Apocalypse Gachapon

Chapter 1616: Connected

The first thing visible was the glow of skills and the distinct sound of crystal weapons firing.

At this point, everyone knew the camp was under attack.

Yet neither Ye Zhongming, Xiao Min, nor Xia Bai moved.

Since the sentries hadn’t signaled for reinforcements, it meant the threat wasn’t serious. Cloud Peak had a well-established system for handling such situations.

Ruan Xiao and Wu Xiu, accompanied by a few guards, emerged upon hearing the noise and spotted Ye Zhongming standing nearby. They exchanged greetings before turning their attention toward the direction of the fight.

”Seems someone finds us inconvenient and wants to clear us out before the wheel space opens,” Ruan Xiao remarked coldly, his words making it clear that he stood firmly with Cloud Peak.

This wasn’t surprising—Cannibal Chain had always maintained excellent relations with Cloud Peak. Their collaboration was mutually beneficial, allowing both sides to gain advantages they couldn’t achieve alone.

For example, Ye Zhongming needed materials, while Cannibal Chain required potions or equipment.

And, of course, there was the fact that Ye Zhongming, as a major client, helped solidify Ruan Xiao’s unshakable position within his organization.

Now, gathered beneath the Mountain Crown Wheel to compete for this supreme equipment, they were technically rivals. But as fellow members of the country, there was an unspoken bond between them—a shared understanding that, when not competing for the Mountain Crown, they stood on the same side.
The attack on Cloud Peak’s camp was clearly an attempt to push out outsiders from the country. Ruan Xiao’s anger and empathy were understandable.

Wu Xiu shook her head without speaking, but she knew full well that these attackers had miscalculated. Though Cloud Peak had the smallest numbers, their strength was among the greatest—just the Female Guard alone could crush countless so-called ”major factions.”

Reality quickly confirmed Wu Xiu’s thoughts. The battle ended within minutes, with the attacking force retreating after leaving dozens of corpses behind. Cloud Peak didn’t even suffer a single injury.

The report soon came in—the attackers were from an organization called ”Z-Type Vengeance Squad,” who had assumed Cloud Peak was an easy target and sent over a thousand fighters.

It couldn’t be helped. Yangos was off somewhere playing, Yellow Ball was sleeping in a tent, Nine Treasures had stayed on the other side of the Bering Strait as backup, Ice Bird was resting in the hive, and the undead dragon-fish was busy growing flesh…

Without these obvious deterrents, Cloud Peak appeared to outsiders as just a group of women and teenagers, who wouldn’t want to bully them?

The major factions hadn’t made a move in the past two days simply because they didn’t see Cloud Peak as a threat, fearing that attacking them might expose weaknesses to other opportunistic forces.

Only mid-tier organizations like the Z-Type Vengeance Squad—well-informed, sizable but not superpowers, always looking to grab easy advantages—would dare target people from the country without hesitation.

Unfortunately for them, they’d slammed into a brick wall.

The Z-Type Vengeance Squad had enough sense to retreat the moment they realized their target wasn’t some weakling but a razor-sharp dagger.

Cloud Peak didn’t pursue. An organization like this wasn’t even worth the attention of the average female guard warrior—a single squad could carve through the thousand who’d just attacked.

Still, indifference aside, though Ye Zhongming and Xia Bai said nothing, the women of the Female Guards would undoubtedly show no mercy if they reencountered this group.

After all, to outsiders, they were nothing but a pack of ”psychopaths” and ”murderous demons.”

The group returned to the tent, where Xia Bai served tea—a detail that told Ruan Xiao and Wu Xiu Cloud Peak possessed an abundance of spatial equipment. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be carrying such luxuries in the apocalypse.

”Still about the previous collaboration?” Ye Zhongming cut straight to the point without waiting for the Cannibal Chain leaders to speak.

At this stage, both Cannibal Chain and Ye Zhongming had realized something: the secret Alamos had revealed might have been confidential in North America, but it was far from top-secret. Every faction with the qualifications had gathered here—no fewer than fifty groups, large and small. If there were a power ranking here, the top fifty were likely all present.

Faced with this invisible pressure, Cloud Peak and Cannibal Chain, both from the country, naturally gravitated toward each other.

Under these circumstances, a limited alliance would only bring benefits.

”Yes,” Wu Xiu replied bluntly. ”But now, only one form of cooperation remains viable.”

Ye Zhongming understood. Most of the collaboration methods discussed earlier by the Bering Strait were no longer feasible—only one still worked.

”We’ve received reliable intel. Once the Mountain Crown Wheel’s space opens, the rewards won’t just include the disk itself but many other high-tier artifacts. The competition will be fierce.” Wu Xiu took a sip of tea and was mildly surprised—the flavor was unexpectedly rich, and a warm current spread through her limbs, restoring her stamina and nourishing her body. Clearly, this was no ordinary tea.