Otherworldly Desert Dust-Chapter 568 - 523: There Are People Everywhere in Cang Chu

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The drifting black snowflakes were suddenly blown away, revealing a colossal silver-grey mountain range on the horizon. It strode forward, covering ten kilometers in a single step, as awe-inspiring as Kua Fu from ancient mythology chasing after the sun.

As the silver-grey mountain range drew closer, Mo Chuan discovered it was a magnificent Engine City. The entire city was a blend of silver and dark grey, its structures meticulously crafted without a single flaw. There were no smokestacks or pipes releasing industrial waste, nor signs of corrosion on decrepit machinery. It was as if the city was powered by natural, green energy.

Beams of sunlight-like radiance fell upon the pitch-black earth. The city's Daybreak Lighthouse offered a glimmer of familiar warmth to those who had lost their homeland, followed by a massive silver door that slowly swung open.

Mo Chuan was stunned by the scene before him. He had heard about the grandeur and majesty of Da Xuan's Engine City, but witnessing it firsthand, he was still overcome by Da Xuan's technology. A city home to tens of thousands could move like an ancient colossal deity, breaking away from the traditional mindset of building cities around mountains, water, or ore deposits.

"What... Why are there so many iron walls and watchtowers inside?" Someone quickly voiced their doubts.

"What kind of city is this... Why does it look a bit like a prison?"

Soon, these wandering Nuwa's people began to hesitate.

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The world within the silver gates, resembling a highly sophisticated prison. While the conditions in this prison were more than ten times better than their decrepit cities, they didn't wish to have their freedom restricted, especially the Spirit Awakeners who hoped for a decent final refuge before getting lost.

"My apologies, ladies and gentlemen. Our New City's main entrance is still under repair, so I'm afraid I have to trouble you all to go through the Prison City gates temporarily. My old friend here was in a bit of a hurry; otherwise, we could have waited until the main thoroughfare was complete before inviting you over," a man dressed in a copper uniform, with feathers in his hat, approached them. He was the Prison Director, Liewei.

"My friend here started his career with the Prison City. His prison is a very well-known model jail in Da Xuan; all criminals in Da Xuan hope to end up here because their rights are best protected in this place. Consider this: if such a mayor is approved by even the most vicious felons, wouldn't ordinary citizens respect and like him even more?" Wu Hen immediately explained to Mo Chuan.

Mo Chuan trusted Wu Hen.

But what about the other people? They had just experienced the shattering of their world and then saw a gigantic cosmic prison approaching to take them in. What were they feeling inside?

After much hesitation, some with hearts full of despair decided to give it a try.

A prison of such high standards, with sports fields, lawns, gardens, workshops, and entertainment complexes... it seemed excessive to even call it a prison; it was more like a wellness resort.

Moreover, they had survived the Doomsday Wasteland, a world rampant with mutated creatures and zombies. In fact, a prison was the safest place, with high walls, layers of isolating iron doors, and almost all the necessary living supplies, even allowing for self-sustaining agriculture.

With someone leading the way, more and more people followed suit.

After all, they had no other options left.

The remaining people had been tormented by the otherworldly a thousand times over, surviving on sheer stubbornness. They'd been through the worst conditions imaginable, and even if this turned out to be another scam, at least this time, the con artist was willing to spend money on them.

The remnants of the dilapidated Nuwa God End managed to migrate without any mishaps.

Liewei's city was large enough to accommodate these people.

Furthermore, with the city's rapid development, Liewei needed a substantial number of city dwellers to ensure the operation of the engine. He had caught almost all the criminals in Da Xuan's land, and the labor force from just the prison was insufficient for the current scale. He wasn't keen on plundering other cities, so when Wu Hen brought up this matter, Liewei was actually delighted: finally, fresh blood had arrived...

"You've handled this matter well, thank goodness they truly have nowhere else to go, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to explain," Wu Hen complained to Liewei.

As the displaced people crossed through the prison and got a glimpse of the "least rights" provided to the residents of the city, they realized that the prison was actually very decent. Once they accepted this, they traversed through the prison and reached the actual urban area, where they saw the true prosperity and beauty of the Engine City.

The entire city's architecture was silver, the roads dark grey. What should have been a cold set of colors became exceptionally romantic due to the flowers of all seasons around the city. Trees and wisteria scattered about concealed the overall "prison style" color scheme, making everything look more sophisticated and causing one's gaze to focus only on these vivid colors. The city itself became the softest background, like reflective lakes, gentle seas, distant mountains...

"Deputy Mayor, please settle these friends who've come from afar," Liewei said to his former female assistant, Fan Ke.

"Okay, sure... Is that White Radish?" Fan Ke glanced at Wu Hen with a mix of surprise and disbelief.

At that moment, Wu Hen was emanating Holy Light, safeguarding those Nuwa's people gradually integrating into the city. When Wu Hen was initially arrested, there was a similar Holy Light radiating from him, but this time, the energy around him was even denser, no less brilliant than the radiance of their city.

"Yes, that's him; it's just unclear if it's his real self," Liewei nodded.

Seeing Wu Hen again, Liewei was almost sure of Wu Hen's identity.

"I almost thought he was our Day Traveling God," Fan Ke chuckled.

"The air quality here is really poor. Make sure to leave quickly after settling them in," Liewei instructed.

"We can't return the same way we came; the entire area is under the watchful eyes of Grand Canyon City. What exactly did you and White Radish do to Wei Yan to make him so relentless in watching us?" Fan Ke asked, puzzled.

Liewei said nothing. His Prison Town had once struggled to survive amidst opposition, and although it had rapidly developed since then, it was still challenging to confront the all-powerful Grand Canyon City head-on.

But that contest had not ended—sooner or later, Mayor Levi would arrest Wei Yan, the war criminal, and make him toil on a sewing machine in his own prison.

"Won't you take a look at our New City? Our scale is now close to rivaling that of Steel Eagle City back in the day. I am closer than ever to the throne, and you have always been my most loyal State Preceptor!" Levi said to Wu Hen.

"I trust you... When the day comes for a decisive battle with Grand Canyon City, just let me know. Their tendrils have already reached into Holy Sect's Tongtian City, using all sorts of underhanded methods to lure our Holy Sect Disciples to their city and to supply their Grand Canyon City with biological battery energy," Wu Hen said.

"With your word, I can rest easy," Levi nodded.

In Da Xuan, who the true master is, Levi never acknowledged the extremists like Wei Yan.

"Eh, those people with dust-covered faces look somewhat familiar," Fan Ke suddenly pointed to several figures who had blended into Prison City.

"They claim to be your classmates," said Wu Hen.

Fan Ke and Levi walked over to the group of scholars from Huilin Constellation. The blue-haired woman and Lu Han with blue hair recognized Fan Ke at a glance and excitedly called her 'elder cousin.'

Their calls were intimate, but Fan Ke did not recognize them.

However, judging from their hair color and the hue of their pupils, they were probably distant relatives from her own family.

Sheng Rong and Huang Cang, however, were both recognized by Fan Ke and Levi.

"Sheng Rong, how did you come to be in such a dire state?" Levi inquired.

"It's a long story, you and this Mr. Plague God are acquainted?" Sheng Rong said with a wry smile.

"We are the most loyal of comrades-in-arms. My position today owes much to him. How could he be a Plague God? He's more like a lucky star, a noble benefactor…" Levi patted Wu Hen on the shoulder, giving him high praise.

Sheng Rong and Huang Cang didn't know what to say.

They were now seriously doubting Wu Hen's identity; perhaps he really was the Day Traveling God.

For only the Day Traveling God from Day Divine City would genuinely care about those low-dimensional civilizations, those tribes that are still in a barbaric state.

Looking at Mayor Levi and Royal Lady Fan Ke's treatment towards him, he must certainly be the Day Traveling God who represents Da Xuan's true Divine Power!

Huang Cang was filled with regret at this moment.

If he had realized the call for help came from Nuwa God End and had shown the same kind of humanitarian passion, he would have demonstrated a tremendously noble scholarly personality in front of Da Xuan's God. Perhaps he would then rise rapidly to become a leading figure in Da Xuan's academic circles. It turns out one should not focus too much on self-interest when engaging in academic pursuits, and should carry out acts of benevolence with willingness.

"I need your help with something," Levi said, not beating around the bush.

"What is it?"

"Lately, the relationship between Da Xuan and Holy Sect is terrible. Many small engine cities have suffered retaliation from minor factions of Totem Sacred Sect. Do you have any authoritative tokens here? Our next destination for extracting Dark Energy is near your Holy Sect's land, and I don't want to start a big war with them," Levi stated.

"Grand Canyon City is intent on stirring up conflict between Holy Sect and Da Xuan; Saint Luo has already been alerted. I can grant you clearance, but you still need to be cautious — there is someone within Holy Sect allied with Wei Yan who will target your city," Wu Hen said.

During his time hidden within Desert Dust, there had been many frictions between Holy Sect and Da Xuan, and Wu Hen had learned of these matters from Cai Ni, the director of Holy Sect's street office in Silver Dome City.

Facing challenges from Da Xuan, the ones to mediate naturally were the elders from Cloud Holy Country above.

But Cai Lan knew as well, and she had already issued a warning to Da Xuan's Divine City.

Having experienced the battle between Steel City and Grand Canyon City, both Wu Hen and Levi were acutely aware that after acquiring the biological battery technology, Grand Canyon City began indiscriminately capturing Cultivators, Transcendents, and Advanced Species to power their city. Their evolutionary momentum was unstoppable and was bound to alarm the overseers of Cang Chu Divine Realm.

"Understood. So if my city is besieged by large factions of Holy Sect, will shouting your name help?" Levi asked.

"You must call out Lord Wu Tian," Wu Hen replied.

"No problem!" Levi nodded.

He wasn't afraid of those major factions of Holy Sect; he just didn't want to escalate unnecessary wars during the rapid development of the city.

Meanwhile, Mo Chuan looked on with round eyes full of curiosity, listening to their conversation.

Initially, he thought Wu Hen's mention that their people could also relocate to Holy Sect was just a casual remark, never expecting that Wu Hen truly held such a high position within Holy Sect.