Perhaps seeing that he didn’t resist, the girl’s expression softened a bit. She tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said, "Take off your mask and I’ll tell you."

Chu Xiu didn’t refuse either. During the previous Ancient Trials, he had always kept his face covered, not wanting his true identity to be discovered. Since this trial was a revisit of the past, there was nothing to hide.

He took off the mask, revealing a young, clean face.

The girl was slightly stunned, seemingly not expecting that under the guise of this strange guy was a young boy, who didn’t look much older than herself.

"You... you’re an Awakened too, right?" she asked hesitantly.

Chu Xiu nodded: "Without being an Awakened, no one could survive in the wild alone."

Hearing this, the girl thought, then it’s no wonder. Awakened ones come in all forms, like the Saintess, whose appearance hasn’t changed for twenty years since her birth, still as pure and beautiful, with silver hair flowing like moonlight in the folds of her holy robe. Even the dawn tread softly upon her lashes—

The girl shook her head, stopping her reverie. Actually, she had only seen the Saintess three times, but each time left an indelible memory in her heart.

Clearing her throat, the girl proudly said, "Our Saintess is a King Tier Awakened!"

"King Tier...," Chu Xiu nodded thoughtfully, knowing well that this so-called "Domain" was likely just an excuse to collect Cause and Effect Points from others.

The domain ghosts in the Hundred Ghosts Melting Furnace could barely have some power of a Domain with the convergence of time, place, and people, but for an ordinary Awakened to open a Domain at the King Tier was undeniably a fool’s dream.

In the time that followed, Chu Xiu and the girl completed a series of inspection procedures. He wasn’t given any trouble; after verifying his identity and confirming his human race with a strange device, they let him in.

It seemed that the front-line radar station had detected the marching movements of the Blood Demon Army, urgently needing manpower to defend the base, so the inspection conditions were relaxed.

However, Chu Xiu didn’t receive permission to enter the deeper parts of the base city, which seemed to be the residential area for civilians. Moreover, if he wanted food, he needed to perform labor in exchange.

Chu Xiu didn’t mind. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, he took in the entire topography within a ten-kilometer radius.

He saw thick smoke rising from the chemical factory at the center of the base, continuously producing high explosives. He saw the mines built against the mountains being excavated day and night, delivering various raw materials by truck to the industrial zone. He saw Awakened ones lightly reciting incantations, causing crops at their feet to grow rapidly.

He also saw at the deepest part of the base, a passageway leading directly underground, where a properly constructed large shelter existed. The public had moved in ahead of time, but survival materials still depended on the Outer World and self-sufficiency was not yet achievable.

Under the scan of his Divine Sense, Chu Xiu could see many Awakened ones continuing to dig downwards, expanding spaces, while numerous scientists conducted experiments on growing crops underground.

In a matter of seconds, the entire situation within the base appeared in Chu Xiu’s mind like a 3D scan, and he quickly formed a rough judgment:

"The military strength here is roughly equivalent to that of World War II, but the scientific theories are far more advanced, and all kinds of knowledge are incredibly forward-thinking, hardly lagging behind my previous life."

"However, probably restricted by resources and development time, industrial production capability is much too lacking."

The range that this base can control isn’t too large, and it continues to shrink with the expansion of the Blood Demons, making many rare metals unattainable, which prevents many technological pathways from being unlocked.

Currently, the base manager’s strategy seems simple, which is to produce weapons with full force, prioritizing ruggedness, durability, and mass output.

Chu Xiu glanced at the arsenal, noticing that the accumulated various artillery ammunition was considerable. There was even a lot of heavy artillery without any cutting-edge technology, relying purely on brute force, full of Russian style.

The base was completely fixed, with an enormous caliber exceeding one meter, enough to smash most large Blood Demons of the General Tier.

Just that the accuracy was somewhat difficult to ensure.

"These weapons should have no problem holding off some ordinary Blood Demon waves, but unfortunately, this is a King Tier trial at Apocalypse Difficulty...."

Chu Xiu seriously doubted he would actually encounter a genuine Blood Demon, a terrifying existence with its Tier reaching Heroic Spirit, its power unweakened, and perhaps even given an additional +200% Abyssal Power boost.

In the face of an attack of that scale, these forces were far from sufficient.

Chu Xiu had no intention of relying on people here to pass the trial, but they must at least have some self-preservation ability, otherwise, he couldn’t possibly protect so many people at once.

Just when Chu Xiu felt somewhat disappointed, his gaze suddenly shifted, focusing his Divine Sense on a specific location.

There, on the outskirts of the base, was an Awakened with a tattoo-covered hand deeply inserted into the soil. As low and ancient words rolled in his throat, the entire earth began to tremble. Before long, underground rocks, mixed with soil, tore through the grass and emerged, layers of rock interlocked with earth, quickly forming a thirty-meter-long, five-meter-wide circular stone wall.

Another Awakened then leaped onto the stone wall. It was an exceptionally beautiful girl. From the suspended toolbox behind her, several hydraulic pincers extended, operating rapidly. The stands of heavy machine guns clicked into stone slots, the clattering of interlocking gears mingling with the blue glow of welding. Circuits linked closely, producing a crisp metal collision sound and a faint buzzing of current.