The night wind whistled.
The little demon's incessant questioning struck Chen Yu like a thunderclap. Chen Yu sat quietly by the lake, the little demon's words echoing in his mind.
"Tsk..."
After a long silence, Chen Yu suddenly clicked his tongue and chuckled.
"How melodramatic."
"Who are you calling melodramatic?!" The little demon, eyes wide, stared intently at Chen Yu, as if ready to act if his response wasn't satisfactory.
"Me."
Chen Yu chuckled wryly and replied in a low voice.
Unbelievable!
Recalling his brief twenty-odd years, the word "melodramatic" had always seemed distant from him. He never expected to become so sentimental after entering the underground world.
He wasn't one for affected behavior.
"You know what's good for you." The little demon, hands on her hips, snorted and leaned down, grabbing Chen Yu's collar. "Chen Yu, you'd better pull yourself together. Tens of thousands of people in the city-state depend on you. If you continue to be so self-pitying, Sona and I might consider other collaborators."
"Don't say that!"
Chen Yu quickly regained his usual spirit, grinning as he tried to persuade her.
"We've been cooperating for so long, why would you suddenly look for someone else? Besides, wouldn't cooperating with them be as appealing as cooperating with me? With our current foundation, can other survivors catch up even if they had another year?"
This was not Chen Yu boasting.
A year?
Even several years wouldn't be enough for them to catch up.
After the planes merged, people from other planes would enter his region. Based on the strength of the survivors after the plane merger, he could estimate.
He was far ahead.
The rankings clearly showed this. Chen Yu's score within his camp alone dwarfed others, not to mention the city-states not included in the rankings.
From the initial hundreds of thousands of planes, the number of planes had merged down to about ten thousand.
Chen Yu was unfamiliar with the conditions in other planes.
But even with conservative estimates, the number of plane overlords who could surpass him was very few. At this moment, he was at least in the top ten among all survivors.
"Don't be too arrogant."
To his surprise, the little demon narrowed her eyes and whispered softly.
"You indeed have some foundation now, but among billions of survivors, who can guarantee that there won't be people with lucky encounters? Speaking of which, take Jiang Yaqing, for example, a child of a prominent family. Can you guarantee you can defeat all of them?"
"That's true, I can't. But I'm confident I can defeat ninety percent of them." Chen Yu replied with a playful grin.
"Feeling confident now?"
Seeing Chen Yu's lack of humility, the little demon also smiled.
"If you're that confident, don't blame me for bringing you down. You might be considered among the best survivors, but how do you compare to the native inhabitants of the underground world?"
Chen Yu: "..."
"I won't even bother talking about others. Let's just talk about Ilya, with whom you've been associating. How do you think you compare to her now?"
"Isn't this just quibbling?"
Chen Yu was annoyed.
No matter how well he developed, he couldn't compare to those native inhabitants of the underground world. He hadn't even been in the underground world for half a year, and this place had existed for thousands, even tens of thousands, of years.
Directly pitting him against Ilya...
He really wanted to say "thank you"!
Seeing Chen Yu's slightly annoyed expression, the little demon chuckled triumphantly, then sternly snorted.
"Am I quibbling? I'm reminding you." The little demon, hands behind her back, chided sternly. "Don't get complacent with the achievements you've made so far. There are many people in this world who are stronger than you."
"Oh."
Chen Yu replied with a placid expression. To his surprise, the little demon exploded.
"Oh?!!!"
"Are you saying 'oh' to me, Chen Yu? Don't be so conceited!!!!"
The little demon, who had been earnestly advising him moments ago, instantly lost her temper at Chen Yu's single "oh" and let out an angry cry.
"Is there a problem?"
Chen Yu's eyes were filled with confusion as he blinked.
"Otherwise, what should I say? Should I say I can't compare to Ilya, that she's a princess and I'm just a pauper? Demon lord, you should go cooperate with Ilya, I'm not good enough for you."
"Well, it's not that serious." The little demon chuckled.
"In that case, can you let me be quiet for a while?"
Chen Yu tilted his head, a clear hint of dismissal in his eyes. The little demon frowned.
"What are you going to do now?"
"Oh, my dear ancestor, I just want to sit quietly for a while and think about how to operate the city-state in the future!" Chen Yu's eyes showed his helplessness, and he raised three fingers. "I swear to you, I won't wallow in self-pity again, nor will I be conceited or arrogant. Our camp's commercial district is about to open, and the city-state will become very complex in the future. I need to sort things out."
The little demon, arms crossed, blinked a couple of times.
It seemed to make some sense.
Currently, Chen Yu's city-state consisted of laborers who had joined it. However, with the city-state's development, various forces were bound to emerge and establish themselves here.
At that time, affairs within the city-state would become complicated, and it indeed required time to think it through.
"Then it's a deal, you can't just be lost in your thoughts anymore." The little demon pouted, glaring, and warned in a threatening tone.
Chen Yu waved his hand, looking exhausted, and the little demon melted into the night and disappeared.
The rare quiet returned to Chen Yu. He sat by the riverside and looked at the lake, the future of the city-state appearing in his mind.
Before Chen Yu could ponder further, the rustling sound from a distance disrupted his thoughts.
"I really won't be lost in my thoughts anymore." Chen Yu frowned and glanced sideways, only to see Hei Dou, who had recently received the divine general's inheritance in its cat form, standing before him.
"It's you."
Chen Yu nodded slightly and gestured towards his side.
"Come."
Under the night sky, Hei Dou, in its cat form, moved with agility and speed. With a few leaps, it arrived beside Chen Yu and quietly lay down.
Chen Yu couldn't help but feel a sense of wistfulness.
This scene was very similar to when Hei Dou had first signed a contract with him. At that time, they were also in a space with a natural lake.
Hei Dou, who claimed to be a combat spirit beast, had shown Chen Yu its exquisite fishing skills.
At night, after eating their fill, they would sit by the lakeside. Chen Yu would quietly gaze at the lake, with Hei Dou lying beside him.
The only difference was that there was no moon in the underground world back then.
"This is quite novel. You've turned into a cat again. Do you think your transformed form isn't handsome enough, and you feel ashamed next to me?" Chen Yu teased with a smile.
"Nonsense!"
Hei Dou, lying beside him, glared.
"I'm not handsome enough? Brother Yu, do you know how many young maidens in our city-state have been sending me flirtatious glances after I transformed? Although I'm a little less handsome than you, I'm still drop-dead gorgeous, right?"
"Well said."
"It's the truth. When it comes to handsomeness, it has to be you, Brother Yu. There's no doubt about that."
Sensing Hei Dou's flattery, Chen Yu chuckled for a while before his smile faded.
"Is there something you want to tell me?"