Chapter 82: Arrived in S City, Come Meet Me Quickly

Today, the world’s attitude toward the extraordinary has grown increasingly serious. Especially as more high-level supernaturals emerge across the globe, every continent’s authorities have come to realize that supernatural power develops faster and proves more effective than technological advancement. Of course, this doesn’t mean technology has been neglected, but rather that the importance placed on those with powers has risen significantly. To offer hope to humanity, governments are actively promoting these exceptional individuals, building up the mythos of superheroes as beacons for the world.

Gu Sha, currently ranked at the very top of the global forum, arrived in S City and was naturally greeted with extraordinary attention—so much so, in fact, that it bordered on excess. More than a dozen fighter jets were dispatched for his reception. Throughout the journey, super radars tracked every movement; any sign of flying zombie beasts within a radius of twenty or thirty miles was detected instantly. All soldiers were fully armed.

Inside Gu Sha’s helicopter, two flight attendants of striking beauty attended to him; one of them had been a top-tier celebrity before the apocalypse began. Gu Sha looked down on such ostentatious behavior, inwardly criticizing S City’s officials for their vulgarity.

Yet, he could not deny the extent of the city’s respect for him—it verged on overkill. What Gu Sha did not know was that his previous actions at the C City Stronghold had all been reported in detail to the authorities by Han Ze: foreseeing a terrorist attack, single-handedly subduing the Purification Society and capturing Bai Ziyu alive, slaying dozens of super-zombie beasts on his own, taking on an entire army and tearing apart tanks barehanded, and so on.

Many of his exploits were even caught on video, so authorities everywhere had a clear grasp of his capabilities—he was a force who could stand alone against several well-equipped legions. During the earthquake at C City’s stronghold, Gu Sha’s early warnings had saved nearly a million lives, a feat that alone warranted the highest honors.

Most importantly, Gu Sha had entered into an official consultant partnership with the authorities. This meant that any stronghold could potentially recruit him, or at the very least, work alongside him.

As the aircraft entered S City’s stronghold and touched down in a square, Gu Sha was given a hero’s welcome. Senior management from the stronghold’s administration personally came to greet him, with the head of the Long family—the stronghold’s leading clan—at the forefront.

As soon as Gu Sha stepped off the helicopter, the Long family patriarch approached with a warm handshake. Gu Sha returned the gesture, taking the measure of the man—he appeared to be around fifty, exuding an imposing presence. Though he wore a smile, he still gave off an air of sternness.

“Mr. Gu, welcome, welcome. With your participation in this operation, we’re already halfway to success,” the patriarch said with a smile.

Gu Sha’s expression remained calm. “You overestimate me.”

“Not at all,” the patriarch replied. “You are the world’s top-ranked, Mr. Gu. If you can’t accomplish the mission, I fear there’s no one on earth who can.”

Gu Sha smiled faintly, offering no further comment.

The patriarch continued, “It must have been a tiring journey, Mr. Gu. Would you like to rest first? We could head to the Association of the Extraordinary tomorrow.”

“I heard on the way that all the participants for this mission have already arrived. There’s a meeting today?” Gu Sha asked.

“Yes,” the patriarch replied. “Our S City stronghold is leading this operation, but both the Capital Stronghold and the Northwest Stronghold have sent supernatural squads to assist us. Leading the squad from the Capital is Lin Xingyun, ranked thirty-second globally, and from the Northwest, Lu Shanyou, ranked seventy-ninth.”

Gu Sha had heard those names in his past life—both were celebrated figures in later years. Lin Xingyun was one of the heads of the Lin family in the capital, reaching the rank of Seventh-Tier Battle King at his peak in the fifth year of the apocalypse, though he died in a great war. Lu Shanyou, on the other hand, never aligned with the authorities; she established her own mercenary group, one of the top teams in the Northwest, and she herself was one of the few female Battle Kings in the world.

Gu Sha knew little about them personally, but their reputations had left an impression.

The patriarch went on, “Lu Shanyou and Lin Xingyun both arrived yesterday. They insisted on holding a meeting today to discuss the mission. Our original plan was to wait for you, Mr. Gu, but both of them are very busy—they hold key positions and have many duties. The sooner the mission is done, the sooner they can return.”

Gu Sha nodded. “I see. Let them hold their meeting. I’ll go and rest. Just let me know when the plan’s set and it’s time to act.”

The patriarch hesitated. “You don’t plan to meet the other supernaturals? You’ll be working together…”

“No need,” Gu Sha interrupted. “There’s little room for cooperation on this mission. No one knows what’s inside that suspected interdimensional space. We can’t devise any useful plan now. In the end, we’ll each have to look out for ourselves inside—there’s nothing else to discuss.”

The patriarch could only smile wryly. “I’ll take you to the hotel, then.”

He actually had more to say. He well understood why Lin Xingyun and Lu Shanyou were so anxious to convene before Gu Sha’s arrival—they were vying for command of the operation and, wary of Gu Sha’s formidable power, were hoping to join forces and put him in his place early on.

But…

The patriarch looked at Gu Sha and shook his head, helplessly.

This man didn’t play by anyone’s rules—or perhaps, he simply didn’t see Lin Xingyun and Lu Shanyou as worthy opponents.

Meanwhile, as Gu Sha was heading to the hotel, inside an office at the S City Association for the Extraordinary, Lu Shanyou and Lin Xingyun, in the midst of discussing their strategy, both received word that Gu Sha had gone straight to the hotel to sleep.

Their expressions shifted at once.

The patriarch’s suspicions were confirmed: these two had known Gu Sha would arrive today, yet insisted on meeting before he did, hoping to seize the initiative and authority from this legendary first-ranked figure.

After all, they had learned a fair bit about Gu Sha: his solitary, willful nature made teamwork difficult.

But they hadn’t expected Gu Sha to ignore their maneuver entirely. To them, his behavior seemed like a direct provocation.

At that moment, a burly, bald man carrying a massive blade was also in the meeting room, idly browsing the global forum on his phone. He was known as “Mad Blade” online, the most formidable fighter in S City.

Suddenly, a message popped up from a friend he’d marked as “Number One God of Slaughter”:

Arrived in S City. Meet up ASAP!