The cage plummeted and smashed into the ground, as if crashing onto a giant marshmallow.
White mist and green vegetation grew together on the land, truly resembling the fairyland from the story.
"Is this the Cloud Country?"
Zhang Wei mused, "In that case, the Heavenly Lake of the Flaming Mountain, and the fountains here, should be similar to some kind of wormhole dimensional gate, capable of crossing space and achieving teleportation."
"Considering the power level of this world, such wonders are normal."
Although he had arrived in the Cloud Country, Zhang Wei did not want to act rashly. The power of a nation was unfathomable, and one could never be sure if there were hidden old ancestors lurking around.
Gu Qiguli, a mere vanguard, required him to use twenty percent of his strength. If he encountered a hundred or eighty such individuals, even his ferocity would not be enough to withstand them.
In the distance, countless strange cavalry slowly approached, tying ropes to the cages and gliding through the clouds.
At this moment, Wuzi also regained consciousness from his dizziness and let out a cry of surprise at the sight of the cavalry!
"Holy hell! They're so damn ugly!"
"Their appearance is so damn creative!"
Zhang Wei nodded in strong agreement.
Their mounts were not ordinary horses, but rather mutated amphibians like salamanders, lizards, and crocodiles.
Most of them had a capture level between 2 and 5.
The cavalry themselves were even more grotesque, with creatures like mole spirits, toad spirits, turtle prime ministers, mushroom monsters, and snot beasts—not a single normal person among them.
They were generally short and adorable, with an average height of about 1.2 to 1.3 meters.
"Strange, whether it's Gu Qiguli or the soldiers of the vanguard, even if they weren't handsome and dashing, they were at least tall and mighty. Why would they use these kinds of… their own kin…"
After Zhang Wei's observation, the strength of these cavalry was extremely low, even falling below the first level of cellular awakening, indistinguishable from ordinary people.
As the people in the cage were chattering, one of the cavalry finally couldn't help it.
"Hey, we can understand the Common Tongue of the Continent!"
"Didn't your mothers teach you that it's impolite to talk about others behind their backs?"
Wuzi retorted angrily, "Politeness? Kidnapping tens of thousands of people at once and slaughtering hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers of the Northern Territory—do you people even deserve to speak of politeness?"
"We are very sorry, but for the sake of the citizens of the Cloud Country, we had no choice."
"No choice? Was someone forcing you to commit crimes? This is truly the biggest joke I've ever heard in my life!"
The cavalry fell silent, and a mutual silence ensued.
...
At the Northern Territory Desert City Arena, the "Wine and Beauty" encampment.
Beneath the rubble and ruins, faint whispers like those of mosquitoes and flies could be heard.
"Boss, can we go out now?"
"I really can't stand it anymore, I'm suffocating!"
"It's been 24 hours now, it should be safe outside."
Mo Du's voice rang out, "Has it been 24 hours already… It should be about time."
Slowly pushing aside the rubble and propping up a several-ton heavy beam, a gust of fresh air blew into the underground space.
The staff of "Wine and Beauty" all wore expressions of enjoyment.
They had never imagined that breathing could be such a luxury.
Mo Du looked out through the gap. The bloodstains outside had dried. Although people were coming and going, there were no mutated beings.
"It seems safe, but it's safer to observe for a while longer."
A subordinate seized the opportunity to flatter him, "If it weren't for your quick thinking, Boss, and the fact that you collapsed the room as soon as the battle broke out, we would have surely met our demise at the hands of the mutated creatures!"
It turned out that when the Black List and the Northern Territory were fighting, Mo Du had gathered all his staff and constructed stable defenses within the room.
Later, when the mutated legion attacked, they captured humans indiscriminately, and both the Northern Territory and the Black List forces were completely unable to resist.
Mo Du had a flash of inspiration and directly destroyed the load-bearing pillars, beams, and ceiling slabs.
Using these materials, he constructed a cavity.
From the outside, it looked no different from ruins.
Coupled with the chaotic scene at the time, the aftermath of the battle caused countless explosions, which allowed Mo Du to escape undetected.
"Boss, are you worried about Master Chef?"
"Don't worry, Master Chef is blessed with extraordinary luck. Judging by his features, he's not someone who's destined for a short life."
Mo Du snorted, "For these scumbags to harm the Master Chef, they're still a hundred years too early!"
In Mo Du's heart, Zhang Wei was the epitome of invincibility, and nothing could stump him.
All he had to do was not be a burden.
...
Soon, Zhang Wei and the others arrived at a complex of buildings.
The rows of houses were built from wood and straw, and combined with the continuous clouds, they looked quite poetic.
Here, Zhang Wei finally saw the tall, robust, and agile mutated beings, serving as guards stationed here.
As a chef, Zhang Wei received excellent treatment, even having a single-person cell.
Except for being unbound, the treatment was indeed quite good.
A "ladybug spirit" brought in a meal.
"Would you like something to eat? This is specially prepared for distinguished guests."
As he spoke, the ladybug spirit licked its lips at the meal tray, clearly not lying.
The tray contained large boiled sweet potatoes, along with some vegetables, sauce, and sliced fruit—all ingredients with a capture level.
"Eat! I'm starving."
The ladybug spirit cut the food into small pieces and fed Zhang Wei bit by bit.
In terms of attitude, the service was quite good.
Zhang Wei ate a symbolic amount and struck up a conversation with the ladybug spirit as if by chance.
"Say, Mr. Ladybug, serve me well and get me more delicious food!"
"I apologize, but the amount of food is fixed."
Zhang Wei expressed his dissatisfaction, "I came here voluntarily. The True Lord of the Clouds is a good friend of mine. He said I was coming and would give me a job of a vanguard's rank."
"Vanguard?"
"That's right, a vanguard!
Zhang Wei said proudly, "If you don't satisfy my demands, when I become a vanguard, I'll definitely deal with you first!"
The ladybug spirit was startled but still not convinced!
"You say you came voluntarily, what evidence do you have!"
Zhang Wei spread his hands, and the binding grass rope immediately loosened.
As the ladybug spirit was about to cry out, Zhang Wei said, "This rope was tied by the True Lord of the Clouds. He was afraid I'd be hurt, so he just tied it casually to go through the motions. If I weren't here voluntarily, I would have run away long ago!"
Saying that, Zhang Wei re-tied the grass rope.
"Ah, this… Ah, this…"
The ladybug spirit mumbled for a long time without making any sense.
Zhang Wei continued to threaten, "You don't believe me, I'm very angry. You're definitely going to suffer for it!"
The ladybug spirit finally couldn't withstand the pressure and knelt down, saying, "Sir… no, Master, these ingredients are managed by the kitchen. I really can't make the decisions!"
Zhang Wei hid his mischievous smile and put on a hesitant expression.
"Alright, I'll let you off this time, who told you I'm a great philanthropist? But…"
"But what?"
"I get bored easily, so you can just keep me company and chat with me!"