Qu Jianlei and his companion stayed in the safe house for three full months before Qu Jianlei successfully calculated the first spiritual element technique.

After some discussion, they decided simply not to bother with the orchard and continue staying in the safe house.

More than two months later, Qu Jianlei calculated the second spiritual element technique.

It was time to move, as it was almost a year since their last visit to Central City.

Before heading to Central City, they first quietly went to the orchard.

Qu Jianlei disguised himself as a lone traveler and rode a motorcycle past the orchard, stopping to pretend to inquire about buying fuel.

Because he had cultivated spiritual techniques, he deliberately maintained a relaxed atmosphere, giving others a sense of ease invisibly.

He approached an old worker from the orchard, a senior known for being reliable with his labor.

The old man warmly pointed out where to buy fuel, and Qu Jianlei tentatively bought some food.

Gradually, he learned about the orchard's current situation.

Since he and Xiao Moshan left, several groups had come to search the place.

Initially, the searchers didn't care about the contractor's departure, but later suspected they were fugitives when they couldn't find the two for an extended time.

However, they couldn't confirm that the two were Jian Lei and Mo Huaitian, for the simple reason that no one knew Mo Huaitian had a lame leg.

Recently, there's been a massive search in the gorge; many on the wanted list have been affected and have fled.

So they thought the two either had a criminal record or were harmed during their travels.

The orchard owner heard the news and decided to sublease the orchard, albeit at a less favorable price.

Yet this was inevitable, as the two never returned and the orchard incurred daily expenses.

The owner wanted to rent it out at its original price, but others scoffed: "Are you renting out an orchard or a gold mine?"

The owner held out for more than two months before finally renting it out at seventy percent of the original price, feeling deeply frustrated.

The new contractor not only paid rent stingily but also drastically cut the workers' wages.

This decision left the workers particularly unhappy, though the new contractor defended it strongly.

"This is what contracting truly means; the previous two fugitives' prices were outrageous."

Some workers got so upset that they left the orchard altogether, and those who remained couldn't help but grumble secretly.

Qu Jianlei could intuitively sense that they were speaking the truth, and he felt slightly relieved: the gorge is not omnipotent, after all.

He planned not to return, but the fact that no traces were exposed suggested they were relatively safe.

Returning to Xiao Moshan, he shared the situation, and the two decided to act.

In the rugged mountains southwest of Central City, more than a hundred kilometers away, lies a "military area, no entrance for outsiders" location.

Surrounded by barbed wire, with trenches inside, defenders were obscured, but an air of severity pervaded.

The checkpoint guards were from Central City's military, mostly modified warriors, and a few ultimate warriors.

Qu Jianlei drove to the checkpoint and then helped Xiao Moshan in his wheelchair out of the vehicle.

The guards looked at them expressionlessly; they recognized credentials, not people.

Qu Jianlei pulled out two credentials and handed them over; a guard took them and examined them.

He sensed something was amiss, then his mind slightly wavered and he found nothing wrong.

So he handed the credentials to another guard, "Should be fine, take a look."

Double verification was the norm here, although triple verification wasn't unusual.

The second guard took the credentials, examined them, felt something off yet also felt it was fine, and passed them to the third person.

The third person glanced over, raised an eyebrow, yet before speaking, an ultimate warrior approached.

He took the credentials, flipped through them, also feeling... a sense of oddity, "What do you see?"

The third person found no issue, "Can't see any problem."

"Hmm," the ultimate warrior returned the credentials to Qu Jianlei, his previous sternness replaced with a hint of apprehension.

Because he knew the identity of the other party—people from the gorge.

No matter how Central City people perceive the gorge, he, as the watcher at the gorge's entrance, clearly knew the gorge's people were terrifying.

Qu Jianlei took the credentials, pushed Xiao Moshan, and walked impassively towards the jeep inside the checkpoint.

He was already familiar with these procedures and acted very calmly.

Vehicles in Central City were scarce, mainly motorcycles and bicycles.

In contrast, there were plenty of idle vehicles here; you could casually drive one, highlighting the... objective disparity.

Moreover, all the vehicles here were custom-made, with external vehicles unable to enter.

The internal vehicles could go out, but generally didn't because there was no need—this shows the gorge's arrogance.

Qu Jianlei drove the car, steadily covering more than ten kilometers with no one hindering them along the way.

As the car reached the mountain's base, two mechas appeared ahead, "Credentials!"

These two mechas belonged to the gorge; just by the exterior and heaviness, they looked more advanced than those in Central City.

A mecha warrior took the credentials and directly inserted them into the arm's slot.

The next moment, red lights began flashing incessantly, causing Xiao Moshan's face to subtly change, secretly thinking this is bad.

Qu Jianlei was already prepared to use finger technique—the forged credentials failed!

The credentials were certainly forged; they had slain many in the gorge, gaining plenty of credentials as references.

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