224: Chapter 224 Top Girl Group Before the Apocalypse?

Shen Wanbing tapped her fingers in rapid succession.

"Three scout shuttles are beginning to flee."

Jiang Jiuyou raised her hand.

"Secondary cannons, finish them off."

The Sea Scale's side cannon array spat out six blue-white pulses.

Before the three scout shuttles could even ascend, their power compartments were pierced one by one.

In the remote projection, the Gray-White stronghold was reduced to nothing but a field of red-hot wreckage.

The lower deck went silent for a beat.

Then, cheers erupted.

"Total annihilation!"

"Three shots, total annihilation!"

"The Lord's city can kill peak Tier 5 enemies from three hundred kilometers away!"

Iron Wall strained his voice to restore order.

"Sit down!"

"Anyone who stands up before the safety tethers are released loses today's soup!"

The mine slaves immediately sat up straight, but they couldn't suppress the excitement on their faces.

For the first time, they realized that this city wasn't just a shell for escaping.

It could actively bite back.

And it could bite from a great distance.

System notifications popped up.

[Rift Star Main Cannon Array test fire successful.]

[Ghost Fortress firepower rating significantly increased.]

[Territory prestige increased.]

[Lower-level population panic value decreased.]

[Loyalty of newly incorporated population increased.]

[Host level increased to Lv.46.]

[Host level increased to Lv.47.]

Chen Chen scanned the panel and dumped all his free attributes into Spirit.

The next second.

His Spirit attribute officially broke through four hundred.

Invisible Spirit tentacles spread outward from the City Lord Tower, sweeping past the main cannon array, passing through the industrial cabin, and continuing to sink deep into the lower deck.

Chen Chen's footsteps suddenly stopped.

In the deepest part of the lower deck, a special fluctuation was gathering.

It wasn't agitated.

It wasn't chaotic.

It was more like a group of people getting heated over the same name.

Shen Wanbing noticed his pause and immediately pulled up the lower deck data.

A few seconds later, her expression became somewhat subtle.

"It's not a riot."

Jiang Jiuyou frowned.

"Then what is it?"

Shen Wanbing projected the list.

"Among the newly incorporated population, there are a large number of pre-apocalypse celebrities, girl group members, influencers, and streamers."

"They are organizing something called the 'Lord Audience Society'."

Chen Chen looked at the dense array of profile pictures on the list.

There were those wearing stage costumes.

There were those draped in sheer fabric.

There were even a few practicing dance in a temporary cabin on the lower deck, their snow-white long legs stepping on the old metal floor, with a crowd gathered behind them cheering.

Shen Wanxing had just been about to sneak back to the rest cabin, but upon hearing this, she immediately stopped.

"Audience Society?"

Blood Rose became interested.

"That name sounds very sensible."

Yi Chang's projection cut in, her tone calm.

"They aren't causing trouble."

"Their goal is very direct."

"They are applying to enter the upper district based on their looks, talents, and pre-apocalypse popularity."

"A private ranking has already appeared in the lower deck."

The proprietress popped up from the business channel, her fox ears trembling with excitement.

"I'm familiar with this kind of business!"

"Talent shows, voting leaderboards, upper-level interview vouchers, passes to visit the hot spring the Lord uses..."

Yi Chang stared at her.

"If you dare to sell visitation passes, I'll tear down your tavern door."

The proprietress immediately changed her tune.

"I was just proposing a business concept."

Su Xiaoqi interjected seriously.

"Can girl groups cook?"

Shen Wanxing hugged her pillow, her expression complicated.

"Your focus is always so consistent."

Before Chen Chen could speak, an alarm in the main control room suddenly blared.

Shen Wanbing turned around abruptly.

"In the wreckage zone three hundred kilometers away, something wasn't destroyed."

The remote projection zoomed in.

In the center of the shattered Gray-White stronghold, a black data egg crawled out from the melted ground.

It did not flee.

Its outer shell cracked, and a thin, long antenna popped out from inside.

Mio's voice rose in pitch.

"It's broadcasting!"

The next second.

A mechanical voice pierced through the public channel, covering the entire Sea-Air Composite Fortress.

[Rift Star Main Cannon model collection complete.]

[Gray-White Mechanical Holy Court Second Dismantling Legion, beginning to adapt counter-armor.]

The mechanical voice repeated three times on the public channel.

In the main control room, the heat from the successful test fire was suppressed by this statement.

Mio's projection floated in mid-air, her entire face nearly twisted.

"Black data egg."

"Battlefield learning core."

"I told you not to just watch the explosions, didn't I! This is the most disgusting thing about the Gray-White Mechanical Holy Court; they use dead strongholds as disposable brains."

Copper Hammer was still carrying his welding torch, the joy on his face not yet faded.

"The stronghold is gone, and it can still learn?"

Mio turned her head and glared at him.

"It's not learning whether the stronghold is alive or not; it's learning the energy curve from the few seconds before your twelve cannons fired!"

"Next time we encounter the Mechanical Holy Court, the Rift Star Main Cannon's first-round deterrence will drop by at least thirty percent."

Copper Hammer's beard twitched.

"Thirty percent? Then I'll just weld another thirty percent more."

Mio was so angry her projection flickered wildly.

"Do you think firepower is flour? Just add more if you don't have enough?"

Jiang Jiuyou stood at the sub-command console and immediately pulled up the ballistic counter-tracking map.

"They've intercepted the fire control model, so they can trace our position back along the energy wake."

"I suggest we relocate immediately."

Shen Wanbing didn't look up, her fingers moving across the holographic screen.

"Running away alone is pointless."

"The model is already lost. For the next round of attacks, they will bring counter-armor."

"We need to modify the main cannon."

Jiang Jiuyou turned her face to look at her.

"Modify it while on the move?"

Shen Wanbing opened the Fragment Coordinate Camouflage Jammer.

"Connect the jammer into the main cannon array."

"Every time we fire, generate twelve fake ballistic projections."

"Hide the real cannon path among the fake ones and let them learn a pile of junk."

Mio paused for half a second.

"Theoretically feasible."

"But the system protocols for the main cannon, the fragment jammer, and the Star Core main mining heart are completely different; forcefully splicing them will cause an explosion."

Copper Hammer slapped the cannon turret's outer shell.

"It won't explode."

Mio immediately shrieked.

"Shut up! You said the same thing last time!"

Chen Chen raised his hand, and the main control room quieted down.

"The city will continue to move southeast."

"Jiang Jiuyou is responsible for the movement route, ensuring the ballistic wake doesn't leave a straight trail."

"Shen Wanbing, Mio, Copper Hammer, modify the main cannon."

"Twelve fake cannon paths; if one is missing, it doesn't count as finished."

Copper Hammer grinned, showing his teeth.

"Don't worry, Lord, give me six hours."

Mio immediately added a jab.

"Give him six hours, and he'll weld the main cannon into a barbecue grill."

Su Xiaoqi poked her head out from the kitchen.

"Can a barbecue grill roast Tier 6 meat?"

Shen Wanxing hugged her aromatherapy pillow, leaning weakly against the doorframe.

"Xiaoqi, don't give him any ideas."

Just as Chen Chen was about to turn around, Yi Chang walked into the main control room in her thin high heels.

She held a stack of lists in her hand, the data pad dense with profile pictures.

"Lord, the number of people in the lower deck applying to enter the upper district has surged."

"The reason is that after the successful test fire of the Rift Star Main Cannon, a new organization appeared in the lower deck."

Chen Chen took the list.

The line of text at the very top was eye-catching.

[Lord Audience Society]

The applicants below were a motley crew.

Pre-apocalypse top-tier girl groups.

National influencers.

Traditional-style streamers.

Socialites from wealthy families.

Female financial hosts.

There were also a few application photos taken in performance costumes, with slim waists and long legs, snow-white shoulders and necks, and standing poses that were each more adept at picking the right angle than the last.

Blood Rose glanced at it and chuckled.

"They certainly know how to handle things."

Jiang Yanxue leaned against the doorframe, wiping her blade.

"Knowing how to handle things doesn't mean they know how to survive."

Yi Chang's tone was calm.

"Thirty percent truly have organizational skills."

"Forty percent are opportunists."

"The remaining thirty percent have a simpler goal."

She paused.

"They want to trade their faces and bodies for spots in the ecological cabin."

Shen Wanxing's ears turned red upon hearing this, and she muttered softly.

"Is it really that direct..."