Chapter 25 – Level 2 Statues

When Cheng Yang and his team emerged from the dungeon, the other residents of the stronghold looked at them with intense envy. This included both those who had yet to undergo their class change and those who already had.

“Old Yu, Haozi, today we’ll continue rescuing people in Huimin Town while also searching for lumber. We can’t have these people sleeping outside indefinitely,” Cheng Yang instructed. “Old Li, you and Niu Bing stay at the stronghold, taking turns guarding it and clearing out newly spawned demonic beasts in the surrounding areas.”

Yu Kai and the others nodded in agreement. For them, whether they went to Huimin Town or stayed in Luofeng Village made no difference – as long as they could obtain spirit energy points.

As Yu Kai and his team began organizing their forces, Cheng Yang handed over the management of his dozen subordinates to Zhao Chuan. As the lord of Luofeng Village, while he led a squad, he couldn’t devote all his energy to them.

Cheng Yang returned to the class statues, noticing that the final level 1 attribute upgrade for several main class statues would complete in just two minutes. He waited patiently.

Two minutes later, all level 1 skill research completed, and the statues automatically upgraded to level 2, their attributes undergoing significant changes.

The other main class statues showed similar upgrades. Satisfied with the results, Cheng Yang selected twenty more people from those who hadn’t undergone class change yet. As before, he didn’t choose Hu Bing and his group.

After distributing these twenty newly class-changed individuals evenly among the five teams, each squad now had twenty members. However, this consumed nearly half of the 400+ spirit energy points they had just gathered.

Cheng Yang felt conflicted. If he could donate his personal spirit energy to the territory, he would do so immediately. Upgrading to a level 2 village would grant him the strength of a high-level magic apprentice, significantly increasing his monster-slaying efficiency. He could potentially tackle larger monster groups that were previously too dangerous, easily earning over 1000 spirit energy points in a day.

But the rules set by the gods were immutable. Cheng Yang estimated that by tomorrow morning, Luofeng Village would have enough spirit energy to upgrade. This would come from both the respawned demonic beasts around the territory and the Bloody Church dungeon, which would become accessible again. This time, it wouldn’t just be Cheng Yang entering alone – Yu Kai and the others would lead their own teams into the dungeon.

While Luofeng Village remained relatively peaceful, Xiangcheng City was experiencing a very different day.

Since noon, the sound of gunfire and artillery had echoed throughout Xiangcheng City. The military stationed in the suburbs had finally entered the city. Their delayed response was due to their own struggles during the initial disaster. However, with their weapons intact and no high-rise buildings in their camp, they had managed to eliminate the monsters in their area by midnight.

A debate had ensued among the military leadership. Some advocated for immediate entry into Xiangcheng City to conduct rescue operations, while others opposed this due to the lack of orders from higher authorities. Without clear instructions, moving troops could be considered a criminal act. This stalemate lasted an entire day, during which they discovered that all electrical weapons had become unusable.

Now, they were left with only guns, grenades, and rocket launchers. The sight of their tanks rendered useless as mere lumps of metal was particularly frustrating. If only they could use their tanks, those monsters wouldn’t pose such a threat.

By morning, with no orders forthcoming due to the complete collapse of the power system, the military leadership decided to act. They couldn’t afford to wait any longer while Xiangcheng City turned into a ghost town.

The Xiangcheng military district had fewer than 20,000 personnel, including administrative staff. However, fully armed, they still represented a formidable force. They had learned that while handguns were ineffective against monsters, machine guns worked well, though they consumed about 20 bullets per kill.

As they entered the city, the true devastation became apparent. Bones – both human and animal – littered the streets, and the stench of decay permeated the air. Cheng Yang, with his knowledge from his previous life, knew that while diseases still existed in this transformed world, plagues caused by mass deaths were no longer a threat.

The military quickly dispatched any demonic beasts in their path, and as they advanced, survivors began emerging from their hiding places, desperately seeking food. The military leaders, not fools, rationed the food carefully, providing just enough to stave off hunger but no more.

As their numbers grew, some troublemakers emerged, but the military’s iron discipline quickly quelled any unrest. A few public executions served as stark reminders that this was no longer a time of peace. While the military offered salvation, it came with strict martial law.

Despite the harsh conditions, the people were grateful for the military’s arrival, seeing it as their chance for survival. However, the sheer size of Xiangcheng City and the number of monsters meant progress was slow. The presence of mid-tier first-stage monsters among the initial spawns caused significant casualties.

By nightfall, the 20,000-strong force still hadn’t reached the city center, their progress hampered by the need to rescue refugees and navigate the ruined streets. Fighting in the dark became increasingly difficult without proper lighting, often only spotting monsters when they were dangerously close.

Meanwhile, back in Luofeng Village, Cheng Yang’s team had rescued another 500 people from Huimin Town. With more people participating in the rescue efforts, they could now venture into previously inaccessible areas. They also found some food supplies in the ruins, including rice, flour, and instant food. Cheng Yang decided to store the rice and flour for emergencies, as food shortages would become severe in the coming days.

The 700+ residents of Luofeng Village were relatively fortunate, subsisting on roasted demonic beast meat supplemented by instant food. Cheng Yang knew which beasts were edible – gray wolves and steel-haired boars were safe, while lesser demons and green-skinned monkeys were not. With this knowledge, he ensured no one in the territory would suffer from poisoning.