To him, birthdays meant nothing.
Alone as he was, he saw them as a waste of time — a hot bath was far more comfortable.
Seeing his reaction, Xiao Yun didn’t press further.
Perhaps she thought Zhou Ming was an orphan who didn’t like to mention such things.
Instead, she began talking about herself.
She spoke of the changes in the Xiao Family caused by Xiao Lei, the troubles she faced, and as someone who preferred a peaceful life, a faint weariness showed on her face.
As her friend — and as a younger brother — Zhou Ming could only play the role of a good listener.
Some things could only be overcome by Xiao Yun herself.
After Xiao Yun’s birthday ended, Zhou Ming returned to his secluded lifestyle once again.
But he knew this calm wouldn’t last.
As winter came to an end, the Northern Wasteland Expedition would officially begin.
“Ding.”
“The tram has reached the northern city gate. Passengers disembarking, please prepare to exit.”
The familiar voice of the tram announcement echoed.
“Time really flies. It’s already been over a year.”
He couldn’t help but think back to when he had left the Qinshan Base, wearing only a simple windbreaker, searching for resources for his Beast Tamer path.
Zhou Ming couldn’t help but sigh at how reckless he had been.
Yet without that recklessness, he wouldn’t have grown so fast.
Otherwise, he might still be a Rat Exterminator in the sewers beneath Qinshan.
As he reminisced, the tram filled with passengers all began disembarking here — all were hunters leaving Qinshan Base.
Zhou Ming guessed that, without a doubt, their destination was the newly discovered base in the Northern Wasteland.
People die for wealth, birds for food.
No one was foolish.
Everyone could see how dangerous this expedition was — yet for their goals, none could resist the temptation.
Zhou Ming was no exception.
When the tram finally emptied, Zhou Ming shouldered his backpack, filled with supplies he had prepared in advance, and stepped out.
Compared to last time, the northern gate was even livelier.
Nearly all hunters from Qinshan Base had gathered here.
Among the crowd, salesmen from various arms companies bustled about.
It seemed even the arms industry refused to miss the profits that the Northern Wasteland Ruin promised to bring.
Since Zhou Ming had already purchased Firearms last time and stored them at the city defense army’s depot, he didn’t buy new ones this time.
He merely bought additional ammunition for the Thunder Type-2 Revolver and Blood Hunter Type-1 Handgun from a few salesmen, along with some Smoke Grenades and High-Explosive Hand Grenades.
After completing his final preparations, Zhou Ming stood by the gate, waiting patiently.
Half an hour later, a loud shout rang out.
“Open the gates!”
The once-bustling entrance instantly fell silent — then erupted into even greater noise.
Amidst the excitement, Zhou Ming moved forward with the line, slowly stepping out of the base.