Chapter 155: Bumper Harvest of Contribution Points! A Melancholy Elegy!

Chapter 155: A Bounty of Contribution Points! A Mournful Dirge!

Having ended his long seclusion, Qin Feng did not rush to throw himself into a new round of combat. Instead, he first turned his gaze to his remaining 50 points of prestige.

Many a little makes a mickle.

Every single resource must be transformed into tangible combat power.

"War Group Resource Vault."

With a thought, he opened that familiar, dark-gold interface, filled with an aura of slaughter.

"Hammer, based on my current killing system, filter out a first-level staff technique that best suits me and costs within 50 prestige points."

"Command confirmed. Performing data matching and technique screening..."

The efficiency of the S-class intelligent assistant was astonishing. In just 0.01 seconds, a short list appeared before Qin Feng.

At the very top was a staff technique of extremely fierce and domineering style.

[Technique: Wind-Thunder Long Staff]

[Type: First-Level Killing Technique]

[Features: This staff technique discards all complex variations and defensive moves, condensing all power and will into the single tip of the staff. Its core lies in the word 'thrust', pursuing ultimate penetration and explosive force, swift as wind and thunder, a single strike for a kill.]

[Killing Move: Wind-Thunder Thrust]

[Price: 50 Prestige Points]

"This is the one."

A glint of sharp light flashed in Qin Feng's eyes.

His current killing system included the *Thousand-Army Spear* for overall strategy, the *Fierce Bird Fist* for tricky surprise attacks, and the *Dragon-Serpent Spear* for combining hardness with softness. What he lacked was a pure, single-point explosive method that condensed power to the extreme.

And this *Wind-Thunder Long Staff* perfectly filled that gap.

Without any hesitation, he directly used his remaining 50 prestige points to exchange for this technique.

[Exchange successful! 50 prestige points deducted.]

A vast stream of information once again surged into his mind through the subspace network, transforming into a martial artist wielding a long staff, repeatedly practicing that earth-shattering, sole killing move in a virtual space.

Qin Feng temporarily set aside cultivating this new technique.

The urgent task was to test the results of his three-and-a-half-year seclusion and accumulate enough starting capital for the next round of cultivation.

"Hammer, bring up the most suitable path for me to efficiently gain contribution points."

"Command confirmed. Generating plan for you..."

Soon, lines of familiar entries, radiating an enticing glow, appeared once again on Qin Feng's light screen.

[Challenge the Canaan Tower]

[Daily Quests]

[Achievement Quests]

[Newcomer Cup Ranking]

[Disciple Group Promotion]

[Empire Missions]

[War Group Missions]

Looking at these dazzling options, Qin Feng's gaze finally settled on the topmost one—[Challenge the Canaan Tower].

"Let's start with you," he thought.

Three years ago, it was in the final battle of the first floor of the Canaan Tower that he was thoroughly beaten by that green-skinned boss clad in heavy armor, failing over a dozen consecutive challenges.

Before entering the Canaan Tower, he thought for a moment, then opened his contact list and sent a concise group message to Zou Yun, Yin Jing, and Qin Lan.

[Just out of seclusion. Any high-contribution missions with good rewards recently? Can team up.]

Having done this, he hesitated no longer. His consciousness sank into the subspace network, and his figure instantly vanished from the dormitory.

Light and shadow shifted. When Qin Feng opened his eyes again, he was already standing before the familiar light gate of the 72nd battle on the first floor of the Canaan Tower.

He didn't even bother to review the data on that green-skinned boss; he stepped directly inside.

"WAAAGH!!!"

The deafening roar, just like three years ago, exploded in the massive steel arena.

That green-skinned boss, over seven meters tall and clad in a ferocious black power armor, slowly rose from the shadows of the ruins. Its crimson electronic eyes instantly locked onto this insignificant human who dared challenge its authority again.

Three years ago, it was this very creature that, with absolute power and a perfected killing technique, had blasted him away and crushed him time after time.

But this time...

Qin Feng's eyes were as calm as a deep, unfathomable cold pool.

Facing the steel beast charging with overwhelming force, he didn't even move a step.

He only slowly raised the long spear in his hand.

At the very moment the green-skinned boss's massive power claw was about to descend upon his head,

Qin Feng moved.

There was no earth-shattering momentum, no dazzlingly brilliant technique.

Just a simple, textbook-perfect—straight thrust.

This thrust was utterly unremarkable, yet it was fast to the extreme.

It seemed to ignore the distance of space, and also the passage of time.

*Pfft!*

A faint, barely audible sound.

The green-skinned boss's charging figure suddenly froze. Its enormous, crackling power claw stopped less than a centimeter from Qin Feng's head, unable to advance any further.

It lowered its head, staring in disbelief at its chest.

There, a black long spear had silently pierced through the strongest part of its power armor, precisely stabbing into its core vital point deep within its chest cavity.

Instant kill!

It couldn't even put up a semblance of resistance before being killed by a single spear thrust!

The terrifying enemy that had left him helpless three years ago was now as fragile as a sheet of paper before him.

[Congratulations! You have successfully passed the first floor of the Canaan Tower!]

[Floor Clearance Reward: 50 Contribution Points.]

[Single Battle Reward: 1 Contribution Point.]

[Total Obtained: 51 Contribution Points.]

The cold system prompt sounded, but there was not a single ripple on Qin Feng's face.

He withdrew his long spear, turned, and walked toward the teleportation light gate leading to the second floor, as if he had merely swatted a fly.

The second floor.

The scene transformed into a vast, damp insect nest cavern, covered in fungal mats and slime.

Here, there was only one battle.

And his opponent was also just one.

It was a terrifying creature, five meters tall, its entire body covered in dark purple carapace, resembling a mantis in form.

Its forelimbs were two massive bone blades, three meters long, gleaming with a metallic sheen, thin as cicada wings yet razor-sharp. Its compound eyes were filled with a pure, cold will born for slaughter.

A specialized Zerg offensive unit—the Blade Queen’s Vanguard!

The moment Qin Feng appeared, it moved.

No roar, no intimidation.

Its figure blurred instantly, turning into a bolt of purple lightning, its two massive bone blades crossing in a strike that sealed off all of Qin Feng’s escape routes!

The speed of this attack was even a third faster than that of the green-skinned chieftain from before.

Yet…

The same scene unfolded once again.

Qin Feng stood his ground, neither dodging nor evading.

Again, it was a thrust of utter simplicity.

Clang!

The purple figure halted midair.

Those two massive bone blades, capable of slicing through alloy armor, were precisely blocked by a black spear tip, unable to advance another inch.

Then, Qin Feng flicked his wrist.

The spear shot out like a dragon!

The Zerg vanguard’s head burst apart on impact.

Another instant kill.

[Congratulations! You have successfully passed the second floor of Canaan Tower!]

[Floor clearance reward: 50 Contribution Points.]

[Single challenge reward: 1 Contribution Point.]

[Total earned: 51 Contribution Points.]

The third floor.

Sixteen battles, all against a uniform line of mechanical combat units more advanced than those Qin Feng had encountered in his previous mission.

From “Death Mark” assassins equipped with phase weapons that could ignore physical defenses, to “Doom Ark” floating platforms that released antimatter energy spheres for area bombardment.

Every battle was fraught with deadly peril.

But for Qin Feng as he was now, it still made no difference.

In the face of absolute power, any tactics or skills seemed pale and futile.

One thrust, then another.

Each battle ended within a minute.

Sixteen battles, all instant kills!

[Congratulations! You have successfully passed the third floor of Canaan Tower!]

[Floor clearance reward: 50 Contribution Points.]

[Single challenge reward: 16 Contribution Points.]

[Total earned: 66 Contribution Points.]

The fourth floor.

The moment Qin Feng stepped through the light gate, the sight before him made him frown for the first time.

Here was absolute darkness.

No light source, no sound, not even the slightest flow of air.

His mental power spread out, but it sank like a stone into the sea, devoured entirely by this eerie darkness.

Just then.

A slender figure, nearly one with the darkness, appeared behind him without warning.

It was a humanoid creature, about the height of an ordinary person, its body semi-transparent, as if made of pure shadow.

Its form seemed composed of countless flickering photons and dark matter particles, lacking a fixed shape yet maintaining an elegant and deadly human outline.

The Shadow Clan!

In its hand was a dagger, also formed of pure shadow energy, constantly twisting and deforming.

The moment it appeared, the dagger turned into a silent streak of light, stabbing fiercely toward Qin Feng’s back!

This strike was soundless, formless, and incredibly fast!

Clang!

At the critical moment, relying on his combat instincts far beyond ordinary men, Qin Feng swung his spear back and precisely parried the fatal backstab.

But the Shadow Clan elite, having missed its strike, instantly dissolved into a wisp of smoke, merging into Qin Feng’s own shadow on the ground, vanishing without a trace!

Qin Feng’s pupils contracted sharply.

He could sense that the enemy had not left but was lurking in a dimension he could not perceive—within the shadow itself!

The next second, the shadow beneath his feet twisted, and the poisoned shadow dagger stabbed toward his ankle from yet another impossible angle!

Qin Feng leaped back, narrowly dodging the blow.

But then, the Shadow Clan member merged into the darkness again, launching a third, fourth, fifth attack…

It seemed to be everywhere, striking from any place where shadows existed.

Its speed was astonishing, its killing technique perfected, each attack aimed directly at Qin Feng’s vital points.

From the very start, the battle became a one-sided affair of Qin Feng being forced onto the defensive.

He challenged it over a dozen times.

Each time, he exhausted every skill he had.

But each time, he could never truly lock onto the Shadow Clan’s position, and in the end, under the endless, unpredictable ambushes, he would run out of stamina and lose in regret.

He simply could not win.

The pure gap in speed, combined with the enemy’s eerie ability to traverse through shadows, rendered all his attacks futile.

After the fifteenth failed challenge, Qin Feng finally chose to give up.

He knew very well that, with his current strength, defeating this Shadow Clan powerhouse was nearly impossible.

Unless... he could also cultivate the newly acquired "Wind-Thunder Staff" to the mastery realm, grasping that ultimate single-point burst power, only then might he be able to instantly kill the moment the opponent appeared.

Relying solely on "Flowing Light Shadow Chase" and "Fierce Owl Shadow Chase" was still insufficient.

"I still need to keep improving my strength."

Qin Feng exited the Canaan Tower, his heart filled with myriad emotions.

He glanced at his contribution point balance.

[Contribution Points: 168]

Clearing three floors of the tower had brought him a generous reward of over 150 points.

This sum would allow him to exchange for a large amount of cultivation resources.

After that, he habitually opened his private messages.

Empty.

Several days had passed since he sent out that team invitation, but Zou Yun, Yin Jing, and Qin Lan—none of them had replied.

"They might all be on missions or in seclusion."

Qin Feng didn't think much of it.

Since he couldn't find anyone to team up with, he would have to rely on himself.

He glanced again at the daily task list, which had refreshed days ago, and skillfully accepted all of them.

...

Half a month later.

When Qin Feng pocketed the reward from his last daily task, his contribution point balance successfully broke through the 200-point mark, reaching 218.

He checked his private messages once more—still no activity.

"It seems I can't count on them."

Qin Feng shook his head.

He directly issued a new command to Hammer.

"Hammer, help me filter empire missions. Task rewards should be around 1000, danger level compatible with a life index of 270 points."

"Command confirmed. Filtering missions..."

This time, the number of filtered missions was noticeably fewer than when he was a fourth-rank martial artist, but each one exuded a deadly allure.

[Mission: Hunt the 'Void Whisperer']

[Mission: Explore the 'Lost Ark' Ruins]

[Mission: Suppress the Large-Scale Outbreak of 'Flesh Plague']

...

Qin Feng's eyes swept rapidly over these terrifying missions, any of which could destroy a small colonial planet. Finally, his gaze was firmly drawn to a mission with an unremarkable title but marked as "Urgent."

[Emergency Rescue Mission: Rescue Trapped Members on Planet A12313-G1]

[Mission Type: Solo Rescue]

[Mission Background: An exploration team composed of members from the Canaan Starry Sky Martial Arts University's Fearless War Brigade encountered an accident while clearing out a pirate gang on Planet A12313-G1.

Among the pirate gang, there is suspected to be a powerful follower of the 'Khorne' Chaos God.

The original mission rating (120-180 life index) was severely misjudged.

Currently, the team's communication is cut off. The last distress signal sent back indicates they are being frantically pursued by this Khorne follower, their situation precarious.]

[Mission Requirement: A powerhouse with a life index of 200+ is needed to immediately carry out the rescue.]

[Mission Reward: 500 contribution points, 500 Fearless War Brigade reputation.]

[List of Trapped Members: Yin Jing, Qin Lan, Zou Yun...]

When he saw those familiar names, Qin Feng's pupils suddenly contracted!

So they were in danger!

He instantly understood why none of the three had replied to his messages over the past half month.

It wasn't that they didn't want to reply—they simply couldn't!

"A Khorne follower..."

Qin Feng murmured to himself.

Without even glancing at the other missions, he accepted this emergency rescue mission at lightning speed!

"Beep—Mission accepted successfully!"

"Please arrive at the last known coordinate area within five minutes. If you fail to arrive on time, the mission will automatically fail."

Staring at the cold system prompt, Qin Feng's figure vanished from the dormitory in an instant.

—

Planet A12313-G1.

A gray planet forgotten in a corner of the empire, filled with radiation and chaos.

Beneath a leaden sky, modified spaceships of various shapes and rusted appearances, like massive steel garbage, were piled haphazardly on a desolate Gobi desert, forming a large-scale interstellar pirate camp.

At the center of the camp fluttered a flag made from an unknown giant beast's skull and crossed bolters, exuding a bloody and violent aura.

Directly above this lawless den of evil, space was torn open without warning, forming a twisted rift.

The next second, a pitch-black heavy power armor, full of Gothic aesthetics and brutal texture, fell from the sky like a meteor, crashing heavily onto the edge of the camp!

Boom!!!

A deafening roar shook the earth, sending dust and rubble skyward.

When the dust settled, Qin Feng's figure stood silently in the massive impact crater, like a judgment demon from hell.

His icy blue HUD interface rapidly scanned the camp before him, trying to locate the last coordinate signals left by Zou Yun and the others.

But he sensed no familiar aura belonging to the Fearless War Brigade members.

Instead, he felt a mixture of violent, lewd, chaotic, and mad energies, along with... a thick, nauseating stench of blood rising into the sky.

His gaze slowly swept across the camp.

Everything he saw made his pupils gradually contract into the most dangerous needlepoints.

He saw.

In every corner of the camp, dozens of scantily clad female martial artists were bound with thick chains.

Their eyes were hollow and numb, as if their souls had long died, leaving only battered bodies covered in wounds and marks of humiliation.

It was a deathly stillness, worse than death itself, a complete loss of will to live.

With just one glance, Qin Feng could imagine the cruel, inhuman torture they had suffered after falling into the hands of these beasts.

He saw more.

Beside the enormous bonfire at the camp’s center, upon massive roasting spits like those for whole lambs, were skewered not exotic beasts, but bodies already charred black, exuding the scent of grease, thin and small… humans!

Those pirates had actually taken living people, low-level martial artists of meager strength, as their energy meals, as their food!

He saw more.

Everywhere in the camp, human skulls were piled into all sorts of decorations, brimming with a sinister, twisted beauty.

Some were used as drinking cups, others strung into wind chimes, and still others were even embedded into the pirates’ power armor and weapons, as “trophies” to flaunt their martial prowess.

The entire camp was a living hell, built from blood and bones!

But what truly ignited the heart of Qin Feng—long tempered by endless bitter training into a still, untroubled pool—was the scene he witnessed—

On a patch of open ground used as an “arena,” a group of pirates gathered, laughing wildly and jeering.

In the center of the field, a middle-aged martial artist in tattered clothes and a boy who looked barely in his teens were being forced into a bloody game of “father-son slaughter.”

The father clearly did not want to harm his son; his war blade rose several times, only to fall weakly each time.

Finally, amid a chorus of humiliating and mocking laughter, he suddenly reversed the blade and drove it deep into his own heart!

“No—!!!”

The boy let out a heartrending wail, his eyes bloodshot, his demeanor like a mad demon. He picked up his father’s fallen blade and, roaring, charged fearlessly at the laughing pirates around him.

Yet what awaited him was not a tragic revenge.

But a casual, dismissive flash of a blade.

“Pfft!”

The boy’s legs were severed at the knees.

He screamed, crashing heavily to the ground, blood staining the earth beneath him.

“Hahaha! Got guts! Real spine!”

A scar-faced pirate chieftain stomped one foot on the boy’s back, laughing unrestrainedly. “Bring his woman up here for me!”

Boom!!!!!!

An uncontrollable, sky-scorching torrent of murderous intent erupted from Qin Feng’s chest!

In that moment, he felt the blood within him burn!

Kill!

Kill! Kill! Kill!

His towering black power armor moved.

Without a word, without a moment’s hesitation.

Like a tiger among sheep!

He transformed into a black lightning bolt of death, instantly charging into that camp steeped in sin and revelry!

“Who goes there?!”

“Enemy attack!!!”

The pirates in the camp froze for a second, then roared in shock and fury.

The next moment, countless beams of psychic energy, flashing in myriad colors, rained down upon Qin Feng from all directions like a storm!

Yet, facing this terrifying web of firepower that could melt a small starship in an instant, Qin Feng neither dodged nor flinched!

He did not even activate his power armor’s energy shield!

The spear in his hand, the Thousand-Army Spear, moved.

Thousand-Army Guard! Dragon’s Hiding!

The spear in his hands became an impenetrable, perfect circular defense, enveloping his entire body.

Clang, clang, clang—!

Countless energy beams were all deflected and knocked aside by the rapidly spinning spear shadows, sending brilliant sparks cascading around him, yet not a single one even grazed the surface of his power armor!

Invincible against ten thousand!

Braving the hail of gunfire, Qin Feng raged through like an unstoppable god of slaughter!

His spear became the scythe of death.

A sweeping strike—[Thousand-Army Cleave]!

The dozen pirates at the forefront, along with their weapons, were instantly cut in half by an irresistible, terrifying force, their severed limbs and shattered entrails flying through the air!

A thrust—[Fierce Owl Shadow Pursuit]!

A pirate commander hiding behind cover, trying to ambush with a heavy bolter, never even got to pull the trigger before his head was precisely pierced by a black spear that had traveled dozens of meters, penetrating multiple layers of alloy cover!

Kill!

Kill! Kill!

Every pirate that appeared in his sight, every beast stained with the blood of innocents, was slain one by one in the most direct and brutal manner!

Here, killing humans was no different from killing greenskins or mechanical constructs.

Indeed, it gave him an even greater sense of “purifying the world” than slaying those alien races!

In no time, the entire pirate camp echoed with wails and howls, rivers of blood flowing.

Qin Feng fought his way from the camp’s entrance to its center, single-handedly slaughtering over three hundred vicious interstellar pirates!

When he stood on that ground piled with corpses and blood, the whole camp had fallen into utter silence.

Only a few remaining pirates, their courage shattered by his godlike, demonic presence, had dropped their weapons and knelt begging for mercy, trembling in fear.

Qin Feng walked up to them, the icy tip of his spear pressed against one man’s throat.

“Earlier, there were several martial artists in power armor. Which direction did they go?”

His voice, transmitted through the power armor’s speaker, carried no emotion whatsoever, like eternal ice.

“To… to the northeast, sir! Great… great lord!”

The pirate, terrified out of his wits, pointed in a direction and stammered, “They… they fled northeast! Our… our boss took men and went after them personally!”

Qin Feng’s gaze swept over the other surrendered pirates; they all nodded frantically, like chicks pecking at grain.

His eyes then fell to the ground.

Sure enough, on the path leading northeast, he found a series of combat traces from power armor, and… some enormous footprints, not human, filled with chaos and evil.

Fsssh—!

Having obtained the information he wanted, Qin Feng flicked his wrist.

The heads of the surrendered pirates shot into the air.

Done with that, he turned and looked at the female martial artists still bound in chains, their eyes numb.

He swung his spear, severing all the chains that held them.

“You are safe now.”

Leaving behind those cold words, he lingered not a moment longer; the power armor’s engines roared to life, and his entire form transformed into a streak of black light, following the intermittent battle scars on the ground, racing northeast at full speed.

……

Qin Feng’s speed was pushed to its absolute limit.

With the assistance of his power armor, the terrifying explosive force brought by his life index of 270 points was unleashed to its fullest.

He swept across the barren Gobi like a black whirlwind.

Along the way, the traces of battle grew denser and more brutal.

There were craters gouged by immense force, scorch marks from energy weapons, and… fragments of standard-issue power armor from the Dreadnought War Chapter.

Soon, after tracking for dozens of kilometers, a series of roars filled with despair and rage, along with the thunderous clash of weapons, finally reached him from afar.

Qin Feng followed the sound.

In an open basin, Zou Yun, Yin Jing, Qin Lan, and a dozen other students clad in Dreadnought War Chapter power armor had formed a crumbling defensive formation, fighting desperately against a terrifying monster’s pursuit.

Every one of them was wounded, their armor battered and broken, clearly on the verge of exhaustion.

And before them, the monster that hunted them made Qin Feng’s pupils contract once more.

It was a humanoid horror over four meters tall, its body a mass of bulging muscles, its skin an unnatural dark red as if molten lava flowed through its veins!

On its head grew a pair of massive, twisted ram-like horns; its face was covered in bronze runes symbolizing slaughter and glory, and from its mouth came endless roars of war and fury.

In its hand, it gripped a terrifying greatsword wider than a door, lined with serrations and blood grooves!

A devotee of Khorne!

And one of immense power, with a life index absolutely exceeding 200 points!

The moment Qin Feng arrived, Qin Lan, who was under siege, spotted him first.

The black power armor, a masterpiece of brutal aesthetics!

The familiar black alloy spear!

The familiar Fierce Bird Step, which seemed to meld into the environment, making its trajectory impossible to track!

It was Qin Feng!

Just then, the Khorne devotee, who had been frenziedly pursuing the group, suddenly halted.

Its eyes, filled with savagery and madness, slowly turned toward Qin Feng, who had just arrived on the battlefield.

It sensed it.

A scent far more powerful than the “sheep” before it—a delicious aura brimming with vitality and battle will, making its blood surge!

“Heh heh heh—”

It let out a low, raspy laugh, like two sheets of sandpaper grinding together.

“These so-called geniuses under the Emperor are nothing but lambs for the slaughter.”

It extended a crimson tongue, licking its fanged lips, and fixed its gaze on Qin Feng with greed and fervor.

“Now, at last, one who looks the part has arrived.”

“Little one, your aura is far stronger than these weaklings! You are the true genius!”

“And I—”

It raised its bloody greatsword high, pointing it at Qin Feng, and let out a earth-shaking roar!

“Will offer a genius like you as a blood sacrifice to the Blood God, and your skull to the Skull Throne!!!”

The moment the words fell, the ground beneath it exploded, and its massive body shot forward like a cannonball, charging at Qin Feng with unstoppable momentum!

Faced with this earth-shattering strike, Qin Feng’s eyes remained as calm as a still lake.

He thrust his spear.

【Shadow of the Fierce Owl!】

A black lightning bolt, invisible to the naked eye, as if piercing the boundaries of time and space, flashed and vanished.

Time seemed to freeze in that instant.

The arrogant Khorne devotee’s charging figure froze mid-step.

The expression on its face still held that fanatical, twisted look.

But a hole had appeared in its brow.

The next second.

A condensed, indescribable force, centered on that small hole, erupted from within its skull!

Boom!!!

That ugly, twisted head burst apart like a watermelon detonated from within!

Then, the destructive force traveled down its spine, spreading all the way!

Its entire body, from head to toe, exploded piece by piece, turning into a rain of flesh and bone, a gruesome downpour!

One spear strike.

Just one spear strike.

That Khorne devotee, with a life index of 200 points, which had driven Qin Lan, Zou Yun, and the others to the brink of death, was utterly erased from existence.

“S-so strong?!”

Not far away, Qin Lan, Zou Yun, and Yin Jing stared at the falling rain of blood, at the black figure standing quietly with spear in hand, as if nothing had happened. Their pupils contracted violently, their minds blank.

After more than three years…

Qin Feng had become even stronger than before!

Stronger than they could comprehend, reaching a terrifying, unimaginable level!

Easily slaying a Khorne devotee with a life index of 200 points?

But that was a devotee of Khorne, renowned for its fearlessness, mastery of killing, and indomitable battle will!

And it was killed in one spear strike?!

Qin Feng paid no attention to their stunned gazes. He casually gestured to them, then opened his mission interface and chose to submit the task.

After doing that, he said in the team channel, “Follow me back to the pirate camp. Check if any stragglers have just returned from outside. We need to wipe them out completely to avoid future trouble.”

Hearing his voice, the others snapped back to reality and nodded in agreement.

In their eyes, besides gratitude for surviving, there was now a deeper, heartfelt awe for an absolute powerhouse.

“S-senior… what… what is your name?”

From the crowd, a tall young warrior in damaged power armor looked at Qin Feng and asked timidly, with a mix of admiration and nervousness.

Senior?

Qin Feng was momentarily taken aback.

Without realizing it, he had reached an age where people would call him “senior.”

He was silent for a moment before finally uttering two words.

"Qin Feng."

...

Soon, the group returned to that pirate camp steeped in blood and sin.

When Qin Feng stepped into it again, he saw that the female warriors whose chains he had severed earlier had not left.

They still sat there in a daze, letting the cold wind brush against their naked, scar-covered bodies.

Qin Feng had cut the chains binding their bodies, but could not sever the shackles of "despair" and "humiliation" that had long taken root in their hearts.

They saw Qin Feng return.

They also saw those warriors who had been frantically pursued earlier, also clad in Fearless War Brigade power armor, had all returned safely.

In their hollow, numb eyes, finally, slowly, a glimmer of something called "color" began to emerge.

A female warrior who appeared to be the eldest struggled and knelt before Qin Feng.

"May I ask your esteemed name, sir?"

Her voice was as hoarse as two torn rags.

"Qin Feng."

"Thank you... Lord Qin Feng, for saving us..."

That female warrior bowed heavily to Qin Feng, knocking her head on the ground.

On her face, two streams of murky tears flowed, but at the corners of her mouth, a relieved, resigned smile appeared.

"May my soul return to the Emperor's blessing, and in the next life... repay Lord Qin Feng's kindness."

She finished speaking.

Under the astonished gaze of everyone, she unhesitatingly reversed a faint psychic energy upward, shattering her own heart.

"May my soul return to the Emperor's blessing, and in the next life... repay Lord Qin Feng's kindness."

Then, as if by silent agreement,

all the surviving, rescued female warriors present, at the same moment, in the same manner, smiling, ended their lives that had long been defiled, filled with pain and humiliation.

They chose suicide.

Qin Feng stood silently in place, watching this scene, not moving.

Everyone fell silent.

With their strength, any one of them could have stopped these low-level female warriors' suicides in an instant.

But none of them moved.

Because what they saw in those female warriors' eyes was a resolve firmer than death, a complete disgust for this filthy world, an endless longing for release.

The horrific suffering they had endured was far beyond anyone's imagination.

For them, death might be the best refuge.

The entire camp fell into a dead silence.

Only the cold, blood-tinged wind remained, wailing and swirling over the barren Gobi, as if playing a mournful elegy for these withering souls.

(End of chapter)