Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

Under a sky full of stars, an armored vehicle drove alone into the wilderness. Its blinding headlights pierced the darkness, echoing the brilliant starlight.

Li Yelai silently gazed at the night outside the window.

This was his first time leaving the giant city. Although he had heard many scavengers boast in the antique shop, this was also the first time he had ever seen the wilderness with his own eyes.

Leaving the giant city means leaving human civilization behind.

The scene is one of desolation and ruin. The once prosperous city has been reduced to ruins and dilapidated buildings. The highways and overpasses that once flowed like veins and arteries have long since collapsed and broken.

In the distance, the lights of the giant city gradually disappeared, replaced by the twinkling starlight in the wilderness.

The night sky was clearer and more magnificent than what he had seen in the giant city, as if countless eyes were watching him.

The wilderness under the cover of night is tranquil and mysterious, but it also harbors unknown dangers.

After leaving the city gates for a while, the road conditions deteriorated.

The main road was made of hard sand and gravel, a stark contrast to the smooth roads within the giant city. This was only the result of occasional repairs to the city; further away, there probably wouldn't even be a road.

No wonder scavengers and processors prefer to drive off-road vehicles. If a sedan or sports car with a low chassis came along, wouldn't it be easy to fall and die in the wilderness?
But there was nothing that could be done; the human living areas were locked inside the giant city.

It was simply impossible to build long and effective roads outside the great city.

Even if it is built, it will be destroyed.

“Before the calamity, this land had numerous roads and houses. Over 1.4 billion people lived and worked on this land. Every village and town had a road. The total length exceeded five million kilometers,” Little Mad King said as he stepped on the gas pedal.

1.4 billion people, more than 5 million kilometers of highways.

Li Yelai felt somewhat emotional.

People of this era can hardly imagine how prosperous and wealthy the area was before the calamity.

In this era, population is of paramount importance.

A large city can only develop when it has a sufficient population.

Border City No. 3 can be considered one of the most populous megacities.

Even after the No. 71 Disaster Fog, many people migrated to other megacities, and the population still reached over seven million, surpassing most megacities.

Even if you take any of these mega-cities individually—the three border cities, Lava Mine City, Yaoqing, Kunlun, Shuchuan, Bashu, and so on—combined together, they probably wouldn't have a population of 300 million.
As for highways, well, in this day and age, transportation within the megacity is quite convenient.

But in the wilderness, even having a dirt road is considered good.

For the operators to enter the restricted area, they had to traverse mountains and rivers. As a result, half of their mission time was spent traveling.

"So, whenever I see the desolate scenery in the wilderness, I understand the old man's belief in reclaiming 1260 million square kilometers of territory," said Little Mad King. The old man she was referring to was naturally the old Mad King who took her in and raised her.

“I understand completely,” Li Yelai nodded in agreement.

As an old man who had witnessed the prosperity before the calamity, the Mad King naturally wanted to restore the world to its rightful state.

May our compatriots no longer be harmed by disasters and forbidden zones, and may we reclaim our living space from these areas and the fog of disaster!
"It's a pity he'll hardly see this scene with his own eyes," Little Mad King murmured.

The next topic became quite heavy: Old Mad King's condition was deteriorating.

Forget about recovering lost territory; even if he wanted a truly satisfying battle, he would have to pay a heavy price.

His curse was terrible, and the battles of his early years had depleted his life force.

The once arrogant king, who dared to challenge two kings of the penalty area to a duel, is now a frail old man.

His ambitions remained unfulfilled, and he was already powerless to act.
If the border city loses the old Mad King, how will humanity face the forbidden zone? This is a heavy burden weighing on all those who know the truth.

"So we need to hurry up and grow stronger, because the old man can't protect us for much longer." Little Mad King said this very seriously.

Li Yelai nodded solemnly.

Even the greatest genius is ultimately an illusion if they don't grow into a fully-fledged individual.

Seeing Li Ye nod, the Little Mad King seemed very satisfied: "Very good. After the mission is over, I will arrange special training for you. I will try my best to help you reach the fifth awakening as soon as possible. After the fifth awakening, you will be able to walk freely even after leaving the giant city."

Little Mad King wasn't entirely satisfied with Li Yelai's advancement speed, after all, her advancement was quite rapid.

Through continuous battles and dangers, she honed herself, continuously expanding the Well of the Soul, ascending the ladder of the five senses, and stepping onto the path of the six senses.

Li Yelai's possession of the "good thing" of inevitably encountering a strong enemy is perfect for this method.

The constant stream of powerful enemies will force Li Ye to hone his skills at the fastest speed!

Li Yelai was somewhat worried upon hearing this: "You're not going to throw me into the restricted area and then force me to use the 'inevitable strong enemy' technique, are you?"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Little Mad King replied.

The vehicle then continued moving forward.

We drove along an abandoned road, bumping and jolting along. Before the disaster, the road had long been cracked and difficult to drive on due to years of neglect.

They could only follow the roads used by caravans.

The destination is the Heavenly Realm, which is about 800 kilometers away from Border City No. 3 as the crow flies.

However, due to transportation and the limited area of ​​activity in Heiyuan City, the two had to take a detour, which would take several days.

Because it was late at night, Li Yelai rarely saw other scavenger groups, but he did see a gathering place in the distance.

Li Yelai's physique was very strong, which also improved his vision.

The firelight could be seen from afar. The gathering area was surrounded by a fence covered with barbed wire and sheet metal, and armed personnel with guns were on guard around the perimeter.

The settlement was mostly inhabited by scavengers, and because it was not under the jurisdiction of the megacity, it was a true lawless zone.

Aside from scavengers or caravans in need of supplies, no one else will easily approach them; don't forget they sometimes act as bandits. In lawless lands, they'll do anything.

However, the area outside this gathering place was quite noisy. Li Yelai saw many armed men patrolling nearby.

I don’t know what’s going on?

This place is too far from the border city; it has long been outside the signal range of the giant city.

Little Mad King naturally noticed the unusual situation at the gathering place. After a brief moment of thought, she pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the headlights.

"There might be something strange on the road ahead. Let's disguise ourselves and go in to investigate. You can drive later," Little Mad King said, glancing at Li Ye.

Li Ye arrived, and both of them were wearing Nightless City trench coats. Underneath Little Mad King's trench coat was a black, tight-fitting leather jacket that facilitated movement.

Some people are too conspicuous; they have to disguise themselves as scavengers. Otherwise, some people with guilty consciences might react excessively.

The next second, Little Mad King unbuckled his seatbelt and then bent down to climb from the driver's seat to the back seat.

As she leaned forward, her perfect curves were revealed in full beneath her tight leather outfit. Her breasts were soft and full, her waist slender, her hips round and firm, and her long legs were even more alluring. Her movements were incredibly fluid, like a water snake, and she slid from the driver's seat to the back seat in an instant.

Li Yelai only felt a cool fragrance wafting past him.

This made Li Yelai ponder whether he could flip over so nimbly.

Hearing the sound of a zipper being pulled down behind him, Li Yelai didn't turn around. Instead, he said, "Give me your clothes, I'll get off and change." "There's no need. I don't care about these things. It'll be fine soon," came the slightly amused Little Mad King's voice from behind.

Then came the soft rustling sound of clothes brushing against skin.

A few dozen seconds later, Little Mad King spoke again: "I'm ready, come over here. I'll sit in the passenger seat."

“Okay. Give me a seat.” Li Yelai turned around, climbed over the seat, and saw Little Mad King in a windbreaker.

A loose-fitting black windbreaker concealed her tall, slender figure. She also wore a gas mask, obscuring her beautiful face; through the visor, a pair of indifferent, beautiful eyes could be seen. A hunting knife and a pistol hung at her waist, giving her a distinctly scavenger's air.

"Don't forget to load your weapons, and don't give us any openings," Little Mad King reminded him, before slipping away from the passenger seat like a snake once again.

Li Yelai also began to change his clothes; the authorities had prepared a lot for this operation, including clothing for gathering intelligence.

Li Yelai put on a black windbreaker, a gas mask, and tied an axe and a large-caliber revolver to his waist.

After the disguise was finished, Li Yelai drove towards the gathering place.

As Li Ye got closer, he could see things more clearly.

Outside this gathering place, there were indeed many trucks and SUVs parked. There were also quite a few armed guards.

"It seems to be a caravan?" Li Yelai said, his voice muffled due to the gas mask he was wearing.

“Hmm, it’s not small; it’s practically taken over the entire settlement,” Little Mad King replied. “Let’s go over there. Let’s see how lucky you are.”

"What do you mean by 'my luck'?" Li Yelai frowned, somewhat dissatisfied. "The world has many misunderstandings about me."

Little Mad King glanced at him. Even she knew Li Yelai's name, Night Monster Cage General.

This doesn't seem to have much to do with whether or not you open the face mask or whether or not you trigger the encounter with a powerful enemy; it's just pure 'good luck,' right?

That's not Li Yelai's fault.

To this day, Li Yelai still doesn't know why he suddenly gained several merit points during a dinner date with the doll.
As Li Yelai's vehicle approached, armed personnel immediately signaled him to slow down and stop.

A guard approached and shouted, "Where are you from? What are you doing here?"

The guards scrutinized the two, their probing gaze lingering on the Little Mad King for a moment.

Although she was wearing a windbreaker that concealed her figure, it was still identifiable as a woman. And she seemed to have a good figure.
However, after noticing the pistol that Little Mad King was playing with, the guard withdrew his gaze.

“Border City No. 3, the Wang Family Scavenging Team,” Li Yelai replied, rolling down the car window. The Wang Family Scavenging Team was an officially assigned identity. Yes, it was the family of that old bastard Wang De.

"The Wang family of Border City No. 3...that down-on-their-luck household," the guard muttered.

Then, the guard shouted, "Parking here costs 100 Giant City Coins per day. If you can't accept that, park outside. We are not responsible for any accidents that happen outside."

"That's really shady," Li Yelai cursed inwardly, "thankfully the authorities have prepared a lot of funds."

"Quickly, anyone who doesn't know better would think the Wang family can't afford parking! Don't you know how the Wang family got its start?" Li Yelai shouted.

“That’s true, everyone knows your Wang family. You know the rules, right? Don’t fire your gun in the gathering area. Otherwise, you’ll be fined,” the guard chuckled, gesturing to those behind him. The iron gate, covered in steel wire, slowly opened.

Li Yelai took out a pack of unopened cigarettes from his pocket and tossed it to the guard at the door.

He asked, "Why are there so many people today? Which caravan has arrived?"

Li Yelai doesn't smoke, but he knows that using it to communicate is very effective when venturing into the wilderness.

Sure enough, after accepting the cigarette, the armed guard's expression instantly became friendly.

He weighed the cigarette in his hand for a moment, then smiled and said, "The Red Dart Merchant Guild is here. It seems there's been trouble on the trade route. If you can make contact, go to the Redstone Bar to find them."

Red Darts Merchant Guild? Xu Shi's merchant guild?

Li Ye nodded in agreement and then drove into the gathering place.

The gathering place was even more lively than I had imagined. It was even more vibrant and bustling than the nightlife of the big city.

Neon lights flashed everywhere, revealing fierce-looking scavengers as well as heavily made-up women posing provocatively to solicit customers. There were also casinos and shady dealings.

It truly lives up to its name as a lawless land.

No wonder some people like to go to the wilderness. One of the scavengers that Li Yelai met said that he often went to the gathering place to buy newspapers.

Li Yelai wondered if newspapers were still not available for sale in the city. Later, he understood what "selling newspapers" meant.
Li Yelai parked the car to the side and asked, "I've made contact with the higher-ups of the Red Dart Chamber of Commerce. Well, it was a friendly contact, I guess. Perhaps I can get information directly from them. But that would expose my official identity."

"It's alright, we came here to gather intelligence anyway," said Little Mad King.

“Alright then.” Li Yelai nodded, and the two got out of the car.

There's no need to worry about the vehicle's safety; it was designed by the equipment department. Most people wouldn't be able to handle it.

However, Little Mad King did attract the attention of some scavengers.

But seeing that both men were carrying pistols, they abandoned their plans. However, they still looked at Little Mad King with ill intent.

Li Yelai stopped, frowned, and thought to himself, "Surely I won't be fined for taking them down?"

The Little Mad King calmly replied, "Don't worry about it, keep moving forward."

Meanwhile, in a private room at the Redstone Tavern, Xu Shi was drinking alone with several high-ranking members of the Chamber of Commerce.

"There's no other way. We've taken down both of the psionicists we hired. We have to take a detour around that route."

"That would take a lot of time, and we wouldn't be able to get there in time. We'd have to pay a lot of money."

"How about we hire a psychic here and try our luck?"

"Damn it, if we hadn't run into the officials of Border City No. 3, we would have had enough manpower."

"Yes, even Scarface and Brother An were arrested and imprisoned. Otherwise, they should have had a chance."

The chamber of commerce leaders were discussing the matter animatedly.

Xu Shi, who had remained silent, smashed the wine bottle in his hand and said with a ferocious expression, "If I ever see that brat again, I will definitely..."

Just then, the door opened and someone pushed it open and entered: "Boss, someone you know is looking for you."

Look, look, look! What are you looking for? Can't you see I'm angry?

Xu Shi turned around angrily, about to yell at him, when he saw Li Yelai behind the man.

"Hey, Mr. Xu Shi. It's nice to meet an old friend in a foreign land," Li Yelai said, taking off his gas mask.

Upon seeing that handsome face, the expressions of the chamber of commerce executives in the room changed, and they all subconsciously looked at Xu Shi.

It seems to be asking, 'Where were you? Oh, what would you do to him if you saw him again?'

Xu Shi's expression instantly became very friendly, and he rubbed his hands together while bowing and scraping.

"Brother, what brings you here?" (End of Chapter)