Chapter Forty-Three: Preparing in Advance [First Update] New month, requesting guaranteed monthly votes! …… After collecting some of the Energy Fruits, Ye Chen left the space. As the defensive barrier slowly rose, the figures of his sister, Mo Feng, and others came into view. Some were standing, some were sitting; they appeared largely unchanged, which allowed a slight easing of breath in Ye Chen’s chest. Thankfully, the flow of time in that desolate continent was not significantly different from the outside world.

“Brother!” Sister Ye Zhu’s eyes lit up when she saw Ye Chen, and she rushed over joyfully. “Are you alright?”

Ye Chen smiled gently. “This is the core of the ruins, how could there be danger?” He did not mention the black armored robots, lest he worry the others.

“What about that Energy Divine Tree? Is it real?” Bai Long asked curiously.

Ye Chen nodded slightly, glancing at Bailan beside him. “How long have I been inside?” Bailan’s eyes shimmered like water, and she gave a delicate, gentle smile. “Not long, only half a day. The time flow inside is the same as outside; rest assured.”

Ye Chen gave a slight nod. “Let’s go.”

The group quickly left the underground passage and arrived at the entrance to the ruins. Ye Chen dialed Xu Tianguo’s communicator but found he couldn’t connect. He frowned slightly, then quickly returned to normal. After all, these ruins belonged to an alternate dimensional space; even the most powerful signal reception from an Atlantean communicator could not cross dimensions.

Ye Chen stepped out of the ruins, his figure materializing from thin air on the hillside. Not far away, the brutal battlefield from the previous fight remained, blood flowing like a river, broken blades and shattered swords scattered everywhere. The setting sun cast its afterglow, painting a scene of desolation and chill.

Ye Chen made a call. Soon, a joyful voice came through: “Is that the President?”

Ye Chen nodded slightly. “How has the situation been at Bright Base City recently?”

Xu Tianguo chuckled. “Everything is developing normally. Because the remnants of the Demon Bird leader and the Purple Scaled Flood Dragon’s aura linger in the city, many intelligent, high-level monsters dare not approach to attack. Only some low-level monsters occasionally harass the city walls, posing no significant threat.”

“And the ruin development?” Ye Chen asked. Before leaving, he had provided attack plans and coordinates for over a dozen small ruins; he wondered how many had been secured.

Xu Tianguo’s smile grew warmer. “Those coordinates were perfectly accurate. I dispatched the superhuman experts from the Superhuman Battalion to lead the charge, along with much of the powerful fighting force from the Blood God Hall. We have currently secured the treasures from five small ruins. These five ruins belong to the Psychic Civilization of the First Solar Era, and the Fire Civilization of the Second Solar Era. The professors and experts in the Research Department couldn’t identify the eras for the other three, but based on their unique characteristics, we’ve named them the Rune Civilization, the Zerg Civilization, and the Mayan Civilization.”

Ye Chen’s eyes brightened, and he nodded. “Good. Continue the excavation.”

Xu Tianguo gave a cackle, completely devoid of the stern authority he usually displayed before members. “There’s one more piece of news. Recently, since the establishment of the base city, the siege battles have been spectacular. Coupled with the ruin excavations, some unique products from the ruins have begun circulating within the city, making the Huaxia Base City a bit envious. They sent people to discuss matters, intending to form an alliance.”

“An alliance?” Ye Chen’s brow furrowed slightly. “What are the terms?”

Xu Tianguo smiled. “The terms are that we can share the manufacturing technology for the ruin products we obtain, while we can use the Atlantean Civilization’s refining factories for mass production.”

Ye Chen nodded. “Agreed.” Although he had been using the Atlantean Civilization’s refining factories all along, it was done in secret. This seemingly generous term was actually useless, but Ye Chen still chose to share.

The ruins he had asked Xu Tianguo to develop were all small ruins of Grade One or Two. The products and remnants left behind were relatively low-level. Even if Huaxia Base City manufactured them, it would cause no harm to Bright Base City. Moreover, with the energy crystals Huaxia Base City possessed, large-scale manufacturing would be difficult; they could, at best, produce a small amount for their powerful members below.

But now, he had obtained the Energy Divine Tree. With the speed at which the Divine Tree absorbed energy, refining these small items would be inexhaustible—he could refine them endlessly.

When there was surplus capacity, he could help his motherland, help humanity. A single tree, however strong, fears the storm. Across the entire Earth, there were countless monsters, and some might have already acquired ruins and secretly built up their strength at this very moment.

Therefore, the more powerful Huaxia Base City became, the faster monsters would be killed, which benefited Bright Base City and all of humanity without any detriment.

Xu Tianguo nodded slightly. He had long expected Ye Chen would agree; he understood Ye Chen’s character and knew he wasn't entirely self-serving. This was also why he was willing to follow Ye Chen wholeheartedly.

“I will return in a few days,” Ye Chen said calmly. “Convert the central area of Bright Base City into farmland, planting rice, wheat, and other grains. Establish a defensive wall in the inner circle, with warriors stationed on the perimeter. Discuss the specific methods with some of the experienced veteran soldiers below.”

“Change it to farmland?” Xu Tianguo was momentarily stunned.

Ye Chen nodded. “Leave a passage in the very center. When I return, I will set up a spatial connection point there. From there, one can directly enter the City of Ruins at any time.”

Xu Tianguo paused, then his eyes widened in surprise. “You obtained an entire city within the ruins?”

Ye Chen nodded slightly. “Its area is even larger than Atlantis City.”

“Even bigger than Atlantis City?” Xu Tianguo’s mouth fell open in astonishment.

“Develop more farmland. Food will be very important in the future,” Ye Chen instructed. The Ice Age was not far off, and food reserves had to be accumulated early. Otherwise, it would be like his previous life, where major base cities faced the sudden Ice Age in disarray, leading to many tragedies during that era.

Xu Tianguo took a sharp intake of breath. He rarely heard Ye Chen give such specific instructions, so he immediately took it seriously. Although food was not currently a major constraint for many large base cities—since they could hunt monsters and consume their remains, providing relatively easy duties for women who could bear children and knowledgeable elders, barely covering their stomachs—life was certainly not as comfortable as in peacetime, nor was it utterly bleak.

Under these circumstances, the importance of grain had slightly diminished. Although every base city had a production department responsible for growing rice, they weren't going all out with desperate effort.

“Food…” Xu Tianguo silently noted it down. He didn't ask for the reason, because, up to this point, Ye Chen had never done anything without purpose.

“That’s all,” Ye Chen closed the communicator. Although he hadn't personally witnessed the current state of Bright Base City, he could confirm that with the massive resources acquired, Bright Base City’s development would undoubtedly be unstoppable, soaring like a rocket.

In the current situation, it was easy for Xu Tianguo to overlook the importance of food and instead focus efforts on training warriors and hunting monsters, using monster corpses as staple food. But after the Ice Age, finding a single monster would be extremely difficult; where would they get monster corpses to eat?

Just then, Bai Long, Mo Feng, and the others emerged from the ruins, appearing beside Ye Chen from thin air. Bai Long asked, “Where to now?”

Ye Chen said calmly, “To a nearby base city.”

Yue Heng was startled. “Aren’t we going back to Bright Base City first?”

Ye Chen waved his hand. “I have a few things left unfinished here. Bright Base City has no immediate difficulties; there’s no need to rush back.”

“What things?” Bai Long asked, surprised.

Ye Chen didn't elaborate. He watched Bailan emerge from the ruins; she was dressed in snow-white robes, ethereal like an immortal, with a breathtakingly beautiful face. She said calmly, “Do you have a scanning device in your ruins? Help me check for any base cities nearby.”

Bailan’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. “You cannot leave the ruins alone. You must be accompanied by me or Zilan.”

Ye Chen frowned slightly. “Make the ruins’ spatial connection point into a token, place it on me so I can carry it with me. That way, you won’t have to follow me constantly. When needed, you can emerge at any time.” Since she was the system main god of the ruins and had submitted to him, she wouldn't betray him, but being by his side constantly was inconvenient.

Bailan paused before replying, “Fine, but I must stay near you at all times. During special moments, I will enter the ruins to avoid being unable to emerge quickly should danger arise.”

Before Ye Chen could speak, Bai Long started laughing. “Danger? What danger could this harbinger of doom encounter? If he doesn't look for trouble, others should be burning incense praying! Little Chen Chen, she means well, just agree to it!”

Yue Heng rolled his eyes. “You just want to look at a beautiful woman, don’t you?”

“Don’t put words in my mouth, I didn’t say that,” Bai Long pouted.

Ye Chen waved his hand. “As you wish.” Facing the single-minded system, he didn't bother arguing further.

Seeing Ye Chen agree, Bailan smiled sweetly. She pinched her fingers, and a white lotus bloomed from the void. It was unclear how it was formed, but as her fingertips turned, it drifted towards Ye Chen and settled on the back of his hand, forming a white lotus pattern.

“This is the token for the spatial connection point. With the fluctuation connected to this token, you can open the ruins anywhere,” Bailan said with a smile.

Ye Chen nodded slightly. “Check which direction has a base city nearby.”

“I’ll do it!” Bai Long volunteered, flipping her hand and summoning the Demon Eye Instant-Strike Gun, resting it on her shoulder. Using the multi-dimensional spatial reflection projection on it, she scanned the surroundings.

“East!” Bai Long’s eyes lit up. “4650 kilometers to the east, there’s a large base city, and it happens to be within the detection range of the Demon Eye Instant-Strike Gun.”

The maximum viewing distance for the Demon Eye Instant-Strike Gun’s multi-dimensional spatial reflection projection was 5,000 kilometers.

Ye Chen nodded slightly and started walking east. The others quickly put away their items and followed behind. Bailan made a light gesture, and the entrance to the ruins where everyone had been standing shimmered and closed, making it impossible for outsiders to enter. Then, she followed Ye Chen and the others along the way.

Under the solar corona, the group set off for a new location. A