However, no matter how excited he was, he never forgot his primary duties. When the car slowly came to a stop, he was the first to alight and jogged over to help Wang Tao open the car door.
Outside the camp’s main tent stood a group of people.
Watching the convoy with the municipal hall’s emblem approaching slowly, one of the men—broad-backed and bearish, with a terrifying scar on his face—spoke:
"Is this the new arrival?"
Next to the scar-faced man stood another dressed in military uniform, tall and thin, with rather handsome features. He explained:
"Yes, that’s him. His name is Wang Tao; he’s an Awakener."
"Tsk, tsk, to awaken out there in the wild... quite impressive!"
The scar-faced man remarked with admiration.
Only those who had struggled toward Awakening, or who had already become Awakeners knew how difficult it was.
Most of the Awakeners inside Changhe Base relied on numbers and equipment advantages to slowly accumulate the conditions necessary for Awakening.
Someone like Wang Tao, who awakened outside of Changhe Base through his own power or that of some small group, was undoubtedly a rarity.
This also indicated one thing—Wang Tao was very strong before his Awakening!
At that moment, a man in full black armor, who occasionally twirled his greatsword, sneered:
"Heh, no matter how formidable one is before Awakening, once Awakened, all Awakeners are on the same starting line, all equally strong! There’s no need to boost the morale of others at the expense of our own prestige."
Upon hearing this, some people remained expressionless, while others nodded quietly. But there were also those who objected.
"Hey! That’s not the right way to put it. We’re all one family! To live harmoniously and safely through the apocalypse—that’s all that matters!"
The speaker was a somewhat portly middle-aged man, with a gentle smile on his face.
When he spoke up, the armored man huffed but said nothing further.
The convoy came to a stop not far from the group.
The passenger door opened, and a middle-aged man dressed like a secretary and wearing a suit, hurried out of the car and proceeded to open the rear door.
"Hah, where did they find such a lackey!"
The armored man said disdainfully.
As soon as he spoke, a few people glanced subtly at the man standing among them dressed in a fine suit, his hair meticulously combed.
The suited man spoke expressionlessly:
"It might have been from my side."
The armored man didn’t react immediately, while someone beside him whispered a reminder:
"That guy is an underling of Head Secretary Gu."
The armored man became visibly embarrassed and quickly turned his head.
Everyone else tried not to laugh, though they said nothing.
After Cui Sheng opened the car door, out stepped a very robust man in a suit, followed by a woman dressed like a secretary in a dress suit, looking like bodyguards as they took their positions to one side.
Following them, a brawny man with facial disfiguration and multiple disabilities adorned with prosthetic limbs exited the vehicle.
Seeing this man, everyone frowned.
Such injuries... and he’s still alive?
In his hand, the disabled brawny man held a chain leash, and at the end of it came a large military dog!
Upon seeing the military dog, everyone’s heart cried out—what a majestic dog!
And... is that a Level 3 Mutant beast?
Almost everyone’s eyes gleamed!
A Mutant beast, and a military dog at that! It was a rare commodity indeed!
Finally, a man with an exceptionally muscular build, dressed in casual clothes and with handsome features, stepped down.
"Hello everyone, I’m Wang Tao."
Looking at the group before him, Wang Tao nodded slightly.
"Mr. Wang, hello, I’m Gu Yun."
The suited man came forward, reaching out his hand.
Following behind Wang Tao, Cui Sheng hurriedly whispered an explanation:
"Mr. Wang, this is our municipal hall’s Head Secretary Gu!"
"Head Secretary Gu, hello!"
Wang Tao shook hands with Gu Yun.
This Gu Yun was an ordinary Level 3 ability user, with no Hidden Ability, and even his HP had not reached its maximum.
In the municipal hall, the difference between a head secretary and a secretary might seem like just one word, but in reality, it was a vast divide.
The head secretary held a senior management position, overseeing all the work of the municipal hall, serving the primary leadership.
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On the other hand, a secretary in the municipal hall, if not holding any additional roles, was just a lackey with no formal position, let alone various powers.
Gu Yun was Cui Sheng’s direct superior. Cui Sheng’s respectful treatment of Wang Tao and the personal delivery of Wang Tao’s spoils were surely at Gu Yun’s behest. Otherwise, even if Cui Sheng had the guts, he didn’t have the authority.
"Mr. Wang, please, let me introduce..."
Gu Yun led Wang Tao over to the group, introducing them swiftly according to their positions:
"This is Qi De, the boss of the Rush Army."
Qi De was a broad-shouldered man with a scar on his face, only slightly shorter than Wang Tao at about one meter ninety in height, but even bulkier than Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun!
"Haha, Mr. Wang, hello! Fame really does precede the man! Welcome, welcome!"
Qi De laughed heartily as he extended his hand. His features, somewhat fierce-looking, especially with the scar that wriggled like a centipede when he smiled, were intimidating.
Wang Tao shook hands with him.
[Awakening: Strength]
[Strength: All basic attributes are comprehensively enhanced, with significant strength increase (proportional to the Awakening Energy limit)]
This was the first time since his own that Wang Tao had seen an Awakener apart from himself.
Moreover, Qi De’s Awakening was a passive one. Passive awakenings definitely did not burst with power like active awakenings, but they lasted longer, being passive in nature.
But Wang Tao always had one question: for a passive Awakening, it seemed like Awakening Energy was of little use, right?
Now that he saw Qi De’s attributes, Wang Tao understood that Awakening Energy was also useful for passive Awakeners!