"It’s quite lively now, isn’t it?" Lou Fei’Er said, getting up to pour a glass of water before leaning against the table.
"Now... It always feels like something’s missing." Zeng Tao ran to the window to look outside, "The population density is so low; it’s like they always say... vast land with sparse people!"
Thanks to their treehouse capabilities, every survivor’s productivity is incredibly high, and as a result, this area already has the semblance of a modern city.
However, only a little over a thousand people live in this city.
"Yes, if more people came, it feels like they were too excited when constructing the city, built it too large, and now it feels like a ghost town." Jin Yue tidied up the cards on the table and said.
"Speaking of which, where’s Xu Xin? Why hasn’t he returned?" Lou Fei’Er looked towards the door, "It’s already eight in the evening; does he plan to stay out all night?"
The sky outside was still very bright, making her statement unconvincing.
"Oh, Ji Chaoyang called him away," Li Wenxi explained, "Apparently, because of matters with the survivors living here."
"What’s going on?" Shi Wanyun asked.
"I’m not quite sure." Li Wenxi shook her head.
"Then why didn’t they call you to go along?" Zeng Tao asked in confusion, "Aren’t you always meeting together?"
"I don’t want to go at all." Li Wenxi waved her hand, "Just taking them to the underground world to collect resources is tiring enough; I don’t want to deal with those things. Let Xu Xin and Ji Chaoyang worry about them."
"True, you can’t possibly manage everything."
...
"So, that’s the story, what do you think?"
Xu Xin sat opposite Ji Chaoyang and Qi Xuefei.
"Uh... Keeping it from them is indeed one way, but I think we should tell them the truth."
Since the arrival of the Stone Giant Beast encampment, outside the Crystal City, people covered in fur have frequently been seen.
They appear and disappear mysteriously, moving with extraordinary agility, much like trained scouts, hiding in very secluded places.
Unfortunately, within the World Tree there’s a hundredfold time speed; their agile movements, when viewed from the World Tree’s control panel, slowed down by a hundredfold, are clearly visible.
Though quite a long time has passed inside the World Tree, only a few hours have passed outside.
In just a few hours, such events occur, which is concerning.
Xu Xin and the others questioned the monster. The monster informed them that those furry, low-level mutant humans are survivors who failed the survival challenges and were eliminated, others captured directly from the living survivors.
Even though eliminated humans are intelligent beings, the alien invaders chose to "reuse waste," turning them into what they are now, covered in fur.
While humans find this appearance unacceptable, alien invaders feel it’s much more fortable than their original form.
Hence, the surviving yet eliminated humans were transformed to this state.
"Some of those people used to work for me, assigned under the heads of various areas; you might have seen them. But since I’ve fled, those fuzzy humans are now fully managed by them."
This is what the monster told them when they sought it out.
In other words, those furry creatures are the lowest-ranking minions of the alien invaders.
"The alien invaders have already sent people to monitor us," Ji Chaoyang said, "The reason is likely what we suspected."
The World Tree, Stone Giant Beasts, and... that monster.
These factors bined warrant significant attention from the alien invaders.
Perhaps due to not causing trouble, there has been no stir around the World Tree these few days.
"Our situation is being increasingly dangerous," Xu Xin pondered.
"Therefore, maybe it’s time we reveal our true predicament to the people living here." Ji Chaoyang looked out the window.
Although the survivors and people from the underground world are aware of the current situation, initially mildly apprehensive about the alien invaders, over time, their military development has given them confidence in protecting the World Tree.
Especially after the arrival of the Stone Giant Beasts, announced by Xu Xin and the others as their allies, their confidence grew even more.
Recently, upon assuring the stone creatures weren’t harmful, even those unwilling to stay inside the World Tree moved out, mingling with those living outside the World Tree, forging bonds with Long Yin.
One by one, they perceive boundless prospects in the development within the World Tree.
But Xu Xin and the others have kept certain things from them.
Such as the existence of the monster, and the suggestion posed by the monster.
The suggestion to expel the alien invaders from Earth.
"I think, whether implemented or not, we should indeed disclose this plan to them." Qi Xuefei said, "This plan and our current monitored condition should stir them up; they are way too relaxed now."
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