Mengde seemed to sigh but perhaps he did not. After listening to Zola’s task report, he turned his attention to Zhong Shenxiu, "Your name is Li Wei? We owe you a lot this time... Were you a Demon Hunter before, hiding your true strength?"
This was the story concocted between Zola and Zhong Shenxiu.
After all, it would be too sensational for an ordinary person to suddenly become a Middle-level Vassal Demon Hunter, likely causing unnecessary trouble.
But for a Junior-level Vassal wandering Demon Hunter to risk advancement in the face of danger and succeed made much more sense.
As for why his abilities were hidden before, it’s only natural for a lone wanderer to keep a few trump cards up his sleeve.
"Yes, please forgive my previous transgression."
Zhong Shenxiu bowed in his apology.
"No wonder... I was wondering how an ordinary person could wander around the wilderness unharmed. Now there seems to be a reasonable explanation."
Mengde laughed, "Are you worried that Sky City doesn’t accept outside Demon Hunters? Hmm... We do have such a rule, but it can be changed. After all, you seem to be in very good condition, just like those who advanced through orthodox means, and you have also helped us establish a merit in this exploration."
"Thank you for your leniency."
Zhong Shenxiu thanked him once more.
It had to be said that Mengde wielded significant power within the convoy, and with his endorsement, even an outsider Demon Hunter joining Sky City wouldn’t pose any problem.
Rules are rules, but to many of those in high positions, they can be bent or even broken.
"There are good people among wandering Demon Hunters, of course, those people don’t count..."
Mengde pointed towards the prisoners outside and shook his head, "I hope you prove worthy of this trust..."
A huge steel war machine rampaged across the wasteland.
Zhong Shenxiu locked himself in a capsule room, familiarizing himself with his various abilities.
"Hmm, the abilities that the ’Faceless Spirit’ gave me mainly involve dreams, connecting to others’ dreams, providing comfort, information, or harm. Even achieving a kill within a dream doesn’t seem too difficult..."
"Besides, by actively entering dreams, I can avoid a lot of spiritual contamination and damage, or maybe use dreams to overlay reality, offering some protection?"
"Finally, a slight enhancement to my constitution, and..."
Zhong Shenxiu looked at his own arm.
In his mind, the arm slowly turned transparent until it completely disappeared.
"An invisibility ability similar to that of a chameleon? Not bad..."
While he was testing his abilities, Rachel knocked on the door, "Li Wei... we are nearly there."
Zhong Shenxiu, intrigued, stepped out of his room and followed Rachel up to the turret.
"We are about to return home."
Rachel’s expression wasn’t very joyful, as if she was thinking of the many teammates who had been sacrificed, "Also, Li Wei... the captain has agreed to transfer you to our team, to become an official member, not just a laborer. This means you can directly become a member of Sky City. Happy about that?"
Zhong Shenxiu replied in a perfunctory manner.
His interest in Sky City was purely because it was the largest known human settlement, potentially holding vast resources and intelligence.
Not to mention, those "Scriptures" had him particularly intrigued.
"The upper half is fine, it’s a bunch of technological creations and whatnot, which haven’t formed an industrial chain or scale, impossible for one person to handle... The lower half, however, is quite fitting, especially the part about how to assimilate the power of god-level monsters."
Ordinary vassal-level monsters, even if forcibly accommodated.
But god-level monsters are different!
They have completely mutated, possessing extremely terrifying power, equivalent to moving natural disasters, like that Black Fog King!
Forcing oneself to accommodate their traits, even for Zhong Shenxiu, would most likely result in disaster.
Therefore, it was necessary to find auxiliary steps and rituals.
’Hmm... I came to this world also with the thought of exploring the secrets of the True God... I wonder if they are recorded in the "Scriptures"...’
’Let’s set that aside for the moment, if the Sky City has endured two god-level disasters, might it retain the organs of god-level monsters?’
’If I could swallow them correctly, would that not be akin to ascending to heaven in a single bound?’
As Zhong Shenxiu’s thoughts were diverging, he suddenly saw a shadow appear in the far-off sky at the horizon.
The shadow continuously enlarged, turning into one Flying Airship after another.
Countless gasbags, cigar-like, floated in the immense height of ten thousand Zhang, connected by specific ropes and passages, combining to form a massive island suspended in mid-air.
The scavenger team members, who had accumulated a lot of repression and madness along the way, were now shouting loudly, some taking off their shirts and waving them, letting out the joy of homecoming to their heart’s content.
"Finally home, this journey was really long..."
Rachel muttered, "We could have... we could have just ignored everything and stayed in the Sky City, not going anywhere..."
"The big shots up there naturally have their considerations, and besides, the Sky City does need resources from the ground, like source stones, like the ’Scriptures’..."
Zola, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, gave Rachel a chop on the head, then turned to Zhong Shenxiu, "Everyone entering the city must go through a strict inspection, especially you, since you are registered as an outsider Demon Hunter in the records... I want to give you a heads up; the examination might be quite harsh, so be prepared mentally."
Zhong Shenxiu shrugged, expressing his helplessness.
Afterwards, he saw a Flying Airship stationed at the edge of the Sky City disconnect and slowly descend toward the ground.
The closer it got, the more palpable the immensity of the Flying Airship became; it was almost blotting out the sun.
And it was just a small part of the Sky City!
Approaching it, Zhong Shenxiu saw Mengde order the use of flags and signal flares to convey messages, which stirred some emotion in him.
’Before the apocalypse, this world at least had radios, but now they can’t even get wireless technology to work...’
’It’s also possible that their technological development took a wrong turn... After all, they have multi-turret mobile fortresses and steam-powered steel Mechas, how could wireless technology be out of reach?’
"Everybody, fall in line for disinfection and inspection!"
Mengde saw the Flying Airship descending and immediately issued the command.
For him, this was the final checkpoint on the road, which had to be strictly controlled.
After all, there were instances in the history of the Sky City where monsters parasitized team members and infiltrated, causing major disasters!
"Time for disinfection again."
Rachel grumbled, seeing the airship’s rear hatch open and a group of people cloaked in white protective suits emerge, complaining at the sight.
They carried tanks similar to those used for spraying pesticides and raised their nozzles, arranged very neatly, like warriors ready for battle, set to give the convoy a thorough disinfection.