The engine of the motorcycle roared to life, its tires kicking up dust on the city wall. These motorcycles had been modified, their engines significantly quieter than stock. Even so, in the hushed environment of the post-apocalyptic world, the noise was still considerable. As they sped along the walls of Jing City, they drew the attention of the soldiers guarding them.
By the time Wu Hao and Zhang Bochao had completed their circuit of the city wall, they spotted a massive bird streaking towards them from the distance. Lu Heng had arrived in Jing City. Having received advance notice, the soldiers on the city wall did not attack. However, watching a colossal bird fly overhead, the soldiers on duty that day were awestruck. They had heard that this giant bird was a city lord's mount, meaning this city lord had managed to control such a large mutated animal. The bird was incredibly fast; before they could get a clear look at its appearance, it was already heading towards the aircraft landing area within the city.
From high in the sky, Lu Heng quickly located a suitable place to land. Jing City had no airport to begin with. However, in the early days of the apocalypse, to safely receive troop reinforcements for Jing City, they had to seal off an eight-lane highway and convert it into a runway. The eagle-beaked beast didn't need a runway; as long as there was a sufficiently wide area, it could land vertically.
Lu Heng landed beside the transport plane from Wuming City. He then had the eagle-beaked beast shrink to a smaller size. Immediately, he was surrounded by Sun Zhe, the deputy captain of the First Squad, and various high-ranking officials from Jing City.
"City Lord Lu, Deputy Captain Sun Zhe of the First Squad reporting for duty." Sun Zhe saluted Lu Heng. Not far behind him, other soldiers from Wuming City also saluted Lu Heng in unison. These soldiers had only seen Lu Heng from afar during a unified upgrade. Even though many were not familiar with Lu Heng, he had given them the hope of becoming strong and surviving in this apocalypse, etching his image deeply into their hearts. In this world, besides their closest family, Lu Heng was undoubtedly a similarly important family member to them.
Watching hundreds of uniformly dressed soldiers salute Lu Heng, Elder Fei and the other high-ranking officials from Jing City who had come to welcome him also felt the respect these soldiers held for Lu Heng. Even they, in this post-apocalyptic world, could not command such loyalty from their people.
Lu Heng nodded at Sun Zhe without a word and then turned his gaze to the crowd that had gathered around him. Amidst the throng, Lu Heng quickly identified the person Lin Yu had mentioned, the kind-faced elder.
"You must be Elder Fei." It was said that before the apocalypse, Elder Fei had been a high-ranking general in a military region. This elder, who had already retired to the second line, had voluntarily stepped up at the beginning of the apocalypse to once again shoulder the primary responsibilities of the former military region. It wasn't that the elder was power-hungry; it was just that at the start of the apocalypse, several high-ranking officials in the original military region had been infected by the virus and mutated into zombies, plunging the entire military region into a state of near-complete lack of senior leadership. Elder Fei, who lived in the family compound of the original military region, had unhesitatingly taken on the burden of the military region again upon hearing the news. Furthermore, he had immediately led the remaining combat forces back to Jing City, protecting this century-old capital.
Lu Heng also deeply respected such individuals. Looking at the white-haired elder, Lu Heng knew that this elder was still just an ordinary person at this moment. There were insurmountable conditions to becoming an ability user in the apocalypse; those who were too young or too old, even after consuming crystals, could not evolve into ability users. Lu Heng surmised that Elder Fei must be very tired, handling various affairs daily while maintaining the body of an ordinary person. However, the elder standing opposite him, despite showing signs of fatigue, had a look of determination in his eyes as he gazed at Lu Heng.
"Hahaha, I am. Lu Heng, you're quite the young man. Lin Yu spoke highly of you when we went to Wuming City. I didn't expect you to be so young. This is wonderful; the nation's legacy is in the hands of people like you. We old folks can die with no regrets." Elder Fei did not address Lu Heng with the same formal language as others. Although in this apocalypse, ability strength was the primary measure, Elder Fei knew that the young man before him wasn't someone who cared about titles.
"Yes, your health should allow you to live for several more decades. We still need your guidance, seniors." Lu Heng stood before Elder Fei with his hands behind his back, his long hair tied up and fluttering in the wind.
"Alas, I'm old. Let's head into the city first. Will your mutated beast attack people here?" Elder Fei, who was about to leave, seemed to recall the giant bird from earlier and asked, looking in the direction of the eagle-beaked beast.
"No, but to reassure everyone, I'll put it away." As he finished speaking, before everyone could understand Lu Heng's intention, the eagle-beaked beast's massive form vanished before their eyes.
"What, where did the big bird go?"
"I don't know. I definitely saw the big bird just now. Look at the ground over there; it seems to have claw marks from the giant bird."
"Yeah, but where's the bird?" Elder Fei also turned to Lu Heng with a hint of surprise, "Lu Heng, where did that bird go?"
Lu Heng had never been publicly promoted, so people outside Wuming City only had hearsay about him. However, they were unaware of Lu Heng's ability attributes and level. The fact that Lu Heng could tame mutated animals as mounts was something they had only just learned. But now, a giant bird had vanished into thin air at Lu Heng's command, leaving them all bewildered and discussing it in confusion.
"I've put it away. Let's go find a place to talk more." Seeing everyone still puzzled by the eagle-beaked beast's disappearance, Lu Heng simply told Elder Fei and offered no further explanation. Elder Fei nodded and then addressed the crowd still murmuring behind him, "Alright, let's head back first."
The group boarded the vehicles that had been prepared. The cars quickly transported them into the city center. The original government building had been requisitioned after the apocalypse and used as the command center for Jing City's anti-zombie operations. Lu Heng was led by the group to a large conference room on the second floor. After someone served Lu Heng and his companions some water, Elder Fei resumed presiding over the meeting.
"City Lord Lu's visit to Jing City is an honor for us. Later, the person in charge of city defense will brief City Lord Lu on the current situation in Jing City..."