Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 243 Demolition Compensation
After dealing with these mutated beasts, the top priority now is to quickly spread the information about Taodu to all parties. Its huge canopy has already covered several surrounding safe zones, which will inevitably cause panic among many people who are unaware of the truth.

After making some arrangements with Xue Hui, Su Xun quickly returned to the main area through the passage previously built by Taodu. He then found Song Lin, who was still stationed nearby. With the help of military maps and radios, Song Lin informed the surrounding cities of the situation and roughly figured out the area occupied by the giant tree.

Just looking at its canopy, it has an astonishing range, bordering Yidu to the north, Haizhou to the south, Binhai to the east, Langya to the west, and encompassing the entire Haiqu!
Its area is roughly circular, and with only a rough estimate, it is a colossal object spanning more than 300 miles!

Song Lin hissed softly. He looked at the sky outside the tent, which was completely covered by the tree canopy, and murmured, "Covering more than three hundred miles, blocking out the sun... Guess what I just remembered? It's like a pillar supporting the Epang Palace in the sky."

“It’s not that small.” Looking at the huge circle on the map, Su Xun threw down his pen and shook his head, saying, “I told you it’s not an exaggeration. We can’t even build a palace that’s three hundred miles long right now.”

"Cough... Kosato and Imari are different."

"Alright, alright, if you keep talking, I'll start questioning whether you're a competent division commander." Su Xun chuckled and said, "Contact the high-ranking officials in each region, and we'll have a meeting. As for the troops... take them to the main area first, and then return to Haiqu from there."

"Haiqu?"

From their current location, the trunk of this giant tree and the Haiqu safe zone are in opposite directions, so going to Haiqu from there would be going in the opposite direction.

Su Xun glanced back at Xu Huan, and the two smiled, but neither offered any further explanation.

When Su Xun returned here, he asked the tree spirit about the limitations of the fast passage it had built.

This is one of the innate abilities of the Peach Capital Divine Tree. In reality, it is not entirely a spatial skill, and even the tree spirit itself finds it difficult to explain the specific principles behind it.

Such passages can be divided into two types: temporary and permanent. Regardless of the type, the greater the zoom level, the higher the 'cost'.

These channels are established based on the root system. The thicker the root system, the greater the distance it can span, and the stronger the compression effect on the distance. Permanent channels are established in these main root systems.

As for the temporary passage, it is essentially a way to temporarily inject a large amount of spiritual energy into a root that cannot bear the weight, forcibly opening a passage. To maintain the existence of the passage, spiritual energy must be continuously inputted.

Su Xun and his group had previously used this temporary passage to reach the seaside.

However, given Taodu's current size and accumulated spiritual energy, there is no need to worry about insufficient spiritual energy for the time being.

Therefore, when Su Xun came out, he had already asked the tree spirit to start building passages to several main safe zones. Now, if someone could observe the entire canopy of Peach City from the outside with a wider perspective, they would find that its light has become even more intense. This is because the entire giant tree is accelerating the absorption of energy from the gale.

In the direction of the extension of the main root systems underground, high-level superhumans will also feel the slight tremors starting again.

Su Xun did not tell Song Lin about all this for the time being. In any case, this place was not far from the main road, so it was better to let him experience this magical passage directly.

Looking at their expressions, Song Lin was a little confused, but since Su Xun had made arrangements, he didn't ask any more questions. He simply gathered the team and headed towards the main route.

Even though they had been stationed there for quite some time, the soldiers still looked around at everything, feeling a sense of novelty and curiosity about the effects of the giant tree.

This was a scene that truly existed only in mythology, now descending upon reality. Many of the elite warriors of Haiqu had participated in battles against alien species, but putting aside the fact that even they were much smaller than the giant tree before them, more importantly, the warriors only regarded those frenzied alien species as enemies.

It's good enough if they're not afraid; how could they possibly have the chance to come into such close contact with such an existence? At this moment, there were two fifth-tier warriors, Su Xun and Xu Huan, and Yin Zi, who was still in a dazed state. Under the cover of Tao Du, it was unlikely that they would encounter any more danger here, so the group simply let these warriors take a closer look at the surrounding situation.

Even those who had come before to the main trunk of Taodu, including Su Xun, were still amazed by its grandeur. Standing in front of the trunk, they could not see the edges on either side at all, and looking up, the top of the trunk disappeared into the clouds and could not be seen clearly.

This is a colossal pillar supporting the sky. If the Jianmu tree existed in the world, it would probably look just like this.

Everyone stopped there, awestruck by the sight. Especially after learning that the giant tree was an ally, in addition to the awe, a sense of pride and honor arose spontaneously within them.

However, after glancing around the group, Su Xun noticed that someone looked somewhat sad. Curious, he went up to them and asked.

"Ah, Commander-in-Chief!" The young soldier was startled when Su Xun came up to him, and stammered, "No, it's nothing."

"Tell me about it."

Seeing Su Xun's friendly expression, the soldier lowered his head and scratched his hair in embarrassment.

“Commander-in-Chief, before the Great Cataclysm, my home was near Qibaoshan… Actually, I’ve always thought that when everything is over and the world is at peace, I’ll go back here, fix up my old house, and continue living here…”

Although the other person spoke hesitantly, Su Xun quickly understood what he meant and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The canopy of the trees in Taodu is still manageable, but the main trunk has effectively destroyed a large area, basically occupying the area of ​​a small surrounding county.

This young soldier is still so young. Before the cataclysm, he might have just been a high school student. For him, this small county town might be all his memories of the civilized era: his home, his alma mater, classmates, friends, relatives, and even his ancestors.

The cataclysm has forced everyone into a new era, an era composed of countless people like these little soldiers.

The emergence of Taodu is destined to change many things, and this is just the most insignificant one of them.

Perhaps, another era begins here.

"Out with the old, in with the new." He patted the young soldier on the shoulder: "Let go of what you should let go of. From now on, this will be our new home."

"Commander-in-Chief, I understand!" The young soldier nodded firmly at Su Xun.

Su Xun chuckled, "If we decide to settle down here later, you can ask your Commander Song to approve an apartment in the city center for you, as compensation for the demolition."

"what?"

Before the soldier could react, his comrades surrounded him, shouting and jeering.

(End of this chapter)