This city was the gateway to Cangnan Prefecture. Several heavy armored vehicles were parked in front of the city gate, setting up a strict checkpoint. A team of fully armed soldiers was checking the passersby one by one. Most of the refugees were blocked outside.
Luo Kai turned around and said to the Brown Bear, "Don't run around after entering the city. Don't scream."
The Brown Bear replied in a low voice. It was the first time it had seen so many humans, so it was a little scared and followed closely behind. Thirteen also looked around and followed the Brown Bear closely to Luo Kai.
Although Thirteen had lost his mind, the golden light on his body had disappeared. The other four arms under his armpits were also curled back into his body, so he didn't attract much attention.
The pedestrians hurriedly moved aside when they saw them. The Brown Bear had a ferocious face. It was still okay when it was crawling, but when it stood up, it was like a terrifying city wall.
When they reached the city gate, the soldiers saw them and hurriedly raised their guns to defend themselves. The Brown Bear was looking around curiously. When it sensed the hostility, it immediately snorted to show its anger.
The leading officer looked at the Brown Bear behind Luo Kai in awe. There were many people in Higashimogami Province who raised beasts. Most of them were the children of tycoons or top nobles. Although this young man was dressed in rags, he was definitely not an ordinary person. He asked carefully, "Is that … your beast?"
Luo Kai nodded, "Yes."
The officer hesitated and said, "That … our mayor ordered that everyone who enters the city has to pay an entrance tax."
Luo Kai was a little surprised, "What entrance tax?"
The officer hurriedly explained, "If you want to enter the An Province to seek refuge, you naturally have to pay an entrance tax. Otherwise, the city won't be able to accommodate you." His voice was very loud, and he wanted to let the people behind him hear.
Luo Kai finally understood why there were so many refugees outside. He didn't say anything and took out a gold coin from his backpack and threw it over. The money he had on him was taken from the corpses of the people in the valley.
After entering the city, the streets were lined with shops, and people and carriages were moving to and fro. It was bustling with noise and noise, and it was extraordinarily bustling. Everyone was dressed in fresh clothes, and their clothes were neat and tidy. It was a stark contrast to the refugees outside the city.
After taking a stroll around the city, there weren't many refugees. It was likely that the sky-high entrance tax had kept the refugees out of the city. However, there were quite a few powerful body cultivators. Most of them carried firearms and weapons, and they rode large horses covered in black scales.
After sensing that there was no danger, Brown Bear stood up in excitement. His nose twitched, and he kowtowed toward some restaurants.
Luo Kai understood what it meant. It had smelled the aroma of food. Even Thirteen couldn't help but look around. They found a rather large hotel and walked in. The waiter came up and looked at the bear behind him in awe. He asked, "Sir, would you like to eat or stay?"
"Accommodation," Luo Kai was afraid that Brown Bear would cause trouble, and then said, "Do you have a bigger room?"
The attendant understood his worries and said with a smile, "I have a stand-alone house here for the beasts to rest."
"Okay, then give me one."
The attendant led Luo Kai to the backyard. There were actually many stand-alone courtyards. He chose a small courtyard in the corner. Just as he opened the door, a dark-skinned man walked out from the neighboring courtyard. He glanced at Brown Bear with a slightly surprised expression.
Luo Kai hadn't returned to human society for a long time. Compared to the days of living in the wilderness, this place was simply heaven. He took a bath first, and then cleaned Brown Bear and Thirteen under their protests.
He asked the waiter to send food and ate in the room. This restaurant also had processed Vicious Beast meat. It tasted much better than the Vicious Beast meat Luo Kai cooked by himself, but it was very expensive. The most common Vicious Beast meat cost hundreds of thousands of star dollars per kilogram. Moreover, these Vicious Beast meat had been extracted with gene medicine, so the energy it contained was far from comparable to the energy in the wilderness.
Luo Kai had a huge appetite, and Brown Bear and Thirteen were bottomless pits. It seemed that it was impossible to feed them in human society. He had to return to the wilderness. Fortunately, he didn't plan to stay for long. He would go to the Tuoba family as soon as possible and then set off to the Blue Sky Plateau.
Brown Bear and Thirteen seemed to be eating human food for the first time. Although the energy contained couldn't be compared to the Vicious Beast meat, the taste was much better. They didn't complain about being hungry.
At night, Brown Bear was so excited that he wanted to make a fuss. After being slapped by Luo Kai, he obediently crawled to Thirteen and whimpered in a low voice. He was like a child who had been wronged and was looking for someone to complain to. Thirteen also mimicked Brown Bear and whimpered.
It wasn't that Thirteen didn't have consciousness, but that he was like a baby. During this period of time, Brown Bear had become a learning target. The man and beast couldn't speak, but they had become good friends. They were even closer than Luo Kai.
Luo Kai looked at the man and beast and sighed helplessly. He was thinking about what to do. He knew that even if he didn't do anything, trouble would follow him closely. It would be difficult to take care of them. It was best to find a safe place for them, but where could there be a safe place in today's world?
Just as he was thinking hard, his expression changed and he looked outside. After a while, an orderly knocking sound came from outside the courtyard. He got up and walked to the door and asked, "Who is it?"
"I live next door. I saw that a friend had just moved in today, so I came to get to know him." An enthusiastic voice came from outside.
Luo Kai frowned and hesitated for a moment before opening the courtyard door. A big man wearing black chain armor was standing outside the door. When he saw the door open, he cupped his hands and smiled, "Sorry to disturb you."
This person looked very kind, so Luo Kai asked, "What's the matter?"
The big man smiled and said, "I'm Yuan Kang. I saw that little brother had just moved in today. When you're outside, making more friends means you have more options."
As he spoke, he looked into the courtyard. When he saw Brown Bear, his eyes immediately lit up and asked, "Little brother, has your beast reached the peak of its growth stage?"
Luo Kai was a little impatient and said indifferently, "Yes."
"Oh, since you're living next door, it can be considered fate. Let's get together when we're free. I won't disturb you today. See you later!" Yuan Kang cupped his hands and turned to leave.
Luo Kai closed the courtyard door. At his current level, he could already sense the subtle psychological fluctuations of low-level life forms. Once they had bad thoughts, he would immediately catch them. This person called Yuan Kang had bad intentions. He was trying to find out his identity.
Looking at the gloomy moonlight above his head, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. He closed his eyes and his consciousness spread out infinitely along with the darkness. Even the slightest movement would be reflected in his mind. Almost half of the city was shrouded under his perception.
His expression became more and more gloomy. He didn't pay much attention during the day, but now he realized that this city was filled with a dark aura. The dark energy was so dense that it almost repelled the moonlight.
The sleeping people in the city were constantly being invaded by the dark energy. When it reached a certain point, their consciousness would be devoured by the dark energy and they would become a kind of dark creature. Not only in the city, the refugees outside the city were also silently invaded by the dark energy.
The entire city's population was estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. To be able to make such a big move, it was definitely not an ordinary power. There was a high probability that it was the work of a cult. They really treated all living beings as livestock, doing whatever they wanted!
A boiling killing intent rose up. The Severing Blade that was hidden in his consciousness woke up. It felt his killing intent and began to stir.
Luo Kai took a deep breath, trying his best to suppress the killing intent in his heart, and returned to his room.