As Lu Yan swung his hoe in the Soul World, diligently undermining the walls, an unexpected visitor arrived outside the underground pharmaceutical factory where his physical body resided.
Shaq paced back and forth outside the factory, a look of anxiousness on his face.
Quentin leaned against the door, a cigarette in his mouth, calmly saying:
"Old pal, you need to relax a bit."
"Relax? That’s easy for you to say, but the Upper City is about to launch an attack.
This time, it’s not just those useless law enforcement teams coming; it’s the most elite Spiritual Ability Users from the Upper City!"
Shaq frantically waved his hands, spittle flying as he spoke.
"Many of them are descendants of big figures from the Upper City, having enjoyed the best Spiritual Transformations since childhood, along with highly skilled compilers crafting personalized Spiritual Ability Codes for them.
And what do we have here in the Lower City? Only Spiritual Ability Users artificially induced by the Nine Dragon Power Potion.
Most of them haven’t undergone spiritual transformations; they rely on natural metamorphosis from the potion, which might intimidate ordinary folks but are utterly powerless against these elite Spiritual Ability Users!"
"The Upper City’s operation this time is aiming to catch us all in one net, then send us all to the Heaven Computation Center."
"No! My identity will definitely be specially targeted, possibly even killed right on the spot, without a chance to go to the Heaven Computation Center."
Thinking of this, Shaq became increasingly agitated and uneasy.
Thanks to Lu Yan’s strong support with the Nine Dragon Potion, Shaq in just a few months established one of the largest forces in the Lower City, the Nine Dragons Association.
The Nine Dragons Association has over four thousand Spiritual Ability Users, and this number is continuously increasing, making it unmatched in sheer size compared to the rest of the Lower City.
The only thing it lacks compared to the old forces is the loyalty of its subordinates and the foundation of its core members.
Under Shaq’s leadership, the various forces of the Lower City recently delivered a head-on blow to the expedition team from the Central City District, achieving a resounding victory, which made Shaq’s reputation soar.
But now, despite all the glory, Shaq found himself completely lost outside the pharmaceutical factory.
The reason was simple: the Lower City was facing a critical moment of life and death.
A few days ago, after the outbreak of turmoil in the Upper City ended, City No.14’s network communications with the outside world were completely severed. For more chapters visıt 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦•𝘯𝘦𝘵
Some people attempted to drive hover cars to other cities but were blocked by city guards. Later, Pulang issued the statement announcing a temporary martial law.
Some tried to smuggle across borders or use identities for passage but were all blocked by city guards. Under the surveillance of a major Artificial Brain, no one could escape.
For this reason, Shaq dug around for information using various channels and finally learned that some sort of conflict seemed to have erupted between big figures in the Upper City and the Intelligent God, and the city lockdown was to prevent certain information from spreading to other cities.
The infighting among the elite should have been a good thing for Shaq, but subsequent events made him unable to smile.
Under the environment of temporary martial law, the Universal Giant Corporation issued a conscription order, urging the Upper City to expedite punitive expeditions against Lower City’s tax evaders.
Before the Cave collapsed, the Central City District was the first to fall.
They just went through an early collection of the Spiritual Energy Tax thirty years ahead, and then came the conscription order, directly throwing the residents of the Central City District back to the warlord era a millennium ago.
In just under a week, the conscription order sent more than 100,000 people to the Heaven Computation Center and gathered over 50,000 new recruits.
Meanwhile, the Upper City mobilized various factions during this period, assembling over 20,000 Spiritual Ability Users to prepare for an attack on the Cave.
If it was only the 50,000 new recruits from the Central City District, Shaq could still overlook them.
But the 20,000 Spiritual Ability User team from the Upper City made Shaq unable to sit still.
He knew very well that the Lower City’s advantage in the Cave weakened the use of heavy weaponry; in the complex underground environment, individual power was far more important than equipment, and within the Cave, a team of over 30,000 Spiritual Ability Users was its greatest advantage.
But now, under the pressure from the Upper City, the Lower City’s advantages have vanished.
There were even leaders of some factions claiming that they should actively surrender to the Universal Giant Corporation, hoping that selling out the Cave People would spare them from being sent to the Heaven Computation Center.
Various parties were quarreling intensely over this issue, with no one able to convince anyone else.
In despair, Shaq had no choice but to seek help from Lu Yan, only to be told by Quentin that Lu Yan had been in seclusion for several days.
Time ticked away, and several times Shaq felt the urge to turn and leave the entrance.
There were too many matters to handle at this critical juncture; he couldn’t waste all his time waiting for Lu Yan to emerge from seclusion.
Just then, Quentin, puffing out smoke rings, spoke up.
"Three months ago, your Gladiatorial Arena was investigated by the Law Enforcement Officer, ambushed by the police chief from the Central City District in the underground tunnels; back then, despite your downfall, you had the spirit to make a comeback at any moment.
But now, having become one of the decision-makers in the Lower City, you’ve become hesitant and lost that spirit."
"Either you shouldn’t come here and instead stay home to unite the factions and find a way to jointly counter the Upper City’s alliance.
Or settle down to wait patiently for the boss to come out of seclusion, waiting for him to bring a turning point for the Lower City."
Upon hearing this, Shaq gradually transitioned from his previous anxiety to a state of calm.
He reached out, snatched the cigarette from Quentin’s hand, snapped his fingers, igniting the cigarette with Spiritual Energy.
After taking a deep drag, Shaq said in a low voice, "I just lost my cool."
"After meeting the boss, I went straight to the top, from being the small owner of a Gladiatorial Arena to now owning several caves and leading over four thousand Spiritual Ability Users as the President of the Nine Dragons Association. The allure of power and wealth made me lose my calm.
Knowing that the Upper City is going to attack, the fear of the elites from the Upper City and my greed for power and wealth clouded my mind.
I desperately wanted to protect everything I’ve gained, the power and wealth obtained over these months.
Now thinking about it, I was never afraid of those Upper City elites when I had nothing, so why should I start fearing when I possess such strong forces now?"
At this, Shaq slammed the cigarette onto the ground furiously, cursing fervently:
"They’re just some Spiritual Ability Users from the Upper City! Our Lower City has been pushed to this point, so before dying, we might as well bite a few chunks off them."
At this time, the tightly closed door of the underground factory slowly opened.
Seeing this, both Shaq and Quentin quickly entered the underground pharmaceutical factory, coming face to face with Lu Yan, who had just exited his remote control session.
Shaq was about to speak but was cut off by Lu Yan with a wave of his hand.
"I already know your purpose, but you don’t need to worry about the Upper City affair."
"They may not necessarily be our enemies."