Chapter 31: Lured by Barbecue

“Welcome, welcome! We are all one family in the Middle Continent; when traveling, we should help each other,” Xi Yu quickly invited.

“Thank… thank you very much.”

Although Sha Ren wanted his expression to appear natural, he simply couldn’t manage it.

“There’s no need to be polite. Old Au, quickly go tell Captain Zhang to prepare some food; we must properly entertain guests from afar, and use the absolute best food,” Xi Yu turned to say to Augustus immediately.

“Yes, Lord White Dragon,” Augustus responded respectfully.

“Come, the two of you, follow me,” Xi Yu led the way with a beaming smile.

However, Sha Ren and the cat froze on the spot.

‘Sha Ren, did you hear wrong just now? That human actually addressed this youth as Lord White Dragon? Is this white dragon the kind of dragon you and I know?’

Xiao Bai’s voice echoed in Sha Ren’s mind, but it was trembling.

‘I must have heard wrong; it’s impossible. A dragon is a creature that those Middle Continent people say can travel the heavens and earth and is omnipotent—perhaps a Sequence 3, or even a Sequence 2 entity, which we might not be able to defeat. But they also said that dragons are only creatures of myths and legends, and cannot truly exist in this world.’

Still, Sha Ren’s body was a bit stiff.

‘But this youth is indeed a bit peculiar. Look at how respectful that human—who is only at Sequence 5—was to him. That’s far too abnormal, and this human youth looks like he’s only at Sequence 9 no matter how you look at him!’

‘It feels a tiny bit eerie. Why don’t we just leave? Safety first,’ Xiao Bai couldn’t help but say.

‘You’re right; our lives are more important,’ Sha Ren agreed deeply.

“Haha, friend, we actually just remembered we have some business to attend to, so we won’t disturb you further. We’ll come to visit another day if we have the chance,” Sha Ren said suddenly.

With that, he turned around and ran with Xiao Bai, without the slightest hesitation.

“Since you’ve come all this way, why are you in such a hurry to leave?” Xi Yu said casually as he watched their retreating figures. “There truly is delicious food at my ranch, won’t you try some?”

“No, no, another day!” Sha Ren didn’t forget to offer a polite response.

“Sigh,” Xi Yu let out a sigh.

Having transformed yesterday, he truly didn’t want to transform again today.

But suddenly, a white light soared into the sky, and the massive figure of the white dragon flew into the air, blocking the path of the man and the cat with a simple sweep of his tail.

[Sequence 4: Dread Class—take my word for it, this fellow is far from simple. If you think he only looks ordinary, then you… wait, you are currently… fine, pretend I said nothing. As for his weaknesses, forget it, you definitely don’t want to know anyway.]

[Sequence 4: Dread Class—ditto]

Sha Ren’s eyes bulged.

Xiao Bai was also dumbfounded.

It turned out Lord White Dragon wasn’t speaking in jest; he truly was a dragon.

“Scatter and run!”

Suddenly, Sha Ren turned into a pile of sand, attempting to burrow into the earth.

Xiao Bai’s body flashed, vanishing instantly from the spot.

Thud.

The white dragon landed instantly, striking the earth with a claw, and then immediately took to the sky, flying toward the mountain peak to the left front.

The body of Sha Ren—who had transformed into sand—stiffened instantly, unable to burrow into the ground no matter how hard he tried.

Xiao Bai’s figure appeared out of thin air on a mountain peak at the edge of the farm, preparing to teleport again in the next moment.

Thump.

But the white dragon’s figure suddenly appeared, grabbing the cat in his claw.

Xiao Bai’s body swelled violently, appearing on the verge of unleashing a powerful Food Sacrifice ability.

“Xiao Bai, if you stay quiet, I won’t do anything to you. But if you truly want to fight to the death, I promise you will die,” the white dragon’s voice crashed into Xiao Bai’s mind.

The cat’s body shivered a few times, and ultimately, it didn’t unleash its most powerful Food Sacrifice ability.

And as promised, the white dragon didn’t take further action against it.

On the other side, seeing that burrowing into the earth was blocked, Sha Ren quickly spun his body.

Suddenly, the sky dimmed, and a black cloud of smoke rose from the horizon, sweeping toward them.

Xi Yu flew over with Xiao Bai and swiped at him with his dragon tail.

The sandstorm sweeping toward them came to an abrupt halt, and the sand Sha Ren had transformed into fell to the ground.

In truth, Xi Yu had wanted to use a few powerful divine dragon techniques to instantly subdue the two, but unfortunately, he had yet to inherit those memories of the white dragon’s abilities or supernatural techniques.

However, the white dragon’s raw physical strength was more than enough for him.

The white dragon flew before Sha Ren, dropping Xiao Bai onto the ground.

“Sha Ren, stop playing dead; it’s useless,” Xiao Bai let out a sigh, feeling very dejected.

Taking a stroll out of the house on a whim had led them right into the tiger’s mouth; their luck was truly unmatched.

Sha Ren’s body flowed on the ground, eventually gathering back into his initial human form, and then he raised his hands. “Lord White Dragon, spare us.”

“I never intended to do anything to you. Aren’t you going to eat?” Xi Yu transformed back with a gentle smile, completely lacking his earlier force. “Let’s go, the food is likely ready.”

Sha Ren and Xiao Bai looked at each other, their hearts throbbing with fear, but they didn’t dare delay, quickly following him.

Xi Yu knew very well that [Sand King] and [Cat King] didn’t harbor any murderous intent.

These two had been very passive in his past life, basically not participating in any conflicts; they only wanted to enter the world of the Dimensional Black Abyss.

What was most amusing was that they had successfully entered the abyss back then, only to be sent back to Kun Star by the existences behind them.

As long as it had nothing to do with the Dimensional Black Abyss, they were likely the most laid-back ghosts.

For an entity at the Sequence 2 level, he naturally would have paid attention in his past life.

Only, Xi Yu hadn’t expected to meet them so early in this life.

Could it be that they lived nearby?

Xi Yu hadn’t heard of the Sand King committing any massacres against humans in his previous life, and he even knew they were among the rare, reasonable ghosts who were interested in human culture, having even protected some humans.

Even so, warning them was necessary; ghosts of this level acted entirely on whim and caprice, and one could never believe their nature was truly kind.

But currently, he truly wanted to treat them to a meal.

Without cause, he couldn’t just kill every ghost he saw; having one more friend was always better than having one more enemy.

The backgrounds of these two were far from simple, and seemed related to those Food Sequence Lords; perhaps they might have opportunities to cooperate in the future.

***

Sha Ren and Xiao Bai followed closely behind Xi Yu.

Their emotions recovered quickly, and they began to observe the entire ranch seriously.

Their hearts were filled with immense shock; they had never imagined running into a being of the white dragon’s level in such an ordinary place.

Once they entered the dining hall, the three B-class experts were stunned.

Even before entering, Xiao Bai’s nose had begun to twitch uncontrollably.

Sha Ren’s expression wasn’t much better; he also smelled the rich aroma of meat.

Upon entering, a massive quantity of food appeared before their eyes.

[I Can See the Quality of Ingredients] had already appraised the food, and they knew the pure meat before them was a “Food Seed”—a type of food they had dreamed of.

“Don’t stand on ceremony, please help yourselves,” Xi Yu said with a smile, gesturing to the table.

He didn’t have Zhang Qingyuan hold anything back; whatever the dining hall possessed was prepared for the two of them to taste.

Sha Ren and Xiao Bai looked at each other and lunged forward immediately.

The next moment, everyone else in the dining hall was dumbfounded.

Although these two ghosts looked extraordinary, they had absolutely no table manners.

The man and the cat devoured the food like a whirlwind.

Currently, there weren’t many people in the dining hall; aside from Augustus and the other B-classes, there were only a few staff members who had just come in to get water.

At first sight of Sha Ren and the cat, they recognized them as ghosts. But with Lord Dragon present, they were able to maintain their composure, though their scalps still tingled.

This was too shocking; ghosts had actually run to their place to eat.

This was indeed something only Lord Dragon could do; anyone else wouldn’t even dare think of it.

“It really is a Food Seed! It’s too fragrant!” Xiao Bai was moved; having only eaten a single piece of Food Seed previously, the cat had never forgotten its flavor.

Yet now, it could actually eat its fill.

Sha Ren’s eating manner was no better, completely casting aside the last sliver of dignity as an A-class.

Even though they were at the Sequence 4 level, eating their fill of Food Seeds was impossible, at least on Kun Star currently.

Xi Yu wasn’t surprised by their behavior at all.

He simply leaned against the doorframe, watching them devour the food.

Ghosts and humans weren’t actually absolute enemies; many humans might not even know that the vast majority of ghosts didn’t eat meat, and some were even vegetarians.

The conflict of mutation traits existed for all races, not just humans.

Thus, being able to eat a meal of pure meat was a rare treat for high-order ghosts.

Xi Yu gestured for Zhang Qingyuan to continue cooking for them.

It wasn’t until they had consumed over a hundred pounds of meat that Sha Ren and Xiao Bai’s movements finally slowed down.

This small amount of food was naturally not enough to satisfy them completely, but they possessed self-awareness, not daring to continue eating.

Everything came with a price, and they feared they wouldn’t be able to pay the price the white dragon demanded if they ate too much.

“Lord White Dragon, we are full,” Sha Ren and Xiao Bai said obediently.

Both were very apprehensive; the white dragon’s behavior was far too strange—stopping them from leaving, yet insisting on treating them to Food Seeds.

They feared this meat wouldn’t be so easy to eat, and they didn’t know what he wanted.

“Since you’re full, you may leave,” Xi Yu waved his hand.

“Leave?” Sha Ren and the cat’s eyes widened.

“You truly plan to let us leave?” Sha Ren asked cautiously, in disbelief.

“Of course,” Xi Yu smiled. “Unless you want to stay for lunch? I’ll have to charge you next time.”

“Then we’ll leave, meow,” Xiao Bai patted Sha Ren’s head.

The two walked out of the door cautiously.

“Wait a minute,” Xi Yu said suddenly.

“As expected,” Sha Ren and Xiao Bai’s hearts sank, and they looked at Xi Yu with miserable faces. “What are your instructions?”

“I intend to open an outdoor restaurant here, and you are welcome to visit in the future. Additionally, please help me spread the word: Star-Dream Farm welcomes all races that haven’t harmed the citizens of the Middle Continent to visit, and we will provide pure meat. Treat this as your payment for today’s meal.”

With that, Xi Yu waved at them. “Alright, see you next time.”

Without waiting for their response, Xi Yu turned and walked away.

The arrival of Sha Ren and the cat had suddenly given him this inspiration.

He planned to supply pure meat to the Middle Continent as much as possible, while he could earn resources from other avenues.

This wasn’t his wild fantasy.

Whether it was the little thief stealing duck legs, or the arrival of Sha Ren and the cat, it proved the allure of pure meat.

And over time, the magic of pure meat would surely grow stronger, and there was no telling what kind of entities would be drawn over.

So rather than waiting, he might as well open an outdoor restaurant proactively.

The premise was that they had to follow the rules and pay for their meals.

However, this matter reminded him that he couldn’t be careless regarding the pure meat; otherwise, his good intentions might cause trouble. Xincheng City’s massive consumption of pure meat last time might have just been luck, but he shouldn’t do it again in the future—at least not under the Middle Continent’s current circumstances.

The plan to let the entire population eat pure meat had to be delayed; at this stage, pure meat was best supplied only to a specific group of people.

Xi Yu acted on his thoughts immediately, calling Zhang Qingyuan over and having him construct an open-air canopy restaurant at the rear mountain of the farm.

Just in case, if any special entities arrived, they could eat over there.

But calculating it this way, it would mean another expense.

He had left half of the grain he seized from the Drance Federation in Baiji County. As for the remaining half, he had used it to pay for various construction materials, and the food consumption on the farm had used less than thirty tons.

But the major cost was still the purchase of mutated poultry; neither Guan Zhang’s side nor the capital had asked for his grain, all counting on him to pay with pure meat in the future. Otherwise, the grain he currently had on hand wouldn’t be enough.

The plan to earn resources truly had to be put on the agenda now.

Furthermore, the appearance of two A-class ghosts this time made Xi Yu realize that unless absolutely necessary, he shouldn’t leave the farm in the future.

And seeing Sha Ren and the cat also confirmed that there indeed were A-class ghosts in this period.

They just hadn’t attacked the remaining human survival areas; otherwise, humans wouldn’t have been able to hold out in this world.

The various crises the Middle Continent encountered in the future were ultimately just the lingering effects of various terrifying entities. Even so, the Middle Continent’s situation was already extremely difficult.

Seeing Xi Yu truly leave, Xiao Bai quickly grabbed Sha Ren and vanished from everyone’s sight instantly.

Half an hour later, the man and the cat appeared on a remote mountain far from the Star-Dream Farm.

The two looked at each other, their hearts still pounding with fear.

“I didn’t expect the white dragon to actually let us go,” Sha Ren was still filled with lingering fear.

“Yes, yes,” Xiao Bai patted its chest, feeling exceptionally relieved.

“It seems this existence is not a bloodthirsty one,” Sha Ren recovered his composure, thinking seriously. “Do you think he might be one of those great existences?”

“That… should be impossible, right?” Xiao Bai was filled with doubt. “The current world definitely can’t sustain a great lifeform of that level; perhaps he just has a high Sequence?”

Sha Ren shook his head, also feeling the probability was low. “But if he isn’t a Food Sequence Lord, how can he produce Food Seeds?”

“You forgot about Food Sacrifice abilities?” Xiao Bai said quickly. “Rumor has it that there is a Food Sacrifice ability that also has this effect, right?”

“A Divine Food Sacrifice?” Sha Ren swallowed a mouth of sand, but still felt the probability was low. He eventually shook his head. “Forget it, whether he is or not has nothing to do with us; the white dragon’s ability doesn’t conflict with ours, and as long as we stay far away from him in the future, we’ll be fine. Furthermore, he’s already at such a high Sequence, which is inherently an incredible thing.”

“But… he also invited us to continue eating there! Are we really not going? It’s a Food Seed, after all,” Xiao Bai swallowed, its mouth watering.

“It’s only a low-grade Food Seed, merely satisfying our appetite, and doesn’t have much effect on us. It’s best not to take risks; what if the white dragon has other motives?” Sha Ren shook his head.

“I still want to go,” Xiao Bai hesitated for a moment. “If he really wanted to scheme against us, we certainly wouldn’t be able to escape anyway. A man dies for wealth, and a cat dies for food; didn’t the white dragon say we had to pay? I’ve decided to bring payment next time; perhaps he really just wants to earn resources.”

“Since that’s the case, I can’t let you risk it alone as a cat,” Sha Ren hesitated, then said righteously, “I’ll accompany you.”

“Meow.” Xiao Bai rolled its eyes at him. “But what kind of payment does he want? Human money? Or grain, or perhaps various essences?”

“We’ll bring a bit of everything, and we’ll find out when we go next time. Let’s go, we should notify the other monsters and handle the task the white dragon instructed first.”

The man and the cat completely vanished from the mountain peak, and the mountain returned to calm.

The commotion Sha Ren and Xiao Bai brought to the farm vanished quickly.

With a pile of B-class experts on the farm currently, the arrival of two more ghosts didn’t seem so shocking. Of course, had they known Sha Ren and the cat were both A-class, they wouldn’t have been able to remain so calm.

Currently, Man Wenhuai and his partners had no time to focus on this matter, because they were going home.

Lord Dragon had granted everyone two days of leave; they could return to rest for two days and return to work the day after tomorrow. This time, Zhang Qingyuan was also going with them, preparing to recruit another fifty or sixty people from Xincheng City to help at the farm.

Xincheng City wasn’t far, and since there weren’t many people, they didn’t deploy the Wanmin Vessel, instead calling Guan Zhang to have people come and pick them up.

With the road between Xincheng and the farm cleared, the drive would only take two hours. Guan Zhang’s vehicles arrived at the farm at ten in the morning, and after having a meal, they set out back at eleven.

The journey was completely safe, with no encounters of ghost or beast attacks. Before 1 PM, the vehicles arrived back in Xincheng City.

***

Man Wenhuai held the bag of rice and the three pure chicken carcasses in his arms, his heart exceptionally excited.

He had worked at the Star-Dream Farm for less than ten days, yet returning home this time felt like a triumphant return.

Before their departure, Lord Dragon had paid them their wages.

The wages were food, calculated at ten pounds of rice per day. Furthermore, they received a chicken every week, and other seafood would be discussed separately.

In truth, they had no use for these things, as all their food on the farm was covered.

Thus, he had traded his grain for two chickens, and brought back half of his remaining grain. Actually, he could bring his family to the farm immediately, and they wouldn’t have to worry about food in the future, so this food had been brought for others.

The vehicle delivered Man Wenhuai directly to his door.

This was a three-story building, and he lived on the second floor, which was very small. Dozens of households lived in the building, and everyone knew each other well.

At this hour, the labor force of every household had gone out to work, leaving one adult behind to watch all the children. This was a long-term consensus among the families, taking turns to care for the children so everyone could find time to do more work.

Man Wenhuai’s return immediately caused a sensation.

Everyone knew he had gone to work for Lord Dragon, and everyone wanted to know how he had fared.

“Xiaoya, Xiaoqin!”

Man Wenhuai watched his son and daughter charge toward him.

He immediately tossed his bag onto the ground, embracing his daughter and son. After not seeing them for only a few days, he had missed them terribly, kissing them repeatedly.

“Old Man is back.” The one watching the children this time was Sister Cui’s family from upstairs.

“Sister Cui,” Man Wenhuai set the children down and stood up, nodding. “I’m back.”

“Sister Cui, come to my house for dinner tonight; we have meat.” Over the years, the neighbors had had conflicts, but they had ultimately helped each other through, and now he finally had the ability to repay them.

Sister Cui was stunned, her eyes widening.

The news of Man Wenhuai’s return spread like wildfire.

Everyone knew they had brought back a lot of grain and meat, which filled everyone with immense envy. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been recruited back then; who would have thought raising mutated chickens would become such a prestigious skill one day?

***

That night, Man Wenhuai’s home was packed with people.

He had brought back thirty pounds of rice, and he cooked it all in one go.

Using a large stove, he cooked two massive pots of rice.

Mutated chickens weren’t large, only weighing a bit over three pounds, and the three combined weighed about ten pounds. He used the oil from the chickens to cook a massive pot of spicy chicken; once the dish was served, the aroma spread throughout the entire building.

Every household brought the vegetables they had grown to stir-fry a large plate of greens.

There were about a hundred people in the entire building, including adults and children.

Everyone gathered around two dishes and ate for almost the entire night.

The adults couldn’t bear to eat the chicken, only eating a piece or two symbolically. In the end, they crushed the bones the children couldn’t chew, mixing them with the chicken oil; even so, the dish was so fragrant that they nearly swallowed their tongues.

Especially a few elderly residents, who recalled the pre-catastrophe days and wept continuously.

Everyone had a satisfying meal for once, and the children enjoyed the meat.

Man Wenhuai followed Lord Dragon’s instructions, eating all the meat in one go and leaving not a single drop of broth.

Everyone was extremely grateful to Man Wenhuai, and envied him immensely. Many couldn’t help but wipe their tears; they all knew Man Wenhuai’s family was heading to Lord Dragon’s farm, which made them both envious and reluctant to see them leave.

Man Wenhuai also felt reluctant, but his heart was filled with anticipation for the future.

If possible, he also hoped everyone in the building could work at the farm, but he knew the farm wasn’t recruiting many people this time, and currently couldn’t accommodate so many. But he believed there would be opportunities sooner or later; Lord Dragon’s farm would surely grow larger, and they would need more people in the future, so they would surely have chances to live a good life together.

Two days later, everyone in the building came to see Man Wenhuai’s family off.

Man Wenhuai handed his three acres of land over to his neighbors, and he didn’t plan on keeping the rice planted on it, letting the neighbors divide it.

However, he had heard news that the city planned to reclaim the land between Xincheng and the Star-Dream Farm for farming. With Lord Dragon present, they felt farming in this area would be relatively safe, so everyone could farm some land in the future and live a better life.

In the vehicle, Man Wenhuai’s wife and children waved goodbye to their neighbors and friends with tears.

But once the vehicle drove out of Xincheng, Ming Yun and the two children stopped crying, looking toward the direction the vehicle was traveling, filled with anticipation for the future.

***

Once Zhang Qingyuan and the others returned, the number of people on the Star-Dream Farm successfully broke a hundred.

At this time, the first batch of brick houses had also been constructed.

Currently, they had only built single-story flat houses, which weren’t large, but were sufficient for a family; those with families like Man Wenhuai moved directly into the new houses.

His son and daughter were very happy; the farm was massive, and they could run around freely.

Although the new house wasn’t beautiful, it belonged to them completely, and they finally didn’t have to hear their neighbors’ conversations anymore.

Upon returning, Man Wenhuai began organizing the slaughter of the first batch of mutated roosters.

The ones responsible for the slaughter were Isaac and his B-class partners, while their work was to boil water, pluck feathers, and process the entrails. Over a hundred people divided the tasks, and they could process ten thousand to twelve thousand mutated chickens a day.

The efficiency of the B-classes was far too high, and they worked even harder than Man Wenhuai’s team.

Thus, the first batch of mutated roosters, which had been scheduled to take ten days, was completely processed in less than five. Even so, they had processed the chicken blood and entrails cleanly, not wanting to waste any food.

Furthermore, chicken blood and entrails were absolute delicacies when prepared well.

***

On the sixth day, once the mutation traits within the final batch of mutated roosters in Xi Yu’s space were dissolved, the Wanmin Vessel, which had been parked at the farm for days, was restarted.

Xi Yu didn’t ride the Wanmin Vessel this time.

At full speed, the vessel could complete a round trip to any part of the Middle Continent within a day. A day or two wouldn’t cause the chicken meat to spoil, so there was no need for him to make the trip, and he currently couldn’t leave the farm anyway.

The person in charge of the Wanmin Vessel this time was Zhang Qingyuan, and he only brought Ping Feng and Gao Jie along, leaving Fang Jianbo and the others to cook on the farm. The ones responsible for protection were Isaac and Acrylic, whom Xi Yu had deployed this time.

“The journey will rely on you this time,” Xi Yu instructed Isaac and Acrylic seriously before their departure.

“Lord White Dragon, rest assured; we will exert our all to ensure nothing goes wrong.”

The two were filled with excitement; they knew this was Xi Yu’s final test for them, and as long as they made no mistakes, they would secure Xi Yu’s true trust.

The Wanmin Vessel took to the air, heading toward the southeast.

Everyone on the farm waved; the Wanmin Vessel currently carried the hope of the Middle Continent.

Xi Yu also waved, not lowering his hand for a long time.

This was indeed his final test for the two.

But although he had given Zhang Qingyuan’s group life-saving cards, if Isaac and his partner truly rebelled, they would still be in grave danger.

But regardless, he had to try; Isaac and his partner were B-class experts, representing the top combat power of the nation, and keeping them idle was far too wasteful. If they successfully completed this task, he would truly give them a chance to turn over a new leaf.

With a soft sigh, he knew he could reach any part of the Middle Continent within minutes anyway, so the possibility of an accident was very low.

***

Weiyang City, a pre-catastrophe land-locked city in Zhejiang Province.

But after the catastrophe, it had actually become the closest city to the ocean in Zhejiang Province.

North of Weiyang City lay an exceptionally fertile land that secured the food supply of the entire Zhejiang Province, and Weiyang City’s primary purpose was to guard this provincial granary.

Most of the time, Weiyang City was relatively peaceful; although marine beasts invaded the Middle Continent’s land every year, they were ultimately intercepted.

Only, casualties were unavoidable at these times.

“Kill!” Mu Chengjiang slew a marine beast.

Behind him, young military guards were also doing their best to slaughter various marine beasts.

The main force of the marine beasts was a species of amphibian; they possessed fish heads but lobster bodies, and could move freely on land.

Every year, they would invade the land, devouring any edible food. If they weren’t intercepted, they would cause incalculable losses to the province’s grain supply.

Weiyang City’s artillery and ammunition had been depleted over a decade ago.

The small remaining stock of ammunition could only be used in emergencies, and the Middle Continent had long been unable to supply them, as everyone was short of resources now.

Mu Chengjiang could only lead his brothers to guard this place with their blades and physical bodies.

Over the years, he had watched his brothers die one by one, only to see recruits join, and then continue to watch them die here.

Actually, Mu Chengjiang could have applied to be transferred long ago, but he was unwilling to leave.

Over the years, his responsibility had turned into a hatred; witnessing his comrades die one by one had made him obsessive. He only wanted to exert his all to kill as many marine beasts as possible, until the day he, like his predecessor, fell in battle in Weiyang City.

***

In the afternoon, they exerted their all to drive back the marine beasts, earning a brief moment of rest.

This time was very precious, as there was no telling when the beasts would attack again.

On the city walls, the expressions of all the guards were very low, and weeping could faintly be heard from the newly joined recruits.

The threat of marine beasts was perhaps even more terrifying than the ghosts of the interior. Because their numbers were too vast, they would wear you down and exhaust you to death. Only those who had experienced it personally would know how terrifying they were.

Mu Chengjiang looked at the young guards numbly; in the early years, he could still boost their morale. But after killing day after day, year after year, he no longer had the heart.

He could only remind the recruits to hurry and eat.

They didn’t lack food, but every time they ate, they felt powerless. The food didn’t seem to satisfy them no matter how much they ate, which made the volume of food they required massive. At the thought that all their sacrifices were for a bite of food, they couldn’t bear to eat, yet they had to.

Mu Chengjiang stood on the city wall, looking at the mountain of corpses and sea of blood outside, his eyes showing no emotion. Actually, he had also fantasized about how great it would be if the Middle Continent’s B-class experts could all gather and slaughter these beasts at once.

But he knew that was impossible.

The Middle Continent needed B-class support everywhere, so how could they remain stationed here? Furthermore, he knew that if they truly needed it, a B-class expert would surely come, but he hoped that day would never arrive.

Mu Chengjiang let let out a sigh; no matter how hopeless life was, he still had to hold out.

He looked at the young faces within the city, knowing he had to hold out as well, even if only to secure a bit of hope for them.

But looking at their fearful, numb, and tear-stained eyes, he truly didn’t know if hope would ever come.

Mu Chengjiang also began to eat to replenish his strength, then seized the opportunity to close his eyes and rest.

After an unknown amount of time, he was suddenly awakened by a chorus of gasps, thinking marine beasts had invaded. But opening his eyes, he realized something was wrong; all the guards were looking at the northern sky.

Mu Chengjiang looked over instinctively, his eyes narrowing. “What is that?”

A colossal structure was flying toward them from the sky.

“Is this the Wanmin Vessel? The Wanmin Vessel modified from the levitating battleship the Middle Continent newly acquired?!” a guard shouted excitedly.

“This is actually real?!”

As the County Seat of a city, Mu Chengjiang’s clearance wasn’t small. He knew most of the Middle Continent’s news, and he had naturally heard of the levitating battleships, and even of the white dragon.

But?

Too absurd.

Logically, it was real; the capital wouldn’t deceive them.

But his instinct told him it was far too fake.

Let alone the white dragon, he had felt even the battleships were unlikely. To obtain them from the Drance Federation, and three of them at once—who could achieve such a feat?

How could he believe it?

So he had ignored the news entirely.

And the same applied to his guards.

Even if all of this was true, why would the battleships or the white dragon appear in their unremarkable city?

But now, the steel beast in the sky told them clearly that everything in the rumors was indeed true, and the Wanmin Vessel had truly arrived.

“The nation’s reinforcement is here! The nation’s reinforcement is here!”

No matter how much he had disbelieved before, seeing the steel beast made Mu Chengjiang’s heart surge with immense joy, and he couldn’t help but let out a long howl.

He knew that even if the Wanmin Vessel came, it might not bring much actual help to Weiyang City. They didn’t lack food, and he didn’t believe the Middle Continent had much ammunition left; even if they brought some, it wouldn’t be much. And bringing another one or two thousand people was meaningless. Unless they could leave a B-class expert behind, which was definitely impossible.

But the arrival of the Wanmin Vessel was an unprecedented boost to morale, and that was more important than anything.

When the Wanmin Vessel successfully landed before the gates of Weiyang City, Mu Chengjiang actually took the lead to charge over.

“Friends of Weiyang City, we represent the nation to deliver meat to you!” Zhang Qingyuan shouted to Mu Chengjiang and the others from the deck.

“Meat?” Mu Chengjiang was stunned, and the guards of Weiyang City were also dumbfounded.

What had they just heard?

***

An hour later, the aroma of meat spread over Weiyang City.

When Mu Chengjiang took a bite of the stir-fried chicken, his eyes couldn’t help but turn red; it truly was meat. Mutated meat that was edible and carried no side effects.

On this day, all the guards of Weiyang City ate meat.

And it was their first time eating their fill of meat.

Although it was only one meal, they could eat to their heart’s content. And they didn’t waste a single bit, even crushing the bones to swallow them.

This allowed Zhang Qingyuan and the others to leave with peace of mind.

The allure of pure meat was far too great, and they had to watch everyone finish eating before they could feel at ease. This was also why Xi Yu insisted on having Isaac and Acrylic accompany them this time—to resolve any potential emergencies.

“City Seat Mu, we’ll take our leave now; we must continue delivering meat to other areas. Rest assured, we will surely have opportunities to return in the future; thank you for your hard work here,” Zhang Qingyuan waved firmly.

The guards of Weiyang City numbered only a few thousand, and even eating to their fill, one person could only eat a chicken and a half at most. The chicken meat consumed this time didn’t even reach ten percent of their inventory, allowing them to continue to their next destination.

Row after row of arms waved on Weiyang City; even if Zhang Qingyuan hadn’t explained the potential benefits of the meat, eating their fill was already an immense satisfaction to them.

Mu Chengjiang’s heart surged; now they had seen the Wanmin Vessel and had eaten meat, and everyone’s morale had finally been restored.

Even he seemed to be encouraged, no longer feeling so pessimistic.

Most importantly, after eating their fill, they felt their bodies were filled with strength for the first time, no longer fearing any number of marine beasts.

[Weiyang City Seat Mu Chengjiang: Weiyang City has successfully eaten meat; Mu Chengjiang leads all guards to thank the nation for its help.]

[Qingjin City Seat Bai Yihui: Meat? What meat?]

[Cangjiang City Seat Wei Chengfan: We are near Weiyang City; is there some for us too?]

[First Realm Guard Chu Luan: Please rest assured. Currently, the production of meat is small, but I believe Star-Dream Farm will eventually supply everyone. Here, on behalf of the nation, I must express our gratitude to Lord Dragon for his immense help.]

[Divine Dragon Xi Yu: The First Guard is being too polite, and I must thank the nation for its support of Star-Dream Farm. Once next month arrives, the meat production of the farm will increase, and I will do my best to let everyone eat meat. I hope we can all work hard together; we must eat meat.]

[Divine Dragon Xi Yu: Also, can my name be changed?]

[Weiyang City Seat Mu Chengjiang: Thank you, Lord Dragon.]

[First Realm Guard Chu Luan: Thank you, Lord Dragon.]

[Cangjiang City Seat Wei Chengfan: Ahhh! The Wanmin Vessel is truly heading toward us! Thank you, nation, and thank you, Lord Dragon! No more words, I’m going to eat meat!]

***

Weiyang City was not the final destination; the Wanmin Vessel continued to fly to other locations.

While the Wanmin Vessel was busy, Xi Yu wasn’t idle either; he discovered the small meat thief from before had finally returned.

When it couldn’t suppress the agony of the dragon aura mark and slipped out from the Dimensional Black Abyss, it was caught red-handed by Xi Yu, but seeing its appearance, Xi Yu couldn’t help but be taken aback.

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