Chapter 565 - 352: Saint Tier Yuan Chen, Beast Tide Border Defense
Chapter 565: Chapter 352: Saint Tier Yuan Chen, Beast Tide Border Defense
Li Xiang now had over one hundred Saint Tier Items. After giving the three best to Jiang Cai’Er, he still had plenty to spare. He decided to give Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, Lei Xiaohui, Chiba Yuki and her mother, Erin, the children, and his cousin Shen Wenqian each a Saint Tier Spirit Armor and a Saint Tier Spiritual Soldier as New Year’s gifts.
Although Shen Wenqian and the children had low Cultivation and couldn’t unleash the full power of the Saint Tier Items for now, they were still excellent for self-preservation.
His nine Saint Tier Spirit Pets were also equipped with Saint Tier Spirit Armor.
This type of Spirit Armor could change its shape according to the wearer’s will, so it could be worn by humans and members of the Beast Race alike.
However, the Spirit Pets couldn’t transform into human form. They remained in their animal bodies and couldn’t wield weapons. Besides, they each had their own unique abilities, so it didn’t matter.
As for Lei Jiaming and the others, giving them Saint Tier items would be a waste for now, but they were all upgraded to Tier Twelve or higher Extraordinary Spirit Armor and Spiritual Soldiers.
After the memorial service ended, the somber mood lasted for a day or two before everyone’s spirits lifted again, and they began preparing for the Spring Festival. The dead were gone, but the living had to go on.
Nowadays, the whole world was learning Chinese and celebrating the Spring Festival. Of course, Western countries still kept their traditional holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Celebrating the Spring Festival wasn’t something Li Xiang had mandated; it was a purely spontaneous phenomenon. This was because modern-day China, particularly Underground Dungeon 03, was without a doubt the beacon of humanity. It was only natural for "China-philia" to become widespread.
In fact, this "China-philia" hadn’t just started. It began around 2026, or perhaps even earlier, as Chinese trends swept the globe. This was actually related to the country’s level of economic development.
For instance, when the United States was prosperous, its various movies and trends were highly sought after. In the 1970s and 80s, Japan’s economy was booming, so many Japanese dramas became popular as well.
Later, Japan was economically neutered by the United States. Its economy went into decline, capital dried up, and naturally, investment in the film and television industry dwindled. The productions just weren’t as good anymore.
In the nineties, Taiwanese dramas, Hong Kong dramas, and Korean dramas, as well as the variety shows and music from these three regions, were all incredibly popular.
After 2010, the economies of those regions faltered, and the crazes for Japanese, Korean, and Hong Kong pop culture all but vanished. Perhaps a small number of fans remained, but the explosive popularity of the past was gone. For example, Hong Kong’s TVB had long been facing a talent drain, with no notable new-generation actors or productions to speak of.
Later still, even American TV series and blockbuster movies lost much of their appeal; people felt they were all just more of the same.
Meanwhile, animated movies, sci-fi films, historical dramas, and all kinds of music from mainland China began to rise, gaining significant momentum.
Now, Li Xiang represented the pinnacle of Earth’s Extraordinary Beings, while Jiang Cai’Er and her team were the apex of technology. City No. 03 could be considered one of the world’s top-tier major cities, excelling in both the "Extraordinary" and "Technological" fields. Its status had long surpassed that of former giants like New York and Tokyo. Thus, it was only natural for people to become fans of China, Li Xiang, and Jiang Cai’Er.
The underground area around Li Family Village was undoubtedly the center of City No. 03. Inside Li Xiang’s mountainside villa, Jiang Cai’Er’s parents, along with Li Xiang’s younger paternal aunt, eldest paternal aunt, and second paternal aunt, all came over to help prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner. Granny Li Xiang was looking after the children. With dozens of people in the house, Li Xiang didn’t have to worry about a thing.
He simply took out a lavish spread of ingredients—every kind of delicacy from the mountains and the sea imaginable. Everyone pitched in to prepare a feast that would span several tables.
Yes, one table wouldn’t be nearly enough to seat everyone.
In the current Underground City, ordinary households weren’t allowed to cook with open flames. This was primarily a strict precaution against safety hazards. Only public cafeterias and a handful of select homes had natural gas hookups.
Anyone caught cooking privately would be fined. This policy was modeled after Singapore’s, but the management here was even stricter. It couldn’t be helped; the Underground City was densely populated and an enclosed space. If a fire were to break out, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Furthermore, if every household were to cook, the massive amount of exhaust fumes produced would be an enormous burden to process.
As for appliances like induction cookers, rice cookers, and electric hot pots, they posed their own safety risks. Besides, production capacity was insufficient; the factories to make them no longer existed.
In these special times, it was only natural to concentrate manpower and resources on the mass production of military equipment, such as artillery shells, missiles, robotic dogs, and drones. The next priority was daily necessities like medicine, clothing, shoes, and socks.
Otherwise, after a few more Beast Tides, all the high-powered weaponry would be depleted. With High Tier Transcendents not yet emerging in large numbers, humanity would be in grave danger.
Of course, Li Xiang’s family was permitted to cook, so all their relatives and friends came over to "mooch" a home-cooked meal.
The more festive the occasion, the greater the need to focus on security. Jiang Cai’Er wasn’t at home; she was busy with various meetings, organizing the work for the laboratory teams, the city defense department, the municipal department... every single aspect. In truth, if one had to name the most powerful person in City No. 03, it would have to be Jiang Cai’Er.
Jiang Cai’Er was involved in nearly every matter in City No. 03, big or small.
Zhuge Liang was known for personally attending to every detail, dedicating his entire life to his cause until his very last breath. But Jiang Cai’Er wouldn’t die from overwork. She was no ordinary person; her super-brain could process hundreds of thousands of tasks simultaneously, perhaps even more.
Her Memory Palace gave her eidetic memory. She was crystal clear on all of the Underground City’s affairs, large and small, and never needed to look up information. The secretarial team assigned to her was filled with admiration, viewing her as something akin to a goddess.
Li Xiang used the Earth Escape Technique, silently arriving on the surface and returning to his old family courtyard.