Chapter 1 Gu Xiaoman

Gu Xiaoman chose a simple black cloth shirt in the courtyard wing room. After putting it on, she looked clean and neat. Apart from her slightly sallow complexion, she looked completely different from the little beggar who picked up trash in the back streets.

Her features were actually quite delicate.

It was just that her short hair made her look like a tomboy.

Xiaoman had slept for two days and her energy was surprisingly good. Perhaps because she had been hungry for many years, she wasn't very hungry. She only ate two apples to fill her stomach, then carried her bamboo basket and proactively tugged at Gu Shen's sleeve to go out.

Along the way, the little girl walked with big strides, her eyes full of curiosity. When she had first arrived at this magnificent mansion, she was too tired and sleepy to pay attention.

Now it was early afternoon, and the sunlight was just right.

She looked at the carved murals of the mansion, her eyes full of emotion and shock.

In the back streets of e0 district, there were also graffiti, but it was all messy…

"In East Continent, there is an ancient city that has weathered six hundred years of wind and frost, called 'Changye'."

Gu Shen said, "The designer of this mansion should have been to 'Changye'. The architectural style here, as well as some of the murals… are all imitations of Changye, and the materials used are also very crude."

Gu Xiaoman's eyes were glued to the place, unable to move away. She clicked her tongue in amazement, "Then how beautiful must Changye be…"

"You will see it in the future."

Gu Shen smiled and said, "This world is very big, far more than just the Sangzhou Grotto."

The Church of the Blazing Wave's mansion was very quiet. It was large enough to accommodate hundreds of people. Currently, there were only twenty or thirty Neutrals in s12 district. Several Neutrals holding documents hurried past in the corridor, giving Gu Shen and the little girl gentle smiles.

Gu Xiaoman, who was being looked at like this for the first time, was still a little unaccustomed to it.

"You can call the one who just walked past 'Aunt Shen' in the future."

Gu Shen nodded to a Neutral lady in her forties. She was a member of the Ancient Text Society who came to the Sangzhou Grotto with Qi Mo and Zhuang Su, and one of the earliest "Neutrals of s12 district": "Your clothes were all chosen with her help."

Along the way, Gu Shen slowly spoke about some "common sense".

In e0 district, the rules for survival were simple: relying on fists and brains to snatch food.

Gu Xiaoman was very smart. She knew that there were other rules for survival here.

She silently remembered everything Gu Shen said.

When they arrived at the research institute, Gu Xiaoman saw many young lives imprisoned in "bronze pillars." Gu Shen had told her before that the Neutrals were conducting "research"…

These young lives had already died.

Before the central control screen, Qi Mo was focused, his eyes never leaving the screen for a second. The extraordinary genes of "Gu Xiaoman" formed countless spiral lines in the screen, constantly disassembling and reassembling… He was looking for whether there were any corresponding "extraordinary abilities" in the "extraordinary pedigree chart" left by the iron box.

"Mr. Qi."

Gu Shen said softly, "Xiaoman is here."

Qi Mo glanced out of the corner of his eye, subconsciously withdrew his gaze, and when he heard these words, he quickly jumped up.

"…Mr. Qi."

Gu Xiaoman, dressed in black, respectfully greeted him.

"Hey!"

Qi Mo's face bloomed with a smile. He rummaged in the pockets of his coat for a while and took out a "gift" that he had prepared long ago. He had been filled with joy when he looked at this little girl—of course, a large part of the reason was because of the "Child of Divine Grace," but in his daily life of being immersed in research, he was very friendly to children. This was also why so many young people in the Neutral underground base loved him.

They were all cultivated by Mr. Qi twenty years ago.

"This is…"

Gu Xiaoman looked at what Mr. Qi handed over, which was a flat object wrapped in clean paper towels. When she unwrapped it, it was black and emitted a strong fragrance.

"Taste it, it's sweet."

Qi Mo smiled and said, "This thing is called 'chocolate' in the outer continents. It's a luxury in Sangzhou Grotto. Taking a bite will make you feel much better."

Luxury item?

Gu Xiaoman became a little nervous. She looked up at Gu Shen.

Gu Shen smiled and nodded, "Try it, don't worry, it's not a valuable thing."

Hearing this, she broke off a piece of chocolate, but she only took a small portion. With a snap, the chocolate broke crisply, and she folded the remaining part back up with the paper towel…

She wanted to save most of the good stuff for the little guy in the basket.

Gu Xiaoman took a sip. This candy called "chocolate" was really sweet, sweeter than the ones she had picked up…

…

…

Perhaps it was because the legendary "Child of Divine Grace" had come to the research institute that the mansion became lively not long after Gu Shen brought Gu Xiaoman to the new base.

Gu Shen noticed that some unfamiliar faces had appeared here.

"Mr. Gu—"

Just then, a tall man stepped forward. He extended his palm, his expression sincere, and said, "I want to express my gratitude to you on behalf of e0 district…"

"This is Jiang Du."

Shen Li, who closed the mansion door, said through voice transmission, "The Neutral gathering mission in e0 district has just been completed. Nearly 90% of the extraordinary people have successfully arrived in s12 district."

"What about the remaining 10%?"

"The beast tide outside the high wall was repelled by \[Empty Domain], but there are also stray beasts… After escaping e0 district, some people lost contact." Shen Li lowered his voice, "Some bloody corpses were found on the wilderness near s12 district…"

Having said this, there was no need to say more.

Gu Shen's expression was a little complicated.

He looked toward the back of Jiang Du, where a group of ragged, helpless young people were standing. These people were generally not very old, and some of their faces were familiar to him. He had wandered around e0 district for most of the day. The Church of the Blazing Fire captured the "Child of Divine Grace," and also captured many faces of sufferers in e0 district… The sparks of the Neutrals had already been ignited in the four locations of Sangzhou Grotto. These people had been waiting for Jiang Du's command for many years, and the fire the night before was just a matter of taking advantage of the situation.

Now they were safe.

Gu Shen reached out and shook hands with Jiang Du. He said softly, "Settle down in s12 district first… After a while, I will arrange for you to leave Sangzhou Grotto…"

These suffering people who had finally escaped e0 district did not show the same desire to "stay" as Mr. Qi and the others.

Many people's eyes lit up when they heard this sentence.

"Leave Sangzhou Grotto…"

Jiang Du smiled bitterly and said, "We've been trapped here our whole lives. Is leaving really a good thing?"

"The Chengxin Association needs some extraordinary people… Even if they are low-level, it doesn't matter." Chen Mo looked at those ragged awakened people and said in a peaceful tone, "The Dadu district is the most prosperous district in East Continent. As long as you abide by the federal laws, you will have a new and wonderful life…"

Before going south.

Madam and Chen San had already discussed it.

The extraordinary personnel in Changye were already saturated, but after the Huazhi Southern Bay joined forces in Dadu, they needed to establish an extraordinary institution similar to the "Three Institutes," and the Chengxin Association needed to transition from underground to above ground.

These extraordinary people from Sangzhou Grotto could just fill this part of the vacancy.

"Lao Qi, take them to find a place to live and wash up." Chen Mo patted Qi Lu's shoulder and said, "The city defense project in the Southern Grotto still needs manpower… The Holy City's extraordinary people will arrive and settle in these few days, and we need to completely exclude this group of guys."

"The Holy City's extraordinary people…"

Many Neutrals became nervous when they heard this.

"Don't worry, they have no power to do anything." Gu Shen said calmly, "I will let them be stationed outside the living area. They have no right to interfere in the affairs of the city…"

These words sounded a bit absurd.

Sangzhou Grotto belonged to Southern Continent, but the Holy City, which once ordered its subordinates to search here to the extreme… had now completely lost control over this place.

The Central City Legion, East Continent, Guang Ming Bi Lei, the Source Tower.

After the Storm Throne went south, the four continents were stationed, and Sangzhou Grotto had become a chessboard for the game of wills between the continents. The "stationed team" sent by the Holy City at most played a role in supervision and feedback.

The Holy City didn't want to get involved here.

The Holy City could only watch.

…

…

Jiang Du led the e0 district marchers into the s12 district.

As a result, the number of Neutrals stationed in the Church of the Blazing Wave's mansion suddenly increased by dozens.

When it was built, it had never been thought that so many "extraordinary people" would enjoy themselves here… If this trend continued, the mansion would soon be full, but Zhuang Su had already thought of this and had gone out yesterday.

As the base camp of the Neutrals, the degree of cooperation from the public in s12 district was extremely high.

Previously, Gu Shen was unable to count the resident information because the "Neutrals'" secret will was opposed to it… Gu Shen had already greeted Lu Nanzhi, and Huazhi would soon send a batch of prefabricated building materials to Sangzhou Grotto. With the cooperation of the natives, this city would undergo earth-shaking changes in a very short period of time.

Of course, the other three continents would do the same.

The continuous outbreak of beast tides made Guang Ming Bi Lei and the Source Tower worried. Now that the city was stable, someone had already proposed in the meeting room to jointly attack the extraordinary beast spirits.

There was nothing wrong with this proposal. When the Holy City's extraordinary people arrived, all four parties would need to send exploration teams to hunt and capture these awakened extraordinary beast spirits in the sealed outer ring of Sangzhou Grotto to avoid the formation of larger-scale "beast tides."

After these tedious matters of meeting with Jiang Du were over.

Qi Mo gave Gu Shen a look.

Gu Shen understood and squatted down, saying to Gu Xiaoman, "Xiaoman, you may have to do a 'test' later. Use as much strength as you have…"

"Is this part of the 'extraordinary awakening'?"

Gu Xiaoman blinked.

"Sort of." Gu Shen smiled, then reached out and beckoned Shen Li over.

"Come, this way."

Shen Li looked at the sallow and skinny little girl and said with a smile, "Hello, my name is Shen Li."

"Hello, Uncle Shen."

Gu Xiaoman was still wary of the outside world. She cautiously took two steps back, but still politely greeted him.

Shen Li: "???"

"I'm only twenty…"

Shen Li gritted his teeth in anger, saw Gu Shen's eyes, and his black face immediately became kind, squeezing out a smile from his teeth: "Xiaoman, remember to call me 'brother' in the future."

"Okay, Uncle."

Shen Li, with a black line on his face, took Gu Xiaoman to the "testing room" that had been temporarily set up not far away.

Next, Gu Xiaoman would have to undergo some physical data measurements.

As well as the "mental assessment" formulated by the Safety Committee.

After the two left.

Qi Mo spoke, "Mr. Gu… the results of the 'blood' test are out. Good news and bad news, which one do you want to hear first?"

(End of this chapter)