Perhaps because his surging vitality magnetic field had not completely calmed down yet, so it interfered with the card that had compressed dozens of crystals to the limit until they were as thin as a cicada’s wings. Nanoscale spirit circuits were carved on the card and glued together layer by layer.

  The Heavenly Dragon Club’s membership card was dazzling and colorful. It was dozens of layers thick, and its extremely complicated spirit tattoos seemed to have protruding layers of golden scales.

  A majestic five-clawed golden dragon, which was crouching at the center of the card, looked like it was soaring into the sky and rushing toward Meng Chao.

  Meng Chao narrowed his eyes subconsciously.

  When he signed the collaboration agreement with the Red Dragon Army on Superstar Resource’s behalf, he had thought that the nine mega corporations would most likely offer a higher price to win him over.

  He had long decided that he would never waver if the “price” was only a larger order, more cultivation resources, fame, wealth, and so on.

  After all, in his previous life, fame, wealth, and even the power to destroy the world had all been burned away along with the flames of the apocalypse.

  However, he did not expect Lu Fanghui to tell such a story.

  Of course, the story could not be 100% true.

  After all, Lu Fanghui’s description was different from Long Feijun’s, Lei Zongchao’s, and Jin Wanhao’s.

  However, Meng Chao did not think that Lu Fanghui would fabricate such a story to deceive him.

  It was because Lu Fanghui knew about his relationship with Lei Zongchao very well.

  He could ask Lei Zongchao for confirmation on the authenticity of the story about the Red Heart Society’s destruction.

  It was impossible for the person involved to lie about Lei Zongchao almost dying and being saved by the leaders of the nine major gangs.

  The story made Meng Chao hesitate.

  In his previous life, he had originally been a member of the Ghost Tribe, the nine major corporations’ elite armed force.

  In a sense, his fighting philosophy—at least 50% of his fighting philosophy—would be shaped by the nine major corporations in the future.

  Therefore, he partially agreed with Lu Fanghui’s viewpoint.

  In the Other World, in the apocalypse, and in this cruel era, belief without power was meaningless.

  However…


  “Dragon City doesn’t only have the power of the nine mega corporations.”


  Meng Chao moved his eyes away from the Heavenly Dragon Club’s glittering membership card and tried to speak as calmly as possible.

  “Who else is there besides the nine mega corporations?”


  Lu Fanghui snorted. “The four research institutes, the alliance of five universities, and Dragon City University? These organizations and institutions all rely on the Survival Committee’s funding to maintain the most basic operations. Meanwhile, the Survival Committee’s finances depend on us, the nine mega corporations, to support it.

  “Every budget season, in order to compete for research funding and resources, those experts, scholars, and senior researchers beat the sh*t out of each other. The scene is simply more terrifying than monsters fighting for water.

  “Meng Chao, you’ve also experienced the predicament of researching and developing the Ultimate Style. Are you sure you want to waste your precious life on running connections, soliciting sponsors, looking for resources, and competing for budgets?

  “Who else? Small and medium-sized enterprises, various industry associations, and organizations that are under the Supernatural Tower’s name? They may appear to be high-end and magnanimous but are in fact just a bunch of random organizations? “If you want money, you have no money. If you want people, you have no people. In terms of cultivation resources and technological reserves, they are even worse than the universities and research institutes. How can they help you soar and put your ideals into practice?”


  “There’s also the Red Dragon Army,” said Meng Chao.

  “Heh, the Red Dragon Army!” Lu Fanghui looked at him with disdain.

  “Director Lu, don’t you think that the Red Dragon Army has the power to protect Dragon City?” Meng Chao frowned and subconsciously changed the subject.

  “That’s right.”


  Lu Fanghui showed no mercy. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking down on the Red Dragon Army. On the contrary, I admire the Red Dragon Army’s courage and fearlessness. They are brave enough to sacrifice themselves. I think that the Red Dragon Army has a heart of gold. Every time I see the Red Dragon Army, even if it’s just a small soldier in a new company, I feel like I seeing a former Red Heart member. They are very pure and endearing people.

  “Dragon City cannot do without the Red Dragon Army. Their spirit can inspire our civilization to ride the wind and break the waves, advancing at great speed.

  “However, it is also a fact that the Red Dragon Army’s combat ability is too weak.

  “During the Monster War in the past decades, the Red Dragon Army has only been able to deal with beast hordes led by Nightmarish Beasts at most. Once the Hell Beasts appear in the enemy camp, the Red Dragon Army would have to pay an extremely tragic price. If Apocalyptic Beasts appear, no matter how many Red Dragon Army troops there are, no matter how courageous they are, they would only be sending themselves to their deaths if they charge forward.

  “Putting everything else aside, during the final battle in the Hidden Mist Domain, the Red Dragon Army seemingly mobilized an army of a million soldiers. Thousands of heavy cannons were bombarding the forest nonstop. From night to day, almost one-tenth of the forest was flattened.

  “So What? In the final battle with the monster mastermind, the Deity Realm fighters would be the final decision?

  “Of all the Deity Realm fighters, more than half of them were from the ‘big nine,’ and only a small part of them were from the Red Dragon Army, universities, research institutes, and other organizations. Isn’t that enough to explain the problem?

  “It’s because the Red Dragon Army has not received enough resources.”


  Meng Chao said, “If Dragon City gives more resources to the Red Dragon Army, the Red Dragon Army will certainly become stronger

  “Nonsense. As long as there are enough training resources, even a pig can be turned into a superbeast. But it’s meaningless!”


  Lu Fanghui said, “The Red Dragon Army has a fatal problem that cannot be solved at all. It is too large and has too many people.

  “The more people there are, the fewer training resources that can be allocated to each person. It means that the average combat ability among Red Dragon Army troops will be maintained at one level for a long time.

  “On the very low level, it means that the Red Dragon Army will have to rely on powerful firepower, sophisticated war machines, and more numbers to make up for the lack of combat ability.

  “However, Meng Chao, have you ever considered that this is actually a vicious circle?

  “The so-called ‘powerful firepower,’ on the other hand, means that countless ammunition will be consumed, and a heavy burden will be placed on the logistics. Once the ammunition and food run out, the Red Dragon Army’s combat ability will be reduced by 90% or even 100%!

  “The so-called ‘complicated and sophisticated war machinery’ implies that the failure rate will be high and that they will be easy to damage and disrupt. It means that daily maintenance and maintenance are required. Maintenance and maintenance require a large team, which is a waste of resources.

  “More numbers means more complicated command and feedback networks. It means that the distance between the ‘brain’ and the ‘nerve endings’ of the Red Dragon Army is getting longer and higher, and the command efficiency is getting lower and lower. If the ‘brain’ or the ‘nerve endings’ are destroyed, the consequences will be unimaginable.

  “To put it simply, the ‘dragons’ in the Red Dragon Army are not true dragons that soar above the nine heavens. They are dinosaurs that are well-developed, simple-minded, clumsy, and consume a large amount of food. They are creatures that should have been eliminated a long time ago.

  “In the Monster War, the Red Dragon Army did not reveal their fatal flaws.

  “On one hand, it’s because the Red Dragon Army was not the main force to fight against the monster civilization. The nine mega corporations and Deity Realm powerhouses were the main forces. The Red Dragon Army was just a support force.

  “On the other hand, the Monster War was a battle to protect our homeland. It was an internal battle. From south to north, from east to west, our logistics supply line was at most a few hundred kilometers long. There was basically not much pressure on our logistics supply.

  “Moreover, although the monsters were terrifying, they basically followed the rule of ‘the stronger the monster, the bigger the monster.’ The most powerful Apocalyptic Beasts are mostly the dinosaurs that I mentioned just now. They are clumsy and consume too much energy. They are destined to be eliminated.

  “It is precisely because this was a ‘dinosaur-to-dinosaur’ defense battle that the Red Dragon Army could exploit their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

  “However, we will not be so lucky forever.

  “Next, we will march into the depths of the Other World. We will change from fighting on the inside to fighting on the outside or even going on an expedition alone. In such an expedition, the issue of logistical supplies will be magnified by ten times or even a hundred times!

  “Besides, we don’t know what kind of enemy we will encounter. Will it be a monster that has developed limbs and is simple-minded, or will it be smarter, more insidious, and crueler?

  “If the next enemy does not only have amazing combat ability but also stealth ability, and they can even infiltrate us with false appearances, are you sure that the Red Dragon Army will be able to resist the enemy’s unscrupulous attacks?

  “The enemy does not need to confront the Red Dragon Army’s torrent of steel head-on.

  “Assassinate the Red Dragon Army’s basic commanders, cut off the communication system between the frontline and the rear, and paralyze the Red Dragon Army ‘neural network!’


  “Launch a suicide attack on the armory that has accumulated a lot of provisions and ammunition, leaving the Red Dragon Army in a dilemma of running out of ammunition and food.

  “Sabotage the road and divide millions, if not tens of millions, of the Red Dragon Army troops into helpless beasts.

  “Sneak into the barracks and launch mental attacks on the ordinary soldiers who are sleeping in the dead of night, triggering terrifying ‘camp roars’ with the resonance of their fear-induced brain waves.

  “What’s more extreme is to clear the land and poison the farmland and wells. All the intelligent creatures will be withdrawn and all the creatures that can be used as military rations will be exterminated, leaving only a barren land for the Red Dragon Army.

  “Do you think that such ‘super battles’ are all nightmares that are impossible to come true?

  “If such nightmares really come true, it will be impossible for the Red Dragon Army to break free from the nightmares!

  “Don’t let your emotions get the best of you. If you think about it carefully, you will agree that I am right.

  “In this Other World with extraordinary strength, a large-scale army with average qualities can only be used for defense.

  “Plus, it is absolutely impossible to win the war to conquer the Other World by purely relying on defense. If you want to obtain the final victory, you can only attack, attack, and attack continuously!

  “And who is the main force of the attack? It is the experts! It is the fighters like you and me!

  “Therefore, if the resources are not tilted to the fighters like you and me or the ‘big nine’ groups of experts, they are going to fill the Red Dragon Army’s bottomless pit. It is not only a big joke but also destructive for Dragon City!”


  Chapter 865 - The Fortress Must Be Broken Through From the Inside

  EndlessFantasy Translation

  EndlessFantasy Translation

  Meng Chao had seen these questions with his own eyes in his previous life. He had racked his brains in this life, but he still could not find the answers.

  He had to admit that Lu Fanghui, the chief executive officer of the largest mining group in Dragon City, had a vision that was somewhat ahead of the times.

  He had actually foreseen the future hidden dangers in Dragon City right after their victory in the Monster War and the seemingly good situation today.

  Nevertheless, Meng Chao still caught the loophole in Lu Fanghui’s logic.

  “The Red Dragon Army can train its own experts too.”


  Meng Chao said, “The Red Dragon Army has Battle Soul Technology and Heroic Spirit Technology. As long as they receive sufficient training resources, there will be ten times more experts than there are today.”


  “Both Battle Soul Technology and Heroic Spirit Technology have their own shortcomings…… The former requires the concerted efforts of hundreds and thousands of soldiers in order to trigger brainwave resonance and ensure the production and stability of the Battle Soul.”


  Lu Fanghui said, “The training, summoning, mobility and logistical support of hundreds and thousands of soldiers are certainly not as flexible and efficient as that of a single powerhouse. If some of the soldiers are killed or injured by the enemy, which in turn affects the morale of the soldiers, the soul will easily collapse.

  “As one of the four major combat occupations in Dragon City, heroic spirit users are certainly very powerful. However, the number of heroic spirit users is limited, and the conditions for their formation are also very harsh. Not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can be transformed into a heroic spirit after death. Compared with the warriors, monster controllers, and machine masters, which could theoretically be popularized on a large scale, heroic spirit user is destined to be a niche occupation.

  “Besides, the Red Dragon Army is too large, which entails a heavy burden. Just the allowance for the disabled soldiers and the compensation for the dead soldiers are astronomical. More than half of the Red Dragon Army’s cultivation resources will be consumed in this aspect. After deducting the consumption of the ordinary troops, how many of them will be left for the battle soul unit and the heroic spirit users?

  “Yes, of course, the Red Dragon Army can be ruthless. They will focus all their resources on the battle soul unit and heroic spirit users, and they will produce ten times more powerhouses than today. But in that case, what’s the difference between the Red Dragon Army and the nine mega corporations? “Will the problems of the mega corporations today not appear in the Red Dragon Army tomorrow?”


  Meng Chao was rendered speechless.

  After a long pause, he could only ask, “So, Director Lu, you’re also aware that the nine mega corporations today have a lot of problems?”


  “Of course.” Lu Fanghui smiled.

  His aura that was as sharp as a razor suddenly vanished without a trace.

  “Obviously, I do. I know the problems and even fatal flaws of the nine mega corporations much better than you do.”


  Lu Fanghui was both serious and gentle. “In the past, with the Red Heart Society’s destruction, the high-level disciples of the nine major gangs all returned to their own homes in dejection.

  “Deeply stimulated, we seemed to become completely different people. We practiced, plundered, devoured, and evolved a hundred times crazier and crueler than our brothers and sisters. We became stronger by all means and worked our way up!

  “Today, many of us have become the best among the second generation of the nine major cultivation families. We have taken over the core departments of the family businesses, and we have…… the power to shake the ‘big nine!'”


  Meng Chao widened his eyes and exclaimed in shock, “What?”


  “Didn’t I say that my days in the Red Heart Society were the happiest and purest days of my life? Everything I saw, felt, and did in the Red Heart Society gradually condensed into a fire in my heart. Although the Red Heart Society has long disappeared, and we, the sons of the influential families, have seemingly been mellowed out by life, the fire in our hearts has not extinguished—and it will never be extinguished.”


  Lu Fanghui stared at Meng Chao and sincerely said, “Believe me, Meng Chao, you’re not the only one who wants to save Dragon City. My companions and I have all seen through the problems of the nine mega corporations. We all want to reform the nine mega corporations so that the entire Dragon City will be brand-new.

  “But……

  “The old man still exists above us, after all.

  “Back then, he was a Deity Realm warrior who shook the entire Dragon City. Our fathers’ generation still occupies the supreme throne. The ‘big nine’ are not in the hands of the second generation like us.

  “The old man, his brothers, as well as our brothers and sisters who have not been baptized by the spirit of the Red Heart Society, and the interest groups, are all deeply rooted. They are all worms that cannot be rooted out in one go.

  “Therefore, we need more ‘new blood’ to join us and reform the nine major cities and change Dragon City together.

  “Meng Chao, if you and I are of the same mind, you should join the Heavenly Dragon Club and stand on the side of the nine major cities and their innovators.

  “After all, the sturdiest fortresses are always broken from the inside, aren’t they?”


  Meng Chao’s previous impression of Lu Fanghui was that of a specialist in crystals and a shrewd businessman.

  Compared with his father, the founder of Sky Pillar Corporation, and his daughter, who was known as the Queen Bee, Lu Fanghui did not have such a strong sense of existence. He was more like a person who was sandwiched between Lu Zhongqi and Lu Siya.

  It was not until today that Meng Chao felt a burning ambition from Lu Fanghui.

  This ambition was not as aggressive as Lu Siya’s.

  After years of training, it had added some perseverance and strength that could move people’s hearts.

  Lu Fanghui’s words had triggered Meng Chao’s endless imagination.

  Regardless of whether those words were true or not, almost all the founders of the nine mega corporations had been seriously injured in the decisive battle with the monster mastermind. That was a well-known fact.

  After more than half a century of bloodshed and living in the shadow of swords, the once mighty first generation of Deity Realm warriors had gradually gone downhill.

  In Meng Chao’s memory of his previous life, the first generation of Deity Realm warriors had also been present at the end of the Monster War. Together with Battle God Lei Zongchao, they had fallen one after another.

  Although the butterfly effect caused by Meng Chao’s rebirth saved their lives……

  It was impossible for them to recover their peak strength.

  However, it was a sure thing that the mega corporations needed absolute force to endorse them.

  The weakness of the founder would definitely cause turmoil within a corporation.

  Was it possible to take this opportunity to break through the “fortress” of the “big nine” from the inside?

  “I need to think about it carefully.”


  Meng Chao pondered for a long time and cautiously said, “Director Lu, can you give me some time?”


  “Of course.”


  Lu Fanghui smiled and casually took back the Heavenly Dragon Club membership card. “I will stay in the Hidden Mist Domain for three days to thoroughly investigate the distribution of the spirit veins there. You are a smart person. I believe that before I finish my investigation and return to Sky Pillar Corporation, you will definitely make the right choice.”


  “Alright, I will give you an answer within three days.”


  Meng Chao said, “Director Lu, if there’s nothing else……”


  He had originally wanted to say that if there was nothing else, he would leave first. He even had an appointment!

  However, upon careful thought, he realized that he had an appointment with Lu Fanghui’s daughter.

  Even though he was not asking Lu Fanghui’s daughter to do anything shameful, he still felt…… strange.

  In the middle of the night, in the wilderness, he felt…… odd.

  “Something’s up.”


  He did not expect Lu Fanghui to say, “We were talking about business just now. Why don’t we talk about private matters now?”


  “Private matters?”


  Meng Chao was slightly dazed.

  Why did it feel…… more awkward than when Lu Fanghui invited him to join the Heavenly Dragon Club earlier?

  “Meng Chao, we’re not only allowed to talk about business, are we?”


  “Of course.”


  Lu Fanghui smiled. “Just now, I was talking to you on behalf of Sky Pillar Corporation and the Lu family as ‘Director Lu.’ But now, I’m just talking to you on behalf of myself as ‘Uncle Lu.’


  “No matter what, you are Siya’s best friend. You have risked your life for her many times and saved her life without caring about your own safety. As a father, I admire you very much. I hope that you can join the Heavenly Dragon Club and help me.

  “Forget it, it seems that I’ve added to your burden. Let’s not talk about the Heavenly Dragon Club anymore. I promise you that even if you really refuse my grandfather’s good intentions and…… stand in the Heavenly Dragon Club’s way, I, Lu, will not make things difficult for you.

  “You don’t know that Siya is a very special child.

  “From the moment she was born, she awakened the her grandfather’s bloodline, Spirit Sensor.

  “Although her extraordinary talent brought great potential for cultivation, it also made her sense of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and even pain ten times more sensitive than that of ordinary people.

  “Don’t think that it’s a good thing.

  “A melodious sonata to ordinary people sounded like thunderous rock music to her.

  “A clean and tidy house to ordinary people would be full of filth under her discerning eyes.

  “Ordinary people couldn’t smell the various smells in the air, such as the smell of blood, smoke, the body odor of monsters, and the stench of burnt corpses. They filled her nose all day long, making her dizzy.

  “Her sense of touch and pain, especially, were so developed that even if she slept on the softest velvet, she would feel as if she was being tortured by rolling nails.

  “Before her young brain was mature enough to process the enormous amount of information, such torture was repeated every day without end.

  “I used to worry that the child wouldn’t live past seven years old.

  “Even if she grew up reluctantly, her soul would be twisted, and she would turn into a monster because of the torture.

  “However, she was more stubborn and tenacious than I and everyone else in the Lu family had imagined.

  “Not only did she overcome the curse of her talent and grow to this day, but she also inherited the power of her grandfather’s bloodline almost perfectly. She became the strongest person among the third generation of the Lu family as a result!

  “Watching her stumble all the way to this day, I feel both heartache and gratification. I even blame myself. I’ve always felt that I haven’t been a good father and haven’t taken good care of her.

  “Including those who are not qualified to acknowledge their ancestors, I have a total of seventeen or eighteen children, but I’ve only felt such guilt toward Siya. She is truly the child whom I love and value the most.”