Between life and death, there was great horror.

Between life and death, there was also an epiphany!

Su Mo had a near-death experience once, and after the basement returned to silence, his mind began to flood with thoughts like never before as he looked at the ceiling.

Before he had experienced last night’s life-threatening situation, Su Mo was still a believer who forged ahead to develop the basin and improve humanity’s chances for the situation they would have to face in the future. He relied on his physical body to charge forward one step at a time.

However, he came to a realization after seeing the true colors of the neighboring territories!

The reality was that no race was perfect, and none were successful in every aspect.

The dwarves’ ability to make tools was extremely outstanding, and it was not hard for them despite the difficulty of mining coal.

They wanted to rely on their skills to build ancient weapons and easily arm themselves with exploding troops to conquer territories and gain tremendous advantages. They laid a solid foundation in the early stages for their subsequent victories.

Their development curve was similar to small soldiers with a massive amount of people in a MOBA game.

They were considered small soldiers because even though they were equipped with weapons, it was hard for them to win in a one-on-one against a human because of their size.

The way for them to have an advantage was to overwhelm the enemy with their numbers and pressure the other party with their abundance of weapons.

Once their enemies were equipped with the same weapons, the dwarves would be basically sending their heads to them because of their petite bodies.

The Demon clan was good at disguise and spying on intelligence. They relied heavily on the other races to gain advantages roughly equivalent to being an auxiliary profession.

Correspondingly, they were significantly weaker in combat.

Despite the high-end combat power of the flame dragon, in the battle between races of the same level, they could only be suppressed and have their bodies stomped on!

Meanwhile, the cyborgs were skilled at combat, they only had to constantly replace their body parts when they were at lower levels, and their combat power would skyrocket rapidly. They were equivalent to tank professions which were overwhelmingly strong in the early stages but were weak in the later stages.

They were really good combatants when they fought against the large army of the Demon clan and attacked with great power.

However, in the face of the flame dragon, they could only retreat in despair and could not come up with any corresponding countermeasures.

This proved they were inferior to the Demon clan in terms of high-end combat power.

Additionally, Su Mo was also able to discover the weakness of the cyborgs when he mingled with the Chosen Ones.

The economy of the Light Empire was declining. Everyone was addicted to combat, and very few people were engaged in production.

Their minds were occupied with getting stronger. Thus, even the higher-level individuals had a minimal amount of money on hand. It was difficult to stimulate a healthy economic cycle and give it back to the collective community.

From the gathered information, it was clear that the development directions of the three races were different, and their advantages also varied.

Dwarves were good at development and wanted to crush the other races with their economy and technological advances.

The Demon clan were good at disguise and infiltration and planned to win with their natural advantages and high-end combat powers.

The cyborgs were good fighters and strived to defeat the others with brute force in the earlier stages to gain a developmental advantage.

Although their shortcomings were as apparent as their advantages and were as clear as day, without any exception, they were very aware of their strong suits and did not intend to change!

In other words, they had a clear direction and goal.

Whether it was a balanced development or extreme development, they had chosen to walk down the path to its end and took advantage of it to its limits!

This was what every race had been trying to achieve through winning the battles…

The limits of their power!

‘The human body is too fragile. Even if we try to remodel ourselves like the cyborgs to become stronger, it would still be challenging to improve our fighting skills and become invincible to enemies at the same level and below!

‘Similarly, even if I had everyone fuse a camouflage mark, it would be difficult for all of them to have the slyness and talents of the demon clan.

‘On the other hand, if I were to bring back the dwarves’ technology, the majority of the people in the basin would likely try to make their own tools to replace it when they need it!

‘In the past, I’ve been trying to perfect every aspect and not fall behind others, but that is precisely the reason that the basin was still stagnant and couldn’t see its the way forward.

‘What we need right now is not how to innovate or imitate other people’s strong points but instead what we should be doing is…

‘Technological revival!’

The majority of the foreign races in the New World relied on their inherited knowledge to compete for survival.

However, Su Mo, a human with a history that goes back thousands of years, had given up his advantages and tried to imitate the other races to compete in another race’s game.

Su Mo felt relieved after he came to a conclusion.

There was no doubt that the flame dragon was powerful.

According to the power of the previous shockwave and its massive size, if it went all out, its destructive power was absolutely no less than the small area of a missile!

Fortunately, its “early” appearance was not bad news.

Their trump card was scary because of its uncertainty and sudden explosiveness.

It no longer deserved to be called a trump card once its existence was known to all and could only be considered a high-level threat.

Judging by the actions taken by the flame dragon and the cyborgs that retreated hastily, Su Mo had come to a tentative conclusion about both parties’ combat powers.

‘Intercontinental ballistic missile level!’

The power was not low and was definitely within a range of significance.

‘The game confiscated my Hope One, so there’s a high chance that the flame dragon was not allowed outside of its territory to terrorize the outside world during the early stage. Otherwise, most territories without a trump card would not have a chance. This is not what the game wants to see!

‘Thus, this period of time during the long winter is actually a developmental time that the game deliberately planned for everyone, so that the different races can use their inherited knowledge of their own race to their maximized limits!

‘Once the real disputes begin, and the restrictions are gradually deactivated, those who have yet to understand the principle of the game will be defeated!

Two months of winter was neither a long nor short time.

At the very least, if the basin focused on reviving human technology and did not dabble in other fields, they could at least revive the Steam Age!

By then, they would have basic manufacturing abilities and technological force.

Every ordinary human would have a combat power of Level 4 and above, and would not suffer in territorial conflicts.

‘Looking at it this way, this adventure was not without gain.

‘These gains can be quickly converted into our strength as soon as I can return to the basin!’

When you expected fortune, misfortune would befall you. In contrast, when you expected misfortune, fortune would befall you.

In exchange for five cubic spaces’ worth of imported goods, hundreds of marks, and corresponding high-level templates, he had sustained severe injuries.

In addition to significant control of the future progress direction, Su Mo considered this incident a huge profit.

At the same time, after making plans to return to the basin at night, Su Mo formulated a strategy in his mind.

After eight o’clock, he switched his body and took out a liter of psychic water.

According to his previous experience, his wounds would heal approximately 70 to 80% if he drank this much psychic water.

However, Su Mo was not in a rush to finish it this time, and only took out 100 millimeters and poured it on some of the small wounds that limited his actions.

The absorption and healing abilities of the psychic water took effect in a few minutes. Although some of the larger wounds looked terrifying, they did not affect Su Mo’s basic movements.

Su Mo supported himself on the wall and gulped down another 50 millimeters to relieve the internal injuries he sustained. He placed the remainder of the psychic water in a hidden compartment under his pillow and stood up unsteadily.

“Boss, why don’t you rest a bit more?”

Seeing Su Mo staggering and that he might collapse at any moment, the mercenary who pushed open the basement door peered inside.

“No, I’m fine. Help me get Life One, Life Two, and Turner.”

Su Mo struggled to climb to the door and panted deeply. He sat down on the snow that had already completely deformed.

Even at eight o’clock in the morning, the snow falling from the sky had no intention of stopping.

Although it had slightly decreased compared to last night, looking at the magnitude, the snow was bound to last at least half a day.

“Goodness, brother! You’ve just been seriously injured. What are you doing here?”

“The outside is in extreme chaos. If anything happened to you, how am I going to explain it to our dead parents?!”

Turner saw Su Mo panting as he sat on the ground from afar, and he ran anxiously toward him, even dropping his hat in the process.

The Demon clan had basically no experience in being seriously injured.

Even the bravest and most skilled warriors had little experience of such severe injury.

Therefore, they also had no experience in treating the injured.

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When they carried Su Mo back the previous night, those huge and terrifying wounds would have scared them to death if not for the bandages the toolbearer had wrapped around the wounds.

During the day, those who were injured could only run around looking for medicine and treatments like an ordinary person.

Turner’s current expression was enough explanation for whether or not a cure was found.

“It’s okay. I know my body well.

“Quick, help me to the inner city. We don’t know when such a good chance will come again if we miss it this time!”

Su Mo pointed to the blue mark on his neck, and his eyes flickered, revealing a hint of eagerness.

The injuries could be healed with psychic water.

However, the battle had provided them with an excuse to become stronger for safety’s sake.

Assuming that the injuries sustained were not significant, the city guards would likely find an excuse to strengthen security, refuse them, and request that they do not venture outside. By doing so, they could control the Fire Exchange.

However,the cyborgs had just retreated and the shops were also burned down by the cyborgs.

These two reasons together would be enough reason to leave the city guards no excuse to refuse the urgent need for upgrading their marks and an increase in their strength.

This meant that as long as Su Mo could upgrade his mark to purple, he had the authority to use the… Level 5 Thorn Ent template!

Turner was also naturally aware of the importance of upgrading the mark.

“What if they reject our request on the grounds that they are not opening the mark upgrade for the time being because of the war that just ended?”

“No! They’ll definitely agree to it!”

Su Mo interrupted Turner’s words with certainty and simply closed his eyes to recover from the mental exhaustion.

Seeing him like this, Turner had no choice but to listen to him. He ordered Life One and Life Two to bring a cart and pull Su Mo to the Inner City.

It was different from the peaceful silence before.

Freedom City had crumbled after the war!

Not counting some of the shops burned down by the cyborgs, the destruction caused by the three breaths of the flame dragon destroyed half of the buildings in the outer city.

Tremendous debris could be seen throughout the road, and countless civilians were lying on the ground wailing.

Even with the city guards trying to maintain order, a few people were frantically digging in the ruins and rejoiced after digging up a good material.

The cart’s journey, which was headed by a Level 3 dwarf craftsman and two Level 2 combat profession mercenaries as guards, was not easy.

Especially after people noticed that the person lying on the cart was the infamous Harl.

Some ridiculed him and some even resorted to throwing stones.

Although no one really dared to come up to attack the vehicle, most of the Demon souls did not miss the chance to mock him when he was weak.

Fortunately, Shi Ren, who had paid them a quick visit the night before, appeared out of nowhere after the cart had traveled a short distance.

The surroundings went quiet after a Level 5 master had appeared to help Harl.

“Harl! You’ve sustained serious injuries! Don’t tell me last night your place was…”

Shi Ren dispersed the surrounding people who were watching the fun and approached the cart with a frown, evidently shocked as he observed the injuries on Su Mo’s body.

“Yes, our exchange was targeted by the invaders. Harl, he, to protect us…”

“D*mn! These cyborgs are really hateful!”

Turner did not miss a chance to gain pity. Although he was unsure of Shi Ren’s identity, he knew that he was a foreign minister in the city and was of very high status.

After Turner’s performance, Shi Ren parted his lips and had the urge to say something, but in the end, his words turned into a long sigh.

“Let’s go. You guys are heading to the inner city, right? How about I escort you guys there?”

After achieving his goal, Turner’s expression was overjoyed and they quickly pushed the cart forward.

The journey to their destination was much smoother this time.

It only took less than an hour to reach the city gate that they had visited the day before.

The place where the fierce battle had happened last night had no traces of the war.

It was uncertain whether it was because of the efficiency of the Demon clan or if they had unique cleaning measures.

Apart from the blood that penetrated into the bricks like stubborn stains and some body tissues stuck in the cracks, even the air around the area made it hard to believe that a battle had happened here.

“Those who do not have a purple mark are not allowed to enter the Inner City, and even if they do, a pass would have to be issued in order to enter.

“However, with my guarantee, you can carry Harl inside without a problem!”

The stone gate that was previously empty was already full of heavily armed city guards.

After Shi Ren had a brief conversation with the city guards, they were allowed to enter.

“Thank you and sorry for troubling you, Minister Shi Ren!”

Turner signaled Life One to place Su Mo down, and he turned around to swap his template to a Level 2 silverback lizard quickly.

Then, he carried Su Mo on his back, and after going through the scanning of the stone door, they entered the inner city without any trouble.

Unlike the outer city, all the facilities inside were exactly as they had seen them yesterday.

There was not even a crack on the ground, and no visible traces of war could be seen.

With the still busy major shops inside, it created a huge discrepancy between the outside and inside the city. It had an indescribable feeling of “incongruity.”

They were slightly familiar with the roads and quickly arrived with Su Mo at the place where everyone in the city had yearned to come…

The Mark Upgrade Center!

In the Demon clan, a mark was a symbol of status.

Su Mo, who was lying on the cart, would be able to use a Level 5 template if he had a purple mark and not a blue mark.

The path to the center was not filled with people who were bold enough to come and mock them.

With a bit of doubt, they quickly made it to the front of the line after a few minutes of queuing.

“We want to upgrade our marks! Yes, from blue to purple!”

After allowing the scanning equipment to read their data, Turner quickly made a request.

As expected, the staff inside did not accept their request immediately but quickly applied for a temporary leave and rushed to the back hall.

“Will we succeed?”

“Absolutely! Just trust me!”

Su Mo, lying on the lizard’s warm back, could feel Turner’s beating heart, and a gentle smile formed on his face as he comforted the latter.

There were bound to be disputes and exchanges of interest when people were involved.

Su Mo was not sure whether his pitiful act would succeed.

However, he believed that the city guards wanted a balance in the city and to fight back against the top ten exchanges.

Therefore, they would undoubtedly agree to their request!

After a moment, the sun had risen in the sky, and the staff responsible for handling their application rushed in from the back of the hall.

Seeing the smile on the staff’s face, Su Mo’s lips lifted into a smile, and he closed his eyes.

The upgrade process was not complicated. It only took a simple swipe of an instrument, and the marks of the two dwarves were successfully changed from blue to purple.

They had officially entered the “noble” class in Freedom City.

Su Mo ignored Turner’s excitement and closed his eyes again, drifting off into a deep sleep as he lay on the back of the silver-backed lizard.

He was finally able to sleep peacefully after achieving all the pressing things on his mind.

It was not until the sun had set in the west that he finally woke up.

Su Mo opened his eyes to see the familiar basement ceiling and quickly turned around. “What time is it?”

No one was familiar with taking care of the injured, so Hao Qiang was still responsible for staying beside Su Mo.

Hao Qiang recollected himself after hearing the question. “Shelter leader! It’s ten past four!”

“Is the passage out of the city open?”

“Yes, they opened at twelve o’clock. There are no longer any restrictions on entering and exiting the city!”