Seven days later, the last city in central Nanwu Country.
Boom! A five-hundred-meter-tall building blazed with fire and collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Not far from the building, a horde of Monsters watched the collapse, excitement on their faces as they shouted, "We've finally conquered the entire Blue Planet!"
On a rooftop nearby, Tian Xing stood with a savage grin. "The last city of Nanwu Country falls by my hand—history will remember me, Tian Xing!"
Those seven days had mostly been spent on the road; Nanwu Country was simply too vast.
At the same time, on a plain in Liyang Country.
Jiang Yan stood there, the star seal in his hand flickering while a subordinate below reported that Nanwu Country had been completely occupied.
Jiang Yan scanned the news and sank his consciousness into his mind.
pearl of the abyss: 5 billion / 5 billion
The Planet's population had dropped by about one billion in the upheaval—most of them caught in the crossfire or killed while resisting.
The survivors, harvested by Nightmare and culled in the week's warfare, filled the remaining five-billion gap.
"Negative emotions at maximum. Summon?"
'Summon!'
Wrum! A cloud of purple-black mist appeared before Jiang Yan, rapidly swelling to three meters across before stopping.
Rumble! The roar went on for a full hour before it finally ceased.
As the mist dispersed, a two-meter-tall fleshy Rubik's cube emerged, hovering in mid-air.
The flesh on the cube pulsed. After several seconds of silence Jiang Yan realized it was another tool.
He focused and checked the cube's information in his mind.
Flesh Barrier: a barrier usable only by mighty beings of Hell!
Flesh Link: insert the barrier into the planetary Core to draw geothermal energy and activate it! (Daily siphoning won't harm the Planet.)
Blood Sense: deploy a Planet-wide barrier that tags every living thing; any untagged intruder entering the Planet will be sensed!
Defense: the barrier can store Core energy and, when needed, unfold a crimson shield that covers the globe! (Auto-activates against attacks that threaten the Planet.)
After reading, Jiang Yan opened his eyes and stared at the thing, thinking only one thing.
It's powerful, and a Planet-wide barrier and detection system are exactly what I need.
With each new summon, Jiang Yan understood that the starry sky above was anything but quiet—it was bustling.
In the past, Blue Planet's technology had been too limited to reach those existences.
But under Jiang Yan's rule the Planet would eventually encounter them, and the Flesh Barrier would be invaluable against invaders who might appear any day.
With that thought, he reached out and lightly touched the cube.
'Implant into this Planet? Once done, it cannot be removed!'
The instant he touched it, the message flashed through his mind.
'Implant!' His will answered.
Wrum! The Flesh Barrier quivered.
Bang! It slammed into the ground, spraying mud toward Jiang Yan.
A Black Flame sprang up in front of him, turning the flying dirt into black liquid that merged with the fire.
The Black Flame returned to his body. He glanced at the large pit nearby; the cube was still drilling downward.
Soon he could no longer hear it.
A minute later a notification appeared in his mind.
'Flesh Barrier absorbing Core energy; barrier activation in one hour!'
Hearing that, Jiang Yan turned and walked away without another glance.
A red dot representing the barrier now existed in his mind, available for inspection at any time.
Had it possessed a soul, he would have fed it a soul crystal to strengthen it.
The next day Jiang Yan arrived at Research Base No. 1.
The facility had expanded again; surrounding hills and woods had been leveled, replaced by alloy structures.
Monsters stood guard; seeing Jiang Yan, they hastily bowed. "President!"
They jogged forward and opened the Laboratory doors for him.
Jiang Yan nodded and walked in.
Inside, automated production lines stretched ahead while White-Coated Monster technicians monitored the process.
Beaton was already waiting, his head enlarged, eyes crimson, a two-meter-long black arm extending from his back.
"President!" Beaton greeted respectfully.
Jiang Yan surveyed the lines, each producing rows of filled syringes.