Parking the bus steadily in the Works Department parking lot.
Master Tian checked his attire once more, confirming no parts were exposed, then quickly got off to complete the handover procedures and headed straight home.
As a formal employee of the Works Department, he had been allocated a house long ago. Though it was also a tube building, the area was slightly larger than Cheng Ye's room.
Later, when his daughter also joined the Works Department, the adjacent room happened to be vacant, so the higher-ups allowed him to break through the non-load-bearing wall between the two rooms, converting it into a two-bedroom unit.
Walking onto the main road, Master Tian looked up at the rolling dark clouds in the distance, unconsciously quickening his pace.
But miraculously, despite the bustling crowds on the roadside, his figure moved through the crowd like a swimming fish, making no contact with anyone.
Occasionally when pedestrians reacted and turned to look, they only glimpsed a black shadow hurrying along with head down, unable to even see his face clearly.
Soon enough, just past 6:45, Master Tian slowed his pace and turned into the Tianyun Minerals Phase Three Family Compound.
"Old Tian, getting off work so early today?"
"So envious, your job is both comfortable and stable."Two middle-aged men approached and greeted him. Master Tian looked up and nodded cheerfully, "Rain's coming, no one's taking the bus, so I just knocked off early."
"Hey, you've got it easy. I just received orders, tonight's probably going to be a sleepless night."
"Tell me about it, I've got to work until dawn too."
"What a coincidence, I also got word, tonight's going to be a struggle."
The three men passed each other sideways, tactfully maintaining some distance between them.
When he reached the stairwell entrance, Master Tian couldn't help but turn back and shout, "Old Sun, Old Liu, you better stay alive."
"Don't worry, we won't die." Old Sun didn't look back, chuckling as he left.
Old Liu did pause his steps, waving his hand, "I'm a bachelor with no attachments, but you've got family to worry about. Don't go doing anything foolish."
Foolish?
Master Tian didn't respond, watching the two men's hurried departing figures before turning to go upstairs.
Reaching the third floor, he lightly knocked on the door in a rhythm of three long, one short.
Swoosh.
The door opened immediately, revealing a middle-aged woman's very nervous face.
"Old Tian, why did you suddenly come back at this hour?"
"Let's talk inside."
Glancing at the other rooms in the hallway, Master Tian entered and locked the door behind him.
Cough, cough.
Coughing sounds mixed with Tian Lei's voice came from inside the room, "Dad, you're off work?"
"Mm, off work."
Master Tian replied, opening his defense communicator and switching to the disaster module before handing it to the middle-aged woman.
In just an instant, the woman's face turned deathly pale, her hand holding the defense communicator trembling slightly.
"Shh."
Making a silencing gesture, Master Tian lowered his voice, "Jingyun, I need to go out later. You watch our daughter, don't let her go out and take risks."
"What about you?"
Master Tian waved his hand and walked into the adjacent room.
Three days had passed, and though Tian Lei's high fever had broken, she still seemed listless.
Seeing Master Tian enter, she struggled to sit up from the bed, forcing a faint smile, "Dad, going out again later?"
"Not going out."
"You're still pretending with me?" Tian Lei patted the bed, indicating for Master Tian to sit beside her, "These past nights I may have been sick, but I wasn't deaf. I heard clearly every night when you snuck out."
Master Tian fell silent, looking down at his calves that had already begun to show muscle atrophy.
Had the former Unity of Man and Heaven realm top assassin, barely past his fifties, already aged to this extent?
Even his daughter, who had never practiced martial arts, could already...
"I was tricking you."
Tian Lei burst into giggles, pointing to her head, "Dad, it's not that your martial arts have declined, it's this that's declined. I always told you to read more books while waiting for passengers, but you always made excuses. Now you see, right?"
"Uh."
Master Tian was stunned, then shook his head with a wry smile.
"My daughter worked herself to death, dedicating her heart and soul to the sanctuary city, but there are always parasites who want to destroy my daughter's achievements."
His eyes suddenly grew cold, "You think I can tolerate that?"
"Can't tolerate it."
Tian Lei still smiled faintly, but her words carried killing intent, "Dad, you must kill them, kill them all, don't miss a single one. Can't let these parasites continue harming our buffer zone after tonight, ruining Inspector Cheng's efforts, ruining everyone's hard work!"
"Don't worry, after going out these few nights, Dad's got it figured out."
Master Tian nodded, then stood up.
He reached under the bed and pulled out a black backpack.
Unzipping it, inside were neatly arranged over ten daggers gleaming with cold light, a short sword the length of a forearm, and three identical-looking defense communicators.
The overhead light shone directly down, yet the short sword cast no shadow, only a faint purple gleam flowing along the blade.
"Tian Wuying."
The middle-aged woman Xu Jingyun walked in carrying a stack of pure black clothing, her gaze falling on the short sword in his hand, "Thirteen years. Everyone else is playing with guns now. Can your sword still dance?"
"Guns are for protection, swords are for killing."
Master Tian smiled as he took the clothes, changing while speaking, "Don't worry, I'm long past doing reckless things. Smart people play with sharp words and wit."
"You and your talk."
Watching her husband shed his usual thin and kindly middle-aged appearance and don tight black assassin's garb, Xu Jingyun's eyes grew slightly dazed, as if she had instantly fallen back to years past.
"I'm leaving."
Clipping an anonymous defense communicator to his waist, Master Tian took a deep breath.
"If you're not home by 11, I'll come find you."
"Forget it, you third-rate assassin, no improvement after all these years. You'd scare me to death going out."
Master Tian waved dismissively, not bothering to bicker. When he closed the door, his figure still seemed somewhat bulky and clumsy, but the next second he leaped directly from the corridor window like an ape.
Three stories high, nearly 10 meters.
His fingertips barely borrowed force from the drainage pipe, and his entire body floated down to the ground like a feather.
Then, at a terrifying speed incomprehensible to ordinary people, he began running along the wall corners.
Strangely, when he ran through building shadows, even when brushing past pedestrians, they remained completely unaware, as if his figure was completely hidden in the shadows.
"Huff"
"Huff"
From the city district to the northern suburbs, Master Tian was running somewhat breathlessly.
He was getting old after all. After just about ten kilometers, he could already feel his stamina rapidly declining.
Looking at the time on his defense communicator, exactly half an hour had passed since departure.
Looking around, the northern suburbs under the dark clouds carried a heavy, oppressive atmosphere.
Dilapidated flat houses, winding alleys, like a maze that seemed impossible to escape once entered.
Master Tian caught his breath momentarily, casually plucked a handful of leaves from a roadside tree, then leaped onto a flat roof, moving nimbly between the shantytown rooftops like a wildcat.
Soon, reaching the left-center area of the shantytown, he suddenly stopped, squinting down below.
In front of an inconspicuous small flat house, someone was pulling a cart over.
On the cart were stacked four burlap sacks.
Master Tian reached into his pocket, pulled out the leaves he had just picked, and with a flick of his fingertips, the freshly picked leaves shot out like throwing knives.
Rip.
The two rear burlap sacks were slashed open, and dark brown powder poured out.
"Damn, how did the bags tear?"
The young man cursed loudly, quickly shouting toward the flat house ahead, "The bags tore! Come help quickly, we'll withdraw after finishing this job!"
Whoosh.
The previously dead-silent shantytown suddenly disgorged over ten young men.
Pots, bowls, ladles, basins, anything that could hold powder was brought out, frantically collecting the dark brown powder on the ground.
"Heh, parasites!"
A flash of terrifying killing intent passed through Master Tian's eyes.
A special crystalline powder had been added to the Stand-In Starfish epidemic powder.
Red Blood Worm powder.
This was one of the main ingredients he used to prepare life elixirs, capable of slightly boosting human immunity.
According to market prices, every 5g of Red Blood Worm powder cost 3 contribution points.
Through distillation processes, 20 kilograms of epidemic powder could extract nearly 100 grams of Red Blood Worm powder.
A total of 60 contribution points!
What these parasites did was purchase epidemic powder, convert it to Red Blood Worm powder, then smuggle it to other sanctuary cities in exchange for large quantities of supplies.
"Damn!"
Master Tian cursed under his breath, reaching for his side.
He took out his defense communicator and opened the camera function, recording the young men collecting powder below.
Then his body flew backward, fingers quickly tapping out numbers.
"Hello, Emergency Epidemic Prevention Department? I've discovered a den selling epidemic powder in the North City District. The video has been sent over. Mm, mm, the location is in the fourth row of flat houses, units six through nine."
"I don't know if they're sent by neighboring sanctuary cities. Mm, you investigate yourselves."
"No need to thank me, I'm just an enthusiastic resident."
Hanging up, Master Tian sneered coldly.
After waiting less than ten minutes, several vans came charging from the city district.
At least forty armed guards got out, surrounding the shantytown with lightning speed.
After waiting about ten more minutes, intense gunfire erupted from within the shantytown.
Unfortunately, the resistance lasted less than ten seconds before being suppressed by overwhelming firepower. All the parasites involved in the reselling were dealt with on the spot without need for arrest.
"Old buddy, this era doesn't need you anymore."
Touching the sword at his waist, Master Tian smiled freely and hurried toward the next den.
These past nights, he had secretly scouted many locations.
Those trading posts hidden in shantytown shadows, workshops distilling Red Blood Worm powder, even channels for transferring supplies, he had figured them all out clearly.
He couldn't handle the parasites higher up, there had to be more capable people to deal with them.
But the ones below, he wouldn't let a single one escape.
"I'm an enthusiastic citizen, I'm reporting..."
"West City District, fourth warehouse, secret compartment under the floor..."
"Video sent over, I'm reporting..."
One den after another was exposed, and time quickly reached 8:30 in the evening.
Strong winds were already howling, scattered raindrops pattering down, and the air humidity was rapidly climbing.
Faintly, gunshots were already sounding throughout the buffer zone, as if blowing the horn of approaching chaos.
Master Tian hurried forward, looking at the distant Survival Library. He had just pulled out his defense communicator when his body suddenly flashed backward, and the sword at his waist automatically slid into his hand.
Clang.
A crisp collision sound rang out as the purple-gleaming short sword clashed hard with a tool axe.
Tricky force transmitted from the axe blade, and Master Tian nearly couldn't grip his Shadowless Sword.
However, the material quality difference was immediately apparent. The axe blade was instantly shattered by the sword edge, wood and metal shavings flying everywhere.
"Unity of Man and Heaven?"
"You're also Unity of Man and Heaven?"
Both men stepped back several paces, their eyes full of wariness as they looked at each other.
With this examination, Master Tian immediately noticed some clues.
Though the middle-aged man opposite had his face covered, he wore unremarkable coarse cloth short sleeves, his muscles bulging like rocks all over his body.
Whether from his dress or the strength he displayed, he didn't seem like one of those sneaky parasites from the buffer zone.
"Didn't expect this buffer zone to be truly full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. You're new here?"
"Indeed, haven't been here long." The middle-aged man paused, cupping his hands, "Big brother, I've been watching this place for several days. How about you try somewhere else?"
"Just change like that?"
"You're old. Even with that sword, you can't beat me."
The middle-aged man spoke bluntly, casually unbuttoning his short sleeves, preparing to use his fists to explain why he was so confident.
However, the next second, cold sweat suddenly broke out on his forehead.
"Continue talking."
Pointing a Buffalo combat pistol, Master Tian looked strange.
"What era is this, running around playing these fighting and killing games without even bringing a gun?"
"I..."
"I what? What's your name?"
Master Tian hooked off the safety with his little finger, his body slightly twisted. Though there was no major movement, his entire person seemed to merge with the wind like a falling leaf, instantly losing all sense of presence.
"Come on, let's test whether within seven steps, your fist is faster or my bullet is faster."
The middle-aged man stood frozen, stunned for a while, then slowly rebuttoned his opened short sleeves.
If it were an ordinary person, he was confident his fist wouldn't necessarily be slower.
But the opponent was also a Unity of Man and Heaven expert. His sixth sense told him that any slightly excessive movement would definitely result in a headshot the next second.
"Speak up?"
The middle-aged man gritted his teeth, slowly squeezing out three words from his mouth, "Chu Yunfeng."
"Where do you live?"
"I..."
"My patience is limited. Be honest or wait for me to shoot?"
"The... the shantytown."
"You newcomers always think about crooked ways to make money, not finding proper jobs to earn money and support your families. You really think having Unity of Man and Heaven strength means you can swagger around this buffer zone?"
Master Tian shook his head coldly, "Get lost immediately. I don't want to say it twice."
"No way."
Chu Yunfeng said urgently, "I need the reporting reward, and I need the weapons they have. Without these, in this infection tide, I... my family won't survive."
"Reporting reward?"
Master Tian was suddenly stunned, thinking he had misheard, "Uh, you also..."
"Times have changed. The mechanisms in Happiness City are very comprehensive, far more advanced than many sanctuary cities I've been to. Money from fighting and killing comes from questionable sources. Without connections above, you can't even spend it. I've been watching for several days. This group uses the library as cover, smuggling at least 500 kilograms of epidemic powder hidden inside. There's another 300 kilograms coming later. The reporting reward is at least... 200 coins."
"How do you know about the infection tide news?"
"I 'asked' it from them. They all know."
Nodding toward the library, Chu Yunfeng sighed, "Only ordinary people don't know."
"This sanctuary city is already rotten to this extent, and it still deserves to be called comprehensive and advanced?"
"Rotten?"
Chu Yunfeng shook his head slightly.
Somehow, his mind suddenly flashed to his first day arriving at Happiness City.
Rotten, indeed rotten. Even the inspectors at the top of the buffer zone hierarchy were squeezing oil from ordinary people.
Good, also indeed good. There were also inspectors willing to help them without compensation, helping without any purpose.
Moreover, these past days, he had encountered too many good people, all doing their best to help him take root in this sanctuary city.
Unfortunately, his luck was really too poor.
Just as he had prepared to work hard, he learned about the contact-based infection source outbreak.
"Big brother, you may not have been to other sanctuary cities in recent years. Compared to those places, this is truly already a paradise. At least... the adults here, and some inspectors, they really treat us people as human beings, not as tools, numbers, or sacrificial victims for testing mechanisms."
As his words fell, Chu Yunfeng wanted to say more, but saw Master Tian's hand tremble as he directly threw the gun over.
After he numbly caught it, the other man tossed over his defense communicator as well.
"Big brother, what's this about?"
"Remember what you just said. Coming here, consider yourself human. Don't say those tool-like words anymore. Live with your head held high and dignified."
Master Tian smiled freely, "This gun is for you, and this defense communicator, anonymous. I've already reported 6 dens, haven't claimed any rewards. You understand what I mean, right?"
"This..."
Chu Yunfeng was stunned, his eyes full of incredulous realization.
"No matter what happens, remember to go home before 11. Your family needs your protection more than the buffer zone does."
"But?"
"Don't argue with me. Eliminating pests... it's not the turn of you newcomers who just joined. Staying alive is your task."
"This place."
Master Tian paused, "At least for now, it's still us old guys' territory!"