Chapter 467: Closing the Net, a Million Thunder Spirits Devoured

An island has an average population of about two hundred thousand.

This time, the Profound Mechanism Wind King directly sacrificed a thousand islands. The human native population alone accounted for at least two hundred million deaths.

And that’s not even including life forms like Hurricane Beasts and Wind Spirits. The total number would be even greater.

But the Profound Mechanism Wind King abandoned them all.

Thus, in Qi Suian’s eyes, the Profound Mechanism Wind King gained another label on top of ’good boss’: ruthless and cold-blooded.

These two labels didn’t conflict. After all, in the eyes of the Profound Mechanism Wind King, all these internal islands were Its resources.

How they were used was entirely up to It. As a sapient being, having contradictory thoughts wasn’t something difficult to understand.

Qi Suian, for his part, delivered ten million units of fiber bodies to the Profound Mechanism Wind King on the very first day.

The latter quickly began to spread the fiber bodies to every island where the Thunder Spirits were located, where they would lie dormant.

As for supporting Carl, the survivor who seemed rather special in Qi Suian’s opinion, that hadn’t diminished either. In fact, the investment continued.

The Profound Mechanism Wind King was no fool, of course. Qi Suian had spoken with great confidence, but what if he failed? Thus, Carl was kept on as a backup plan.

Besides, compared to Qi Suian, the resources invested in Carl were practically a bargain.

So the Profound Mechanism Wind King didn’t mind this small expense.

A thousand islands and their surrounding infrastructure had been invested as the cost. The rewards given to Carl, even now, didn’t amount to the value of a single island.

Securing a fallback option for such a trivial price was a very worthwhile affair.

Then, It watched as the fiber bodies devoured a thousand islands and began to construct an enormous, bizarre structure that stood tall amidst the hurricanes, constantly expanding.

’So you don’t need to build this yourself? Your little bugs can just construct it on their own?’ The Profound Mechanism Wind King was constantly watching Qi Suian.

The man hadn’t made much of a move at all. After releasing the fiber bodies, he just went back to studying the wisp of wind It had gifted him.

"Yeah, what else?" Qi Suian asked, puzzled.

He controlled the tools, the Profound Mechanism Wind King provided the materials, so there was no way he was going to be the one doing the labor.

So he could just let the AI control the Fiber Worms. He didn’t even need to supervise.

Given the precision of the Tai Sui God, there was no need to worry about any mishaps.

"You don’t think I’m just taking the money without doing anything, and that hiring me wasn’t worth it, do you?" Qi Suian was reminded of some unpleasant past experiences and couldn’t help but complain.

If that were really the case, he’d have to change the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s label from ’good boss’ to ’moron boss’.

’No. I am simply concerned that without your direct involvement, unnecessary trouble might arise.’ The Profound Mechanism Wind King couldn’t care less whether Qi Suian was working or not.

What It valued was the quality of the construction. Qi Suian, the project leader, was preoccupied with studying It. If there was a quality issue, the entire game would be lost.

So the Profound Mechanism Wind King wasn’t questioning Qi Suian’s light workload, but was considering Its own interests.

"You’re jumping to conclusions. I’ve actually been working the whole time," Qi Suian said. With a casual gesture, the fiber bodies under his control shifted into various formations.

"I don’t have to be on-site to work. It’s all hurricanes over there. Why would I go over just to get blown around for no reason? I can control it remotely from here."

He could see the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s concern. Out of consideration for the fact that It was going to be his scapegoat and had also provided him with vast resources, Qi Suian decided to humor It.

’It was the client, after all; he couldn’t just ignore It completely.’

’You said it would be done within three days. There is only one hour left of the seventy-two. Are you certain?’

’If you are not certain, I will delay the teleportation plan.’ The reason the Profound Mechanism Wind King was suddenly so concerned about quality was, naturally, because the project was nearing completion.

Before it was finished, there wasn’t much It could say.

"Ten minutes, tops," Qi Suian replied confidently after checking the project’s progress provided by the AI.

’Should I initiate it early, then?’ The Profound Mechanism Wind King was quite respectful of the plan Qi Suian had laid out. Even though Qi Suian was finishing ahead of schedule, It still made sure to ask.

"No need. We’ll stick to the plan. I’m sure you can wait a little longer." Naturally, Qi Suian wasn’t going to start early.

’It’s not like every second counts. He still needed to do another check.’

’He did trust the AI’s capabilities, but a necessary degree of caution was still required. Doing a final check himself, even if he found no issues, was still a good thing.’

’After all, this project involved digesting and absorbing a million Thunder Spirits. It was a massive undertaking.’

Ten minutes passed in a flash, and the construction was complete.

The fiber bodies then transformed into another bizarre, massive, oval-shaped structure with a smooth surface.

Its skin would occasionally twitch and ripple, as if some creature were passing underneath.

In reality, these were just external manifestations of its operation, as it was, after all, an aggregation of a massive number of fiber bodies.

Qi Suian began a thorough inspection. The process took nearly half an hour before he was finished.

"There are twenty minutes left until the planned start time. You should get ready," Qi Suian said.

’I am already prepared. Are you certain your structure can be activated?’ the Profound Mechanism Wind King asked again.

Qi Suian didn’t answer. Instead, he initiated the warm-up sequence directly. The entire massive, oval structure began to swell, and a dense fog of fiber bodies emerged from it.

"Running normally. I’m just whetting my little guys’ appetites in advance. We’re just waiting for your Thunder Spirits now." Faced with the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s question, Qi Suian let the results speak for themselves.

’No matter what he said, It would just keep asking. After all, It hadn’t seen it with Its own eyes, only heard Qi Suian’s words.’

So Qi Suian gave It a dose of reassurance to stop the Profound Mechanism Wind King from asking a million more questions.

This action did indeed shut the Profound Mechanism Wind King up. Although It couldn’t understand what Qi Suian was doing, It knew that the bizarre structure had successfully started up.

As the final minute of the seventy-two hours ticked away, the Profound Mechanism Wind King spoke once more: ’You recall the bugs; I will help you send them back.’

With those words, Qi Suian activated the device without hesitation.

Using signal and communication modules, Qi Suian precisely located the movement trajectory of all the fiber bodies.

With the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s help, the corresponding fiber bodies successfully enveloped the lightning and the Thunder Spirits within it on every island, hurtling them toward the device’s location.

Ten minutes later, the first bolt of lightning came streaking through.

The Thunder Spirit within it saw Qi Suian and the bizarre structure, and its first thought was to resist and attack.

But things moved too fast. Before it could even react, it had already landed on the device and was instantly digested in the next moment.

The entire process took less than a second.

This was only the beginning. After the first bolt of lightning carrying its Thunder Spirit arrived, it was followed by countless more massive bolts.

Due to the sheer numbers, many of the lightning bolts were compressed together, forming a single, massive stream of thunder. The Thunder Spirits were entangled within it, unable to move at all.

It slammed into the surface of the structure at a terrifying speed, causing a ripple to spread out.

However, the force of the impact was immediately channeled away, striking the surrounding gales and tearing a rift right through the ever-present hurricane.

’Can it hold?’ The Profound Mechanism Wind King couldn’t help but worry as It watched the structure sustain the continuous bombardment.

Although there was no visible change and the efficiency hadn’t dropped—all the lightning and Thunder Spirits were being digested and absorbed—the sight was still utterly terrifying to behold.

"Don’t worry, they can multiply," Qi Suian said.

’There’s definitely some damage, given the immense force and terrifying energy input.’

’But as long as the Fiber Worms have food, they can self-replicate, and they eat anything.’

’So even if large numbers of Fiber Worms are dying, their population remains stable due to self-replication.’

’Even after accounting for these losses, Qi Suian was still taking in a handsome profit every second.’

’The bugs are dying, but they are also continuing to multiply. The intensity will increase later on. I can help you reduce the intensity.’ Through the wind, the Profound Mechanism Wind King had also sensed the state of the fiber bodies.

It wasn’t worried about the fiber bodies themselves, but that the entire effort would be wasted if they couldn’t withstand the pressure.

"No need. A virtuous cycle has already been established."

"These Thunder Spirits have become food for the bugs’ reproduction. Their numbers can keep up."

"In fact, we could even increase the intensity, and they could withstand levels higher than planned." Qi Suian rejected the offer outright.

’Lowering the intensity would mean extending the duration, which could lead to unexpected complications.’

’Qi Suian was naturally unwilling to do that.’

-----------------

"Terminated? What do you mean?" Carl’s expression was grim.

After killing a Thunder Spirit, he had received a notification from the Profound Mechanism Wind King, stating that the Thunder Spirit hunting activity was to be temporarily suspended and relocated.

’It means exactly what it says. I have found a solution for the Thunder Spirits within my body.’

’Therefore, if you wish to continue hunting Thunder Spirits, you will need to await my further arrangements.’ Naturally, the Profound Mechanism Wind King wasn’t going to tell Carl about Its plan with Qi Suian.

Although It currently valued Carl highly, Carl was, in the end, just a survivor, not a native of Its world.

Thus, they could cooperate and use each other, but there would never be any emotional attachment.

"Then what am I supposed to do now?" Carl was already a Ninth Rank Wind Chasing Envoy, just a hair’s breadth away from becoming a Tenth Rank Wind Chasing Envoy.

’If he kept going, reaching the Holy Sanctuary wouldn’t be difficult. But now, It was telling him the activity was stopping?’

’How could he possibly tolerate this?’

’Your reward for this time will be doubled, and you will be given additional compensation.’

’The wind will help you break through your current bottleneck.’ As the Profound Mechanism Wind King finished speaking, a stream of wind poured into Carl’s body.

That final step needed to reach the Tenth Rank was crossed with ease, causing his strength to undergo a qualitative leap.

[You have received the Wind King’s generous gift]

"An S-rank?!!" Carl’s gloomy expression instantly cleared up, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

He never expected the Profound Mechanism Wind King to be so generous.

It wasn’t a choice of his own, however, but an S-rank class skill.

Luckily, Carl wasn’t picky. All he knew was that he had just received a massive upgrade.