Chapter 985: Storms Everywhere

Jiangnan Region headquarters.

Blizzard City.

Zhu Zheng held a communication device, speaking with Deputy Minister of Operations Situ Xin who was on the front lines.

After hearing Situ Xin's report, Zhu Zheng's expression also showed some emotion.

"Oh? Chaos's performance was actually this exaggerated? He even killed the third-ranked member of Hell's Lock?"

His expression contained joy, along with a trace of melancholy.

The joy was because the overall strength of the Jiangnan Region would reach new heights due to Zhang Yi's existence.

The melancholy was because Zhang Yi, to this day, still maintained an ambiguous relationship with him.

Ever since being betrayed by Gao Changkong, Zhu Zheng's defensive mentality had grown heavier, and he wouldn't easily trust anyone.

But soon enough, he composed his expression and said to Situ Xin with a smile: "This is good news. Tell Chaos that the hopes of the Jiangnan Region rest on his shoulders!"

"Tell him to work hard, but prioritize protecting his own safety. Leave the frontal resistance to the East Sea Region."

Zhu Zheng's words sounded very pleasant, but he also knew that even if he didn't say this, Zhang Yi would definitely act that way anyway.

After ending the call, he looked toward an open area ahead, his gaze turning stern and murderous.

In the icy snow, a row of prisoners knelt on the frozen ground, their bodies tightly bound.

A group of execution squad members aimed rifles at them.

"Is it time for the execution?"

Zhu Zheng turned his head to look at his secretary Lan Xincheng beside him.

Lan Xincheng glanced at his watch and bowed his head to Zhu Zheng: "The time has arrived."

Zhu Zheng nodded: "Then carry out the execution!"

Lan Xincheng stepped forward in his black military boots, coldly looking at this group of prisoners as he loudly rebuked: "You despicable criminals! Blizzard City saved you from lands of suffering, giving you food and warm shelter."

"Yet instead of feeling gratitude, you actually attempted rebellion—a crime that cannot be forgiven!"

"Before your deaths, do you have anything you wish to say?"

Even in this apocalyptic era, Blizzard City remained very rigorous about executions.

Because any unfair killing could potentially cause unrest among the people.

What Zhu Zheng worried about most was a crisis of trust emerging in Blizzard City.

Upon hearing these words, some of the kneeling criminals looked sorrowful and burst into tears.

But others looked up and laughed heartily toward the sky, their faces full of disdain.

A big man with a full beard cursed bitterly: "Bah! What good people are you pretending to be!"

"Back then we were living just fine outside, solving our food and shelter problems ourselves. Then we believed your nonsense and entered this prison."

He gritted his teeth, staring fiercely at Lan Xincheng and Zhu Zheng, these two well-dressed important figures.

"After coming here, you actually treated us like dogs and pigs! Making us do the lowest jobs! If I had known it would come to this, I never should have believed your lies back then!"

Hearing this, Lan Xincheng chuckled coldly.

He casually adjusted his deerskin gloves and said lightly: "Don't always think about what Blizzard City can give you. First consider what you can do for Blizzard City."

"Instead of being grateful, you gathered crowds to cause trouble—you deserve what's happening to you today!"

The bearded man spat fiercely, "We were just gathering together to fight for our rights as human beings! We never intended rebellion, yet you arrested us and now want to execute us."

"Enough, enough! If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext. Our only mistake was being blind dogs back then!"

Lan Xincheng smiled contemptuously and said to the execution squad members beside him: "Carry out the execution!"

With a burst of dense gunfire, soon that row of prisoners was riddled with holes like sieves.

They turned out to be several enhancement-type superhumans with exceptionally powerful physical constitutions. They withstood the bullets completely unharmed.

But Lan Xincheng seemed to have been prepared for this.

This batch of prisoners were all superhumans.

Soon, the execution squad members reloaded with new bullets, using both Origin Bullets specifically designed to counter superhumans and large armor-piercing rounds.

Before long, these dozen or so prisoners had all become cold corpses.

Lan Xincheng walked to Zhu Zheng's side, raising his hand in salute: "Commander Zhu! The execution is complete."

Zhu Zheng glanced at him: "Including this batch, how many does that make?"

Lan Xincheng said: "That makes two hundred and sixteen people already."

"As the Great Mutation Era arrived, the survivors are all elites, and the mutation rate is very high."

Zhu Zheng nodded: "Soon, very soon. Our plan continues. Currently it's still not enough, we're still short some."

He raised his head, his gaze seeming to penetrate the thick dark clouds, seeing the distant Star Island in the far ocean.

"Compared to risking everything to compete for something like the Divine Source, this method is much simpler and more effective."

"And all we need to do is sacrifice a minority of people."

...

The Karkong Mountain Range located northwest in the Bharata region had now become a massive snow mountain due to a full year of snowfall.

On the empty snow plain, dozens of corpses lay scattered about, their blood already frozen into ice.

Most of them wore grayish-white combat suits, but a few were dressed strangely, especially with their heads wrapped in long turbans coiled round after round.

This was traditional Bharata clothing, and these people were all superhuman experts from the Bharata region.

Just looking at the current situation made it clear they had just experienced a bloody and brutal battle.

But on the battlefield, three people still stood.

One was a monk wearing Bharata religious robes, dignified and solemn, covered in blood, appearing both sacred and eerie.

One was a young man in a combat suit holding a katar punch dagger, with sharp eyes and fair skin, but his breathing was somewhat uneven.

The last one held a golden longsword, his hair disheveled, appearing the most composed.

The cold icy wind brushed through his long hair, revealing that resolute face.

If Zhang Yi had appeared here, he would have certainly exclaimed his name in surprise—Gao Changkong.

Gao Changkong glanced at the two men in the distance; both the young noble and the monk were wary of each other.

"Only three of us remain. Shall we continue?"

Gao Changkong said with a smile.

Compared to him, the condition of the other two was clearly worse.

The monk Hama·Raje used his vajra pestle to heavily strike the snow ground, "To think that in the end, it would be you, a foreigner, who survived!"

And the young noble in the combat suit also looked coldly at Gao Changkong.

"The gods will not bless you, and our Bharata nation cannot accept you obtaining that supreme honor!"

Gao Changkong cleared his throat and said with a smile: "I've said many times, I am a descendant of Bharata who was lost abroad. My name is Samir·Khan."

"As for whether the Trimurti will bless me and grant me supreme glory, that's not for you to decide!"

He slowly raised the golden holy sword in his hand, "You'll have to ask this!"

Author's Note