I've already reached the maximum level, and you guys are just starting out?

Chapter 122 A Solo Journey Deep into the Wasteland, Reunited with Old Friends and Family! (13 words~)

whoosh-

Above the ten-meter-long bed.

Naya's floating body suddenly plummeted.

With quick reflexes, Yu Jin caught it.

"Well……"

Naya's once crystal-clear eyes were now dull and lifeless.

"It's done, it's a success..."

Lying in Yu Jin's arms, Naya murmured, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

A faint sense of satisfaction shone through her delicate, slightly chubby face, like... the relief of making up for a regret.

This prophecy, though only showing a brief 60-day vision of the future, completely drained her ninth-level energy.

Prophecy can offer a glimpse into the future, but this glimpse will inevitably come at a price.

Naya's eyes closed little by little.

Her breath gradually subsided.

Ember activated 'Eye of Insight'.

【Nyarlathotep】

【…】

[Status: Exhausted by the prophecy, requiring a deep sleep to recover. This state of slumber is essentially a side effect of the prophecy and cannot be awakened by external forces.]

The exact duration of the dormancy is unknown to the embers.

but……

He truly saw Naya's efforts.

In the future, in the scene where she soars into the sky and perishes together with the 'black meteor,' the figure of this little girl from the planet Moore can also be seen.

call--

Yu Jin gently placed Naya on the ten-meter-long bed and exhaled a deep breath.

"success?"

"Is it really a success?"

Yu Jin murmured, dissatisfied with the so-called future.

Only by risking everything and perishing together can we save the future of Earth—not the future we want!
True.

Yin Yao possesses the ability of 'area rebirth'. If her rank is high enough in the future, she might be able to give everyone a resurrection armor.

but……

The poignant and tragic fireworks still deeply pierce the embers.

Along with this came self-blame and regret.

What he wanted was not a tragic ode to the humanity of Earth.

What he wanted was a definitive solution to the complete purification of Aummomo!

If they've already used cheat codes, and Yin Yao, Naya, Lao Cui, and the others still have to rush in and risk their lives to exchange for the 'Meteor,' then what's the point of using cheat codes?
Is that kind of ending worthy of the burden he carries?

"upgrade!"

"Upgrade dramatically!"

The determination to upgrade Ember has never been stronger.

He had no idea what level he would be in that future scene.

The only thing he was certain of was—

You need to level up as quickly as possible and as many levels as possible.

The safest option is to reach the next maximum level before returning to Earth!
Secondly——

The upgrade speed of Dawn City needs to be accelerated.

The previous plan of 'upgrading on my own while leaving all the upgrades to Dawn City to Yin Yao and others' must be changed.

In the prophecy of the future, he, Yin Yao, and others only appeared at the very last moment.

That's obviously too late.

If it had been earlier, even just a little earlier, Ember would have had a chance to purify Oumuamua 2 before it approached Earth.

Once isn't enough? Then twice!

If I get back early enough, I can even be there to guard Oumuamua at the edge of the solar system!
"Regardless of whether we can return to Dawn City once it reaches level 6, we must reach level 6 as quickly as possible!"

"Level 6 isn't enough? Then let's go for level 7, level 8, level 9!"

Yu Jin got up from the bed.

He knew that Yin Yao and the others were still waiting outside for him to announce the good news of 'Dawn City's successful promotion'.

But Yu Jin didn't rush to show himself; he already had a plan for the future.

Before that, some preparations need to be made.

Ember arrived at the core of the city and reached out to press down.

Wasteland Points: 350 million

Ember initially thought the balance of points was outrageous, but after learning that Eureka's 'S-680 spaceship' cost 100 billion points...

He suddenly realized that he was still too poor.

"Let's start with one-click max level!"

Yu Jin had a sudden thought.

【Di-】

Wasteland Points - 8000 million

Your Tier 5 Light Attribute Ability 'Laser' has been upgraded to level 9!

[Your fifth-tier spatial attribute ability 'Spatial Black Hole' has been upgraded to level 9!]

【…】

After this.

Yu Jin went on another shopping spree in the 'Resource Mall'.

In the level 5 shop, you can already buy many highly practical city facilities and non-attribute abilities.

There wasn't time to slowly explore the remaining city facilities.

He was interested in several attribute-less abilities.

[Communication Level 1: Within the same planet, communication can be conducted remotely (communication partners must be bound in advance; current maximum number of communication partners: 99)]

[Projection Lv1: On the same planet, a projection can be sent remotely (the projection has 10% of the original's capabilities and lasts for 3 minutes)]

……

Ember bought them.

He plans to accelerate the progress of conquering Planet A3.

The specific plan is as follows:

Split up.

Yin Yao and others controlled Dawn City and subdued the nearby refuge cities.

He himself went to more distant areas, leveling up by fighting monsters and conquering high-level refuge cities.

Ideally, one could find a level 7 or even level 8 refuge city, which would solve the problem once and for all, allowing Dawn City to skip levels.

"almost."

After finishing his shopping spree, Yu Jin murmured to himself.

hum-

The spatial fluctuations spread, and his figure vanished from the spot.

……

……

Dawn City.

Inner city, martial arts training ground.

Yin Yao, Chen Gang, Jiang Haochuan, and the others were still silently waiting for Yu Jin to appear.

More than ten minutes have passed since Dawn City successfully advanced to level 5.

However, Yu Jin did not appear for a long time, and they could only feel extremely terrifying spatial fluctuations coming from the depths of the city lord's mansion.

This made Yin Yao and the others somewhat nervous and worried.

"Could something have happened to the president...?"

Yin Yao subconsciously tightened her lips, her pretty face turning slightly pale.

Om-!
next second.

Ember's figure appeared in the sky above Dawn City.

Upon seeing this, Yin Yao and the others breathed a long sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, the nearly one million subjects within the city, as was customary, once again chanted the slogan of 'loyalty' in unison.

whoosh-

Whizzing--!
After Ember appeared, without uttering a single word, he raised his hand and unleashed 'Purification Light'.

Many new citizens have arrived in Dawn City, and none of them have yet been purified of their contamination levels.

Although Yin Yao and the others had been purified before, their pollution levels had increased extremely rapidly due to the high intensity of crystal consumption recently.

"Ah~"

Countless strange shouts echoed throughout Dawn City.

"?"

Jiang Haochuan stared at this scene, his mind filled with questions.

"This is……"

He was somewhat puzzled, and at the same time, a hint of embarrassment appeared on his rather old-fashioned face.

The scene's style is rather...

Whoosh-!
A purifying light enveloped Jiang Haochuan.

"Ah~!"

Caught off guard, Jiang Haochuan let out what was perhaps the most shameful groan of his life.

……

……

City Lord's Mansion, Council Hall.

Yin Yao and other key members of Liming City gathered together.

Embers told everyone about Nyarlathotep's prophecy and the crisis facing Earth.

The atmosphere in the hall was completely silent.

Ember revealed the plan to split up.

Simultaneously.

He also officially appointed Yin Yao and Neil as deputy city lords of Dawn City.

Yin Yao was in charge of external affairs, including flight control of Dawn City and the conquest of Refuge City.

Nir was in charge of managing the people of Dawn City and maintaining order.

Yu Jin gave Yin Yao four maps.

They are -

Detailed map of area A304/5/6/7.

These were all rewards that Yu Jin had previously obtained from the system.

The map is marked with detailed locations of refuge cities and infected/mutant beast lairs.

This will improve Dawn City's efficiency in conquering the surrounding areas and subjugating its subordinate cities.

"A level 6 refuge city requires at least 300 subordinate cities."

"Dawn City is still 200 cities short. I hope that with the efforts of everyone, we can achieve this goal as soon as possible!"

"After reaching level 6, there's a chance we'll be able to return to Earth!" Ember's last two sentences brought a quiet sense of relief to everyone who had been shrouded in gloom due to the Earth crisis.

"Rest assured, City Lord!"

"We can definitely take over all four areas in the shortest possible time!"

Chen Gang, abandoning his usual boastful manner, patted his chest and made a solemn pledge.

"President, I will do my utmost!"

Yin Yao's pretty face was full of seriousness.

After consuming crystals continuously over the past few days, she is now a fifth-tier evolver, not far from the sixth tier.

At the same time, it benefits from the 'Benefit Link' effect of the Ember's causal attribute ability.

Yin Yao shared the 1% numerical boost from the embers, causing her stats to skyrocket from 800 to 20800, instantly reaching the level of an eighth-tier evolver.

This is one of the key reasons why Yu Jin could entrust Dawn City to Yin Yao with peace of mind.

Naya is currently asleep and will not wake up anytime soon.

When I'm not around, Yin Yao is the strongest fighter in Dawn City.

of course.

Yu Jin also bound Yin Yao and the others to 'Communication lv1' objects, and left projection coordinates in Dawn City.

In the event that Dawn City truly faces a major crisis, he can easily resolve the situation, whether by returning via coordinate imprint or by projecting his image.

"My Lord——"

Neil stood with a bow.

Upon learning that Yu Jin was leaving, a hint of reluctance appeared on his otherwise mechanical face.

Under intense crystal consumption, she has already reached the sixth rank, not far from the seventh rank.

"I'm handing over the city lord's authority to you."

"While I'm away, you can discuss with Yin Yao about purchasing the necessary city facilities, civilian supplies, and other items that suit your abilities in the 'Resource Mall'."

"Don't worry about not having enough Wasteland Points. Just send me a message when you run out, and I can come back and replenish them anytime."

Yu Jin still has several ninth-tier crystals, which, according to the mall's recycling price, are worth more than 30 billion points in total.

"So……"

With everything arranged, Yu Jin took a deep breath and stood up from his position as city lord.

Inside the meeting hall.

Yin Yao, Chen Gang, Neil, and others all wore solemn expressions.

"Everyone——"

"May our combined efforts lead to Dawn City's early advancement!"

The words fell.

The embers did not linger any longer.

hum-

The coordinate imprint was activated, and his figure disappeared from the spot.

In the meeting hall.

The silence lasted for a long time.

Yin Yao walked to the front, her pretty face full of solemnity:

"Everyone——"

"Do not disappoint the city lord's expectations!"

"Do not let down the Blue Star's waiting!"

……

……

Alpha City.

This is the first stop for Ember.

hum-

Spatial fluctuations spread, and Ember appeared outside the City Lord's Mansion.

The evolved guards of Alpha City subconsciously activated their attribute energy, preparing to fight the intruders, but after seeing what the embers looked like...

Puff-!
One by one, they all knelt down.

Although Wu Yufei is the current lord of Alpha City, the hundreds of thousands of people in the city know that the person in front of them is the truly terrifying one!

Yu Jin ignored the guards and realized that Yu Fei was not in the council hall.

[Third-tier Light Attribute Ability: Light Touch Lv9]

[Active Effect: Your perception is greatly enhanced; you can use light sources to gain vision within a certain area (the larger the area, the more blurred the vision)]

[Max Level Effect: Possesses penetrating properties, allowing you to see through obstacles]

Thanks to the maxed-out effect of the light-touch ability, Ember saw Yufei in the core area.

He sat cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed, and words and symbols flowed around his body.

"Looks like they're still processing the information..."

Yu Jin murmured, his peripheral vision noticing an ice coffin placed in a corner of the core area.

Inside the ice coffin lay...

woman?

Just as Ember was about to activate 'Eye of Insight', he realized that it might be related to Yufei.

If it's her brother's wife, then you absolutely can't look at her...

"Let's talk about it after Yufei has fully digested the knowledge."

With a thought, Yu Jin prepared to leave Alpha City and head to his next destination.

[Coordinates: A3-49-116, 540]

Area A349, these are the coordinates that Lao Cui told himself before crossing over.

Since crossing the wasteland, Ember has occasionally used his 'sensory' ability to check on the condition of his friends and family, but due to the vast size of the wasteland and his lack of 'teleportation' ability at the time, he has been unable to do so.

now……

After 'Flash Lv9' was upgraded to 'Teleport Lv9' upon eleventh-tier awakening, Ember finally gained the ability to explore the map.

hum-

Teleportation requires charging.

Spatial fluctuations spread.

About five minutes later, Yu Jin's figure disappeared from the spot.

……

……

A349 area.

The embers appeared out of nowhere.

Beneath his feet lay a desolate wasteland.

As far as the eye could see, not even the outline of the refuge city could be seen...

"Wandering, wandering."

"Having traveled here for ten days, I really have no idea where Old Cui has wandered off to."

Ember activated his ability to 'sense' Cui Xiangyu's condition and distance.

result……

"so far?"

Yu Jin was somewhat surprised.

This distance seems to indicate that we've completely left the A349 area!
In just ten days, he traversed the entire region; his map-running ability is truly impressive...

This is stronger than my previous self before I awakened the 'teleportation' ability.

“Brother Hong is right, the nomadic lifestyle definitely makes her a supermodel.”

"Old Cui has probably arrived at the new refuge city and awakened an ability similar to space travel or teleportation..."

After confirming that Old Cui was safe and in good condition, Yu Jin temporarily abandoned the idea of ​​going to meet him.

Firstly, although the transmission distance is long, it requires accurate coordinates.

Perception ability allows one to sense a general location, but it does not imply specific coordinates.

Secondly, Old Cui's nomadic nature meant that he was destined not to stay long in any refuge city.

The same is true of Dawn City.

Third.

That is also the most important reason.

The person he was really looking for on this trip was his adoptive father, Yu Limin.

Although he shared the 'Benefit Link' with him, Yu Jin couldn't help but worry about Old Yu's unreliable nature.

hum-

Spatial fluctuations spread.

[Coordinates: A3-69-985, 211]

five minutes later.

The embers disappeared on the spot.

When they reappeared, they were already outside a vast refuge city.

"Mangcheng?"

Yu Jin stood at the city gate, gazing at the words on the refuge gate, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

This refuge city is similar in size to Da Luo City and should be a level 4 refuge city.

this means……

It has at least 50 subordinate cities, and seventh-tier evolved beings as city lords.

"Could it be that on this trip, I might also be able to acquire 50 subordinate cities for Dawn City?"

Yu Jin's heart stirred slightly, and he took a step towards the city gate.

In the wasteland, the vast majority of refuge cities are all level 0.

High-level refuge cities are quite rare.

The reason why Ember didn't use his lightsaber to kill the city lord of Mang City from a distance was because...

Although the refugees inside and outside the city gates were not exactly rosy-cheeked, they were not skin and bones either.

Many of the displaced people even had faint smiles on their faces.

This is even rarer in the wasteland than a level 4 refuge city itself.

"interesting……"

"True benevolence or feigned compassion?"

Yu Jin became interested in Mangcheng, and at the same time, he sensed the location of Old Yu.

That is……

In the heart of Mangcheng, at the City Lord's Mansion!

"Old Yu has become the city lord?"

The moment the thought crossed Yu Jin's mind, he immediately shook his head in denial.

Given his personality, even if he became the city lord, he could never govern the city so well.

After a while.

The embers had just passed through the city gate.

A young man with a buzz cut, dressed in an investigator's uniform, suddenly rushed up to him, his face full of excitement and disbelief.

"you are……"

"Comrade Yu, Yu Jin?!"

(End of this chapter)