200: Chapter 200 Stop kneeling, use tools to demolish the city!

Nightfall pressed heavily against the earth.

Outside Meteor Crystal City, a violent wasteland storm kicked up clouds of brownish-red dust.

The City Lord's Hall had fully entered Level 1 combat readiness.

Shen Wanbing operated the holographic console with one hand, and a glaring piece of intercepted intelligence was instantly projected into mid-air.

"Star-Splitting Hunting Group."

"Leader: Tier 6 Hunter King."

"Escort: Twelve Tier 5 peak Crystal Rail convoys."

"Estimated arrival countdown: Four days."

Mio hovered in mid-air, her electronic eyes fixed intently on that string of data, her usually lively tone instantly sinking to rock bottom.

"The Star-Splitting Hunting Group is not some low-level agent!"

"They are a professional hunting squad from the Central District that kills without blinking! Once they accept a bounty, they never turn back until they tear their target to shreds!"

Jiang Jiuyou coldly stared at the terrain map and quickly delivered a tactical assessment.

"We will definitely lose if we defend the city."

Yi Chang followed up by reporting the fatal data.

"The over one million mine slaves have only just been suppressed, and the internal risks are immense. We've already breached forty percent of the crystal wall defenses; if we fight a positional battle, we'll just be worn down to death by a Tier 6 in the city."

Golden light flickered in Shen Wanbing's eyes as she spoke, enunciating every word.

"The Gray-White Stronghold is still frantically uploading our coordinates. For every extra second we stay here, the Hunter King's butcher knife gets one step closer."

Chen Chen's gaze swept across Meteor Crystal City on the holographic map.

The giant star-core crystal sand vein.

The crystal rail cannon array on the long city wall.

The armory filled with high-level goods.

Over a hundred thousand skilled technical craftsmen.

All of these were priceless resources.

But this city must not be defended.

He suddenly raised his hand, his fingertip jabbing heavily into the main control area of the mineral vein, his voice as cold and hard as a blade.

"We don't need to defend Meteor Crystal City."

Everyone looked at him in unison.

Chen Chen's expression was emotionless as he spat out a cruel, ultimate order.

"The mineral vein, the craftsmen, the resource warehouses, all heavy artillery—pack everything up and take it away!"

"Dismantle everything that can be dismantled."

"If you can't take it, blow it to ashes."

"When that Tier 6 Hunter King arrives, let him stare blankly at an empty pit."

There was a brief silence in the hall.

There was no fear; instead, Copper Hammer was the first to shout at the top of his lungs, suddenly raising his sizzling welding torch.

"Do it! I've been eyeing that row of crystal rail cannons on the wall for a long time! We'll dismantle all of them and take them back to outfit the Sea Scale with side cannons!"

The landlady slapped the golden abacus at her waist, her eyes glowing with a faint green light: "Leave the supply warehouses to me! I won't leave them a single screw!"

With a powerful enemy approaching, this group of people not only lacked any fear, but were instead stirred up with the innate fanaticism of ruthless bandits.

In the corner, Shen Wanxing, who had just managed to touch the temperature-controlled soft bed pod, clutched her blanket tightly, her small face pale as she huddled by the door.

"D-dismantling the city... you don't need me for that, right..."

Chen Chen didn't give her any room to back down; he strode forward and hauled her out.

"High-level warehouses, open all the blind boxes. After you've opened them all, then you can sleep."

Shen Wanxing's eyes turned red with grievance, but she didn't dare defy this tyrant, so she could only grit her teeth, grab her blanket, and rush out.

Chen Chen turned to look at the rest of the people, speaking extremely fast.

"Jiang Jiuyou, go to the armory and dismantle the cannons."

"Yi Chang, cut the core of the mineral vein."

"Shen Wanbing, lock onto the nearest Gray-White signal tower. While we're dismantling, prepare to launch an assault to wipe it out!"

The whole room stood at attention, accepted the orders, and dispersed, filled with murderous intent.

Chen Chen gripped the sea-stabilizing needle tightly, strode out of the City Lord's Hall, and walked straight toward the high platform.

In the central square, hundreds of thousands of mine slaves knelt on the ground like a dark, crushing tide.

They had just witnessed the miserable death of their old master with their own eyes, and they didn't dare look up at this newly appointed god of slaughter; they could only tremble and press their heads firmly against the ground.

"New City Lord, spare us..."

"We beg for your mercy, my lord..."

Chen Chen stopped abruptly, looking down at the crowd beneath his feet like ants.

His cold, violent voice boomed through the city-wide broadcast, slamming into everyone's eardrums.

"Stop kneeling."

"Grab your tools and dismantle this city for me!"

...

After Chen Chen's broadcast slammed down, the central square was dead silent for half a second.

The next second, all the mine slaves saw the large barrels of nutrient paste set out outside the administrative center.

And they also saw the blade in Jiang Yanxue's hand.

The new City Lord's rules were already written on their faces.

If you cry, there's no food.

If you work, you trade for your life.

The dark, crushing crowd instantly began to move.

The mine slaves who had just been kowtowing on the ground for mercy grabbed their tools and rushed toward the dismantling area.

Someone ran half a step too slow and was almost knocked over by the people behind them.

Iron Wall carried a megaphone and stood on the roof of a crystal rail transport vehicle, his voice booming so loudly it shook half the street.

"First Labor District, dismantle the crystal armor on the east wall!"

"Districts Two through Four, move the cannon mounts!"

"District Five, go to the outer edge of the mineral vein and cut the shell!"

"Whoever dares to slack off gets their labor collar tightened by three notches and gets thrown directly into the outer mine tunnels!"

A mine slave, so thin he was nothing but a skeleton, raised his hand with a tremble.

"Officer, I don't know how to dismantle cannons..."

Iron Wall glared at him.

"You know how to breathe, right?"

"Yes."

"If you can breathe, you can push a cart! Track Three needs people; get it filled within ten minutes, get lost!"

The man grabbed his tools and ran for his life.

On the other side of the square.

Yi Chang stepped across the crystal-shattered ground in black stilettos, the cuffs of her white shirt rolled up to her forearms, and the faint silver scale patterns on her waist glowing slightly with the authority light screen.

Behind her followed dozens of old administrative officials who had just surrendered.

Each one of them kept their heads lowered, even holding their breath.

Yi Chang raised her hand and swiped.

Meteor Crystal City's population data was broken down into twelve labor districts and thirty-seven registration queues.

"Technical craftsmen, enter the inner ring."

"Crystal sand refiners, register separately."

"Ordinary mine slaves, regroup by family unit."

"Former city guards, overseers, and warehouse managers: lock them up first, then interrogate them."

An old administrative official reminded her in a low voice.

"Deputy City Lord, according to the old system, mine slaves don't have family records."

"They only have numbers."

Yi Chang stopped walking.

The official's back stiffened.

Yi Chang turned around, her vertical pupils sweeping over the old file board in his hand.

"The old system is gone."

"From this second on, the numbers are void, and people will be re-registered."

The official's lips moved.

"But this will reduce efficiency, and mine slaves don't need—"

Slap.

Yi Chang pressed the data board against his chest, her voice without fluctuation.

"Obstructing new rules, upholding the old system."

"Collar him."

Two territory soldiers immediately stepped forward and pinned the man to the ground.

The labor collar locked onto his neck with a click.

The old administrative official's face went pale.

"I was just following the old rules!"

Yi Chang looked down at him.

"The previous City Lord has already been dragged away."

"Around here now, we only care about execution."

"If you want to be buried with the old system, I can approve that."

The man shuddered all over and dared not make a sound again.

Several other old officials nearby who had intended to pay lip service while secretly disobeying all bent their waists in unison.

Yi Chang reopened the data board.

"Write the new rules clearly."

"Work for food."

"Skills for ecological pods."

"Causing trouble for the mine pits."

She paused for a moment and added one more sentence.

"If you can't execute them, then replace the people doing the executing."

Mio's projection floated nearby, whispering.

"You, as Deputy City Lord, manage things even more ruthlessly than the old City Lord."

Yi Chang didn't look at her.

"My task is to transfer the population, mineral veins, and resources entirely into the territory's sequence."

"Whoever slows down the progress becomes a consumable."

Mio paused for half a second.

"Alright, you're even scarier."