Chapter 30: The Thief From the Dimensional Black Prison

Xincheng City.

Guan Zhang looked up at the sky, where a colossal object beyond his imagination was traversing the sky.

If he hadn’t received a phone call in advance, and if he hadn’t faintly seen its metallic structure, he might have actually mistaken it for an unprecedentedly giant flying beast upon first glance.

At the same moment, countless citizens of Xincheng stood dumbfounded as they stared at the sky.

Even though they had also been notified in advance, they still felt a sense of terror.

The steel beast in the sky was simply too colossal, resembling a city in the sky; everywhere it passed, the ground was instantly cast into darkness.

“Stop for a bit, please!” Guan Zhang waved his hands frantically.

However, the giant object blotting out the sky showed not the slightest sign of slowing down.

Shaking his head, Guan Zhang could only watch helplessly as it continued to fly toward the horizon.

****

High in the sky, Ding Ren stood atop the very peak of the Wanmin Vessel, looking down over the earth. The former core site of the Ghost Domain was already before his eyes, and at this moment, even he felt a surge of excitement.

This Wanmin Vessel was the product of completely dismantling the levitating battleship ‘Sea King.’

Not only had they dismantled it, but they had also expanded its structure.

Under normal circumstances, dismantling and reassembling the massive Sea King would have required at least several months or even years.

But with the assistance of several B-class experts, the headquarters simply resorted to brute force disassembly, making the process very simple.

First, they stripped away all the weaponry, then clamped steel plates extending five or six meters outward from the top deck, and finally welded them completely to the battleship.

Thus, the already massive levitating battleship had become even larger.

Under the full mobilization of the headquarters, the Sea King was completely transformed in just a few days.

Compared to the Drance Federation’s first instinct upon acquiring the anti-gravity technology—which was to design it as a super war engine—the Middle Continent had immediately modified it into a transport carrier upon receiving it.

The modified Wanmin Vessel appeared slightly bloated and possessed a loose structure, making it highly dangerous to pilot during severe weather like storms.

But the Middle Continent’s primary objective was transport, and they could choose to travel during favorable weather and fly close to the ground, so the current Wanmin Vessel suited them better.

Originally, the Middle Continent hadn’t been in such a rush to modify the vessel, but they wanted to immediately repay Xi Yu with something, which was why they had rushed to produce the Wanmin Vessel.

Knowing Xi Yu wanted to start a ranch, they had Ding Ren quickly bring the vessel over, temporarily letting Xi Yu use it for transport.

Of course, he hadn’t come empty-handed this time, also bringing a vast amount of supplies.

The appearance of such a massive aerial beast at the edge of the Star-Dream Farm startled everyone.

They had thought this was some epic-class giant beast invading.

It wasn’t until they faintly saw people aboard the beast that they erupted into a clamor of chatter.

Soon, the Wanmin Vessel came to a halt in the sky, and they found an empty clearing at the edge of the farm to slowly descend onto the ground.

At this, everyone couldn’t hold back any longer, running toward the vessel with cheers.

Except for Isaac.

Upon his first glance at the Wanmin Vessel, he recognized it as his former beloved battleship, but now it was no longer what it once was.

In this moment, Isaac finally realized completely that the days belonging to his former glory were truly lost.

The arrival of the Wanmin Vessel was a pleasant surprise for Xi Yu.

With it, many things became much more convenient.

The newly modified vessel had a massive carrying capacity and could travel without hindrance in the sky; basically, a single flight was enough to bring back various supplies.

Subsequently, under Ding Ren’s guidance, the people on the farm began to assist in moving the supplies.

Aside from the mutated poultry and livestock Ding Ren had brought, other supplies could be collected directly by Xi Yu using his glove space, which was highly convenient.

Clothing, various tools, and various seeds—basically anything they felt Xi Yu might need had been sent over in large quantities by the headquarters.

Most importantly, they had also brought a vast amount of synthetic protein feed.

Synthetic food was edible for humans, so mutated chickens naturally had no issues with it. It was just that previously, due to energy and transport restrictions, they hadn’t been able to supply it nationwide.

But now that the Middle Continent possessed the levitating battleships, they had sufficient confidence to extract resources and stably provide protein feed, at least in the short term.

To the Middle Continent, converting protein food into edible meat was naturally far more cost-effective.

To Xi Yu, this meant he no longer had to worry about finding feed.

Furthermore, the good news Ding Ren brought didn’t end there; the nation planned to establish a dedicated purchasing contract with him, specifically to acquire the pure meat from the ranch, while the nation would pay with various feeds and other supplies he needed.

As expected, with the backing of the nation, basically all his needs could be resolved.

****

Once the Wanmin Vessel arrived, the efficiency of the Star-Dream Farm surged instantly.

The cement and other supplies the farm desperately needed could be transported quickly, without Xi Yu needing to make the trips himself.

For Man Wenhuai, the greatest news—aside from the two hundred thousand mutated poultry and livestock brought by the vessel—was the feed. With these, mixed with a portion of mutated locust meat, they had the perfect feed.

The mutated chickens loved eating it, and they didn’t need to purchase more chicks anymore.

With the arrival of the vessel, the greatest problem for the farm was no longer resource limitations, but the issue of meat chickens reaching market size after the first month.

The first batch of orders from the nation had already arrived, and Xi Yu’s side needed to prepare to supply them.

Roosters didn’t actually need to be kept in large numbers; keeping a portion for breeding was enough. The remaining roosters would put on fat in about ten days, at which point they needed to be slaughtered and processed to avoid wasting feed.

Currently, the farm had about one hundred thousand roosters, including the batch brought by the Middle Continent, which needed to be processed immediately. This required a large amount of labor, and currently, the farm was severely short-staffed; he hoped the Lord Dragon would quickly recruit more people for the farm.

Ding Ren came and went like a whirlwind.

He had wanted to speak with Xi Yu more, but there were too many people around, making it inconvenient, and Xi Yu was also constantly busy. Furthermore, aside from delivering the vessel to Xi Yu, he had to report for duty immediately.

He had become the only Middle Continent B-class expert in Xichuan Province, so there were far too many matters for him to handle, leaving him no time to stay at the farm.

Thus, Xi Yu could only wave goodbye to him, though inwardly he felt quite happy; recently, staying with Ding Ren had made him feel immense pressure.

Before leaving, Ding Ren presented Xi Yu with a gift.

A special communicator.

This was the national security information clearance Chu Luan had promised Xi Yu previously.

The clearance level of this device was just above B-class, basically containing the vast majority of information across the country, and allowed him to contact Chu Luan directly.

Such special communicators were generally only possessed by B-class experts, as only they had sufficient power to protect them, which naturally wasn’t an issue for Xi Yu.

After activating his clearance, Ding Ren left in a hurry, his first stop being Xincheng City, where he had to quickly familiarize himself with the environment.

****

Once Ding Ren left, Xi Yu impatiently turned on the communicator to browse.

[Qingtai City is facing a sea beast invasion; they have been forced to relocate, requesting reinforcement!]

[The entire population of Hongshan Village in Ningwater City, Shanning Province, has perished due to unknown reasons; a B-class ghost is suspected to be active, requesting a B-class expert to investigate!]

…

[The currently confirmed number of B-class ghosts and beasts nationwide is 107.]

[There are currently 3 confirmed SS-class danger forbidden zones (absolute human forbidden zones) nationwide.]

[There are currently 17 confirmed S-class danger forbidden zones (absolute human forbidden zones) nationwide.]

[There are currently 219 confirmed A-class danger forbidden zones (posing a threat to B-classes, and absolute forbidden zones below B-class) nationwide.]

Xi Yu was truly shocked when he saw these pieces of information.

He knew the Middle Continent’s situation was poor, and now he had a direct perception of it. Even so, in his past life, even when facing the threat of the Drance Federation, the Middle Continent had still provided him with immense assistance.

He finally understood why the Middle Continent’s B-class experts were always invisible.

There were far too many matters to handle daily, making it impossible to cope. Every region was in danger, and every place required B-class support.

Previously, Xi Yu had wanted to build a breeding farm with a simple purpose: hoping the citizens could eat meat, thereby increasing their strength to face the future crises. Originally, he had been a bit lost on how to execute it, but now he understood. A good blade had to be used on the edge; at this stage, the priority was to help deal with the various crises.

****

There were currently no refrigerators or cold storage facilities on the Star-Dream Farm.

The generator had only been transported from Xincheng two days ago and was currently being installed, so the storage of meat on the farm basically relied on Xi Yu taking out a fixed amount daily, and Zhang Qingyuan’s team preparing it.

This was how they had operated over the past few days.

And this meat had always been under the personal supervision of Zhang Qingyuan and his team, with Fang Jianbo and the other five assisting him after arriving at the farm.

But starting from the day before yesterday, Zhang Qingyuan discovered they were losing meat.

Currently, including the construction teams and farm staff, along with the B-class experts, there were fifty-four people on the farm.

And Xi Yu happened to take out exactly one hundred chickens, fifty ducks, and fifty seafood items daily. Aside from the duck legs at noon, which were guaranteed at one per person, other meats were divided equally.

Since the number of duck legs exceeded the population, everyone was guaranteed a large duck leg at noon, and the surplus legs were chopped up and divided equally.

Then, the day before yesterday, Zhang Qingyuan suddenly discovered the number of duck legs was insufficient.

He had thought he and Fang Jianbo had calculated incorrectly, but once they confirmed they hadn’t miscounted on the second day, they found they were missing six duck legs at noon—three more than yesterday.

At this point, Zhang Qingyuan finally confirmed there was a meat thief.

His first suspicion fell on Augustus and his B-class partners; to steal meat under the noses of himself and Fang Jianbo, only they on the farm currently possessed the ability.

Xi Yu himself naturally couldn’t be the one stealing duck legs.

But when he went to interrogate them, Augustus and the other three, along with Owen’s group, cried out in protest, declaring their innocence.

Seeing them swear oaths, Zhang Qingyuan finally felt he might have truly been mistaken. Thinking about it, it was indeed unlikely; Augustus and his partners were terrified of Xi Yu, so they wouldn’t dare play such small tricks under his nose.

Furthermore, they were B-class experts, so stealing meat was indeed unlikely for them.

Then there was only one possibility: the farm had been invaded by a ghost or beast.

This speculation also left Augustus and his partners with ugly expressions.

Currently, the farm’s safety had been entrusted to them by Xi Yu, and clearing ghosts was their duty, yet a slippery thief had managed to bypass them, which proved their negligence.

If Xi Yu pursued the matter, they would surely suffer.

The three instantly prepared to capture this thief, ensuring it didn’t affect Xi Yu’s attitude toward them.

Thus, the next day, the three B-class experts watched the kitchen.

Then, they watched as a duck leg vanished before their eyes.

Of course, because they had discovered it in time, only one duck leg was stolen this time.

But this result startled everyone.

To succeed in stealing meat under the joint watch of three B-class experts made this unknown thief rather terrifying. If it had wanted to kill, no one on the farm aside from Xi Yu and the B-classes would have survived.

****

After hearing Zhang Qingyuan’s explanation, Xi Yu’s expression turned solemn.

An existence that could bypass B-class perception without leaving a trace was indeed not to be underestimated.

“I understand, leave this to me,” Xi Yu said.

“Mhm.” Once Xi Yu agreed, Zhang Qingyuan let out a complete sigh of relief. If even Xi Yu couldn’t resolve it, he doubted anyone in the world could.

Xi Yu was in a very poor mood. He had guaranteed the safety of all the farm staff to Guan Zhang, yet such a massive hidden threat had appeared nearby, and he had been completely unaware of it.

He had to resolve this matter completely, ensuring the farm staff didn’t face life-threatening danger.

Thus, Xi Yu transformed into the white dragon to perceive the farm, but his consciousness extended all the way to the Ghost Domain core, yet he still failed to detect any anomalies.

Xi Yu believed he hadn’t missed anything, which only proved that this unknown meat thief was truly extraordinary, leaving him increasingly cautious.

Since this was of great importance, Xi Yu temporarily set aside other matters, focusing his perception on every corner of the farm, particularly the kitchen.

Furthermore, he immediately instructed everyone to return to their houses, forbidding anyone from going out today. Until the threat was resolved completely, he didn’t plan on letting the staff work.

Since this was his personal instruction, everyone sensed the gravity of the situation, staying inside their houses obediently.

Man Wenhuai and his coworker were highly anxious in their room.

An entity that required the Lord Dragon to act so solemnly was surely very difficult to deal with, and he hoped the Lord Dragon would capture it quickly. Man Wenhuai wasn’t worried about whether the Lord Dragon could capture the thief; his concern lay with the chicken coop. Would this meat thief also target the mutated chickens?

At this thought, he suddenly couldn’t sit still.

But he possessed self-awareness; going out was pure suicide, and for his wife and children’s sake, he couldn’t allow anything to happen to him.

After some thought, he thought of Isaac, but they didn’t live together, and neither possessed a communicator, so he had no way to contact him right now.

Man Wenhuai could only stare out the window, hoping to spot Isaac outside.

As luck would have led it, after watching for only fifteen minutes, he spotted Isaac, and he quickly called out his name.

Isaac and Acrylic were currently harboring frustration; as a pair of cowards, failing to catch the meat thief felt like a hard slap to their faces. They had wanted to perform well before Xi Yu, yet now they had bungled the task.

They were deeply worried that their standing in Xi Yu’s mind would plummet.

Regarding this meat thief, the two had an idea; it certainly wasn’t as terrifyingly powerful as the white dragon, likely only possessing some special talent.

Although the divine dragon’s existence had shown them that there were indeed terrifying existences in this world, this unknown thief was certainly not one of them.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have resorted to stealing meat covertly.

Still, the two didn’t dare be careless, forming a team to search outside, hoping they might happen to discover a trace of the thief and redeem themselves.

Upon receiving Man Wenhuai’s tip, the two hurried into the chicken coop.

This coop had been constructed by themselves; aside from being ringed by fences, the coops inside were only covered in roofs to give the chickens a place to rest at night.

Upon reaching the coop, they immediately discovered something was off.

At the entrance of the coop lay the carcass of a mutated duck.

Their expressions shifted drastically, and they approached cautiously.

The duck had been dead for a while, and a piece of meat had been bitten off its thigh. Its body was cold, and the blood had congealed, but it had been left behind rather than carried away.

Their faces were very grim; they suspected this was a provocation from the thief.

“Let’s go tell Lord Dragon.”

They didn’t dare hide this, and though they felt Xi Yu’s mood wouldn’t be good right now, they still braced themselves to find him.

The dragon looked at them calmly. “You performed well. The reward will be noted.”

Acrylic and his partner were overjoyed; fortunately, the dragon hadn’t taken his anger out on them. Instantly, they were filled with motivation once more.

Once they left, the dragon’s face showed no emotion, but Xi Yu was in a very bad mood. He had checked the coop earlier and found nothing, yet the thief had killed a duck and left it there without him knowing.

This fellow was far more troublesome than he anticipated; it seemed he couldn’t conserve his strength and had to monitor the entire farm.

This would require the white dragon to consume a significant amount of dragon power.

But thinking that Ding Ren had already returned, Xi Yu didn’t have many reservations. At worst, he could ask Ding Ren for help, though it had only been a few days, and he didn’t know if Ding Ren had recovered.

With this thought, he called Augustus and Gabriel over. Xi Yu pulled out ten chickens, ten ducks, and a pile of seafood, and said to the two, “Go to Xincheng City immediately and deliver these to Ding Ren. You know Ding Ren, right? Have him eat them all, and don’t give them to anyone else.”

Augustus and his partner nodded, though they felt a bit puzzled; what was the Lord Dragon doing?

They naturally knew Ding Ren; as the most critical figure of the Middle Continent, they possessed information on this man who was hailed as the top C-class expert, and they had just discovered he was B-class now, which left a deep impression on them.

Why did the Lord Dragon regard him so highly?

But they didn’t dare delay, sprinting to Xincheng City at full speed.

They didn’t even think of fleeing along the way, nor did they slack off. Moving at full tilt, they reached Xincheng in just ten minutes and delivered the items to Ding Ren.

Ding Ren’s expression was very calm upon receiving the items, completely devoid of any emotion.

Augustus and his partner saw nothing and took their leave immediately. They envied the Middle Continent’s B-class expert; to think the white dragon even provided him with such benefits.

Little did they know that after they left, Ding Ren couldn’t help but grit his teeth.

But he still ate all the food.

As the only B-class expert currently in Xincheng, Ding Ren had major responsibilities, so he didn’t even have time to speak with the small dragon.

He had come to Xincheng to begin familiarizing himself with the environment of Xichuan Province and handle issues quickly.

The food sent by the small dragon was merely an interlude; looking at the envious expressions of the others, Ding Ren’s face remained calm, though no one knew the bittersweet feeling in his heart.

The only good thing was that the small dragon seemed to be growing increasingly sensible, which made him feel happy.

This also meant he had to work even harder.

****

By nightfall, Xi Yu still had no discoveries.

He couldn’t help but suspect that the white dragon’s presence had been detected by the meat thief.

The white dragon’s passive absorption of Mutation Particles was something even he couldn’t control. Xi Yu couldn’t continue to lock horns with this fellow; he had to find a way to lure it out.

Since the thief was stealing meat, it was naturally for the sake of eating. If he continued to tempt it with meat, he didn’t believe it could resist.

Thus, he had Isaac and the others gather everyone; today he would treat the entire farm staff to a barbecue.

He had Zhang Qingyuan prepare the barbecue, and it would be unlimited.

“Eat with peace of mind in a bit; with Lord Dragon watching over us, nothing will happen,” he said, fearing some might be afraid.

But no one was afraid; with Lord Dragon personally watching over them, they had nothing to fear. Not capturing this unknown ghost would leave everyone in a state of panic, and being able to eat barbecue without reservations was something everyone looked forward to.

This was the largest gathering since the construction of the Star-Dream Farm began.

Although the purpose was to lure the meat thief, Zhang Qingyuan also planned to use this opportunity to let everyone eat to their heart’s content.

The barbecue was extremely lavish.

Xi Yu pulled out all the different meats in his space, not leaving out a single seafood item. Once the aroma of the barbecue spread, everyone kept swallowing their saliva.

Man Wenhuai stared at a spiny lobster that was half a human’s height, his eyes unable to drift away. He truly wanted to fly back to his home and bring his family over for a feast.

“Alright, eat up, everyone.” Zhang Qingyuan, Fang Jianbo, and the others personally grilled for everyone, and once the skewers were ready, the others couldn’t hold back any longer.

Especially Augustus and his partners; they had also been invited, and they cherished this rare opportunity, picking up skewers immediately. Seeing this, the others didn’t hesitate either; if these B-classes ate everything, would there be any left for them?

Fortunately, Augustus and his partners were very disciplined, only taking one skewer at a time, not daring to take everything at once.

Everyone ate happily.

It felt very dreamlike to be able to eat meat like rice; they had only dreamed of this, yet now the dream had come true. Previously, they could only dream of ordinary, pure meat, but now they had even eaten seafood.

****

Xi Yu had already left the farm and flown high into the sky, hiding within the clouds to observe every move on the ground.

At such a distance, he didn’t believe the unknown thief could detect him.

Now was the time to test their patience.

The barbecue feast on the ground lasted for more than three hours, and everyone had eaten their fill. Even B-class experts like Augustus had eaten enough.

But the barbecue wasn’t over; everyone was just eating slower now.

Zhang Qingyuan and his partners had also eaten, and Gabriel volunteered to help with the grilling, so Zhang Qingyuan and the others enjoyed eating.

They had shared hotpot with Xi Yu several times, but this was their first time having barbecue.

The flavor of the barbecue was very different from hotpot.

While they were eating happily, an entity in another space was dying of cravings. Since eating the meat on the farm, it couldn’t stomach other food at all.

August had eaten a fragrant braised duck leg once and couldn’t forget it.

It was delicious, and its stomach didn’t hurt afterward, which was miraculous.

‘How did they make this place?’

It had eaten all the meat, but its favorite was that large duck leg. It had no shell, didn’t have many bones, and was almost entirely meat; with one bite, the juices squirted everywhere, which was highly satisfying.

Since eating the duck leg, it could never forget this delicacy.

At this moment, it was staring at the roasted duck leg Zhang Qingyuan was eating, its saliva threating to run out. August swallowed again and again, but couldn’t control its saliva.

‘Is that terrifying creature still hiding here?’

When August was in its current space, it couldn’t see the true appearance of Zhang Qingyuan and the others in the other world, but it could roughly see their shapes and movements.

At this moment, August couldn’t help but open a tiny spatial crack, letting the aroma from outside drift in.

It wanted to control its actions, but its claw simply wouldn’t stop.

It knew there was a trap outside, where a terrifying existence was hidden, making its heart throb with dread. It even knew that though the creature was currently invisible, he was definitely watching from somewhere, and the moment it appeared, he would capture it.

‘But what if my movements are a bit faster? Would he still be unable to catch me?’

The roasted duck leg was simply too fragrant, and August finally couldn’t hold back.

‘Just a quick swipe; no one in this world can do anything to me.’

It cautiously arrived beside Zhang Qingyuan, where two large duck legs were resting on the table next to him. As long as it moved quickly, it could harvest both legs simultaneously.

Gurgle.

A very faint sound like running water appeared beside Zhang Qingyuan, and in a flash, August’s claw reached toward the two duck legs.

Thump.

However, in that instant, August felt its heartbeat halt.

An indescribable roar exploded in its mind, and in that split second, its soul and body felt frozen, unable to move at all.

An indescribable, terrifying aura descended upon its body.

“Squeak-squeak!”

August was terrified, instantly regretting its greed.

At the critical moment, August let out a sharp shriek. Suddenly, its body cleared, and all the pressure on its body vanished.

But in that instant, what felt like a needle pierced into its body.

August let out a miserable shriek, and the next moment, it vanished back into its hidden space, though it didn’t forget to take the two duck legs with it.

At the same moment, the small white dragon descended from the sky.

“Lord Dragon.”

“Lord Dragon.”

Augustus, Man Wenhuai, and the others bowed in turn.

“Captain Zhang, did you catch the meat thief?” Seeing Xi Yu’s white dragon form, Zhang Qingyuan couldn’t bring himself to call his name, only feeling comfortable once he called him Lord Dragon.

“It escaped,” a flash of white light streaked through the air, and Xi Yu’s human form appeared. He sighed, “This little thing is far from simple.”

To be able to break through his spiritual pressure was something not even some B-class experts could achieve.

“A little thing?” Zhang Qingyuan couldn’t help but ask. “Do you know what it is?”

“Not yet, but it’s not large,” Xi Yu’s face showed no disappointment. “Alright, there’s no need to worry about it from now on; it won’t be escaping.”

In that split second, Xi Yu indeed could have killed this little thief, but for an entity that required so much effort from him, he wasn’t willing to kill it so easily. Thus, he had injected a trace of dragon aura into the little fellow; now, if it wanted to live, its only option was to return and find him, assuming it was smart and possessed the courage.

When the time came, the moment it appeared, he would know instantly.

And he had another, more important reason for not killing it.

“Hahaha! Since Lord Dragon says so, there’s definitely no problem!” The farm staff were overjoyed.

“Everyone continue eating; I’m heading back first.” Xi Yu walked toward his house. Having spent the day as the white dragon, he truly needed to rest.

Seeing Xi Yu’s state, everyone was in no mood to continue eating.

The dragon had been tired all day, and they couldn’t bring themselves to eat light-heartedly.

Xi Yu was actually fine; today he had only transformed without consuming dragon power, so there was no impact, and he didn’t need to ask Ding Ren for help.

However, the origin of the meat thief left him in a poor mood. “I hadn’t expected this fellow to come from the Dimensional Black Abyss. I also hadn’t expected the Dimensional Black Abyss to appear in the Middle Continent so early.”

The Dimensional Black Abyss was known as the Gate of the World, and in his past life, the most terrifying entities had all descended upon Kun Star from that location.

Ding Ren tossed and turned, waiting all night, but the small dragon didn’t come.

He let out a shameful sigh of relief, then couldn’t help but grit his teeth; the small dragon was getting increasingly wicked, actually playing with him.

****

Central City.

The former provincial capital of Xichuan Province had long since become a human forbidden zone. But if humans were to step inside at this moment, they would discover that Central City was highly active.

Currently, the entire city was enveloped in a thick layer of fog.

Within the city, towering trees grew everywhere, with one tree being particularly massive, its dense canopy covering nearly half of the city.

And above this tree sat a towering building.

This building was called the Sky Tower, the tallest structure in Central City before the catastrophe. Currently, the top floor of the Sky Tower was enveloped in fine sand, which was constantly rotating around the top floor, carrying a terrifying and eerie aura.

And this place was one of the 17 S-class danger forbidden zones designated by the Middle Continent.

Being designated as S-class didn’t mean there were S-class ghosts inside, but that the danger level was close to S-class; currently, no A-class or higher ghosts had been discovered in the world.

The unknown, terrifying ghost atop the Sky Tower was only listed as a suspected A-class by the Middle Continent.

At this moment, the entity atop the Sky Tower—the master of the sand that made the Middle Continent highly wary—suddenly erupted with an anomaly, and the fine sand swirling around the top floor of the Sky Tower was completely drawn back.

Eventually, the sand formed a human silhouette.

Subsequently, the silhouette stepped forward, and his entire body dispersed once more, turning into a sandstorm that flew into the sky, heading south.

“S-class [Sand King], what are you doing?”

Suddenly, a white cat emerged from the giant towering tree. The cat spoke the language of the Middle Continent, calling out to the sandstorm.

However, the sandstorm ignored it.

The white cat stretched, and the next moment, its body vanished. When it appeared again, it had already crossed half of Central City, and then its silhouette vanished once more.

At Central City’s First Hospital, the entire building suddenly trembled.

But the trembling soon ended, and everything returned to calm.

****

Atop a mountain between the Star-Dream Farm and Central City.

The sky-covering sandstorm finally gathered, forming a human silhouette once more.

After a moment, a small white cat appeared out of thin air beside him. The cat licked its claw before following the sandman’s gaze toward the direction of the Star-Dream Farm.

“S-class [Sand King], what exactly are you looking at? Meow,” the cat asked in confusion; it hadn’t discovered any anomalies.

“Did you not perceive it? It’s the aura of the Dimensional Black Abyss.” The sandman’s voice was completely different from his appearance, sounding resonant and magnetic.

“The Dimensional Black Abyss?” The fur on the cat’s body stood on end, and its crescent-shaped pupils instantly turned pitch black.

Its nose also began to twitch.

Unfortunately, despite sniffing hard, the cat didn’t find any anomalies.

“It has already vanished, but I’m certain there must be news of the Dimensional Black Abyss there,” the sandman said with absolute certainty.

“Which means it’s gone now,” the cat shook its head. “This suggests the passage to the Dimensional Black Abyss hasn’t officially opened, and perhaps the creature merely slipped out on its own. The chances of traveling to the Dimensional Black Abyss through it aren’t high; we should head back.”

Instead of waiting for the sandman’s reply, the cat twitched its nose once more, and then went into a state of shock. “No! That place is peculiar; I actually smelled the fragrance of Food Seeds.”

“Food Seeds?” The sandman’s voice also shook. “Are you certain you didn’t smell wrong? Could it just be ordinary, pure meat?”

“I absolutely cannot mistake it; I once received favor from the All-Beast Mother and ate a small piece of Food Seed. Food Seeds contain Mutation Particles, and the unique aroma combined with the meat is unmatched; ordinary, pure meat would absolutely not have this fragrance,” the cat said with absolute seriousness.

As soon as its words fell, the sandstorm flew toward the Star-Dream Farm.

“S-class [Sand King], you’re mad! Although those great existences capable of producing Food Seeds cannot descend upon this world, are you not afraid the humans’ nuclear weapons will blow you into dust?” the cat shrieked.

“You’re right.” The sandstorm came to a halt, landing on the ground.

Subsequently, he gathered into a human silhouette once more, but this time, his appearance looked increasingly human. Eventually, his skin transformed, and even a set of pure white clothes appeared on his body.

The sandman finally transformed completely into a handsome, human male with black hair and dark eyes.

“Does my appearance look human now?” the sandman looked at the cat.

“Meow, to say it’s similar is an understatement; it’s simply identical.” The cat leapt onto the sandman’s shoulder. “Whether it’s the Dimensional Black Abyss or the Food Seeds, both are worth investigating. In that case, let’s depart.”

“Why are you following me? Do you think it’s normal to carry a cat in the wilderness right now?”

“What’s abnormal about carrying a cat? Accompanying a poor little kitty in a terrifying world is so pitiable; perhaps once the humans see our wretched state, they’ll even give us a delicious meal,” the cat said confidently.

The sandman paused, eventually carrying the cat forward.

“But I must think of a human name; how about Sha Ren?” the sandman said.

“Wow, what a great name; it’s simple, filled with wisdom, and elegant. Then I’ll think of a name as well; how about Xiao Bai? Sha Ren, what do you think? Meow,” the cat called out quickly.

“An excellent name, simple, clear, and vivid,” Sha Ren praised expressionlessly.

“I know, keep a low profile,” Xiao Bai said demurely.

“By the way, are we not notifying Da Pang?” the cat asked.

“Forget it; that fellow has a violent temper and will only ruin things. And with a beneficial matter, are you willing to share it with him?”

“You’re very clever; right, we won’t share it with him.”

****

Early the next morning, Xi Yu was inspecting the ranch, with Man Wenhuai following beside him.

The ranch had already established a chicken coop, a duck coop, a pigsty, and a cow house. But aside from mutated chickens, other livestock were temporarily few.

“So the first batch of mutated roosters can be slaughtered for meat soon; how many are there?”

Upon seeing Xi Yu, Man Wenhuai shared the details of the mutated chickens. The number of roosters exceeded that of hens, and since they couldn’t lay eggs, once they were fattened, they should be slaughtered.

“There are about one hundred thousand. Lord Dragon, we must recruit people; otherwise, we won’t be able to manage,” Man Wenhuai said. “The slaughter can be handled by Augustus and his partners, but for plucking and processing the entrails, our current labor force is truly insufficient.”

“I had that intention as well, but previously there weren’t enough houses; now it’s much better, so we should be able to recruit more people,” Xi Yu nodded. “This work isn’t too tiring, and anyone with a bit of strength can do it. I plan to recruit your family members over, so you can be reunited. Man Wenhuai, you discuss this with everyone later, and see if they want to bring their families over.”

“They’re willing! Every one of them is willing!” Man Wenhuai’s eyes turned red. “Thank you, Lord Dragon.”

“Why thank me? I’m having them come to work, not to enjoy themselves,” Xi Yu smiled.

Just then, Xi Yu suddenly turned his head to look behind him.

Man Wenhuai followed his gaze and looked over as well.

They saw an exceptionally handsome man walking toward the edge of the farm. Atop his shoulder sat a beautiful white cat, and he had just been intercepted by the patrolling Augustus.

Xi Yu gestured for Man Wenhuai to leave first, and walked over himself.

Seeing him arrive, Augustus, who was questioning the white-clad man’s origin, let out a sigh of relief. This white-clad man had walked over from the wilderness, clean all over, and was actually carrying a small cat—who was he trying to fool? Who would believe he was fine?

But the problem was, Augustus truly hadn’t detected a single flaw on his person, which filled him with some dread.

But no matter what his issue was, once Lord Dragon arrived, he had nothing to fear.

“Hello. We lost our way in the wilderness, and we are both tired and hungry; can we get some food from you?”

As if recognizing Xi Yu was the person in charge, Sha Ren asked quickly.

Xi Yu looked at him and the white cat on his shoulder with a strange expression.

‘To think that the two future SS-class/Sequence 2 giants—[Sand King] and [Cat King]—have actually run to my farm… did they sense I’m short-staffed and come to apply for a job?’

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