I've finally managed to get a wireless network card; it cost me dearly, but now I won't have to fear network outages, and I can resume updating! Asking for monthly votes, asking for subscriptions... We've fallen behind quite a bit these last two days, let's push forward!

...

The Nangong Guild headquarters was situated in the eastern part of the Hohhot Base City, leaning toward the city center.

Before a towering skyscraper, the normally empty street was thronged with people. Among them stood two distinct groups. One group, positioned at the entrance of the building, consisted of about a dozen individuals, each sporting the Nangong Guild insignia on their chests. It wasn't that the Nangong Guild lacked manpower; it was simply that ordinary warriors were not qualified to serve as backup here.

Leading this group was a burly man with an aquiline nose, wide face, and hawk-like eyes that radiated a sharp, fierce glint, giving anyone who met his gaze the unsettling feeling of being scrutinized by a predatory beast. This man was the Guild Master of Nangong, Nangong Jianwei!

Opposite him stood a dozen or so people, men and women alike, all carrying an air of haughty aloofness and cold disdain. Leading them was an alluring woman with a delicate, melon-seed face, resembling a bewitching fox spirit, her slender, exquisite body gracefully curved. Yet, in her eyes now, there was not a trace of charm, only icy frigidity.

"Nangong Jianwei, as the respected and highly influential leader of the Base City Guilds, if you truly stand against the Base City, you will not fare well!" the charming woman stated coldly. "Don't think that just because the Commander-in-Chief has left the Base City, you can do as you please. Second Miss may be young, but she is no pushover!"

Nangong Jianwei allowed himself a faint smile, his gaze sweeping brazenly over the captivating woman. "It might be too much for Little Yi to manage the entire Base City alone. I am helping her alleviate worries and burdens, taking charge of a few sectors to ease the pressure. It benefits both sides, so why not?"

"Hmph!" The charming woman clearly disliked beating around the bush, responding coldly, "The bird that sticks its head out gets shot. A starved camel is still bigger than a horse. You had best behave yourself."

Seeing that his opponent couldn't even bother with pleasantries, Nangong Jianwei dropped his veneer of cultured refinement and sneered, "Since the virus outbreak and the arrival of the Dark Age, the republican system established by King Li of Zhou, Ji Hu, no longer applies, and centralized rule is impossible. The world should be divided under a feudal system. That little girl alone cannot establish central authority."

The so-called centralized rule meant that within a nation, there could only be one emperor.

To these guild leaders, the Base City Commander-in-Chief was equivalent to the emperor of a nation!

In ancient China, after King Wu of Zhou defeated the Shang Dynasty, the Son of Heaven enfeoffed the realm. Back then, small city-states occupying territories of a few square kilometers often proclaimed themselves kingdoms, bestowed titles of lords by the Son of Heaven, forming an early slave society. By the Spring and Autumn period, the feudal lords rose up, gradually establishing the territorial feudal system. Later, during the late Warring States period, Qin Shi Huang conquered the six states and unified the realm, establishing centralized governance and becoming China’s first emperor!

From this period, spanning from Qin and Han until the Xinhai Revolution, the feudal imperial system was maintained, with one person serving as emperor, ruling over all.

To establish a feudal empire, immense power is required—the strength to crush all regional lords like a relentless storm, similar to Qin Shi Huang conquering the world! Currently, within the Hohhot Base City, the major guilds were like feudal lords, each vying to rebel.

In the Huaxia Base City, Murong De held sway; as an evolved and mutated human, his prestige was immense, far beyond what the current leader of Hohhot, Jing Yi, could match. As for the Wolf Emperor of the Guangming Base City, he was a generation’s war hero, battling demonic birds bare-handed, slaying flood dragons, and instantly killing thousand-level monsters—such terrifying power left no room for thoughts of rebellion.

Now, with the virus outbreak, an epoch-making era had dawned, overturning the republican system established after the Xinhai Revolution. In the Dark Chronicles recorded later, the early Dark Civilization established a feudal empire, followed by the major guilds reverting to the feudal territorial system reminiscent of the Spring and Autumn period!

Following the feudal system, the world was plunged into continuous warfare, marking the beginning of the racial war between humans and monsters, fighting for dominion over Earth!

This was a grand era!

Like the early Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors—Shennong, Gonggong, Nuwa, Fuxi—mythical figures enacting countless tales of love and hate. Hou Yi shooting the sun, Jingwei filling the sea, Kuafu chasing the sun, Yu controlling the floods, establishing ancient China! Later, during the Qin and Han dynasties, the Hundred Schools of Thought contended, and countless rare talents emerged: Confucius writing the Rites, Laozi debating the Dao, Zhuangzi dwelling in Mount Wengnan—names shining like stars, passed down through millennia.

Further on, during the Three Kingdoms period, heroes rose up, dividing the realm into three, vying for the imperial throne. Figures like Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan, Guan Yu, and Lu Bu were all pivotal figures whose presence time could not erode, akin to achieving "immortality"!

And now, darkness has arrived, ushering in a brand-new civilization, not merely an era!

In this great Dark Age, talented geniuses are countless, like carp crossing a river. Even PhDs and professors who studied diligently for over a decade during peacetime can only secure barely subsistence-level jobs within the Base City. Many military geniuses, master criminals, and those born with extraordinary aptitude are now shining their brightest, striving to reach the apex of this era!

In the struggle between races, the Ten Great Gene Warriors and the King-Sealed powerhouses unleash brilliance comparable to the destruction of stars, ensuring their immortality in the river of history.

For instance, in the early Dark Age, the Murong clan built Base Cities, rescuing the populace from dire straits. Later, Guangming rose, and the Wolf Emperor single-handedly fought a host of monsters before Shennong Mountain, slaughtering his way through, killing tens of thousands of monsters and slaying a flood dragon, thus making his name throughout China and being crowned Emperor!

Seeing Nangong Jianwei refer to Second Miss as a "yellow girl," the charming woman bristled, her pretty face turning icy. She coldly warned, "If you continue to be insolent, do not blame me for showing no mercy!"

Nangong Jianwei scoffed, "What else can you do that is merciless? Don't think you can threaten me just because you brought a few superhuman experts. Sweetheart, you have great potential; why not yield to me? I promise to cherish you dearly."

"You!" The charming woman gritted her silver teeth, rationally deciding not to waste time arguing with a rogue on such a trivial matter. She stated frigidly, "We are both clear-headed people, so I won't mince words. I came here under orders. If you still refuse to halt your expansionist plans, and truly force a situation where both sides are ruined, I will have no choice but to accompany you to the bitter end!"

Nangong Jianwei sneered, "Then come and try."

"Advance!" the charming woman commanded coldly.

The people behind her promptly drew their weapons. Swords were half-drawn, and the atmosphere instantly grew tense. Those accompanying Nangong Jianwei were equally defiant, glaring mockingly at the charming woman and her group, letting out low growls, just about to surge forward.

Suddenly—

"Huh?"

"What is it?"

The onlookers gathered on the surrounding streets, watching the standoff between the Nangong Guild and the Base City authorities, abruptly turned their attention toward the distance. Down the street corner, six figures were slowly approaching. The one in the lead wore a look of cold indifference, while the other five were all masked. Trailing behind these six was a massive, dense crowd, their voices somewhat noisy.

"Who is Nangong Qiao’s father?"

Ye Chen's expression was cold. He walked to the center of the two opposing factions, completely ignoring the tense atmosphere, and asked, as if no one else were present, "Who is Nangong Qiao’s father?" Bai Long and the others stood behind him, observing the two sides with curiosity. The followers who had trailed behind stopped far in the distance, craning their necks to watch.

Nangong Jianwei and the charming woman, who were on the verge of battle, both frowned and turned their attention to these six figures. The charming woman’s delicate eyebrows knitted together, and after a brief sweep, her gaze finally settled on Ye Chen. Her pupils instantly constricted, her lips parted slightly, and her face registered utter astonishment; she could not look away.

Nangong Jianwei shifted his gaze from the charming woman, turning impatiently to look over. Though he had a poor temper, he carefully scrutinized Ye Chen, pausing momentarily on the Flood Dragon Hide Armor Set he wore. He asked in a deep voice, "That would be me. Why are you looking for me?"

Ye Chen looked at him, nodded slightly, and stated plainly, "I killed your son."

The entire square fell silent!

The street was utterly quiet.

Even the dozen men and women behind the charming woman were stunned, wondering if their ears had deceived them—killed Nangong Jianwei's son? Preposterous! Everyone in the Base City knew how doting Nangong Jianwei was on his son; nobody dared even touch him, let alone kill him!

Moreover...

All the onlookers thought with despair, When you kill someone’s son, do you have to announce it directly to the father’s face?

Nangong Jianwei froze for a moment, then his eyes widened, glaring with fierce malice at Ye Chen’s placid face, his eyes spitting fire. "What did you say? Say that again, old man!" His voice was laced with intense fury.

"I killed your son," Ye Chen repeated, nearly causing the onlookers nearby to vomit blood from exasperation.

Nangong Jianwei stared fixedly at Ye Chen, trembling slightly with suppressed rage. "You, you actually dared to touch my son!! Do you even know how to spell the word 'death'?!!!"

"No," Ye Chen replied, shaking his head.

"Go to hell!!" Nangong Jianwei's blood seemed ready to burst from his body, his eyes instantly turning red. He roared and threw a punch aimed at Ye Chen's nose. The blow stopped one centimeter short, his wrist already seized by Ye Chen.

"Die!!!" Nangong Jianwei thrashed like a maddened beast. Combined with the earlier report of his son’s disappearance, he harbored no doubt about Ye Chen’s words, feeling as if his world was collapsing. His grief and rage erupted instantly as he activated his Superhuman Mode—Ant Superhuman!

After entering this mode, his physical attributes surged from level 60 to 1200. The ground beneath his feet cracked, and an incomparably powerful aura swept outward.

He threw a punch!

Crack!

Ye Chen moved suddenly, grasping his wrist and twisting it violently.

"Ah..." Nangong Jianwei cried out in agony, looking at Ye Chen with the desperate gaze of a cornered beast. He wildly raised his other hand toward Ye Chen's head.

Ye Chen slapped down, seizing that hand as well. His qi surged into the arm, crushing every bone within, and blood seeped from the skin.

"Go join your son," Ye Chen said without hesitation, bringing his palm down onto Nangong Jianwei's skull. With a dull thud, his head was pulverized.

The generation’s Guild Master perished!