Body command feeding world

(Chapter 55 was re-uploaded due to violations)

The gray sky remained low, and the wind, carrying the stench of decay and gunpowder, swept across the ruins, causing the pierced body of the Blood Leech to twitch slightly. Sticky, foul-smelling bodily fluids spread across a large patch of dark brown stains on the cracked cement ground, mingling with the surrounding dried, blackened bloodstains, creating a horrifying sight.

The five members of the Falcon Squad remained frozen in place, their breaths, still shaken, ringing out clearly in the deathly silence of the battlefield.

Zhao Hu leaned against the collapsed wall, his burly body trembling uncontrollably. Just a second ago, the giant blood leech's suckers had almost touched the back of his neck, the stench assaulting his nostrils. He could even imagine the terrifying fate of being instantly drained dry and having his body filled with leech eggs. It was that spear shadow that descended from the sky that had pulled him back from the brink of death.

"Captain... what was that just now..." Su Qing's hand gripping the short blade was still trembling, her face deathly pale, her eyes wide open as she stared at the corner of the ruins where the figure had disappeared. Her voice was filled with disbelief, "One shot... pierced through the Blood Leech Fiend? That's something even armor-piercing bullets struggle to kill with a single shot!"

Lin Ye had already switched off the heavy machine gun, his thick arms hanging at his sides, his face full of shock: "I didn't even see how he moved, he was too fast, several times faster than the fastest Awakened in the Stronghold! Who exactly is he? Is he a secret force from the Stronghold's higher-ups? Or... a top-tier Hunter from another stronghold?"

Chen Yue retracted the drone and quickly swiped her finger across the screen, trying to recall the captured footage. However, no matter how she played it back, she could only capture a blurry black shadow, moving as fast as a ghost: "There is no clear image. His movements completely exceeded the device's capture limit. It's terrifying... You can't find three people with this kind of strength in the entire Hope Barrier."

All eyes were on Wang Ziqi.

Wang Ziqi remained standing in the same spot, his fingertips loosely resting on the rifle grip, but the cold, tense expression he had displayed during the battle was gone. His brows furrowed slightly, his pupils contracted slightly, and his gaze was fixed on the direction where the lone figure had disappeared. His jawline was taut, and his lips were unconsciously pursed. The shock surging within him was far more intense than that of his teammates.

He lived in Hope's Bulwark for ten years, growing from a clueless and helpless boy into the captain of a hunting squad who led his team into battle. He had seen almost all the strong, strange, hermits, and madmen inside and outside the bulwark.

There are berserkers who rely on their mutated physiques to withstand the evil spirits, sorcerers who control evil treasures to bombard from a distance, and shadow hunters who are skilled in stealth and assassination. But no one has ever been as cold, quiet, solitary, and aloof as that mysterious being from just now.

There was no murderous aura, no roaring, no superfluous movements.

He descended from the sky, killed with a single shot, and then turned and left.

It was as if slaying a Blood Leech, a creature that struck fear into the hearts of the entire fortress, was nothing more than crushing an ant.

What chilled him even more was that the other person was not wearing any tactical equipment of the Barrier standard, no Demon-Slaying Armor, no ammunition pouches, no Demon-Slaying Treasure pendants, only a simple black outfit, an unremarkable-looking short gun, and a cold, expressionless face.

Those eyes...

Even now, when Wang Ziqi thinks about it, his heart still clenches uncontrollably.

Indifferent, cold, and unfathomable, as if separated by an eternal layer of ice, it watched all the life-and-death struggles in the world with utter indifference. There was no pity, no arrogance, no ripples; it simply swept over the five of them as if they were roadside stones and grass, utterly insignificant.

"Clean up the battlefield first, and retrieve the energy blocks and water purification components." Wang Ziqi finally spoke slowly, breaking the silence. His voice was a few decibels lower than usual, and his speech was slower, carrying a hint of imperceptible seriousness. "Check the injuries, and once you're sure it's safe, return to the fortress immediately."

"Captain, that guy...we just let him go like that?" Zhao Hu asked gruffly, his face still showing lingering fear. "We should at least find out his name and properly thank him for saving our lives!"

"Thank you?" Wang Ziqi gave a bitter smile, shook his head slightly, his brows relaxed slightly but still carried a melancholy tone, "We couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes, we couldn't even tell if he was acting out of kindness or unintentionally. Chasing after him would only disturb him. As for that shot just now, I'm more inclined to think... he just happened to be killing that Blood Leech Fiend, and we were just rescued by chance."

Upon hearing this, the team members were all taken aback.

But upon closer reflection, it is incredibly apt.

The mysterious expert didn't glance at any of them or utter a single word from beginning to end. Even when Wang Ziqi tried to persuade him to stay, he didn't pause for a moment. His lonely figure disappeared into the depths of the ruins, leaving no trace of his carefree existence.

They struggled on the edge of life and death, begging to survive in the jaws of the evil spirits. What was an immense favor to them was perhaps just an ordinary act of kindness in the eyes of the other party.

The gap is so large it's suffocating.

Without another word, the group quickly cleaned up the battlefield, packing the scattered energy blocks and water purification components into their backpacks and checking their ammunition and equipment. Zhao Hu had only suffered minor scratches, and Su Qing quickly treated his wounds. In no time, the team was fully equipped again.

On the way back, everyone remained silent, and the atmosphere was even more oppressive than when they went on the mission.

What should have been an easy C-rank collection mission turned into an unexpected encounter with a horde of malevolent spirits, even alerting a giant blood leech demon. The entire group nearly perished, but a mysterious powerful figure turned the tide with a single shot. This near-death experience weighed heavily on everyone's hearts like a boulder.

Along the way, they could still see countless wandering evil spirits.

The Corpse Demon dragged its festering body as it staggered along, the Shadow Spirit crawled silently in the shadows, the Withered Claw Demon stretched out its sharp claws from the ground, and the Salivating Spider's plump body writhed in the gaps between the high-rise buildings. Further away, the occasional mournful roars and sounds of fierce battles between human armed squads could be heard.

Corpses, broken armor, bullet casings, and bloodstains covered the entire road.

Despair and terror are the eternal undertones of this land.

And the bulwark of hope stands tall at the very end of this boundless purgatory.

The super wall, which is hundreds of meters high, is made of layers of steel bars, concrete, and alloy steel plates. The wall is covered with scratches, bullet holes, and corrosion marks. The top of the wall is covered with heavy artillery, machine guns, and defensive turrets. It is brightly lit all year round, and squads of wall garrison soldiers patrol with guns, their eyes scanning the direction of the ruins warily.

This is humanity's last line of defense, its last home, its last prison.

The gates of the fortified compound were heavily guarded.

All hunting teams, transport teams, and garrison troops entering and leaving the area must undergo demonic poison testing, identity verification, and armed registration to prevent infected individuals parasitized by demonic essences from infiltrating the fortress. Over the past ten years, this process has become ingrained in everyone's bones, allowing no room for carelessness.

When the Falcon Squad arrived, there was a long line in front of the gate. More than a dozen armed squads returned one after another. Some were covered in wounds, some were carrying the bodies of their comrades, some were silent, and some were sobbing softly. Every face was filled with exhaustion and numbness.

Death is commonplace here.

"Falcon Squad, C-level reconnaissance mission, return for verification." Wang Ziqi walked to the verification table, showed his ID card, and spoke calmly.

The guard checking their belongings looked up, saw the bloodstains and disheveled state of the group, and, as if used to it, scanned them again, casually asking, "Was this time relatively smooth? Didn't you encounter any troublesome evil spirits?"

Wang Ziqi was silent for a moment, then looked up at the endless ruins outside the fortress and slowly said, "We encountered Blood Leech Fiends and almost didn't make it back."

"Blood Leech Fiend?!" The guard looked up abruptly, his face showing surprise. "You actually managed to escape unscathed? The Falcon Squad has really improved!"

"It wasn't our skill." Wang Ziqi shook his head slightly, a complex look flashing in his eyes. "It was a mysterious powerful figure who saved us."

"A mysterious powerhouse?" The guard was taken aback, and the armed squads queuing nearby immediately perked up their ears. "A top expert from within the stronghold? How come I haven't heard of any powerful figures going out on missions?"

"I don't know," Wang Ziqi answered truthfully. "He doesn't belong to any known squad. He's a lone soldier, extremely strong. He killed Blood Leech with a single shot and left without leaving any information."

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding area erupted in chaos.

"One shot to kill a Blood Leech Fiend? What a load of bull! That thing has thick skin and is covered in venom; even armor-piercing bullets would take several shots to kill it!"

"Lone wolf operation? When did such a person appear in the stronghold? How come I've never seen him before?"

"Could they be survivors who escaped from other strongholds? I heard that before the Northern Stronghold was destroyed, it produced several top-tier experts!"

"Whoever could kill Blood Leech Fiend with a single shot, they're definitely a big shot!"

A murmur of discussion arose, and the originally oppressive and somber atmosphere in front of the gate was stirred up by this one sentence.

The eyes of more than a dozen armed squads all focused on Wang Ziqi, their gazes filled with curiosity, suspicion, and shock. In this era where everyone's livelihood was uncertain and strong individuals were scarce, any top-tier combatant was enough to stir everyone's nerves.

Wang Ziqi offered no further explanation, took the identification token, and led his team through the gates of the stronghold.

The heavy alloy gate slowly closed behind us, shutting out the screams and terror from the ruins, but the air inside the fortress didn't feel much lighter either.

The narrow streets were crowded with ragged survivors, their eyes numb, their faces sallow and emaciated, barely surviving on the bare minimum rations distributed by the fortress. Fully armed squads hurried through the streets, modified vehicles roared past, and the walls were plastered with missing person notices, mission announcements, and lists of the dead—every single piece of paper was filled with despair.

Ten years of hell have transformed this place into a heavily armed, isolated doomsday city.

"Captain, are we really not going to look for that powerful figure?" Su Qing couldn't help but ask again, her little face full of anticipation. "If we could get him into the stronghold, with him there, our casualties on future missions would be so much lower!"

Lin Ye nodded in agreement: "That's right, Captain! The Fiends are getting stronger and stronger. Recently, a Silent Shadow Fox that can turn invisible has appeared, and several squads have already been wiped out! If we can win over this big shot, the Barrier will have a better chance of survival!"

Wang Ziqi stopped and stood in the middle of the crowded street, looking up at the gray sky with his brows furrowed and his eyes filled with complex emotions.

He considered pursuing him, trying to win him over, and keeping this mysterious powerhouse within the Barrier of Hope.

But he knew even more clearly that such a person did not belong here.

They do not belong to this prison, nor to these mortals struggling to survive, nor to this decade-long purgatory.

He was like a solitary figure piercing the darkness, appearing by chance, casually saving them, and then turning and disappearing without a trace.

"We won't find him." Wang Ziqi spoke slowly, his voice deep and clear, reaching the ears of every team member. "His path isn't within the walls. All we can do is remember today, remember that figure, and then... survive."

The moment he finished speaking, a solitary and towering black figure quietly stood atop the broken building at the edge of the ruins on the west side of the fortress.

Wu Wei stood with his hands behind his back, gazing indifferently at this last human stronghold. The elemental artifact in his palm remained dark and without any primal fluctuations.

Shu's thoughts echoed softly in his sea of ​​consciousness:

"Mortal strongholds, no danger, no source. The absorption of the World Elemental Artifact is still random, and I still cannot anchor myself. I will not expose myself, continue hunting down Fiend Spirits, and wait for the World Elemental Artifact to replenish itself."

Wu Wei remained expressionless, his eyes cold and icy. His brows were straight, his jaw taut, and his gaze slowly swept over the densely packed humans and armed squads inside and outside the fortress. He made no attempt to evade or conceal himself. He did not immediately step into the fortress, nor did he turn to leave. He simply stood quietly on the high ground, like a detached observer, taking in the entire scene of this desolate, post-apocalyptic city.

The Yang Flame Blood Essence flowed smoothly through the meridians, the bone armor was concealed, and the twin spears of marrow weapon hung quietly behind him. All the power that exceeded the limits of the trial was firmly locked within the Three Elements Perfection.

He doesn't actively disrupt the order of mortals, but he also no longer deliberately avoids the mundane world.

The squad that was saved by a single shot has now returned safely.

Within the walls, life survives, and order remains.

Outside the ruins, monstrous spirits surged like a tide, and murderous intent lurked everywhere.

Wu Wei slowly raised his eyes, gazing into the deeper, darker, and more intensely malevolent aura of the ruins. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

His trials are still ongoing.

His journey continues.

From this moment on, the life and death of this remnant world will no longer be unrelated to him.

The wind swept across the broken building, lifting the hem of his clothes. His solitary figure, under the hazy skylight, became the most silent and terrifying variable in the entire Fiend Remnant Realm.