The apocalypse struck, and I became a druid.

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"It is very intelligent. Recently, it has been coming to play here often and has learned cooking skills from Brother Xu and the others."

"Hey, you know what, this bee doesn't like anything else, but it really likes learning to cook. Isn't that strange?"

Everyone watched the treasure-hunting bees busily cooking and chatted enthusiastically.

The middle-aged man paused, then exclaimed in surprise:

"Hey, isn't this Boss Han? He's really elusive, always living in this cave. I haven't seen him for two or three days."

Old Xu looked in the direction the middle-aged man was pointing.

But then they saw Han Ning holding a blueprint, standing beside a reservoir, looking at something up and down.

In his hand was the blueprint for the Moonlight Well, which he had drawn himself.

"Uncle Han, come and try Xiao Ba's cooking! Xiao Ba's cooking is delicious!"

Xu Yinyin, who was wearing an old dress, lit up when she saw Han Ning arrive and quickly waved to him.

Not far away, in a relatively quiet corner, there were small wooden dining tables, each with several plates of fragrant dishes on them.

Yu Na was setting out the bowls and chopsticks.

"That little guy, Xiao Ba..." Han Ning turned his head, looked at the very happy treasure-hunting bee, and shook his head helplessly.

Just as the onlookers said, the fighting companion he summoned from the mountains actually liked to cook.

This was something he had never expected.

It is called Xiao Ba because the pattern on its back forms a simple "eight" shape.

Chapter 181 Discovery

As an extraordinary insect, Xiao Ba's strange and unusual behavior creates a strong sense of contrast.

"I'll do it myself, you guys eat yours."

Han Ning took the water glass handed to him by Xu Yinyin, took a sip of ice water, picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of fried oyster mushroom, and put it in his mouth.

Crispy and delicious, it makes you want to eat more after just one bite, and the perfect seasoning makes it acceptable even for someone who doesn't like mushrooms.

"It's delicious."

"I personally taught Xiao Ba all her cooking skills."

Yu Na's face remained expressionless, but upon hearing Han Ning's praise, a hint of happiness flashed deep in her eyes.

"I just saw Xiaoyu talking to Zhao Kai. I guess they'll come over to talk to you about something in a bit."

"Xiaoyu?"

Han Ning put down the cup, his expression shifting slightly.

Xiaoyu must have detected some new information.

He has now restructured the organization, and there is generally no important news from the gathering places that needs to be sent to him.

Only important intelligence needs to be passed directly to him.

This will save a lot of effort.

Just as Yu Na expected.

really.

Han Ning hadn't even eaten a few bites of rice.

On the way to the central activity center, Vice President Zhao's hurried figure suddenly appeared.

"Xiaoyu just gave a brief presentation of the intelligence we gathered this morning, and I feel something is amiss."

At Han Ning's prompting, Vice President Zhao sat down at one side of the table and said in a low voice.

"What intelligence?" Han Ning personally served him a bowl of rice and poured him a glass of water.

Vice President Zhao got straight to the point:

“These past few days I’ve had Xiaoyu expand the exploration area and discovered that two unfamiliar groups of Awakened have appeared a few kilometers southwest of our settlement area.”

"According to Xiaoyu's information, they are approaching our gathering area and will probably find us soon."

"How strong are those Awakened Ones? How many are there exactly?" Han Ning asked.

"I'm not sure about their strength, but there are twelve of them, and they all move very fast."

"Their direction was very clear; it seemed to be southwest."

“Twelve people is no small number. Our settlement currently only has more than thirty awakened individuals, and those who go out to explore alone account for more than a third of our total.”

Vice President Zhao frowned: "I suspect that the people in the Rock Gathering Area have noticed something and have started a large-scale search for their missing companions."

Han Ning was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "The other side is in the open, while we are in the dark. We can't let them move around freely and discover our gathering area."

“But time is running out,” Vice President Zhao said in a low voice. “They’re moving very fast, and we need to take action as soon as possible, so I came to ask for your opinion.”

"What are your thoughts?" Han Ning asked in return.

“I think we can form a guerrilla squad specifically to target Awakened individuals who enter the settlement area.”

"Of course, to prevent accidental injury to passing Awakened, we can set up a few outposts on the perimeter to warn them beforehand."

"If the other party is very hostile, then there is no need to say more, just take them down directly."

"If the other party is not hostile, then we can proceed with the next step of the negotiations."

"Therefore, the Awakened ones who serve as sentries need to be relatively stronger,"

Vice President Zhao thought for a moment and then said.

"Okay, let's try it first. If you encounter any crisis, let me know immediately," Han Ning agreed.

Over the next two days, the atmosphere in the gathering area became unusually tense.

Vice President Zhao arranged for several powerful Awakened Ones to begin intensive training in preparation for the upcoming battle.

Xiaoyu monitors the movements around the settlement area day and night, providing the latest intelligence to the inside.

Meanwhile, the others in the gathering area were not idle either.

Meanwhile, in the study group, Chairman Wu, Lin Qianqian, and others worked day and night to produce a large number of black snakeskin armors, which were to be distributed to other combat personnel in the gathering area.

Until the third day.

"Something's happened!" A member of the combat team rushed into the human settlement, his face grave.

His thunderous voice, like a landmine exploding, attracted the attention of many people.

"What's wrong?" The group of people who were working all gathered around.

"Where is Vice President Zhao? We just received news that the Southwest Outpost is under attack by other Awakened Ones, and the situation is extremely critical."

The man revealed the information.

"How many of them are there?" Vice President Zhao, who arrived quickly, asked seriously.

“There were about a dozen people. I didn’t look closely. The conflict had just started when they called me back,” the man replied.

Upon hearing this, Vice President Zhao didn't hesitate and said to his companions, "All members, get your gear on and let's set off immediately!"

“I’ll go take a look too.” At this moment, Han Ning walked over from the direction of the planting area.

"With the boss backing us up, we have plenty of confidence." Vice President Zhao's spirits lifted.

……

A dozen or so figures moved swiftly through the mountains and forests.

Considering that the other party had ill intentions, even Lin Qianqian, who hadn't left the house in a long time, and Yu Na, who usually slacked off, came out together this time.

Xiaoyu skillfully led the way, stopping every now and then to listen carefully to the surrounding sounds and make sure there were no enemies lying in ambush.

The group had just arrived near the sentry post.

Immediately, a strong smell of blood filled the air.

Vice President Zhao's expression changed, and he signaled the team to quicken their pace and approach the battlefield silently.

When they finally arrived at the scene, the sight before them made everyone frown.

The sentry post had been destroyed, the cover used to hide at the entrance had been ruthlessly smashed, and wood scraps were everywhere.

"Awooo!!" The monsters' roars echoed one after another.

The ground was littered with the corpses of many monsters, interspersed with a few human corpses.

Han Ning glanced around but didn't see any of their people lying on the ground.

In the wind and rain not far away, four men dressed in black leather armor were being driven back by more than a dozen men.

These people were distinctly different from any Awakened they had seen before.

Each person wore light metal armor, carried a composite bow on their back, and held a sharp, simple knife.

Their muscles bulged and bulged, and when they swung their weapons, they would create a strong gust of wind on the ground.

Beside them, or beneath them, lay a gigantic demon-eyed frog.

Some of the awakened ones, like cats playing with mice, deliberately slowed down, occasionally stabbing at the fleeing awakened ones in the Azure Cloud Gathering Area with their weapons, as if they were toying with them.

The Awakened in the Azure Cloud Gathering Area are still fighting tenaciously against the enemy, but the defense line is collapsing at an alarming rate.

"14 people." Seeing that his own people wouldn't be defeated immediately, Vice President Zhao's expression softened slightly.

After all, he selected only experts who possessed the strength to fight multiple opponents.

Chapter 182 Not a Single One Can Escape

Han Ning scanned the battlefield and quickly locked his gaze on Ah Long.

Ah Long is fighting a burly man wearing knuckle dusters, who is accompanied by three other Awakened Ones wielding other weapons.

He manipulated the water flow with great skill, clearly having plenty of energy left to spare.

On the contrary, the burly man opposite him was covered in wounds, and his clothes were stained with blood.