Seeing the Black Dragon City big shots still looking unconvinced, Ye Zhongming analyzed further. “Truthfully, you don’t face attacks on the city every year, and situations requiring the Four Dragon Heads are even rarer. From what I’ve heard, the Four Dragon Heads have only been used twice in the past year, with fewer than ten activations each time.”
Noticing their surprised expressions, Ye Zhongming smiled and continued. “At that rate, each Dragon Head only fires about five times a year. Switching to demon crystal cannons would mean five full volleys at most. Let’s be generous and say twenty volleys per year. The magic crystals I’m providing would last you ten years! Fine, let’s account for unexpected factors and cut that in half, five years! And that’s not even counting the invisible benefits of having a complete defensive system that makes Black Dragon City impregnable.”
Old An and the others listened and thought it made sense. Even if it were just five years, if they were still alive by then, they might have already evolved to nine stars, rendering such defenses almost unnecessary.
“Once this deal is done, I’ll give each of you a gold-grade piece of equipment. Every seven-star evolved will get a green-grade piece, and every six-star evolved will receive a full set of silver-grade equipment. Plus, fifty thousand white-grade pieces.”
After laying out the replacement plan, Ye Zhongming began sweetening the deal for the decision-makers.
In Black Dragon City, gold-grade equipment was considered top-tier. These individuals only had one or two pieces each, and the less fortunate might not even have any.
Six-star evolved and above were the backbone of Black Dragon City. If they stood to benefit, they wouldn’t oppose the trade.
“But Lan You nourishes the Four Dragon Heads! Who’s to say they won’t level up one day and become seven-colored-grade equipment?”
Hai Dayu muttered this, then shrank back, afraid Ye Zhongming might take offense and kill him on the spot.
“Lan You only grows three centimeters a year! Right now, it’s still a sprout. The energy it emits is just enough to keep the Four Dragon Heads from deteriorating and allow them to fire when needed. How much is left to nourish them? You’ve all witnessed their changes since the Four Dragon Heads were created. Have you seen any signs of their quality improving?”
Though they wanted to argue, the big shots had no grounds to do so. The Four Dragon Heads might have changed slightly, but it was hardly noticeable—they weren’t even sure if it was just their imagination.
“How about this? I’ll also give each of you a seven-star evolution potion.”
At these words, the big shots fell silent. After about five seconds, a timid voice spoke up.
“I… I think it’s acceptable.”
It was Yan Shuangfei. Ever since learning that “Mr. Ye” was Ye Zhongming, the young woman had been following him around like an eager puppy, not saying a word—just batting her big, adoring eyes at him. The lovestruck look on her face was almost comical.
Now, she raised her delicate little hand like a fragile maiden. The other Black Dragon City big shots could only sigh inwardly. No matter how much she pretended, she was still a bloodthirsty little devil. And now, without even exchanging a word with her, she was already siding with the outsider.
“Gene lifeforms. I want a unit of gene lifeforms.” Old An gritted his teeth and made his final demand.
Ye Zhongming frowned.
“Here’s the thing. Even if you had gene lifeforms, you couldn’t utilize their full combat potential. Maintaining and nurturing them requires a certain level of technical expertise, which Black Dragon City currently lacks. Even if I gave them to you, they’d gradually lose effectiveness over time.”
“Instead, I’ll offer a hundred self-destruct gene warriors. These don’t require complex maintenance—just some sealed cultivation pods and nutrient solutions. Once they launch their suicide attacks, they can threaten seven-star lifeforms. Even an eight-star lifeform caught in the blast radius of several dozen would be in mortal danger. How does that sound?”
Old An exchanged glances with his comrades, then nodded firmly.
“Lan You… is yours!”
……………………………………………………………………
News from the northern wilderness continued to pour in. Some Black Dragon City residents had even spotted the Talking Lady leading thousands of zombies across the ice plains.
As Ye Zhongming compiled this information, he also oversaw the installation of the demon crystal cannons on the city walls.
Once the deal was struck, the teleportation array was set up that very day. Cloud Peak’s resources, weapons, and personnel began pouring into the northern wilderness in large numbers. Three days later, the demon crystal cannons had replaced the Four Dragon Heads as Black Dragon City’s guardian deities.
Many people gazed in awe at these massive, thick-barreled weapons—especially after the test firing. The devastating power of the Ultimate variant left the evolved of Black Dragon City utterly stunned. Old An and the others were completely convinced: these cannons were no weaker than the Four Dragon Heads. Their range was even greater, and they were far more flexible.
The Four Dragon Heads were relocated to the ruins of the tallest building near Blood Street at the city center, where they would serve as a supplementary defense system.
With all this settled, Lan You was handed over to Ye Zhongming.
Ye Zhongming returned to Cloud Peak via the teleportation array and sought out Liu Zhenghong without delay.
“Little Ye, the Death King Tree’s evolution is at its final stage. Why drag me out now? If the evolution fails and it doesn’t attain human form, do you realize it might turn on us after reaching nine stars?”
Sister Hong’s tone didn’t hint at jest—she was dead serious.
Ye Zhongming offered an apologetic smile. “Sister Hong, it’s just… this thing is truly extraordinary.”
The moment Lan You was brought out, Liu Zhenghong was captivated.
“Such intense life energy… How is this possible?”
Sister Hong leaned in so close that her face almost touched Lan Glaze.
“Are these its roots?” she asked, eyeing the massive root system—over a thousand cubic meters in volume—that had been dug up from beneath the soil.
“Yes. We feared damaging it, so we excavated it with the surrounding soil. But once unearthed, the soil quickly dried up and crumbled away, revealing the roots. I rushed back immediately.”
Liu Zhenghong nodded. Unsure of what this thing was, she didn’t dare simply cut off a piece for study, fearing she might kill it. Lan You did seem rather delicate.
“What’s your plan?” After observing for a while longer and noticing Lan You beginning to wilt slightly, Liu Zhenghong knew they had to act fast.
Ye Zhongming pondered for a moment. “I want to experiment with it using my Gardener job.”
“Have you considered the risks?” Liu Zhenghong asked.
“Yes, but it should be fine.”
Sister Hong was decisive. She immediately prepared a testing site in the back mountain’s research area, gathered a few researchers skilled in this field, and—along with Ye Zhongming and Xia Bai—began the experiment.
Ye Zhongming placed his hand on Lan You and activated his Gardener job!
A sudden mutation occurred!