Blue Star, Wo Jiao Ranch. At the volcanic crater lake passage, a great roc with red hair lay on a branch of a large tree by the lake, a cigarette between its lips, leisurely crossing its legs. After Lydia left, without the hassle of teaching math, he, the great steward, was finally idle. Now, his math level was on par with bald math experts across Blue Star! But improving Lydia’s math was more difficult than him promoting to Demon King himself…
Suddenly, the calm lake surface stirred with ripples. The great roc quickly put out its cigarette, its golden wings emerging from its back as it flew rapidly to the lake.
The magic in the passage beneath the lake was chaotic, and the accumulated magic elements were being consumed at an alarming rate. The great roc’s gaze was solemn, its demonic power surging madly. The greater the consumption of magic elements in the passage, the stronger the being emerging. And this time, the terror was something the great roc had only witnessed once before.
The great roc nimbly took out a transparent, high-tech mobile phone and sent a message to the higher echelons of Great Xia. "Strong enemy approaching, prepare yourselves!"
Strong enemy! The recipient of the message was Elder Song, the head of the Eastern District forces. The great roc was a Demon King-level powerhouse; anyone who required an urgent communication from him was bound to be significant.
Elder Song’s expression changed. He reported the message to the Chief and simultaneously issued orders for the entire Eastern forces to enter emergency combat readiness.
In an instant, the urgent and heart-wrenching alarm bells rang out across the Eastern District military camp. Xuan Nu super combat mechs ascended one by one, closely followed by many powerful super-soldiers, their jetpacks allowing them to keep pace with the mechs.
Their speed exceeded several times the speed of sound, and only super-soldiers, equipped with battle suits incorporating demonic artifact technology, could withstand the terrifying air pressure.
The magic city was even more prosperous than in the past. In just two years, hovercars were ubiquitous on the streets, and there were suspended trains between tall buildings…
The bustling crowds wore smiles, their eyes alight, devoid of the lifelessness of endless wage slaves. No one had expected that the apocalypse would pave the way for unprecedented civilization!
"Look! Xuan Nu fighter jets, five… ten… no, there are so many more behind them!!!"
"Flyers! S-class combat suits, dozens of them, is the entire brigade mobilized?"
"What happened? Why such a large mobilization?"
"Last year, when two Demon King-level monsters emerged from the southern restricted zone, only 8 Xuan Nu fighter jets and 11 S-class warriors were deployed! Could the demons be attacking again?"
"That's not right! Didn't our vanguard just set off to conquer other worlds in the Luan Bird spaceship? Did something go wrong?"
"This direction… it's southeast! Could it be…"
"Holy crap! Brother Ye's ranch? That area has the strongest defense in the restricted zone. If something goes wrong there…"
"If only Brother Ye were here! Haven't heard from him in two years, could it be…"
"Shut your damn mouth! If you spout any more bad luck, this auntie will cut off your little brother! You won't be needing it anyway!!!"
"What's there to be afraid of? Who isn't a super-soldier now? My neighbor, an 80-year-old granny, can lift a 1000-jin piece of furniture up ten floors. Are we still afraid of demons? Isn't this a waste of the country's resources distributed over the past two years?"
"That's true! At worst, it's death. In eighteen years, I'll be a handsome young man again!"
…
Residents excitedly pulled out their phones to share information on their social media. The anomaly at Wo Jiao Ranch quickly spread throughout Great Xia, the Great Xia Alliance, and even the entire Blue Star.
Currently, the most popular and widely used platform worldwide was Douyin, thanks to a fortunate contract signed with Bai Ye. Many countries had opened their markets to it, even strongly supporting it!
Even though Bai Ye had been out of contact for two years, no one dared to easily tamper with the company.
Capital city, Holy Pilgrimage District.
The Chief of Great Xia received the news immediately and, without hesitation, made decisive deployments.
"Prepare the particle cannons. Once the demonic forces exceed the defense perimeter of Wo Jiao Ranch, commence bombardment!"
"Received!"
Above the Great Xia Alliance, a space station several times larger than the Luan Bird spaceship slowly opened its weapon bays. Dark cannon barrels began to glow with a faint light, and as the luminosity intensified, the pressure also rapidly increased…
Outside Wo Jiao Ranch, tower cannons emerged from mountaintops and dense forests, all aimed at the depths of the ranch. The entire Great Xia nation stood ready.
Just as everyone was on edge, the lake water above the passage churned violently, then suddenly calmed down.
Ten minutes, twenty minutes…
Nearly half an hour passed, and it remained calm. Not even a single D-class demon, nor a beast that hadn't yet mastered magic, was sighted!
"What's happening?"
"This…"
The Great Xia high command, constantly monitoring the area, was bewildered. Such a significant disturbance in the passage would typically result in demons emerging within minutes.
"Chief, twenty minutes ago, Wo Jiao Ranch emitted a faint, strange signal!" Elder Song said with a frown.
"What news?" the Great Xia Chief's voice returned, grave.
"Just now, we seem to have detected the signal of the No. 1 Luan Bird spaceship. It was very weak and brief; technicians are currently unable to definitively confirm if it was…"
The Chief fell into contemplation. Could the No. 1 Luan Bird spaceship have returned? If it had, why didn't it report in? The military constantly monitored it; such a large spaceship entering the passage wouldn't go unnoticed.
Or perhaps something happened in the passage? That shouldn't be the case. If an accident occurred in the passage, the signal wouldn't have arrived so quickly…
Could someone have hidden the No. 1 Luan Bird spaceship?
After a three-minute silence, the phone rang again with the Chief's voice.
"Recall all troops. All units, return to standby positions."
"Also, relay this message: it was just a routine drill."
Huh? What was going on? Elder Song was slightly taken aback, but the order had been given, and he promptly executed it.
Thus, the mighty elites of Great Xia withdrew from the skies above the magic city and returned to the Eastern District military camp.
"What? A drill? That felt too real!"
"This is official news from the Great Xia Alliance! I believe in the country's deployment."
"Is it possible this is a deterrence to the Western Alliance, and those in Africa? Showing off our strength? They've been increasingly brazen in targeting our Eastern Alliance lately!"
"Highly possible! Sigh, a false alarm."
"Everyone, don't let your guard down. This is a signal. Whether it's the demons or those spineless Westerners, they pose a significant threat to us."
"Hmph! Honestly, compared to demons, I hate those hypocritical gentlemen from the Western Alliance more. No matter how much you hate demons, you can just draw your sword and kill them. These guys, you can't even hit them!"
"Exactly, isn't that infuriating?"
…
The official news from Great Xia quickly spread across Blue Star. The alliance's attention was immediately drawn to the Western Alliance.
Citizens of the Western Alliance, seeing the East united in cursing them, were naturally unwilling to concede. Although they were indeed cooperating with half-demons, it was for the sake of rapid technological development! Consequently, the two sides began a fierce debate on Douyin, with ancestors from thousands of years ago being dug up.
It was only due to Douyin's strong backing that it hadn't been blocked by various countries. However, at this moment, the CEO of Douyin Group secretly wiped a bead of sweat.
The presidents of the Western Alliance countries were bewildered. What was Great Xia playing at? Feigning an attack? Diverting domestic contradictions?
Wo Jiao Ranch, the great roc stared at the lake, lighting a cigarette in bewilderment. Could I have been mistaken? Or is some scoundrel playing with me?
Just as the great roc was about to curse, it heard excited barking from outside the mountains, echoing through the wilderness.
Why are these guys so happy? Did they get some great treasure? The great roc felt it shouldn't be so; these guys had treasures hidden in their lairs that were no less than its own. There were many treasures in the ranch, but they disdained them. They were fine for play…
Curiously, the great roc flew up to see. Indeed, it saw piles of large dogs happily running outward.
This direction… home? The great roc’s gaze flickered slightly. To make them this happy, could it be that 'Silly Egg' had returned?
When did he return? With such a large and plump physique, how did he slip past me under my nose… Suddenly, the great roc seemed to have an epiphany, its eyes flashing with astonishment.
He's back?
At the edge of the ranch, Lone Star Villa.
Bai Ye stood at the entrance, looking at his familiar yet unfamiliar home, and was momentarily stunned. At this moment, the luxurious courtyard, spanning over a thousand square meters, was covered by a shed the size of a small mountain…
Lydia giggled mischievously, "Hehe~ Brother, Gou Dan and the others are too fat now, the villa can no longer accommodate them. So, we built a shed in the yard to shelter them from the wind and rain…"
Beside her, upon hearing the words 'too fat', a huge, thick chain was immediately raised in displeasure, with robust muscles exposed on its legs and shoulders.
"Woof woof woof woof woof! (Big sister, I'm not fat, I'm sturdy…)"