Chapter 143: Shifting Fortunes

Click.

The door opened.

After gathering his thoughts, Yenir opened the door to find Xiao Hai standing there with a slight bow at the threshold.

“Commander Xiao, I’m settling in fine. And I do appreciate your help with my earlier trouble,” Yenir said.

He replied coolly.

Listening to the news that the Capital was nearly here, Yenir felt a surge of excitement. Things were moving fast—apparently the Capital had already settled his affairs. The thought of an imminent promotion to Third-Stage mid-level brightened his mood.

Xiao Hai was naturally elated; after all, he considered himself Yenir’s right-hand man.

“Just call me Uncle Xiao—it’s too formal to say Commander Xiao! Besides, I’ll take good care of the people you sent me. But what’s with this halt on bolstering the Safe Zone’s forces?”

Xiao Hai smiled warmly at Yenir, lowering his posture. He knew his value to Yenir was minimal—perhaps only in that Yenir treasured old ties and the friends here. So, as soon as they agreed to cooperate, he immediately recalled a large contingent of elite forces to safely bring Yenir’s mother and little sister back into the base. As for the troublemakers from Zhenjiang, they left shortly after Zhang Tao’s orders. Xiao Hai couldn’t help but marvel; this was real influence—a few words could settle Yenir’s issues, so to speak.

“Reducing the Safe Zone’s strength is just part of the preparations,” Yenir explained.

“Perhaps it won’t be safe here much longer,” added Xiao Hai.

Faced with Xiao Hai’s questioning, Yenir offered only vague explanations. He couldn’t bring himself to warn him about the impending disaster—nor was it necessary.

Tianfeng’s defenses were futile. When the monster horde arrived, even Third-Stage mid-level cultivators would fall. Zhenjiang was no place for defense anyway. In fact, he planned to hint this to Zhang Tao later.

This place was destined to be abandoned…

Once he established a foothold in the Capital Zone and gained sufficient influence, he intended to move trusted allies into a fortress he would later build.

Thus, he could let Xiao Hai forgo any further Safe Zone construction—just stay put until it was time to run.

“Not safe? Dangerous?”

Xiao Hai’s smile froze as he clearly picked up on Yenir’s underlying message. Lost in thought, he recalled Yenir’s earlier warning about the corpse tide.

“Is the corpse tide coming again?” he asked.

A twinge of unease stirred within him. Seeing that Yenir said no more, he decided not to press further, taking it as intelligence from Yenir’s mysterious backer.

Perhaps some super genius wandering the wilds of the Battle Zone had noticed that the corpse tide and the monsters were unusually restless.

After a resigned sigh, he didn’t dwell on it—simply committing it to memory.

For some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling that times were growing increasingly perilous…

“Uncle Xiao, has the Capital sorted out my sequence?” Yenir inquired.

“When are they arriving? Let me check—if there’s time, I might handle some personal matters,” Xiao Hai replied as Yenir headed toward the base’s exit.

Following closely at his side, Xiao Hai, acting as a subordinate, hesitated before speaking,

“About the sequence…”

“There doesn’t seem to be any official word. The notice I got says that tomorrow morning, the Military will dispatch six Third-Stage mid-level cultivators along with twelve Spiritual Energy Fighters to Tianfeng,” he explained.

“Besides that, nothing else was mentioned.”

“Oh, and the battle formation mentioned that only one person can go through with you initially. Your family may have to wait for the next unit.”

“This dispatch employs the fastest third-generation Spiritual Energy Fighters. With limited seating, they aren’t suitable for ordinary civilians,” Xiao Hai added.

A trace of envy crossed his face.

Six Third-Stage mid-level escorts—and he’d heard that this time there was also a high-level Awakener. With twelve Spiritual Energy Fighters acting as protection, this was a benefit few could ever enjoy. No exaggeration: the air and space power merely used to ferry Yenir could outmatch many Safe Zone defenses in no time.

One had to admit, once the authorities were alerted, the official protection measures would be unparalleled. They dreaded any harm coming to Yenir.

Being treated like a super genius came at a high cost—this deployment might very well bankrupt Tianfeng.

Yenir’s expression remained unchanged. The Military’s protective measures didn’t faze him, but the lack of sequence confirmation stirred a hint of suspicion in his heart.

Xiao Hai’s report had undoubtedly reached the top, and even Chen Kailai had vouched for him. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have dispatched the fighters.

But what about my sequence? Yenir was confident that his potential rating was first. In his past life, hardly any of the initial fire seeds shone brightly; most reached only Third-Stage high-level status by the final battle.

A subtle heaviness fell over him as he sensed a hint of calculation in the air.

“They’ll come for me tomorrow morning, then?”

“Alright, I understand,” Xiao Hai confirmed.

Without betraying any emotion, Yenir noted this and didn’t dwell on it. Even if issues arose, they shouldn’t be too serious. Once he proved himself in the Capital, nothing would be able to take what was his.

…….

Inside Tianfeng’s Inner City.

After a moment’s hesitation, Yenir glanced at a group message from Wang Zhen inviting him to a reunion. A few seconds later, he chose to decline.

It wasn’t that he was insensitive—it was just that he had no time.

He had hesitated over attending the classmates’ reunion, but ultimately passed. Aside from Wang Zhen, he wasn’t close with anyone.

In fact, he needed to meet with Chen Kailai later that evening.

This renowned veteran Third-Stage master from the North China Battle Zone had come to Tianfeng in person, just to talk before leaving—and to hand him a Skill Book. Given the nascent stage of his power, Yenir felt it was essential to have an in-depth discussion.

As for Wang Zhen, regarding the girl who had helped him many times in the past, Yenir could only offer an apology.

He assured her that they would meet again. Xiao Hai had been arranged to covertly protect certain people, and once the fortress was built, they would all be transferred.