Translator: AnubisTL
"Should we check out this human city?"
Scar Dog frowned slightly, paused, and then said, "I remember the Human Race Guardian Association was just shouting recently about stripping Brother Jiang of his human status."
"Just a bunch of clowns," Chen Jiang replied casually. "Every race has people like that. With a large population, you're bound to find all sorts."
"Let's head back to the world tree and pack up our things. Then we'll go visit our neighbor."
Calling them neighbors was no exaggeration. The light gate to Humanity's Kindling City was less than 800 meters from his world tree. This meant he could quickly reach the human city, and vice versa. If the human city fell to alien race players, his own territory would be in danger too.
Soon, Chen Jiang and his group returned to the base of the world tree.
They had captured a significant number of slaves on this trip, mostly elves and ape-men, totaling over thirty. All were captured using the giant bell.
To be fair, the bell was remarkably effective for capturing slaves. Just lower it over their heads, and you could trap several at once. The only downside was the considerable wear and tear.
Mistakes often occurred, causing slaves to be crushed beneath the giant bell's edge, reduced to pools of blood and flesh.
Apart from that, there were no other drawbacks.
Currently, all the slaves were pinned beneath the giant bell, with only a small hole left for breathing.
Once everything was settled, Chen Jiang strode toward the light gate in the distance. "While we're here, let's see if we can find some clever human players to help manage these slaves. It's quite a hassle handling them all myself."
"Alright," Scar Dog replied, examining the effects of the items in his hand as he followed Brother Jiang.
He was still checking the two-star and one-star items he'd swindled from Mist Paradise, sorting through them to see if any were useful.
Don't underestimate one-star items.
In specific situations, certain one-star items could prove surprisingly effective.
Before long, Chen Jiang's group had walked to the light gate.
"Whoa," Scar Dog exclaimed, gazing at the gate standing in the wilderness. "Is this the kind of effect a four-star item can have? It looks way more impressive than my phantom gate."
The light gate resembled a massive, solid door carved from white jade, standing starkly against the desolate landscape.
The gate stood seven or eight meters tall and two or three meters wide, radiating an imposing aura.
It resembled... it resembled... it resembled the very gates of heaven.
At the top of this jade-white gate were three crimson characters:
"Kindling City."
"It's a shame they chose such a poor name," Scar Dog said, shaking his head regretfully. "The symbolism is terrible. 'Kindling City' sounds so tragic, as if the human race has been reduced to this single city, where the human players are desperately preserving the last embers of humanity."
"Then what name do you think would be better?" Li Hao asked, looking at Scar Dog curiously.
"I think it should be something more imposing," Scar Dog replied, resting his chin in his hand and pondering for a moment. "Like Dragon City? Or Hua City? Those sound much better than Kindling City, don't you think?"
"If we're going for imposing," Zhao Ritian interjected, his eyes gleaming with excitement, "I suggest Emperor City! Or Overlord City! At the very least, Heavenly Unification City would be good, symbolizing the unification of the world."
"Enough," Chen Jiang said, narrowing his eyes and shaking his head slightly. "Stop daydreaming about names. Let's go inside and see what this human city actually looks like."
"Alright."
Soon.
Scar Dog, clutching an energy block, led the way, stepping through the light gate first.
Chen Jiang and the others followed close behind.
With Scar Dog at the vanguard, they could withstand any immediate attacks upon crossing over.
This wasn't about using the energy block to activate a phantom gate for escape.
After all, the other side of the light gate was an unknown territory. Without Li Hao's map manifestation, activating a phantom gate randomly was too risky. Without Li Hao, his phantom gates would open to completely random destinations.
However, while the exit remained unpredictable, he could still control the entrance.
This meant that the moment they crossed over and faced an attack, he could instantly activate a phantom gate entrance right in front of them.
Any form of assault would be absorbed by this phantom gate entrance, leaving them completely unscathed.
In a way, this was the ultimate defensive skill.
In short, absolute defense!
A flash of white light filled their vision.
Before Chen Jiang could even react, a barrage of angry shouts erupted around them: "Hands up, or we'll open fire immediately!"
Waves of furious roars surged toward them like a tidal wave.
Chen Jiang finally opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the scene.
The sight before him was truly awe-inspiring.
Nearly a thousand light gates, arranged in a neat arc like ancient ruins, stood piled together. They had emerged through one of these gates.
In the distance, each gate flashed with white light. With every flash, human players stumbled out, only to be immediately swarmed by soldiers waiting outside.
The soldiers stripped them of their clothes before escorting them to an unknown destination.
The entire scene was chaotic.
As far as the eye could see, hundreds of thousands of people were crammed around the light gate entrances. Maintaining order proved difficult, and gunshots rang out intermittently.
Yet, despite the chaos, the process generally proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Just then—
Standing a few meters away, the dozen human players wielding rifles glared menacingly at Chen Jiang and his group. "Hands up! Or we'll shoot!" they roared.
"Kill your sister," Scar Dog retorted, rolling his eyes at the tense human players. "Do you even know who's standing behind me?"
"Human Player Chen Jiang."
"Does that name ring a bell?"
"Put down those Xiaomi Guns already. No need to be so jumpy."
As Scar Dog finished speaking, the dozen rifle-wielding human players froze in place, exchanging bewildered glances. Disbelief flickered in their eyes.
"Chen... Chen Jiang?"
If there was one name that resonated most powerfully among the human race, it was undoubtedly Chen Jiang's. Every human player had heard of him; in fact, even players from other races couldn't have missed his name.
After a moment's hesitation, the group slowly lowered their rifle barrels toward the ground, though they remained vigilant, their faces still wary as they watched Chen Jiang and his companions.
"I've already notified the Guardian Lord. Please wait here for a moment."
"The Guardian Lord will be here shortly."
The Guardian Lord had specifically ordered that upon hearing Chen Jiang's name, no unnecessary actions should be taken. Instead, they were to immediately notify him.
"Go ahead."
Scar Dog shrugged indifferently, scanning the scene of tens of thousands of people crammed together. He licked his lips and casually asked, "How do you distinguish between mechanical race players and human players?"
"With so many people, it would be easy for mechanical race players to slip through unnoticed."
"And this is just the beginning. You're already struggling to handle the crowd. As time passes, this place will only descend further into chaos."
"We have our methods for handling that," a human player surrounding Scar Dog replied, his voice hoarse and his expression grim.
Until Chen Jiang's identity was confirmed, he wouldn't reveal any further information.
Amidst the crowd, the Guardian Lord was already drenched in sweat, rushing back and forth. Before he could even catch his breath, a message flashed in his ear: "Chen Jiang, right? Good. Stay calm, show respect, and don't do anything else. Just wait for me to arrive!"
Without hesitation, he strode toward the coordinates transmitted through his earpiece.
The guard trailing beside him chuckled wryly. "Guardian Lord, this is the sixth Chen Jiang already. Shouldn't we just skip this one? Chen Jiang doesn't need our protection anyway. Why would he come to our human city?"
Shortly after the light gate opened, five individuals had already claimed to be Chen Jiang.
Two were indeed named Chen Jiang, but they weren't the Chen Jiang.
The next two were human players trying to exploit Chen Jiang's name for personal gain.
The final one was a mechanical race player who arrived with an arrogant and domineering attitude. To be honest, they were initially intimidated. After all, if Chen Jiang harbored hostility toward them, they wouldn't know how to handle it.
It was understandable if Chen Jiang held a grudge. After all, the Human Race Guardian Association had initially sent someone like Li Xiumei, which had undoubtedly offended him.
"Even if it's the sixtieth, we must go!"
The elderly man with graying temples, his face turning cold, rasped, "Do what you're supposed to do. Don't say what you shouldn't."
"Yes, sir."
The guard beside him felt a sudden pang of dread, realizing he had spoken too much. He nodded hastily, promising silence, and fell back to his position behind the old man, guarding him closely.
"Hah!"
The old man exhaled softly, straightening his attire and smoothing his graying temples before resuming his journey toward the designated coordinates.
Whether this Chen Jiang was genuine or an imposter, he had to greet him as if he were the real deal. First impressions were crucial.
In truth, he had wanted to call out to Chen Jiang when the human city was first established.
After all, Kindling City's security would be greatly enhanced by having such a powerful figure residing there.
However, he had refrained from mentioning Chen Jiang's name on the global speaker.
These powerful individuals loathed being bound by grand ideals. If he pressured Chen Jiang to protect Kindling City under the banner of human unity, it would likely backfire.
Moreover, given the Human Race Guardian Association's past grievances with Chen Jiang,
it was best to let Chen Jiang stay away. But if he did come, they had to receive him with the utmost respect!
The goal wasn't necessarily to get Chen Jiang to work for the Human Race Guardian Association, but at the very least, to prevent him from becoming an enemy.
Chen Jiang stood his ground, leaning on his cane as he surveyed the scene. The sight reminded him of a crowded train station during the Spring Festival travel rush.
The surrounding area was packed with people, their heads forming a dense sea.
The cacophony of voices blended together, sounding like cicadas buzzing frantically under the scorching sun.
Just then—
The crowd parted swiftly, like the Red Sea splitting before Moses, creating a clear path through the center.
An elderly man with slightly graying temples strode forward, flanked by a retinue of followers. He stopped directly in front of Chen Jiang and his group, his gaze fixed on Chen Jiang, who stood at the center. His voice, hoarse and solemn, rang out:
"Humanity's Kindling City warmly welcomes you, Chen Jiang."
"I am the leader of the Human Race Guardian Association."
"..."
Chen Jiang glanced up and down at the elderly man, gave a curt nod, and casually asked, "What's the current situation?"
"Everything is currently under control," the man replied vaguely before continuing, "Chen Jiang, though this may seem presumptuous, for security reasons, we must verify your identity through certain procedures."
"Oh, no need," Chen Jiang said casually, waving his hand as he pulled a human race horn from his pocket.
[ Human race horn! ]
[ Player Chen Jiang: "Does this prove I'm Chen Jiang?" ]
The elder paused, startled by the human race horn's notification. He glanced at the young man before him, then spoke with renewed respect, "Of course, that's more than enough."
"Um, Mr. Chen, it's a bit chaotic here. How about I send someone to escort you into the city first?"
"There are still some matters I need to attend to here. Would you be willing to join us for a banquet this evening?"
"Mm."
Chen Jiang nodded slightly, looking at the elder. "Kindling City has just been established, so naturally things are hectic. Go ahead and take care of your duties. I'll just wander around a bit and head back later."
"Very well."
Without further ado, the elder left immediately, leaving behind a guard to "show Chen Jiang and his companions around."
Of course, this also served as surveillance. After all, Chen Jiang's combat prowess was among the human race's absolute elite. If he were to unleash his full power within the city, the casualties would easily number in the tens of thousands.
There wasn't much to see, really.
The area was simply too crowded.
The guard led Chen Jiang and the others, weaving through the throng toward the distant city.
"So, why did we have to take off our clothes?" Scar Dog asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.
Every player entering through the light gate had been required to strip naked for a full-body inspection.
Men, women, young, and old—no one was exempt.
"Because alien races might surgically implant bombs or other dangerous objects into human players, then send them through the light gate to cause catastrophic damage," the guard explained.
"I see," Scar Dog nodded thoughtfully. "Has that ever actually happened?"
(End of the Chapter)
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