Having the genes of a demon king, I never intended to be a kept man.

Ye Ge boarded the carriage without hesitation, and Gao Shenxue, Xia Xiyao and the others followed suit.

The interior of the vehicle is very spacious; you can not only sit, but even sleep. It's twice the size of the largest RV Ye Ge had ever seen in her previous life, and it has all the necessary facilities. You could probably have a party here without any problem.

Ye Ge casually found a place to sit, looked out the window, and thought to himself that this carriage was nice. He could get one someday, and if he used a magical beast to pull it, it would definitely be even more impressive...

"Now look what's happened, we're going to be taken back as hostages." Nangong Qiuyue said dejectedly, "Hey Yege, what were you thinking? If we're taken back like this, once we're on their territory, won't that barbarian leader be able to do whatever he wants with us? We might as well have fought them already. Even if we were defeated, at least we'd die in battle..."

"Alright, stop nagging." Ye Ge glanced at her, feeling a little helpless. She thought to herself, how did Nangong Qiuyue, who was so silly and talkative as a child, become the long-legged, mature goddess that everyone among the Night Watchers secretly admired? Their temperaments are completely different!

"Anyway, aren't you fast runners?" Ye Ge said, "If you don't want to go, you should still be able to catch up with Teacher Cang Feng if you jump out of the car now."

"That won't do!" Nangong Qiuyue crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, humming as she said, "Wouldn't that make me a deserter? Besides, since we're assigned to the same mission, we're teammates. I'm not that kind of disloyal person..."

Ye Ge chuckled to himself, finding the little girl quite interesting.

Long Ying looked at Ye Ge and asked, "So what do you plan to do? What if he turns on us and takes us hostage when we get to his territory? These barbarians in the wilderness don't care about morality."

"I have no plans," Ye Ge shrugged. "We'll just have to take it one step at a time."

"Let's take it one step at a time..." Nangong Qiuyue almost fainted, turning to look at Gao Shenxue and Xia Xiyao: "Is this the childhood sweetheart you believed in?"

Xia Xiyao pouted and snorted, saying, "I just trust Xiaoye. Xue'er and I are both Xiaoye's die-hard fans. Do you have a problem with that?"

Nangong Qiuyue: "...hesitating."

Ye Ge smiled. In fact, what he was thinking was that the three options the system had given him had basically foreshadowed the general plot that would happen after each option was chosen.

The first and second options are self-explanatory, but the third option, although it only seems to say "you will unlock the hidden storyline" without explaining anything else, actually hints that even if you reach Bao Bingqing's stronghold, it will definitely not be a dead end.

Otherwise, the hidden plot points that follow would be meaningless.

The triceratops dragged the carriages through the jungle, kicking up clouds of dust.

The scenery outside the car window gradually changed, from a dense forest at the beginning to a misty, precipitous canyon.

Amidst the misty fog, one can vaguely make out a black city-state standing in the valley, surrounded by rugged peaks and steep cliffs.

Ye Ge narrowed his eyes slightly. He could practically recite the map of the human race in the game "Ten Thousand Races Map" by heart, but he never expected that such a mysterious city-state would exist in this place, which had never appeared in the game's storyline.

Xia Xiyao looked out the window and asked curiously, "Wasn't this a forest just now? How did it suddenly turn into such a steep valley?"

“It’s a barrier,” Gao Shenxue said. “We must have just passed through some kind of barrier, which is why the scene outside the carriage changed so suddenly.”

“So these wilderness forces have set up their headquarters in such a hidden barrier,” Long Ying said. “No wonder the Night Watch has been unable to find their lair.”

The triceratops slowly came to a stop in front of the gates of that small city-state.

Before them, the heavy steel gate slowly rose, accompanied by the creaking of hinges and turning wheels.

Ye Ge, Gao Shenxue, and the others got out of the car.

Bao Bingqing also got out of another car, leaning on his cane as he walked down step by step. Ye Ge carefully observed his right leg. Although the limp was not obvious, it was not faked. The cane was probably not just for decoration; his leg was indeed lame.

Furthermore, Bao Bingqing coughed several times in just a few minutes, and judging from his complexion, he was probably not in good health.

This is even more interesting.

An ordinary man, a cripple with a disease, was able to command so many savage forces in the wilderness, even the two extraordinary individuals, Madman and Yang Yin, obeyed his orders...

Ye Ge seemed lost in thought.

Could it be because he was sick and later died that he didn't appear in the main storyline of the game?

At this moment, Bao Bingqing had already come to his side, and said with a polite smile, "Young Master Ye, please."

Ye Ge nodded slightly and walked confidently into this small city hidden deep in the mountains. Once inside, Ye Ge discovered that most of the city was nestled within the mountains, as if a giant cave had been carved out of the mountain and a city had been built inside. Streets, houses, factories, markets, and even farmland and ponds were all present, and men, women, and children could be seen everywhere.

The cave walls are covered with exposed steel pipes, the purpose of which is unknown. Occasionally, unidentified foul gas can be seen escaping from the pipes. There are also many huge mechanical gears on the walls, which look quite old, almost like outdated products from the steam engine era. All the gears are constantly turning, making a loud noise.

Whether it's the giant gears, pipes, or the buildings in this city-state, the main color scheme is pitch black, which makes people feel somewhat oppressed.

"Welcome to Dark City," said Bao Bingqing.

Nangong Qiuyue opened her eyes wide and stood at the entrance, looking around like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden.

"I didn't expect these wilderness forces to be so wealthy..." Nangong Qiuyue muttered to herself.

She had originally thought that most of the scavengers in the wilderness lived in various ruins.

“This place may not be as good as Night City, or any noble-run city-state in the interior, but it’s at least a place where people can survive.” Bao Bingqing said calmly, moving his feet while holding his cane. “Let’s go, I’ll take you to the place where we entertain our guests.”