"Alright!" Wu Shiheng nodded at another Tendon Lock Martial Artist from Quanzhou Village and, wielding their weapons, charged out of the village.

"Hahaha! Let’s not let the newcomers look down on us Wuyin people! Charge together!" The captain of the Second Hunting Group, Liu Jun, laughed as he hefted a giant axe, charging side by side with Vice-Captain Zheng Weimin.

"Charge!" Hunting Group Three Captain Zhou Long and Chen Feng from the Wanderer Clan followed closely behind.

Soon after, except for Zhao Yaxin, who was at home taking care of Su Yingying, and Su Tongxi, who was ordered to stay home by Su Lin, Su Lin and Su Qi also took to the battlefield to clear the beast tide.

Counting is truly eye-opening at times.

At this moment, the number of Tendon Lock Martial Artists in Wuyin Village had astonishingly reached double digits!

Excluding Su Can, who was already a First-Transformed Martial Artist, the original Wuyin Village had six, the new Third Group had two, Xinlong had four, and Quanzhou had two — a total of fourteen people!

And this doesn’t even count Qingxi and Sanming, which hadn’t officially merged in yet.

Even though Zhao Yaxin and Su Tongxi weren’t present, the shocking scene of twelve Tendon Locks and one First-Transformed Martial Artist attacking simultaneously tore large gaps in the vast beast tide!

The villagers, witnessing this scene, felt an unprecedented sense of security, and a remarkably strong sense of belonging to the identity of being "Wuyin people."

...

"No way! We can’t hold it! Retreat to the safe house!"

In Xinlong Village, Li Longjun, looking at the endless beast tide, gritted his teeth and turned around to flee.

"What?!" The members of the Hunting Group turned pale in horror.

"Captain! There are still so many Shadow Beasts; if we retreat now, what happens to those Level 1 and Level 2 safe houses?"

Li Longjun looked back and roared ferociously:

"How can I care about so much right now?! Ammunition’s depleted, and all the Tendon Locks were stirred up to leave by that traitor Liu Qin. Do you want me to charge in alone and die?!"

"This..." The group was speechless, their faces ashen.

"The most deadly Lord is already dead! The rest, you’re on your own! If you must resent someone, resent that bastard Liu Qin!"

Li Longjun gritted his teeth, fleeing the village entrance without looking back.

The remaining villagers were ashen-faced, deep regret filling their eyes.

Had they known that all the Tendon Lock Martial Artists would flee, they shouldn’t have clung to their safe houses out of greed, but should have followed Liu Qin!

Even if they temporarily lost their freedom, at least they’d keep their lives!

...

After fiercely battling and removing a considerable number of Shadow Beasts, Su Lin and the others quickly regrouped and retreated to their safe houses.

On the way back, the Tendon Lock Martial Artists lit several sticks of Beast-Luring Incense at the crossroads throughout the village on their way home.

At home, Su Tongxi and Song Yiyi finally breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Su Lin return safely.

Su Lin took off the leather armor made from rock snake skin and said to the two women:

"Light the Beast-Luring Incense at the door."

"Okay." The two women obediently responded and immediately complied.

A thumb-thick incense stick was brought close to the oil lamp flame, igniting with a faint fishy aroma filling the room.

Song Yiyi inserted the sixty-centimeter-long incense into the crevice of the revolving mechanism by the door, then anxiously asked:

"Brother Lin, how’s the situation outside?"

"Don’t worry, everything went smoothly." Su Lin smiled, "So smoothly it made me a bit dazed, it was too easy."

Upon hearing the answer, the two women’s faces blossomed into bright smiles, and the tension and unease in Su Tongxi’s eyes dissipated greatly.

Song Yiyi cheerfully looped Su Lin’s arm around her waist, speaking coquettishly:

"This is all the result of yours and Uncle Qi’s hard work! I must say, Wuyin Village is truly blessed to have a responsible leader like the Su Family. When I was in Lanfeng Town, my father and the others weren’t as dedicated as the old man and Uncle Qi."

"Indeed. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

" Su Tongxi softly snuggled up against Su Lin.

"Uncle Qi has recently been so busy he’s become gaunt. He always refuses to eat Treasure Meat, saying it’s a waste since he can’t enhance his strength with his injuries. But relying solely on beast meat for nutrition isn’t enough.... I feel like he’s very dissatisfied with his current state."

"Is that so?" Su Lin was a bit surprised.

Women’s meticulous observation is indeed better, for Su Tongxi mentioned these things he hadn’t noticed recently due to his preoccupation with Hunting Lords.

He only knew that his second uncle was burdened with heavy thoughts lately, working with exceptional effort and handling matters personally.

Su Tongxi pondered and added:

"Since Uncle Qi’s junior brother Zhang Xin visited, he seems to have been this way, and it’s gotten more apparent lately."

Su Lin’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Perhaps Second Uncle was brooding over Zhang Xin’s remark about being "stuck in a rut," along with his old injuries preventing strengthening of Qi and Blood...

Even the old man felt a sense of urgency due to his progress; the pressure on Second Uncle must be even greater.

"I’ve got to find a way to treat Second Uncle’s injuries... I’ll ask Mengyi and Dao Guan tomorrow." Su Lin thought to himself.

Just then, the mechanisms in the courtyards on both sides started running.

The floor sprayers in the main courtyard spewed out fiery dragons.

Su Lin paused his thoughts, shutting down the floor sprayers’ attacks and peered outside.

The Beast-Luring Incense took effect, drawing countless, never-ending Shadow Beasts toward them.

Without regulations, the Shadow Beasts crowded the courtyard gate, attacking the wall fanatically!

Although Su Lin’s safe house had been upgraded to Level 4, the walls and door remained Level 3 in strength.

Upgrading required ten thousand Shadow Cores, and he had just upgraded to a Level 4 safe house, so he hadn’t accumulated enough yet.

However, as long as the Level 3 walls weren’t subjected to prolonged attacks or heavy pummeling from leaders, they were adequate.

"Luckily, the leaders are almost all dead. Otherwise, the Level 1 and Level 2 safe houses really would suffer."

Since crossing over, Su Lin hadn’t paid much attention to the doors and walls.

After all, in the beginning, he had the "King of the Garbage Can" newbie supermodel perk, with tenfold enhanced foundational mechanisms able to keep Shadow Beasts firmly outside the house, leaving no room for the doors and walls to function.

But after experiencing the Night of Survival, it made him pay a bit more attention to the door and walls, especially their levels.

The mechanism courtyard was the greatest aid against beast tides. If the Shadow Beasts destroyed the walls, the courtyard’s design would be entirely ruined.

Su Tongxi stepped away from Su Lin, earnestly saying:

"Brother Kirin, should Sister Yiyi and I go outside to protect the walls?"

She was now a Tendon Lock Martial Artist, fully capable of managing one side on her own.

"Alright, be careful." Su Lin nodded.

In these few days of Hunting Lord’s battle practice, Su Tongxi had grown considerably, and Qi and Blood’s four fundamentals were becoming more refined.

Combat remains the fastest path to improvement.

The mechanisms in Su Lin’s safe house worked like a slaughter conveyor belt, efficiently cutting down ordinary Shadow Beasts.

This wall’s weak point was under the guardianship of Su Tongxi and Song Yiyi.

With leaders scarce, even a massive number of Shadow Beasts found it hard to pose a real threat to the safe house.

Su Lin looked up, the ominous blood-red light still stark, but the moon was now a half-moon.

Half of the Night of Survival had already passed.

At the thought, he dispatched the Giant Beast-Hunting Bee to survey whether nearby safe houses were in danger.

Through the house title deed’s connection with the Beast-Hunting Bee, it seemed that nearby safe houses were all peaceably intact.

"This summoning-type mechanism is really convenient." Su Lin said with a sigh.

He felt that this Night of Survival seemed overly smooth.

...

"Hold the line! Hold the line for me! Protect the courtyard walls! Martial Artists, keep an eye on the leaders!"

In Lanfeng Village, the one-armed Chen Xinting shouted, his neck veins bulging.

He had entrusted his safe house to a tenant, while he ran around outside, battling fires with several other Tendon Lock Martial Artists, supporting the defense of the lower-level safe houses at the village front.

He glanced back at the safe houses with courtyards, feeling immensely grateful.

The last time they faced the Black Tide monsters, he not only lost an arm, but his Hunting Group also suffered significant casualties, even losing a Tendon Lock Martial Artist who had followed him from the town-level camp.

In such a case, if not for several people in the village having built these courtyards, successfully resisting the beast tide, the casualties would be unbearably high for him.

Three years into the apocalypse.

Every monthly Night of Survival felt like crossing a tribulation in a cultivation novel, each a heart-pounding ordeal.

Returning to the village-level camp, barely enjoying a moment of peace, now missing an arm.

"I wonder when days like these will end."

Chen Xinting felt his empty sleeve, his heart heavy and hard to breathe.