309: Li Wang

Tian Ming's actions quickly caught the attention of Lord Li, the supreme ruler of Su Yuan Base.

In the Underground City, Lord Li sat on his high throne, his face grim, his eyes flickering with a cold glint.

Lord Li's subordinate reported Tian Ming's actions: "Lord Li, three breeding grounds on the surface had their personnel sent out of the city by this Ability User, totaling nearly five thousand people. Additionally, there wasn't just one Ability User, but four, and one of the escorts even possessed particle-based abilities."

"What did you say?" A hint of fury appeared in Lord Li's blood-red eyes. He rose from his throne, his expression enraged. His eyes were like blood, as if about to spew fire, casting the entire Underground City into a chilling atmosphere of slaughter.

"What exactly is going on with this Ability User? How can he possess such abilities?"

The subordinate trembled as he replied, "Lord Li, according to our investigation, these Ability Users should be the human side's only Full Element Ability User. He is incredibly powerful and employs extraordinary methods. We have already dispatched several waves of zombies to intercept him, but he easily dealt with them."

Lord Li angrily waved his hand, sweeping a nearby table flying. He roared with a ferocious expression, "Withdraw all personnel from the breeding grounds immediately. Don't pursue those who escaped for now. These food sources are crucial for the prosperity of our race; we cannot lose sight of the bigger picture."

He coldly scanned his subordinates and continued, "I need to communicate with my Emperor Jiang Chen. Before that, we will implement a full defensive contraction and make no rash moves."

The subordinates trembled as they assented, then retreated. Lord Li stood alone by the throne, his eyes gleaming with a cold light. He closed his eyes and began to establish contact with Jiang Chen through telepathy.

A moment later, a phantom appeared before Lord Li's eyes—Jiang Chen's projection before Lord Li.

"Emperor, the Full Element Ability User has appeared in my territory. I request your support, my Emperor."

Jiang Chen's projection listened silently to Lord Li's request, his face expressionless. His eyes were as deep as the sea, as if they could see through everything in the world. He slowly spoke, his voice cold and authoritative: "You're talking about Lu Tianming, aren't you? My presence here would only be to contain him; it wouldn't change the situation. Li, you have so many people in your hands; he won't do anything to you."

"Emperor, the geological stability beneath Su Yuan Base is poor. So many people underground are unsafe. You tasked me with this area, and our people are also learning human technology, but this isn't something that can be learned overnight. Currently, there are too many abnormal deaths, and now with the threat of the Full Element Ability User, our food sources are about to rebel."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen angrily retorted, "Lord Li, stop complaining to me about this and that. Either you switch places with me; my Beidu Base has over two million people, and far more problems than yours. Solve your own problems. If the sixty thousand-plus people in Su Yuan Base escape, or if more than half of them die under your care, then bring me your head."

After Jiang Chen finished speaking, his phantom disappeared. Where there is oppression, there will be resistance. Although Jiang Chen had gained over nine million people, not everyone was willing to be caged and raised as food. Every base had hidden Rebel Army, which was like a vegetable patch infested with pests. For zombies whose brains weren't functioning very well at the moment, this was indeed a bit beyond their capabilities.

Lord Li's face was grim, but he was helpless. Even Jiang Chen was helpless against the Full Element Ability User, so he had even less confidence in directly confronting Tian Ming.

"Lord Li, another breeding ground has been taken out by him. He has equipped everyone with weapons. As soon as our King appears, he will be annihilated by a cloud of black mist, and ordinary subjects won't last long against human firearms."

Lord Li's head nearly exploded upon hearing this.

"We can use human weapons too! You're all fools for resisting firearms with your bare flesh!"

"Most of our subjects lack intelligence. Human firearms in their hands are inaccurate and prone to hitting our own people."

A hint of coldness appeared in Lord Li's eyes as he said, "Summon ten thousand metal kin, the kind with fully metallic body evolution. Feed them, then immediately conduct intelligence tests. Have them emulate humans and form an army. Order all base commanders to send smarter kin to learn mechanical manufacturing technology."

The subordinate hesitated and asked, "The Emperor does not allow us to consume too many humans in the short term, Lord Li. Is consuming ten thousand at once a bit too much?"

"Never mind that. Rather than falling into chaos and letting them escape, it's better to consume them directly. Issue an order for internal personnel to report each other. Anyone with rebellious intentions will be directly arrested and used for this consumption until ten thousand are gathered."

"Yes!"

...

For ten consecutive days, Tian Ming had taken out six breeding grounds and killed over a hundred Corpse Kings, but there was still no movement in Su Yuan Base, and no more powerful Corpse Kings had appeared.

Tian Ming added two more clones, numbers four and five, and had them absorb Red Crystal Core, which made Tian Ming grow stronger with each battle. As for Lisa, after absorbing enough Red Crystal Core, she was also able to directly withstand the energy shock of the Red Crystal Core.

This also increased Lisa's efficiency in absorbing Red Crystal Core. However, Tian Ming still needed to break down and guide the Red Crystal Core to assist Lisa's absorption. From nearly ten hours at the beginning, it was shortened to just over ten minutes per Red Crystal Core.

Lisa's Mind Teleportation activation time reached two seconds, and its cooldown was also reduced to five hours. Tian Ming had tested the Mind Teleportation channel, which could directly teleport people into the Shelter.

This ability was too powerful, but the channel opening was too small. The time was still too short; large-scale population transfers were impossible. Moreover, it was a one-way teleportation, making it impractical for rescuing Shen Yuan.

If only this ability were his own. Tian Ming looked at Lisa with some envy, yet Lisa was the daughter of his enemy.

For the past ten days or so, Lisa had also been following Tian Ming, and her feelings for Tian Ming had become complicated. She even somewhat resented her father; if not for her father, she would never have gained Tian Ming's trust.

"East Sea City Shelter sent word that out of over seven thousand people who left the city, they received about four thousand, with nearly half dying on the way to the assembly point," Tian Ming said to Lisa, standing on a building in Su Yuan urban area.

"If I could keep the teleportation channel open for a longer time, I could rescue those people in Su Yuan Base from a distance," Lisa sighed softly and said.

Tian Ming smiled calmly, "In these past ten-plus days, you alone have absorbed twenty blue Red Crystal Core, but not a single red Red Crystal Core, which I want, has appeared. Lord Li, this Corpse King, must have a red Red Crystal Core, but if I kill him, the sixty thousand-plus people in Su Yuan will probably die too."

"Then what do you plan to do?" Lisa asked.