Cai Jingyi's gaze involuntarily fell on the 65-year-old bullet wounded man and finally, after listening to the explanation of the elder brother of the Nangong family, everything came together for her.

Even if Nangong Yi and Nangong Lingxin were powerful evolvers who had absorbed a lot of Soul Power and were probably already beyond level 20, even if they both possessed powerful active skills, it was impossible for them to face and oppose an armed army; let alone several enemies who had also evolved. Therefore, they had no choice but to flee from the camp in a southerly direction.

"Wait a moment."Kang Lan suddenly seemed to realize something as she asked with a strange expression on her face, " Before, you said that you and your family were fleeing from the pursuit of this man named Kang Hong and his men, didn't you? Also, when you spoke about him, you did it in the past tense as well, as if you were no longer concerned about such matters.... That means..."

The room fell silent as Nangong Yi's strange but grateful gaze fell on Xiao Ming.

"Brother, even though my problems have nothing to do with you and even though I know you didn't do it with the intention of helping me, let me thank you for killing that little rat surnamed Kang."  Nangong Yi's voice sounded sincere and even the beautiful Nangong Lingxin nodded slightly towards Xiao Ming as if indicating her gratitude.

Seeing Kang Lan and Cai Jingyi looking at him strangely after learning that the son of a power had been slaughtered by him, Xiao Ming bit the bullet and told the whole truth without hiding anything.

When he finished, he took out some objects from his military jacket and handed them over with both hands.

"These objects were obtained by me after killing Kang Hong. The scroll and the orb fell after I stabbed him to death while the two rings, the bracelet, and the necklace were on his body, I simply took them off when I killed him."

Cai Jingyi and Kang Lan inspected the objects one by one. Apart from the still unopened red orb, there was a Blazing Ring, an Earth Bracelet. As for the rest of the items, they were the following.

[Speed Boost (Unclassified passive skill) Level 3: After learning this skill, it increases Agility by 20 points permanently.]

This passive skill was the same skill that Cai Jingyi first obtained during her first zombie kill back then at the university.

[Frost Ring (Rare Grade Treasure): Equipping this item automatically increases the Mana by +10 points. Once per day you can cast the active skill Freezing Binding: Releases a freezing aura capable of slowing down or even stopping or completely freeze the movements of enemies ten meters around the user. The effect depends on the power difference between the caster and the enemy.]

Seeing the two women finish inspecting the objects, Xiao Ming gritted his teeth and declared, "Lady Cai, Lady Kang, all responsibility for the murder of Kang Hong is mine. The soldiers have nothing to do with it."

The five armed men inside the room felt their eyes sting as they felt the care of their team leader. They looked at each other and seemed to see the same idea in each other's eyes. But just as they wanted to say something, Kang Lan's confused voice interrupted them.

"Responsibility?" She asked back. "What do you mean?"

"This..." Xiao Ming didn't understand what was going on here. Didn't he explain earlier that he had killed Kang Hong even after he had already lost all capacity to resist and fight?

Cai Jingyi laughed softly and explained, "Kang Lan, Xiao Ming thinks he will be punished as a result of his actions. That's why he said what he said."

Xiao Ming was silent. But that silence represented his response.

Kang Lan didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she finally understood what was happening. She looked at Xiao Ming with a complicated look and said with a somewhat strange expression on her face, "If that Kang Hong fellow fell into the hands of Bai Zemin or Shangguan Bing Xue with his history of attempted rape and who knows how many other stuff, his death wouldn't have been as pretty as the one you gave him... Except for that, nothing is different. You don't need to worry."

Xiao Ming was dumbfounded. But seeing Cai Jingyi chuckling, he understood that what Kang Lan said was not a joke. He unconsciously let out an audible sigh of relief when he felt the weight on his back disappear without a trace. He was already prepared to be replaced from his position.

But after further thought, Kang Lan's words made more sense to Xiao Ming. Everyone knew that Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue hated those who tried to force themselves on others to the marrow of their bones. If Kang Hong fell into the hands of either of those two, his fate might well have been a thousand times more miserable than death.

"Dad!" an agonized cry rang out in the middle of the living room.

Everyone looked up to see Nangong Lingxin clinging to the increasingly weak-looking old man. The man's eyes were half closed and he looked as if he would soon lose consciousness.

"He's lost quite a bit of blood already." Cai Jingyi commented casually.

She had already seen many horrible things since leaving the university, so, her innocent personality had long since flown out the window. In this new world, death was as common as breathing. Even a person as powerful as Bai Zemin had almost been killed during a battle, not to mention a weak and powerless old man.

Nangong Lingxin looked at Kang Lan with tearful eyes and asked in a pleading tone: "You must have a method, don't you...? You certainly do have a magical skill... I saw you a moment ago when you were intending to activate it and the girl next to you stopped you..."

Her expression was so pitiful that even a tyrant would be moved. The soldiers inside the room could not stop their hearts from leaping at such beauty. Although they could all sleep with different women as long as they paid the price for their services and could even have some beauties as wives, Nangong Lingxin's beauty was on a different level.

Kang Lan hesitated and looked at Cai Jingyi. Unlike her friend and battle colleague, Kang Lan was kinder and less calculating, so after hearing the family's plight and seeing the pained expression on Nangong Lingxin's face, she couldn't help but be moved.

But Cai Jingyi was different after all. She looked at the Nangong siblings and pointed out, "In fact, Kang Lan has an active healing-type skill. Your father's wound would disappear immediately considering her Magic stat is quite high at this point and your father is a normal person."

Nangong Lingxin's and Nangong Yi's eyes lit up. But Cai Jingyi's next words were like a bucket of cold water falling on their heads on a winter day.

"But... Why would we have to heal your father?" she asked with a serious expression. "Kang Lan can only use her skill twice a day, that's how valuable it is. If one of our members is injured, she is the only person capable of healing them. On the other hand, you are not part of our group. Am I wrong?"

Correct!

Nangong Yi and Nangong Lingxin were surprised but soon understood. Why would they help them? For free? Even when society had not been brought down by the Soul Record such kindness was a rarity, not to mention now that the world was in ruins!

Nangong Yi was an intelligent man. At about 40 years old, he naturally understood what the young woman who was even younger than his younger sister meant.

"In other words, if we join you, my father can be healed immediately?" Nangong Yi asked.

Nangong Lingxin was surprised and wanted to say something. But after thinking better of it, she decided to remain silent. They were already like homeless stray dogs anyway, if they could join a powerful armed group it was fine too. Besides, their father would definitely die if he didn't receive immediate magical treatment.

Cai Jingyi smiled slightly and said in an apologetic tone, "If it were in normal times, that might be the case... But the leader was injured in a battle against a Second Order beast so he currently needs Kang Lan's magical healing as well. Our group is divided into three status levels; Normal Citizens, Noble Citizens, and Royalty... As you understand, it is impossible for us to prioritize a Normal Citizen over the higher level Royalty."

Nangong Yi's expression sank. Although he didn't know what the hell a Second Order beast was or anything, he understood that his father would probably die here.

The light in Nangong Lingxin's beautiful hazel eyes dimmed as she heard the cruel reality. But she suddenly had an idea as she hurriedly asked, "Normal Citizens, Noble Citizens, Royalty... How does each of them differ and what are the requirements to become a Noble Citizen or Royalty?"

A bright smile appeared on Cai Jingyi's face. She looked at Nangong Lingxin with appreciation, "Hehe.... You are smart. The requirements are..."

When Cai Jingyi finished explaining the workings of the power structure within the group, the Nangong siblings let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the order within the group had not yet been treated with special care so the current situation was easier for them.

"Then, we would like to join as Royalty!" Nangong Lingxin stood up and explained her own strength, "My current level is 23. I have three passive skills and two active skills. My main active skill is called Energy Barrier and it's a First Order skill level 3. This skill allows me to block physical or magical attacks as long as I provide enough Mana to it. The stronger the attack, the more Mana the skill consumes."

Nangong Yi also introduced himself: "My current level is 23. Four passive skills and one active skill. My active skill is called Barbarian Strength, it is a First Order skill level 3. This skill grants me 180 Strength points for half an hour and my skin becomes tough enough to block medium caliber bullets."

Cai Jingyi's and Kang Lan's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. Neither of them expected the Nangong siblings to be so powerful!

One had to know that even Cai Jingyi herself had only reached level 25 recently after absorbing a minor portion of the Soul Power of a Second Order beast. Kang Lan was only level 22!

With the strength of these two joining, the group would definitely become several folds more powerful. 

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