"Fu Zhu. They are March 7th, Xing, and Dan Heng. As for the reason you asked about, Commander Gepard..."
Fu Zhu hesitated slightly, casting an questioning glance towards Dan Heng.
Dan Heng gave a silent nod, and only then did Fu Zhu continue speaking.
"We are not actually citizens of Belobog."
Gepard's eyebrows raised slightly. He gave a slight nod, signaling Fu Zhu to continue.
"We are Nameless from the Astral Express, originating from beyond this planet. Due to certain circumstances, we had to make a temporary stop here. If you don't believe me..."
Fu Zhu retrieved a crafting table block from his inventory and placed it directly on the side of the long table. At the same time, he showed Gepard the iron door fragments left over from the space station, which he still hadn't used up. Then, with a casual toss to the side, the fragments transformed into a full iron door the instant they landed.
Witnessing this scene, Gepard's eyes widened involuntarily. Not only the strange wooden cube, but also Fu Zhu's ability to casually transform materials left him astonished.
"Commander Gepard, surely you believe me now? Nobody in your Belobog should possess such methods, correct? Besides, if I were a resident of Belobog, with this skill alone, I should have at least some reputation within the city."
Fu Zhu wasn't boasting; it was simply the truth.
Even Herta, an Emanator of Erudition, was surprised by this material transformation ability, let alone Belobog, whose technological level seemed far inferior to the Herta Space Station.
After the initial shock, Gepard took a few deep breaths, quickly calming himself.
"I understand. If what you all say is true, then I'm afraid I cannot handle your situation. Later, I will assign a team to escort you into Belobog proper and simultaneously report the details to the Great Guardian, allowing Her Excellency the Great Guardian to speak with you in detail."
Visitors from beyond the sky – just thinking of those words, Gepard understood this matter was beyond his authority.
He had browsed through numerous history books, yet none recorded any visits from off-worlders. This was likely the first time!
Perhaps these visitors from beyond the sky could bring a turning point to the Eternal Freeze disaster plaguing Belobog? Of course, they could also bring disaster. But these matters required the Great Guardian's personal decision. His duty was to defend the front line.
Fu Zhu's group wasn't surprised by Gepard's handling of the situation; in fact, they were quite happy to hear it.
Their goal on this trip was to resolve the Stellaron crisis on Jarilo-VI. To find clues about the Stellaron, likely only the Great Guardian in all of Belobog could provide them.
After some more idle chat to learn a bit about the Astral Express, Gepard's favorable impression of the group increased considerably. He immediately called someone over to arrange transport into the city for Fu Zhu and the others.
However, just as Gepard was arranging the vehicle, a Silvermane Guard ran over urgently and spoke quietly with Gepard for a few moments.
Gepard, who had still worn a slight smile, immediately frowned deeply. This made Fu Zhu's group curious about their conversation, but given their current status, it wasn't appropriate to ask.
After finishing his conversation with the Silvermane Guard, Gepard turned back and nodded at the group: "The vehicle is ready. Someone will be waiting to receive you in the city. Please, board the vehicle."
"Woohoo! Finally, no more freezing outside!"
March 7th and Xing were the first ones onto the vehicle, even picking out comfortable spots. Dan Heng followed closely behind, but after getting on, he noticed Fu Zhu still standing motionless and couldn't help but pause.
"Fu Zhu?"
Fu Zhu pondered for a moment, glancing at Gepard nearby.
This man not only had distinctive attire and rank, but could he, like Sampo, be an important figure in the Trailblazing journey?
If he could unlock an achievement related to him, his path to becoming stronger would speed up considerably.
Having made his decision, Fu Zhu stepped forward and closed the vehicle door directly, leaving everyone looking surprised.
Gepard was particularly puzzled and asked, "Mr. Fu Zhu, what is the meaning of this?"
Fu Zhu smiled and explained to Gepard, "Let my three companions go speak with the Great Guardian. I'm somewhat curious about the disaster here, the Eternal Freeze. Could you allow me to observe and record things here for a while? I promise I won't cause any trouble."
"This..."
Gepard hesitated. After all, Fu Zhu was an off-worlder with a sensitive identity. If any accident occurred here on the front line, he couldn't bear the responsibility. Yet, at the same time, he was curious about Fu Zhu's perspective on the Eternal Freeze. Perhaps they could glean some methods to alleviate or even solve the crisis from these visitors.
"Alright. However, I hope Mr. Fu Zhu can abide by some of the front line regulations."
Seeing Gepard agree, Fu Zhu nodded his assent. Only then did he turn back to his companions, "I still have some personal matters I want to resolve here. You guys go ahead first. I'll meet up with you tomorrow."
"Then Bro, I'll go with you!"
Hearing Fu Zhu was staying behind, Xing stood up, wanting to get off the vehicle too, but Fu Zhu stopped her.
"It's just for one night. It won't take long."
"Okay then."
Dan Heng didn't say much either, just reminding Fu Zhu to be careful, then told the driver to depart.
After watching the vehicle leave, Fu Zhu turned to ask Gepard, "Commander Gepard, I saw your expression change after speaking with your subordinate earlier. Is something about to happen here?"
Gepard gave Fu Zhu a slightly surprised look. After a moment of silence, he turned and started walking towards the city wall.
"Follow me."
Fu Zhu followed Gepard up onto the city wall. Amidst the biting cold wind, waves of low, guttural roars echoed, crossing the wall and reaching Fu Zhu's ears.
And outside the towering city wall, Fu Zhu could see hundreds of humanoid monsters surging towards them.
"These monsters are?"
Gepard gritted his teeth and spat out the words: "Fragmentum creatures."
Fu Zhu immediately opened his achievement list, searching for achievements related to Fragmentum creatures.
Wouldn't you know it, he actually found three related achievements. The requirements were simple: kill 10, 100, and 500 Fragmentum creatures, respectively. The Achievement Point rewards were also quite generous, especially for killing five hundred – a full 20 Achievement Points!
Just those 20 points were enough for him to add two more small mods.
Fu Zhu had just closed the achievement list when he saw Silvermane Guards already heading out to engage these Fragmentum creatures. Although dealing with them seemed somewhat difficult, the Silvermane Guards clearly had experience coordinating against them many times. After one round of attacks, they successfully killed a few Fragmentum creatures.
Seeing the Fragmentum creatures fall, Fu Zhu instantly became anxious.
"Let go of those monsters, let me handle them!"
Those were precious experience points! And who knew what novel drops they might have!
I, Fu 'Steve' Zhu, absolutely will not allow these monsters to die at the hands of the Silvermane Guards!