The Last Sentinel

The car soon arrived at the ruins of an abandoned steel factory. What came into view were huge steel storage tanks, as well as the devastation of war, trenches, and huge shell craters.

Snowflakes fell on the vast steel factory, making it resemble a dilapidated battlefield sealed away thirty years ago.

"I'm getting off the bus."

Pete stopped the car and pointed to a huge warehouse in front of them, saying, "We're here. Go in and change your gear. I'll give you all a little pep talk while I'm at it! Don't say anything that Lord Hughes won't like when he arrives!"

The seven people got out of the car and went into the steel warehouse.

Inside the warehouse, incandescent lights shone brightly, and rows of futuristic battle suits, the kind only seen in the Daoist Alliance, were neatly arranged on both sides. Besides the battle suits, there were also the latest kinetic energy guns, explosive guns, kinetic energy blades, and magnetic two-handed greatswords from the laboratory...

Everyone at this moment was just like Grandma Liu who had mistakenly entered the Grand View Garden, curious and interested in everything.

Pete walked ahead smugly. "By the way, what civilization exiled you prisoners from?"

Hua Xiaobai laughed and asked, "What kind of civilization do you think we are, brother?"

"In my opinion, you're mostly unlucky souls from the Lord of the Rings civilization! Only the Lord of the Rings civilization could be so bizarre and fantastical!"

"Brother, your insight is truly remarkable. That's right, the seven of us are the famous Seven Warlords of the Ring in the Lord of the Rings civilization. I am White Lord, this is Red Lord, Black Lord, Green Lord..."

"Enough with the introductions. The Seven Warlords of the Rings are a thing of the past. Now you have new identities, and remember them! You are the seven most powerful elites handpicked by me, Pete, from tens of thousands of people. You possess the highest level of technological sophistication and moral character among alien criminals. You are the most ruthless cosmic assassins. Your very existence is defined by silence and slaughter!"

"Mr. Hughes doesn't want a ragtag bunch; he wants a highly efficient and presentable super team!"

"Therefore, I will equip you with the most elite individual combat gear, the kind of equipment rarely seen even in the Terran Alliance..."

Pete vividly described a powerful, yet non-existent, top-tier assassin organization that existed only in his mind.

The seven people present—Hua Xiaobai, Brother Bashi, the Tiger Warriors, and the three brothers from Taoyuan—all cooperated well in disguising their new identities.

Before long, everyone changed into a full-coverage titanium-nickel alloy combat suit, with explosive guns hanging from their waists and kinetic swords on their backs.

Feeling the brand-new equipment on her body, Hua Xiaobai had a sense of having accidentally wandered into the heavenly realm.

Even official members of the Human Alliance might not be able to get such a set of equipment.

Here, your identity is ambiguous and your origin is unknown. As long as you can use these two flattering words, you can get the top-level individual equipment of the Human Alliance!

It's true what they say: comparing people is a recipe for disaster, and comparing goods is a recipe for disaster!

"Bang!"

Brother Eighty tapped his titanium-nickel alloy combat suit with his fingers and couldn't help but sigh, "Now I understand what 'comparing people is a recipe for disaster, and comparing goods is a recipe for disaster' really means. This set of equipment alone is worth at least several hundred merit points, while here, everyone has one!"

Old Liu said, "It can only be said that Hughes is far too greedy. Even one of Hughes' henchmen can give us so much equipment; it's unimaginable how much treasure Hughes possesses!"

Dian Wei's eyes lit up. "Take down Hughes, take down the treasure!"

Xu Chu rubbed his hands together and said, "Just like Hua Xiaobai copied Anthony, we copied Hughes; a thief can't leave empty-handed!"

At this moment, the flames of ambition burned fiercely within everyone. Then, Pete's voice rang out from outside the door, "Ready? Come out!"

Hearing the sound, everyone put on their helmets and left the locker room.

Pete looked at the seven neatly dressed and solemn people and was overjoyed. "Not bad, you all look good. When Mr. Hughes arrives, don't be nervous. Mr. Hughes is very polite to his own people! Understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Sir, what about our compensation?"

Pete stamped his foot and said, "Mr. Hughes will pay! Don't act like you've never seen anything like this before, talking about pay all the time. You are now Mr. Hughes's alien protection team, and you must live up to Mr. Hughes's high expectations of you!"

"Understood, sir!"

The seven people stood in neat rows, and for a moment, amidst the howling snow, they looked quite presentable.

Before long, a spaceship appeared in the abandoned steel factory area. The spaceship's light beams descended, and Hughes, dressed in a high-quality black leather suit, strode off the spaceship, his eyes sweeping over Pete and the others.

Pete immediately stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Lord Hughes, the special planetary guard squad you requested has been assembled! These seven individuals are the best of the best I selected from the interstellar powerhouses of the seven thousand islands. They are indifferent to fame and fortune, decisive in action, and possess outstanding personal resumes! They perfectly meet Lord Hughes's requirements for candidates! Pete's answer is complete! Please inspect, Lord Hughes!"

Hughes glanced at the seven people, his brow furrowing. "Have these seven people been tested?"

Pete hurriedly said, "They've been tested. The Human Alliance's management instruments tested them, and the Human Alliance's sensors didn't react at all. This means they're not members of the Human Alliance, and ordinary people can't come to the island, so they can only be criminals exiled by an alien civilization!"

Upon hearing this, the seven people present felt a jolt of unease.

Holy crap, that old bastard Pete actually tested us? When did that happen?!

However, the seven of them breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Hughes had blocked their applications to join the Human Alliance. Hughes wouldn't allow 800 people to join the Human Alliance, so the seven of them were not official members of the Human Alliance at the moment. Even if it were a real Human Alliance testing device, it wouldn't be able to detect that the seven of them were Human Alliance warriors.

Hughes, his eyes still sharp with age, gleamed with cunning. "It's always good to be careful."

Pete patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, sir. I've vetted them. They come from the Lord of the Rings civilization, which was dimensionally defeated by the Singer civilization. They are the infamous Seven Warlords of the Ring from a continent within the Lord of the Rings civilization. Because they offended the Lord of the Rings royal family, they were exiled here and only arrived a week ago!"

Hughes nodded. "I believe you, just as you believe me!"

Pete's eyes gleamed. "Rest assured, sir! We brothers will fight to the death for you!"

Upon hearing this, the seven people behind him bowed in unison and said in deep voices, "For Lord Hughes, we would gladly die a thousand deaths!"

Amidst the howling wind and snow, on the desolate ruins of the steel factory, Hughes, clad in a black leather overcoat, his aged face etched with the wrinkles of time, exuded the aura of a fallen hero, his imposing presence palpable. His old eyes swept over the crowd, and he slowly said, "Gentlemen, you have not abandoned me; you have joined me in this grand undertaking! Victory or defeat hinges on this!"

Everyone raised their hands in unison, "Let's join hands for this momentous occasion; victory or defeat hinges on this!"

If Ye Feng were here at this moment, looking at the absurd scene before him, he would surely sigh from the bottom of his heart that this world is just a huge makeshift operation!

Hughes, a supervillain and a meticulous boss, actually made such a basic mistake by blindly trusting a subordinate who only knew how to flatter.

It's true that people from lower classes think that those above are cautious and meticulous, planning every step carefully.

Little did they know that the seemingly powerful figures at the top, as perceived by those at the bottom, were actually a makeshift team, taking things one step at a time without even considering whether the previous step was correct.