195: Chapter 195 Using Meteorite City as a Gift

Chen Chen did not order a pursuit of that Tier 5 peak Crystal Artillery.

Shi Yan was pinned to the alloy floor in front of the Ghost Fortress, his left cheek a bloody mess, and the crystal core in his chest, having been prodded by the sea-stabilizing needle, had gone completely silent.

He still wanted to hold on.

Jiang Yanxue stepped on his broken wrist bone.

"Snap."

Shi Yan convulsed on the spot, a raspy sound squeezing out of his throat.

"Don't put on that act of yours, you city-state captain."

Jiang Yanxue crouched down, the Shadow Instant-Kill Blade grazing past his ear.

"No one here buys that act."

Chen Chen sat in the main pilot's seat, spinning the tactical chip that had been pulled from the back of Shi Yan's neck.

Shen Wanbing, Jiang Jiuyou, and Yi Chang stood before the holographic table.

For once, they weren't arguing.

Even Ling wasn't cracking any jokes.

The information in the chip was too valuable.

Shen Wanbing traced her fingertips across the projection.

"There is a natural meteor crystal vein beneath Meteor Crystal City."

"The main product is called Star Core Crystal Sand."

"The scale of the mining area exceeds the sum of all energy mines on the Tier 2 map."

Ling's projection flickered twice, her tone dropping.

"Star Core Crystal Sand is hard currency on the Tier 3 map."

"High-tier vehicle jumps, ship cannon upgrades, shield stress resistance, and spatial stabilization—they all require this stuff."

"And there's the Star Fortress fragment."

She looked at the sealed box by Chen Chen's hand.

"If you want to continue repairing the fragment, Star Core Crystal Sand is one of the essential auxiliary materials."

Su Xiaoqi was holding a piece of roasted Crystal-Armored Earth Dragon meat, listening intently.

"So, it's money that tastes really good?"

Ling paused for half a second.

"You could put it that way."

Su Xiaoqi nodded.

"Then we'll rob it."

Hearing those two words, Shi Yan looked up, his face covered in blood.

"Rob Meteor Crystal City?"

"Are you crazy?"

"Meteor Crystal City sustains three thousand Tier 5 Crystal-Armored warriors, and underground, there is a crystal vein core guarded personally by the City Lord!"

"You just arrived on the Tier 3 map, you don't even know which way the gate of Meteor Crystal City opens!"

Chen Chen raised his hand.

Jiang Yanxue lifted her foot.

Shi Yan had just managed to take half a breath when Chen Chen spoke.

"Meteor Crystal City is not a city-state."

Shi Yan froze.

Chen Chen tossed the chip to Shen Wanbing.

"It's a newbie gift pack."

The carriage fell silent for a beat.

Blood Rose leaned against the sofa, her red lips curving slightly.

"Master's words are pleasant to hear."

Jiang Jiuyou had already switched to the military layer.

"A frontal assault on the city will consume a lot."

"The city walls are three hundred meters high, the density of crystal rail cannons is high, and there are twelve layers of anti-vehicle crystal arrays outside the city."

"If it turns into trench warfare, the hundred thousand people in the bottom hold will start trembling again."

Yi Chang held the data pad, speaking rapidly.

"The mining vein cannot be blown up."

"The population cannot be killed off entirely."

"The skilled artisans and miners need to be sorted out."

"Part of Meteor Crystal City's management system must also be preserved, otherwise the takeover cost will double."

Jiang Jiuyou glanced at her.

"You've already started dividing the spoils?"

Yi Chang didn't look at her.

"I am reducing losses."

Jiang Jiuyou sneered softly.

"Post-war management rights depend on who takes the central hub."

Yi Chang finally looked up.

"The mining vein belongs to the core of territorial construction; it falls under my jurisdiction."

"City defense belongs to military nodes; it falls under my command."

Just as the gunpowder smell between the two began to surface, Chen Chen tapped the armrest.

"Jiang Jiuyou, you are responsible for the military entry."

"Yi Chang, you are responsible for the mining vein takeover and population screening."

"Wanbing, find the loopholes."

Golden light swirled in Shen Wanbing's eyes, ignoring the hidden friction between the two.

"Shi Yan's chip contains the outer patrol network, but the authorization is insufficient."

"A higher-level transit pass is needed."

Chen Chen turned his head.

"Shen Wanxing."

In the corner of the sofa, a bundle of blankets shook.

Shen Wanxing poked out half her small face, her long hair draped messily over her shoulders, her silver sequined dress pulled into a wrinkled mess.

"I've already been opening boxes for a whole day..."

Chen Chen pointed at Shi Yan on the ground.

"Touch the armor."

Shen Wanxing's light amber eyes instantly grew moist.

"He's so dirty."

Jiang Yanxue kicked Shi Yan further away.

"He's not touching you now."

Shen Wanxing crouched over, clutching her blanket, her face full of grievance.

"Can I really not sleep for three days?"

"Sleep after you touch it."

"You lie to me every time."

She extended a finger and gently touched Shi Yan's shattered crystal exoskeleton.

"Hum."

Golden light exploded first.

The next second, purple light surged along with it.

[Lucky Critical triggered.]

[Tenfold gains.]

[Obtained: A-grade Meteor Crystal City transit pass.]

[Obtained: S-grade Blueprint · Crystal Rail Cannon Turret Array.]

Shen Wanxing was stunned for a moment, then immediately pulled her hand back into the blanket.

"Done opening, I'm sleeping."

Chen Chen handed the transit pass to Shen Wanbing.

Shen Wanbing connected it to the system, and golden light instantly spread.

A few seconds later, her finger stopped on an underground route map.

"Found it."

Jiang Jiuyou leaned in.

"Patrol loophole?"

Shen Wanbing enlarged the projection.

"To make it convenient for the Crystal-Armored Earth Dragons to return to their nests, Meteor Crystal City left underground beast paths for all hunting beasts."

"Every hunting beast has biological authorization."

"The Tier 5 high-level Crystal-Armored Earth Dragon we just crushed to death hasn't had its authorization revoked yet."

Ling was silent for three seconds.

"So you guys intend to..."

Chen Chen looked up.

"Hang the Earth Dragon skull in front of the Ghost Fortress."

Ling exploded on the spot.

"Can you please respect mechanical aesthetics?"

"You're tying a dead lizard head to the front of the vehicle, don't you think it's scary?"

Copper Hammer immediately replied on the external channel.

"Lord, I can do this job!"

Ling roared.

"Shut up!"

Su Xiaoqi came over clutching the roasted meat, her dark, shiny eyes glowing.

"Can the remaining meat still be stewed?"

Ling turned to look at her.

"This is a tactical discussion!"

Su Xiaoqi nodded seriously.

"You still have to eat after the tactics are done."

Chen Chen made the final decision.

"Copper Hammer, Ling, modify a live-authorization ram within half an hour."

Ling's projection held her head.

"I'll be forced to resign by you guys sooner or later."

Jiang Jiuyou added a cold remark.

"Ship spirits don't have a resignation function."

Ling stalled.

"Are you being polite?"

The atmosphere in the first-floor carriage relaxed slightly.

Blood Rose, however, did not smile.

She stood in the corner, wine-red hair draped over her shoulders, a black coat worn over her red camisole, her fingers gripping the edge of a cup.

Last time, the crystal armor filtration layer blocked most of her poison mist.

She had been holding this matter in.

Once everyone dispersed, she walked to Chen Chen's side.

"Master."

She had changed into a red leather skirt with a high slit, her waistline cinched tight, her snow-white long legs stepping in knee-high lace-up boots, the sweet, cloying scent on her body restrained quite lightly.

She leaned down, her tone softening a bit.

"Pre-battle reinforcement, can you give me one?"

Chen Chen raised his hand to cup her chin.

Blood Rose leaned in, her dark brown pupils turning red.

Chen Chen pressed his thumb against her lower lip.

"Earn the war merits first, then we'll talk about rewards."

Blood Rose paused, then immediately laughed.

"Master really knows how to keep someone on a leash."

"I understand."

She stepped back, her high-slit skirt sweeping across her leg as she turned.

Jiang Yanxue leaned against the cabin door, watching her.

"Chickened out?"

Blood Rose walked past her side, her voice lowered.

"Let's see who gets more kills later."

Jiang Yanxue licked her teeth.

"Fine."

Midnight.

Chen Chen stood in the third-floor expansion bay, watching Copper Hammer hoist the Crystal-Armored Earth Dragon skull onto the front end of the Ghost Fortress.

A system notification popped up.

[Unique SS-grade growth affix: Physical Overlimit triggered.]

[constitution + 10.]

[agility + 5.]

[Current constitution: 237.]

[Current agility: 118.]

A wave of heat exploded from his spine.

The two engineering NPCs closest to him groaned, nearly falling to their knees.

Copper Hammer resisted hard and didn't retreat, his beard blowing wildly in the airflow.

"Lord, if your constitution keeps rising like this, just standing nearby would be enough to preheat the forging furnace."

Shen Wanbing rushed over with a detection panel, her collar not yet buttoned, her long black curly hair caught in her coat.

She looked at the data, golden light brightening in her eyes.

"Your blood-energy field has a suppressive effect on the Tier 3 map radiation."

"The range isn't large, but it's very stable."

Chen Chen looked at her.

Shen Wanbing increased her speaking speed.

"If linked with the deep-sea ecological dome, we could try creating a Tyrant Creature sanctuary field."

"There are too many people in the bottom hold; this thing could save lives."

Ling floated past from the side.

"It can also save cores."

Yi Chang immediately looked up.

"Then increase its priority."

Jiang Jiuyou crossed her arms.

"Take the city first."

Chen Chen looked at the distant wasteland.

"We leave tomorrow morning."

The next morning.

The Sea-Air Composite Fortress advanced at low altitude, hugging the triple-gravity wasteland.

Meteor Crystal City appeared in the center of the crater.

The yellowish-brown crystal walls were over three hundred meters high, crystal rail cannons lined the top in a circle, and the city gate was hung with dried corpses of exiles.

Someone in the bottom hold channel gasped.

"This city... can we really attack it?"

Iron Wall kicked that person's butt.

"Who was it last night saying they'd just lie back and level up by following the Lord?"

"Now you go soft just seeing the wall?"

That person immediately shut up.

Lu Heng and the Ninth Exile Convoy were temporarily assigned to the outer guidance team.

Seeing Meteor Crystal City, his face turned ashen.

"Lord Chen, the crystal rail cannons have a very long range."

"Previously, three exile convoys tried to sneak attack, but they were blasted through as soon as they entered within fifty kilometers."

Chen Chen looked at the underground beast path entrance marked by Shen Wanbing.

"Jiang Jiuyou, suppress outside the city."

"Qin Hongye, target the command on the city ramparts."

"Jiang Yanxue, take the Shadow Unit through the lift shaft."

"Blood Rose."

Blood Rose looked up.

Chen Chen glanced at her.

"Prove that you are still useful."

Blood Rose smiled sweetly.

"Master, just wait and see."