Chapter 221: Strengthening

John woke up from his sleep, feeling the soft, warm presence beside him, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

This is so good!

From birth until now, he had never felt that life was so good.

His ‘beloved’ woman was nestled in his arms, and his body, weary from a long day, was getting a good rest.

Even though he was already awake, he didn’t want to move.

“John.”

Until a weak, muffled voice came from his arms.

“What’s wrong?” John looked down:

“Are you worried about something?”

The woman was called Xiao Jiu, she had no surname, and had grown up on a flower boat, wandering in this end-of-days world with her people.

“I’m pregnant.”

Xiao Jiu murmured:

“This is my third pregnancy, but it’s the first time I’ve become pregnant without permission. Will you want this child?”

The flower boats have their own rules; they only allow pregnancy and childbirth if the man agrees.

After all, women are very vulnerable during pregnancy and need the protection of men and a sufficient supply of food.

And after giving birth, they face a series of problems.

Every woman is an asset to the flower boat, so they naturally do not allow such long periods of inactivity.

Unless a price is agreed upon.

Secretly becoming pregnant was undoubtedly very bold, and it also proved that Xiao Jiu very much wanted to have their own child.

John’s expression changed.

“Of course!”

After a moment’s consideration, he nodded emphatically:

“This is our child, of course I’ll want it, and I’ll ask Divine Envoy Karl to let you stay.”

“We will raise our child ourselves!”

Xiao Jiu nestled in his arms, her eyes red, and she hugged his not-so-strong body tightly.

“John!”

At this moment, an urgent shout came from outside:

“Come out quickly, something happened in the cultivation room!”

“Huh?”

John suddenly sat up, comforted Xiao Jiu, put on his clothes, and hurried out the door.

…………

The cultivation room.

After several expansions, the originally narrow and simple cultivation room had become a spacious room covering nearly two hundred square meters.

Even,

in the hearts of the Unreal City inhabitants, its importance far exceeded that of other places.

“Huff…”

John, wrapped in the wind, rushed into the cultivation room, and his eyes immediately narrowed.

The dozens of Earth-Eating Silkworms that were originally in the cultivation room had mutated at some point.

On the surface of the basin-sized ‘Earth-Eating Silkworms,’ things resembling eyes had appeared.

The eyes blinked, and white silk threads shot out from them, filling the entire cultivation room densely.

The silk threads crisscrossed, forming several large cocoons inside.

The large cocoons wriggled, and several human faces could be seen protruding on the surface, the faces filled with fear and despair.

“Joey, Julius…”

John’s body trembled:

“What happened here?”

“Last night, the Earth-Eating Silkworms in the cultivation room mutated and devoured several people who were collecting meat jelly.”

Karl’s figure stood in the middle of the cultivation room, observing a mutated Earth-Eating Silkworm, and said:

“You’re lucky you weren’t here, otherwise, your fate would probably be the same as theirs.”

John’s face turned pale.

His first reaction wasn’t actually relief, but what would happen to Xiao Jiu and the child if something happened to him?

The tragic deaths of his colleagues made his body tremble.

Fear!

Aftermath!

Before, when he explored outside the city alone, he had faced the threat of death many times, but he had never been as afraid as he was now.

When you have something to care about, you don’t want to die.

“Divine Envoy Karl.” Coming back to his senses, John’s expression was complicated:

“How could the Earth-Eating Silkworms become like this?”

“I was mistaken. The aura here can not only distort flesh, but it can even affect bloodlines.” Karl shook his head slightly:

“The Earth-Eating Silkworms have a very short life cycle, but their bloodlines continue, and they are still affected by this world.”

“Don’t worry…”

“I still have a few Earth-Eating Silkworms on hand, but this isn’t a long-term solution. We need to cultivate a strain with resistance.”

“Comparative experiments? Genetic selection?” John’s eyes flickered slightly. He had learned about this in the knowledge he had received.

“Yes.”

Karl nodded:

“In the future, when cultivating Earth-Eating Silkworms, don’t put them all in one room. Observe the effects of different environments on them.”

“I heard you found a girl from a flower boat?”

“Yes.” John nodded and told him about Xiao Jiu’s pregnancy, somewhat embarrassed as he said:

“Divine Envoy Karl, I want to keep Xiao Jiu here.”

“As long as you pay enough, you can have a woman from a flower boat give birth, but it’s not easy to keep the person as well.” Karl thought for a moment and said:

“You try to cultivate Earth-Eating Silkworms. If one of them develops resistance, I’ll help you buy her.”

“Thank you, Divine Envoy!” John’s eyes lit up:

“I will definitely cultivate qualified Earth-Eating Silkworms!”

*

*

*

Several giant birds, with wingspans of dozens of meters, descended from the sky and transformed into human figures when they landed on the ground of Unreal City.

Each giant bird carried more than a dozen people on its back.

The total number of people was nearly a hundred.

“Divine Envoy Hardy!”

Karl stepped forward to greet them:

“You’ve finally arrived.”

“Divine Envoy Karl?” Hardy was tall and thin, with a hooked nose that resembled an eagle’s beak. Even when he smiled, he gave off a cold feeling.

“I’ve heard Bowen mention you, a wanderer with great strength, a mysterious traveler who explores ruins.”

He looked at Karl, his tone full of admiration:

“I’ve known Bowen for so many years, and I’ve never seen him praise someone so much.”

“You flatter me.” Karl chuckled and waved his hand:

“You’ve had a hard journey, please rest in the inner city first.”

“Let’s fuse the Divine Fire first.” Hardy said:

“We’ve lost our own Unreal City, and we’ll be settling down here from now on. I hope Divine Envoy Karl will take care of us.”

“Divine Envoy Bowen gave instructions before he died, saying that you would come here to take over his duties and protect the residents of Unreal City. I’m only managing things temporarily.” Karl said as he walked:

“Of course.”

“I also need a place to rest. I’ll come here often in the future, but the affairs of Unreal City still need to be managed by Divine Envoy Hardy.”

“This…” Hardy looked at the surrounding environment:

“We’ll talk about it later!”

***

The God-Given Object of his Unreal City was also related to the Thunder God, but it wasn’t about how to manipulate the power of thunder.

Instead, it transformed into a divine bird with the ability to manipulate the power of thunder.

It was because they both belonged to the ‘Thunder’ lineage that Bowen and Hardy became friends, even close friends.

“Huff…”

As the Divine Fire brought by Hardy fused with the Divine Fire of Unreal City, the Divine Fire suddenly blazed brighter, and its size also increased by a circle.

“Our Divine Fire can last for more than a decade. With the addition of the Divine Fire here, it should last for more than three decades.”

Hardy looked at the Divine Fire and sighed helplessly:

“It’s still too short!”

“One day at a time.” Karl said:

“I hope to take a look at the God-Given Object from your place, Divine Envoy Hardy. I can pay a reward.”

“No need.” Hardy waved his hand:

“Our God-Given Object is quite special, and few people from other Unreal Cities can gain any insight from it.”

“If it’s possible…”

“That would be best!”

He reached behind his back and pulled out a bone that was different from that of a human and placed it in front of Karl.

This God-Given Object involved bloodlines, thunder, and flight, and it might not be of much use to others.

But for Karl, it could be of great help.

“Oh, right!” he asked:

“Did you encounter any Fallen Angels on your way here?”

Hardy’s expression darkened.

He touched his chin thoughtfully:

“When we passed through a certain area, I did sense an extremely terrifying and dangerous aura, but fortunately, that thing didn’t attack us.”

“It seems that it should be a Despair-Level Fallen Angel.”

Half a month later.

Karl opened his eyes in the meditation chamber, casually stretched his muscles, and a series of cracking sounds came from his body.

“Gaining insights from God-Given Objects not only increases the accumulation of knowledge, but it can also increase mental power to a certain extent.”

“If I had dozens of God-Given Objects for me to study, I might be able to break through to the first circle in a short time…”

“Hmm!”

“It is said that studying too many God-Given Objects, especially those with opposing properties, can drive people mad. I wonder if that’s true.”

…………

On the other side.

Hardy, invited by Maxi, came to the flower boat to discuss matters.

Christina took out the flower boat’s treasured rice wine, poured a cup for each of them, and presented two wooden fruits.

Wooden fruits were a specialty of the flower boat.

They were slightly sweet, filling, and had a certain amount of moisture, and were usually used as valuable items for trading with other Unreal Cities.

After all, in this environment, fruits were extremely rare.

“Please!”

Maxi picked up her wine glass, took a small sip, and savored it slowly:

“This is a brewing method I learned from an Unreal City. The wine is initially spicy, but it becomes more mellow as you drink it.”

“The key is that drinking it can help you forget many worries.”

“Oh?” Hardy nodded:

“I saw descriptions of wine in the ruins from before the Great Destruction, saying that even the gods liked it.”

“However…”

“Let’s talk about business!”

“Yes.” Maxi’s smile faded, and she rubbed her temples and said:

“The flower boat arrived a few months earlier than you, but I haven’t seen Divine Envoy Karl more than five times.”

“So I believe that he’s not interested in managing Unreal City.”

“Is that so?” Hardy frowned:

“But he’s the only one who has the Earth-Eating Silkworm seeds for Unreal City. If he leaves…, we’ll have problems with food in the future.”

“That Fallen Angel probably hasn’t left. Going out to look for food is like seeking death.”

“John, from the cultivation room, has mastered the method of cultivating Earth-Eating Silkworms, and he’s exploring their ability to resist mutation.” Maxi said:

“If the Earth-Eating Silkworms can avoid mutation, then Unreal City will no longer have to worry about food in the future.”

Hardy’s breathing quickened, and he subconsciously clenched his fists.

“And the reservoirs.” Maxi continued:

“We all know that the method of building reservoirs is currently in the hands of the people of Mujou Unreal City, but Karl also has a similar method. Currently, the seventh reservoir is being built in Unreal City.”

“At that time…”

“Even the people you brought and the flower boat will no longer have to worry about drinking water, and maybe we can even use water to bathe in the future.”

Hardy’s throat bobbed.

Use water to bathe?

Hundreds of years ago, when the Great Destruction had just begun, there weren’t many evil creatures yet, and people could still use water to bathe.

Now,

this was undoubtedly a luxury!

“Divine Envoy Karl can’t leave!”

Hardy narrowed his eyes:

“We must make him stay, no matter what.”

“That’s right.” Maxi nodded:

“As far as I know, Divine Envoy Karl is very interested in Divine Marrow and God-Given Objects. We can move him with that.”

“Also…”

“Even if Divine Envoy Karl doesn’t leave, the Divine Fire of Unreal City won’t last long. We must have a new Divine Fire to replenish it.”

“Divine Envoy Maxi.” Hardy said thoughtfully:

“The Divine Fire of the flower boat should be enough to burn for several decades, right?”

Other Unreal Cities might lack Divine Fire, but the flower boat definitely didn’t, after all, he knew that the flower boat had swallowed the Divine Fire of several Unreal Cities.

“The Divine Fire of the flower boat cannot be fused with other Unreal Cities.”

Maxi shook her head without hesitation:

“Perhaps…”

“We should spread the news here and attract more Divine Envoys from Unreal Cities that can’t hold on any longer.”

“As long as we have enough food and water, and more and more Divine Fire, this place might become the second Mujou Unreal City!”

“Oh!” Hardy smiled:

“Divine Envoy Maxi, you’re not planning to go to Mujou Unreal City anymore?”

Maxi lowered her eyes.

Her understanding of Mujou Unreal City was also from what she had heard from others, while the changes in Karl’s Unreal City were something she had witnessed with her own eyes.

Instead of going to Mujou Unreal City, it was better to build this place into a Mujou Unreal City.

Moreover,

as a first-comer, her status would be higher, while if she went to Mujou Unreal City, she would only be a subordinate.

“Report!”

“Three Divine Envoys have come to seek refuge. Divine Envoy Karl is in seclusion, and Malkin has asked someone to inform the two of you.”

Maxi and Hardy looked at each other and stood up together.