Early morning.
Sunlight spilled down.
In the villa living room, Shen Ping hurriedly ate breakfast, then changed his clothes, "Sis, I'm going to the main district today. You don't need to make lunch for me."
Shen Xue's hand trembled, "Ah, Xiao Ping, you, are you going to the Wilderness Area?"
Shen Ping smiled and said, "Sis, no, going to the Wilderness Area will be in half a month. I'm meeting up with the rest of the squad."
Only then did Shen Xue relax, "Then you go."
Leaving the villa, he followed the community's 环路 and went straight to Chen Ying's house.
"Ying Jie!"
Chen Ying quickly came out, dressed in casual clothes, looking less heroic than when she wore her combat uniform, and with a touch more mature charm.
"Xiao Shen, you haven't even visited your Ying Jie's house this month. What, are you afraid your Ying Jie will eat you?"
Chen Ying's words carried a hint of teasing.
Shen Ping chuckled dryly, "Ying Jie, I've been Cultivating."
Chen Ying rolled her eyes at Shen Ping in annoyance, "You haven't bought a car yet, have you? Come on, take my car."
In fact, Shen Ping also knew that Chen Ying was just teasing him. She hadn't dated any boyfriends for so many years, nor did she have any plans to get married. He had heard this from Captain Zeng a long time ago.
...
Huazhong Base City Main District.
At the bar in the HR Alliance Mall lobby.
The Black Ice Squad, meeting up, greeted each other.
Although they hadn't seen each other for a month, having experienced life and death together in the Wilderness Area, they had long since regarded each other as comrades in arms.
Even if they separated in the future, this relationship would not disappear.
Captain Bai Feng wore a belted, tight-fitting suit today, outlining her figure, especially the surging waves on her chest, which were very captivating.
However, the hideous scar on her forehead made people dare not look directly at her.
"Shen Ping, how have you been this past month?"
As soon as Bai Feng spoke, Wang Zhan, Li Zi, and Chen Ying all looked at Shen Ping.
Although they said it was a meeting, everyone actually knew that the main purpose was to understand Shen Ping's progress in strength.
After all, everyone else's potential had been exhausted, making it difficult for them to have substantial improvement. Only Shen Ping had high talent and potential.
Shen Ping didn't hide anything, "My physical fitness has reached Senior Warrior!"
Upon hearing this, Bai Feng and the other three all smiled.
"Not bad, it seems you've worked very hard this past month, Shen Ping."
Shen Ping was already close to the Senior Warrior level when he was in the Wilderness Area, but being close was one thing; it was still quite difficult to make that leap within a month.
Martial Artist gene Cultivation is a process of continuous accumulation. Even a Martial Artist with extremely high talent cannot make rapid progress within a few months.
Wang Zhan clicked his tongue and said, "Xiao Shen's physical fitness has reached Senior Warrior. With the first level of Flowing Wind's amplification, his overall combat power can reach Elementary Warlord. Now our squad is once again all Warlord-level!"
Bai Feng nodded and said, "Shen Ping, for the next half a month, work harder and strive to make your burst stably surpass the Elementary Warlord level. The next time we enter the Wilderness Area, it will be in the city center of 0174 District."
"Okay, no problem!"
Shen Ping responded. His combat power had already exceeded Elementary Warlord, but there was no need to say it now.
"Huh, Captain Bai, you're here too?"
Suddenly, a rough voice came from not far away.
Immediately after, several bear-like figures appeared in Shen Ping's line of sight.
"Captain Zeng!"
Bai Feng quickly stood up when she saw the newcomers.
Chen Ying and the others did the same, and seeing this, Shen Ping also quickly stood up.
"We're preparing to go support Huadong Base City, so we won't chat with you all. We'll talk again when we have time."
Saying that, Captain Zeng and the others left.
"Captain, who are they?" Shen Ping subconsciously asked.
"They are the Howling Bear Squad. All of their members are at the Advanced Warlord level, and they are very famous in our Huazhong Base City."
Bai Feng said.
Shen Ping gasped. An entire squad of Advanced Warlords, this team's strength could probably frequently hunt Lord-level monsters.
"I heard that a small-scale beast tide broke out in Huadong Base City. It seems the Howling Bear Squad was invited to provide support this time."
Chen Ying said, then changed the subject, "Captain, Xiao Shen and I rarely come to the main district. Since we're here today, why don't you take us out to have some fun!"
Bai Feng smiled and said, "Alright, my treat, let's go."
Immediately, everyone went to the entertainment area.
When they said "have fun," it mostly meant singing, dancing, and other forms of relaxation. Of course, if they hit it off with a service attendant, they might even have a romantic encounter.
However, such situations were relatively rare, as the service staff at the HR Alliance Mall were all specially trained and generally would not deliberately strike up conversations with Martial Artists.
And it's worth mentioning that Shen Ping actually encountered such a rare situation.
"Meeting a high school classmate here… Haha, it seems our Xiao Shen will have an intense collision tonight!"
Wang Zhan and Li Zi laughed teasingly.
Shen Ping was speechless, but he didn't care. He simply added their contact information and then forgot about it.
Half a month passed.
Shen Ping's punching power increased by three to four hundred kilograms, and his speed also improved.
He opened the virtual frame.
[Comprehension Ability: 185]
[Exchange Count: 3]
Looking at the changing numbers in his sight.
A smile appeared on his face. Today, he was going to the Wilderness Area again. This time, he had to earn more money to buy the fourth level of Flowing Wind.
Now, the only thing hindering his rapid progress was... money!
After breakfast, Shen Ping changed into his combat uniform, then prepared his shield, battle knife, backpack, and other equipment.
Looking at her fully armed younger brother, Shen Xue's face was full of worry, "Xiao Ping, when you get to the Wilderness Area, remember to be careful and cautious. Don't be impulsive."
"Earning money is secondary; your own safety is the most important!"
Shen Ping nodded seriously, "Sis, I will."
Stepping out of the courtyard, Chen Ying was already waiting outside.
"Sis, you go back!"
"You must be careful."
Not long after.
Chen Ying and Shen Ping left Yinhui Community.
Shen Xue watched from the balcony for a long time.
...
After the Black Ice Squad met at the HR Alliance Mall, they went directly to the train station, took a train all the way to the military supply base.
"You are H8 閣樓, this is the key. Also, a reminder, the Wilderness Area hasn't been peaceful lately, so be careful."
The officer handed the key to Bai Feng and reminded her.
Captain Bai Feng frowned slightly, "What? What happened?"
AI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
The officer shook his head, "It's because of the beast horde in Huadong Base City."
Chen Ying couldn't help but ask, "Didn't they say it was just a small-scale beast horde? How did it affect our Huazhong Base City here?"
"Who knows? It's said that some powerful Lord-level monsters have run over here recently, so there's still some impact. Of course, it's not a big deal; you just need to be vigilant."
The officer left after speaking.
Hearing this, Bai Feng and the others finally relaxed. As long as it wasn't a sign of a beast horde, then everything was fine.
In reality, the number of beast hordes that break out in their Huazhong Base City is relatively small, mainly because it is located in the inland area. The number of powerful Advanced Lord-level monsters is limited, unlike Huadong, Jiangnan, and other Base Cities, which are adjacent to the sea and have many lakes, so there are many powerful Lord-level monsters.
They rested for a night at the supply base.
The next day, the Black Ice Squad set off and arrived at 0174 District.