214: Chapter 214 Fox and Snake Scales Compete for Favor, Mother Cart Soars

The shopkeeper's fox ears stood up even higher on the spot.

She pushed the abacus onto the table and leaned forward, the fabric of her black gold cheongsam stretching into an astonishing curve.

"What's the Deputy City Lord in such a rush for?"

"I was just speaking off the cuff. You're reacting so strongly, could it be you actually want to make it real?"

Yi Chang's icy blue slit pupils narrowed slightly.

She didn't continue bickering with the shopkeeper; instead, she walked around to Chen Chen's side and pressed the personnel registration form onto the table.

"Lord, there are three risks after binding the bottom warehouse points system with the commercial district permissions."

She leaned in close, her fingers pressing directly onto Chen Chen's collar, pulling his tactical undershirt down by half an inch.

"First, commercial points will affect food distribution."

"Second, black market consignment will lead to hoarding."

"Third, if the Fox Tail Tavern has too high a withdrawal authority, the bottom-level laborers will form secondary debts."

The shopkeeper flicked her tail as she watched.

"Hey, hey, hey, reporting is reporting, why are you tugging at his clothes?"

Yi Chang didn't look up.

"Close-contact data."

Chen Chen glanced at her.

The invisible silver scales on the side of her thigh shimmered with tiny light spots under the lamp, and the black narrow skirt was pulled taut by her sitting posture, her whole person exuding the cold, sharp vibe unique to the Snake Scale Tribe.

The shopkeeper was immediately displeased.

She deliberately bent over to pick up an abacus bead.

Her fiery red long hair draped in front of her shoulders, and the slit of her cheongsam slid up to the base of her thigh.

That fluffy red fox tail was even more restless, winding around the table leg and gently rubbing up along Chen Chen's calf.

"Lord."

"I'm not like some snakes, calculating accounts so rigidly."

"For the commercial district to come alive, it needs a bit of human warmth."

The tip of the tail had just wrapped around Chen Chen's knee when, before the shopkeeper could continue, the entire tail was suddenly gripped by a hand.

"Ya—"

The shopkeeper's voice changed pitch instantly, and she nearly bounced off the chair.

Chen Chen pinched the base of the fox tail with one hand and wrapped his other hand around Yi Chang's waist, pulling her away from his collar.

Yi Chang's body stiffened for a beat, her high heels clicking lightly on the floor.

The shopkeeper's two fox ears exploded.

"Chen Chen!"

"You can't grab a tail like that!"

Chen Chen didn't let go.

"The rules of the territory are set by me."

He looked at Yi Chang.

"Your rules are also under my jurisdiction."

Yi Chang's breathing faltered for a moment, and her slit pupils shifted away by half an inch.

The shopkeeper's cheeks were burning, but she still stubbornly held her ground.

"Then you should at least set the fox's profit margin higher."

Chen Chen let go of the tail and pushed the agreement back.

"The tavern retains thirty percent."

The shopkeeper was about to smile.

Chen Chen added a sentence.

"Points transaction withdrawal is 1.5%, accounts are uploaded to Shen Wanbing daily, and Yi Chang has audit rights."

The smile on the shopkeeper's face froze.

"You left me a tail, and then casually put a noose on it."

Yi Chang pulled away from Chen Chen's arms and adjusted her collar.

"You don't have to sign."

The shopkeeper gritted her teeth and pressed her fingerprint.

"Signing."

"Who told you guys to have so many people and so much money now."

Chen Chen stood up.

"After signing, get out and get to work."

The shopkeeper's eyes widened.

"Kicking people out just like that?"

Yi Chang glanced at her.

"Do you still want to stay the night?"

The shopkeeper immediately chuckled.

"I wouldn't mind."

Chen Chen pointed his finger at the door.

"Both of you, get out."

Three seconds later.

The shopkeeper's lowered complaint came from outside the door.

"The Snake Scale Tribe really has no sense of romance."

Yi Chang replied to her coldly.

"Fox Spirits are too calculating."

"Who are you calling a fox Spirit?"

"You admitted it quickly enough yourself."

The door closed.

Chen Chen finished the purple gold wine on the table and raised his hand to turn off the commercial district agreement projection.

Midnight.

The system prompt popped up on time.

[Unique SS-grade growth affix: Physical Overlimit triggered.]

[constitution +10.]

[agility +5.]

A surge of heat exploded from his bones.

Chen Chen stood by the window and flexed his wrists; the Qi and Blood in his body felt like it had been reignited, and even the surface of his skin was radiating heat.

In the communicator, Jiang Jiuyou's channel lit up.

"POW camp placement completed."

"Artillery vehicle array is 74% complete."

"I'm missing the final round of fire control synchronization on my end."

Chen Chen picked up his jacket.

"Wait for me."

Jiang Jiuyou paused for two seconds.

"Coming to the Deputy Command Room?"

"Your room."

The communicator went quiet for a moment.

When it rang again, Jiang Jiuyou's voice was lowered.

"The door isn't locked."

Second floor of the City Lord Tower.

Jiang Jiuyou wasn't wearing her military uniform.

She stood in front of the deputy command console, wearing only a thin coat over her silk pajamas, her silver-white low ponytail half undone.

The tactical screen was still spread with the artillery vehicle array and the Hunter King's vanguard route.

When Chen Chen pushed the door open and entered, she didn't turn around.

"I thought you would go deal with the silent coordinate spike first."

Chen Chen walked behind her, his hands resting on both sides of the console.

"The spike will be dealt with tomorrow morning."

Jiang Jiuyou's fingertips paused on the screen.

"The Hunter King won't wait for us to wake up."

"That's why you're reinforcing first."

She finally turned her head.

"Tactical significance?"

Chen Chen took her coat off her shoulders.

"Jiang Jiuyou, you've been getting better at playing dumb lately."

Her breathing hitched, and she immediately raised her hand to press on his wrist.

"Then I'll ask a different way."

"Is this reinforcement considered military scheduling, or a private reward?"

Chen Chen lowered his head and leaned in.

"Depends on your performance."

Jiang Jiuyou lifted her chin, her cold, sharp vibe not diminished in the slightest.

"Then you'd better not disappoint me."

She turned her hand and shut off the tactical screen.

Before the cold blue light went out, a system prompt popped up at the edge of Chen Chen's panel.

[Forbidden Domain Qi and Blood Mutual Nourishment triggered.]

[Jiang Jiuyou's constitution is being strengthened.]

[Jiang Jiuyou's Spirit is being strengthened.]

[Mechanical Empress: Starport Resonance compatibility increased.]

Outside the deputy command room, when patrolling Dark Division members passed by, they heard the console inside shake once.

A newcomer stopped.

A veteran beside him grabbed him and dragged him away.

"Don't listen."

"If you listen too much, you'll be transferred to the bottom warehouse to distribute nutrient paste."

Early morning.

When Chen Chen came down from the second floor, Jiang Jiuyou was still asleep.

Her cloak was draped over the back of the chair, and her fingers were still loosely holding the tactical tablet, the screen paused on last night's final fire control optimization plan.

Chen Chen didn't wake her.

In the main control room, Shen Wanbing was already waiting in front of the projection of the silent coordinate spike.

That gray-white spike, the size of a needle tip, was sealed in the core cabin of the Star Core main mineral heart, with three layers of isolation fields wrapped around it.

Mio floated to the side, her electronic pupils staring straight.

"I'll say it again."

"It's not an ordinary beacon."

"If you touch it randomly, the mineral heart might blow itself into a pot of crystal sand porridge."

Su Xiaoqi walked in holding a handful of cumin powder.

"Can you eat crystal sand porridge?"

Mio nearly went offline.

"No!"

Shen Wanxing was still sleeping soundly in the constant temperature rest cabin.

Chen Chen walked over, opened the door, reached in, and hauled her out, blanket and all.

Shen Wanxing poked her head out with messy hair, her eyes not yet fully open.

"I'm not a blind box opener..."

Chen Chen put her in front of the core cabin.

"Touch it, then go back to sleep."

Shen Wanxing looked at that gray-white spike, and her whole person sobered up.

"You said the same thing last time."

"Then I touched the tower, touched the dog, touched the mineral heart."

"Now you won't even let the spike go."

Su Xiaoqi very seriously handed the cumin to her.

"Sister Wanxing, if you don't touch it, we're having braised dog head."

Shen Wanxing froze.

"Why is the logic of your threats getting weirder and weirder?"

Su Xiaoqi thought about it.

"Because the dog head is getting cold."

The shopkeeper walked by hugging her ledger, her fox ears twitching.

"Remember to put the braised dog head on the tavern's account."

Mio covered her electronic face.

"The atmosphere in your city is hopeless."

Shen Wanxing sniffed, closed her eyes, and extended a finger to poke the outer shell of the isolation cabin.

Hum—

Golden light shone first.

The next second, a purple-gold pillar of light shot up directly from the core cabin, flashing Mio's projection into continuous garbled code.

[Lucky Critical triggered.]

[Fifty-fold multiplier activated.]

[silent coordinate spike quality leap occurred.]

[Obtained: SS+ grade Void Projection Barb.]

[Effect 1: Retains the aura of the remnant scroll and the fluctuation of the pseudo-artifact anchor.]

[Effect 2: When Hunter King-level close-range resonance is triggered, automatically generates fake core coordinates.]

[Effect 3: When the target attempts to devour or forcibly read the coordinates, activates a micro-void collapse trap.]

Golden light lit up in Shen Wanbing's eyes.

"It's done."

It took a long time for Mio to return to normal.

"You turned a tracking beacon into a back-biting trap?"

Su Xiaoqi's eyes lit up.

"Will it explode if the Hunter King eats it?"

Shen Wanbing looked at the simulation diagram.

"If he approaches within a hundred kilometers and attempts to read the aura of the mineral heart remnant scroll, the collapse trap will detonate on his tracking chain."

"It won't kill a Tier 6, but it can make it lose precise perception for a short time."

Chen Chen looked at Shen Wanxing.

"Credit recorded."

Shen Wanxing hugged her blanket, looking aggrieved.

"Can the credit be exchanged for three days of sleep?"

Chen Chen thought about it.

"Two days."

"Deal!"

She immediately turned and ran toward the constant temperature cabin.

After running two steps, Shen Wanbing projected the holographic bill.

"Listen to the resource inventory first."

Shen Wanxing's legs went soft.

"Does listening count as overtime?"

Shen Wanbing ignored her.

"The preliminary accounting for Meteor Crystal City's total harvest is complete."

"One hundred thousand tons of A-grade metal."

"Fifty tons of high-purity star core crystal sand."

"Thirty-seven thousand advanced vehicle cores."

"One hundred and twenty thousand intermediate cores."

"Two thousand six hundred Tier 5 crystal cores."

"Eleven S-grade blueprints, three SS-grade blueprints."

"Three hundred and forty-two complete sets of crystal rail cannon components."

"Forty-nine thousand technical craftsmen, thirteen thousand crystal sand refiners."

The main control room was quiet for a few seconds.

The shopkeeper's abacus beads moved rapidly.

"This account... I'd be happy calculating it for a year."

Jiang Jiuyou walked in from the door, her cloak already buttoned up again, though her collar was half an inch lower than usual.

She scanned the resource list.

"The war module can be upgraded two rounds."

Yi Chang followed closely inside.

"The survival module also needs to be expanded."

The two were just about to clash when Chen Chen raised his hand.

"We have the city."

"Now upgrade the core mother vehicle."

The Ghost Fortress had been responsible for towing and core command since Lv.18.

No matter how big the Sea-Air Composite Fortress got, it was still the one bound to Chen Chen's system.

Shen Wanbing immediately pulled up the upgrade interface.

"Ghost Fortress is currently Lv.20."

"Investing five thousand advanced vehicle cores, ten tons of star core crystal sand, and thirty thousand tons of A-grade metal can directly Impact Lv.30."

Mio was instantly alert.

"Wait, you want to upgrade the core mother vehicle to the Level 3 Map limit?"

Copper Hammer poked his head out from the industrial channel, his face full of excitement.

"Leave it to me!"

"I'll weld it into a real war mothership!"

Mio immediately bristled.

"Don't you dare weld it into a big meat bun!"

Su Xiaoqi raised her hand.

"A big iron meat bun is not bad either."

"Shut up!"

Mio and Shen Wanbing spoke at the same time.

Chen Chen directly confirmed the investment.

Five thousand advanced cores were swallowed by the system.

Ten tons of star core crystal sand turned into dark gold fluid, wrapping around the Ghost Fortress along the lifting track of the Central Plaza.

[Core vehicle upgrade initiated.]

[Target: Lv.30.]

[Evolution direction: Prototype of Doomsday Interstellar Mothership.]

[Estimated time: 12 hours.]

The Ghost Fortress hovered above the Central Plaza.

The outer shell began to unfold, dismantle, and reorganize.

The original four-story vehicle body was wrapped by dark gold structures, the prototype of quantum jump armor fitted layer by layer, and the propulsion wells at the bottom of the vehicle opened, as if breathing out star core light patterns.

The bottom warehouse channel exploded instantly.

"The Lord's car got bigger again!"

"Is this still a car?"

Iron Wall kicked the broadcast console.

"Less nonsense!"

"Keep moving after watching!"

"Anyone who dares to slack off, get transferred to wash pots for Su Xiaoqi!"

Su Xiaoqi walked by holding dog bone soup.

"My pots are very clean."

The bottom warehouse black market opened at the same time.

The area outside the Fox Tail Tavern was packed with people.

The shopkeeper stood under the golden toilet wine barrel, her abacus clicking away.

"Half a mechanical dog leg, pollution not cleared, can't even trade for two bowls of nutrient paste."

A mine slave hugged the dog leg and pleaded.

"One and a half bowls?"

The shopkeeper's fox ears twitched.

"One bowl, plus half a ladle of soup base."

Su Xiaoqi sat down beside her, holding an empty basin.

"Shopkeeper, I'm testing for poison."

The shopkeeper's face turned green.

"You call that testing for poison?"

"You call that cleaning out the stock!"

Su Xiaoqi corrected her seriously.

"I didn't die after eating, which means it's safe."

The shopkeeper looked at the twenty-three empty bowls stacked in front of her, and her abacus beads nearly broke.

"Chen Chen!"

"Your Xiaoqi's poison testing fee must be reimbursed!"

Blood Rose leaned against the bar counter, her red dress changed into a loose coat, her wrist backlash not yet fully recovered.

She gently shook her glass.

"Shopkeeper, give me one too."

The shopkeeper was wary.

"Pay in points."

Blood Rose smiled lazily.

"I'll use Succubus Poison Body to help you chase away those who are trying to default on their debts."

The shopkeeper poured the wine immediately.

"Deal."

Twelve hours later.

The golden light in the Central Plaza dissipated.

The upgrade prompt echoed throughout the main control layer.

[Ghost Fortress upgrade complete.]

[Level: Lv.30.]

[Evolution form: Prototype of Doomsday Interstellar Mothership.]

[Tonnage: 80 tons.]

[Base Defense: 52000.]

[Durability: 36000/36000.]

[New S-grade module: Quantum Jump Armor.]

[New core living module: Ecological Micro-circulation Villa Area.]

[New weapon interface: Star Core Secondary Gun Slot x 4.]

[New auxiliary system: Level 3 Radiation Filtration Layer, Gravity Stabilization Room, Ship-borne Hot Spring Circulation Pool.]

[Void Annihilation Matrix adaptation upgrade: Cooldown reduced by 20%.]

[Fleet Link carrying capacity increased.]

The vehicle door opened.

The first second everyone entered, they all stopped.

The originally cramped first-floor living cabin had turned into a duplex apartment.

In the center was the holographic command area.

On the side were an independent kitchen, medical room, and rest area.

The second-floor suspension cabin had expanded into a private suite.

The third-floor expansion cabin had become a small industrial cabin.

The most outrageous thing was that there was an extra constant temperature hot spring pool on the inner side.

Water vapor drifted upward along the white stone steps.

Blood Rose stared at the hot spring pool, her red lips moving.

"This... belongs to me tonight."

Jiang Yanxue walked in carrying her blade.

"On what grounds?"

Blood Rose turned back.

"On the grounds that I'm injured."

Qin Hongye walked in from behind, holding a newly modified sniper cannon.

"My shoulder is injured too."

Shen Wanxing poked her head in from the door, immediately spotting the exclusive soft bed with an aromatherapy system in the corner.

She pounced on it.

"This is mine!"

Su Xiaoqi stood in front of the kitchen module and opened the refrigerator.

Ten layers of meat storage racks popped out automatically.

She was stunned on the spot.

"Brother."

"This car can get married."

Mio floated in the center of the cabin, looking at the interior structure that finally had some mechanical aesthetics, her electronic pupils lighting up for two seconds.

"This time it's still—"

Before she finished speaking, Copper Hammer poked his head out from the industrial cabin.

"Lord, I added a spare big pot interface to the rear of the car!"

Mio's projection went black.

"Tear it down."

Su Xiaoqi immediately hugged the kitchen door.

"Don't tear it!"

Chen Chen walked to the main control position, and as soon as he sat down, Shen Wanbing's screen suddenly popped up with red ripples.

Her face changed.

"The Void Projection Barb has been triggered."

Everyone looked at the main screen instantly.

One hundred kilometers away in the Northwest Wasteland.

A piece of blood-red signal exploded violently.

Immediately after, the Hunter King's lowered, panting voice came through the communication channel.

"Chen Chen."

"This hot dish of yours..."

"It's spicy enough."

The next second, a new prompt popped up on the screen.

[Warning: Tier 6 Hunter King has actively cut off the tracking chain.]

[Warning: Target is performing a straight-line physical assault.]

Shen Wanbing looked up sharply.

"It's not chasing the signal anymore."

"It's coming straight for our main body."