Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

"Train hard, every one of you!" After his shout of anger, Bai E heard the instructor's gentle voice in the private channel, "Continue, Bai E..."

In this sparring session between the instructor and the trainees, the instructor felt that he was the one under the most pressure.

But it was precisely because of this that he reaped substantial benefits!

A mech pilot who doesn't want to go to the Mechanical Court isn't a good armored battalion instructor!

Begin training!

...

At dawn on Black Street, from the distant mist, a ragged silhouette gradually emerged.

Upon closer approach, it became clear that it was likely another refugee from the wilderness coming into the city.

Xu Ruoguang, with his hands crossed over his chest holding a sword, silently watched the approaching figure with the Black Street Guard behind him.

The expertise in assessing people he had cultivated through interactions with various spying agents who approached Black Street for different purposes was now proving its worth.

[...No flaws detected.]

It should just be a real refugee.

Unlucky to be alone, but lucky enough to have reached the city's radius.

Luckier still to have come to Black Street.

Having assessed the target's identity, Xu Ruoguang strode forward. The refugee, who had cautiously stopped upon seeing a figure in a uniform trying to intercept him, merely observed the guards' lower halves with a pair of dim eyes.

"We are the security force of this settlement, maintaining Order," Xu Ruoguang began, introducing himself before softly asking, "Where are you from?"

Looking up at the other, Xu Ruoguang was quite amazed at the refugee's height.

It wasn't obvious from afar, but only in close contact could he sense this real difference.

He had chosen a body type like in "reality," not particularly tall but also not short, meeting the average male height requirement, yet this refugee stood a head and more above him, and was broad-shouldered, with just pale, cracked lips and a somewhat weak breath.

It must have been a long time since he had enough nutrition, which fit with his refugee status.

Xu Ruoguang had no suspicions, noting the other's silent, wary, and timid gaze. He simply smiled warmly and extended his right hand without disdain, "Welcome to Black Street; you can start a new life here."

"..." The refugee's lips trembled slightly, his face showing visible astonishment and joy, "Thank... thank you."

A sneer echoed in the doctor's heart, who was feigning his demeanor.

Being in someone else's territory, he had not dared to venture in alone to gather information, and thus had little detailed knowledge of the settlement. He had to think of other methods.

He had thought it would be difficult to infiltrate, but he didn't expect to succeed in penetrating the enemy's ranks with such ease.

'As a Guardian of a power, to be so careless, failure!'

"Come, follow me; I'll have them arrange a place for you to stay. It's not big, but at least it's a place to shelter from the wind and rain," Xu Ruoguang said as he turned to lead the way, instructing the guards behind him, "Continue patrolling."

Following Xu Ruoguang, the doctor swept an icy gaze over every visible aspect before him.

A settlement beyond the city, lacking heavily armed forces, yet flourishing.

Not a single idle loafer to be seen, something that would be unthinkable elsewhere.

But organs without a hard shell, no matter how wonderful, are easily shattered upon touch.

The tastier it is, the more deadly it becomes.

'Failure!'

```

'Failure!'

All was a failure!

There were no mighty arms of one's own, no walls or turrets of steel torrents, not even a glimpse of the attempt to establish such mechanisms. How could the entire settlement lay completely defenseless, laid bare to the eyes of a newcomer like himself? What a grave oversight was this?

Was it merely an ordinary community, laboring for a livelihood?

With only a few decades in a lifetime, how could one afford to waste so much time on fundamental aspects?

How could such a shortsighted waste be fit to take away Number One?

It couldn't just be this!

Perhaps... one could probe a bit?

"We've arrived." Xu Ruoguang, who was walking ahead, suddenly turned around. The doctor, coming to his senses, quickly shrank his neck and cast his eyes down, once again donning a facade of timidity.

"... Yes."

Xu Ruoguang pointed to a row of grey-white cement houses, "This is the place... It's not large, but it's enough to shelter from wind and rain. Since you've joined the Black Street, we will naturally provide you with enough food and housing to sustain life. But as an obligation, you also must complete the required daily workload. From now on, this is your home, but it is also the home of us all."

"... Yes."

Looking at the reticent and awkward expression of the tall man, Xu Ruoguang couldn't help but smile wryly and shake his head.

Turning his attention to the commissar of life affairs approaching from a distance, he completely dismissed this trivial matter, "That's the person in charge of managing your daily life matters. He will handle the details for you."

"... Alright."

...

Having finished his morning training, Bai E headed straight for Black Street.

The Mecha had been gloriously shattered once more, and the afternoon would evidently be spent under maintenance by logistics personnel, which no longer concerned Bai E.

"Has anything happened?" Bai E usually inquired.

Gilder, who tallied everything, flipped through his notes and earnestly replied, "There's been a slight change in personnel; we encountered several foreign refugees today, and not all together..."

"The children of demons?" Bai E raised an eyebrow.

Over time, he had learned of Kuang Xin and others' identities at birth—they had initially joined the indigenous people's recognition system as refugees.

Could the refugees appearing suddenly and unknown to each other be another batch of players who had gotten their qualification numbers?

"They shouldn't be..." Gilder shook his head.

Xu Ruoguang, who reported the matter, seemed to know that the master would ask about this and specifically cautioned that these refugees were not the children of demons, but there was no issue.

"Occasionally, large-scale natural disasters occur in the wilderness. It's normal for refugees from all corners to move closer to cities to avoid such disasters."

"Then that's good," Bai E commented, not entirely clear about too many common knowledge aspects of this world. When subordinates entrusted with responsibility made judgments, he chose to trust to a certain extent.

"Additionally..." Gilder hesitated, his expression odd, "just before you arrived, we received an order..."

"An order?" Bai E echoed with a puzzled expression, "Is there a problem?"

Gilder had never brought up the matter of orders to him before.

An order was a good thing, signifying resource exchange, signifying the creation of profit. If there was no issue, why would Gilder look so hesitant?

"It's too much..." Gilder looked perplexed, "And, they want steel."

```