Great Iron City at this moment was entirely different from half a month ago.
After the "baptism" of Nepenthe's riot, most of the factories and mines were riddled with holes and covered in smoke and dust. The broken walls and collapsed rocks that were not cleaned up in time were piled up randomly like high, rising tombs.
Because most of the old, the weak, the women, and the children had been evacuated by Long Yangjun and Li Jialing, the previously lively slums were now dead silent. Now and then, some residents craned their heads out of the ruins in a daze, but there was not the slightest vigor in their eyes. There was no telling whether they were human beings or ghosts.
To resist the fury of the Immortal Cultivators, a lot of strong workers volunteered to stay.
In order to resume production as soon as possible, the Immortal Cultivators did not trouble the workers too much for now. In the ghostly ruins, the furnaces and the assembly lines were functioning again.
The workers seemed to have vented their fury in the riot and turned into exhausted, lifeless fish at the mercy of the Immortal Cultivators.
However, the Immortal Cultivators were still strengthening the war preparations of the Great Iron Plants.
Every day, wagons of troops and battle puppets were shipped to the underground world. Their armor and guns were all carved with the glittering emblem of lightning trident. There were even protruding skulls behind the lightning trident as the background.
The lightning trident emblem was the symbol of the elites of the Imperial Guards. In the early years of the Imperium of True Human Beings, it had been the symbol of death.
Even though the Imperial Guards had declined right now, they were still incomparable to the private soldiers of the Black Iron Group that were jumbled up.
It was needless to say that among the elites of the Imperial Guards, there were also some women who were wearing capes and hiding in the shadows all the time.
They seemed to be spurting out black fog from their mouths, noses, eyes, ears, and pores all over their body, giving a chilling feeling to the bone.
Those women were the devil huntresses of the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils, the most intimidating devils on the entire capital planet right now.
Every day, countless elite soldiers of the Imperial Guards and devil huntresses would come to the Great Iron Plants with abundant drilling tanks and magical equipment that was suitable for underground battles. Taking the Great Iron Plants as a transit station, they would explore deeper below the ground after a brief rest. It seemed that the Immortal Cultivators were indeed determined to capture Li Yao and Long Yangjun as the mastermind of Nepenthe's riot.
The Great Iron Plants had been completely transformed into a arsenal and an army camp. It was like a hedgehog with sharp thorns all over its body. Naturally, there was no need to worry that the mobsters of Nepenthe would cause trouble again.
However, Li Minghui, the owner of the Great Iron Plants and the CEO of the Black Iron Group, was not happy at all.
After his lucky escape, it was Li Minghui who went to his new godfather, the elder of the Li family, in person and asked him to help him suppress the riot of Nepenthe and take back the Great Iron Plants.
However, what happened later was far beyond his expectation and control. It escalated at a high speed, and even the elites of the Imperial Guards and the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils were involved. It was possible that Li Linghai, the queen of the Imperium and the leader of the reformists, was involved!
Li Minghui couldn't help but secretly complain.
He knew that although he was a Yuanying expert, in the high-level competitions at the center of the cosmos where Yuanying were as numerous as dogs and where the giants at least in the Divinity Transformation Stage were at least in the Divinity Transformation Stage, the low-level Yuanying Stage was really the most insignificant chess piece that anybody could pinch to death with their little finger.
Right now, the operation of the Great Iron Plants was completely out of his control and seemed to have been "requisitioned" by the reformists. Not only did he not get any benefits, he also had to spend all his life savings to serve the experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage that he could not afford to piss off, as well as the warriors of the Imperial Guards and the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils. He also had to try his best to maintain the production of the Great Iron Plants and produce the components that his "superiors" were in dire need of. The cost every day was astronomical. It was almost like cutting flesh from his heart every day!
It was easier to invite a devil than to send it away. Li Minghui finally understood what it meant.
But what could he do?
The capital today was no longer the capital a year ago or half a year ago. Even the prime minister and the emperor could be killed for no good reason, and even the four Kurfürst families could be driven out of the capital by the reformists. Faced with the ever-changing tides of the times, Li Minghui was nothing at all. It was already a miracle that his head was still on his neck.
Right now, the woman who was sitting in his office, behind his desk, and on his chair matter-of-factly without even looking at him was definitely someone that he could not afford to piss off.
Li Minghui crouched like a frozen lobster, with cold sweat popping up on his forehead and back. Forcing a smile that was even uglier than crying, he did not even dare breathe.
It was not just because the woman's Cultivation was a whole major level higher than his, but also because she was a famous Divinity Transformation Stage expert.
It was also because the woman was Yue Wushuang, a central figure of the reformists, the master of the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils, and the leader of all the devil huntresses!
After the fall of the Prime Minister Dongfang Wang, the Association of Demon Hunters fell apart, and Dongfang Mingyue, their leader, was nowhere to be found. Right now, the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils was the only agency left in the Imperium.
In the battle where the reformists banished the four Kurfürst families, the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils made great contributions too. Quite a few elders of the Imperium even vanished without a trace after they were invited to the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils as guests, without leaving anything behind.
As the reformists completely occupied the Empyreal Terminus Sector, the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils became a dreadful existence for all the Immortal Cultivators in the capital. There were indeed Immortal Cultivators who had killed themselves when they were summoned by the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils.
When the hostess of the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils was drinking tea in her office chair, Li Minghui could already be considered a tough man for him to be able to keep his legs steady.
Of course, the more important reason was that "Moon Devil" Yue Wushuang did not focus her attention on him at all. She had never looked at him in the eye even once after she came to the underground world. She completely regarded him as an insignificant dog that wagged its tail and begged for mercy.
Even right now, Yue Wushuang was still staring at the 3D battle video that was floating on her desk wholeheartedly.
The video recorded the chaotic battle in the Great Iron Plants during the riot of Nepenthe more than half a month ago.
Although she had watched it at least three hundred times, Yue Wushuang still felt that she was almost burying her face into the light beam as if she were watching it for the first time.
In particular, when Li Yao, Long Yangjun, and Li Jialing appeared in the picture, she almost paused the video and observed it from every angle carefully, as if she were trying to find flowers from every mottled, blurred detail.
After watching the battle video from the beginning to the end, Yue Wushuang finally moved her cold eyes away from the 3D light beam. However, she covered her face with her cloak and said casually without looking at Li Minghui, "Elder Li and Tutor Song were chased by your men. Is there any update?"
Elder Li was "Devilish Abyss" Li Jianyi.
Instructor Song was "Star Breaker" Song Huanzhen.
The two of them were both top experts of the four Kurfürst families in the beginning, but they were recruited by Blackstar the Great in the battle in the underground palace and joined the reformists' side.
The three experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage who suppressed the riot of Nepenthe and chased after Li Yao, Li Jialing, and "Dongfang Mingyue" were exactly Yue Wushuang, Li Jianyi, and Song Huanzhen.
After the three of them wounded Dongfang Mingyue — or Long Yangjun — together, Li Jianyi and Song Huanzhen chased after them with their best soldiers.
Yue Wushuang had other important tasks and stayed in the Great Iron Plants to command.
Hearing her voice, Li Minghui shuddered hard in his heart. Catching his breath, he said, "Not — not yet, President Yue. The underground world is a complicated place with a lot of gaps and branches. The rock strata of different natures also block the triggering of search telepathic thoughts. It will be more difficult than climbing to the sky if the enemy crawls into a random corner. Also, if the enemy simply dies deep below the ground, it will be even more difficult to find the body. Also, if the enemy simply dies deep below the ground, it will be even more difficult to find the body.
"Although my men have stayed below the ground for decades, they are not locals of this place. They barely move far away from the Great Iron Plants. So … So …"
"Huh?"
Yue Wushuang sniffed and said, "If there is no news, why are you here?"
Her sniff almost drove Li Minghui's soul away. He stood for a long time with a pale face and lowered his head even more, before he said respectfully, "I … I'm here to ask you a question, President Yue. How should we deal with the leaders of Nepenthe who are locked in the prison?
"They seem to have been heavily wounded in the interrogation a few days ago. Their brains were damaged by the fever. Two of them died this morning. I don't know whether or not I should keep them alive. I mean to treat them, but I'm afraid that President Yue has other plans. Well …"
"It's not a big deal. Just do as you see fit."
Yue Wushuang said, "Nepenthe is just a small fish. What matters is the fish keepers behind the small fish. Their brains have all been emptied, and they are of no value to you in the first place. You can do whatever you want with them.
"Wait, what's the progress of your refining right now? You seem to be 15% behind the target, right?"
"Yes, yes … 15.5% behind."
Li Minghui said with a bitter face, "President Yue, you're right. A riot broke out more than half a month ago. Several ancillary factories were almost razed to the ground. More than half of the workers were lost, too. It is already a great miracle that the production has been resumed so quickly. I've tried my best."
"I don't know much about production. It's your business. I don't care what methods you use, even if you have to fill yourself into the furnace, you must catch up with the plan in the next month. Otherwise, I'll fill you in myself."
Yue Wushuang said expressionlessly, "Drag the leaders of Nepenthe including Xu Zhicheng out and punish them in front of all the workers this afternoon.
"Then, tell the workers that if they can achieve the target in a month, I'll pardon all their sins, including their families. If they can't, Xu Zhicheng's appearance today will be their appearance tomorrow.
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