Sunlight poured down, illuminating the iron wall.

Qin Che, draped in a black cloak, stood at the foot of the giant wall, gazing at the massive steel gate a few dozen steps away.

"Commander, it's our turn."

A woman walked up beside me. She looked to be in her early twenties and was covered in dust. Perhaps because she didn't care much about her appearance, her skin was dry, cracked, and sallow. However, her eyes were bright and expressive, and she was actually quite pretty.

She reached out and hugged Qin Che's arm, smiling slightly, looking very affectionate.

Qin Che nodded: "Is the team all ready?"

There are no mistakes.

"Um."

Qin Che looked up at the wall again. The woman standing next to him was the sixth sheep, whom he would call Chunniang for now.

They are now merchants, traveling in a caravan along the high-speed transport routes of the Old World. The caravan carries many specialties from various desert regions, including wine, fine tobacco, pottery, and even some small electrical appliances.

The documents were complete, and the business travel team was well-organized, but it still took some money and time to apply for entry into Wall Number One.

West Fortress was just a stepping stone. It would be too difficult to remotely control the situation there with the help of some informants. It would be impossible to deal with Yuan Lin, the big boss who regarded West Fortress as a puppet. Therefore, Qin Che decided to follow Meng Jingyuan's trail all the way to the gate of No. 1 Wall.

He deliberately spared Wang Fang's life to lure in a bigger fish.

The two men led the group, driving at the front to guide the caravan behind.

Chunniang asked softly, "Commander, have you contacted the person inside the wall?"

Qin Che glanced at her.

Chunniang said, "It's not that I want to ask too much. Even though we both come from the intelligence department, we're not from the same system. Over the years, the minister has only managed to successfully plant one person in the No. 1 wall, who can get close to Yuan Lin, but that's all. If we can get information about this person, we can better cooperate with your actions."

Qin Che said, "I don't need your cooperation. You only have one purpose in entering the wall this time: to find out the identity information and whereabouts of the Awakening Department and its Minister Li Xin. I will personally contact Yuan Lin."

"Understood." Chunniang nodded.

"How long can we stay inside the wall?" Qin Che asked her.

Chunniang pondered, "Normally, traveling merchants can stay at Wall No. 1 for three months. If they want to open a shop and do business inside the wall, they need to bribe officials at all levels. The regulations cost money, and the bribes will cost at least three times that amount. In addition, they have to pay a lot of commercial value-added tax every year."

"Wall No. 1 imposes extremely heavy taxes on outsiders, and they also face various inspections every quarter... So I don't recommend that we stay inside the wall for long. It's best to leave within a month, otherwise all sorts of troubles will come knocking on our door."

Qin Che said, "Yes, you're right. There's really no need to stay any longer."

In the simulator, he infiltrated Lingbi City with 300 people but found no information about the Awakening Department.

Later, it was Li Xin who took the initiative to contact him and get him to become an advisor.

Therefore, Qin Che didn't really think he could find Li Xin's whereabouts with only these few dozen people.

"If we fail to restrain Yuan Lin, we are not without options... Directly eliminating him by force is also an option, but once Yuan Lin is dead, not to mention how the First Wall will react, the vested interest groups will definitely launch a counterattack, and may even sweep through the entire West Fortress."

Chunniang nodded in agreement: "Yuan Lin is the most suitable candidate recommended in recent years. Among the grain and crocodile groups in Xibao, only he can balance the major factions and the subordinate government agencies. Therefore, if Yuan Lin dies, Xibao will be in chaos."

The convoy passed through the iron gate.

Qin Che was startled; they were actually driving on an extremely high viaduct.

The city is actually located below.

The abyss-like atmosphere and the dense urban buildings create a sense of pressure. Besides the road in front of the gate, there are countless overpasses that cross the open space, winding and rugged, extending to every corner of the city. Looking ahead, there are no walls in sight.

Wall No. 1 is not a city that is surrounded. The purpose of the wall is to isolate a region, which extends to the edge of the desert and symbolizes the land of Lingbi City.

Qin Che then saw large areas of green space and parks in the city landscape, as well as some old-world architectural relics. Due to renovations, reinforcements, replacements, and graffiti over the years, they had been completely transformed, but the architectural style remained unchanged.

This should be a large city in old Nanjing, which has been utilized by modern humans.

There is little sand and desert, but lush, fertile soil, making it a prosperous place.

Before descending the overpass, Qin Che and Chun Niang remained silent, both admiring the prosperous scenery within Wall One.

"Commander, this is the heart of the desert. I heard it was built on the site of an old world city with a population of four million. It has complete public facilities and industrial production chains, and vast arable land. Look, there's such a big park."

Qin Che teased, "So that giant wall that's hanging outside is there to block the wind and sand, right?"

Chunniang did not answer, but remained silent for a moment before saying, "However, Lingbi City's racial policies have isolated many citizens and wanderers. Foreign ethnic groups have to go through various reviews and screenings to settle here, so the people can only survive by sticking together."

"You know Lingbi City very well?"

Chunniang smiled and said, "I grew up in Lingbi City since I was a child."

Qin Che said, "I know that, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you to be my tour guide. Why don't you tell me about the race policy you just mentioned?"

Chunniang looked out the window, lost in memories, and said, "Commander, you don't know this, but the Lingbi race has existed for two centuries. Long ago, they called themselves 'Sages' and built cities and established political power on this devastated wasteland."

"They have tried many different institutional structures to govern this place. For a time, they ruled this desert as a kingdom. After going through many wars and ethnic integration, they gradually evolved into the current 'two-party system'."

"From the very beginning, this system was founded by the Lingbi Sages. However, in the process of evolution, the Eastern Party was gradually taken over by some crocodile leaders, officials, and clan chiefs from the desert region, resulting in a diverse and complex composition."

“Let me take the three largest factions of the Eastern Political Crocodile as an example. One of them is the ‘Forest Group’ which controls the grain, salt lakes, farmland and able-bodied men in the desert region. People like Yuan Lin, Qin Guan and Duan Wujiu are all grain tycoons in the desert and belong to the Forest Group faction.”

"The second is Lingbi Heavy Industry, which controls various industries such as manufacturing, construction, weaponry, and pharmaceuticals. People like Chu Qin, Lu Qingzhou, and Zhao Lisu all come from this lineage."

"The third is the 'Land of Sages,' which specializes in Old World ruins, science, education, and psychic academies to cultivate adventurers, scholars, and officials, as well as those engaged in industries such as travel groups, academic research, ruin excavation, and historical research. Their largest industry consists of academies and research labs established in various locations."

"People in Lingbi call them 'Dongdang financial magnates'."