Brian Carter had just arrived at the bottom of Building C7 when he was stopped by two middle-aged men. One of them questioned him sternly, “Whose child are you, and why are you carrying a sword?”

The middle-aged man deliberately furrowed his brows to appear authoritative, his eyes scrutinizing. His condescending tone made his sense of superiority even more apparent.

Brian Carter replied irritably, “The underground races are about to attack. If I were you, I’d hurry up and pack my things to head to the shelter.”

The middle-aged man wanted to ask more, but Brian Carter had already darted up the stairs. The man, a bit angry, said, “Whose wild kid is this! What nonsense is he spouting…”

The other man thought for a moment and said, “I think he’s Carter Technologies’s nephew.”

The first man was still indignant. “How does Old Gao even raise his kids, seriously…” Before he could finish, a series of terrified screams rang out. Seven or eight people came running frantically from the other side of the street, chased by several ugly green monsters sprinting after them.

One green goblin suddenly leapt and landed on a plump woman who had fallen behind. Its claws were as sharp as knives, and it quickly slashed at the woman’s face and body.

The plump woman let out two miserable screams before collapsing in a bloody heap, clearly dead.

Everyone was shocked by the scene. The residents of this area were all high-ranking members of the base, used to a life of comfort. Although this was an era where everyone practiced martial arts, most people had no real combat experience—least of all this group. Including the two middle-aged men, everyone screamed and scattered in panic.

In reality, there were only seven or eight green goblins charging over. If the crowd had kept calm, these little monsters wouldn’t have been that difficult to handle.

Brian Carter didn’t see any of this; he was already sprinting up to the fourth floor. “Bang bang bang…” Time was tight, and Brian Carter knocked on the door forcefully without any courtesy.

A glow flickered across the solid wooden door, revealing a virtual screen with the image of a beautiful woman with her hair in a high bun. “What are you doing here?” The woman arched her slender eyebrows and asked sharply.

This woman was Brian Carter’s aunt, Grace Miller. She had always been sharp-tongued and harsh, looking down on Brian Carter and always seeing him as a huge burden.

If it weren’t for Grace Miller’s temperament, Brian Carter wouldn’t have moved out to live on his own. Normally, if there was nothing urgent, Brian Carter would never come to her door.

“I have something urgent. Where’s uncle?” With the situation critical, Brian Carter asked directly.

Grace Miller’s expression changed slightly, feeling that Brian Carter was being extremely rude. She was about to scold him when she saw a cold glint flash in Brian Carter’s dark eyes, as if an invisible sword had stabbed straight into her heart. Even through the door, Grace Miller was startled and quickly replied, “Your uncle is on duty.”

Brian Carter sighed—his luck was really bad. But since his uncle was in the duty room, which was heavily guarded, there was no need to worry about his safety for the time being.

“You and Jiaojiao need to come out right now and head to the shelter,” Brian Carter said, almost as a command.

Aunt Grace Miller, however, was unwilling. “Why go to the shelter? We’ll just stay at home.” She had never liked Brian Carter, and after being startled by him just now, she was even less inclined to listen.

With over a hundred years of experience, Brian Carter immediately guessed what Grace Miller was thinking. Prejudice like that couldn’t be changed with a few words. If it were any other time, Brian Carter might have tried a few different approaches, but now, with time so tight, he had no such luxury.

Taking two steps back, Brian Carter drew his sword, took a deep breath, and struck.

Inside the room, Grace Miller saw Brian Carter draw his sword and screamed in fright, “Are you crazy, Brian Carter!” Before she could finish, she saw two sword lights—one horizontal, one vertical—cross on the screen in a cold, dazzling X.

This was the Mountain-Cleaving Slash, a killing move from the Po Feng sword technique. Normally, the Mountain-Cleaving Slash was a single, swift strike, but Brian Carter used a chained, crisscrossing X-slash. Anyone familiar with this sword art would have been utterly shocked.

Only masters with sword skills above level ten could grasp such techniques. Ordinary people could train their whole lives and never reach this level.

Though the solid wooden door was thick, it was still just wood. The sword in Brian Carter’s hand, though not a famous blade, was forged from a modern high-strength alloy called black iron—razor-sharp and incredibly tough. It was the pinnacle of human cold weapon craftsmanship.

“Cuts through iron like mud” was a literal description of the Si Feng sword, not an exaggeration.

With Brian Carter’s expert swordsmanship, the wooden door was left with a clean, deep X-shaped cut. Brian Carter admired the neat cross-shaped mark—at his current strength, being able to execute this move left him quite satisfied.

Kicking the door open amid flying wood chips, Brian Carter charged inside.

“Don’t move.” Grace Miller pointed a laser pistol at Brian Carter, her voice tense with fear. Hearing the chaos outside, Grace Miller was scared and held the gun for courage. She hadn’t expected Brian Carter to break in so forcefully, and in her panic, she hurriedly raised the gun to defend herself.

Though Grace Miller was harsh, she was still a woman and had never done anything like this before. Her hands trembled as she held the gun, making Brian Carter a bit nervous—an amateur with a gun could easily have an accidental discharge.