The early warning system was crude.
But it worked surprisingly well.
In the small outer camp, every non-combatant immediately sprinted toward the gate built into the cliff face.
The gate wasn't made of stone. It was a completely ordinary pair of iron doors, wrapped in an outer wooden frame as if to protect the metal from wear and tear.
The doors swung open the second the alarm sounded, and the moment they were fully open, they began to slowly close.
Obviously, anyone who didn't make it inside before they shut completely would be left outside.
Tempted by the promise of an extra wheat flatbread, Zhu Yao—who had been pulling the cart at a leisurely pace—suddenly darted forward with a whoosh.
Li Ban and Ed both grabbed the gaps in the wooden boards beneath them to keep from rolling off the cart.
Despite carrying no load, the old man couldn't even begin to match Zhu Yao's speed and was quickly left behind.
Li Ban and the others soon passed through the gate.
He studied the main camp located inside the mountain.
The cavern had no light, but the walls were covered in glowing moss.
It gave off a pale white luminescence that illuminated the space even better than the Illumination Stones of the Wizard World.
"They don't use torches for light here."
Just as Li Ban was wondering if the "corpses" were afraid of fire, Zhu Yao stopped, panting, and said, "There is no fire in the Recycling Station."
No fire?
Was it impossible to ignite?
Li Ban wanted to test the Blazing Flame Art, but then he remembered that the element was inside his body in the Wizard World.
None of the other spells he had learned could produce fire either.
However, there was a motor that could ignite fire inside his Cubic Space. He could try it when he had the time.
When the old man passed through the gate panting heavily, the gap was only two meters wide, and almost everyone left outside were guards participating in the battle.
If the old man had pulled the cart back, they definitely wouldn't have made it inside before the doors closed.
No wonder Zhu Yao had dared to haggle with him at a time like this.
"Here." Looking displeased, the old man tossed a black wheat flatbread at Zhu Yao. "Are you just hoping for monsters to attack right when you hand over the cart?"
Zhu Yao didn't refute his sarcasm. "Yeah," she said flatly. "That way I can get a wheat flatbread every time."
The old man fumed, but he couldn't do anything about it.
He was simply no match for her.
If he wasn't watching the carts for the camp leader, he would have no leverage over Zhu Yao at all.
"Get down! Get down!" Grabbing the cart handles, he shooed Ed and Li Ban off the cart.
Ed jumped down on his own. Li Ban was just about to get down when Zhu Yao picked him up from behind, holding him vertically like a child.
Li Ban inhaled sharply—even though he didn't actually need to breathe right now.
"There's no need. I can do it my—"
"This is faster. Once you get your legs, I wouldn't carry you even if you asked," Zhu Yao said dismissively.
Li Ban rubbed his forehead. Feeling the softness against his lower back, he couldn't help but think, Is this the journey to cultivate the mind that the Faceless One talked about?
It had been a long time since he had felt this awkward.
Although he had not been a Priest for long, he was treated respectfully wherever he went.
Even his enemies never looked down on him in their attitude.
"Phew..." Li Ban exhaled the cold air he had just inhaled.
He adjusted his mindset. "Stay calm. Stay calm."
Hearing Li Ban muttering in a low voice, Zhu Yao revealed a playful smile behind him.
That was right—she had done it on purpose.
Life in the Recycling Station was oppressive and boring. Her greatest joy was teasing these people who had just arrived at the Recycling Station.
However, for someone like Li Ban, who had a good attitude and a good mindset, she just played a small joke.
But if she encountered those who had once been high and mighty, and were therefore self-righteous, she was very happy to see their mindset collapse.
"Boom, boom, boom—"
Heavy thuds echoed from beyond the massive iron doors. Even Zhu Yao paused and glanced back.
"Will there be any problems with the battle outside?" Li Ban asked.
"I don't know," Zhu Yao said softly.
They were surrounded by many other people who had just entered the cliff cavern with them.
Yet the vast majority of them were completely apathetic to the battle outside.
"If there are any problems, the surveillance watchtowers will sound the alarm. But we aren't combat personnel right now, so we don't need to participate in the battle for the time being."
Li Ban was gradually adapting to being carried by Zhu Yao.
He decided to first use a distraction method to ignore it, and then face it directly step by step.
They followed the crowd into the cavern.
After a tunnel three meters wide, two meters high, and fifty meters long, about a dozen branching paths appeared.
Three of the forks even led upward, requiring wooden ladders to access.
Carrying Li Ban, Zhu Yao led Ed into one of the tunnels.
It twisted left and right, starting narrow before widening.
They stopped at what looked like a pawnshop counter.
Zhu Yao tapped the bell hanging on the counter.
The wooden board behind the wooden bars was removed, and a yawning plump woman appeared.
She smiled when she saw Zhu Yao. "Mama Zhu Yao adopting a little kid again?"
"He's stronger than you." Zhu Yao completely ignored the teasing. "Old Ding already did the inspection."
She handed the plump woman the wooden stick Old Ding had given her after the inspection.
The plump woman took the stick and compared it against something.
"No problem. Three wheat flatbreads."
She took three wheat flatbreads from a drawer.
Even though this was the food here, the wheat flatbreads had no packaging and were casually tossed onto the counter outside the bars.
There was dust on the counter, but Zhu Yao didn't care.
She picked up the wheat flatbreads, placed one in her mouth to chew slowly, and stuffed the other two into her pocket.
"Let's go," she said, looking down at the envious Ed. "We're heading to the organ market."
"Yay!" Ed beamed. "I want legs taller than Zhu Yao!"
"Then you'll just fall over easily," Zhu Yao replied expressionlessly. Then, as she walked, she asked Li Ban, "Do you have any preferences?"
"Anything that matches the proportions of this body will do."
As soon as he said that, Li Ban felt Zhu Yao tighten her grip on his arms slightly, and she also patted up and down his abdomen.
"Your body's muscles aren't particularly developed," Zhu Yao said.
Li Ban knew very well that Gu Yi's body had slept in the Experimental Capsule for an unknown amount of time. It had only grown a bit stronger after several months of nourishment from his spiritual rhinoceros, and it was still merely at the level of a low-Tier Spirit Practitioner.
For Zhu Yao, who possessed the body of a Priest, it did not count as a powerful physique.
And in this world, where even the massive stone doors had to be pulled by human strength, explosive, powerful muscles were obviously more popular.
"I don't plan on replacing my whole body for now. You can just treat me as an agility-type fighter."
"Alright, the price for a non-strength-type body will be lower anyway."
As they spoke, the two of them entered another tunnel.
This one was larger, but quieter and colder.
Some people had set up stalls on the ground, and others had small pushcarts.
Many of them were just like Li Ban, missing arms or legs. Seeing Li Ban being carried by Zhu Yao, their eyes were filled with nothing but dull numbness.
Zhu Yao didn't stop in front of these small stalls.
"The limbs here are all very average. Some chopped off their own to sell for food."
They walked another dozen meters, and a recessed alcove appeared ahead.
It looked somewhat like a shop, complete with a counter and a smiling salesman.
The salesman had bright blond hair and sharp, chiseled facial features—a handsome Western man.
However, what mismatched his handsome face was his explosive musculature.
Also starting from his neck, there were obvious stitching scars.
When he saw Zhu Yao, he immediately opened his arms for a hug, but Li Ban reached out and blocked him.
He chuckled and stopped, touching Ed's messy hair instead. "Zhu Yao, Ed, you finally made it.
I held onto those legs just like we agreed. Hemira wanted to buy them for her lover, but I didn't sell them."
Compared to the enthusiastic salesman, Zhu Yao's attitude was somewhat cold. "Thanks, Rayleigh. I brought you a—"
"This person you picked up is a bit scrawny." Rayleigh sized up Li Ban in Zhu Yao's arms, having clearly heard of Li Ban's origins.
His eyes were full of critical judgment. "If you're using him to pay, you'll still have to give me thirty wheat flatbreads."
Li Ban didn't fly into a rage. After being carried by Zhu Yao the entire way here, he felt his mental fortitude had improved drastically.
He raised a hand toward the salesman, Rayleigh. "Please show some respect to your VIP client."
Rayleigh paused. Although he didn't understand what a "VIP" was, he understood "client."
He looked at Zhu Yao, and Zhu Yao nodded. "He's richer than me."
The suspicion on Rayleigh's face instantly turned into a brilliant smile. "Oh~ Honorable Mr. Vee-Eye-Pee, the moment you came in, I noticed your highly elegant taste. You definitely wouldn't settle for those crude limbs. I wonder what your budget is, and what kind of merchandise you want to purchase?"
"First, let's see what kind of merchandise you can provide."
Rayleigh pursed his lips.
There had not been a comprehensive wipe recently, so the people who occasionally fell into the Recycling Station were all insignificant nobodies.
In particular, the dried mud on Li Ban made him look like he wasn't worth much.
But seeing that Zhu Yao was personally carrying him, and that he wasn't merchandise—
"Please follow me."
He opened a door on the side of the shop and invited Li Ban and the others inside.
Ed eagerly went in first. The previous conversation between Li Ban and Rayleigh hadn't affected him in the slightest.
He was focused on the legs he was about to get.
Zhu Yao deliberately paused for a moment before following.
"Stay alert," she said in a low voice. "This is a place that sells limbs. We could be customers, but we could also be merchandise."
"You mean this is a black market shop," Li Ban realized. "But having a black market shop like this appear in a camp that should be safe will definitely cause the people in the camp to feel unsettled. Does your leader not care?"
"The leader has too many things to manage. Besides, the camp could never be considered safe." Zhu Yao spoke in an almost inaudible voice. "After all, you know that a companion who was perfectly normal yesterday might just turn into a monster the next day."
People who ate people would turn into monsters.
"Are the ones attacking outside monsters transformed from people?"
"Yes. In the Recycling Station, aside from the monsters transformed from people, only some bugs are left."