In a short time, Wen Yu had weighed the pros and cons and decisively made a deal with Lin Haifeng.
The next steps were simple: drawing blood from Star and Victor. Star merely gave a single drop, while Victor provided a full 50ml, making Wen Yuâs heart ache a little.
After the blood was drawn, Lin Haifeng, in Wen Yuâs presence, injected Starâs and Victorâs blood into a petri dish. Through the violet outer wall of the dish, Wen Yu could see a humanoid creature inside twitching faintly.
The main ingredient must be Tang Haofei,
Wen Yu thought.
Afterward, Lin Haifeng led Wen Yu back to Treasure Land No.5 and transferred its authority to him. From then on, this treasure land belonged exclusively to Wen Yu, who also gained authorization to harbor a Demon Realmâs Gate.
With the deal concluded, Wen Yu proposed buying some firearms and equipment from Lin Haifeng. Lin Haifeng readily agreed, stating that the American military would arrive in Las Vegas within three days to deliver some personal firearms to Wen Yu.
Thus, Wen Yu had achieved his purpose for visiting Eternal Sky City.
After returning to the central control tower and picking up Qin Tian and Qin Shiyuan, Wen Yuâs group didnât linger. They teleported directly from Eternal Sky Cityâs central plaza back to Las Vegas.
ă...ă
"AAAHH!"
The white light of teleportation had just faded when a piercing scream nearly burst Wen Yuâs eardrums.
Looking back, he saw a Level 1 mutant rat, half a meter tall, straining to drag a large stone slab forward. The group had just teleported out via the Exchange Stone Pillar, materializing right next to the rat. Qin Shiyuan was the closest to it!
It was Qin Shiyuan who had screamed.
Wen Yu quickly stopped Qin Tianâs impending move to draw his sword and loudly reassured them, "Donât panic! Donât be afraid. These mutant beasts are allies; they mean no harm."
Hearing Wen Yuâs words, Qin Tian slowly retracted his bone sword into his body. However, the wary look in his eyes didnât diminish in the slightest.
In fact, this was true for most professionists. While Wen Yu mostly advanced his strength within treasure lands, most professionists were different; their primary method of advancement still revolved around mutant creatures. For these individualsâpowerful professionists treated mutant beasts as mobile points, while weaker ones saw them as enemies!
Actually, having lived for a year in the apocalypse during his previous life, Wen Yu could never consider mutant beasts true comrades.
The large rat panted heavily as it crawled past them. Not far off, a massive mutant lion, over ten meters tall and laden with a huge amount of stone and cement, swiftly passed by, less than ten meters from the group. Adding to this were the countless mutant beasts moving to and fro in the distance. This spectacle made Wen Yuâs companions involuntarily gulp.
It had to be said, thanks to Victor, Las Vegas was truly unlike other cities now...
ă...ă
Qin Shiyuan was still crying on Qin Tianâs shoulder. It seemed the "damage" caused by the rat just now wasnât minor. Women, after all, tend to be afraid of things like rats and cockroaches. Qin Tian, however, was considerably more mature. He kept comforting Qin Shiyuan and even looked up to give Wen Yu an apologetic smile.
Qin Tian really is a professional older brother...
Could this be a case for âGerman orthopedicsâ?
Wen Yu mused with a hint of teasing.
Of course, he would never say that out loud.
After Qin Shiyuan had calmed down a bit, Wen Yu led the group directly to the Red Stone Hotel.
ă...ă
The Red Stone Hotel was, without a doubt, the current center of Las Vegas.
When Wen Yu and his group arrived at the Red Stone Hotel, Victorâs Double Body and Claus were already waiting at the entrance.
Wen Yu had spoken to Claus about this. Now that he had brought Qin Tianâs group to Las Vegas, it was only right and proper to meet Claus.
This was Wen Yuâs stanceânot for Clausâs sake, of course, but for Victorâs.
Wen Yu introduced everyone to Claus one by one. Claus showed great enthusiasm for their arrival, respectfully arranging accommodations for themâall near Wen Yuâs roomâand then ordered his men to prepare food.
After everyone had briefly settled into their rooms, they gathered in the Red Stone Hotelâs banquet hall as arranged by Claus.
ă...ă
Wen Yu sat in the main seat, looking down at the assembly.
Victorâs Double Body was curled up on Wen Yuâs lap, feigning sleep. Claus sat beside him.
To his right sat Qin Tian and his sister, then Arthur, Wang Fucai, and Yang Hong. Carmille hadnât arrived yet and might take a few more days.
These people, along with the bustling professionists and mutant beasts outside, represented all the forces he could currently muster...
The numbers might be a bit small, but that wasnât important. Quantity was never Wen Yuâs primary concernâstrength was what truly mattered!
The people below were all looking at Wen Yu, waiting for him to speak.
After a moment, Wen Yu finally began.
"First, welcome to Las Vegas, everyone. Claus has already said it once, but this time, I personally want to welcome your arrival. From now on, Las Vegas will be our stronghold and, in a way, our new home."
"Iâve told you all before about my purpose for establishing the Assistance Association. However, the significance of this small group Iâve formed under its banner is different."
"Everyone present here, including Claus, is someone I can trust. We will band together here and face all calamities together."
"Here, I promise to treat you all as my own brothers and sisters. If you are true to me, I will never be false to you."
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
ă...ă
After the banquet, it was free time.
In fact, the entire period leading up to the demon plagueâs arrival was considered free time.
Everyone could do as they pleased. Wen Yu wouldnât interfere, nor could he. After its formation, this small group had no real hierarchy. At most, Wen Yuâs voice carried a bit more weight.
Wen Yu stayed quietly in his room, silently awaiting the imminent demon plague.
ăThree days later.ă
Lin Haifeng had the promised armaments delivered to Wen Yu in Las Vegas.
The person in charge of transportation was Joshua, formerly Sequence Number 10, now Sequence Number 26.
A convoy of transport trucks sped to the outskirts of the defensive perimeter Las Vegas had established. Then came the work of unloading and handover.
Wen Yu briefly inspected the firearms, explosives, and other items.
Most of the equipment Lin Haifeng sent Wen Yu had undergone âdemonic modification.â Needless to say, its power was certainly impressive. Of course, this âimpressiveâ referred to its effectiveness against Level 1 and Level 2 professionists.
Wen Yu had spent some magic crystals on these items, intending them for the weaker professionists in the Las Vegas Assembly Site. After all, people get tired, but firearms donât.
After handing over the armaments, Joshua immediately led the convoy back to Washington. Joshua, currently the strongest overt martial power of the American military, was certainly overqualified for a task like transporting equipment for Wen Yu. Of course, it couldnât be ruled out that the U.S. military also wanted to scout out the current situation in Las Vegas.
Setting aside Lin Haifengâs personal attitude towards Wen Yu for the moment, it seemed the American militaryâs stance was predominantly one of caution and apprehension!
The Earth Community was hardly a monolithic entity.
ă...ă
After seeing Joshua off, Wen Yu took Qin Tian to the Red Stone Grand Canyon to inspect the site Wen Yu had preselected for the decisive battle against their Hunting Group.
As Sequence Number 4, Qin Tian also had his own Hunting Group to deal with. After some discussion, they decided to face their Hunting Groups together in the Red Stone Grand Canyon. Although there was a disparity in their strengths, it wasnât an insurmountable chasm. Dealing with the Hunting Groups together would benefit both of them.
After further familiarizing Qin Tian with the Red Stone Grand Canyonâs environment, the two returned to the Red Stone Hotel together.