close distance, unwilling to completely expose their backs to strangers.

It’s fine within the city.

Once on the icy expanse, trust became a luxury.

The cold wind whipped snow froth against their faces, icy and bone-chilling.

Beneath their feet was the unyielding permafrost and frozen ground, each step making a "crunching" sound.

The group advanced in silent procession.

Accompanied only by the howling wind and their heavy breathing.

Fang Qingyu’s molten gold vertical pupils calmly scanned the surrounding faces, some excited, greedy, others wary, with an unruffled gaze.

"Qingzi, these people seem... quite eager, don’t they?"

Chu Kuanglan leaned closer to Fang Qingyu, speaking in a muffled voice, his gaze sweeping over some fast-moving figures, almost breaking into a run.

"Men die for wealth, birds for food."

Fang Qingyu’s voice came through the mask, "It shows that Deep Blue Heavy Industries’ marketing was very effective."

"Hey, today it seems there’s no running away from it."

Chu Kuanglan grinned, his eyes glinting with a beastly bloodthirstiness as he tightened his grip on the giant sword on his shoulder.

The group trekked across the icy expanse for several hours.

Finally, on the horizon filled with wind and snow ahead, a cluster of resiliently shining lights pierced through the grey-white sky, like stars suddenly kindled on the icy plains.

Closer.

Even closer.

A sizable temporary camp, like a swarm of steel beetles, stubbornly rooted in the ravaging cold winds on the icy plains.

The camp was set up in a large, relatively wind-shielded ice rock depression.

Dozens of solid, military-grade winter tents stood like fortresses, unyielding against the tearing wind.

Between the tents, several energy light strands flickered weakly.

Providing illumination and a faint source of heat in the dim, snowy atmosphere.

A few mobile engineering vehicles equipped with anti-skid tracks and large energy shield generators were parked at the camp’s edge, like silent steel guardians.

Further away, even a few small snow helicopters could be seen parked on a roughly leveled ice surface.

Figures moved between the tents, bonfires crackled within specially made windproof enclosures, dispelling the biting chill.

Inside, the place was bustling with voices.

Talking, shouting, the sound of tools clashing, and the low hum of engines filled the air...

In stark contrast to the deathly silent icy expanse outside the camp.

Rough estimates put the number of Martial Artists gathered in this temporary camp close to a hundred.

All of them mighty Tier Two Grandmasters!!!

Some even exuded auras at the Tier Two Peak level!

"Damn... this lineup..."

Chu Kuanglan clicked his tongue at the bustling scene before him, "Deep Blue Heavy Industries really pulled this off! In just a few days, they managed to gather so many people in this godforsaken place?"

Fang Qingyu’s gaze slowly swept across the entire camp.

You could see them gathered around the bonfires, talking and laughing loudly in small groups.

Boasting about their insider info and exploration plans.

Also, a few "mercenary corps" were rigorously checking their equipment...

And several "lone wolves" clutching weapons, leaning against tents, their eyes warily watching anyone who came close.

Some in Deep Blue Heavy Industries-style winter clothing, holding tablets and surveying instruments, pointing and discussing something towards the distant glaciers with focused expressions...

Everything looked so genuine.

So fitting for a camp about to open the "Martial Saint Ruins."

"Qingzi."

Chu Kuanglan leaned in closer, his voice lower, with a hint of puzzlement, "You said this relic is fake, but with so many people here, if anyone goes down for a look, wouldn’t it get exposed? Why do all these people seem like they’re hyped with no doubts at all?"

Fang Qingyu listened, his expression turning a bit odd.