After a moment of silence.
Chairman Wu stared at the gaunt man and asked:
"How strong is that Sun Wuyan?"
The gaunt man instinctively glanced at Han Ning before answering:
"Boss Sun is powerful, but—"
He paused, stealing another glance at Han Ning, his voice dropping lower,
"This big brother here gives me a more intimidating feeling than Boss Sun."
"Boss Sun couldn't possibly defeat Team Leader Lei in one move like this—"
In his eyes, Han Ning's strength likely surpassed even Sun Wuyan, who had gathered over a hundred Awakened under his command.
Han Ning's expression remained impassive.
Chairman Wu secretly sighed in relief before pressing further:
"And what exactly are those Black Serpent Monsters?"
At the mention of the name, fear flashed across the gaunt man's face:
"Monsters—they're terrifying creatures with horrifying numbers."
"They have serpent Scales, facial features resembling monkeys, vertical pupils, and mouths that split open to their ears."
"Their lower bodies are serpentine, yet they possess two human-like arms—neither fully human nor fully serpent!"
"These creatures possess some intelligence, can use tools, and have complex social structures."
"When gathered in groups, they can control floods within a certain range."
"Individuals can spew ink-like black smoke—just a touch causes rapid flesh decay."
"These abominations didn't originally exist in the west. The soldiers discovered them first, then fighting broke out."
"Our knowledge about them remains limited. We only know their numbers are staggering—the weak ones are weaker than ordinary humans, while the strong ones... I've seen specimens more powerful than Team Leader Lei. Regardless, they can simply overwhelm us with their weaker Serpent Monsters using Serpent Sea Tactics."
Han Ning thought of the endless Coral Monsters in the eastern waters.
The variety of monsters in this world was truly despair-inducing.
At this point, it was like being so covered in lice that more didn't matter.
Forcing himself to stop dwelling on it, he changed the interrogation direction:
"These soldiers you mentioned—are they the army stationed in the west?"
The gaunt man nodded repeatedly: "Yes, exactly them."
"So you stole those guns from them?" Han Ning continued.
"Y-yes—Sun Wuyan led us in ambushing a squad of soldiers to steal their weapons," the gaunt man swallowed nervously, clearly uneasy.
"You people have truly reckless audacity," Chairman Wu couldn't help but inhale sharply, "Aren't you afraid they'll come for revenge?"
Han Ning also frowned slightly. Ambushing regular military forces to steal weapons—these men were desperadoes among desperadoes.
"Heh."
At this moment, Lei Gang—who had been lying silently on the ground like a puddle of mud with all limbs shattered—let out a cold laugh:
"Revenge? You think those uniformed men are united internally?"
"After crossing into this hellhole, the rules of civilized society vanished long ago."
"Human selfishness and greed grow like wild weeds."
"Do you think Awakened subordinates would willingly obey their ordinary superiors?"
Han Ning felt that such a situation wasn't impossible.
But there should still be people with firm convictions, loyal to their superiors.
It was just hard to say for sure.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have split into several factions.
"They have firearms and can confront the Black Serpent Monsters head-on. Their strength must be formidable, right?" Han Ning asked.
This time, Lei Gang didn't refute or answer. He simply closed his eyes, as if disdaining to speak further.
Han Ning turned his gaze to the gaunt man.
Feeling Han Ning's stare, the gaunt man shuddered and hurriedly replied,
"Yes, they're very strong. They use firearms to kill monsters, which is far more efficient than ordinary Awakened. Their Energy accumulation is incredibly fast.
"Any Awakened among them is at least as strong as me. The strongest few might even rival you. I have no idea how powerful they truly are."
Hearing that the military had also crossed over, Han Ning had already guessed as much.
Though he had his panel, his early monster-slaying speed couldn't compare to fully automatic rifles, submachine guns, or even heavier firearms.
Even in his fully transformed state, he doubted he could outpace bullets. His body might withstand a few shots,
but sustained heavy fire would be impossible to block.
The steel tide of humanity was not to be underestimated.
But without production lines, ammunition would eventually run out.
Then again, human abilities are diverse. Maybe someone awakened a machine-tool-like ability and can handcraft bullets?
Han Ning's thoughts wandered.
Next, Han Ning and Chairman Wu pressed for details about the military factions, the distribution of the Black Serpent Monster Swarm, and their behavioral patterns.
The gaunt man, desperate to survive, revealed everything he knew.
Lei Gang remained silent, eyes shut, resigned to his fate.
Once the interrogation concluded,
the two dragged Lei Gang and the other captives, limp as dead dogs, out of the cabin.
Azure Cloud Resort's main building, a relatively spacious meeting room.
Flickering candlelight cast swirling shadows through the haze of smoke.
Han Ning and the resort's survivors sat gathered around the table.
The atmosphere was heavy.
Chairman Wu meticulously recounted the intelligence gleaned from the interrogation.
From Sun Wuyan's ruthless team and their methods, to the military Awakened, and finally the terrifying numbers and bizarre abilities of the Black Serpent Monster Swarm—he laid it all out clearly.
Cross-referencing the information from their respective interrogations,
"We can confirm that the intel we've obtained is likely accurate," Chairman Wu said, exhaustion creeping into his voice.
"I never imagined such chaos had erupted in the west. If the Black Serpent Monster Swarm spreads here, we won't stand a chance."
"No wonder the flooding's been accelerating."
"One crisis after another…"
He rubbed his temples and sighed deeply.
Apart from Han Ning, everyone at the meeting wore expressions of worry.
The earlier battle against the invaders had claimed the lives of fifteen Awakened.
Over thirty ordinary people had also died.
The losses were devastating.
Without Han Ning, the casualties would have been far worse—perhaps even total annihilation.
"Chairman Wu, what should we do next?" someone finally spoke up.
Chairman Wu's mental state was already poor, and now he had to preside over the meeting. He was drowsy but struggled to stay awake as he spoke:
"First, repair the ship, then prepare to move north at any time. The terrain is higher there, and we haven't heard of any powerful monsters in that area."
"What should we do with those scum?" Vice Chairman Zhao asked through gritted teeth.
Chairman Wu's spirits lifted as he coldly replied:
"Keep a few tongues alive for more information. Kill the rest! Let them pay tribute to our fallen brothers."
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