"It's just inside this forest."
Outside the jeeps, Wu Yijun pointed to the dirt road just off the main road before looking at Bai Zemin and the rest.
"Even though it's been several years since then I can still clearly remember the place. It's definitely this way."
Bai Zemin nodded silently and took a step forward as he carefully scanned his surroundings.
The dirt road was not very wide and probably only one vehicle could pass without allowing a second to pull alongside it. Adjacent to the dirt road, the grass had grown dangerously knee-high making it difficult for anyone entering there to move and see while the trees stretched as far as the eye could not reach.
The northern area of Beijing was known as a forested area and the Yanqing District was especially for being an ecological area. It was the district with the most green areas in all of Beijing as well as one of those with the least human population.
As a result, it was natural for the government to hide military camps with weapons and logistics in such places where no human beings usually went. After all, no one in their right mind would venture into an unknown forest that was likely to be teeming with wild animals and creatures.
However, this also had an incredibly important consequence.
Being filled with forests, wildlife was naturally more prosperous. Therefore, beasts that had managed to mutate and evolve were probably lurking everywhere.
Bai Zemin did not believe that the forest in front of him was an exception to this rule. In fact, he had been starting to feel a little uncomfortable for a while now, but he did not know why since there was no enemy of any kind in sight.
In this operation, Bai Zemin had decided that the best option was to bring as few people as possible but with enough power to fight an army without any problems.
This was because he did not know what kind of dangers they would encounter and in cases like this, an ordinary person without proper training would only be more likely to cause trouble rather than help solve it.
Cai Jingyi, Kang Lan, Fu Xuefeng, Zhong De, Luo Cheng, Xiao Min, and all the other subordinates of Bai Zemin together with the armed militia moved the more than three hundred survivors who were in the second village to the Beginning Village. Bai Zemin ordered them several times to keep their guards up and to quell any kind of conflict with an iron fist.
In this kind of dangerous situation, the last thing he needed was trouble in the backyard while fighting to keep the front line safe.
After more than twenty minutes of observing the surroundings carefully and thinking a bit about the current situation, Bai Zemin turned around to look behind him and noticed that everyone was a bit tired.
After a full night without sleep, coupled with how troubled the previous day had been, it was natural for everyone to feel mentally overloaded. Even if the Stamina stat had only decreased a little, the human brain was another matter.
"Let's rest for a few hours." Bai Zemin glanced at his digital watch before looking at everyone again and announced, "It's currently a bit past 6 am. After we have some lunch at noon we'll start exploring the area and head into the forest."
Wu Yijun and Chen He looked at each other and sighed in relief. Under their eyes were small bags as evidence of tiredness. They were really trying hard not to collapse from sleep.
Even Shangguan Bing Xue, who had recently evolved to First Order, couldn't help but nod as she gently rubbed her eyes somewhat sleepily.
"You don't sleep?" Chen He asked as he saw that Bai Zemin did not move from his place.
"Don't worry about me." Bai Zemin smiled slightly and shook his head. "Just go and rest, we'll have a lot of work to do soon."
Chen He hesitated for a moment before turning and leaving.
Shangguan Bing Xue and Wu Yijun looked at him as if they wanted to say something but in the end neither of the two women said anything and left together to the jeep they had come in. They really needed to get some sleep.
When they all returned to the vehicles to rest, Bai Zemin frowned and a small glint of doubt flashed in his eyes as he looked up at the sky.
"Lilith, where did you go...?" he muttered to himself.
The night before, Lilith had told him she would be gone for a few hours before disappearing. This was the first time she had left his side in twenty days, so Bai Zemin felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Not hearing her voice or feeling her presence near him, for the first time in a long time, Bai Zemin could not help but feel a little lonely.
Although Shangguan Bing Xue, Chen He, and Wu Yijun were there and were people with whom he had spent a lot of time together and had even fought shoulder to shoulder in many battles, his relationship with the three of them was completely different from the complicated but balanced relationship he had with Lilith.
* * *
In a place far away from planet Earth, a beautiful woman floated silently in the sky.
Her inky black hair fell down her back like a waterfall, swaying in the dancing breeze that embraced her lovely and seductive body covered by a beautiful dark colored dress. She had her eyes closed and her breathing was so calm that she looked as if she was sleeping.
Swoosh!
Suddenly the space several hundred meters away seemed to twist as a silhouette appeared.
This silhouette turned out to be an extremely handsome man, even more handsome than Chen He. The aura that his body unconsciously exuded was incredibly frightening, which was proof that he was not someone normal.
But the most striking thing was the two white wings behind his back that gently swayed and held him in the air. These wings also represented his faction and the path he had decided to walk by evolving beyond all mortal limits.
Indeed, this man was a Higher Existence.
"Who are you?" the handsome man asked cautiously.
"Who am I?"
The woman's lovely voice sounded in a whisper. She giggled softly and slowly opened her eyes that had been closed until now. Her two ruby eyes glowed faintly and her lips curved into a charming smile.
"You are welcome to call me Lilith." She replied and her ruby eyes glowed slightly again.
At the sight of her smile, the handsome man with angel wings was spellbound for several seconds before he awoke from his reverie, seemingly oblivious to what had just happened.
"Lilith?" The man frowned before shaking his head, "Never heard that name."
Lilith didn't respond and simply remained standing in the void.
"Why would a demon like you be in a Lower World?" the angel questioned and his hands flashed until a large spear of light formed, "Are you planning something?"
"Planning?" Lilith played with her hair and nodded as she whispered, "Actually, I am planning something. You want to know what my plan is?"
The angel frowned and couldn't help but feel a bad premonition.