Chapter 18: of course, is brushing explosively.

"Songjiang."

"This is Songjiang."

Hearing Cheng Jinyang's words, Xing Yuanzhi frowned: "Songjiang ruins?"

"You see that tower." Cheng Jinyang pointed to a distant tower.

"Uh..." Xing Yuanzhi hadn't spoken yet when Wang Wanrou suddenly asked, "Jinyang, have you been to Songjiang before?"

"Songjiang was overrun by demons sixteen years ago," Cheng Jinyang replied. "I was only two years old at that time."

The two-year-old child couldn't possibly have any memories, so it doesn't matter whether he had been to Songjiang or not.

But could it be memories from the past life?

As his thoughts raced, Xing Yuanzhi and Wang Wanrou's expressions weren't good either. Obviously, this situation had far exceeded their expectations, causing everyone to feel a bit uneasy now.

As the group continued to stroll around, they noticed that the closer they got to the tall tower, the more zombies there were around. Eventually, the road was completely blocked.

With such a huge number, it's difficult to clear them out with just car bombs. Therefore, the group could only temporarily retreat and look for another direction.

"It's a puppet demon," Wang Wanrou suddenly said.

"A puppet demon?" Cheng Jinyang asked, "A lower-level demon compared to 'monster' demons?"

Wang Wanrou didn't directly answer, but said:

"Exquisitely beautiful in appearance, lacking intelligence, fierce and devouring, unafraid of death or injury. Does that fit the description? Although I haven't seen a demon before, based on the situation, I can make an educated guess."

"If it's a demon, there will definitely be blood after killing it," Ah Zhi still had the idea of increasing bloodline concentration on her mind.

"We can give it a try," Wang Wanrou expressed her opinion.

"However, before that, we need to find firearms first, otherwise it's not safe for self-defense," Cheng Jinyang said. "Speaking of firearms, we'll have to go to the Six Gates responsible for law enforcement."

"But none of us are familiar with the terrain of Songjiang," Xing Yuanzhi pointed out the problem.

"That's why we need to find a map," Cheng Jinyang said.

"A map?"

"At the newsstand," Wang Wanrou said beside them.

"Songjiang used to be a major city in Jiangnan, with a constant flow of tourists, so newsstands usually sell maps for outsiders to use."

"I see."

Xing Yuanzhi suddenly realized. There aren't many newsstands in Jiankang City, but...

She looked at Cheng Jinyang with some suspicion. It's okay for Wang Wanrou to know. But haven't you never been to Songjiang? How do you know so much?

Cheng Jinyang naturally wouldn't explain to her that "he had crossed over," so he took the two girls and sneaked away again.

The newsstand is a special industry in Songjiang. Since Sima Yi drew a circle at the mouth of the Yangtze River many years ago, this small fishing village, originally named "Hudu," began to develop at an astonishing speed.

The history of Songjiang's development, along with the industrial revolution of the entire Jin Dynasty, is so fast that it's almost impossible to keep up.

For example, the advancement of industrial printing technology led to the rapid spread of shops like newsstands in Songjiang, and magazines and newspapers first entered the homes of the people of Songjiang on a large scale.

And then not long after, radio emerged.

Then television appeared.

After that came the internet.

In other cities, due to slower development, traditional media hadn't yet formed as an industry and were directly overtaken by various digital media.

Only in Songjiang, because of the emperor's attention, any emerging industry would quickly take off here, expanding rapidly in scale, thus preserving the most complete traces of technological evolution.

In a nearby newsstand, a map was found.

Sure enough, it marked the locations of the nearest Six Gates, making it convenient for outsiders to seek help.

Following the guidance of the map, everyone quickly heads towards the nearest Six Gates.

Along the way, they encounter groups of puppet soldiers, but since they aren't as densely packed as near the Iron Tower, they are easily taken down by the martial artist Ah Zhi.

The Mass Effect ability does indeed provide a clear advantage in close combat. Agility is enhanced by light body techniques, strength is bolstered by heavy body techniques, and combined with the chaotic body techniques that change frequency rapidly, it's easy for Ah Zhi to keep several puppet soldiers at bay.

Soon, they arrive at the nearest Six Gates, where the main entrance is guarded by numerous iron barricades and the walls are lined with barbed wire, making it seem like a hedgehog with spikes all over, leaving no apparent entry point.

Cheng Jinyang: ...

"Relax," he quickly said, "there must be a way in. If not, I'll get a car and smash it open."

"That will definitely attract a lot of puppets," Xing Yuanzhi said, "Once we're inside, they'll surround us outside like fish in a barrel."

"You can't catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's lair," Cheng Jinyang said.

Xing Yuanzhi didn't say anything, looking at Miss Wang.

"What are you looking at me for?" Miss Wang raised her eyebrows, "Haven't you heard of the strategy of making a sound in the east while attacking in the west?"

"Are you suggesting using car bombs in other directions in advance to lure away nearby puppets?" Cheng Jinyang immediately understood.

"Three cannonballs," Wang Wanrou said, "The first one is fired towards the eastern intersection, oscillating back and forth with a time function to attract the attention of the puppets and block the road; the second one strikes the outer wall of the Six Gates Headquarters; the third one goes west, using the same tactic, sealing off this block."

"The duration of gravitational manipulation is limited, and the iron slide car oscillating back and forth won't hold up until we come out," Xing Yuanzhi countered, "Unless we let Jingyang stay outside while I go in."

"What about Miss Wang?" Cheng Jingyang asked.

"Her?" Xing Yuanzhi chuckled, "She'd better stay outside with you, just watching. Going in would only be a burden, leaving me helpless."

Wang Wanrou remained unchanged in expression, while Cheng Jingyang coughed and said, "That works too. Wanrou, after Yuanzhi goes in later, you and I will stay outside first."

The iron slide car roared out, swinging back and forth at the crossroads to the east, quickly attracting the attention of the surrounding puppets.

A large number of puppets poured out from the surrounding buildings and office towers, like office workers during rush hour in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Even Cheng Jinyang, an experienced warrior, couldn't help but feel a chill.

There were too many, far too many!

Being surrounded would surely end in dismemberment!

However, the advantage of the universal gravitational ability lies here: if the mass effect is the amplification of individual combat, then the iron slide car with universal gravitational force is an AOE damage dealer regardless of friend or foe.

So the three of them watched as these puppets swarmed towards the car like waves crashing against rocks, instantly being smashed to pieces, yet the next wave rushed up without fear of death... It made Cheng Jinyang think of a certain zombie slaughter game, called something like "City Siege".

"Wrong!" Xing Yuanzhi suddenly exclaimed.

Cheng Jinyang and Wang Wanrou were slightly startled, then they also realized the problem:

The sensation of blood surging was far beyond normal, indicating that the concentration of blood was increasing at a terrifying rate... No, ascending!

"A strange-level(Creature) demon, the increase in blood concentration after killing is about 0.05 Ma," Xing Yuanzhi said.

"The lower-level puppets, their blood essence is probably only one-twentieth of the strange ones, or even less," Wang Wanrou frowned, "but..."

"The efficiency is damn high," Cheng Jinyang sighed.

The two girls immediately fell silent, and the atmosphere, which had been just right, was also interrupted by his coarse words.

However, rough words aside, the fact is that the efficiency of harvesting blood essence by killing puppets with an iron slide car is much higher than that of strange-level demons.

Because the monstrous demons are too difficult to deal with, everyone has to rely on narrow terrain to handle them. They have to run into alleys, climb over walls, kill this wave only to wait for the next wave to respawn.

And after the third wave is defeated, it's the 'ghost' level monsters, which currently have no solution, so it's essentially a death sentence—the time in between is wasted.

As for the puppet monsters, that's completely a beginner-level task. These puppets have no intelligence, they just stupidly rush toward the source of the sound, then get killed by the iron slide car. The harvesting process is extremely stable.

The iron slide car rush forward, and a dozen or so puppets are maimed and broken; then rushing back, another dozen or so perish on the spot. One round trip is more than enough to offset one 'strange' level demon and then some.

What's even more crucial is that these puppets seem endless, inexhaustible.

There's no need to wait for them to respawn, they just keep rushing out from the surrounding buildings as if they're rushing to punch in for work... like a running experience points jackpot.

"So what do we..."

"What weapons do we still need?" Xing Yuanzhi exclaimed excitedly, her face showing that fervent expression, as if she'd just gotten an unlimited credit card for shopping:

"Of course, we'll just keep grinding it all night!"