Cen An had only one thought right now: That protective shield is a real money pit!

He’d started with over three thousand crystal cores, but after the shield had been active for less than half an hour, he was down to two thousand. A moment later, he checked again—only a thousand remained…

Thank goodness, thank goodness—he’d prepared for this.

He cleared his throat. “Sister Qu, go fetch some crystal cores.”

Qu Yue caught on immediately. Without asking why, she replied, “Coming right away! Xiao Ji, Wang Jin, Cui Ying…” She called out several names in quick succession, “Head to the ability-users squad base immediately and bring the crystal cores here!”

The squad members were taken aback for a moment, then replied, “Yes!”

The other squad members snapped out of it and looked around.

Moments ago, their attention had been completely absorbed by the sudden appearance of the protective barrier. From the inside, the purple barrier looked like a thin veil draped over the sky, dotting the blue expanse with purple hues—it was almost romantic.

But now that their senses had returned, they immediately heard the furious roars of the mutant beasts nearby, the heavy stench of blood, and… uh, the villagers’ laughter?

The squad members, who had been anxious moments ago, exchanged bewildered glances. Were the villagers of Yongning Village really this fearless? Facing a beast tide, they weren’t just keeping their composure—they were actually laughing out loud?

Cen An seemed to read their minds and chuckled, “If you want to see, go ahead. We’ll need your help later.” The squad members immediately stood tall. “Yes, sir! No problem!”

With that, they scattered in a flurry and were gone in a flash—they seemed quite curious. Cen An turned to Yu Fei and the others, looking inquiringly at them.

Tian Yuan smiled and said, “I’m actually curious. I’ll go take a look first.”

Yu Fei didn’t budge, and Yu Lin was still fuming. “I’m not leaving. I’m staying with Brother Cen.”

Xiao Yi, of course, wasn’t about to leave either. As for Yin Xiang… he’d somehow managed to get his hands on a basket of colorful tomatoes and was crouched on the ground eating them. It was a mystery how he’d managed to do it, but he ate without making a single sound—truly impressive.

The crystal cores were soon brought over. Xiao Ji, quick on his feet, grabbed a small cart from Qu Yue’s house, loaded it with two large wooden barrels, and began hauling the crystal cores here one barrel at a time.

The gleaming crystal cores piled up into a dazzling heap of gems, and Cen An loaded them into the system one barrel at a time. Everyone present smiled; not a single person raised any objections.

【You have obtained 10,000 crystal cores】

【You have obtained 23,688 crystal cores】

【You have obtained crystal cores…】

Cen An sighed. It was a pity he could only transfer them from his backpack one by one…

Over there, the members of the ability-users squad had already reached the village exit, at the edge of the protective shield.

Seeing the mutant beasts charging one after another into the protective shield, the squad members were stunned. “That’s incredible…”

“Hey, did you guys see that? A Level 4 mutant beast crashed into it, and the shield didn’t budge an inch!”

“Of course. If the traps Cen An set up can take down a Level 4 mutant beast on their own, then this shield—which looks so advanced—is even more powerful…”

Qu Yue and Wang Lie exchanged a glance and immediately said, “Alright, stop slacking off. Are you waiting for the mutant beasts to crash into Extinction on their own? Form up, split into groups, and take turns holding the line!”

The squad members immediately stood tall and replied, “Yes, sir!”

“Holding the line” meant having them stand inside the protective shield and unleash their abilities at the mutant beasts outside. It was practically easier than playing a video game—if they couldn’t even handle this, they might as well go home and dig for wild vegetables. Sure enough, the squad split into two groups and began sniping at the mutant beasts outside.

Iron spikes, earth spikes, and water arrows whizzed outward, and wave after wave of mutant beasts fell like wheat being cut down.

Blood pooled on the ground, and severed limbs lay scattered about, yet to the villagers of Yongning Village, this was a sight as exhilarating as a bountiful harvest. The villagers wiped the tears of joy from their faces, exchanged glances, and without a word, silently returned to their work.

With Boss Xiao Cen and the ability-users squad leading the charge, their support team had to keep up! Let these mutant beasts see that ordinary people aren’t to be messed with either!

Su Rui held the prop stone Cen An had given him, riding the wind to the mutation site closest to the village. The swarm of mutant beasts below surged like a tidal wave, yet they seemed oblivious to his presence, charging forward with single-minded determination. Su Rui’s face remained stern as he darted into the narrow valley.

A massive red magical array covered the entire valley like skin, its flickering red light resembling the breath of a living creature. With every breath, it spewed forth a vast number of mutant beasts.

Su Rui took a few steps forward and felt a distinct sense of repulsion. As he continued onward, the flickering of the magic array noticeably accelerated, as if it had been startled

…Of course, this thing certainly had neither consciousness nor life.

The Great White Wolf immediately understood. Although he didn’t know where the other end of the formation led, this formation could only allow mutant beasts of level 5 or below to pass through.

He took another step forward. As he felt the resistance, flames suddenly erupted from his body, and the ground abruptly caved in, forming a large pit. However, the magic array merely flashed with red light even more frequently; it remained undamaged.

It didn’t work, as expected.

Su Rui pursed his lips and took out the artifact stone. Following his human’s instructions, he used the small black stone to draw a line across the red magical array.

A tiny black mark—compared to the magical array that filled the entire valley, it was like placing a single black dot on a page of A4 paper covered in text—seemingly insignificant…

Yet the result was exactly the opposite: the impact of that black dot was immense. The flickering of the entire formation abruptly halted for an instant! As if it had instantly lost the ability to resist, the red traces suddenly dissipated, and the first formation vanished.

The teleportation array had failed, yet the narrow valley was still crammed with the mutant beasts that had already been transported there. Oblivious to what was happening outside, their crimson eyes glared straight ahead as they surged forward like a raging tsunami.

Su Rui paid no heed to this wave of mutant beasts; he pressed on toward the next location. He had to finish this first before he could return to his human.

In the dark room, the person on the wooden bed felt an endless stream of life force flowing in, and wore an expression of pure bliss.

Suddenly, the red magical array on the floor flashed briefly before rapidly dimming. The person quickly opened their eyes. “What’s going on? Why has so much of it suddenly vanished? No, wait…”

He suddenly sat up, and in the dim light, a face that was half-human, half-ghost came into view: the skin on the left side of his face was taut and youthful, and his features were quite handsome; the right side, however, was wrinkled like a dried tangerine, with eyelids so saggy they had even obscured his eyes…

This appearance—half young, half old—was actually less pleasing to the eye than one that was simply old.

Yet his mind was far from as calm as his outward appearance suggested. After more than a decade of preparation, success or failure hinged on this moment. “Who is it…”

He frowned and tapped the string of black stones hanging at his waist. Two gray-black shadows darted out and slipped into the bodies lying on the ground. The two men stood up, their eyes vacant, staring straight ahead.

“Go investigate. See what’s happening outside. Don’t draw anyone’s attention—especially not Cen An’s.”

Cen An stuffed all the crystal cores into his backpack without even counting how many there were. The rest would be simple.

The system would automatically deduct the crystal cores needed for the protective shield. Although it was silent, Boss Cen couldn’t help but feel he heard the sound of crystal cores rushing away.

Ahem… He loosened his grip on his wrists and finally relaxed.

“Brother Cen, have some tea.” Yu Lin handed him a pot of hot tea with a smile. “Want to go back and rest a bit?”

Cen An thought for a moment. “No, I’ll just look around.”

No one had told him about the villagers who’d tried to escape the village only to die at the protective barrier.

Although everyone felt those few deserved their fate—after all, they’d asked for it—could they really blame others for not holding them back? Still, everyone thought Cen An was too soft-hearted, and they feared he’d be upset if he found out.

Cen An didn’t really want to know about such things anyway. His main concern was that… once the protective shield was activated, it was a one-way street—you could leave, but you couldn’t get back in. He figured Su Rui would be back soon, so he wanted to go meet him. Otherwise, if that bastard got anxious and tried to force his way in, who knows what might happen.

The village was perfectly safe right now—in fact, it had never been this safe since the Cataclysm… So the ability users didn’t stop him; they just let him wander.

Cen An strolled leisurely to the edge of the village, walked a full circle along the protective shield, and arrived at the village entrance. This was where the ability-users squad’s monster spawning point was located.

Qu Yue and Wang Lie had divided the squad into several teams, taking turns in rotation. When one team’s abilities were exhausted, another would take their place.

Everyone stood inside the protective shield, firing their attacks from a distance. Iron spikes, water arrows, and wooden spikes shot out one after another. Anyone whose aim was off—failing to kill a single mutant beast after several shots—would draw the mockery of their comrades.

If the mutant beasts had any sense of reason, they’d probably be in tears right now: “Is there no justice in the world? We’re clearly outnumbering them, so why do they have it so much easier?!”

There was actually one small problem: since all the crystal cores had been sent to Brother Cen, it would be a bit of a hassle for them to recover once their magical energy was depleted.

But a member of one of the gathering squads had a sudden brainwave: he put on the brass armor Cen An had issued to them, charged through the protective shield, and dashed out. He didn’t go far—he just crouched right next to the shield, scooped up the crystal cores on the ground, and tossed them back inside.

The mutant beasts couldn’t break through his defense, and the ability users were careful when casting their abilities—and surprisingly, nothing really went wrong!

So, when Cen An arrived, this is the scene he witnessed: members of the ability-users squad standing their ground and unleashing their attacks up front, with multicolored psychic energy scattered all over the ground; the mutant beasts charging forward wave after wave as if they weren’t afraid of death, leaving a trail of corpses in their wake.

Amidst the pile of corpses, a metallic mushroom crouched at regular intervals. The mushrooms reached out, scooped up the crystal cores from the ground, and tossed them into the protective shield…

Cen An：……

He even heard a villager call out from outside, “Hey, kid, want some water?”

Outside, a metal mushroom lifted its head. “I’ll take it, Auntie. I’d like some white grass soup with honey!”

“You’re quite the picky eater,” Auntie scolded playfully, but sure enough, she fetched a bamboo tube, filled it with steaming white grass soup, added a heaping spoonful of honey, sealed the cork tightly, and tossed it out.

The kid reached out to catch it, tilted his head back, and gulped down several big mouthfuls. He hung the bamboo tube back on his waist and continued sorting through the crystal cores.

There was someone specifically assigned to collect the crystal cores he tossed in. A villager caught them in a bamboo basket; once the basket was full, it was delivered to the ability-users squad’s base—the one in the village, of course—and not a single one was ever missing.

Cen An watched, torn between laughter and exasperation. “Why did he just charge out of the protective shield like that? Isn’t he afraid he won’t be able to get back?”

The two boys looked up at the sound and gave a start. “Ah! Boss Cen!” Then, with a shy smile, they replied, “Don’t worry. The gear you gave us is top-notch—we’ve tested it, and even Level 4 mutant beasts can’t damage it. We won’t get hurt anyway. At worst, we’ll just wait until the beast tide is over before heading back!”

The other Metal Mushrooms nodded in agreement. “That’s exactly right!”

They weren’t stupid; they knew that as soon as the beast tide ended, Boss Cen would take back this magical shield. By taking a little risk now, the ability-users squad wouldn’t end up in a situation where they had no crystal cores to use.

Cen An smiled; the scene reminded him of his past life—that nation plagued by disasters yet united as one.

He said with a smile, “Whenever you want to come back, just let me know, and I’ll open the door for you.”

The Second Kid and the others’ eyes lit up instantly, and they nodded vigorously. “Okay, Boss Cen! We got it!” The commotion caught the attention of the ability users, who immediately spotted Cen An. “Brother Cen!” 

“Brother Cen, why don’t you give it a try? It’s just like playing a video game—really fun!”

“Are you crazy? Brother Cen doesn’t have any superpowers—how’s he supposed to fight?”

Cen An smiled and waved his hand, then found a spot to sit down. Someone nearby brought over a cup of green tea. He glanced at it instinctively and caught a familiar scent: “Is this… Sparrow Tongue Bud? It seems like there’s honey in it too…”

He looked up to see a woman who looked somewhat familiar. Beside her was a boy of about nine or ten, staring at him curiously.

The woman seemed a bit nervous and took a deep breath. “Yes, I heard you like Sparrow Tongue Buds. I used to be part of a harvesting team, so I picked a few leaves on a whim—they’re not worth much. The honey was brought by Mr. Tian; it’s for all of us to share, so please don’t refuse.”

Cen An thought for a moment but couldn’t recall when he’d met this woman, so he simply smiled. “Thank you very much, then.” He lifted the cup and took a sip. The warm, sweet tea slid down his throat, and he felt a sense of peace wash over him. He was already exhausted, and leaning against the tree trunk behind him, he drifted off to sleep.

Sun Qiuhua felt a surge of emotion, even a touch of elation. Given her circumstances, she knew she could never fully repay this kindness in her lifetime; simply being able to pour a cup of hot tea for her benefactor was enough to make her happy.

Seeing that Cen An had fallen asleep, she motioned to her son to be quiet, took a clean animal-skin blanket from nearby to cover him, and went back to her chores.

Yongning Village belonged to everyone—how could they possibly place the entire burden on a young man in his early twenties?

The others naturally noticed that Cen An had fallen asleep as well, so they voluntarily fell silent, communicating only through gestures when necessary. The spot that had been the liveliest in the entire village just moments ago fell instantly quiet.

Even the mutant beasts outside had settled into a state where whoever made the loudest noise met an early death.

It was at this very moment that two people emerged from within the village. With blank stares and fixed expressions, the two carried an eerie aura about them.

The few people Cen An had discovered earlier who were under control had long since been secretly locked away by Qu Yue and the others.

These two were neither of them.

They were brothers who had once been imprisoned in a stone cell for a month after accidentally injuring a neighbor during a fight. After their release, likely feeling ashamed, they had kept to themselves and avoided socializing with others. Consequently, no one had realized that they, too, had been secretly controlled.

The two men shuffled along with unsteady steps, quietly making their way to the village entrance. There, they saw a group of people who seemed to be doing something strange—gesturing at one another as if forming hand seals…

Their blank expressions couldn’t hide their utter bewilderment. The two creatures watched quietly for a while, but still couldn’t make sense of it, so they quietly turned around and headed for another exit of the village.

They circled the village once and finally realized that the strange purple bubble had completely enveloped the entire village; they couldn’t find a gap. Break through by force? They didn’t dare—their master had forbidden them from drawing attention.

Go back and report? They didn’t dare—they’d surely be torn apart if they came back empty-handed.

The two, whose brains weren’t exactly sharp to begin with, had grown even more rigid under their master’s control. They stood silently before the protective barrier, slowly pondering: What should they do?

In the dark room, the Master waited and waited, but still received no reply from his subordinates.

It finally dawned on him what Shi Long had once shouted: “What good are subordinates who just follow orders? They can’t get shit done!”

Cen An had taken a short nap and felt much more alert. Perhaps it was a case of minds connecting, but the moment he opened his eyes, he saw a small black speck flying toward him from the horizon. Excluding mutant beasts, there was only one thing in all of Yongning Village capable of flying!

He immediately stood up, said nothing, and simply waved toward the distance.

Su Rui, however, seemed to have heard that warm, clear voice. With a smile, he called out to him: “Su Rui.” The inflection at the end of his voice was undoubtedly slightly upward, carrying a touch of tenderness.

The great white wolf sped up a few notches more. As a gap opened in the protective shield, it darted over to Cen An’s side. Cen An felt himself being picked up. “You walked over here on your own? Is your leg healed?”

The wound on Cen An’s foot had long since healed, but as an ordinary person—unlike ability users who have stronger bodies—his ankle was still slightly red. It didn’t hurt, but standing for too long left him feeling a bit tired.

Seeing him about to take off his shoes right there in public, Cen An felt inexplicably embarrassed and whispered, “Let’s wait until we get back to look at it…” As soon as he said it, he realized something was off and quickly added, “I’m fine now. It’s nothing.”

Su Rui looked at him, hoisted him onto his shoulders, and strode back with him.

Cen An, furious, pinched his ear and tugged at his hair a couple of times, but in the end, he had no choice but to turn back and say, “If anyone wants to enter the protective shield, come find me at home.”

The ability users and villagers behind them nodded vigorously. As for whether they’d actually dare to look for him… Having food and drink out here wasn’t so bad either, haha. And when they got sleepy, they could just snuggle up with a mutant beast and take a nap… ahem.

On the way back, Cen An asked Su Rui how things were going.

The big white wolf looked lazy and clearly wasn’t interested in the matter at all; he was only doing it for Cen An’s sake. “As you requested, I left one magic array intact and destroyed the rest.”

Cen An praised him for a job well done and promised to make him some grilled skewers when they got back.

Su Rui raised an eyebrow, wrapping his large paw around Cen An’s calf and rubbing it gently. He thought to himself, “Skewers? I’d much rather carry you around the village—that’s clearly way more fun!”

When Cen An arrived, he’d walked a semicircle along the protective barrier, but on the way back, he cut straight through the village. Suddenly, he caught a whiff of floral scent.

His first thought was, “Are there still fresh flowers in the village? Could I collect some to make a Flower Soul necklace?” His second thought was, “This scent seems somewhat familiar…”

After resting, Boss Cen’s mind cleared, and he furrowed his brow in thought.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The ability users and villagers soon realized that the number of arriving mutant beasts had decreased by about four-fifths. Already under little pressure, they felt even more at ease.

Although most of them didn’t know about the teleportation array, they understood that the sudden decrease in mutant beasts must be related to Su Rui, who had just returned.

As for who could command Su Rui… that had to be their very own Brother Cen!

Everyone understood without needing to say it: Brother Cen deserved the lion’s share of the credit for their safe passage through this beast tide. Meanwhile, Cen An was making his own preparations.

The so-called “leaving the last formation behind” wasn’t actually leaving it behind. Instead, he had Su Rui create a delay mechanism—which wasn’t difficult: simply freeze a single icicle and place the artifact stone on top of it. When the icicle melted, the artifact stone would fall and leave a mark on the formation, causing it to deactivate.

Given Su Rui’s control over his abilities, he could make it melt whenever he wanted.

So, upon returning home, the second thing Su Rui said was: “As you requested, the last magic array will deactivate in five hours.”

As for his first words, they were: “Let me see your feet.”

…Ahem.

Cen An instructed Xiao Yi to go find Qu Yue and Tian Yuan.

If you ignored his slightly flushed cheeks, his sockless foot, and his rolled-up pant leg, he actually looked pretty normal. Xiao Yi glanced at his brother, and his aggressive gaze immediately locked onto Su Rui.

Su Rui lazily scanned him from head to toe.

Both the older and younger ones were equally possessive, but the difference in strength between the fully grown Wolf King and the underage kid—at least for now—was still vast.

In the end, the young cub conceded defeat. Xiao Yi snorted coldly, then nimbly ran to fetch some hot water and brought it over. “Wipe your face, Brother. I’ll be right back.”

Cen An watched him run off, wiped his face with the soft animal pelt, then flung the damp pelt onto Su Rui’s face. “If you pull any more stunts, I’ll slip laxatives into your food!”

Su Rui thought about it with a serious expression and decided it was a good deal. “Does that mean one touch for the next time?” Cen An looked at him in disbelief. Was this guy crazy?

“Bro Cen, are you saying you’re going out? Right now?” As Tian Yuan finished speaking, the others turned to look as well. Though they said nothing, their faces were all filled with disapproval.

“To be precise, I want to go here.” Cen An pulled out a map as thick as birch bark, on which the terrain was meticulously mapped out. “This is…” Qu Yue couldn’t believe her ears. “Shi… Team Leader Shi?”

Cen An nodded, sighed, and shared his theory. “Team Leader Shi must have gone to investigate this stone cave, but then encountered an accident and was taken captive.”

The members of the ability-users squad fell silent. They stared at the familiar handwriting, especially the line that read, “If I do not return on time, everyone must be careful,” and their eyes welled up with tears. Just as they’d hoped, their Team Leader Shi was still the same—he hadn’t changed…

A young ability user suddenly whispered, “Brother Cen, will Team Leader Shi come back?”

Cen An looked up to meet a sea of eyes filled with hope and anxiety, as if the moment he uttered a single “no,” the hope in their eyes would crumble.

Cen An chuckled softly, tilting his head. “Is there anything your Brother Cen can’t do?”

The members of the ability-users squad were taken aback for a moment, then burst into cheers. “Exactly! Is there anything our Brother Cen can’t do?” Behind them, Tian Yuan smiled helplessly, looking for someone to make eye contact with, but…

Yu Fei: Zzzzz

Yin Xiang had snagged another honey-glazed jade fruit from who-knows-where and was devouring it silently at lightning speed… Xiao Yi? Xiao Yi was mincing meat for dumplings; his brother had said he wanted dumplings for dinner.

Su Rui stared blankly at the sky, holding Cen An in his arms, his fingers twirling through the boy’s hair in circles.

Yu Lin, on the other hand, turned his head and rolled his eyes fiercely, finding this group of people increasingly annoying—every single one of them seemed to be trying to steal Brother Cen. 

Tian Yuan silently lowered his head. Fine, forget it.