"Mr . Liu, congratulations on your promotion," said a young man wearing a pair of silver-rimmed gla.s.ses as soon as everyone came out of the meeting room .

Zheng Tiezhuang and Liu Changhao stopped talking at the same time and turned to face the young man behind them .

With a strained smile, Liu Changwu said, "Mr . Han, the decision's already been made by the young Chairman Gao . There's nothing we can do . "

Han Xing shook his head . "No, you misunderstand . I'm not here to change the young chairman's decision . In fact, I do think that my brother should be punished for his actions . "

Liu Changhao's face relaxed somewhat . "I see . So, is there something we can help you with?"

"I was wondering if you two would like to join me for dinner? I've already made a reservation," said Han Xing .

Zheng Tiezhuang shook his head . "No, thanks . My daughter-in-law's making beef stew tonight . I'll probably have an earful if I miss dinner again . "

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I won't feel comfortable going by myself without old Zheng here," said Liu Changhao apologetically .

Han Xing sighed and waved his hand . "No worries . Another time, perhaps . "

. . .

A day pa.s.sed . The matters with the suburban area were finally settled .

The Allied Government had just announced that the region was now on red alert . In truth, rumors about what was going on were already making the rounds among the people . They simply hadn't gained official recognition from the government until now .

A couple of neighboring cities were already aware of the situation at hand .

Some of the coastal cities had recently been hit by monster onslaughts of varying degrees, including Pengcheng City, which wasn't too far away from Yangcheng City .

"Young master, both Yangcheng and Pengcheng have already sent a team to investigate the coastal waters," said Hou Mu as he entered Gao Peng's office . He found the latter reading a book by the window .

Gao Peng closed his book, then stood up and looked out of the window into the distance . A dark blue sky stretched out before him into the horizon .

"Have they found out where the monsters are coming from?"

"From Nanhe Village . "

"Nanhe Village?" repeated Gao Peng, frowning .

"Yes . Nanhe Village isn't far from here . Two of our employees are from there . It's a coastal village, and they even have sentries with their own familiars patrolling the place, which apparently wasn't enough to ensure everyone's safety when disaster struck . "

Gao Peng let out a deep breath . He then narrowed his eyes as he looked back out into the distance . "Call Liu Changhao in . Let's start bringing all our factories back into operation . We'll pay everyone the overtime rate for the next few days . "

"Understood," said Hou Mu before walking out of the office and closing the door behind him .

A few minutes later, Liu Changhao entered the room . Gao Peng turned to him and said, "Take the investigative division with you to patrol our surroundings . Let me know if you find any signs of an imminent monster attack in the area . "

"Don't worry, sir . I won't let you down," said Liu Chanhao confidently . He paused for a moment, then said, "Before I forget, Han Xing from the sales division wanted to know if he could be transferred to the investigative division . "

Han Xing? Gao Peng frowned . The name sounded familiar . He had just skimmed through the company's personnel files not too long ago .

If he remembered correctly, Han Xing was the younger brother of Han Fu, one of the security division members who had been punished the day before . He had specially marked Han Fu's profile in the personnel files . However, Gao Peng was a reasonable man . He knew that Han Xing wasn't his brother and shouldn't be held responsible for his brother's mistakes .

After a moment's thought, Gao Peng said flatly, "What grade are his familiars?"

"Commander-tier, sir," said Liu Changwu, eyeing Gao Peng warily .

"Give him elite member status in the investigative division . We'll see how he fares later on," said Gao Peng .

Later, Gao Peng exited his office and called Flamy and Da Zi over . He decided to leave Dumby and Goldie there in the Southern Sky building . Both Flamy and Da Zi were well-equipped to take on huge packs of monsters . However, Flamy was the only familiar whom Gao Peng could fly on comfortably . Da Zi's wings tended to make a lot of noise as they beat in the air . Riding the winged centipede was like riding an extremely noisy motorcycle through the air .

Gao Peng flew south on Flamy . The suburban roads rushed past beneath him . He could also see a couple of utility poles and lampposts on both sides of the road that had fallen to the ground .

Five minutes later, they could see the outlines of a few buildings in the distance .

The buildings seemed somewhat small, scattered in a helter-skelter fas.h.i.+on behind a hill . There was a main road that ran through the village . However, it didn't seem as if anyone was living there right now .

Gao Peng gave Flamy a pat on the back, and it slowly began its descent to the ground .

Da Zi was the first to land on the ground . As soon as its feet touched the ground, it immediately took off into the village's alleys .

"Da Zi!" shouted Gao Peng through his Blood Contract .

Da Zi stopped in its tracks . It was now clinging to a wall like a huge gecko .

Its dark purple exoskeleton and golden wings stood in stark contrast to the dull grey wall . It had sc.r.a.ped layers of dust off the wall in its wake . Its 20-foot-long body covered more than half of the wall .

Not a soul stirred in the village . Fresh blood stains still glistened on the ground .

Gao Peng hadn't been able to tell how bad the situation was from the air . However, as soon as they landed, they could see that most of the buildings were reduced to rubble . Their walls had collapsed, revealing all the ruined furniture inside the buildings . There were even pieces of what used to be a thermos scattered across the ground in one of them .

The village had been completely ravaged by the monsters .

This was like a nightmarish walk down memory lane . The same thing had happened to Gao Peng four years earlier . He still remembered hiding behind a curtain and peeking out at the people fleeing from the mutant creatures that were chasing after them on the street .

One was usually reminded of just how powerless he or she was when confronted by a more powerful presence . . .

Suddenly, Gao Peng's ears p.r.i.c.ked to the sound of something being dropped to the ground in the distance . It resounded awfully loudly in the silence of the village .

Da Zi quickly rushed towards the source of the sound, its wings a purple s.h.i.+mmer in the air .

Gao Peng could see a translucent figure flitting through the rubble in one of the collapsed buildings in the distance .

Boom! A purple figure crashed through what remained of the building's wall . Pieces of brick showered over Da Zi as it made a beeline towards the translucent shrimp-like creature and caught it in its pincer .

Da Zi brought the shrimp back to Gao Peng, who estimated that the shrimp was approximately two feet long based on Da Zi's size . In truth, the shrimp was at least a foot long and had quite a lot of meat to it, at least for a shrimp .

The shrimp wiggled its feelers about in the air and waved its pincers at Gao Peng aggressively .

[Monster Name]: Land Camoshrimp (Multilegged variant)

[Monster Level]: Level 8

[Monster Grade]: Excellent

[Monster Attribute]: Wind

[Monster Status]: Healthy (Aggressive on the outside, timid on the inside)

Realizing that Gao Peng was looking at it, the Land Camoshrimp snapped its pincers threateningly at him .

This elicited only a bored look from its captors .

Flamy yawned . This thing doesn't look filling at all .

Mr . Liu, congratulations on your promotion, said a young man wearing a pair of silver-rimmed gla.s.ses as soon as everyone came out of the meeting room . Zheng Tiezhuang and Liu Changhao stopped talking at the same time and turned to face the young man behind them . With a strained smile, Liu Changwu said, Mr . Han, the decisions already been made by the young Chairman Gao . Theres nothing we can do . Han Xing shook his head . No, you misunderstand . Im not here to change the young chairmans decision . In fact, I do think that my brother should be punished for his actions . Liu Changhaos face relaxed somewhat . I see . So, is there something we can help you with? I was wondering if you two would like to join me for dinner? Ive already made a reservation, said Han Xing . Zheng Tiezhuang shook his head . No, thanks . My daughter-in-laws making beef stew tonight . Ill probably have an earful if I miss dinner again . Sorry, but Im afraid I wont feel comfortable going by myself without old Zheng here, said Liu Changhao apologetically . Han Xing sighed and waved his hand . No worries . Another time, perhaps . . A day pa.s.sed . The matters with the suburban area were finally settled . The Allied Government had just announced that the region was now on red alert . In truth, rumors about what was going on were already making the rounds among the people . They simply hadnt gained official recognition from the government until now . A couple of neighboring cities were already aware of the situation at hand . Some of the coastal cities had recently been hit by monster onslaughts of varying degrees, including Pengcheng City, which wasnt too far away from Yangcheng City . Young master, both Yangcheng and Pengcheng have already sent a team to investigate the coastal waters, said Hou Mu as he entered Gao Pengs office . He found the latter reading a book by the window . Gao Peng closed his book, then stood up and looked out of the window into the distance . A dark blue sky stretched out before him into the horizon . Have they found out where the monsters are coming from? From Nanhe Village . Nanhe Village? repeated Gao Peng, frowning . Yes . Nanhe Village isnt far from here . Two of our employees are from there . Its a coastal village, and they even have sentries with their own familiars patrolling the place, which apparently wasnt enough to ensure everyones safety when disaster struck . Gao Peng let out a deep breath . He then narrowed his eyes as he looked back out into the distance . Call Liu Changhao in . Lets start bringing all our factories back into operation . Well pay everyone the overtime rate for the next few days . Understood, said Hou Mu before walking out of the office and closing the door behind him . A few minutes later, Liu Changhao entered the room . Gao Peng turned to him and said, Take the investigative division with you to patrol our surroundings . Let me know if you find any signs of an imminent monster attack in the area . . Dont worry, sir . I wont let you down, said Liu Chanhao confidently . He paused for a moment, then said, Before I forget, Han Xing from the sales division wanted to know if he could be transferred to the investigative division . Han Xing? Gao Peng frowned . The name sounded familiar . He had just skimmed through the companys personnel files not too long ago . If he remembered correctly, Han Xing was the younger brother of Han Fu, one of the security division members who had been punished the day before . He had specially marked Han Fus profile in the personnel files . However, Gao Peng was a reasonable man . He knew that Han Xing wasnt his brother and shouldnt be held responsible for his brothers mistakes . After a moments thought, Gao Peng said flatly, What grade are his familiars? Commander-tier, sir, said Liu Changwu, eyeing Gao Peng warily . Give him elite member status in the investigative division . Well see how he fares later on, said Gao Peng . Later, Gao Peng exited his office and called Flamy and Da Zi over . He decided to leave Dumby and Goldie there in the Southern Sky building . Both Flamy and Da Zi were well-equipped to take on huge packs of monsters . However, Flamy was the only familiar whom Gao Peng could fly on comfortably . Da Zis wings tended to make a lot of noise as they beat in the air . Riding the winged centipede was like riding an extremely noisy motorcycle through the air . Gao Peng flew south on Flamy . The suburban roads rushed past beneath him . He could also see a couple of utility poles and lampposts on both sides of the road that had fallen to the ground . Five minutes later, they could see the outlines of a few buildings in the distance . The buildings seemed somewhat small, scattered in a helter-skelter fas.h.i.+on behind a hill . There was a main road that ran through the village . However, it didnt seem as if anyone was living there right now . Gao Peng gave Flamy a pat on the back, and it slowly began its descent to the ground . Da Zi was the first to land on the ground . As soon as its feet touched the ground, it immediately took off into the villages alleys . Da Zi! shouted Gao Peng through his Blood Contract . Da Zi stopped in its tracks . It was now clinging to a wall like a huge gecko . Its dark purple exoskeleton and golden wings stood in stark contrast to the dull grey wall . It had sc.r.a.ped layers of dust off the wall in its wake . Its 20-foot-long body covered more than half of the wall . Not a soul stirred in the village . Fresh blood stains still glistened on the ground . Gao Peng hadnt been able to tell how bad the situation was from the air . However, as soon as they landed, they could see that most of the buildings were reduced to rubble . Their walls had collapsed, revealing all the ruined furniture inside the buildings . There were even pieces of what used to be a thermos scattered across the ground in one of them . The village had been completely ravaged by the monsters . This was like a nightmarish walk down memory lane . The same thing had happened to Gao Peng four years earlier . He still remembered hiding behind a curtain and peeking out at the people fleeing from the mutant creatures that were chasing after them on the street . One was usually reminded of just how powerless he or she was when confronted by a more powerful presence . Suddenly, Gao Pengs ears p.r.i.c.ked to the sound of something being dropped to the ground in the distance . It resounded awfully loudly in the silence of the village . Da Zi quickly rushed towards the source of the sound, its wings a purple s.h.i.+mmer in the air . Gao Peng could see a translucent figure flitting through the rubble in one of the collapsed buildings in the distance . Boom! A purple figure crashed through what remained of the buildings wall . Pieces of brick showered over Da Zi as it made a beeline towards the translucent shrimp-like creature and caught it in its pincer . Da Zi brought the shrimp back to Gao Peng, who estimated that the shrimp was approximately two feet long based on Da Zis size . In truth, the shrimp was at least a foot long and had quite a lot of meat to it, at least for a shrimp . The shrimp wiggled its feelers about in the air and waved its pincers at Gao Peng aggressively . [Monster Name]: Land Camoshrimp (Multilegged variant) [Monster Level]: Level 8 [Monster Grade]: Excellent [Monster Attribute]: Wind [Monster Status]: Healthy (Aggressive on the outside, timid on the inside) Realizing that Gao Peng was looking at it, the Land Camoshrimp snapped its pincers threateningly at him . This elicited only a bored look from its captors . Flamy yawned . This thing doesnt look filling at all .