Chapter 2032

「Boom—Bang!! 」

「Boom—Bang!!! 」

Machinery roared.

On the busy construction site, dozens of engineering machines as large as a hundred meters kicked up dust all over the sky.

Looking down from high altitude, the entirety of Faction: Long An and even Linjiang appeared hollowed out, with millions of Awakened Ones and engineers toiling like worker ants.

Accompanied by deafening spiritual-energy blasts, a super-base unprecedented in scale gradually revealed its outline.

Above the original Linjiang city district, Lin An occasionally nodded, listening to reports rushing in from the High Level, while beneath his feet a black dragon continually sniffed, searching for something.

Upon receiving news of the black dragon, he immediately rushed to the skies above Linjiang.

It was unclear whether, after sixteen hours since the black dragon detected its kin's aura, it could not locate the source for a while.

Taking advantage of the black dragon's search, Lin An simply dealt with the accumulated global affairs on the spot.

「Continue to accelerate construction; ignore those Awakened Ones unwilling to relocate—if they dare show any hostility toward us, let them vanish from the map. 」

「Fourth Stage also need not be bothered; kill those who deserve death, and treat the rest as NPCs. 」

「Race and national issues? Hah, who dares play this faction‑forming game? Purge them all! From the moment I returned, the world can have only one voice! 」

「Question my dictatorship? Someone in the Euro‑American theater suggested forming a new federation—don't bother with them; toss such idiots straight into the restricted zone, I have no time to meet with this bunch of fools. 」

「What should the new government be called? How should I be addressed? 」

「Wait a bit longer; once I finish handling what's at hand, I'll have Gao Tian and the others draft a new Earth system. 」

More than a hundred High Level members of Faction: Long An surrounded Lin An, and that number was climbing rapidly every second.

Not far off, transmission orders were activated one after another, and farther up in the sky came a continual piercing whine. To ordinary Survivors unaware of the situation, seeing big figures constantly rushing here from all over the world, they even thought the Linjiang city district might have spawned some super Mutant or treasure.

However, only the world's top‑tier Awakened Ones knew why they were rushing to Linjiang.

There was no way around it—only the core High Level knew that Lin An was participating in the mission.

During the period when Lin An brought Gao Tian and the others on the mission, the High Level of various nations—or rather, those absorbed into Faction: Long An—went frantic.

Although Wen Ya and Zhuanxu could confirm most matters, no one dared to unilaterally decide on the extremely sensitive issues concerning Lin An's 'rule' authority.

Thus, when Lin An reappeared, these High Level figures naturally surged over like madmen, fearing that any issue they couldn't handle would become a deadly bomb!

Of course, many also sought to curry favor, hoping to show their faces while taking advantage of Lin An's rare appearance.

Under the impact of the Apocalypse and the bolstering of global‑suppressing forces, it is hard to imagine how exalted Lin An's standing in humanity's heart has become.

Just like an ancient deity, for many Survivors, merely catching a glimpse of Lin An is enough to brag about—and even to use as capital for standing firm.

「Lin Emperor! Do you remember me? I am Bersonas, leader of the Saint Paul Safe Zone in the Brazil theater! I implore you here to grant our citizens some slots to enter Ling An City! After the continental merger, we.. 」

「Bersonas! Watch your words! You are before the great Lin God! Don't speak of those old‑era things in front of Lin God—now everyone is Lin God's people! 」

「Lin God! I am the former executor of the Greece theater, now Captain of Faction: Long An's 89th Construction Squad; we have built a statue for you, our people adore you, and we hope you'll have time to visit us! 」

「Your Majesty Lin An! We are from Sector Sixteen, I am Fourth‑Stage Awakened One Xikefu! According to your will, we have reorganized the Divine Guard; we hope…! 」

What happens when all authority and power are concentrated in a single person?

Perhaps no one knew this answer before Lin An appeared, but now, seeing Lin An surrounded by the fervent crowd, Jiang Haochen understood.

He blankly listened to shout after shout of excitement, watching people from all directions rush in and jostle just to report to Lin An's face. And he, as the one appearing behind Lin An, was now being treated as a target to curry favor, with many beginning to guess his identity.

It's laughable—he wasn't weak either; in the previous Huaxia theater he had been a local hegemon, often flattered and feared by his subordinates, and he had thought himself immune to such scenes.

But for some reason, after emerging from the Fifth‑Stage mission, after coming out of that powerless, humiliating weakness, a twisted feeling suddenly sprouted in his heart.

He belatedly realized he was actually enjoying this lofty feeling, even wanting to vent and release his earlier fears.

(I am not weak...! As long as I return to Earth, I am an invincible being second only to Lin An!)

Before Jiang Haochen could even savor this feeling, Zhang Tie beside him wore a look of Impatience, scratching his head in irritation:

「Damn it, why do these people spout so much nonsense? All they know is to suck up—Lin Dui hates this type the most. 」

「Hey, fatty! Keep your distance from Laozi, or I'll punch you to death! 」

「What, give you a lecture, guide you? Should I teach you to shove a nuke up your ass?! 」

Zhang Tie cursed and spat, driving away the former national High Level like shooing flies.

He knew that these remaining "strong ones" began to worry about their future.

Everyone wanted to enter Ling An City; they feared being abandoned yet harbored private thoughts that made it hard to blend into Faction: Long An. These people were the dregs between the old and new eras, destined to be eliminated.

「Lin An... perhaps he wouldn't dislike this feeling... 」

「Zhang Tie, don't you see? The top‑tier High Level of all humanity, the former national representatives, all have to act according to Lin An's facial expression. 」

「A single frown from him makes someone tremble; every word he says is pondered by those below. Everyone is in awe, trying to please and worship him—if Lin An glances at someone just once more, the rest will rack their brains. 」

「As long as Lin An wishes, even if he merely nods without saying a word, hundreds of millions, even billions, will be mobilized to do whatever he wants... 」

「Jiang Haochen!? What the hell, kid, are you having a nervous breakdown? 」

Seeing Jiang Haochen's condition seemed off, Xiong Hanzi raised his brow and couldn't help shouting a rebuke.

Looking at Jiang Haochen's dazed state, he wondered what stimulus had hit this kid—was he envious of Lin Dui? To Zhang Tie, it was basically self‑inflicted torment. Just listening to Lin An nonstop handle those matters left his head about to explode.

His perception was extraordinarily keen.

In the crowd, Lin An slightly tilted his head, noticing that Jiang Haochen's emotional fluctuations seemed rather intense.

However, unlike Zhang Tie's dullness, he could see why Jiang Haochen had become like this.

After seeing a greater world, he suddenly realized that the prowess he once prided himself on amounted to nothing—even Lin An was merely a speck of 'dust'.

Yet upon returning to Earth, they became the strongest again, worshipped by billions of Survivors.

With such a huge contrast, negative emotions easily arise.

(Extreme inferiority and arrogance... starting to doubt oneself? As long as one doesn't go out, one can live quite well in civilization..)

(Here, I would be a god; out there, I'm not even a worm..)

Lin An shook his head slightly inside, also not intending to interfere with anything.

Jiang Haochen's temperament has always leaned toward extremes; he had realized this long ago. Although his talent and character are still not bad, his mentality is extremely unstable.

This is only after experiencing the ghost skull; he hasn't yet truly been stepped on like an ant by a powerful being, with no hope of struggle in sight.

Just like when Lin An first entered the Star Battlefield, even a random piece of trash thrown out by a Fifth Stage could almost kill him. That feeling was indeed painful enough to drive one mad, leading to despair.

But this is the path that every civilization and every powerful being must undergo.

Those who shrink back, who are afraid, who cannot withstand such a gap, hide in civilization, merely scraping by; in the end they are either destroyed or reduced to fleeing, living like a rat in a sewer.

Only by enduring and accepting all of this does one truly have the right to step onto the path of becoming strong.

He turned his head and withdrew his gaze.

Just as Lin An was about to ask the black dragon how much longer, the black dragon's voice—already past its voice-breaking stage but still habitually pinched into a childish tone—suddenly rang out:

"Dad! I found it!"

"Right here!"