Volume 1, Chapter 50: Lord-Tier Beast Surge!
This code of law was like a sharp blade, severing all the chaotic order of the past, and like a ray of sunlight, piercing into the desperate hearts of all survivors!
It gave everyone a visible and tangible hope, a pathway where, through hard work, they could climb upward!
Li Hexuan took in the reactions of the crowd.
He knew that from this moment on, the hearts of the people in this city truly began to belong to him.
The construction of Thunder City began in full swing with unimaginable speed.
In the southern part of the city, inside the former secret biological research base of the Apocalypse Group.
Dr. Qin looked at the scene before him, tears streaming down his old face with emotion.
Surrounded by dozens of precision instruments, a patch of land that was originally dyed pitch-black by source energy pollution was now emitting a soft green light. Su Mengyi closed her eyes, suspended mid-air. Her "Symphony of Life" superpower, amplified by the core fragment and guided by the instruments, transformed into waterfalls of visible life energy, continuously washing over the soil below.
The black pollutants were decomposed, and the soil regained its vitality.
Even more incredibly, on the purified land, several mutant potato vines were growing wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just half an hour, they bore fruits the size of basketballs!
"It's a success! We've succeeded!" Dr. Qin muttered like a madman. "High-yield, non-toxic, and capable of supplementing a small amount of energy! The food crisis is solved!"
In the western part of the city, at the former military training ground.
Zhang Nan wore a custom-made black combat uniform, with a silver lightning insignia branded on his chest. With a stern expression, he shouted a command to the thousand newly recruited young people who had just become enhanced individuals.
"You are the first line of defense of Thunder City! You are the shield protecting the civilians! From now on, your name is the 'Thunder Guard'! Do you understand?!"
"Understood!"
The roar of a thousand people echoed in unison, their momentum piercing the skies.
The honest and upright Zhang Nan had been appointed by Li Hexuan as the commander-in-chief of the Thunder Guard, responsible for urban security and the training of newly awakened individuals. His prestige and strength won the deep conviction of everyone.
The industrial zone in the northern part of the city was even more bustling.
The production lines confiscated from the Apocalypse Group were operating at full speed, and Dr. Qin's laboratory continuously outputted new technical blueprints. Weapon workshops and source energy refining plants rose from the ground one after another, steadily producing standard-issue weapons and standardized source crystal blocks.
The military might and development potential of Thunder City were soaring every single day.
One week later.
In the central square of Thunder City, a twenty-meter-tall black stone monument was officially erected.
The surface of the monument was as smooth as a mirror. Under Li Hexuan's personal operation, rows of golden text began to scroll and appear upon it.
[Thunder City Contribution Ranking]
First place: Qin Shanhai (Research Department), Contribution Points: 188,000.
Second place: Su Mengyi (Sanctuary of Life), Contribution Points: 156,000.
Third place: Lin Feng (Military Department), Contribution Points: 125,000.
Fourth place: Zhang Nan (Thunder Guard), Contribution Points: 98,000.
...
Tenth place: Wang Dachui (Engineering Team), Contribution Points: 1,250.
...
One hundredth place: Li Si (Scavenger Team), Contribution Points: 358.
The moment this monument lit up, the entire square completely boiled over!
Everyone's name and everyone's contribution were clearly listed upon it, awaiting the admiration of the entire city! This was supreme glory, and even more, the most direct form of stimulation!
Countless survivors stared at the names on the monument, their eyes turning red as they clenched their fists tightly.
The establishment of Thunder City was like a lighthouse standing firm in the dark wasteland. Its light quickly attracted countless displaced survivors from the surrounding areas. Dragging their families and enduring hardships, they came to seek refuge in this legendary city of order and hope.
The scale of Thunder City expanded day by day.
Night fell.
Li Hexuan stood on the top floor of the former Apocalypse Group headquarters, overlooking the brightly lit and orderly city below.
Patrolling soldiers of the Thunder Guard walked the streets; in the distance, factories were still roaring in operation; within the purification zone, the green light of life shone uninterrupted through the night.
Here, it was thriving and full of hope.
This was his city, his kingdom.
However, this was merely the first step.
His gaze swept past the city walls, casting into the depths of the endless darkness.
At that moment, Dr. Qin's urgent voice came through his personal terminal.
"Li Hexuan! There's a problem! The seismic monitors outside the city have captured an extremely faint yet highly synchronized frequency of vibration! The source... is coming from all directions around the city!"
Li Hexuan's pupils suddenly constricted.
He raised his head, as if able to pierce through the night to see those cold, indifferent, giant eyes that had once appeared within Su Mengyi's spiritual perception.
That unknown and terrifying entity, after its appraisal, was finally... about to take a step.
A cold arc curved across the corner of Li Hexuan's lips.
"Just in time. My city is in urgent need of a massive amount of source crystals."
"The source... is coming from all directions around the city!"
Dr. Qin's voice, tinged with unprecedented panic, burst out from the terminal.
Li Hexuan stood on the top floor of the Apocalypse Building, the night wind fluttering the hem of his clothes. Below him, the city lights were dazzling, resembling a city that never sleeps amid the dark wasteland.
Yet at this moment, he could clearly feel that the earth beneath his feet was vibrating at an extremely high frequency, albeit with a remarkably faint amplitude.
This was not an earthquake.
These were... footsteps.
The sound of countless feet, moving in uniform unison, treading upon the earth!
"Brother Xuan!" Zhang Nan's communication request broke through almost simultaneously, the background noise filled with chaotic clamor. "The scouts outside the city are running back like madmen! They said... they said those beasts... stopped fighting!"
"They've stopped attacking each other! Like... like an army, they're all gathering in our direction!"
Almost the moment Zhang Nan's voice fell, another weak yet urgent voice rang directly in Li Hexuan's mind.
It was Su Mengyi.
"Li Hexuan... come back quickly! Outside... outside there is something... an consciousness... so large... so massive... filled with violence and hunger... It's commanding, all the life outside the city has merged into a torrent, and it's going to... going to engulf us!"
Her voice was filled with agony, as if millions of steel needles were piercing her psyche. The immense malice stemming from the higher plane of life nearly suffocated her.
Without a moment of hesitation, Li Hexuan's figure vanished instantly from the rooftop, transforming into a streak of lightning that bolted straight toward the Thunder City command center.
The moment he pushed open the door, what greeted him were faces drained of all color.
On the holographic screen, the red light points representing biological energy were no longer scattered sparsely.