Yue Hengyi woke up in the castle feeling refreshed, a comfort he hadn't experienced in a long time. Suddenly, he felt an itch on his body and reached out to scratch. As he did, he pulled off a lot of dead skin from the previously burned areas. When he looked at his hand, Yue Hengyi was startled.
"What the heck, did I shed my skin? What's going on?" Yue Hengyi had never encountered anything like this and was naturally alarmed.
After much thought, Yue Hengyi decided to take a bath. After thoroughly cleaning himself, he discovered that new skin had grown on the areas that had been scalded. The newly formed skin was noticeably whiter and softer than the surrounding skin, and much better than the rough, scalded skin he had before.
"It seems that during evolution, even old injuries on my body can be healed. That's amazing," Yue Hengyi said to himself.
Afterward, Yue Hengyi went to the back garden, where he saw two tall trees. The tallest was an apple tree, reaching twenty meters high. There was also an orange tree, which, though not as tall as the apple tree next to it, was still quite substantial at fifteen meters.
"So wealthy! They've planted two mutated plants, and both are fruit trees. I won't have to worry about fruit from now on!" Yue Hengyi exclaimed, looking at the trees in the garden.
He had come to the garden because Yue Hengyi intended to test his abilities. If he experimented inside the castle and caused it to collapse, it would be problematic. After all, the castle was the only habitable place left in Fengshen Palace. If it were destroyed, Yue Hengyi wouldn't be able to afford to replace it.
Finding an open space, Yue Hengyi immediately began to use his abilities. He limited the range of his gravity field and then increased the gravity, first to double, then triple, and so on, eventually reaching a ten-fold gravity field. Yue Hengyi had experienced this level before when his abilities broke through their limits instantly after consuming a centenarian plant seed. Now, Yue Hengyi had finally become a sixth-order ability user, reaching an unprecedented level of strength.
"Now, I'm a sixth-order ability user too. If I encounter an ambush again, I'll kill every single one of them!" Yue Hengyi said excitedly.
Just then, Chang Jianyi's voice came from a distance, "Mr. Yue, is it convenient to talk?"
Yue Hengyi turned his head and saw Chang Jianyi and Luo Qing looking at him from the distant pavilion. He hurried over and said, "Sister-in-law, thank you for gifting me so many evolution bases. I'm already a sixth-order ability user. If there's anything you need my help with, just ask, and I'll complete it quickly!"
Chang Jianyi, however, asked Yue Hengyi to sit down and then inquired, "I don't have anything else, I just wanted to understand your journey back to the country. It must have been full of danger, right?"
Hearing that she only wanted to know about his and Shen Feng's journey, Yue Hengyi relaxed and said directly, "There were a few dangers, but most of the time we were drifting at sea, which was rather boring. We are both ability users, who could harm us?"
"Can you tell me about the dangers you experienced?" Chang Jianyi continued to ask.
Yue Hengyi leaned against the railing and thought, saying, "The dangers mainly occurred when we were stranded on a deserted island. The island was very small, with no fresh water and no food. We could only scavenge for survival, drinking rainwater for over ten days. Later, we found a surfboard, and that's how we managed to leave the deserted island. Besides that, we encountered an enemy ambush at sea. To this day, we still haven't figured out the identity of the enemies who ambushed us, only some of their abilities."
Next, Yue Hengyi described in detail the events he encountered during his voyage, especially finding a meteorite in New Guinea. Not only did he obtain extraterrestrial elements, but he also forged weapons. His own weapon was a mace, and Shen Feng's weapon was a long sword.
Chang Jianyi listened with a smile to the interesting anecdotes from their journey, never imagining that Shen Feng had so many experiences while abroad. She thought the sea voyage must have been quite dull.
At this moment, Chang Jianyi asked, "By the way, Brother Yue, did you see Shen Feng looking for other women while you were out? I want to know about this."
Hearing this question, Yue Hengyi didn't know how to answer. Whether he told the truth or lied, it would displease one party. If he told the truth, Shen Feng would surely be angry, as they had agreed not to talk nonsense. Now, reporting him would seem disloyal. However, Chang Jianyi had just given him evolution bases yesterday, and if he lied, it would be ungrateful to Chang Jianyi.
Facing this dilemma, Yue Hengyi was at a loss for how to proceed and froze for a moment.
"Oh no, oh no, why did she suddenly ask me this question? This is bad. If I say something, I'll be betraying Brother Feng. If I don't say anything, I'll be betraying Chang Jianyi. It's so difficult, can someone save me?" Yue Hengyi frantically pondered in his mind, searching for a solution.
"Why aren't you answering? Could it be that I guessed correctly? Shen Feng, despite his honest appearance, can't resist temptation. If other women flirt with him, he'll probably fall for them. Is that right?" Chang Jianyi asked directly.
Although Yue Hengyi said nothing at this moment, Chang Jianyi, through her meticulous observation, had found a clue. Yue Hengyi's prolonged silence indicated a problem, and a problem meant she had likely guessed correctly!
Yue Hengyi quickly denied it, saying, "Sister-in-law, you've guessed wrong. How could Brother Feng do something like that to betray you? I wasn't answering just now because I was thinking about whether this had happened. Now, I can tell you clearly, it hasn't!"
"Really?" Chang Jianyi looked at Yue Hengyi suspiciously. She wasn't sure if he was deceiving her, as she hadn't accompanied Shen Feng on his overseas activities.
"Really! Brother Feng is such an upright person. He can't stand vulgar things. Every time he encounters vulgar people, he rushes forward to oppose them. You don't know, but when we were in Japan, Brother Feng opposed such vulgarity with such righteous indignation that everyone who saw him called him a hero!" Yue Hengyi said earnestly. Judging by his expression, Yue Hengyi's confident demeanor at this moment truly seemed to have no issues.
"Then it's fine. You shouldn't tell anyone what I've asked you today. The banquet is about to start, and you should prepare to attend. We have prepared many gifts for our friends from Yuzhou!" Chang Jianyi said, having received a satisfactory answer, and then prepared to leave.
It was evident that Chang Jianyi had found Yue Hengyi specifically to inquire about Shen Feng's potential infidelity. Having received a negative answer, Chang Jianyi was in a good mood and went to arrange the banquet. The number of attendees was small, but they were all important, so no one could be neglected.
After Chang Jianyi left, Yue Hengyi finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, "Brother Feng, I've finally started lying for you. As a brother, this is all I can do. Don't spread anything about me!"
However, Yue Hengyi then began to comfort himself. He hadn't revealed absolutely no clues. Opposing vulgarity was something that, if Chang Jianyi investigated further, she would understand its meaning. This was also a form of hint, but Chang Jianyi likely hadn't heard crosstalk before, so she hadn't grasped the deeper meaning. This was due to her own lack of comprehension.
This was also something Shen Feng often said. Before going out in Japan, he would piously declare, "I'm going out to oppose vulgarity, I'll be back late, you all do as you please!"
As for how he ultimately opposed vulgarity, Yue Hengyi couldn't say much more, as he hadn't entered the adult entertainment establishments and was completely ignorant of what went on inside.
The banquet soon began. There weren't many attendees, but they were all important. The most deserving of hospitality were naturally Wang Ao Ye, Li Xian Kang, and Mu Ying from the three factions. If not for their help this time, Chang Jianyi estimated that her side wouldn't have achieved victory so easily.
Although Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi's appearance ultimately secured the victory, without evenly matched strength, their side likely wouldn't have been able to hold out for too long against the Tianlong Bureau. Therefore, Chang Jianyi arranged for these three people to sit at the front, giving them the utmost treatment.
However, the banquet was destined not to go smoothly. Yuzhou lost its communication link with the outside world, meaning the internet was cut off.
The internet primarily relies on signal base stations to function. As long as the signal base stations are operational, the internet can be used. However, long-distance signal transmission relies on satellites, which act as relay stations. Satellites are controlled by headquarters, and thus, communication is effectively controlled by them.
At this moment, Shen Feng was in the castle. Dan Zhengming sat beside him and analyzed, "City Lord, this is a warning. They have severed Yuzhou's contact with the outside world. We won't be able to easily get news from the outside anymore. Perhaps even making phone calls will become problematic, and we'll only be able to communicate via radio. Headquarters wants you to back down."
Shen Feng rubbed his head and said, "If it's cut off, let it be. After all, it's the apocalypse. Besides cities, where is there any internet? At most, we'll create our own local network, as long as we can use the internet within the city. As for outside the city, let them use walkie-talkies!"
Shen Feng hadn't expected the headquarters' sanctions to come so quickly. They first cut off his communication, dealing a blow to his communication capabilities. It would likely be impossible for Yuzhou to use satellites in the future, and their information channels were immediately affected.
This move, referred to as a warning, was also obvious. Although cutting off the internet connection with the outside world didn't cause much harm, it demonstrated a resolve: if you don't admit your mistake, there will be more severe measures to follow!
Dan Zhengming stroked his beard and continued to analyze, "City Lord, I heard that your teacher, Professor Chu, had a long-term plan. Can you tell me about it now?"
Shen Feng nodded. It was just a plan, wasn't it? He could tell them. He immediately explained, "Teacher told me, 'Build high walls, stockpile grain, and save the common people.' These nine words are what I've been implementing."
Dan Zhengming nodded and then said, "Since there is already a plan, let's proceed according to the plan. From my perspective, the world will remain chaotic for a while. Since the City Lord has fallen out with headquarters, why not take this opportunity to develop our strength? First, improve infrastructure, then stockpile grain, and when the world changes, we can make a stunning debut!"
Shen Feng, upon hearing the half-immortal's suggestion, quickly nodded. In the current situation, lying low and biding time was indeed a good choice.
"No problem, I also want to rest for a while. I've been running around for the past two years and haven't had time to enjoy life. Let's keep a low profile for now!" Shen Feng said helplessly.
Shen Feng glanced at his watch and said, "It's getting late. Let's prepare to attend the banquet. I'm going to be very generous this time, giving away a lot of good things!"
During the banquet, Wang Ao Ye and Li Xian Kang had become the main focus. Many people were talking around these two, making them the center of attention at the banquet. These two were also very talkative and interacted well with those around them.
In contrast, Mu Ying, who was also an important guest, sat in a corner, chatting with her cousin Du Xin Shi. Others didn't dare to disturb them, and Mu Ying was indifferent to others.
"Little Long, this is your aunt. Quickly say hello to Auntie!" Du Xin Shi said to her son.
Little Long then rushed towards Mu Ying, extending his hands and shouting, "Auntie, hug me..."
Mu Ying took Little Long and held him, saying, "Little darling, you've grown so big! You couldn't even talk when we last parted."