You were told to search and attack, but you're supporting Asara?

"Hey kid, don't touch those things!"

A guard shouted in a gruff voice, his tone filled with the pent-up anger of the past few days. He rushed over and grabbed a young player who was squatting by the wishing well. The player's sleeve was already half-soaked, and he was clutching a few coins he had pulled from the bottom of the well, water dripping from between his fingers.

The player was annoyed, shook off the guard's hand, and retorted with a raised head, "Hey, your boss begged us to come here, what's wrong with washing our hands in the pool?"

"A bunch of country bumpkins." The guard sized him up, his gaze lingering on his tattered clothes he hadn't changed out of. A sneer appeared on his lips, his tone dripping with mockery. "Our boss is a top student. Don't you even look in the mirror? Did you beg me to come here?"

Upon hearing this, several players who were queuing to receive equipment stopped what they were doing and turned around to watch the spectacle.

Unexpectedly, the young player, upon hearing this, not only didn't get angry, but instead pushed up his glasses and spoke with even more disdain: "Only a poor, remote place like yours would consider Reese a returnee. You can't stay here, so you go abroad to get a degree and call yourself a high achiever? I wouldn't even want you to come and study for your master's degree under me."

The surrounding players who were watching the spectacle all turned to look, their eyes filled with surprise. No one had expected that among this group of people who came to raid for gold and knives, there would actually be a talent of Professor Shuo's caliber.

The guard's face flushed red with embarrassment and anger. He raised his voice, "You stinking out-of-town GTIs, here to scavenge for scraps in Longbow Valley! The Diamond Queen Hotel isn't a place for beggars!"

"Hey kid, what are you barking about? Still not convinced?" The other players were annoyed and started yelling. Some threw their equipment bags on the ground, rolled up their sleeves, and were about to charge forward; others were already reaching for their guns; still others stood behind, inciting trouble and shouting, "Let's fight! Let's fight!" In an instant, the hotel lobby was in chaos, with pushing, shoving, and people trying to break up the fight—it was quite a scene.

"What's going on!"

Reis's voice came from the doorway, low and tinged with impatience. He had just gone to the back to make a call to Chen Xiao to discuss the arrangements for the next batch of players, and when he returned, he saw his soldiers and players fighting amongst themselves. His face darkened, and he strode over, shoving aside the people crowding the doorway to watch the spectacle.

But he came back a little late.

By the time he squeezed into the lobby, the first group of players who had collected their gear had already run out of the Diamond Queen Hotel. They not only had new gear, but their backpacks, pockets, and even their arms were stuffed with things they had looted from all over the hotel—champagne from the bar, caviar from the restaurant, accessories from the shop shelves, and even a few magazines that they had just taken from the guards who were maintaining order.

"Guys, this hotel is great, take whatever you want!" A bald gamer stood on the hotel steps, turning back to shout to the people behind him with a grin, "We'll come again next time!"

"If we weren't in such a rush to get to the Superstar Station, I'd like to stay a little longer," another player chimed in, a hint of regret in their voice. "That old bastard Reis was so strict before, we couldn't get into the Diamond Queen Hotel at all!"

"Exactly! Today was a real treat!"

A group of people got into the car laughing and joking, the engine roared to life, and the convoy sped away.

Reese stood at the hotel entrance, watching the departing convoy of players, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

He took a deep breath and swallowed back the swear words that were about to come out.

There's nothing we can do. The station has already been captured, the people have arrived, and now he's turned his back on us, all our previous investment has been wasted. We also won't be able to explain things to GTI.

"Just bear with it," Reese whispered to himself. "There's plenty of time later."

He turned to his henchman and ordered, "Follow them. See what they're up to in Bakshi."

Chaoxing Station is not far from the Diamond Queen Hotel; it's about a ten-minute drive away.

The station was originally an important transportation hub in Hafk, with the railway tracks running north from Longbow Valley, through the mountains, and directly to Baksh. Now, the station is controlled by Reis's soldiers. The platforms are piled with sandbags and makeshift machine gun positions, and several trains captured from Hafk are parked on the tracks. The air still smells of gunpowder, and the ground is littered with shell casings and dried blood. Hafk equipment, which has not yet been cleared away, is piled up in the corner.

The players jumped off the vehicle and looked around curiously.

"This is the SuperStar Station? It's quite big."

"Are the tracks still usable? We don't want the train to overturn halfway through the journey."

"It's good that the train overturned; we can dismantle the tracks and sell them for scrap metal."

"You're really something."

The train departed promptly at 10:00 AM.

Three trains bearing the Hafk logo, their silver-white bodies gleaming coldly in the sunlight, still bearing the blue diamond-shaped emblems on the sides of the carriages. Nearly two hundred players were crammed into the carriages; some were peering out the windows at the scenery, some were checking their equipment, and some had already begun trading.

After leaving Chaoxing Station, the train quickly entered the mountains. Towering peaks lined both sides, with only a few tenacious shrubs occasionally visible on the bare rock faces. The tracks wound their way along the valley, the train emitting a piercing whistle every now and then. Every so often, there was a tunnel; when the train entered a tunnel, darkness enveloped everything, with only the clanging of the wheels on the rails echoing in the enclosed space.

"Watch out in the tunnel!" the train conductor shouted over the walkie-talkie. "There might be an ambush!"

But the people of Hafk didn't seem to have reacted yet. The fall of the Superstar Station came too suddenly; they hadn't had time to deploy defenses along the railway line. The train traveled smoothly, and forty minutes later, it had left the mountains.

Ahead lay a vast plain.

At the edge of the plain, a vast settlement came into view. A network of crisscrossing trenches surrounded the settlement, like scars etched into the earth. Further away, the Tower of Babel, its silvery-white body gleaming coldly in the sunlight, pierced the sea of ​​clouds, as if trying to tear through the sky. It stood like a deity, looking down upon this scarred land.

The players leaned out of the car windows, gazing at the legendary building and exclaiming in amazement.

"Holy crap, that's the Tower of Babel?"

"This is fucking huge! How many floors must it have?"

"1,500 meters."

"I heard it's full of good stuff! And all red!"

"You need to be alive to get good stuff. You know that Hafk's rifles are all equipped with level 3 rounds."

The train slowly pulled into Bakshi Railway Station, and players surged off like a tidal wave, quickly scattering. Some ran towards the Tower of Babel, some ducked into the residential area, and some headed straight for the distant supply warehouse. In the blink of an eye, only a handful of people remained on the platform.

Chen Xiao mingled among the players, with Luna, who was wearing a thick mask, beside him.

He stood on the platform, not in a hurry to leave. He looked up at the colossal building that seemed to pierce the sea of ​​clouds, his gaze somewhat unfocused. A breeze blew by, carrying the dry smell of dust and the faint scent of gunpowder in the distance.

"What's wrong?" Luna asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing." Chen Xiao smiled casually and looked away. "I just think that tower is quite ironic."

"What's so sarcastic?"

"Hafk said he wanted to build a utopia of equal resources, and then he built the Tower of Babel in Asara." Chen Xiao paused, his gaze returning to the tower. "But in the Bible, the Tower of Babel is a symbol of God shattering human transgressions."

"In modern times, the word 'Tower of Babel' represents chaos."

"You believe in the Bible?" Luna's tone carried a hint of disdain.

"Who among decent people believes in the Bible?" Chen Xiao waved his hand, looking lazy. "But that old bastard Jacob has definitely read that stuff. He makes no attempt to hide his desire to build his own order."

Luna didn't speak, but tightened her grip on the composite bow. The two turned and walked off the platform, disappearing around the corner of the street.

······

Meanwhile, inside the Tower of Babel.

In a small medical room, bright white light illuminated the entire space, making it as bright as day. A row of sophisticated medical equipment lined the wall, its screens displaying various data. In the center sat a hospital bed, on which lay a woman.

Claire, with her red hair, lay on the hospital bed, her face pale but her eyes still clear. She wore a loose hospital gown, several tubes connected to her arm, and a pulse oximeter probe between her fingers. The monitor by the bed emitted a steady "beep" sound.

Watson Cunningham stood by the hospital bed, holding a stack of medical reports. His white coat was a little wrinkled, and his eyes behind his glasses were bloodshot, but he exuded an undisguised excitement.

"Claire, you're doing well." Watson looked at the test results in his hand, his voice filled with barely suppressed joy. "All the indicators are within the expected range. The surgery is expected to be possible next week."

Claire managed a weak smile as she lay in her hospital bed.

Claire, who was already severely depressed, hadn't recovered yet, and simply responded softly, "I'm looking forward to it."

"Relax, Claire," Dr. Watson said, bending down and grinning mischievously. "It can't get any worse, can it?"