Chapter 8: The Blonde Woman

Everyone turned their heads toward the direction of the voice.

“It’s the Guard Squad!”

“Stop watching and leave quickly! The Guard Squad is here.”

The bystanders who had gathered to watch the commotion quickly dispersed, fearing any unnecessary trouble.

Leading the squad was a woman. Wang Zhi frowned—another woman? Her golden hair cascaded over her armor, and she carried a large sword in her hand as she walked coldly between the two teams.

“Take them all away!” With a wave of her jade-like hand, over a dozen guards immediately stepped forward and apprehended Wang Zhi, Zhao Yang, and the others.

Wang Zhi, recognizing the Guard Squad, obediently let himself be taken without resistance. However, Zhao Yang was not as cooperative.

“Just you guys? You think you can capture me?” He sneered before knocking down the guard who had tried to seize him.

Seeing Zhao Yang resist, his teammates also broke free from the guards and stood by his side, facing off against the remaining squad members.

The blonde woman in the lead handed her large sword to a nearby guard and slowly approached Zhao Yang and his group.

When she was about five meters away, she suddenly accelerated, covering the distance in an instant. Before Zhao Yang could react, her fist had already landed on his stomach.

“Pfft!”

Zhao Yang spat a mouthful of blood onto the blonde woman’s armor. His four teammates were stunned, frozen in place, not daring to move.

“You think you’re tough? Hah. Take them away,” the blonde woman ordered indifferently, taking out a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe Zhao Yang’s blood off her armor.

Seeing her terrifying combat prowess, everyone else quickly learned their lesson.

Wang Zhi and his group were escorted to a small room on the first floor of the Guard Department.

After a while, the blonde woman reviewed the footage of their earlier fight before heading to Zhao Yang’s holding room.

“The Chiyan Team, guilty of malicious assault. One-month confinement. A deduction of 750 survival points to cover food expenses during detention.” After stating the sentence, she turned and left, closing the iron door behind her. Whatever Zhao Yang and his team were shouting inside was no longer audible to her.

In another room.

“Captain, are you alright?” Fatty asked with concern.

“I’m fine, just a little numb in my arm. Looks like I need to train more.” Wang Zhi shook his arm.

“Oh no! My dear little brother is hurt! Do you need me to rub it for you?” Sakura teased as she approached.

“N-no, Sakura, I’m fine. I’m strong!” Wang Zhi quickly waved his hands in refusal.

Otherwise, he might actually end up injured from her “help.”

Just then, the door to their room opened with a creak.

“The Chiyan Team is guilty of malicious assault. One-month confinement and a 750 survival point deduction. I hope you all learn your lesson and follow the rules of the Liyan Tower. The captain stays; the rest of you may leave,” the blonde woman announced.

After the others had left, she turned to Wang Zhi. “You’re the captain, Wang Zhi?”

“Yes!” Wang Zhi nervously stared at the blonde woman.

“No need to be nervous. I am the Guard Squad captain, Jie Xi. Half of the deducted survival points from the Chiyan Team will be transferred to your team. Follow me to process the asset transfer.” Jie Xi stated expressionlessly.

Hearing this, Wang Zhi was overjoyed—at least some good had come from this misfortune.

“Thank you, Captain Jie Xi, for upholding justice! I’ll treat you to a meal sometime!” Wang Zhi said happily.

“No need. This is my duty. If you have time to treat people to meals, spend it training instead,” Jie Xi replied. She then raised a hand and patted Wang Zhi’s shoulder before giving it a firm squeeze, making him wince in pain.

“I will definitely remember Captain Jie Xi’s advice!” Wang Zhi forced out a response while wondering—why was this woman so strong?

After completing the asset transfer with Jie Xi, Wang Zhi left the Guard Department and found his three teammates waiting for him nearby.

“Good news, everyone! Half of the Chiyan Team’s deducted 750 survival points have been transferred to our team!” Wang Zhi announced, shaking his survival point card.

“That’s great! So, Captain, what’s next?” Fatty asked excitedly.

“Hmm… We haven’t had a proper meal since arriving here. Let’s go to the cafeteria and have a decent meal today.”

Seeing no objections, Wang Zhi led the group toward the cafeteria on the seventh floor.

The cafeteria wasn’t too crowded. They checked the price list: 2 survival points for vegetarian dishes, 5 for meat dishes, 2 per pound for staple food, and 1 for a 500ml bottle of purified water. Prices were standardized, allowing them to order freely.

Alcohol and beverages, however, had to be purchased from specific stores.

The group ordered four vegetarian dishes, two meat dishes, four pounds of staple food, and four bottles of purified water, spending a total of 30 survival points.

Wang Zhi felt it was quite extravagant—spending 30 survival points on one meal. Given their daily training of eight hours and three meals, they would end up in debt by 50 survival points. Fortunately, they had brought some food supplies; otherwise, they’d be struggling in the industrial district just to survive. Sometimes, Wang Zhi even wondered if he had been kidnapped into a black-market labor camp.

After finishing their meal, there was still a pound of staple food and a small plate of vegetables left. Wang Zhi packed them up—wasting food in this environment was either a sign of having too many survival points or being delusional about the state of the world.

He even saw a group of people scavenging for leftovers, their survival points completely depleted, unable to complete tasks to earn more.

After eating, the four wandered through the other stores. Besides the cafeteria, there were shops for weapons, hardware, clothing, and general goods. Surprisingly, there was even a bar, a café, and… an adult store?

Among them, the weapons store was the most impressive. It stocked both firearms and melee weapons, with a full arsenal available. Even Old He and Sakura were amazed. Unfortunately, their team’s survival points were limited, so they could only look but not buy, leaving reluctantly.

“Sakura, do you have a spare gun in your bag? Can you give me one?” Wang Zhi asked, still fired up from their visit to the weapons store.

“Wait, Sakura has a gun?! I bow to you!” Fatty exclaimed in shock.

“I do, but do you know how to use one?” Sakura asked.

“Does a toy gun count?” Wang Zhi responded awkwardly.

“Forget it. Since you took a hit earlier, I’ll teach you how to use a gun when we get back.”

“Might as well have Old He teach Fatty too,” she added.

“Wait, Old He has a gun too?! I bow to you, great master!” Fatty exclaimed again.

Watching Fatty kneel repeatedly, Wang Zhi couldn’t help but roll his eyes—anyone who didn’t know him might think he was a fool.