Their words were firm, and even the Scavengers hundreds of miles apart described the army of Yin Soldiers almost identically.
Such news spread, coupled with the completely cleared ruined cities, led more people to start believing in the legends of the Underworld.
The name of the Underworld gradually spread throughout the entire post-apocalyptic wasteland world.
Outside Jiao City, the elite Scavenger team from Survivor Gathering Place No. 73 stood at a distance, monitoring this vast ruined city.
This was an elite Scavenger team, with every member at least being a fourth-tier Transcendent, and the leader being a fifth-tier powerhouse.
In the post-apocalyptic Extraordinary System, once a zombie reaches the fifth tier, it undergoes a leap in power and can be called a Corpse King.
Likewise, when a Transcendent steps into the fifth tier, they achieve a qualitative transformation, and even in Survivor Gathering Place No. 73, a fifth-tier Transcendent is reckoned to be a significant powerhouse.
As a fifth-tier Transcendent, one should normally avoid approaching large ruined cities as much as possible to prevent their powerful aura from being sensed by a Corpse King, which could trigger a zombie horde.
A zombie horde of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands could overrun a survivor gathering place, and even a fifth-tier Transcendent would meet their end therein.
But this time was an exception, as their team was tasked with the important mission of monitoring the ruins of Jiao City.
Among them, a fourth-tier youth fiddled idly with a stone in hand. With a slight flick, the stone shot out like a bullet, leaving deep pits in the ground hundreds of meters away, exhibiting a destructive force even greater than a grenade.
The youth tossed the stone and muttered quietly:
"We've been monitoring here for three days already; is the information from Survivor Gathering Place No. 77 reliable or not?"
The leading fifth-tier Transcendent said nothing, but another middle-aged man in the team couldn't help but reprimand:
"This is the result of the elite Scavenger team from Survivor Base No. 77 investigating at the risk of their lives. How dare you question it so lightly?"
The young man glanced, sneered disdainfully, and said:
"Light questioning? Do you know the absurd information they've transmitted?"
"Yin Soldiers crossing, Underworld reappearing in the human realm? Gods about to return?"
Such ridiculous information can be spread; I even suspect the people from No. 77 have been completely brainwashed by the cult called the Underworld!
If it weren't for respect towards Captain Guo, do you really think I'd want to stay here and play monkey games with you?"
The middle-aged man was furious: "You..."
Seeing the argument about to escalate into a quarrel, the fifth-tier Transcendent, Guo Ze, finally spoke up.
Although the voice was calm, the two immediately fell silent upon hearing it, tightly shutting their mouths.
Guo Ze swept his gaze over the distant Jiao City, speaking in a low voice:
"There should be some truth to the news about the Underworld appearing and Yin Soldiers crossing.
It's not just from Survivor Gathering Place No. 77. Among the twenty gathering places that have established contact with our Place No. 73, three have sent similar messages, claiming that Yin Soldiers have crossed and cleared the surrounding restricted zones.
The earliest Survivor Gathering Place No. 131 has even moved into the ruined city and has started to restore power supply to ensure initial production and supply recovery."
At this point, Guo Ze paused briefly before saying:
"Of course, rather than the so-called Underworld myth, I prefer to believe that several powerful and unique Transcendents are conducting a massive sweep of the ruined cities to weaken the next zombie horde outbreak."
"Just a few Transcendents can contend with hundreds of thousands or even millions of zombies in ruined cities? How is that possible?" the youth exclaimed in disbelief.
Guo Ze shook his head: "With special Extraordinary Abilities and enough Transcendents of seventh-tier or higher, sweeping a city is not impossible.
Legend has it that in Survivor Gathering Place No. 1, a legendary ninth-tier Transcendent has emerged, with the strength to match an entire ruined city on their own.
At this, Guo Ze paused his words, gazing meaningfully towards Jiao City.
"A year ago, a team of several fifth-tier or higher special Transcendents might have been sufficient to sweep a ruined city, but now it's far from enough.
Just months ago, it was suspected that a ninth-tier Corpse King had emerged in Jiao City."
"Ninth-tier!" the youth gasped in fright, eyes full of terror.
To him, a fifth-tier Corpse King was already an unattainable entity, let alone a ninth-tier that's said to have undergone a second transformation in legend.
The middle-aged man couldn't help but ask: "Since there's a ninth-tier Corpse King in Jiao City, what exactly is our purpose here?"
"The ninth-tier Corpse King does not easily leave the ruined city. If the special team clearing the city were to plunge headlong into Jiao City, they would surely falter before the ninth-tier Corpse King, possibly even facing total annihilation. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵
We are here to monitor and, incidentally, forge a goodwill relationship with that special team.
With the ninth-tier Corpse King's emergence, once a zombie horde breaks out, Gathering Place No. 73 will have no chance of survival. This gives us an opportunity to connect with the gathering place behind the special team in advance, which may serve as a retreat path then."
Upon hearing Guo Ze's explanation, all the members cast admiring glances at him.
At that moment, someone suddenly exclaimed.
Everyone looked up, seeing a massive rift tearing open the sky, with a minuscule figure crossing through the rift above Jiao City.