165: Chapter 165 Visiting Sakurajima with a Sword

"Shen Wanxing, keep looting."

Chen Chen stood by the edge of the rock platform and tilted his chin.

On the ground, the twelve Tier 4 vanguard corpses hadn't fully cooled yet, and the scent of blood source was still wafting out.

The cheers from the city ramparts had reached the Floating City, and even the survivors in the outer circle who had only been recruited a few days ago were shouting until their throats were hoarse.

Shen Wanxing clutched her shawl, her little face scrunched up.

"Still looting… my hands are numb."

Su Xiaoqi squatted nearby, chewing on half a piece of roasted meat, and mumbled in reply.

"You'll get used to it if you loot more, Sister Wanxing."

"That's easy for you to say."

Shen Wanxing glared at her, but still obediently squatted down and pressed her hand onto the first corpse.

Hum.

A pile of Tier 4 blood source crystals rolled out directly, clattering all over the ground.

Su Xiaoqi's eyes lit up immediately, and she even forgot to chew the meat in her mouth.

"Wow, there seems to be a lot this time!"

The second one, five times critical hit.

The third one, ten times critical hit.

By the time Shen Wanxing reached the sixth, she couldn't squat anymore and simply sat on the ground, covering her legs with her shawl, touching them one by one with her fingertips.

Her eyes were a bit red—not from fear, but from grievance.

"Chen Chen, do I have to finish looting them all tonight?"

"Finish them."

"...Oh."

Chen Chen turned to look at Shen Wanbing.

"Have you calculated it yet?"

Shen Wanbing pushed the holographic panel forward; her black curly hair was a bit messy, but there was no sign of carelessness on her face.

"We have enough materials for half."

"Explain clearly."

"For the SSS-grade cross-regional teleportation array, we need one hundred and twenty Tier 4 blood source crystals, thirty space stabilization fragments, five hundred advanced vehicle cores, and fifty tons of dark silver magnetic storm alloy."

She paused and tapped the panel twice. "From these corpses just now, the crystals and blood source essence can be reverse-refined into space stabilization materials. Combined with our inventory, it's enough."

Chen Chen nodded.

"Then we start work tonight."

Shen Wanbing looked up at him.

"Are you really going to the map next door right now?"

"The gate is already built; if we don't go over to take a look, are we saving it for the New Year?"

Iron Wall, standing nearby, felt his throat tighten.

"Boss, the situation over there is unclear. What if—"

Chen Chen glanced at him.

Iron Wall shut his mouth immediately.

Jiang Jiuyou walked over from the city wall; her silver-white low ponytail was a bit messy from the wind, and her military boots stepped steadily on the gravel.

"I just received a report from the perimeter. Three groups of people in the city tried to seize permissions while you were away."

"Did you handle it?"

"Handled."

Jiang Jiuyou said calmly, "The two who tried to rush the control console are already hanging outside the South Gate. The rest have all behaved themselves."

Chen Chen scanned her.

"How much longer can the city defense hold?"

"Before you return, if a single deck plate is missing, I'll consider myself the loser."

She said this firmly, but Jiang Jiuyou lifted her chin first, as if waiting for him to pick faults.

Yi Chang stood to the side, holding a data pad, and added expressionlessly.

"I will watch the teleportation array construction site. City construction belongs to me, military affairs belong to her. No one is to overreach."

Jiang Jiuyou turned to look at her.

"You certainly distinguish things well."

"Clearer than you."

Yi Chang raised her eyes. "You are responsible for killing; I am responsible for building the gate. Don't delay the work."

The two stared at each other for two seconds; sparks flew in the air, and neither backed down.

Chen Chen raised his hand and tapped the metal railing.

"Alright. Jiang Jiuyou, leave half of the city defense permissions to Yi Chang. Yi Chang, for the teleportation array, your people will be under her command."

Jiang Jiuyou raised an eyebrow.

"You're letting her touch the dark department's defense line?"

"Whoever of you delays the progress, explain it yourselves tonight."

With that said, Jiang Jiuyou didn't retort, and Yi Chang didn't add anything else.

Qin Hongye, standing on the fifth-level dome, glanced over from afar, still holding her gauss rifle.

"I don't care who is in charge of whom; if something actually comes over, I'm shooting first."

Blood Rose leaned against the car door, twirling a strand of wine-red hair with her fingertips, smiling a bit wickedly.

"Stop arguing. When Chen Chen brings back new goods, whoever gets to use them first is the one in charge."

Shen Wanbing pushed up her glasses and ignored her, directly broadcasting the material list to the entire channel.

"The Industrial Zone is opening three lines now. Copper Hammer is responsible for the blood source armor, the Rune Blacksmith is responsible for the vehicle runes, and Eve will make temporary Spirit resistance potions. No one is allowed to sleep tonight."

Copper Hammer had just raised his wrench and almost cursed out loud.

"Again?"

Yi Chang slapped the list into his arms.

"The Lord needs it tomorrow morning."

Copper Hammer immediately swallowed his words.

"...Let's get to work."

Su Xiaoqi held up a meat bone and leaned over to Chen Chen.

"What about me?"

"You go guard the warehouse."

"Huh?"

"If anyone steals food, break their legs first, then come back to eat."

Su Xiaoqi stood up straight immediately.

"Received!"

A low chuckle rippled through the crowd, and the earlier tension dissipated a bit.

Past ten o'clock at night, the main body of the teleportation array began to close.

Fifty tons of dark silver magnetic storm alloy were being hammered by Copper Hammer's side, sending sparks flying. Shen Wanbing was responsible for calibrating the spatial anchor points, and Yi Chang, in high heels, ran back and forth between the three work zones, her data pad barely stopping.

She issued commands while watching the values.

"Increase the energy flow in the North Ring by another 20%."

"Push the western buffer zone ten meters outward."

"Don't cut corners on the rune engraving; the Lord needs to open the gate tomorrow morning."

The Rune Blacksmith was covered in sweat.

"Deputy City Lord, it's not that I don't want to be fast, it's just that these spatial patterns are too fine…"

Yi Chang didn't even look at him.

"Then steady your hand more."

Copper Hammer grumbled while hammering nearby.

"This woman isn't here to manage the city; she's here to hasten our deaths."

Shen Wanbing scanned them.

"Less chatter. Efficiency has increased by forty percent."

Copper Hammer was stunned, looked down at the report, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

"...Fine, really fine."

In the first half of the early morning, Chen Chen was not idle.

He had Iron Wall drag the twelve Tier 4 corpses back into the city and placed them directly in the center of the square.

As soon as the city gate opened, the group of people waiting in line to register were dumbfounded.

Tier 4.

Twelve of them.

Neatly laid out there.

Someone's legs went weak, and they sat directly on the ground.

"This… did the Boss kill all of these alone?"

"Nonsense. Otherwise, why don't you try killing twelve Tier 4s in four seconds?"

"I don't even dare to think about one."

Chen Chen ignored the hushed discussions and just let Shen Wanxing continue.

The looting of corpses continued, and the loot piled up on the ground.

Tier 4 blood source crystals, blood source heavy armor fragments, strengthening potion stock solutions, and space stabilization fragments kept popping out.

By the end, Shen Wanxing couldn't even lift her fingers; she squatted on the ground, hugging her shawl, feeling so aggrieved she looked like she was about to cry.

Su Xiaoqi, however, was eating with grease all over her mouth and squatted beside her to hand her a piece of meat.

"Here, replenish yourself."

"I don't want meat; I want to sleep."

"Sleep? What sleep? Loot one more, and a big prize will come out."

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying to you."

Su Xiaoqi patted her chest. "When I'm full, my luck gets better too."

Shen Wanxing looked at her skeptically, but still reached out to loot the last one.

A gold-purple beam of light shot straight up.

Gasps of surprise erupted throughout the city.

Shen Wanbing stared at the result, her voice barely steady.

"Space stabilization fragments, another batch came out. Enough. The teleportation array materials are completely sufficient."

Chen Chen stood up.

"Work's done. Everyone back to your stations. No one is allowed to slack off tonight."

No one dared to delay.

Five minutes before midnight, a muffled sound finally came from the Industrial Zone.

The main ring of the teleportation array closed.

Three circular channels swirled in mid-air, gold, purple, and dark silver interweaving, and a gate lit up in the very center.

The gate was not large.

But everyone standing below could feel the pulling sensation emanating from within.

Shen Wanbing handed over the final report.

"The first activation allows for a free lock onto an adjacent Tier 2 map coordinate. We have three minutes of full-area scanning rights; after that, it will consume cores."

"Lock onto whose side?"

"The Sakurajima Sea-Splitting War Zone."

Her finger swiped across the panel. "The comprehensive rating is only a quarter of ours, but there is a special resource point: an SS-grade undersea nuclear shipyard ruin. Also, the Amaterasu Shrine over there has been capturing people for sacrifices recently."

Chen Chen raised his eyes.

"Sacrifice?"

"Yes, someone is calling for help on the public signal."

Shen Wanbing paused for a second. "The other party claims to be a shrine maiden, and her Chinese is not very standard. She said the Amaterasu Shrine is using survivors to feed an undersea evil god, and a group of Chinese people are trapped in sacrificial cages and won't last more than three hours."

Jiang Yanxue shouldered her blade.

"It's a trap, right?"

"Eighty percent likely."

Shen Wanbing replied quickly. "The signal is mixed with induced Spirit fluctuations, like bait deliberately left for people to hear."

Chen Chen looked at that gate, his tone flat.

"The bait doesn't matter; what matters is whether the hook is hard enough."

Blood Rose licked her lips.

"Are you planning to go save people, or tear the place down?"

"Both."

Su Xiaoqi was excited as soon as she heard that, jumping up while holding half a meat bone.

"Then can I go eat a meal first?"

"Save the people first."

"Oh, then I'll eat after saving them."

"Fine."

Chen Chen raised his hand to select people.

"Jiang Yanxue, Su Xiaoqi, Blood Rose, Qin Hongye, Shen Wanbing, Shen Wanxing, Jiang Jiuyou, come with me. Yi Chang, stay behind."

Upon hearing her name, Shen Wanxing immediately ran over, clutching her shawl, and asked in a low voice.

"Should I bring high heels?"

"Wear them if you want to."

Her face turned red instantly, and she turned to go change.

Jiang Jiuyou walked up to Yi Chang and slapped a temporary city defense permission handover agreement into her hand.

"If something happens to the city, I'll come for you first."

Yi Chang took it, her expression unchanged.

"Before the Lord returns, not a single deck plate will be missing here."

Jiang Jiuyou stared at her.

"It better be."

Yi Chang looked up.

"And you better not lose the people."

The two locked eyes again, neither yielding, yet it seemed they had implicitly agreed on a division of labor.

Chen Chen glanced at them, didn't interject, and turned to get in the car.

The Ghost Fortress's engines were revved to the max, and the vehicle came to a steady stop in front of the teleportation array.

Shen Wanxing sat in the passenger seat, clutching her blanket, and muttered softly.

"Are we really just going for a visit?"

Chen Chen gripped the main control stick and replied calmly.

"Visiting with a blade."

The three-colored light gate began to close.

The Ghost Fortress roared into the gate.

A sense of weightlessness pressed down instantly, and everyone in the cabin was pinned by their seats.

Shen Wanxing gripped her blanket, the meat bone in Su Xiaoqi's mouth almost flew out, Jiang Yanxue had already pressed her blade against her leg, Qin Hongye lay in the dome shooting position, and Blood Rose leaned in her seat, even her breathing becoming lighter.

The next second, their field of vision flipped violently.

When the Ghost Fortress rushed out of the gate, the vehicle was suspended directly at an altitude of ten thousand meters.

Below, there was no land.

Only a black sea, the sea surface shattered severely, with scattered islands like broken bone fragments scattered on the sea.

In the distance, a huge shrine floated on a whale skeleton, white torii gates connected in a row, and thousands of believers in white were kneeling in front of the altar on the sea, motionless.

Further below, about a hundred Chinese survivors were suspended on blood-red sacrificial racks, their toes almost touching the seawater.

Shen Wanbing's voice got stuck in the communication, and squeezed out half a second later.

"Chen Chen… the group of people below won't last five minutes."