Ye Chen retracted the rune space and walked to the window, tapping it lightly. The transparent glass, capable of resisting the impact of a rocket launcher, automatically lowered, and a breath of fresh air washed over him.

From here, he could survey the entire city.

Down on the main thoroughfare, only a few scattered figures moved; the entire city was steeped in deathly silence. After three months, many ordinary civilians had run out of food and water, with nothing left to sustain them. They lay motionless in their homes, conserving energy to stave off the gnawing hunger.

Ye Chen frowned slightly. Soon, these very civilians might turn their desperation toward the Base City, inciting rebellion.

As these thoughts preoccupied him, footsteps rapidly approached from outside. Before anyone could knock, the metallic door recognized the presence, chimed a notification, and slid open with a soft ding.

Xu Tianguo entered, forcing a wry smile. "President, the Base City's water reserves are depleted."

Ye Chen turned, his brow smoothing out, and he replied calmly, "Nothing to worry about. Gather your people at the entrance to the ruins shortly; we'll retrieve some seawater from outside."

Xu Tianguo paused, then beamed with sudden joy. "Yes! I'll gather the men immediately!" He turned hastily to leave.

"Wait a moment," Ye Chen called out suddenly.

Xu Tianguo braked sharply, turning back in astonishment. "Sir?"

Ye Chen pondered for a moment. "Release the message widely. If you’re fetching it, bring back plenty. The news will draw the ordinary civilians out too. Without food, the organic matter in the seawater can sustain them for a few more days."

Xu Tianguo paused again, then readily agreed. "Understood!"

Before long, the announcement was broadcast. The entire city erupted. Many who had been in a near-hibernation awoke to the loud speakers. Hearing the news, their eyes lit up. They scrambled to their feet, grabbed their weapons, donned their armor, and rushed towards the entrance of the ruins.

The spatial connection point to the Ancient Martial Civilization was located in the central plaza. By the time Ye Chen arrived, the plaza was packed—a dense, murmuring crowd, loud and chaotic.

Ye Chen stood with his hands clasped behind his back and floated across the expanse. All chatter ceased instantly. Every gaze lifted to focus on him, filled with reverence and expectation.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

From the distance, figures streaked toward him: Island Master Ziyun, the white-robed elder, and the remaining seven God-grade powerhouses of the Xuanyuan Clan. Each possessed formidable combat strength, with Island Master Ziyun reaching the hundred-thousand-level mark—just one barrier away from achieving Ghost God Mode!

Bailong and others quickly followed.

The Base City had been silent for three months; this was the first time such massive activity was mobilized. All high-ranking personnel were present, including Huang Tianci and Hua Chao, powerhouses from the Superhuman Hall, hovering in the sky.

Rumble…

In the distance, several heavy sounds echoed. Xu Tianguo led the charge, followed by several colossal objects—massive Platinum Pools, vast in diameter, each roughly a hundred zhang wide.

The crowd parted automatically, allowing the Platinum Pools to be positioned beneath the entrance. Once the ruins opened, the limitless seawater would pour directly into them. Seeing the pools, others quickly pulled out their own containers, their faces alight with hope.

Seeing all preparations complete, Ye Chen instructed Xu Tianguo to activate the ruin entrance. Since Xu Tianguo personally led the conquest of this Ancient Martial city, its intelligent system recognized him as the master, meaning only he could initiate the opening sequence freely.

Xu Tianguo’s expression was grave. He stepped forward, silently communicating with the system.

Whoosh!

A black spot high in the air rapidly expanded, becoming a vast black hole from which endless seawater began to pour. As the hole grew to a ten-zhang diameter, the water cascaded down like a massive white pillar. In barely ten seconds, one Platinum Pool was completely filled.

Several Ant-Man Supers positioned themselves beside the pools, activating their powers. Once a pool was full, they would shove it aside and bring the next one forward. Unconcerned with procedure, the rest of the crowd, eager not to miss out in case Xu Tianguo stopped filling them, surged forward, clutching their vessels and standing near the pools, catching the overflow as the water splashed out.

Suddenly, Plop!

Several Fish Monsters leaped from the Platinum Pools, brandishing iron tridents. Their gills were covered in scales, their fangs savage, and their upper bodies muscular and humanoid, while their lower halves were powerful fish tails.

Bailong and the others suspended in mid-air saw the aquatic monsters but showed no alarm; instead, their eyes gleamed with excitement. They dove down, snapping the necks of the Fish Monsters with swift punches and kicks, tossing the bodies toward the waiting division of the Base City’s hundred-thousand-strong army stationed nearby.

The ordinary civilians nearby watched with envy and longing, but they held back, mindful of the Base City's authority—no one foolishly attempted to steal. Xu Tianguo stood nearby, maintaining order, calling out loudly, "Everyone, stop scrambling! It will be distributed later. Please wait patiently."

His explicit promise brought some calm, but upon seeing the Fish Monsters squeezed out of the pools and falling onto the ground, they swarmed them, beating them to death with makeshift clubs. Then, grabbing limbs and tails, several people tore a single Fish Monster to pieces.

Even filling five Platinum Pools took mere minutes; the pools were not large enough for the volume required.

Ye Chen ordered Xu Tianguo to temporarily close the ruin space so the water in the Platinum Pools could be transported to the city's underground reservoirs. Once the pools were empty, they would reopen the entrance.

This time, as soon as the entrance was opened—

Roar!

An enraged bellow erupted from outside. Immediately, a massive, gray-white scaled head of a single-horned flood dragon poked through, its eyes blazing with savage bloodlust.

The moment the dragon's head entered, it froze, staring at the dense mass of people on the plaza below and the figures hovering overhead. It instinctively recoiled, attempting to withdraw its head and flee, silently cursing its fate: Damn it, I've wandered into a viper’s nest!

"Trying to leave?" Ye Chen’s eyes were cold. He raised a hand and gripped, unleashing the immense power surging within him. A black, gigantic palm formed and shot out through the seawater, seizing the dragon's body and yanking hard!

Splash!

The ruin entrance stretched dozens of zhang wide, and the entire body of the flood dragon tumbled out, smashing over the Platinum Pools below, sending water splashing everywhere across the plaza.

The dragon clawed the ground and flipped upright, utterly terrified. Before it could escape, the area above its head went dark. It looked up and nearly popped its eyes out: two young men and one teenager hovered above, smirking with ill intent.

"Run," was the dragon's first thought upon sensing the auras radiating from the youths. But to its utter despair, it seemed it had just stumbled into an anthill this time!

Bailong and the others quickly dispatched the flood dragon. Joining with Yue Heng and Zhuge Fan, they hauled the massive corpse to the edge of the plaza for later processing.

Seawater continued to pour from the ruin entrance, quickly topping off the reservoir.

Seawater could not be drunk directly, but within the Fire Civilization ruins, there were prehistoric filters that, once activated, could strip the salt and impurities, turning it into pure drinking water.

After the reservoir was full, five more pools of seawater were drawn and set aside for distribution to the rest of the common populace. During this collection, numerous Fish Monsters flowed in but were swiftly slaughtered. Besides the one flood dragon, they also captured a White Tiger Shark and a Swordfish!

Subsequently, Xu Tianguo closed the rune space.

Before Ye Chen could instruct Xu Tianguo on distribution, Xu Tianguo eagerly spoke up, his eyes shining. "I've found a brilliant solution! The entire globe is submerged, right? We can dump all the seawater into this ruin! That way, the ocean on Earth will recede! Since there is endless space beneath this Ancient Martial City, it's effectively a bottomless pit!"

Within the ruin space, the sky was ash-grey, like an independent dimension where the Ancient Martial City floated suspended, surrounded and underpinned by the gray void.

Ye Chen watched his excited expression, then replied flatly, "It’s useless. This is a sealed, independent space." He raised his hand and pointed. The seawater that had pooled across the plaza began to flow along the city's edges, dripping down into the gray space below and vanishing.

"It's gone!" Xu Tianguo shouted with wild delight.

Suddenly, a cold, wet drop landed on his face, making him freeze. He looked up and saw that it was raining from the sky above, leaving him utterly bewildered.

"It’s a perpetual cycle," Ye Chen stated calmly. "If you jump down from the Ancient Martial City, you will fall back down from above."

Xu Tianguo finally understood. His look of ecstasy crumbled into crushing dejection, and his head drooped.

"Distribute the food. The flood dragon carcass is for the Base City—enough for one meal." Ye Chen commanded, then swung his sleeve and turned to leave.

A flood dragon carcass measuring a thousand zhang was barely enough for one mouthful per person for five hundred thousand people. Due to its potent constitution-enhancing properties, dragon meat invigorated blood and qi; those with lower constitutions could feel full eating just a speck of minced meat. To sustain half a million people, they would need a fresh dragon for every single meal—two a day!

If not for the large supply of preserved monster meat previously gathered by Island Master Ziyun, Bailong, and the Black Snail Legion, they might not have lasted this long.

Afterward, Xu Tianguo presided over the distribution, giving the seawater and the captured Fish Monster corpses to the common people. Because the population was so large, distribution was complicated. They had to mash the monster flesh into a paste and allocate portions by weight. Each person received only a fingertip-sized lump of meat paste, yet even this brought immense joy.

The regular soldiers of the Base City generally possessed higher constitutions and required more sustenance. Although the portions of Fish Monster flesh were small, the nutrients were incredibly high for ordinary humans. Even a sliver of the paste was enough for a satisfying meal.

Having received their rations, many people were deeply moved, surprised that the Base City had not abandoned them even at this critical juncture. Whether this gratitude would persist amidst future food shortages remained to be seen.