My Apocalypse System Arrives 10 Years Early

Chapter 574: Chapter 355: The Second Beast Tide (2)

The war, originating on the South Asian Subcontinent, began to spread across the globe.

The second wave of the Beast Tide had begun!

Meanwhile, an endless stream of Exotic Beasts continued to arrive from space. They came almost daily, and their numbers were now more than ten times greater than when the Apocalypse first began.

A rough estimate placed their numbers at nearly one hundred million. There were tens of thousands of Saint Tier Exotic Beasts, with another eighty to ninety million below that tier. These were not concrete statistics, but rather rough information Li Xiang had quickly gathered while patrolling the globe at Mach 80. He was so fast that very few Saint Tier Exotic Beasts could even hope to catch him.

It had now been over nine months since the start of the Apocalypse. During this time, the number of Extraordinary Beings among the Human Race had truly skyrocketed, surpassing the thirty million mark. However, since it hadn’t been long, the power distribution was skewed. Of these thirty million-plus Extraordinary Beings, roughly twenty million were Tier One, eight million were Tier Two, and only about two million were Tier Three or higher.

And it was estimated that no more than a thousand had reached Tier Six or above.

As for the Space Exotic Beasts, there were far more than thirty million at Tier Six and above alone.

The situation was grim.

’It just goes to show that plans can’t keep up with change. In this world, things rarely go as you wish.’

Originally, Li Xiang’s strategy was for everyone to hunker down and grow stronger together. If they stayed united and laid low for four or five years, there would have been hope for the future. Domestically, this had worked. The seventy-two Underground Cities were all in good order, without any signs of chaos. The nation also had the highest number of Extraordinary Beings, roughly fifteen million.

Jiang Cai’Er said, ”In the end, we have to rely on ourselves. We can’t count on foreigners.”

Everyone agreed wholeheartedly. They just needed to take care of their own.

As for other countries, they would help if they could. If not, there was nothing to be done.

Although Underground Dungeon 03 had become a beacon in this new era, it wasn’t wise to interfere in the affairs of other Underground Cities, especially those in foreign countries.

Although the Underground Cities had sealed themselves off, there were always powerful Exotic Beasts that could pinpoint their entrances. Wave after wave from the Beast Tides assaulted them. If they didn’t fight back, even the thickest alloy gates would eventually be smashed open.

Some Exotic Beasts could breathe fire, their high-temperature flames hot enough to melt gold and iron. Others secreted corrosive venom that pocked even the hardest alloys with holes. Still others had incredibly sharp claws that scraped against the alloy gates. The SCREECHING sound carried deep into the Underground Cities, leaving people terrified and unable to sleep at night.

Fortunately, the surface above Underground Dungeon 03 was guarded by twelve Exotic Beast Legions loyal to Li Xiang. He ordered these twelve legions—an Exotic Beast Army hundreds of thousands strong—to feign an attack. They were to go through the motions, putting on a show to avoid arousing the suspicion of other Exotic Beast Legions.

With that, Li Xiang departed to support the other Underground Cities.

Jiang Cai’Er remained behind to hold down the fort. Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui had wanted to go with him, but Li Xiang insisted they stay.

With Li Xiang’s help, the three women had recently broken through to Saint Tier. Yao Yao reached Tier Twenty, while Zhao Xueqing and Lei Xiaohui were both at Tier Nineteen.

The main reason was that Yao Yao had many tricks up her sleeve and had engaged in Dual Cultivation with Li Xiang more than anyone else. She had dozens of life-sized clones, all masters of the Transformation Technique. They could change into all sorts of peerless beauties from any time or place—and even from the world of anime. Their figures, faces, and skin tones... she could shape them all at will, bringing Li Xiang a fresh and stimulating experience every time.

Although the three women were Saint Tier, there were tens of thousands of Saint Tier Space Exotic Beasts in the outside world. Plus, there was that group of Holy Sons and Holy Daughters from the Otherworld who could launch a sneak attack at any moment. Alone, Li Xiang could come and go as he pleased, but with the three of them, he would be hampered.

The three women knew they were still too weak, so they stayed behind to help Jiang Cai’Er manage the internal affairs of Underground Dungeon 03.

Meanwhile, Lei Jiaming, Lei Xiaonan, Han Qifeng, Zhao Xuejian (Zhao Xueqing’s younger brother), and Yao Zhuoxi (Yao Yao’s younger brother) all held positions in the military.

Zhao Xueqing’s and Yao Yao’s younger brothers had been young before, but after so many years, they had grown into strapping, heroic young men. One was a Tier Four Extraordinary Being, and the other was Tier Three.

Lei Xiaonan’s innate talent was perhaps lacking, as he had never managed to become an Extraordinary Being. However, he had mastered Martial Arts and was extremely skilled with firearms. He might not have been strong enough for battles on the front lines, but he was more than capable of leading the militia to maintain security within the city.

Naturally, Li Xiang prioritized supporting the domestic Underground Cities, as well as the bases run by Erin, Chiba Yuki, and Yaki Toto. He would only support other Underground Cities when he had the time. As for who he helped first, that was purely a matter of luck. If he came across an Underground City on the brink of collapse, he would lend a hand.

Once he reached the surface, communication was a major problem. The Exotic Beasts had destroyed all the satellites, and there were no ground-based relay stations. This meant that as soon as he left a city, he lost all contact and couldn’t access any networks. As a result, he was unable to see any distress signals sent out by the Underground Cities.

Even if he could see them, there would be so many distress calls at once that he could only race from one to the next on his own.

Li Xiang fought on the outside for over a month with barely any rest. The combination of his earlier Dual Cultivation with Yao Yao and the others, along with the constant battles, led to a breakthrough in the heat of combat. His Realm had now reached Tier Twenty-sixth.

He had slain countless Exotic Beasts, including over a hundred at Saint Tier—an average of more than three per day. He earned tens of millions of Achievement Points and amassed a small mountain of Spiritual Medicines and Extraordinary Items in his Otherworldly Warehouse, which included over one hundred Saint Tier items.

His luck was particularly good this time, as he had even found eight Space Gemstones among them.