098 Gathering Eve

With the Nine Dragons Gathering about to begin, one of the grandest festivals in Sky Ring, even the usually fierce gang members have begun to restrain themselves. White paper lanterns are hung along the streets, and the streets are much quieter, accompanied by the occasional gunshots.

The capital of Heavenly Ring Nation, Qiongan Capital, presents a completely different picture. Within its elegant city walls, armored vehicles and police forces are stationed almost every ten steps, making the security extremely tight. Drones and helicopters patrol the skies.

The Nine Dragons Gathering is a grand event for various clan groups and traditional royal forces to exchange ideas, pray for blessings, and celebrate the end of the year. The distinguished guests are either political figures, wealthy businessmen, or academic giants. In order to maintain the stability and order of the inner city of the capital, the Qiongan Capital Police Department mobilized 20,000 police officers and 100,000 volunteers to be responsible for the environmental sanitation and service of the venue.

Two days ago, Li Aoz, holding an invitation, had already moved into the VIP room of the hotel where he was staying and was enjoying the hot springs and drinks. Meanwhile, his players from the Murloc Guild also sneaked in under the guise of volunteers.

Sky Ring provided exceptional service to Li Aoz, sparing no effort whatsoever. This was partly because Li Aoz's assistance in securing Grand's independence aligned with Sky Ring's interests, and partly because Li Aoz's solo feat of traversing the skies on the Grand battlefield, nearly causing a mutiny among the Frostplate Air Force, fully demonstrated Li Aoz capabilities.

For those who are not Gamma-rank but whose destructive power is no less than that of Gamma-rank individuals, the attitude of the higher-ups at Sky Ring is to make more contact and win them over, rather than alienating or angering them.

Maintaining a Gamma-rank Combat Power is extremely costly, and Li Aoz's appearance is tantamount to telling them: 'I don't need you to support me, and I'm more useful than your Gamma-rank fighters.'

However, Li Aoz had visited the Red Arrow Embassy more than once, showing his ID and passport frequently, which made the Sky Ring executives quite regretful—they could neither obtain him nor dare to eliminate him now.

Li Aoz was all too familiar with the schemes of the Heavenly Ring People. Players in his previous life had been tricked by Sky Ring politicians countless times. If it weren't for the excellent monster-hunting and leveling environment here, not many people would be willing to stay in Sky Ring.

After dinner, he stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window with a glass of sake, looking down at the entire city skyline from the 63rd floor.

This should be said to be the second capital city of the Four Nations he has reached since his transmigration.

Neon lights alternated, dazzling the eye, and spectacular fireworks soared into the sky, creating a magnificent display of light and color. Guests came and went in droves, and the scene was one of dazzling red lights and intoxicating luxury.

Li Aoz took a sip of sake and said calmly, "The show is about to begin."

On the other side of Qiongan Capital, the players of the Murloc Guild, dressed in their volunteer uniforms, arrived smoothly at the main venue of the banquet: the Hojo Conglomerate Building.

As soon as the tram arrived at the station, the players of the Murloc Guild were immediately awestruck by the magnificent building before them— the Beitiao Building, standing at 678 meters tall and covering an area of 1.2 hectares, is an incredibly vast cluster of buildings that forms a majestic canopy in the air like a towering tree. The various buildings and office areas are connected by pipes and floating vehicles, and it can accommodate 130,000 people working and living at the same time. There are 2,200 drones in the air participating in daily maintenance and cleaning operations.

This is only its above-ground portion; its underground portion extends up to 2.8 kilometers deep, operating seven internal subway lines. It not only houses the Hojo Conglomerate's most cutting-edge technology laboratories but also a simulated town for training professional Security Department. They have practically dug out an Underground City, connected to geothermal resources, with self-sufficient agricultural greenhouses and machinery factories.

To put it more bluntly, even if you added up all of Gland's GDP over 200 years, it wouldn't be enough to cover the electricity bill for this building for one month.

"This is simply a spectacle..." The players from the Murloc Guild exclaimed in amazement.

This is the difference between the Four Nations and the small countries. Similar buildings can be built by Frostplate, Zhengxu, and Red Arrow. If even a fraction of the resources used to build these buildings were saved, millions of Outland People could be fed.

The Four Nations are not lacking in resources, and the Sky Ring has accumulated a wealth of resources through long-term plundering. The essence of the Nine Dragons Gathering is actually an ancient gathering where the Ring King invites daimyo and samurai to sit together, divide the spoils of war, and pray to the dragon for power and good fortune.

The players weren't particularly interested in this old news. As volunteers, they could easily gain access to the building, but finding the Hydrogen Bomb known as ' Hirozaki Arisa ' was a major problem.

"Hojo Heavy Industries, the pride of Sky Ring. For a century, we have continuously provided society with a large number of talents. If the nation wants to become prosperous and strong, Hojo will help. If the country wants to rise, Hojo will do its best... If you love Sky Ring, choose Hojo Conglomerate."

Along the way, the players were constantly bombarded with the Hojo Family's self-proclaimed patriotic claims and boasts about their deeds and achievements for Sky Ring. The players almost forgot how to spell Hojo. Someone wanted to buy a bottle of water and discovered that the mineral water was also Hojo brand. When they went to the restroom, the toilet was from Hojo Ceramics. The security guards became suspicious of them, pointed at them with the Hojo Family weapons, and questioned their purpose and identity... Considering that even the internal ventilation ducts were built by the Hojo Family's own company, they had truly achieved the goal of having their own air.

As the player moves through the hall, the surrounding Hojo employees are indulging in their wages in the Hojo Family's rest area. Being able to chat and boast during their free time is their greatest happiness.

"Have you heard? That kid Yanagimon has been acting all mysterious lately, and it seems like he's been in contact with Frostplate Citizen."

"Just some fanatic anti- Red Arrow. Despite the recent friction, business still goes on as usual. More than that, I'm concerned about that security guard from Outland. Everyone says he's stronger than Gamma-rank expert, yet he doesn't want any salary. He just wants someone..."

"You mean White Shark? He doesn't like talking about that."

These words were meaningless, and the players couldn't glean any information from them, so they could only continue their investigation.

While the Hojo Family's products are of good quality, the extent to which they have monopolized the market is still embarrassing for players.

"Guild Leader, we've been wandering around the streets for half a day, but we haven't found any relevant clues."

Someone complained to the blind elder:

"We're already down to the third basement level. If we keep going like this, I feel like we might not even finish exploring by next month."

"What's the rush? The mission progress is still increasing, no need to rush."

Old Blindeye remained calm about the matter. "We're here to scout and reconnoiter, not to steal the Hydrogen Bomb, understand? Take a look at the NPCs around you—look, that fair-skinned, twin-tailed JK loli, yes, that's her."

Wow, what white legs!

"Screw you, I'll show you her level."

"Level 25 [Martial Artist] - Farewell!"

Old Blindeye crossed his arms, pulled down the volunteer's baseball cap to conceal the silver runes in his eyes. The main reason he remained calm was because he clearly understood just how deep the waters were here.

The Hojo Family, the oldest and most powerful clan in Sky Ring, is said to have ancestors who were originally from the imperial family. During the industrialization process, they naturally demanded the best resources, such as mines. Now, the Hojo Family is no longer just a single family; many Heavenly Ring People serve them, earning wages and status through employment.

In this place where everyone is at the Alpha Rank, the players' small bodies, barely at level 10, are pitifully weak, like pieces of paper, easily poked and riddled with holes by anyone who comes along.

This couldn't go on forever, since they would eventually need to ask for directions, and their awakened "Eye of Truth" wasn't enough to see very far underground. Therefore, they turned their attention to those who appeared to be researchers, offering volunteer services to help tourists while secretly keeping an eye on the researchers in white coats hurrying through the pedestrian street.

However, the limitations of being volunteers soon became apparent. When they reached the fifteenth underground level, a cyborg security guard approached them with a cold expression and warned, "Get out of here. This is not a place you can approach!"

The players who were yelled at were not discouraged. Instead, they obediently left, but the number of people in the team changed from 24 to 23.

A short while later, an excited voice rang out in the guild's voice channel:

"Hey! Boss, I've sneaked in stealthily. As expected of Omega-class Aoneng, this rental was a real bargain!"

The Old Blindeye chuckled upon hearing this, "Well done."