Ch 146: Localized Downpour

The vagrants’ voices were deafening.

Li Yu, standing beside Ma Yuanbai, looked at him with a puzzled expression, completely unable to understand what he was doing.

Only then did Ma Yuanbai nod in satisfaction, continuing to give orders to the vagrants:

“Set up camp here and rest!”

All the vagrants immediately began bustling about, with a captain leading a self-defense squad to patrol the surrounding area.

Everything proceeded in an orderly manner, as if they had undergone special training.

Although it was already night, a continuous stream of people were still passing by near the team.

Awakener squads with visual abilities also advanced under the cover of night, and upon seeing such a large crowd gathered here, they all cautiously detoured.

Even some Awakener squads carrying firearms passed by, maintaining a considerable distance from the main force.

“Li Yu, there are so many people migrating around.”

Fu Xiyao frowned. The noisy environment was preventing her from sleeping, so she continually narrowed her perception range.

“It’s okay, go to sleep,” Li Yu replied casually, completely unaware of the true meaning behind Fu Xiyao’s statement about the number of people.

The next morning.

The sky was just beginning to lighten, and everyone was already prepared to set off.

Li Yu felt something unusual, and looked up towards the sky.

The dark clouds today, for some reason, were like a thick black curtain, hanging unusually low, as if they could be touched with a hand.

A much larger rain seemed to be brewing in the clouds, and this unusual weather felt particularly oppressive.

The vagrants had suddenly returned to a wild life environment, and they were indeed somewhat unaccustomed to it.

But they quickly adjusted their state and adapted to everything outside, which was the secret to their resilience.

At this time, Ma Yuanbai came over and handed Li Yu two pieces of cooked meat.

“Here.”

Li Yu quickly reached out to take them; a fragrant scent wafted over. He then passed one to Fu Xiyao beside him.

As soon as he took a bite, Li Yu’s eyes lit up.

“This flavor!”

He was instantly struck by the delicious aroma, and he finished the cooked meat in a few bites. He had never eaten such delicious meat before.

“Mmm, so delicious.” Fu Xiyao, beside him, took a bite and was similarly captivated by the deliciousness, quickly eating the cooked meat in her hand.

After finishing his piece, Li Yu looked up and realized that Ma Yuanbai had already cooked a large pot of food using coal, and even Xiao Hei was eating heartily nearby.

“It’s quite tasty, isn’t it? After the water boils, add some salt and seasoning, and the flavor will fully penetrate the meat.” Ma Yuanbai said as he poured out the food and put away the large iron pot—he didn’t know when he had gotten it.

Afterwards, Li Yu ate several more pieces of cooked meat until his stomach was half full before leading the team to continue their journey.

“This Sand Sea Region isn’t actually that large. At our current speed, we should be able to get out in about three days.”

Ma Yuanbai reported the situation to Li Yu while walking in front of the team; he seemed to know the surrounding terrain very well.

Li Yu’s mind wasn’t on this, though. As he watched other teams also heading west in the distance, he suddenly asked Ma Yuanbai:

“Zhongzhou… is that really everyone’s destination?”

Ma Yuanbai hesitated for a moment before slowly replying:

“Although it’s somewhat different from what I imagined, I believe Zhongzhou is definitely much better than other places.”

After hearing Ma Yuanbai’s explanation, Li Yu nodded:

“I hope so.”

He couldn’t imagine how chaotic a place with so many vagrants gathered together would be.

“Someone’s approaching,” Fu Xiyao suddenly said.

Ma Yuanbai also turned his head in doubt, with a strange look in his eyes.

With so many of them, someone was still bold enough to approach.

Did they think the lack of guns meant they couldn’t kill people?

Many vagrants who had been resting ahead, upon seeing Li Yu’s team approach, had all fearfully given way, yet now someone was actually approaching them.

Li Yu also looked over curiously. It turned out to be a group of emaciated vagrants, so hungry they had lost their minds, stumbling towards the main force.

“Help… help me.”

Seeing this, everyone around looked over, seemingly waiting for the main force’s reaction.

When they saw Li Yu and Fu Xiyao on horseback, their eyes held envy and jealousy.

But when they saw the large force behind Li Yu, their expressions became uncertain, and they retracted their greedy gazes.

A team that could lead so many people certainly wouldn’t have ordinary leaders.

Ma Yuanbai naturally wouldn’t give anyone a chance to approach, and he gave a nod to the side.

Two self-defense squads raised their weapons and aggressively stepped forward to block them.

Regarding the ill-intentioned people around, Ma Yuanbai quickly formed a new plan. He needed to find an opportunity to properly deter them.

But among all the onlookers, one squad, upon seeing Li Yu, was not afraid; instead, they couldn’t hide their excitement:

“Is it him?” The squad captain asked urgently.

A teammate carefully observed the weapon in Li Yu’s hand and said with certainty:

“It should be. This type of weapon is extremely rare.”

Hearing this, a greedy look flashed in the squad captain’s eyes. He licked his lips and quickly gave an order:

“Quick! Go back and report to the Eternal Fire Alliance. I’m taking this reward!”

“Understood.”

Before the words were finished, the teammate instantly activated their psionic ability, turning around and leaving at an extremely fast speed, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.

The squad captain sent his teammate to report; he chose to stay and personally watch Li Yu, afraid that Li Yu would slip away from his sight.

At this time, Li Yu looked at the increasing number of onlookers and slightly frowned.

Fu Xiyao noticed the change in Li Yu’s expression, and she silently activated her psionic ability.

The dark cloud in the low sky suddenly began to churn and surge, and the water droplets in the cloud mass, as if guided by some mysterious force, poured down at an astonishing speed.

“Whoosh—”

A torrential downpour suddenly descended, instantly drenching everyone.

Surprisingly, this downpour was like a giant water curtain, falling only near Li Yu’s team, while a light rain continued to fall above Li Yu and his group.

The onlookers were all caught off guard by this sudden downpour, and they were all looking disheveled.

Li Yu also noticed the difference in the rain, and he instantly guessed the reason, turning to look at Fu Xiyao.

He hadn’t expected Fu Xiyao to have this ability to control the rain.

“Quickly, speed up,” Ma Yuanbai gestured to those behind him.

Taking advantage of the distraction of the heavy rain, the main force quickly surpassed the gathered crowd.

Only the squad captain, even though drenched and with blurry vision, continued to stare at Li Yu, quickly following behind the main force.

He absolutely could not let Li Yu disappear from his sight!