Starforce Warriors

Chapter 216: Eruption

The good news was that there wasn’t a substantial amount of filth in the slums. However, even so, sixteen people lost their lives in this attack. If his math was right, it meant that at least a thousand people in Liuhe Base City had met untimely deaths in the past half hour. This was undoubtedly a major incident.

Li Xiaofei barely had time to catch his breath before he immediately mobilized all the members of the Cloudy Sky Gang to work through the night, dealing with the blood clots, corpses, and excrement of the Hanging Cloud Beasts. Almost simultaneously, the government departments had completed their first round of mobilization. Countless civil servants took to the streets to clean up the excrement.

At 10:30 p.m., the second round of mobilization began. Students from major high schools, all registered gang members, and employees from various large companies were forcibly conscripted. They brought their own radiation-proof clothing to participate in this urgent clean-up operation.

The faster the toxic excrement was cleared, the less pollution it would cause to the city's environment. By noon the next day, all the toxic excrement had been nearly completely cleaned up.

That evening, during the base city's news broadcast, City Leader Tan Zhenwei delivered a video address to all citizens, announcing the confirmed death toll of 1,398 people. This also included 120 children. It was a shocking and distressing number.

On behalf of the city government, Tan Zhenwei observed a moment of silence for the deceased and apologized to all citizens. He then unveiled a very sincere plan for the treatment of the injured. Li Xiaofei could see that City Leader Tan appeared somewhat weary. It seemed that the strands of white hair on his head had increased.

In the following days, some rumors began to spread throughout Liuhe Base City about City Leader Tan Zhenwei being reassigned due to low performance evaluation scores. Other rumors suggested that the five great families, including the Ye family, were secretly working to remove Tan Zhenwei, whom they considered a thorn in their side, and that a member of the Ye family might take over the position of city leader. Various rumors swirled, causing unrest.

At the same time, the increasingly frequent outbreaks of beast tides left everyone feeling uneasy. Large groups of beasts began to appear in the wilderness outside Liuhe Base City. The garrison and the city government were once again forced to announce a lockdown and city-wide curfew.

The frequency of beast tide attack alarms on the city walls grew higher and higher. Even though these were just attacks by low-grade star beasts, the piercing alarms still left everyone feeling agitated. Fortunately, the government was making a significant effort to maintain order as relief food and water was released to the market. As a result, people’s daily lives, as well as the operation of companies and schools, were not significantly affected for the time being.

But Li Xiaofei's life did not change much against this backdrop. He continued to attend school, engage in cultivation, use his special abilities, and enjoy massages. He also went on a date with Tan Qingying once a week. At least, he considered it a date in his heart.

However, the situation in Liuhe Base City grew increasingly grim. The beast tide outside the city became so severe that it almost felt like a siege. If one stood atop the high city walls and looked out, one could see large groups of star beasts lurking menacingly within the visible range.

The city gates were completely sealed. The adventurers' guilds, groups, and independent warriors who once relied on hunting star beasts for a living became the class that struggled most in this new reality. Fortunately, the government responded in a timely manner, offering paid enlistment to these individuals as temporary reserves. After undergoing some military training, they became part of the rotating and reserve forces defending the city.

Other industries dependent on the hunting of star beasts also received some level of government relief. It would not be an exaggeration to say that in this regard, Great Xia Republic was the best in the world. There was no other country that matched it. Thanks to the government's strong measures, the situation remained relatively stable. However, the rise in prices within the city and the increase in unemployment were inevitable consequences. A sense of unease began to fill the base city.

Still, the High School War God League continued as scheduled. In the next three rounds of matches, Red Flag High School achieved complete victories. The dominance of Li Xiaofei and Yan Chiyu was absolutely unquestioned. However, the transformation of Ren Dong, Bai Qiqi, and Bai Longfei also shocked the outside world.

Ren Dong, who had been cultivating the simplified version of the Medicine King Divine Manual, delved deeper into the field of poison crafting. The freckled little girl indeed possessed a powerful talent in this area.

She successfully formulated three poison prescriptions through study and experimentation, making her nearly unmatched by any medic of her level. Such was the terror of poison crafting. Any medic who mastered a high-level prescription could exponentially increase their threat level.

Meanwhile, Bai Qiqi and Bai Longfei saw a significant increase in strength due to their cultivation of the beast taming and mechanical arts recorded in the Pity Flower Treasure Manual from the ancient wuxia world of the enigmatic warrior, Wang Lianhua.

Bai Qiqi, who was already a genius with talent on par with Yan Chiyu, had not yet had the opportunity to fully mature. However, after becoming a key player for Red Flag High School, and enduring several defeats, she was like a diamond encased in a shell of lava. Eventually, the brilliance of the diamond within was revealed. Her battle with the first Beast King, Zhou Yunong, had seemingly provoked a breakthrough, and beast control skills improved rapidly.

Simultaneously, Bai Longfei’s strength skyrocketed, partly due to the Pity Flower Treasure Manual, but also because after being thoroughly beaten by Li Xiaofei, he finally let go of his small pride and accepted the various cultivation resources Miao Youwei provided.

Since he had been selected by Chen Fei for the Red Flag High School team, Bai Longfei naturally possessed exceptional talent among his peers. After receiving these resources, this so-called King of Show-offs began to strengthen rapidly, like a weed nourished with rich fertilizer.

Red Flag High School adhered firmly to the principles of ancient martial arts, which emphasized the importance of accumulating strength over time for a powerful release.

Bai Longfei, Fang Buyi, Liu Xiao, Zhuge Long, Du Heng, and others had been building up their strength at Red Flag High School for nearly three years, and they had finally encountered a collective breakthrough opportunity. The two epoch-making manuals, the Medicine King Divine Manual and the Pity Flower Treasure Manual, along with the increased supply of resources from Red Flag High School, accelerated their explosive growth.

Everyone's cultivation advanced rapidly. Bai Longfei, Fang Buyi, Ren Dong, and Bai Qiqi all reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, the tenth stage. One more step forward, and they could break through their shackles. However, under the guidance of Chen Fei and Old Qin, the four chose not to break through at this time. It was then that Li Xiaofei realized that Red Flag High School was indeed hiding a significant secret.