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The International Alliance selection competition had begun.

Gu Xiaoxi left D State and returned to the International Alliance.

The higher-ups in the International Alliance issued an order, this selection was simple, assigning everyone a mission.

As long as one could complete the mission, they could stay.

Yatang Mountain in Lan State was the warmest and rainiest region in the entire area.

The favorable environment also nurtured many rare animals.

It was also one of the most dangerous places in the world, populated with a group of fierce beasts. These beasts frequently appeared in Yatang City, and in just one year, there had been many people bitten to death by wild animals.

The government sent wave after wave of soldiers to slaughter the beasts, but not a single one came back.

In the end, the matter was reported from the city to the nation, but it still couldn’t be resolved, and instead, many soldiers were lost.

Every time the soldiers returned from the encirclement, they said that the beasts were too terrifying, which led to the failures.

But the fundamental reason remained unspoken.

The International Alliance sent people to check, and indeed, the Yatang Mountain region in Lan State was home to many specially-appearing fierce beasts.

For instance, spiders of particularly large size, and countless huge birds and animals.

To thoroughly solve this problem, unless the entire population of Yatang City relocated collectively.

Clearly, this could not be done. Yatang City had a population of over ten million, and it was not easy to relocate.

Nor was it something that could be done casually.

Lan State finally offered 2 billion, requesting the International Alliance’s help to solve the problem, as long as the wild animals could be driven back to the inner parts of the forest so they would no longer harm people.

Therefore, the International Alliance handed this matter over to the newcomers of the personnel selection.

The content of the selection was very simple, based on the number of beasts slaughtered.

As long as one could kill all the beasts invading the city and drive the main force back to the primeval deep forest, not only could they stay in the International Alliance. They would also receive a bonus of 2 billion.

Such conditions made almost everyone’s eyes turn red with envy.

Let alone staying behind, just the 2 billion prize money itself was enough to get the blood racing.

Liuli Country sent five people over, with Gu Xiaoxi and Jing Haoran being the first choices, followed by Che Junqing, Yun Xiao, and Tang Yisheng. Nearly all five of these people possessed Special Abilities.

Other places, like D State, Dong State, Northern Zhou, Southern State, Xuan State, and Da State, also sent five candidates each.

The ones qualified for this selection were a total of forty people from eight countries.

Gu Xiaoxi had had some issues with Southern State and West Zhou and had no intention of resolving them with either side.

All she hoped for was that during this assessment, all five people from Liuli Country could stay.

This was the glory they would earn for their nation.

At the International Alliance’s airport, the person in charge of this assessment, Kate, led the team.

Forty people got on the plane, all wearing camouflage uniforms, anxiously waiting for their captain to speak.

Kate glanced over everyone, "Good! The task ahead could take one day, two days, or even a month. What we need to do is to maintain world peace. So, be ready for battle at all times."

"Yes!" Everyone responded in unison.

Kate nodded with satisfaction, "Starting now, every ten of you will form a team."

His words made everyone pause for a moment.

Ten people in a team?

Wasn’t this about merging two countries into one team?

Gu Xiaoxi instinctively looked at the people beside her, who just so happened to be from Southern State Country.

Sack was not part of this team, and clearly, the people who had come were all strangers to her.

And, at a glance, all of them seemed to be no simple characters.

"Southern State Country and Liuli Country will form one team! You can choose your own team leader from among yourselves."

As soon as Kate finished speaking, a man from Southern State Country raised his hand and said, "Me!"

"What’s your name?" Kate asked.

"Willy! Trust me, I can lead the team well!" Willy said confidently, while he glanced at Gu Xiaoxi out of the corner of his eye.

His eyes were full of provocation.

Gu Xiaoxi sneered and raised her hand, "Report to the captain, I can also lead the team! Gu Xiaoxi nominates herself."

Kate glanced at Gu Xiaoxi a few times, finding the female soldier strangely familiar. It took him a while to remember that she had once caused a fight in a bar and had offered to buy drinks for everyone.

Without a second thought, he said, "Then Gu Xiaoxi! Following D State and Da State, Northern Zhou and West Zhou, Xuan State and Dong State..."

Willy glared at Gu Xiaoxi, his eyes filled with anger.

However, Gu Xiaoxi smiled indifferently, even with a hint of provocation.

Jing Haoran didn’t even glance to the side; with Gu Xiaoxi there, they had nothing to fear.

...

In Lan State’s Yatang City, the streets were desolate, with every household’s doors tightly shut.

Apart from going to work as usual, the elderly and children all stayed at home, never coming out to play.

During daylight, those who were working bustled about, and everyone walked in groups, making the bustling city unusually quiet.

The mayor explained the specific situation to Kate.

"Recently, a lot of gigantic rats have appeared. They’ve been spotted in hospitals, kindergartens... just yesterday, they bit and injured five or six children. That’s why everyone came. Please, we must find out what’s going on. How can we exterminate these mutated monsters?"

Kate frowned. The initial report had mentioned many casualties, but he hadn’t expected so many children to be affected in just one day.

"Is there anything else?" Kate asked.

"Night is when beasts appear the most. Sometimes, dozens of people can die in a single night. Even if we carry out a suppression, more will appear afterward. It’s like they can’t be completely killed off, which is terrifying.

Because of this, the entire city is now in panic.

" The mayor was already organizing evacuation plans. However, it wouldn’t be fast to implement.

"Good! I got it," Kate said gravely after listening to the explanation.

He had executed many peculiar missions before, but none as strange as this.

Mutated rats!

He was eager to see what form they had mutated into!

After he and the mayor had discussed the situation and returned to the assembly point, he spoke to the members of the International Alliance undergoing the assessment, "This mission is very tricky, and we all need to be highly vigilant. It would be best if we could find the root cause of this issue and completely resolve the hidden dangers in Yatang Mountain. For convenience, let’s refer to these beasts as Nightwalkers. "

"Yes! Please give your orders, captain!" Everyone awaited their mission anxiously.

Kate looked at them and said, "Starting now, there will be no rest. Take positions around residential buildings, kindergartens, and senior activity centers where vulnerable groups live, to ambush the Nightwalkers. I’m hoping to catch one alive."

...

Gu Xiaoxi was assigned to the area near the kindergarten.

In Yatang City, Happy Home Kindergarten was located in the suburbs.

Currently, there were two hundred children enrolled there. Because it was close to the woods, the danger level was quite high. To ensure the children’s safety, soldiers from the army guarded the place day and night.

Gu Xiaoxi decided to have her people stake out the school.

Perhaps the Nightwalkers sensed their presence because that night, the whole Yatang City was safe.

Not just the first day, but for three consecutive days, it was safe.

Although Kate didn’t know the reason, he still instructed everyone to be careful and vigilant, never to let their guard down.

After Gu Xiaoxi and her team had camped out at the desolate kindergarten for three days without any news, she decided to leave the other team members there and went out with Yun Xiao to have a look around.

The night in Yatang City was beautiful; it was a place known for its vast blue skies.

Various flowers bloomed on both sides of the streets, creating intoxicating natural scenery.

Vehicles on the road hurried by, while there were remarkably few people on the sidewalks.

Yun Xiao looked at the beautiful city and found it hard to imagine that there were so many ferocious beasts invading.

"Xiao Xi, do you think it could be demons?" Yun Xiao asked.

Gu Xiaoxi shook her head, "Hard to say! If they were demons, they wouldn’t normally leave any traces. They’re most afraid of being discovered by humans."

"True," Yun Xiao sighed, pondering for a moment before adding, "No, we should go into the mountains and check it out!"

"No! It’s safer to stay with the main force. Yatang City has its own troops; why haven’t they gone into the mountains to check? Think about it..." Gu Xiaoxi’s expression was serious, her gaze especially intense at that moment.

Yun Xiao wasn’t stupid. With Gu Xiaoxi putting it that way, she immediately understood, "The troops must have been sent before, and things must have turned out very bad!"

"I think the mayor of Yatang City didn’t tell us everything," Gu Xiaoxi took a deep breath, "But then again, if Lan State could handle the problem by themselves, they wouldn’t have paid a high price to invite the International Alliance."

"I feel like this issue won’t be so easy to resolve," Yun Xiao thought carefully, "If the beasts can come into the city and harm people on their own, it’s not a simple matter. It’s a rarity that happens once in a century."