Tail and Li Ban had agreed to decide whether she would join his team in ten days.
But before that deadline arrived, it was time for the mission he had promised Guard Team captain Lu Shi.
In the meantime, Li Ban left the monster nests alone.
The first building collapse could be chalked up to an accident, but if he brought down a second one, the camp would undoubtedly come knocking.
Until he found a more efficient way to clear out the nests, he wanted to avoid drawing the camp's attention.
He was already conspicuous enough.
For this mission, he was tasked with leading a supply convoy to Underwoods Camp for a trade run.
He was strictly responsible for the escort; the actual trading would be handled by the camp's trade officer.
On paper, he was in charge of the operation, but in practice, he was just the head of security.
Then again, no matter the cargo's value, it meant little to a whole camp.
Just as Lu Shi likely figured, losing it wouldn't matter—it was the perfect way to test their new deputy captain.
Since arriving at the Recycling Station, Li Ban had visited a few nearby hazard zones, but he had yet to see any other camps.
In addition to his twelve squad members, the group included two drivers, the trade officer, and two of the officer's assistants.
Even though they had Tricycles, everyone except the drivers had to travel on foot.
"We'll head southeast and detour around the mire. There's a forest, and Underwoods Camp is right behind it," the trade officer, Lu Dong, told Li Ban with a smile. "Even though it's called 'Underwoods,' it's actually just hidden behind the trees."
He seemed to be going out of his way to cozy up to Li Ban. Despite having never spoken to him before, the man's mouth hadn't stopped moving since their initial greeting that morning.
This left Li Ban feeling somewhat helpless, as he had planned to silently practice his techniques during the journey.
However, when Lu Dong brought up the Northern Continent, Li Ban finally started paying attention.
"We actually have a pretty good relationship with Underwoods Camp. Not so much with Blue Sea Camp on the other side. But since Underwoods Camp hasn't had any direct conflict with either of us, we both conduct our trades there now."
"Blue Sea Camp? Is there a lake or an ocean nearby?"
Since both Cliffside Camp and Underwoods Camp were named after their surroundings, Li Ban immediately assumed this new camp was situated near a body of water.
"No," Lu Dong laughed. "The Recycling Station only has groundwater. There are no seas or lakes around here."
Only groundwater?
"If there's no ocean, what lies at the edge of the continent?" Li Ban asked.
"The edge of the continent..." Lu Dong froze for a moment, his expression turning somewhat grim. "There's nothing."
He kept his answer vague, and from the look on his face, he had no desire to elaborate.
I should take a look at the edge of the continent before heading to the rift.
He wanted to visit the edge of the continent not out of idle curiosity, but to confirm the true nature of the Recycling Station's existence.
This was crucial to figuring out how he was eventually going to leave this place.
Seeing that Lu Dong had fallen silent, Li Ban pointed at the Tricycles beside them. "Do we have any faster forms of transportation? If we need to travel long distances, relying on walking and Tricycles will take far too much time."
Lu Dong hesitated for a moment. "Well... why would anyone need to travel long distances?"
He stared at Li Ban. "Are you planning to go to the Continental Center as well?"
Li Ban didn't deny it. Lu Shi was already aware of his intentions anyway. "I have to go see it eventually. Am I supposed to just stay holed up here forever?"
Lu Dong lowered his head. "Life here is incredibly dull... but it keeps you alive."
The conversation came to an abrupt halt.
Up ahead, Zhu Yao glanced back at Li Ban.
Li Ban shrugged at her.
The people who chose to stay here likely shared the same mindset Zhu Yao used to have.
Coasting through life, just waiting to die.
After nearly two hours of travel, they finally reached Underwoods Camp.
Passing through a sparse patch of woods, Li Ban didn't spot any camp walls. He only saw a single figure standing in a grassy clearing.
It was a rather pretty young woman in a short-skirted uniform scavenged from who knew where, watching their approach with a pleasant smile.
"Welcome, friends from Cliffside Camp. Our trading grounds are fully prepared. We've just been waiting for your arrival."
Li Ban tilted his head, scrutinizing the woman's facial features.
There was something disjointed about her eyes and nose, and even her mouth looked a little off.
Simply put, it looked as if someone had clipped the features of various beautiful women from a magazine and collaged them onto a single face.
Oh, Li Ban realized. Painless plastic surgery, is it?
In this world, as long as the brain remained intact, nobody would bat an eye even if you peeled off someone's entire scalp and slapped a fresh one on.
He just wondered how she had managed to remove the surgical scars from her face.
As the group drew near, Lu Dong made the introductions. "Deputy Captain, this is Liu Peipei, the trade officer for Underwoods Camp. I'll be handling the negotiations with her."
Li Ban nodded.
He had already inspected the goods Cliffside Camp was offering for trade.
There was no clean water and no rye.
It consisted mostly of metal and non-metal mechanical parts—chains, bearings, gears, and the like.
Just as Li Ban was wondering why Cliffside Camp was selling off these parts, Liu Peipei finished exchanging pleasantries with Lu Dong. She gave Li Ban a polite bow from afar, then stepped aside.
As soon as she moved, a strange rumbling echoed from the grassy clearing behind her, and the ground began to tremble.
"A hidden mechanism?" Li Ban murmured, staring at the ground.
A patch of the grayish-black turf slowly lifted upward, followed by an even larger section.
A massive, two-meter-square hatch made of composite metal and wood pushed upward, held open at an angle by a network of interlocking support struts.
Beneath the heavy hatch lay a wide passageway.
It took the form of a gentle, cement-like slope leading down into the earth. The walls on either side were heavily blanketed in Luminescent Moss, casting enough light to dispel the darkness of the subterranean tunnel.
Lu Dong waved his hand, and the two Tricycle drivers began to carefully push their vehicles down the ramp.
The two trade assistants grabbed hold of the vehicles from the sides, hauling back to prevent the heavily loaded Tricycles from slipping down the incline.
As for Li Ban's new squad members, not a single one stepped forward to help. They seemed entirely accustomed to a life where everyone strictly stuck to their own duties.
Only Zhu Yao and Ed—likely out of habit from their days of constantly helping each other push handcarts—stepped forward naturally to lend a hand.
One of the struggling assistants suddenly felt the weight ease. He looked up to see Zhu Yao helping from the other side, leaving him surprised and somewhat at a loss for how to react.
But after glancing at Lu Dong and Li Ban and seeing that neither of them stepped in to stop her, he offered a quiet, awkward word of thanks.
"Th-thank you."
While the camp had a clear division of labor, there was a massive disparity between the combat personnel and the non-combatants.
With the exception of irreplaceable clerical staff, the ordinary workers were treated far worse than the fighters.
Though to be fair, life at the Recycling Station could hardly be considered enjoyable for anyone.
The heavy hatch slowly closed shut behind them. Thanks to the Luminescent Moss lining the walls, the ramp remained well-lit.
Liu Peipei hadn't followed them inside; she remained on the surface to wait for the arrival of the convoy from Blue Sea Camp.
Lu Dong, who was walking at the head of the formation alongside Li Ban, lowered his voice and whispered, "Deputy Captain, you might want to pull Zhu Yao and Ed aside later and remind them that there's no need to help others with their duties."
Li Ban looked at Lu Dong, somewhat perplexed.
If they worshipped the idea of minding one's own business, then shouldn't Lu Dong also mind his own business regarding their interference?
Or was there another reason behind his words?
Catching the look of confusion in Li Ban's eyes, Lu Dong let out a wry smile, leaned in closer, and offered a hushed explanation.
"If a worker is allowed to coast through their duties because of someone else's help, they'll inevitably develop a sense of dependency. The camp doesn't tolerate dead weight who just coast through life waiting to die. People like that are the easiest targets for corruption. They're the ones most likely to be twisted into monsters."
"I suppose that makes some sense," Li Ban said with a faint smile, offering no concrete promises.
It was an extremely rigid way of thinking.
While forbidding mutual reliance certainly fostered a harsh sense of independence, it completely destroyed any potential for group cohesion.
In the face of a major crisis, that rigid independence would immediately calcify into utter apathy.
The weak would be the first to perish in such a disaster, but the fall of the entire camp would soon follow.
Still, Li Ban had no intention of arguing philosophy with the man. A societal norm that had persisted for decades, centuries, or perhaps even millennia was bound to have a deeply rooted reason for its existence.
That didn't mean the mindset was correct.
But it did mean it would be practically impossible to change.
Accompanied by the steady clatter of rolling tires, the group finally reached the bottom of the ramp.
Two figures were waiting for them at the end of the path.
"Good morning, Big Brother Lu Dong!" one of them called out. The speaker was a lively, energetic young boy.
But in the Recycling Station, a person's physical age never advanced.
So unless someone explicitly stated it, there was no way of knowing how long this young boy had actually been alive.
For that matter, the very concept of age had long since lost its meaning here.
"I suppose 'good mid-morning' would be more accurate, Weiqi," Lu Dong said, visibly pleased to see the boy. He quickly turned to make the introductions.
"Hello, Deputy Captain Li! Hello, everybody!" Weiqi greeted Li Ban and the rest of the convoy with the same bright, infectious cheer.
"This is my partner for today, Guo Kao."
Li Ban's gaze shifted to Guo Kao.
Compared to the bubbly, outgoing boy, the dark-haired young man standing beside him was quiet and subdued, making him far less conspicuous.
However, when the group's attention landed on him, his gentle, polite smile instantly made him easy to like.
So Underwoods Camp uses an artificially tailored beauty to welcome their guests on the surface, and stations a cheerful boy and a mild-mannered young man to host them down below, Li Ban mused. No wonder they've managed to establish themselves as the neutral trading hub between Cliffside Camp and Blue Sea Camp.
After Weiqi introduced him, Guo Kao stepped forward. "My apologies, but I'll need to conduct a brief inspection of your cargo."
It was only natural; since they were conducting a trade within another camp's territory, their goods had to be inspected before they could proceed into the inner settlement.
Fortunately, since this world possessed neither fire nor explosives, the inspection process was relatively straightforward.
Once he had verified the contents of the Tricycles, Guo Kao didn't bother frisking anyone for personal belongings.
The heavy alloy doors behind the two hosts groaned open, revealing a massive, cavernous hall.
Astonishingly, this underground hall was even brighter than the Luminescent Moss-lined passageway outside.
Li Ban scanned the room, noticing several glass lightbulbs suspended from the ceiling.
But upon closer inspection, he realized there were no electrical wires connected to the fixtures. The source of the brilliant light sealed inside the glass bulbs was actually—glowing stones.
This Underwoods Camp appeared vastly more technologically advanced than Cliffside Camp!
But Li Ban quickly noticed that he wasn't the only one caught off guard. Even Lu Dong, who frequently visited this place for trade, was staring at the ceiling with his jaw hanging open.
"How on earth do you have so many glowing stones?"
Weiqi smiled at his reaction. "Because our camp leader recently managed to open up a trade route with Red Fruit Camp."
"Red Fruit Camp?" Lu Dong repeated, looking even more bewildered by the boy's explanation. "Isn't that the camp located all the way across the White Strait?"