Chapter Forty-Two

After quite a commotion, Shen Yi finally gathered the required number of people. However, the pleasant "ding" sound indicating the completion of the mission failed to bring him much joy for the very first time!

While he felt confident in his ability to intercept a colossal dragon, sheer size did not always determine true strength. Shen Yi could not read the person in the hempen robe at all, which exerted an immense, invisible pressure on him. Even his snoring had quieted down when he went to sleep last night!

Fear stems from the unknown.

Now that the mission was completed, the system reward stood right before Shen Yi: an old man in a white lab coat and a robust, muscular youth. These were the two elite human leaders.

The man in the white lab coat possessed level-four spiritual power, and the youth correspondingly possessed level-four physical strength. Although they still lagged behind Qimie, Hu Yu, and typical level-five entities, they would allow Shen Yi to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing he would no longer have to handle every little thing personally!

According to the world's power hierarchy, the system had graded both individuals with fine potential, indicating they possessed great aptitude and could learn things very quickly!

Shen Yi looked at the man in the white lab coat and said, "From now on, your name is Tian Yi, and you will primarily be in charge of the laboratory and scientific research and development!" He then turned to the youth and said, "Your name is Di Yi, and you will be responsible for security within the city. Go ahead!"

The two acknowledged the order, turned around, and walked out of the command hall to attend to their respective duties.

Shen Yi leaned back against his chair, pondering the events of yesterday. "These supreme beings didn't attack me, but they mentioned an agreement. What on earth is that agreement? Although I am safe for the time being, failing to understand the root cause means my future development will be bound hand and foot. It seems I have no choice but to contact Wang Sheng. Besides, the migrating orcs are already on their way, and I need to arrange a place for them."

Technology makes people's lives convenient and ensures they never have to worry about food or clothing, but at the same time, it can dull a person's fighting spirit. Fortunately, most of the ordinary civilians who had come from Youcheng remained down-to-earth. From children to the elderly, not a single day was wasted, and the public square had already been expanded once because too many people were practicing martial arts there.

A hover car drove through the crowd, everyone around casting looks of deep admiration at Bazhake riding inside.

Inside the hover car, Bazhake was studying how the vehicle actually moved. Ever since he acquired the car, he had studied it endlessly. Shen Yi had assigned him a driver. Initially, Bazhake had not dared to ask the driver questions, but as contact lengthened, curiosity inevitably took over, and he began asking about this and that. After all, this gadget was simply too magical.

"Tell me, brother, how can this thing move without wheels?"

"Report, sir. You can learn the details of the hover car's propulsion system by consulting a researcher."

"Oh, oh. What are all these glowing diagrams inside for?"

"Report, sir. You can consult a researcher."

"Uhm, alright. Why can we see outside from the inside, but when I'm outside, I can't see what's going on inside the car?"

"Researcher."

"Well, and also—"

"Researcher."

"......"

"Where is the researcher? Where am I supposed to find him?!"

"Report, sir. I must request permission from my superiors for this. Do you need me to contact them now?"

"No need," Bazhake said with a stern expression.

If he didn't know, he wouldn't know. Having served as a mercenary, Bazhake knew that some things shouldn't be asked about too hastily, and knowing too much wasn't always a good thing.

Yet, he simply couldn't suppress his damned curiosity! He hadn't slept well in a long time, and the dark circles around his eyes made his already dark face look somewhat less dark by comparison!

"Sigh, forget it. I'll go home, take a bath, and have a wonderful sleep. I wonder if my mercenary brothers would die of envy if they saw the life I'm living now. What am I even daydreaming about? From now on, spilling blood and sacrificing my life is all there is to it."

The driver parked the car downstairs, and Bazhake stepped out, once again drawing the baptismal gazes of numerous residents sweating it out in the square! He was already used to it, yet he still couldn't conceal the pride in his eyes. It felt too damn good!

Once home, Bazhake turned on the television, intending to revisit the playback of the undead army laying siege to the city. But the moment he turned it on, the screen switched to display two official announcements.

The text read: "Announcement One: All residents who reach tier-four combat strength may apply for one hover car, one mobile phone, and one powered mecha. From the date of collection, they will automatically join the City Guard and unconditionally participate in combat during wartime! Announcement Two: Tomorrow, every resident will receive a watch. The watch functions: first, it tells the time; second, it displays identity information, which takes effect immediately once entered into the system. It will be required for entering and leaving the city; no one may enter or exit without identity information! The new era requires a sense of time! ヾﾉ≧∀≦)o"

Our city is becoming more and more sophisticated. After reading the information, Bazhake fell silent for a moment before starting his meal. While eating, he studied the two announcements on the TV screen, memorizing every single sentence and word. He needed to adapt to the new rules and figure out the commander's intentions.

The residents who had also seen the announcements—and those who hadn't—spread the word to one another. One could easily imagine that Youcheng was about to trigger another wave of cultivation fervor. Whether they could break through to the next level aside, just drilling hard was the right thing to do!

With continuous troop production, Shen Yi's confidence grew stronger by the day. He believed that apart from entities of the pockmarked-level existence, there shouldn't be any major trouble.

Fortunately, they had their own reservations. Whatever, Shen Yi sat in the command hall, narrowing his eyes as he mentally reviewed everything that had happened over this period. Scenes flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern—from his cluelessness upon first arriving here to his modest achievements now. To say this had nothing to do with him would be an understatement, but without the system, Shen Yi might have just served as a snack for that wolf demon the moment he arrived here, and by now he would likely have become nutrients for some large tree.

Two matters currently lay before him: first, the settlement of the orcs; second, diplomacy. After all, a weak nation has no diplomacy.

The orcs were easy enough to handle; give them a place to stay, ensure they were well-fed and watered, and that settled it. But diplomacy gave him a headache. Although he had watched quite a few television dramas, when the time truly came, his mind went completely blank. How does one conduct diplomacy? "Hello, hello, we are great brothers"?

Troublesome. Thinking of this, Shen Yi frowned, stood up, and paced back and forth inside the command hall. After pondering for a long time without coming up with any brilliant ideas, he unconsciously walked toward the command hall's exit.

Outside, dusk had already fallen. With truly no other options, Shen Yi raised his head in a daze, and the iron-and-steel architecture that met his eyes happened to block his line of sight. Frowning, Shen Yi traced his gaze upward along the towering munitions factory until he saw the grayish sky, as if there was only this single color in the heavens—natural yet oppressive. The natural part was the vastness of the sky, while the oppressive part was its color.

A strong sense of loneliness assaulted Shen Yi's mind and body. He maintained this posture for a long time. Against the backdrop of the surrounding steel jungle, it made the lonely feeling appear all the more as if something was taking root and sprouting within the known four percent of material space.

If time is a sheet of paper, then who is painting on it?

Can I influence the creature holding that pen? It doesn't know me, and I don't know it, yet in this very instant, cause and effect were born!

I have cause because I know you, but what is the effect?

Shen Yi shook his head. His unfocused gaze regained a hint of color, and he smiled indifferently, attempting to shake off this boring wandering of the mind. The sky remained the sky, and he remained himself.

With this thought, Shen Yi walked toward the gap between the two buildings. Through the gap, he caught sight of the dark red sky merging with the horizon—the place where the sun sets. Viewed from a different angle, there was a different sky. "Isn't this quite beautiful?"

Unconsciously, Shen Yi blurted out, "It seems I've thought of something? There are many kinds of colors, just as there are many kinds of lives, survivals, and solutions."

At that thought, a wave of stealth fighters soared into the sky, adding a hint of distortion to the gray-black firmament. Flying up to a certain altitude, they scattered in all directions, blooming like flowers of slightly warped space in the heavens.

Since diplomacy is required, you needn't bother coming; it's quite a hassle. I'd rather go myself.

"Let's bring a slightly different color to this continent," Shen Yi muttered silently to himself.

He then turned around and walked briskly toward his dreamland—that place untethered by a physical body.