Lin Dong looked at Liu Yang with intense vigilance in his eyes. "Who are you? What do you want?"
Then he saw the burly man lying on the ground, and his expression instantly shifted. "What did you do to Er Gou? Er Gou isn't an ability user-aren't you people supposed to refrain from attacking ordinary civilians?"
Hearing his words, Liu Yang realized Lin Dong had mistaken him for the killer targeting ability users.
Liu Yang shook his head. "I'm not here to kill you. He was just guiding me here, but he passed out shortly after we arrived. He's probably suffering from motion sickness, but he'll get used to it after a few more flights. It's completely normal for a civilian to faint after experiencing supersonic speeds.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Liu Yang, leader of a survivor base. Er Gou came to seek refuge with us and mentioned that the ability users at your base were killed, so I came over to check things out."
Lin Dong's face showed a mix of belief and suspicion as he listened to Liu Yang's explanation.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, his eyes lit up in shock. "Liu Yang?! Could you be the Liu Yang-ranked number one on the Heaven Ranking?!"
Liu Yang nodded. "That's me."
At the same time, Liu Yang felt a bit surprised. Had his fame really spread this far?
Did every random ability user know his name?
"My god!" Lin Dong's eyes widened, barely able to believe it.
That was Liu Yang, the rank-one powerhouse on the Heaven Ranking who had thoroughly crushed the Little Sun Empire!
He was practically the symbol of the Divine Dragon Empire.
He had brought immense glory to the entire country.
He was the pride of every citizen in the Divine Dragon Empire!
"Blegh!" Er Gou lay on the ground vomiting continuously. It took him several minutes to finally regain his composure.
He excitedly turned to Lin Dong and panted, "Dong... Big Brother Dong! I brought back reinforcements!"
When Liu Yang originally claimed he was strong, Er Gou hadn't believed it. But after being carried through the air at supersonic speeds for thirty kilometers, he was entirely convinced!
At a speed like that, it didn't even matter what other abilities he possessed. Just grabbing an enemy, flying high into the sky, and dropping them would instantly splatter them on the ground!
As long as an opponent couldn't fly, they stood no chance against Liu Yang!
In this moment, Liu Yang was the true savior of their base!
Lin Dong asked with concern, "Er Gou, are you okay?"
Er Gou patted his chest repeatedly to catch his breath. "I'm... I'm fine. Just flew a bit too fast. Quick, explain the situation to Boss Liu Yang. He's a top-tier powerhouse."
Lin Dong's gaze instantly turned respectful as he looked at Liu Yang. "Of course I know he's a top-tier powerhouse-he's rank one on the Heaven Ranking!
"Boss Liu Yang, I'm Lin Dong, the only surviving ability user from this base. If I hadn't gone out to scavenge for food at the time, I probably would have been killed too."
Liu Yang nodded. "Mm. Lead the way to the crime scene."
With Lin Dong and Er Gou leading the way, they arrived at the room where the ability users had been slain.
Three days had passed.
The blood splattered across the floor had already dried into dark, blackened stains.
Lin Dong gestured around the room and explained, "When we first came in, we found four corpses. Our leader died right in his seat. All four of them were killed before they even had a chance to fight back.
"Every single one had their throat slit. The killer was likely a master assassin. They took out our leader before he could even react."
Liu Yang inspected the room. Indeed, there were no signs of a struggle.
The chair was drenched in blood.
It was obvious the ability user was killed while sitting down.
He hadn't even had the opportunity to stand up.
It was a display of absolute, crushing dominance.
Liu Yang genuinely couldn't wrap his head around it. With such an overwhelming disparity in power, how could these low-level ability users have provoked such an enemy?
And why didn't the killer settle the grudge on the spot? Why wait for them to return to their base before taking the risk of infiltrating to assassinate them?
After pondering for a moment, Liu Yang shook his head and reached a conclusion.
"The killer is likely a very powerful ability user who might just be killing at random. Your leader probably didn't even know them.
"Moreover, they didn't steal any resources. In the apocalypse, supplies are far more valuable than human lives.
"Leaving the resources untouched shows they have no interest in expanding in this area. In fact, they might not even want to establish a presence within the Divine Dragon Empire.
"Therefore, it's highly probable that foreign ability users from another empire infiltrated the Divine Dragon Empire. Their goal in killing is simply to reduce our number of ability users and weaken our overall national strength!
"Or perhaps your leader knew some secrets about the Divine Dragon Empire, and the enemy killed them after failing to interrogate them..."
Hearing Liu Yang's analysis, Lin Dong and the others showed looks of disbelief.
"Invaders from another empire?! But our boss usually stayed with us and never traveled far. We only operated locally, scavenging for supplies within ten kilometers. There's no way he knew any major secrets...
"Could it be because of the Testing Stele?
"That's where we first saw your name, Boss Liu Yang."
The former leader of this base had once discovered a Testing Stele and led his ability users inside for testing. He was fortunate enough to make it onto the Yellow Ranking.
It was on that very stele that they had seen Liu Yang's illustrious name!
They had been thrilled at the time.
Because the top spot on the Heaven Ranking clearly belonged to someone from the Divine Dragon Empire, bringing them immense pride.
In Lin Dong's eyes, the Testing Stele was the biggest secret they had ever uncovered.
However, Liu Yang shook his head. "There's more than one Testing Stele-they're scattered all over the globe. Although miraculous, they aren't rare. It's unlikely to be the reason."
Lin Dong asked, "Then could it really be as you said-just an attempt to weaken our Divine Dragon Empire's strength?"
Liu Yang replied, "I can't say for certain. But one thing is sure: the enemy is extremely powerful. If they return, none of you will be able to stop them.
"I will leave a Tier 3 zombie here to guard the location. If any intruders step foot inside, I will know immediately and arrive in minutes. From now on, this base is under my command. Who agrees, and who opposes?"
"I agree!" Er Gou was the first to speak up.
After his supersonic flight with Liu Yang, he was completely awestruck.
That was supersonic speed!
At that velocity, even throwing a simple pebble would pack more force than a bullet!
Liu Yang's power was utterly beyond imagination!
"Me too!" Lin Dong declared passionately.
Following the number one powerhouse on the Heaven Ranking meant a future of unlimited potential!
Seeing that no one had any objections, Liu Yang nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Then it's settled. From now on, this is my Base No. 2.
"I'll set up new rules for this base shortly, and it will operate under my structure moving forward.
"If intruders appear again, use your heads to stall for time. Don't get instantly killed, and I'll be here within minutes!"
Lin Dong and the others bowed their heads respectfully. "Understood, Boss Liu Yang!"