Epoch of Twilight

The officer wanted to see Luo Yuan, Wang Shihi, Fatty Xie and the dirty-looking woman. Apparently, they had been recruited to join the army. Huang Jiahui was stunned. She looked completely panicked.

Luo Yuan smiled and said, “Sure, but I want to talk with my friends for a minute first.”

The soldier nodded in understanding and walked out with his subordinates.

“There must be something wrong outside. You guys take good care of yourselves. We’ll check it out,” Luo Yuan said.

“You too,” Huang Jiahui replied. “Take care, Shishi. Stick by Luo Yuan while you execute the mission. Don’t just run wild,” Huang Jiahui said anxiously.

Zhao Yali hesitated before she said, “Don’t be reckless, we’ll be worrying about you.”

Luo Yuan nodded. He felt moved as he patted her. Zhao Yali immediately blushed.

“Alright, let’s talk later. Shishi, let’s go.” Luo Yuan took a deep breath, acting like this was not a big deal.

“Okay.” Wang Shishi looked quite excited as she followed Luo Yuan.

Wang Xiaguang felt uneasy as she looked at his retreating back and Zhao Yali’s blushing face.

A man in a colonel uniform was staring at the map of Shanghai, facing away from everyone. He turned around when he heard them enter his office.

“Hello, sir!” Fatty Xie said, trying to act smart.

The man waved and said, "You’re a civilian and I’m a soldier. We do not belong in the same system. Addressing me by my name will do. You can call me Hu Haiyang or Colonel Hu. Please take a seat."

He looked like an average 40 year-old man. His lips were thin, and the corners of his mouth bent downwards, which made everyone feel respect towards him without being mad. He looked very serious even when he smiled. Wang Shishi felt nervous because he was wearing an army uniform. The number of his badges was a sign of his military power.

Luo Yuan walked to the couch with Wang Shishi and sat down. Then he said, “Colonel Hu, is there anything we can help you with?”

Colonel Hu looked at Luo Yuan for a second. He recalled Zhou Yicheng telling him to pay attention to Luo Yuan. "I have to tell you that you have been recruited. I hope you’re ready for this,” he said softly.

“Since the military base is providing us with shelter and food, it’s only fair that we make some kind of contribution. May I know what is going on?” Luo Yuan said with a nod. Although he could be selfish sometimes, he would never do anything unethical. Plus, this was about the safety of the country, so it was his responsibility as a citizen.

The rest of them were forced to agree since Luo Yuan had promised to help. Colonel Hu felt relieved. He had been really worried that they would refuse to obey and would try to negotiate with him. He did not have the time or desire to bargain with them given the situation. Of course, he could give them a lesson using military weapons, but that would be very risky for him considering Luo Yuan was in the room. He was surprised at how nervous he felt in Luo Yuan’s presence.

“The situation is very bad. Our special team had a very hard battle against the mutated beasts. Half of our army is dead and injured, and some soldiers are still on the battlefield, waiting for rescue. We have insufficient manpower in the military base, because many teams are still out there trying to rescue soldiers in many different locations. We have received a report that other places are facing difficulties as well. It seems like this was a huge, collaborative attack."

“You’ll be following the rest of the soldiers to your destination, Your mission is to rescue any soldiers that are still alive,” the Colonel said.

“I have a question. Haven’t the mutated beasts migrated to the central region? How come they’re still here?” Luo Yuan asked, detecting the inconsistencies in Colonel Hu’s words.

“It’s the sea monsters this time. They are moving to the land,” Colonel Hu said seriously.

The room immediately became silent. Sea monsters? That was what they had always been afraid of.

Fatty Xie could not hold it anymore and said, “Sea monsters? Are you kidding me? We might as well kill ourselves.”

Perhaps he had been talking too loud, because the soldiers outside were alerted. A group of armed soldiers broke into the room and asked, "What happened, sir?"

“I’m fine. Get out and close the door,” the Colonel said with a wave of his hand.

Fatty Xie was in panic. He was sweating profusely. He had suddenly realized that he would die if he disobeyed any military rules, so he just shrugged and remained silent.

“I have a request,” Luo Yuan suddenly said.

“Tell me. I’ll try my best to fulfill it,” Colonel Hu said. He had paid great attention to Luo Yuan’s reaction when the soldiers had come in. However, he had not noticed any change in his facial expression. He thought that Luo Yuan was feeling disdain.

He had several pages of information regarding him. It was enough for him to write a book. Some of it had been provided by Zhou Yicheng, and some from the soldiers in the military base talking about his training methods. Some even said that Luo Yuan could fly. It was evident by the reports that he was a very high rank evolved person with hardly any weaknesses.

He had to be a 5th rank evolved man. The government did not care about regular evolved men. However, they paid high attention to those at level 5. The Colonel had not believed the reports initially, but he changed his mind now as he saw that Luo Yuan was brave enough to negotiate with him.

He knew there was no harm in doing him a favor considering that he might need Luo Yuan’s help in the future.

"I want to bring my pet with me." Luo Yuan tried to request to bring the giant lizard along. If the Colonel refused, he would just give up. It was his only chance to go back to the rehabilitation region. If he lost the giant lizard, he could just get another one in the future.

“Your pet beast?” Colonel Hu frowned before asking hesitantly, “How big is it?”

Luo Yuan was surprised that the Colonel was even considering his request.”It’s about 10 meters long and 6 meters tall. When it lies down, its height is only 3 meters. Do you think you can send it over?"

"The beast is also very important to the rehabilitation region. We have three transport jets and there’s a lot of space, but your pet is slightly bigger and taller than a 40-feet container. I’ll get the person in charge to modify the container, but your pet must be drugged unconscious along the way in order to reduce the risk," the Colonel said.

“Of course. Thank you so much, Colonel Hu,” Luo Yuan thanked him sincerely. He knew it was not just any small favor, but a risky military decision.

“Any requests from you? I’ll try my best to make them come true,” Colonel Hu said. He knew that he had to be fair to the rest of them as well.

Fatty Xie seemed to be frightened. He remained stunned for a while. Wang Shishi was silent. She wanted to request to find her relatives when they returned to the rehabilitation region, but that was not in Colonel Hu’s control, so he only promised to inform the relevant sectors. The girl remained silent after that. The military helicopter was ready to deart. The main rotor blades were spinning, producing a strong wind on the ground. In a few seconds, the helicopter took off and flew away from the military base.

There were many other people in the cabin. Besides Luo Yuan and the other evolved people, there were four soldiers, the pilot, and the co-pilot. Wang Shishi was holding onto Luo Yuan’s shirt as she looked around curiously. This was her first time in a helicopter. It was not a pleasant experience though, as it was a military helicopter with a very small cabin, full of a choking fuel smell. Luo Yuan took out his Zhanmadao, picked up a cloth with oil stains and slowly wiped his sword with it to reduce his stress.

“B-Level Mission: Rescue the soldiers and their equipment.”

“Mission Requirement: Rescue at least 10 people and send them back to the military base safely.”

“Mission Time: 12 hours.”

That was the reason Luo Yuan had requested to bring the giant lizard along. The risk of the mission was as high as fighting a green level mutated beast. So far, Luo Yuan had only bumped into green level mutants twice, and he had only looked at them from afar.

The first one had been the Heaven Pillar’s Tree, which had been burnt by the volcanic lava, and the second one had been the Archelon, which he had not even dared get close to. Each of them had been beyond his imagination. Although Luo Yuan’s power had been upgraded, he still felt stressed just at the thought.

Fortunately, he was not fighting alone anymore. He had Wang Shishi as well as two more evolved people with him. The helicopter was also a good advantage. He had noticed that there were a lot of weapons and equipment inside the cabin, such as missiles, rocket missiles, multi-tube rockets, machine guns, etc.

Considering the power of the weapons, a normal light green mutated beast would not be able to survive an attack by them.

“I feel that something is wrong somehow. This is not a good sign,” Fatty Xie said with a sigh. “I have a very accurate instinct. This is probably a very dangerous situation,” he went on.

“I think you’re just acting like a coward,” Wang Shishi said sarcastically. She knew that the bald guy did not get along well with Luo Yuan.

Fatty Xie looked at her for a second, but he did not get mad or try to challenge her. Instead, he shook his head and said, “You don’t understand.”

Luo Yuan put his Zhanmadao back into its sheath and looked at him for a second. He had not expected Fatty Xie to be sensitive enough to sense danger. He looked at the woman, who was still remaining silent, before he said, “It’s probably a very dangerous mission. I think we’ll have a better chance if we tell each other about our special powers.”

Fatty Xie nodded in agreement and said, "I’ll go first then. I’m not sure what kind of evolved power I have, but I’ve realized that there are two different modes. The first is the normal mode, and the other one is the fighting mode. My bone structure changes and my skin forms a layer of hard shell. My defense power shoots up drastically. I’ve even killed a dark blue mutated beast before.”

Luo Yuan turned to Wang Shishi, and she arrogantly said, “My power is telekinesis. I’ve also killed a dark blue mutated beast before, but I can’t remember how many exactly.”

Fatty Xie looked at her in shock. Obviously, he could not believe that a little girl could be that powerful. Even the soldiers were looking at her with a shocked expression.

“My power is the Earth Stomp. I can release a shockwave under certain circumstances. I’ve killed light green mutated beasts,” Luo Yuan briefly explained.

Finally, it was the woman’s turn. She kept twisting her shirt nervously, hesitating for a while before she said, "I can control the mind. I can temporarily control a light green mutated beast."

Everyone was shocked, including Luo Yuan. The soldiers were about to pull out their guns. Mind control? That sounded like something evil. None of them had expected the woman to possess such a terrifying power. If her power continued to grow, it would certainly not be a good thing.

"Please, don’t get me wrong. I can only control living things with a low level of intelligence," the woman explained with a sigh as she noticed everyone’s shock. Then she returned to her own world, going silent once again.