Chapter 42: Leaving the City

Not long after stepping out of the direct elevator on the third basement level, Luo Yan spotted Lin Yuanyao’s convoy.

The transport team consisted of about twenty people, all fully equipped and ready to depart—firearms, protective suits, armored vehicles, mining trucks—everything was in place.

Their attire stood in stark contrast to that of the office logistics staff.
While those in the office wore suits and dress shoes, the transport team was clad in functional, layered clothing—assault coats, tactical gear.
Most carried firearms, while a few had long swords strapped to their waists.

Like any armed escort unit, the entire formation radiated pressure and deterrence.

As Luo Yan observed them, she could feel the weight of their gazes in return.

Curiosity. Scrutiny. Contempt. Resistance. Amazement…

She had already anticipated this kind of reception to some extent.

She knew that after entering Neo Aonan Energy, her journey wouldn’t be smooth.
Though the title of Senior Consultant would shield her from many minor inconveniences, it would also intensify certain underlying tensions.
In other words—fewer small troubles, more big ones.

Compared to the “big troubles” waiting for her in the future, what she was facing now was just a warm-up.

With this understanding, she wasn’t fazed by their stares. Calmly, she looked at the woman walking toward her.

“My name is Lin Yuanyao. From now on, my transport team and I will be responsible for your safety during this trip.”

Lin Yuanyao was unlike the women Luo Yan usually saw.

Her eyes were sharp, her movements crisp and decisive, with a military-like poise.
Coupled with her upright features and fit figure, she exuded a charisma completely different from ordinary women.

Luo Yan said, “Then I’ll be in your care, Captain Lin. I’ll do my best not to cause any trouble for the team.”

Lin Yuanyao looked at her.

Those slender, delicate fingers… They stirred a vague sense of pity. But they also deepened the contempt in her heart.

Only someone whose hands had never been exposed to hardship could have such perfectly soft fingers.

A woman like this should stay in a gentle ivory tower, she thought, not overestimate herself and show up on the frontlines to make trouble for others.

This was exactly why she disliked people who got in through the back door.
They often had egos far larger than their abilities—others had to suffer the consequences of their misplaced confidence.

Still, at least Luo Yan’s attitude was decent.
She wasn’t trying to act tough or throw her weight around. That alone earned her a few points.

Lin Yuanyao’s expression softened slightly. “Xiao Wang, you’ll be responsible for Consultant Luo’s close protection.”

Xiao Wang blinked in surprise and pointed to himself. “Me?”

Lin Yuanyao turned and began walking toward the armored vehicle.
“You’re young and easy to talk to. It’ll be easier for Consultant Luo to relax around you. You’ve also got solid combat experience and a sharp mind. That makes you the most suitable for this job.”

Xiao Wang looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “Alright then.”

The transport team was ready to depart.

Luo Yan was the first to be invited into the armored vehicle. The others quickly boarded behind her.

The hum of hydraulic machinery echoed through the empty basement.

Three-meter-tall gates, gleaming with the cyan glow of high-strength alloy steel, slowly opened one after another.
With a series of heavy thunks, harsh white lights flicked on, fully illuminating the steel corridor beyond.

The convoy moved out slowly, yet with unstoppable momentum.

Inside the vehicle, Luo Yan watched as the alloy gates opened before her.
She felt the calm, steady breathing of the team around her.
The metallic clatter of weapons shifting with the carriage’s vibrations filled the cabin.

Having gradually adjusted to the city life of this world, she now felt an indescribable sense of dislocation—as if she’d stepped out of a comfortable surface world into a cruel and weighty underworld.

It was clear that the deeper her ties with this city became, the more of its darkest, most brutal layers she would come to know.

The mutated beasts, terrorist groups, and criminal factions Lu Xiao Na had mentioned so casually in conversation—there was no doubt she’d be facing them in due time.

“Is this your first time joining a transport mission, Consultant Luo?”
Xiao Wang’s voice cut through her thoughts. His question echoed the curiosity of others in the vehicle, and many eyes turned toward her.

Luo Yan nodded without hesitation. “That’s right.”

The moment she spoke, she could feel the quiet sighs of disappointment, the gazes that practically said, just as we thought—nepotism.

But Xiao Wang remained unfazed. “Well, I’ve been on quite a few missions. I’ll explain things as we go.”

Luo Yan smiled. “Then thank you in advance.”

According to information she’d read in the city’s school library, the urban area of Neo Aonan spanned about 220 square kilometers, with a current population of six million.

By the standards of her previous life, that was only a mid-sized city.
But here, it was already considered a large-scale independent city.

A city’s size and layout directly affected internal transport time.

Luo Yan estimated that it took over half an hour to travel from Neo Aonan Energy’s underground garage—located in the city center—to the outer isolation wall, known colloquially as Big Gray.

And that was via a dedicated transport route.

The sheer scale of this city was becoming increasingly clear.

“That’s the isolation wall.”

As the silver-gray wall grew larger in her view, Luo Yan’s gaze subtly shifted.

Though she’d lived here for a while now, this was her first time seeing the wall up close.

It had a gentle curvature, forged from high-strength steel.
Under the harsh floodlights, it gave off a chilling aura—no entry for outsiders.

Inside the wall were various defensive structures, some obvious, others hidden.

On its surface were Odegaard-tech-based heavy military weapons.
Several towers outfitted with pulse weapons and ion cannons formed a linked, no-dead-angle defense network unique to Neo Aonan.

Luo Yan, who had studied the wall’s early designs in the library, believed that anyone attempting to breach the city would be met with a full-scale barrage of firepower.

As with their transport route, Neo Aonan maintained a separate entrance and exit system for transport convoys.
It operated independently of the city’s main gate.

There were no queues of incoming visitors waiting for quarantine clearance, no unrelated vehicles—just armed soldiers standing guard.

After a strict check of the transport documentation, the convoy was allowed to proceed.

There was a brief period of total darkness as they passed through the corridor—

Then, with a low rumble, the vehicles emerged, and Luo Yan stepped once more into the strange, chaotic world beyond the giant wall.