Chapter 364: Sending Heads a Thousand Miles, the Gift is Light but the Sentiment is Heavy

"What do those guys at the company say?"

Inside the conference building, the councilors, having regained their composure, sat in their chairs as a gray-haired, aged-looking councilor of the Crocodile Scale Species asked the question.

"Not many can be reached, and even fewer are willing to cooperate. Besides, most of them are asking for a very high price."

The stout-bodied director of the Guard court replied cautiously.

"Bang!!"

The Bear-kin councilor slammed the table in anger: "These bastards, even at a time like this, they only care about themselves!"

No one responded; everyone present watched him act in silence.

This guy, he says nice things, but in reality, he just doesn't want to contribute anything.

He uses so-called high-minded principles to trick others into working for him.

Everyone here is all too familiar with this tactic.

But while it might work to deceive ordinary people, to the leaders of other companies and the many councilors present, it is nothing more than a useless little trick.

"Put away that disgusting look of yours, there's no one else here," the Foxman Species councilor who spoke earlier mocked.

"Judging by the current frequency of the Old Legion's attacks, our Magic Energy can last at most one month, and that's in the most optimistic scenario. If you don't want to die, hurry up and discuss a plan!"

"That's right," Ninth Councilor Kuoluomajisi nodded in agreement: "There isn't much time left for us to waste."

"We must strike immediately!"

"Easy for you to say," a female fox-person who didn't get along with that male Foxman Species councilor spoke up: "Are you going to provide the resources to organize the attack?"

"If those company people don't help us, it's impossible to drive those mechanical bodies out, even if we fight until we're completely exhausted."

"Hmph, it's still better than you sitting here doing nothing. Instead of having time to make sarcastic remarks, you'd be better off thinking about how to get those company guys to take action," the male fox-person councilor snorted and retorted.

"So you've thought of a way?" The female fox-person fiddled with her nails without looking up: "If you have, hurry up and say it so everyone can hear."

"We are in the middle of discussing countermeasures, it's just that there's an unreasonable woman who keeps trying to find trouble with me."

"Heh, you'd better actually be able to come up with a usable strategy."

"Tap, tap, everyone be quiet."

Seeing that the two were about to go on mocking each other endlessly, the gray-haired Crocodile Scale Species councilor raised his hand and tapped the table.

Among all the councilors present, he had the most seniority; no matter who they were, they all had to give him some face.

Thus, when he signaled for everyone to be quiet, the atmosphere in the room immediately calmed down.

"Now is not the time to waste time. Everyone present must mobilize the forces under their command to get things running!"

"As long as we let those company guys see our results, they'll come to help us without us even having to ask."

"Hmph, they are just the type to trim their sails; as soon as they smell a benefit, they'll swarm in like sharks smelling blood."

"..."

The councilors present felt like they had been hit by a blanket attack; in fact, the guys who could become councilors all had more or less a few companies or enterprises behind them.

So, in reality, they were all company people too.

But it was hard to refute, after all, they all knew very well what kind of people they were.

"It seems this is the only way."

After a brief silence, the councilors present raised their hands one after another to express their agreement.

Meanwhile, on the other side, underground at Huanle Intertainment, Airui Laya brought Yun Mu a new piece of news.

"The people above have mostly evacuated, but the company's defensive shield won't be deactivated for a short time."

"You need to build a new passage so that when the shield disappears and the elevator passage is buried, you won't be trapped here."

"Don't worry, I've already considered that," Yun Mu heard Airui Laya's words and lay motionless on the command chair.

"Has the Parliament made any moves yet?" She asked Airui Laya.

"Hmm," Airui Laya thought for a moment and said: "Those guys in the city defense are re-occupying the Magic Fountain."

"Huh?" Yun Mu stood up in surprise: "Re-occupying?"

What does that mean? Could it be that the Magic Fountain was occupied by the Old Legion?

How come she didn't know about this? Oh, it's normal that she didn't know.

"Because of the Magic Fountain's characteristics as a Wonder, it seems it was abandoned by the city defense at the very beginning. I just don't know why they are sending people to re-occupy it now," Airui Laya recalled.

Huh? What does it mean that it was abandoned at the beginning because of its characteristics as a Wonder?

Are those people in the Federal City Defense idiots?

Even if the Magic Fountain cannot be destroyed, even if the enemy cannot enter the control console at the core, is this something that can be abandoned just like that? Yun Mu's eye twitched slightly; it was hard to imagine what kind of person would issue such an order.

"Alright, so why are they re-occupying it now?" Yun Mu sighed helplessly, then began to ask and answer herself: "Could it be that the Magic Fountain, which was originally thought to have no problems, has developed a problem?"

"Like the power supply being interrupted or something."

"Perhaps that's exactly it."

"... Very smart, Miss Yun," Airui Laya teased her with a light laugh.

"Uh, this should just be a normal deduction," Yun Mu looked at her expression, not knowing if the other party was truly praising her or just joking.

But if something really went wrong with the Magic Fountain, that would be a big disaster.

In a situation without the Magic Fountain to provide power, does the Federation really have the ability to drive out the Old Legion? "Come to think of it..." Yun Mu suddenly thought of something at this moment, and she looked at Airui Laya: "Has the Federation never thought about exterminating the Old Legion?"

"Having this kind of mechanical army wandering within the territory should be a very dangerous thing."

"That kind of thing, of course, has been attempted," Airui Laya found a chair in the combat command room and sat down, saying slowly to Yun Mu:

"When the Federation was first established, facing the Old mechanical bodies, it was completely slaughtered in a one-sided manner. But what's strange is that those mechanical bodies never launched large-scale attacks on Federal cities."

"Instead, they only launched attacks when they encountered humans in the wild, or when they happened to run into a city while patrolling."

"At that time, the Federation had no power to contend with the Old Legion, let alone exterminate it."

"And later on," Airui Laya paused for a moment, then continued: "With the help of that mage who was driven out by the Heling Empire, the Federation successfully mastered the power of Magic Energy."

"As the national strength grew increasingly robust, the Federal Councilors who had not yet become corrupt decided to clear out those mechanical bodies wandering within the national borders; however, after comprehensive preparations, the reality they faced was—a crushing defeat without any suspense."

"Mechanical bodies do not have the concept of combat attrition; as long as the production lines remain, there are as many of those low-to-mid-tier mechanical bodies as one could want, and furthermore, under the unified coordination of the Mainframe, there are almost no flaws."

"And ever since that battle was lost, the Federation has remained in this state of dejection, relying on Energy Shields to protect the cities; in any case, those mechanical bodies will not just attack at will."

"Even if they encounter attacks occasionally, they stop shortly after proving ineffective."

"So that's how it is." Yun Mu took a deep breath, suddenly feeling a bit of pressure.

An opponent that the entire Federation could not defeat even by exhausting its national strength—does she really have the confidence to eliminate it? Just by relying on this gamified Artifact, the Command Center?

She couldn't say.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Airui Laya seemed to sense something and frowned.

"Someone has invaded," she said.

"Invaded?"

Yun Mu was slightly stunned, then decisively used her Blood Perception ability to scan the surroundings.

Yet, to her surprise, within the scanning range of Blood Perception, there were no living beings other than her and Airui Laya.

Did Airui Laya sense it wrong?

No, that is of course impossible.

She is, after all, a Legendary Transcendental; since the other party said so, there must be a reason for it.

If Blood Perception cannot detect it, it only means her ability is not yet strong enough, nothing more.

This also indicates from another angle that the intruder outside is likely not something an Executor can handle.

She looked at Airui Laya, and the latter nodded at her.

No refusal—it seems this is a battle she can intervene in.

Yun Mu decisively opened the Gate of the Command Center, preparing to go out and meet the enemy.

As for using the Fortress mode of the Command Center? Please, this is underground; if she lets that turret of the Command Center fire at will, it will Bury Alive all of them.

"Sniff, sniff."

Not long after coming out from inside the Command Center, Yun Mu smelled a foul odor in the air that was hard to mask.

And accompanying the foul odor was a highly aggressive type of germ.

This germ seemed to enter the body through the respiratory tract, capable of causing inflammation and blockage of the respiratory tract in just a few seconds, leading to death by suffocation.

But... this method was clearly of no use to her.

Using germs to attack the 'God of Plague...'

This intruder must be joking.

The moment her body came into contact with the germs, Yun Mu had already analyzed the germs' abilities and successfully seized control of them.

The only problem now is, where is the enemy?

While Yun Mu was searching for the enemy's location, she suddenly discovered that the smell in the air had changed.

From the original stench like black water in the sewers of Frostfall City, it changed to something like vomit being scorched by the summer sun... forget it, better not describe it, it's disgusting just to think about.

"Has the type of germ changed?"

This time, the germs seemed to enter the body through the eyes, capable of eroding the human nervous system... starting with blindness, the person affected would be paralyzed into a useless person within minutes.

But Yun Mu was still unaffected, and she even snatched the control of the germs away as well.

And it was only at this moment that Yun Mu learned what the guy attacking her was called.

【You have encountered the kin of the {God of Fear and Plague Luoye'er lv??? (Myth)}: {Air-Plague Body Lawashi lv128 (Legendary)}】 So it really is a guy sent by the God of Fear and Plague?

To think it is actually a Legendary Transcendental... Yun Mu's expression was a bit strange; if those two moves just now were the opponent's attacks, then they were far too weak! Let us turn the time back slightly.

The man called the Air-Plague Body by the Game Panel was rushing toward the target location marked by the God of Fear and Plague Luoye'er in his perception.

More than ten days ago, Lawashi, as a kin, had received an order from the deity.

That was to kill a human at all costs.

The other party had a mark left by his God on them; as long as they were within a certain range, they would be sensed by the believers of his God.

And after receiving the oracle, Lawashi was surprised to find that the mission target was actually in the same city as him.

After so many days of careful scouting, he finally managed to confirm Yun Mu's exact location, and coupled with the Chaos within the Federation at this time, no one would care even if someone died.

So he planned to strike! Relying on his ability to turn his body into miasma, Lawashi successfully slipped into the building of Huanle Intertainment and crawled underground through the gap in the elevator shaft.

And then, after seeing Yun Mu, he decisively used his own ability to infect her.

Everything had gone smoothly up to this point, until he discovered that the germs he used to attack Yun Mu not only lost connection but were even seized by the other party.

Enduring the surge of Spirituality caused by the severance of control, Lawashi decisively used even more powerful germs to attack the other party.

Yet... why! Why did the germs fail to take effect, and why were they seized by the other party again!? Even for a Legendary Transcendental, it should be impossible to be completely immune to his attacks, let alone seize control of the germs.

Who exactly is this guy... Lawashi was somewhat unwilling to accept this; even though the churning Spirituality in his mind told him he should retreat, he did not choose to do so.

No, perhaps it was precisely because of the churning of his Spirituality that he ignored the correct course of action for a moment; in short, he launched three attacks on Yun Mu.

"Hmm?"

This time it seems a bit different.

The smell in the air changed again, just like long-fermented old-jar pickled vegetables... Yun Mu didn't know if she had gone crazy or if her sense of smell had a problem.

In any case, compared to the previous smells, it was unexpectedly not too bad.

Of course, the point was not actually the smell, but the ability of the germs.

She now felt that the skin on the parts of her body exposed to the air was faintly itching, and the red bumps protruding on it were just like an allergy.

So that's it, an allergic reaction? To think it could slightly affect her, that is truly surprising.

One must know that after she obtained the Plague Path, the first trait she gained was {Disease Immunity}.

All Disease debuffs below the Myth rank should be ineffective against her.

Could it be that allergies do not count as Disease debuffs? Yun Mu does not understand much about this aspect, but currently, other than feeling some itching on her skin, she has no other sensations.

Through the analysis of the bacteria, she discovered that this was originally a type of bacteria capable of covering the human body in huge, red, swollen patches, eventually rupturing and leading to death from excessive blood loss.

But on her, it could only bring about the effect of slight itching.

And after seizing control of these bacteria, she does not know if it was an illusion, but she seemed to hear a man's muffled groan coming from the air.

(End of this chapter)