The sun rises, its rays illuminating the earth.

At the top of the unfinished teaching building, Uesugi Yumi leaned on her cane, watching silently as shadowy figures emerged from the tents near the entrance of the underground lair below.

Beside her, Iwakami Ryoji said indignantly, "If it wasn't for that damned drum sound, Xiao Feng would have definitely been dead!"

Just as his words fell, a cold voice sounded behind him.

"If you mention the drum sound again, I'll make sure you die right now!"

The owner of the voice spoke in English.

From the language used and the sensitivity to the words "drum sound," it was easy to deduce that the speaker was the elder of the Belock brothers.

In Belock's view, the main reason he lost his brother was, of course, Xiao Feng, but the sudden drum sound from the ground hole also played an unignorable role, indirectly causing him to lose his brother.

Iwakami Ryoji turned around, a flicker of undisguised anger in his eyes, but in the end, he didn't dare to say anything.

The reason was simple. If it really came to blows, he wasn't sure whether Uesugi Yumi would help him fight Belock or simply stand by coldly.

At this moment, Uesugi Yumi suddenly spoke, "As far as I know, the Devil's Concentration Camp doesn't have a precedent for avenging its members. Xiao Feng seems to be the first, because he killed too many people from the Devil's Concentration Camp."

"What do you mean?" Belock asked with a bad expression.

Uesugi Yumi sneered, "I mean I'm considering that if I kill you right now, the Devil's Concentration Camp might think it was Xiao Feng who did it..."

As she spoke, she slowly turned around and squinted, asking, "Isn't that right?"

"Do you have the guts?" Belock angrily retorted, "Don't compare me to those low-level cronies, I'm an instructor, do you dare to lay a hand on me?"

Uesugi Yumi dismissed him, "The question is, how can you prove it was me who killed you?

Moreover, what you really questioned was whether I dare to hit you, not whether I can succeed, which means you're unsure, unconfident about defeating me."

"What are you trying to say?" Belock asked with a gloomy face.

Uesugi Yumi was blunt, "Losers should have the demeanor of losers, rather than hastily provoking and finding excuses for their failure.

Speaking of which, I'm curious. According to the rules in the Devil's Concentration Camp, there should be consequences if the mission is not completed, right?

So, instead of wasting time issuing these empty threats, you might want to seriously consider what you'll face due to the mission failure and how you should remedy it."

"You!" Belock clenched his teeth hard enough to break them.

But just as Uesugi Yumi said, having lost his brother, he no longer had the capital to throw his weight around and could only bully people like Iwakami Ryoji to comfort himself.

Moreover, with the newly appointed leader giving him his first assignment, not only did he fail to complete the mission, but he also lost his brother. Just imagining the consequences of going back empty-handed was enough to make his scalp tingle.

Iwakami Ryoji looked at Uesugi Yumi with gratitude; he never expected her to strongly counter Belock and stand up for him.

But little did he know, Uesugi Yumi wasn't genuinely speaking on his behalf; circumstances had simply forced her hand.

Uesugi Yumi understood that given the current situation, the people around her that could be of use were dwindling, and there was a real possibility of her ending up alone.

And Iwakami Ryoji, under no circumstances, could die.

If he died, her plan to indirectly lead the Iwagami Clan would go bankrupt.

So instead, she decided to make a gesture, selling a favor to Iwakami Ryoji while also showing others that she was not heartless.

"Screech..."

Right then, the sound of emergency brakes echoed.

Uesugi Yumi's brow furrowed. Could it be reinforcements for those people below?

Belock's expression also changed, seemingly sharing the same concern.

Soon, a ninja returned to report, "There are thirteen people in total. Three of them are blond with blue eyes and appear to be the leaders; the rest are Asians, but which country they belong to is currently unknown."

"What are they doing?" Iwakami Ryoji asked.

"They're unloading items from the cars—compressed food and water—and they're carrying firearms."

Uesugi Yumi and Belock simultaneously looked at each other, then shook their heads, indicating they weren't their people.

"Guess they're delivering supplies to the folks below," Iwakami Ryoji speculated.

In fact, both Uesugi Yumi and Belock found the current situation quite awkward.

Though, in their eyes, the people guarding the entrance below were all weak and vulnerable, they didn't dare wipe them all out.

Because Huaxia is, after all, a major country, and its security environment is unparalleled in the world, fundamentally different from places like the Golden Triangle or Southeast Asia where chaos is rampant and unchecked.

If things got out of hand, it would almost certainly mean their demise.

...

The members of the Demon Suppression Action Team emerging from the tents were gathering to warm themselves by the fire, waiting for the porridge to be ready.

"That guy named Xiao Feng, he must be quite influential; otherwise, we wouldn't all be here working with him alone," one person complained while warming his ears with his hands.

The young man across from him stretched lazily and said indifferently, "I think it's pretty nice. Just staying here, eating when hungry, sleeping when tired, no training required, life is wonderful."

"No ambition!" someone retorted in disdain, "We should be on a big mission, not wasting our youth here, although... I do like the no training part."

Just then, the person in charge of the team came out from the tent, complaining, "You're all chattering away first thing in the morning, annoying or what?"

This person was named Guo Kai, a good friend of Gong Kaishan.

Last night, he received a call from Gong Kaishan, cautioning him to be extremely vigilant and not complacent. Seeing his subordinates' lazy attitude now, he was naturally upset.

However, the subordinates didn't know this and had long been accustomed to Guo Kai's stern face, so they began joking in turn.

"Brother Kai, we can't be compared to a training fanatic like you. We rarely get out; can't you be merciful and spare us the morning exercises?"

"Yeah, yeah, besides, the site here isn't up to training standards. Even if we wanted to train, there's nowhere to do it."

Guo Kai coldly chuckled, "Want to train, huh? Say so earlier. Later, you two can spar with me one-on-one; I'll train you well."

The two who spoke earlier immediately shook their heads in fear.

Guo Kai snorted disdainfully, glanced at his watch, and asked, "Have the supplies been delivered yet?"

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