Apocalypse Gachapon

Wu Xiu’s face turned green with anger.

Though her looks were decent, she was far from stunning, and her age showed. If not for the rejuvenating effects of evolution—slimmer figure, better skin—she might have been a middle-aged, plump auntie by now.

Both she and Cannibal Chain took their cooperation with Cloud Peak and Ye Zhongming extremely seriously. They’d made significant progress, and upon returning, even if they couldn’t snatch the title of Cloud Peak’s top trade partner from Five Ring Money, they’d at least achieve parity.

That meant their monthly collaborations would generate massive wealth.

Under these circumstances, Wu Xiu absolutely didn’t want any complications. She knew exactly who Xia Lei was, who Liang Chuyin was, who Xia Bai was—she understood their status within Cloud Peak!

If her actions inadvertently stirred negative thoughts among Ye Zhongming’s women, she’d be beyond wronged!

So when Mechanical Genius made that comment, Wu Xiu immediately feared it might reach Xia Lei or the Internet Celebrity’s ears later!

If fighting were allowed now, she’d have roasted that guy into a crispy pigeon with her mage team!

Ye Zhongming, however, showed no anger. Beyond the lingering awe from obtaining level nine magic crystals, he’d sensed the approach of Mechanical Genius’s combat puppet long ago.

Hearing its words, Ye Zhongming smiled faintly, his gaze sweeping over Mechanical Genius’s distant forces.

“How does it feel to occupy Cloud Peak’s stars?”

“How does it feel having your stars occupied by me?” Mechanical Genius instantly retorted.

“Not great,” Ye Zhongming admitted calmly. “But I doubt you’re faring much better. And you’ve confirmed one thing for me—you’re broke now.”

It was rare for Ye Zhongming to be this blunt. His status in the apocalypse usually meant he didn’t need verbal jabs to make a point.

But against this trash-talking, meddlesome Mechanical Genius, only this approach satisfied him.

“Bullshit!”

Mechanical Genius’s roar, filtered through the combat puppet’s audio system, sounded distorted.

“You paid a steep price, didn’t you? Cloud Peak’s stars aren’t easily taken.”

Ye Zhongming spoke like an adult humoring a child, utterly unruffled.

“I lost some, but look—was it that much?”

After emitting a strange electronic tone, Mechanical Genius replied deliberately.

True, his forces showed damage, but observers familiar with their original composition would notice most losses were among the mechanical soldiers—the lowest-tier units. Higher-tier units remained largely intact.

Ye Zhongming nodded. “True, your core forces are mostly unharmed. But that means little. Your combat puppets have durability thresholds. Just because numbers haven’t dropped doesn’t mean they’re in good condition.”

This comment made others reevaluate Mechanical Genius’s forces—the massive machines did seem more battered, their cracks more numerous.

“These marks don’t prove weakened combat effectiveness! They don’t mean—”

“Enough, you penniless brat. You’re more annoying than that Adam guy.”

Ye Zhongming waved dismissively.

While Mechanical Genius’s strength commanded respect, his personality left much to be desired—arrogant, narcissistic, stubborn, and utterly lacking in subtlety, like some edgy teenager.

Ye Zhongming’s confidence stemmed from one fact:

Every guardian beast on Cloud Peak’s occupied stars was upgraded to level five—the maximum.

Upgrading was exorbitantly expensive. Maximizing even a bottom-tier guardian cost nearly as much as purchasing a star, while high-tier guardians demanded astronomical sums.

Yet Ye Zhongming had done it anyway.

Where did Cloud Peak’s strength lie?

Absolute combat prowess

Sustained operational capacity

Military discipline and obedience

Superior logistics and repair resources

Though they’d lingered briefly on each star, the number of resource points conquered and benefits reaped was substantial!

“Fighting war with war” didn’t just cover challenge difficulty reductions—it funded guardian purchases and upgrades too!

Moreover, Ye Zhongming had exclusively selected mid-to-high-tier guardians.

Even if Mechanical Genius’s unique ability allowed his entire force to battle alongside him (avoiding team challenges that would boost guardians by another level), could he really overcome max-level guardians so easily? Every Cloud Peak star he’d seized meant enduring another brutal guardian trial.

This was why Ye Zhongming had called the Women Guard “wise.” By paying tolls instead of challenging, they’d preserved strength despite seeming cowardly. Their final count—22 stars, fourth place—belied their true achievement: aside from Cloud Peak, they’d retained the most intact fighting force.

No one could call them the weakest now.

“You—!”

Mechanical Genius trembled with rage (presumably—no one could actually see). But someone of his temperament would undoubtedly be fuming at such dismissal.

“By trailing me to snatch my stars instead of thoroughly exploring, even if you were wealthy initially, you’re nearly broke now, aren’t you? How will you survive the ten rounds? Think more stars mean an easy pass? Waiting for others to fund you via tolls or die trying?” Ye Zhongming scoffed. “You’re too naive, imagining the wheel plays fair.”

“Never underestimate the wheel’s malice—it’ll only disappoint you.”

Just as Mechanical Genius prepared another retort, the space’s voice interrupted, seemingly validating Ye Zhongming’s warnings:

“Commencing the final journey. All six factions, prepare.”

“You may now purchase the following items:”

Head Start Card: Grants first strike privilege when the final journey begins. (Quantity: 1)

Summon Card: Allows summoning any faction (except during initial departure) to a designated star (within 10-star range). (Quantity: 5)

Nebula Card: Creates a nebula field to slow the Soaring Crystal’s flight. (Quantity: 10)

[Continued…]