People of Chicken Head Town normally rested in caves during the day and only emerged at night.
However, the presence of Jade City immediately drew attention, and many people came out of the caves, appearing fearful and panicked, somewhat at a loss.
One of them courageously raised his hands and approached the Jade City First Building cautiously, shouting something.
Red Kestrel lowered its flying altitude, so they could finally hear his voice.
"Respected Lord of Jade City! I am Tan Kai, Mayor of Chicken Head Town. I don't know how our town has offended you, please calm your anger! We will do our best to meet your demands if that would appease your wrath!"
He knelt on the ground, apologizing in a very practiced manner.
"Just passing by, no need to be nervous."
Zhou Yi reassured him through Red Kestrel and then had a drone guide the mayor upstairs.
Beside him, Qian Su commented, "Although such market towns are under the protection of sea lords, they usually don't have a military presence. Defense forces are almost all in the cities, so everyone wants to live in the cities."
"In the face of external threats, the towns have to sacrifice their wealth first for safety, then report to the sea lord for further handling."
"It's probably more than just a financial loss."
Zheng Tao whispered, "If the Guangna Species come to a market town , and they can't get a Light Seed or an Energy Pack or kidnap people for trafficking, they generally massacre everyone."
"It's a helpless situation."
Qian Su said calmly, "What else can we do when we humans are weak? Being weak, we must adhere to the rules of the weak, pay any price to survive first. Survive first, then consider the rest."
What Zhou Yi was more concerned about was, "The Guangna Species dare to plunder a market town of the sea lord?"
Qian Su looked down at the crude and primitive market town below, "To my knowledge, at the beginning of this winter, two berserk Red Monsters broke in here. If not for the support of the Tianjin Knights from Sand Port, many people would have died."
"In a way, Mao Valley Town is safer because it has hardly any resources, so the Guangna Species don't bother going there."
By then, Red Kestrel had already brought Tan Kai to the top floor.
Zheng Tao opened the door and led him in.
Tan Kai, probably just over thirty, had a bitter melon-like face, seemingly having so many troubles that his facial muscles had developed a memory of it.
He bowed his head and bent over, not daring to look directly at Zhou Yi, "Sir, not knowing Jade City would grace us with a visit, what do you need from Chicken Head Town?"
Zhou Yi gestured with his hand, "Please have a seat."
The other was somewhat abashed, sitting tentatively at the edge of the chair.
"Our company is closest to Chicken Head Town, and there have been plans to come and take a look from early on, but various matters piled up, making it possible only now."
Zhou Yi said, "Relax, Mayor Tan."
"I heard that Chicken Head Town raises chickens?"
"Yes, our specialty here is the White Feather Chicken, which can be reared in caves, fed with mushroom stems and Mao Valley worms to grow. Sometimes we also let them run on the surface, which improves the meat quality a bit."
Upon mentioning what he was familiar with, Tan Kai felt slightly more at ease, "Would you like to try some?"
Zhou Yi asked, "But why can't we buy chicken meat here? I see that you're selling only chicken heads, chicken head soup, and chicken carcasses."
"Because the chicken meat is uniformly sent to Sand Port City, then sold to other cities through the port."
Tan Kai explained, "There are very few people in the market town who can afford chicken meat; we all send it uniformly to the cities where people have money. For the market town, chicken bones and mushroom soup are what ordinary people can afford."
Zhou Yi inquired further.
Unfortunately, he found no opportunity to capitalize on.
The mushy, steamed chicken feet are very popular in the city, and the chicken wings are sold with the whole chicken—chickens without wings or legs are not accepted. Chicken offal, after being cleaned, is either grilled or boiled, also among the popular dishes.
After parting with Tan Kai, Jade City continued on its way.
South of Chicken Head Town was another market town, "Green Onion Town," known for its cultivation of green onions. Many animals reportedly detest the smell of onions, making it relatively safe there.
To the north lies "Oasis Town," located upstream on the Oasis River. This area is also the largest mushroom-producing region in the Sand Port Region and is dotted with numerous papyrus plants. The tender leaves and rhizomes of papyrus are edible, delivering a refreshing taste. Furthermore, its pollen serves as a natural medicine capable of stopping bleeding and alleviating pain.
Further west lay the heart of the region, the one and only city here: Sand Port City.
Upon learning that the main differences between other towns and Chicken Head Town were in size and industry, Zhou Yi directed Jade City straight toward Sand Port City.
From afar, he could already see a city on the ground.
Though small in scale, it boasted square city walls and tall towers, orderly arranged wooden and stone houses, and streets paved with stone slabs. There were also pedestrians appearing in the city during day time.
Finally seeing a decent city, Zhou Yi felt an inexplicable touch of emotion.
However, he immediately noticed that everyone coming and going in the city was a combatant, armed with shields, bows, and flintlock guns, frantically running up to the city walls.
They appeared to be on high alert.
But Jade City did not approach. Instead, they observed from a distance through Red Kestrel.
Zhou Yi zoomed in the lens.
Outside the city, there were slow-moving Guangna Species creatures that resembled earless, short-legged kangaroos with tube-shaped long snouts spitting out Death Light. For origınal chapters go to novel⁂fire.net
Besides that, Zhou Yi also observed seven or eight car-shaped electromechanical life forms speeding around outside the city, outfitted with high-velocity cannons on top, firing as they raced.
Their concentrated attack was on a large monster that was slowly rising, standing over ten meters tall.
This monster was cloaked in dark brown, possessing an enormous triangle-shaped head with two silver vertical pupils and an excessively wide mouth lined with sharp teeth. It had two thick paws, almost as large as its head. Numerous Death Light attacks made it smile sinisterly, seemingly exciting it even more.
From the [Alert] view, its entire body was dangerous red.
Classified as B-level.
Zhou Yi, on the other hand, grew excited.
He had encountered a monster right away that he could use for practice.
He had to test his current full combat strength.
It was also a welcome gift to Lord Sha Hai.
Jade City, accelerate!
The High-rise Giant slid into the battlefield's center at 100 kilometers per hour. As the flying house bombing commenced, Zhou Yi leapt down from the high-rise, instantly activated Berserk, and transformed into a six-meter-tall, ethereal black giant.
Amidst the smoke of the explosion, Zhou Yi pounced on the monster caught off guard.
His black fist boomed through the body of the opponent!
A copious amount of blue blood gushed out.
Caught in a daze, the monster slowly fell backward, kicking up a great deal of dust.
The previous attackers were also frightened and scattered.
Zhou Yi satisfactorily clenched his fist.
40,000 life points expended for a one-punch kill.
Such was the charm of Life Strike.
The monster on the ground gradually shrank in size, clearly losing its previously near-gigantic battle state. Its true form was white and resembled some large seal.
Suddenly, Zhou Yi heard Red Kestrel's voice in his head.
"Zhou, there's a bit of trouble."
"What is it? Does it have strong connections? Anyway, Lord Sha Hai will handle the aftermath," Zhou Yi casually said.
Invaders had hit Sand Port City; Lord Sha Hai couldn't just pretend nothing happened.
"It is Lord Sha Hai."