This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 262 Passing on the Legacy, Returning and Leaving
As a caller of nature, Bertrand Russell was particularly sensitive to the emotional fluctuations of life, especially fear and sorrow. Therefore, even though he was weary from his journey from Pingdu to Zhongzhou, he still turned his course and headed this way upon hearing a faint cry.

But his appearance instantly made the atmosphere in the camp extremely tense.

Xu Fu was like a mother leopard whose territory had been invaded. She suddenly stood up, shoved the baby in her arms into the group of children around her, and whistled, causing orbs of light to surge in from all directions. Those seemingly ridiculous little animals joined her in blocking in front of all the children, and they even showed a faint tendency to swell and deform.

Facing Russell, she saw no joy at the sight of a human, only utter wariness and sharp hostility. In this dog-eat-dog world, any unfamiliar face could pose a deadly threat.

Russell was a little confused. He blinked. "I heard a child crying. You need..."

"Get out of here!" Xu Fu's voice was cold and firm, like a mother wolf protecting her cubs: "We don't need any help! Leave now!"

Even though her senses told her that this person didn't seem like a bad person... she couldn't just let a stranger in with the children here!
Xu Fu stood ramrod straight, her slender body like a wall shielding the children behind her from all the storms of life. The children instinctively huddled together, their eyes wide with fear as they stared at the uninvited guest and the awe-inspiring beast behind him.

Russell stopped in his tracks. He didn't approach any further, but calmly met Xu Fu's hostile gaze.

He slowly raised his free hand, palm up, making a gesture of harmlessness. Jin Huang behind him obediently lowered his massive body, emitting a low, almost snoring, soothing sound.

“I meant no harm.” Russell’s voice was gentle, with a strange, soothing power, like a breeze in the mountains. “I just heard some sad sounds… and wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.”

His gaze swept over the terrified little faces behind Xu Fu, a hint of pity appearing in his eyes.

“Children should not have to endure such fear,” he said.

“But that’s reality,” Xu Fu said, then realized she had said too much: “Now, leave here!”

“Alright.” Russell sighed, realizing that he really wasn’t needed here. “But… could you tell me where the old city is? I came from the Pingdu direction and I’m not familiar with the trees here. Ugh, my mental powers don’t have an accent either…”

"Pingdu?" Xu Fu looked Russell up and down, relaxing slightly. "What are you doing here?"

“Come find my boss.” Russell grinned. “You definitely know him. His name is Nie Weiyang.”

Meanwhile, in the distant old city.

With a blinding flash of light, several disheveled figures stumbled and fell out of the instance. Among them were Liang Zhenduan, You Yan, and the dancer.

They were in an even worse state than when they entered. The terrible burn on Liang Zhenduan's chest seemed to be the most conspicuous spot on his body. His armor was shattered, his body was covered with fine wounds and signs of corrosion, his face was as pale as paper, and his breath was extremely weak.

Youyan and the dancer were both badly injured and could only stand by supporting each other, but their eyes held a sense of relief at surviving a disaster, as well as... an indescribable heaviness.

"We're out...we're out!" You Yan's voice was hoarse, trembling with sobs.

Liang Zhenduan was about to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he suddenly coughed violently, and blood foam spilled from the corner of his mouth again.

He tried to take a step, but the serious injury and extreme exhaustion had already pushed his body beyond its limits. He stumbled and could no longer support himself, falling straight forward.

"Mayor Liang!" "Mayor!"

The medical staff, who had been waiting outside the dungeon exit, rushed over. Upon seeing the situation, they let out a nearly shrill scream. They moved with lightning speed, catching his falling body in a flurry of activity yet with remarkable skill. They quickly placed him on a stretcher, and the lights of various tests and treatments instantly illuminated the scene.

However, amidst the chaos, Liang Zhenduan, lying on the stretcher, looked at the anxious faces around him and the familiar yet unfamiliar sky. He gripped the half-broken sickle, and a hideous yet triumphant smile slowly spread across his blood-stained and exhausted face.

"...Mayor?" The person next to him was bewildered.

Liang Zhenduan pulled a piece of cloth from his pocket. It was covered with words written in blood. The entire text was intelligence, and not a single word was a suicide note.

He casually crumpled up the blood-stained cloth, stuffed it into the hand of the oldest doctor beside him, grinned, revealing a mouthful of bloodied teeth, and spoke in a weak voice, carrying a sense of relief and almost arrogance:

"Don't look at the intelligence; send it to Heito as the highest priority."

He coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Heh... I guess I'm still... better suited for fighting!"

Before he could finish speaking, a severe dizziness completely overwhelmed his consciousness. But the exhilarating feeling of fighting in a desperate situation and ultimately emerging alive with vital intelligence seemed to dispel the gloom that had long plagued him with paperwork.

He knew that he was still the one who could step up in crucial moments!

In the distance from the old city, the small town of Langcheng, like a tenacious seed, is growing at an unprecedented speed.

A wave of construction activity swept across the land, with simple yet sturdy houses springing up like mushrooms after the rain. In the newly cultivated fields, tender green seedlings thrived under the careful tending of the people. Workers chanted slogans, and farmers bent over their busy work. Everything operated at high speed in three shifts, orderly and full of hope.

On a newly cleared open space, Xiang Feng, carrying his warhammer, was talking to a young man and a young woman.

The boy was tall and thin, wearing old glasses with his legs taped shut, which gave him a somewhat scholarly air. The girl standing next to him had fiery red hair and a bright smile.

“Li Duo, Yang Wuji,” Xiang Feng looked at them with expectation in his eyes, “we have seen your talent and character.”

"Langcheng's foundation is still weak. For your better development, we plan to send you to Gushi for further training. There is a more complete training system and a broader platform there... Tell me, what do you want to learn?"

Upon hearing this, the red-haired girl Li Duo's eyes lit up immediately, and she answered with a grin, "Uncle Xiang! I want to learn to fly!" She gestured excitedly, "I looked at my skill tree preview, and there really are flight-related skills later on!"
"Back on Earth, many of our aircraft designs were based on the structure of birds. Do you think that if I were to actually fly on my own in the future, would humans refer to me when developing new aircraft?"

Xiang Feng smiled at her unconventional idea and nodded: "A very ambitious idea. If you can fly better than everyone else, you might really become a benchmark."

Then, his gaze fell on Yang Wuji.

(End of this chapter)